The Duke’s Daughter Trained a Wild Beast

05

Coolness explodes when the Villain is being gentle

Shortly after arriving in the living room, we sat facing each other.

Finally, my plan with Adrian is going to happen.

I swallowed my dry saliva, and at the same time, think of my future plans inside my head.

‘First, be kind, but don’t look ridiculous. If I do that, he will just use me like in the original novel.’

In the novel, Lena loved him so much that she blindly followed him.

As a result, she was able to gain his trust, but in the end, she was only treated as a ‘reliable tool’.

‘Come!! I’ll respond perfectly to whatever you ask!!’

As soon as I made up my mind, I got my first question from him.

“What’s the Duke’s purpose? The purpose of choosing me for this marriage.”

I didn’t expect him to cut down the water so directly.

It seemed like he wanted to skip the pretentious greeting and hear the purpose.

It was a bit difficult to answer, but fortunately, I have prepared a countermeasure for such situation.

“No, you’re mistaken.”

“……?”

“It was me, not my father, who chose His Highness as my partner.”

“You… You really?”

“Yes.”

I said that and nod my head lightly.

I have to imprint to him that I’m not just a doll who’s obedient to my father’s orders.

To make sure he view me as his partner, not as the Young Lady of the Duke.

“I was the one who chose His Highness and the one invited you here.”

“Hmm……”

At last, I captured his gazed as he looked at me.

“Okay? I’m surprised. You look young and obedient daughter.”

“I’m already a 20-year-old adult. I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”

After I finished speaking, I felt a little proud of myself.

Because I made it clear that I wasn’t submissive to my father, and that I was past that age.

But…

‘Are you laughing? Are you laughing at me for looking like a child that pretends to be an adult?’

That makes sense, since Lena just turned 20 and she still has a youthful look on her face.

I need to show my sharp side, and thus, an opportunity came.

“Then I will ask you, why did you choose me?”

Many words are omitted, but this is precisely what he is wondering about.

‘The reason why the only daughter of Duke Mont chose the illegitimate prince instead of the crown prince.’

As a daughter of the Duke, he must be curious why I chose him, where I could fully aim for a marriage with the crown prince.

And that is a perfect opportunity to show off my skills.

“Because I saw a bright future from His Highness.”

“Hmm?”

“I am convinced that His Highness Adrian has ample potential to achieve great things in the future.”

I know that he will later reign over the Magic tower and even get a hold on black magic.

And the fact that with the power he obtained, he will use it to control the empire and eventually destroy it.

So when I said I looked into his potential…

…In retrospect, it wasn’t wrong.

‘Of course, you will only do bad things with that potential of yours but I’m going to stop you with all my might.’

When he smiled secretly, he showed a genuine one instead of a sneer.

“It seems like I’ve only been viewing the Young Lady as someone immature. Now that I heard that, you know how to move people’s heart, don’t you?”

“Don’t think of it as a flattery. I was just looking at your hidden abilities that no one else had seen.”

“For example?”

I looked back on my memory. It was to recall what Ed secretly pursued in the original novel.

“For example, the purchase of land in Brietton?”

“……!”

“The land was considered useless and left unattended. After Your Highness recognized its value, you made a bold investment.”

“……”

“As a result, it has become a great tourist destination, providing many benefits to Your Highness.”

He never opened his mouth and listened to me until the end while I continued to speak.

“Everyone thinks that Your Highness just got lucky ‘by chance’. It’s a land that’s slowly revealing its value, and your accidental and timely investment, I don’t think it’s just a coincidence.”

“It must have been a skill, not coincidence,” he added, and wet his lips with tea.

He didn’t laugh this time.

Instead, he treated me with a completely serious face.

“……Isn’t this beyond my imagination? Really… awesome.”

He muttered as he put down his teacup.

“Of course, before I came here, I already learned about the Young Lady in advance. Social rumors, and even your hobbies too.”

He leaned his upper body against me.

I felt a tingling sensation in my heart for a moment in front of Ed, who was staring at me closely.

The sight of his lips moving smoothly came into my view very clearly.

“But I didn’t find anything special.”

“……Because I hardly did anything outside.”

“Yeah. So I never thought you would have this kind of insight. Thanks to it, I want to know the Young Lady a little more deeply.”

He said he wanted to know me ‘deeply’.

Only then I could finally be sure.

He is well aware of the fact that he is attractive.

And he seem to know what to say to make his opponent fall.

‘He must’ve swayed Lena like this.’

After swaying Lena’s heart like this, he wielded it to his heart’s content and yet, he did not bother to give her an ounce of affection.

I’m thinking that he was quite a cruel man.

‘I can’t lose here either.’

I was alert not to get caught in his handsomeness, and grabbed his hands instead, to catch him off guard.

“……!”

He was surprised.

There must have been no one who held a prince’s hand this boldly so far.

“You want to know me?”

“……Young Lady?”

“Then accept the marriage and take me. I’ll gladly show you the depth of me.”

Ed’s pupils shook slightly at my bold suggestion.

If the original Lena, who cherished Ed so much that she couldn’t even hold onto the hem of his robe, sees this… she will probably faint.

