The Contract with the Lord was a Trap

Prologue

 

‘Haven’t I already hit rock bottom yet?’

Hestia thought as she looked at Adrian Kingston, who was standing in front of her, smiling like a painting. Her goddess, Lillian, and all the other gods of this world, must have abandoned her.

Whenever she thinks she hit the bottom, life pushes her deeper. It’s like she’s a joke.

“Hello, Hestia.”

His handsome face held no trace of the danger or hardships he had faced on the battlefield. He shined just as brightly today as he always had. It wasn’t just because of the medal that Her Highness, the Princess had personally placed on his chest either. Adrian, a noble from birth, had always shined like the sun.

Unlike her.

Thanks to that, the gazes of everyone gathered in the ballroom were focused on them. She was very miserable.

‘Why did he come to me?’

She didn’t know if he was able to guess the complicated thoughts that were running through her mind, or if he knew that she was about to panic. He just smiled and greeted her.

Hestia tried to remain calm, she had to. Nothing had happened yet, therefore, she had to act as if nothing was wrong. It was still too early to know if Adrian remembered that day.

“…Its been a while, Lord Kingston.”

Hestia slowly bent down into a bow. Fortunately, her voice was as calm as usual, unlike her head.

She treated him as she would treat any other gentleman but, her heart sank at his next words.

“You look healthy-“

Hestia’s eyes wavered. It’s just a hello…

“-How have you been doing?”

It’s probably just a common greeting.

Despite telling herself that, she was having trouble believing it.

The weight of that day came back to her, when they embraced each other in their arms. The fact that he hadn’t forgotten was making her dizzy.

Before the memories started to replay and bring back the pain, Daisy pulled Hestia’s arm toward her.

Hestia, snapping back to reality, was grateful that Daisy was by her side and introduced him to her.

“Thanks to you…, this is my cousin, Miss Daisy Carlton.”

Daisy’s heart pounded.

She could feel her face turning red, and slightly covered it with the fan she was holding, looking up at Adrian Kingston. He was really handsome. This must be what it means to glow.

As soon as his gaze turned toward her, her heart started beating so fast it felt like it was going to burst. She even had the illusion that, when he smiled, the world shone even brighter.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Carlton.”

Daisy smiled shyly, giving a slight bow.

‘Wow! His voice is so elegant!’

The moment she finished her greetings and looked up again, something out of her dreams happened. He extended his hand to her.

“Lovely Lady, may I kiss your hand?”

“Oh, of course!”

At this moment, Daisy though of how glad she was to have been born. She held out her trembling hand and his white gloved hand took her own.

‘Oh my God! He’s really going to kiss the back of my hand! I will remember this day for the rest of my life!’

However, before his lips touched her, he spoke again.

“Hestia.”

Then he immediately extended his hand to Hestia, who was standing next to them. Following the flow, after a brief hesitation, she offered her hand to him.

It wasn’t good to act unnaturally in this situation where all eyes were on them. Adrian slowly lifted her hand. The moment his lips touched the back of her hand, Daisy unconsciously held her breath.

Even when he was kissing that back of her hand, he never stopped looking at Hestia. The way he was gazing at her was beautiful, it was like a scene from a famous painting.

His lips lingered near Hestia’s hand, as if he was reluctant to part. She could feel the warmth of his breath through her thin gloves.

“Shall we dance together?”

Adrian asked, still not letting go of Hestia’s hand. It was a natural flow to their conversation however, Hestia mercilessly pulled her hand from his grasp.

“My legs hurt.”

Daisy inwardly stomped her foot.

‘This is crazy! How could you refuse a dance with him! He’ll go away to the other ladies!’

“If you danced with my cousin instead, though, it would be an honor.”

Daisy was pushed in front of him by Hestia. He still had his gaze fixed on her, but she ignored him and instead whispered to Daisy.

“Isn’t that right, Daisy?”

“Sure… That’s right.”

Daisy looked up at him blankly, thinking she might be dreaming. She had been stuttering and answering unnaturally since earlier, but that wasn’t important right now.

