Duke Ashillean’s Contractual Marriage

as standing – hide – Rubiana quickly hid behind the tree.

‘Why am I hiding?’

It was only after she hid herself that she asked herself an important question, but she didn’t want to show herself to let them know that she was there.

‘I think it’s kind of annoying.’

Her instincts were warning her.
She thought that she would be caught up in something very tiring for some reason if she was to be caught now.

“D**n, I lost her.
Ughh!”

I knew it.

‘Is he looking for me?’

Her instinct was right.
An ominous cold sweat ran down her spine.

The second-to-none Duke Ashillean was looking for a handsome husband but is hiding from a handsome man.

People might laugh at what she was doing if they saw the situation, but Rubiana was being serious.

‘I’m looking for a true husband.’

Because the man over there who screamed ‘aah’ didn’t look ‘genuine’.
Was being handsome all? He also have to be genuine.

[‘Don’t forget, Ruby.
Being handsome is one characteristics to be qualified, but his character must be genuine.
You can’t use him if he was too harsh.’]

(T/N: Texts inside [] and italicized means that it happened/said in the past.)

Yes, grandma.
I won’t forget.

* * *

A few days later.

Rubiana met the man again at the Imperial Palace banquet.
It wasn’t that they met face-to-face, but it was only about her looking at his face from far away from the large banquet hall.

He was surrounded by women, not discriminating between those that were single and married.
They were looking at the man with a dreamy and eyes burning with desire.
The man was calm and elegant, throwing away his rough appearance he had shown in the garden.
With his a glance and one gesture, he was gently melting the women’s heart.

‘Being coy?’

He was so pretty and handsome that he didn’t look disgusting.

Rubiana leaned against the wall, sipping alcohol, as she watched the scene.
As the banquet was about to reach its highest peak, the Duke Feltharg, Cadric, arrived late and approached her.
He was holding a glass of wine in both hands.
Rubiana welcomed the drink more than she welcomed his arrival.

“You are well-dressed.”

Its not that he completely ignored Cadric.
He looked at her up and down then whistled – whistle – it wasn’t that loud.

The man on the other side, surrounded by women, couldn’t hear it.
As if he heard the whistle, the man glanced at Rubiana.

Rubiana didn’t noticed the man’s gaze, only concentrating on her glass.
No, she noticed but she didn’t care – since it wasn’t threatening.
Cadric noticed too, and he gave him a warning look instead of just ignoring it.

With Rubiana in between, the eyes of the two men went back and forth quite fiercely.
When Rubiana raised her head with her mouth on the new glass of wine, she turned her head away, as if avoiding the beauty from afar.

“What’s with him?” Cadric frowned.

“What?”

Rubiana followed his gaze and turned her head.
Seeing the beauty that immediately stood out, she smiled.

“What, you can recognize pretty things with only one eye?”

“I lost one thanks to someone, so I became more sensitive.”

“Isn’t it usually the other way around?”

“Why? Do you want me not to see anymore?”

Cadric habitually rubbed his eyepatch with his fingertips.
He was wearing a black eyepatch to cover the wounds he had received from Rubiana.
Onyx and diamond stones were inlaid to the eyepatch that the Emperor gave him.

“No way.”

Rubiana raised her hands.
It was a signal of surrender.

“I’m always sorry.”

That she made a husband candidate for her younger sister like that.
She wasn’t sorry towards Cadric, but Callena.

“He can’t even speak (with you).”

Cadric clicked his tongue, disliking the way Rubiana smirks.
Looking back, he was always stiff towards Rubiana.
That was the reason why Rubiana didn’t regard him as a husband candidate for herself.

“Who is he by the way? I think this was the first time I saw him.”

“He said he was sick for two months.
That’s why he didn’t show up, so it’s only natural that you don’t know him.”

“So, who is he?”

“Grandson of Count Graham.”

Tch, Cadric clicked his tongue again.
He didn’t seem to like Rubiana’s interest in him.

“Graham?”

If it was Count Graham, then Rubiana also remember him.

Their family was close to the tyrant, but their family surrendered as soon as the gates were opened during the Battle of Dawn.
They were originally ranked 0 in the purge list, but it was still impossible to kill them as Callena promised to spare anyone except the royal family if they surrendered.

‘You’re doing a great job surviving.’

Rubiana’s feelings were that much.

Afterwards, Count Graham would seek fine men from who-knows-where and dedicate them to the Emperor.
For some unknown reason, Callena kept Count Graham by her side – as if she like this kind of flattery and gift.

‘So he has another plan.’

Rubiana wondered if he was up to something else.
Rudante, Duke Dominent, wasn’t so relaxed because he was openly seeking for the position of the Emperor’s husband.

‘Ah, I should have killed him before he even said the word surrender.’

Rudante always regretted not killing Count Graham.
Rubiana barely remembered Count Graham, as well as his family.

Count Graham’s whole family had wheat hair and auburn eyes.

He has a mushy body without any muscles, but his tall height was enough to hide it.
No one in their family had such vivid silver hair and dark eyes.
Silver hair, black eyes, and great looks – he looked more like the tyrant’s hidden son than Count Graham’s grandson from his outside appearance….

“…!”

“Now do you understand? Slow.”

“No way.”

“Louismond Fen Lux Amel von Graham.”

Having four names is a mark of royalty.

Silver hair, black eyes, up to four names – he was a member of the Ainnus Dynasty they had overthrown.

“Should I say that he was the last of them? Yes, it would be accurate to say that,” Cadric said in a cold voice, “he was the only surviving illegitimate son of the tyrant.”

(T/N: Gosh, Rubiana was smitten at first sight of ML fufu

And yes, I’m back from the dead.
For all those waiting, I am so sorry for the very irregular updates of this series.
As such, I had been too busy with real life stuffs and things, including our midterm in which I failed successfully [smiling through the pain].
Lastly, I am wishing you all a happy and lovely holidays <3)