The Grand Duke Who Wants Me Dead Is Surprisingly Kind - Chapter 6

Chapter 3.2

Step. Step.

Seeing this, Nectar moved to stand beside Anais as if to shield her, his eyes locking onto the Grand Duke.

However, their silent standoff lasted only a moment. When the Grand Duke, standing more than a hand’s span taller, cast a cold gaze down at him, Nectar instinctively recoiled and pulled his head back Still, there was no escaping the man’s piercing gaze.

Clearing his throat in an attempt to compose himself, Nectar spoke with forced ease.

“Ahem. Th-this is our first meeting. I’m Viscount Nectar Orelcian, Anais’s father.”

Instead of returning the greeting, the Grand Duke addressed him in a low, cold voice.

“Viscount.”

As Nectar’s gaze finally met his directly, the Grand Duke’s lips curled into a chilling smile. The sight made him flinch involuntarily.

“As you can see from the imperial decree in your hands, Lady Anais is now mine.”

“….”

Nectar swallowed thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing under the weight of the Grand Duke’s oppressive presence. Noticing his reaction, the Grand Duke’s blood-red eyes glinted with amusement as he added a final warning.

“If anything happens to her, I won’t stand idly by.”

Do you understand?

When he raised an eyebrow, Nectar stiffened, his head jerking in a mechanical nod.

“Y-Yes, of course. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. I’m glad we understand each other. Then, I’ll take that as your consent and send a knight to guard Lady Anais at the estate.”

With that, the Grand Duke gave Anais a small nod before turning and walking away, not even waiting for Nectar’s response.

Anais, who had been watching the exchange in silence, blinked slowly in surprise.

It was the first time she had ever seen her father so tense, yielding instantly to someone else’s demands.

“….”

Since childhood, her father had been the only remaining family she had, and a deeply terrifying presence. But the man she had just seen was completely different from the one she had always known. Her father, too, could bow his head and lower himself depending on who stood before him, just as she had always been forced to do.

When the realization finally struck her, Anais sat frozen in place, engulfed by a fresh wave of shock. Meanwhile, Nectar’s brow twisted into a snarl as he unleashed the anger he had been suppressing.

“That damn brat… Just because he’s royalty, he thinks he can trample over people! Damn it! What did you say to him to make him act like that?!”

“….”

The rage he couldn’t direct at the Grand Duke naturally turned toward Anais instead.

Knowing that responding would only lead to more anger, Anais lowered her head. However, unlike before, she no longer felt the unbearable fear.

“You ungrateful little wretch. I raised you, fed you, clothed you, and this is how you repay my kindness?”

He growled at her in a low voice before finally unfolding the imperial decree. As he read its contents, his face twisted into an entirely different expression. The anger vanished, replaced by a greedy, triumphant grin.

“Haha! To think the marriage proposal I casually tossed to the imperial court would return with such a great catch!”

His eyes gleamed with insatiable greed as he grinned from ear to ear, muttering to himself.

“The emperor himself needs my daughter! I’ll make sure to squeeze every last drop from this. Yes, this is how you repay kindness. This! Hahaha!”

“….”

Watching her father, who hadn’t deviated even slightly from her expectations, Anais’s expression hardened. This time, it wasn’t out of fear, but with an icy resolve.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

The room, supposedly reserved for the viscount’s direct heir, was nothing more than a cramped, rough-edged space. It held little more than a modest bed, just large enough to lie down on, a simple table, an old wooden chair, and a pile of books.

Inside, Anais was searching for something.

“It should be around here somewhere…”

Her fingers skimmed over the stacked books before coming to a sudden stop.

〈 The Lands of the Empire. 〉

Flipping straight to the last pages, she read aloud a very short sentence.

“The Grand Duchy is the northern territory and a vassal state of the Empire, granted to imperial family members excluded from the line of succession.”

That single line was the entirety of the information on the Grand Duchy.

Still, Anais didn’t give up. She continued flipping through the pages diligently. These habits had formed as a result of her father’s relentless and impatient commands.

“If you want to secure a good marriage, you must not be lacking in anything. Learn everything necessary for marriage from books. Do you understand?”

She planned to prepare for this marriage in the only way she knew how.

“Found it.”

Rip.

At last, she came across the information she was looking for. Without hesitation, she tore the page from the book.