Chapter translated by Loulou.
“He made a bulk purchase of women’s accessories from merchants who deal with foreign royal families. He also newly hired a designer to make dresses and shoes for the Lady.”
‘Accessories…? Dresses…?’
This was all news to her. Upon hearing those words, Etisha felt she had no choice but to meet with the Duke.
“Is that so…? Then I suppose I must step inside for a moment. You all wait here,” she said before leaving her maids behind and stepping into the office.
The scent of oak and musk filled her nose as soon as she did.
The arched double windows were draped with wine-colored satin curtains, and a large carpet in calm tones was spread across the floor.
As Etisha stepped on the carpet, it gave off a soft rustling sound.
“Your Grace, Lady Etisha has arrived.”
Valdebram announced Etisha’s arrival. And at his words, Kaiyen, who had been seated like a painting behind the large teak desk at the center of the room, lifted his head.
He had been looking over documents with a serious expression, seemingly absorbed in his work. And yet, with nothing more than that simple motion of raising his head, Etisha couldn’t help but be captivated.
‘What kind of documents was he reading, I wonder.’
She had wanted to watch his focused expression a little longer, but her arrival had broken his concentration, and that felt like a shame.
“…Lady Etisha?”
“I hope I’m not interrupting, Your Grace. I came rather suddenly.”
“Not at all. I was meaning to speak with you anyway. Please, have a seat.”
Kaiyen gestured for her to take a seat and she smoothed the hem of her skirt as she sat down on the low-backed wooden chair.
“I was walking around Wintel Castle and happened to pass by your office. I ran into Valdebram, and he said you were—”
“If you know that much already, it’ll save us some time,” Kaiyen cut her off.
He gave a brief gesture toward Valdebram, who then stepped outside and said something to the maid waiting at the door. It seemed he was instructing her to bring the accessories the Duke had prepared.
“Ah… I feel bad, like I keep being a burden to you,” Etisha said with a sheepish smile.
She was about to say her usual words of thanks, but before she could even get the words out, Cayenne spoke up with something unexpected.
“No. This isn’t a gift, Lady Etisha. It’s more of an apology. So there’s no need for you to feel burdened.”
“An apology? What could you possibly have to apologize to me for, Your Grace?”
“There’s something I should apologize for.”
“…What is it?”
Etisha looked at Kaiyen in quiet confusion. He slowly turned his head away and said nothing.
A long moment passed before he let out a low, quiet cough before talking again;
“I heard your dress was torn.”
‘Ah, that’s right. That did happen.’ Etisha recalled the morning’s events and gave him an awkward smile.
“So you’ve already heard… I’m sorry. I must’ve fallen asleep in that fine dress… I guess I tossed and turned in my sleep and tore the hem a little.”
“No. That’s not what I meant,” Kaiyen gently but firmly corrected her.
Just then, the maids who had left on Valdebram’s orders returned, each carrying jewelry boxes of various sizes.
“I tore it.”
“…..?”
“The reason your dress was damaged… is because of me.”
Etisha’s eyes widened in surprise.
And she wasn’t the only one. Valdebram, standing in the back, was visibly startled. Even the maids carrying the jewelry boxes gasped in surprise.
“Yo…You tore it…?”
Duke Kaiyen…..
Tore what?
“Your dress, Lady Etisha. I was out of line last night.”
“Wait—what…?”
Etisha couldn’t make sense of Kaiyen’s words.
Then, confusion hit her even harder.
‘Then that means what I saw last night… wasn’t a dream?’
And if that was true…
‘Does that mean I… slept in the same bed as the Duke…?’
But how did the dress even end up getting torn?
What was he even doing with it …?
Before she could think any further, Etisha’s face flushed bright red.
Valdebram and the two maids were no different—just as stunned and equally red.
They had just overheard an intimate exchange between the duke and his future duchess, and none of them knew how to react. Frozen in place, all they could do was breathe as quietly as possible.
“And also… I said I’d call for another designer as soon as we arrived in the North, but I failed to keep that promise as well. I’m also making up for that.”
“…”
“If you understand, please take a look at the accessories.”
“…”
“I hope at least one of the pieces suits your tastthaLady Etisha.”
“…”
Kaiyen seemed to be saying something, but Etisha couldn’t hear a word of it.
Her mind had gone completely blank, overwhelmed by the thought that she’d fallen asleep in the same bed as him last night—
And that he was the one who tore her dress.
‘Get it together. People are watching. If I just sit here spacing out, they’ll start getting suspicious.’ Etisha forced herself to snap out of it.
She couldn’t afford to look too flustered, not when they weren’t even alone.
‘Right… We’re going to be married. So… so something like a torn dress, that’s… not that strange… right? The Duke must’ve had his reasons.’
Maybe….Maybe he’d even said it on purpose.
‘Is he trying to make it seem like things are going well between us? In front of the maids? To make us look like a real engaged couple…?’
But still…
Tearing her dress was just way too embarrassing and promiscuous!
Etisha bit down on her lip to keep herself from screaming and turned her attention to the jewelry boxes. The maids had lined them up neatly on the desk in the office and then stepped back to give her space to look comfortably.
Etisha opened the first box.
Click!
The moment the lid opened, she couldn’t hold back the gasp that escaped her lips.
“Ah…!”
A necklace lay inside, with a teardrop-shaped pink diamond at the center, surrounded by dozens of sapphires that cascaded like waves.
