After hearing it, her insides churned so much she couldn’t even speak.
That’s also why I didn’t refuse Seton’s offer.
If not Seton, I would’ve had to ask Penelope for protection—and I’d rather be locked in a room than do that.
“So, now that Penelope’s out of the picture, we need an alternative.”
“I’m fine. It’s only for a while. If it really comes to it, I can always use magical items.”
“You say that, but you’ve been locked in your room for days.”
It was because of my memory issues
, but he had misunderstood.
Yet she had no good excuse, so her lips just moved soundlessly.
“You can’t keep living like this.”
“I really am fin—”
“No, you’re not.”
“Do you have some brilliant idea, then?”
“Of course. Stay by my side.”
“…Excuse me?”
That was clearly a question.
But Adrian simply nodded and said,
“Sounds good.”
Wait—hold on!
She nearly shouted in shock.
I’ve just been sweet-talked into this with my eyes wide open!
“Your Grace? I didn’t mean—”
“There are no capable knights or mages left in the territory. If you’d refused, the winter project would have been severely delayed.”
Just give the order.
Faced with something she couldn’t even refuse, she bit down hard and drank the tea.
It was so cold and bitter she nearly cursed.
“Still, you look a lot better than before.”
She nodded at his words.
“It’s not much. Oh—did you happen to receive the documents I sent?”
“What documents are you referring to?”
As he sipped his tea, he looked every inch the picture of elegance and refinement.
So naturally, she assumed he genuinely didn’t know and began explaining from the start.
“I was thinking of using my personal funds.”
“You don’t need anyone’s permission to use your own funds.”
“I know. But since I’d be using them in your duchy, I thought I needed your approval.”
Ah. Adrian finally understood Helena’s earlier cryptic comment.
“What are you planning to do with it?”
“Plant some trees.”
“In the North?”
“It’s a native northern species. It propagates well and doesn’t require much maintenance. Just one year, and the saplings will mature into—”
“You’re talking about the Bakran?”
Oh, of course. The male lead knows everything.
Impressed by Adrian’s knowledge, she nodded and continued.
This conversation might actually go smoothly.
“Yes, that’s the one—”
“The mine in that area is scheduled to shut down in a few years. The ore is nearly depleted.”
“I understand, but… Your Grace? Did you ever receive the documents?”
“If you mean the first set, yes.”
Something felt off.
“I only sent them once.”
“I rejected them, so I assumed you were referring to a second set.”
How could someone sound so annoyingly proper?
“But you said I could use my personal funds at my discretion.”
“You also said you were using them in my duchy, which is why you requested permission.”
“That was just—”
“Request denied.”
“Why?!”
I knew it was going too smoothly.
I had told myself not to get my hopes up, but disappointment still stung.
“You said it was my money!”
“And it’s my land.”
“You said the mine would be closed.”
“Exactly. Which is why I’m denying it. Even now, only miners go there. Once it’s shut down, the area will quickly fall into decline. If you plant—”
“Then I’ll buy the land.”
“Preseth is your territory too. How do you plan to buy it?”
“What?”
“Unbelievable.”
Suddenly, Adrian let out a laugh.
But it wasn’t a pleasant one—enough to make Ione flinch.
“You haven’t changed at all.”
“…”
“I believe I warned you.”
The polite smile he wore vanished in an instant, replaced by a cold expression.
He was looking at her the way he had on the very first day she arrived at the ducal manor—completely devoid of warmth.
“I told you. I won’t let you go.”
“Your Grace, you’ve misunderstood. I’m only thinking of the future of Preseth—”
“Ione.”
“Yes?”
“You are Ione Preses. You may have been born Ione Clarke, but the name carved into your tombstone will be Ione Preses. The Emperor made sure of that—layered multiple safety nets so you couldn’t escape.”
Do you really think divorce is an option?
That’s what his eyes were asking.
How did things escalate this badly?
Ione struggled to compose herself.
But now wasn’t the time to zone out.
“The only one who can break those safety measures… is you, Your Grace.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Once you find your true mate, you’ll be able to nullify it without hesitation. I agreed to that. But I have no way of ending this relationship on my own. Why are you treating me this way—”
“This way?”
Obsessed with me
, she wanted to say.
The honest words burned on her tongue.
But her instincts screamed a warning.
Be careful
.
“I don’t understand why you don’t trust me. Shouldn’t I be the one doubting you?”
“You? Doubting me?”
“Yes, me. I have no reason or desire to end this marriage.”
“Liar.”
“Worried you’ll find your destined mate? That you’ll leave me? That I’ll lose my place and have nowhere to go?”
Ione confessed the kind of fear someone
like her
might have.
“I married a man with beauty, power, and wealth. But what if I fall in love with him…?”
Suddenly, her voice trembled.
Saying it out loud made it feel all the more real.
Her situation was almost pathetic.
“Love?”
Adrian repeated the word like it was new to him, rolling it around in his mouth.
Ione sighed quietly.
That blank expression.
He didn’t even understand the emotion she might be feeling.
I must not love him.
A note she once wrote flashed in her mind.
Stick close to Adrian, but not too close.
But now it was far too tangled.
“If you’re so worried, remember—we’re already married.”
“But if your fated partner appears, this becomes invalid.”
“I don’t need a fated partner.”
“Liar.”
Hmm
.
His hum made me clench my teeth.
Liar. You’ll turn into an extreme romantic once you meet the heroine.
But of course, she couldn’t say that.
This wasn’t about trust anymore.
I might get struck by lightning.
Just trying to steal a single event had nearly gotten me barbecued. If I ever told him the truth about the original story—
Ugh.
My anger cooled instantly.
“Trust me. That won’t happen.”
Adrian said it with such confidence, he practically glowed.
Ione couldn’t help but laugh a little.
Such a perfect male lead—and yet so smugly unaware of what was to come.
“Then… approve this project.”
“Is this a negotiation?”
“Not a negotiation. But if you really see me as your wife, then say yes.”
“Your first use of personal funds is to plant Bakran in a soon-to-be-abandoned mine?”
“You can give me the land too. You said I’d be living here forever anyway.”
“To give barren land to the duchess as a gift, really…”
“Pick one—give me the land or give me permission. Weren’t you the confident one?”
“If you truly want to help the North, you should plant a species that grows into tall trees—”
“It has to be Bakran.”
“Bakran is—”
“I know what it is. And that’s why it has to be Bakran.”
Ione knew it sounded strange.
A shrub barely waist-high.
A native northern plant that spreads via roots.
If they planted tall trees, it could become a lush forest in decades. Eventually, it could even be harvested for timber.
But the trees she wanted were entirely useless by that logic.
Not for firewood. Not ornamental.
Just deep roots and little else.
No wonder he objected.
But she
had
to succeed.
Saving lives was one goal.
But what Ione really wanted… wasn’t so noble.
A sign that I could escape this harsh world.
The thought came and went like a flash.
If characters who were supposed to die could live, maybe she had a chance too.
And if the act left a good impression on Adrian, even better.
If Ione could show him she genuinely cared for the northern lands, maybe he’d stop suspecting her so much.
That’s what this was.
She couldn’t say it in one word, but… this was something she
had
to succeed at.
Who knows how long the silence lasted.
Finally, Adrian shrugged.
“Alright. Then I’ll grant your request.”
“Thank y—”
“On one condition: accompany me this evening.”
“Accompany you?”
“Dinner.”
Only after stepping out of the study did Ione realize how dark it had gotten.
No wonder—it had no windows.