At first, when they met, he thought of her as a rather peculiar woman in many ways. He had only heard that she was the younger sister of the head of the Argyle family, and had applied for a position as a treasurer under his command. As a test, he decided to let her work, but to his surprise, she turned out to be a young woman who hadn’t even reached adulthood.
In his defense, when she was nineteen, he was twenty. It’s only natural to be inexperienced in truly understanding a person’s true nature.
He told her to go home. Then she gave reasons why he shouldn’t kick her out one by one.
He was annoyed, but there was nothing wrong with it, so he told her to do as much as she could. He was half-annoyed, half-amazed at the courage to insist in front of him without being intimidated. It was just that.
「Thank you! I won’t let you down!」
Edith smiled happily and brightly. He hadn’t done anything particularly considerate or improved the conditions, but simply enabled her to work. In truth, that was the moment when he fell for her for the first time.
Just as a person who spent his whole life in the desert witnessed the moment when flowers burst after falling in a place full of greenery, Alpheus was fascinated by the energy emitted by Edith. However, he realized later what exactly started.
It was the first and last event in his life, so he couldn’t have known it at the time. As Alpheus realized the conventional name for his emotions, he made many mistakes, unaware that they were mistakes.
「Are you not getting married?」
「I have no thoughts about it.」
Edith tilted her head for a moment and asked what he would do for a successor. Alpheus replied that he could just catch his runaway brother.
He added that he knew where and what his younger brother was doing from the beginning, so he only needed to lift one finger when necessary. He didn’t say the real reason was her. He couldn’t say that he gave up because she said she didn’t intend to get married first.
「Why are you wearing gloves all of a sudden?」
「I just hate coming into contact with dirty things.」
「Do people count too…」
「Of course.」
It was a lie. While it’s true that he disliked touching dirty things, it wasn’t as though he couldn’t wash his hands afterward. In reality, it all began when he accidentally touched Edith, and his face flushed, prompting him to start looking for gloves.
It was made a habit because it had a stabilizing effect after covering it with a single layer. It was true that it was better to wear gloves than to touch someone you liked or didn’t like with bare skin. He didn’t want to refute it, no matter what. There were benefits to letting yourself be misunderstood.
「Why, why is this happening to me now!」
「Why what?」
It was the same when he subtly entrusted the work of the hostess to Edith. He did not tell Edith the truth about why he was entrusting the job to Edith, who was unhappy about the increased work.
He argued that it was just convenient and that he couldn’t leave it to another untrustworthy person. It was all in pursuit of fulfilling his insatiable greed, even if it meant looking through the documents she had signed. Judging by her doubts, his words and actions were full of contradictions and loopholes.
But she didn’t even doubt it. Whether politically cornered or unable to enjoy the same prosperity as her ancestors, Rodian was Rodian.*
[TN: Whether she’s being forced due to politics or because she’s tight on money, being a Rodian makes it hard for her to disobey him.]
A beacon that lit up the north of the kingdom and lord of the historic Silverglen. Alpheus, the Marquis of Rodian, was a king who held absolute power, at least on his own land. It was the law and the truth when he said it. It had been several years that he had been using that fact to shamelessly hide his feelings. He thought it wouldn’t be bad if this state was maintained.
However, when asked what it would be like to accept Viola Galloway, it was difficult for him to keep his composure. A friend who left in difficult times was worse than an enemy.
An arranged marriage with Galloway’s daughter! He cried. Since Galloway himself was an opponent who had no room for reconsideration, and since it was Edith who brought up the words, he was incensed as if she had poked his insides with a poker.
That was why. The reason for pushing the role of a fake fiancée onto her was because he wanted to see her presenting herself as his fiancée. He swore, that was all there was to it.
He didn’t expect words or gestures that could be exchanged between real lovers. Of course, kissing or more was also off the table.
Yes! He imagined it repeatedly in his head and sometimes put it into action in his dreams! But he never thought he wanted to put all of that into reality.
All Alpheus wanted was for her to say that she was the fiancée of the Marquis of Rodian, and to give her a small gift. Was that too much to ask? What Galloway’s daughter did was shocking. An aphrodisiac?
No matter how brave a woman was, it was difficult for the young duchess to get such an item herself. Of course, her father, the Duke of Galloway, would have helped her.
Perhaps if he had consumed it himself, he could have used a method to weaken its effectiveness. However, because she fed it to Edith, everything turned into a complete mess.
How surprised he was to see her fluttering with great excitement! He led her to the room and, mumbling whatever came to mind, clumsily started undoing her clothes, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
His throat tightened, and not a drop of saliva came out. When she buried her face in his chest, he raised his head and put even more effort into his breathing. He didn’t realize that the words he spoke to her were almost like a confession.
His trembling hands went up her skirt and pulled back her underwear, the scent of a woman reaching his nose sent chills down his spine. In order not to lose his reason, he mobilized his mental power beyond his limits.
However, it was impossible to maintain a clear mind. He released the aphrodisiac that gripped her body in a half-drunk state.
The only thought that didn’t leave his head to the end was that he shouldn’t attack her like this. She wasn’t a woman to treat like that.
He wanted to delicately embrace her, even if the situation was already a mess. That’s why, the next day, while that wicked Galloway woman ran away and Edith went to the Argyle mansion, he couldn’t get out of bed.
It was because the body’s urge to take her, which was disturbed, was suppressed beyond its limits. What a fuss Saur, who came in because he didn’t see him waking after the sun had already risen to the middle of the sky, made when he found his master groaning. Alpheus managed to come to his senses after being bathed in cold water over and over again.
The instant he thought that he should look at Edith’s condition, and that absurdity when the answer came back that she had disappeared! Alpheus, who confirmed that she had gone to Argyle mansion after a series of inquiries, ran without delay.
And brought her back. There was a scuffle, but in the end it turned out as he wished. He opened the marchioness’ room and took Edith home.
In order to prevent her from going anywhere again, he gave her a strict order not to let her go. He took care of some urgent matters.
Among them was sending someone to the Argyle mansion to get her luggage. He signed dozens of documents at a terrifying speed, and slightly tired, he returned to the marchioness’s room. Her sleeping figure was truly lovely. The only problem was that every time he made a sound upon waking her up, he felt guilty for disturbing her.