It was the first dance he has requested, after his dance with Her Highness, the Princess. His dance with Her Highness was meant to signify the start of the ball, so it was safe to say, this was the first dance he had personally requested. The eyes of countless wives and ladies were all stuck to him however, his gaze still had not left Hestia. After a few seconds of silence, he asked:

“Is that what you want?”

“Yes.”

It was a clear answer, without any hesitation.

“If that is what you desire.”

Adrian very slowly turned to Daisy and held out his hand.

“Would you like to dance a song with me, Miss Daisy?”

“Yes…Great.”

Daisy held his hand and walked onto the dance floor, in a daze.

At that moment, the music was about to start again, and the two naturally blended into the crowd of people getting ready to dance. People started whispering.

“Whose family does that young lady belong to?”

“Oh, isn’t that Miss Carlton?”

“She is the daughter of Count Carlton.”

It was the moment when Daisy’s fame and value soared. Many young ladies looked at her with jealousy and envy mixed in their eyes.

Her name will now appear on invitations to tea parties and luncheons all over.

Many women also flocked to Countess Carlton, who was looking at the couple dancing, with joy.

And Hestia quietly retreated to the edge of the ballroom, taking her place as a chaperone.

***

As Daisy’s body moved reflexively to the music, she felt like it wasn’t her own. Her heart was beating so fast, she was worried Adrian might be able to hear it. She used to imagine situations like this happening when she would see his illustrations in gossip magazines, but when she actually got to hold his hand and dance with him, she couldn’t tell if it was another figment of her imagination or if it was reality.

There was nothing about him that didn’t appeal to her, from his strong arms that firmly supported her waist to his wide and firm chest and his beautiful face.

She wanted him. It was the first time in her life she had felt such a strong desire.

She couldn’t pass up this opportunity to talk to him alone like this. They were already half way through the song, another opportunity like this would never happen again in her lifetime. She gathered up the last shred of her courage and spoke to Adrian, who had been silent the entire time.

“Um… What kind of people do you like?”

“Well, I’m not very fond of humans.”

“If you tell me, I will try my best to become that type of person. Huh, what do you mean? Sorry?”

Daisy, embarrassed by his cold answer that she hadn’t expected, began to awkwardly blurt out a response. When her face Darkened, surprisingly he smiled and answered.

“I like people who are good at grasping the subject matter.”

“What?”

Daisy, who had expected an answer more along the lines of ‘good hearted’ or ‘have a deep faith’ was taken aback by the unexpected answer and stumbled slightly.

Fortunately, Adrian was able to support her without anyone noticing, and at the same time lowered his head to whisper in her ear.

“Someone who is quick witted and not overly greedy.”

“Oh… Okay.”

Then Adrian, raising his arm high to spin the lady who was having a hard time controlling her facial expressions, kindly asked.

“Oh, were you hoping for a more definite answer, like an ideal type?”

“Yes… Yes!”

“I like green eyes.”

What? What was this person saying? Even if they were just empty words, it was polite to mention the physical appearance of the person you were dancing with.

Beyond the beautiful smile, there was an uncomfortable sense of danger, like she was being pushed towards a cliff.

“Flowing light brown hair.”

That didn’t match her appearance either. She had blond hair that was close to the color of wheat.

“It would be even better if they were the same age as me.”

Everyone in the ballroom probably knew that Adrian was older than Daisy.

“I want a wife that is kind, like a friend.”

Her mind went blank, Adrian’s voice seemed to be coming from afar as he continued.

“-And has a really pretty smile. Ah it would be good if they were a wizard who was able to engage in intellectual conversations.”

Then, Daisy realized where his gaze had been focused the entire time. It was her chaperone, Hestia Welter, paid for by Count Carlton under the pretext of sponsorship.

“Is there anyone around Miss Carlton who fits my ideal type?”

Adrian said to Daisy, who was frozen unable to respond, with a smile that was so captivating, anyone could fall in love with it.

“If you know anyone, please introduce me.”

As soon as he had said the last words, the music ended and he quickly let go of her had as if waiting for that moment. Then he slightly bowed, turned and walked away. His attitude was polite and gentlemanly, to the point of being cruel. She wasn’t even able to say a word in response.