I didn’t intent to cherish him like the original Lena did, so I didn’t let go of his hand.

“And if you marry me, I will do my best to help Your Highness with whatever your goal is.”

“What can the Young Lady gain from helping me like that? Like the benefits the Young Lady will have.”

“Your Highness benefits will also be mine. My gains will soon be Your Highness’ gains. Isn’t that what marriage is all about? It’s about being in the same boat as an equal partner.”

I put a smile on my face so he wouldn’t be suspicious of me.

Because this smile, which I had trained in the service industry in my previous life, was my greatest weapon.

“Well, if you’re really thinking about what can I get from you… I like shiny things that can be used as a cash when I’m in a hurry.”

At my last words, he gave me a blank expression for a moment, before he chuckled and burst out laughing.

“Ah, I know what you mean. You like shiny things. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’m grateful, Your Highness, then… Are you going to be on the same boat with me?”

It was about the moment I can hear the confirmation of marriage from him.

Unfortunately, the Duke suddenly opened the door and entered.

“Sorry, I’m a little late.”

“No, it doesn’t matter, since Lena is someone pleasant to talk to.”

“……?”

When the prince called me ‘Lena’ without any anger in his tone, the Duke’s steps suddenly stopped and he remained standstill.

He seemed really surprised, but Ed did not stop there and informed the Duke.

“And as a result of our conversation, we agreed with each other.”

“What you’re trying to say is……”

“That’s right. I will marry Lena, regarding of what my father’s will is.”

I could see the Duke’s pupils shaking relentlessly from where I was sitting.

It surely was not the kind of eyes to welcome his new son-in-law.

‘No, even if you don’t like it, atleast pretend to welcome him.’

As I was about to say something, the Duke opened his mouth again.

“……But there’s a condition His Majesty has made. His Majesty said that the marriage will only be allowed if we cleanse the Westil mine.”

“Ah, the soulstone mine?”

Adrian seemed to think for a moment, then responded with a cool attitude.

“I’ll take care of that, so I hope the Duke will now take care of the wedding preparations.”

“……”

I nodded happily while looking at them.

‘As expected, what I thought was right. Ed will solve everything about the mine. Because Ed…’

My thoughts didn’t let me go any further.

It was because of the fingertips that looks fine and delicate, yet manly and firm too, which suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.

“Lena, I want to rest now. Can you guide me to my room?”

“Ah? Yes, I will guide you.”

So we left the distraught Duke and went out of the parlor together.

***

Adrian was guided to a VIP room by Lena.

It was a room prepared without lacking anything. Even the roses in the vase were fresh as if they were picked today.

He thought while stroking its petals.

‘The Duke…… Although he’s the one who sent me a letter suggesting marriage, he didn’t seem too happy with this either.’

At first, he thought the Duke had something on his sleeves. That’s because he knew how cruel the Emperor is towards the Duke.

Perhaps, he thought that they might be able to join forces and overthrow the country.

So, even after receiving the Duke’s arrogant letter, he still came all the way for him, yet his expectations ended up completely wrong.

‘Did she really insist everything?’

Lena’s voice, when she revealed she’s the one who insist it, was vivid in his ear.

“It was me, not my father, who chose His Highness as my marriage partner.”

Said by the small and fragile woman.

She said she chose Adrian herself as her lifelong partner to protect her.

The moment he heard those words, he felt an unfamiliar sensation.

‘Now that you have chosen me, I can’t disappoint you. It seems helpful to me too.’

He continued to gently caress the blue rose while recalling Lena’s dress.

It was surprising that she recognized his abilities, and he felt a little grateful.

But…

‘Of course, if she interferes with my plan, then I’ll only have to throw her away.’

The darkness that had gnawed in his heart for a long time was not something that could easily disappear.

So, just because Lena, whom he saw for the first time today, suddenly chose him, did not change anything.

“Your Highness? I’m here, may I come in?”

“Yeah, I was waiting for you.”

As promised earlier, Lena came to visit him just in time. With his permission, she entered the room with a thin nightclothes.

The color was white and the fabric was too thin, revealing the curves of her body.

Ed glanced at her appearance with disapproval.

‘I can’t believe she entered a man’s room dressed like that. Did she not know of vigilance?’

Regardless of his mother being a demon or whatever, he was still a part of the imperial family who had completed the conservative imperial education.

His fingertips were itching as he wanted to hide Lena’s exposed skin.

However, judging from their conversation earlier, Lena’s wasn’t just an innocent child, and if he behaved like that, he would be treated like a close-minded man.

He was trying to hold it in.

Then Lena suddenly held something out in front of his eyes.

“I brought the marriage contract you mentioned. Please check if it’s okay.”

He immediately read it once he received the contract.

To be honest, he didn’t expect that she, who had just become an adult, would have written the contract properly.

However, it was more systematic and meticulous that he imagined.

‘It surprises me in many ways.’

He was amazed by the new sides of Lena that he kept discovering, and looked through the contract once again.

Somehow, for some reasons, he felt something strange because of the clause ‘marriage contract’.