Even setting aside the dazzling brilliance and lavish design, this necklace was unmistakable—famous enough that even commoners on the street would know its name.
It was also tied to a well-known legend.
“Duke, this is…!”
The Angel’s heart.
Hundreds of years ago, a massive pink diamond was said to have fallen from the sky and shattered into seven pieces of varying sizes.
News of this reached the ears of the Black Prince, who was deeply in love at the time. To express his devotion to his fiancée, he had each of the seven shards crafted into a different piece of jewelry.
Then, over the course of seven days, he presented her with one jewel each day. His proposal was accepted, and the two lived happily ever after.
“Judging by that look on your face, you already recognize it,” Cayenne said. “It’s the Angel’s Heart—the very first of the seven pieces.”
Etisha couldn’t bring herself to touch the necklace. Instead, she ran her fingers lightly over the edge of the jewel box, as if it could ground her.
On any other day, even the gold-inlaid box containing the necklace would have seemed dazzling to her—but now, with the Angel’s Heart right in front of her, it completely faded from view.
“Your Grace… how could you possibly give me something so precious?”
Even just one of the seven pieces carried an astronomical value. It was so well-known that no one in the empire could fail to recognize it—putting a price on it was meaningless, that’s how expensive they were.
But Kaiyen only replied in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
“I simply chose it because I thought it might suit the color of your hair.”
And it did—perfectly so.
The pink diamond matched Etisha’s soft rose-colored hair as if it had been made for her.
Still… this was far too much.
Unsure of what to do, Etisha gently closed the lid of the jewelry box.
At that, kaiyen raised one eyebrow and asked;
“Is it not to your liking?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just…”
“Then it’s to your liking?”
“Your Grace… this is far too much for someone like me.”
“What are you saying? It’s not too much at all. In the end, it’s just a rock.”
Kaiyen didn’t care for the symbolism or value of jewels. To him, it was simply an expensive stone, nothing more.
He rose from his seat and walked over to Etisha. Then, without hesitation, he opened the jewelry box she had just closed and casually picked up the necklace.
She hadn’t even dared to touch it—yet kaiyen handled it like it was nothing more than a pebble found on the street.
“Lady Etisha. Your hair, if you would.”
At his words, Etisha instinctively swept her hair over one shoulder. As her pale nape was exposed, Cayenne reached forward and fastened the necklace around her neck.
When he closed the clasp, his large, calloused hand brushed the back of her neck.
‘Oh my!…’
Etisha could hardly bear the situation. She couldn’t push Cayenne away, nor could she reject the necklace he’d just fastened around her neck.
“See? It suits you well.”
Even the maids standing at a distance began nodding enthusiastically, as if in agreement.
There was nothing Etisha could do but quietly surrender to the moment—putting aside the staggering worth of the Angel’s Heart, the history it carried, the whispers of legend clinging to its gleam.
“…Thank you, Your Grace.”
Her neck suddenly felt heavy.
Not only from the Angel’s Heart wrapped delicately around her slender neck, but also from the long pendant bearing a radiant lion crest hanging below—the imperial emblem. A wedding gift from Emperor Ignivan himself.
‘The Angel’s Heart… and the Emperor’s pendant…’
Etisha had to remind herself—again and again—that once she died, everything would go back to Kaiyen. All of this was his. She was merely borrowing it for a year. That thought alone helped her steady the pounding in her chest.
“Then, would you like to go over the rest of the jewelry?” Kaiyen asked.
But she quickly declined. “No, that’s alright. This is your office, after all. I’d hate to interrupt your work any longer.”
Just this one necklace was already overwhelming. There was no need for more.
As she firmly refused, he gave her a short nod; “Understood. I’ll have the rest sent to your dressing room. Take whatever you need when the time comes.”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
“Very well. I’ll have the rest of the accessories sent up to your dressing room. Use them as needed.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, and the designers should be arriving at the estate soon. I’ve commissioned several dresses for various occasions, so you’ll likely be busy with fittings for a while.”
Etisha fought to keep her composure, grounding herself as she gave a measured reply.
“…Yes, Your Grace.”
Had the maids not been present, her body might have visibly starting to shake from all of this.
Drawing a quiet breath, Etisha rose from her seat. She needed to leave the study as soon as possible—any longer, and she feared she’d be overwhelmed by yet another surprise.
“Well then… I’ll excuse myself. I wouldn’t want to take up any more of your time.”
With that, she ran out of the office.
Behind her, the maids hurried to keep up, their arms full of jewelry boxes.
Their eyes sparkled with barely restrained excitement as they whispered amongst themselves in hushed voices.
“Did you see that?”
“I did. I can’t believe it.”
“I’ve never seen Duke Kaiyen act like this before. They say he tore her dress—can you imagine?”
“He gave her the Angel’s Heart, of all things… It’s unbelievable.”
“Is that really the Duke Cayenne we know? He used to be cold, strict—so intense, you couldn’t even meet his eyes.”
“Right? That’s what I’m saying! He’s only ever worked and held a sword his entire life. Seeing him like this feels… strange, and completely out of character.”
They exchanged glances, then stole a look at Etisha’s retreating back.
Baroness Etisha El.
They’d thought she was just some last-minute match for the Duke… but maybe—just maybe—she was the one who’d end up changing everything at Castle Wintel.
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