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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Too Much Money to Refuse
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“What?”
Stunned, Lumina slowly blinked.
Marry Karayan?
The ceremony he mentioned couldn’t be just any old ceremony. It was undoubtedly the kind one had for a wedding.
While Lumina was flustered, Lucius seemed to have already thought far ahead.
“I heard you met Princess Arabelle. And that the princess has taken an interest in you.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“The princess will try to dig into your background. The more you meet with Karayan, the more she'll be watching you like a hawk.”
Having experienced Arabelle's obsession firsthand, Lumina couldn't help but nod.
“She might even find out that you're a unique Legion. But you said you didn't want the imperial family to know you're a Legion.”
“Yes.”
“In that case, the position of the Young Duchess will be far more convenient than that of a ward.”
*‘No. If that happens, the princess will try to kill me…’*
Unable to hide her chaotic thoughts and anxious gaze, Lumina stared at Lucius.
“The marriage is merely a facade to hide your identity and ensure our contract proceeds smoothly.”
“…”
“When you come of age, I will arrange for a divorce. You'll need the family's power until then.”
Lucius said these incredible things so casually.
Perhaps it was because of his dark sunglasses. He didn't seem to notice her wavering eyes at all.
“I believe a minor can register a marriage with a guardian's consent. But what about the Young Master?”
She had no choice but to bring up the other party who wasn't present.
“Marriage is an important matter for the Young Master, too. And he wasn't fond of me.”
Lumina continued, recalling Karayan’s numerous potato comments.
“If the Young Master doesn't want to, it's all for nothing.”
It was a difficult topic to answer directly, so she brought up Karayan, his known sore spot.
“He'll gladly accept, as he wants to avoid Princess Arabelle's courtship. He might even be happy that no more marriage proposals will come his way.”
Lumina realized Lucius's true intentions.
He spoke as if he were protecting her from Arabelle, but his real plan was to use Lumina as a shield.
*‘This is a strictly give-and-take relationship, through and through.’*
But his words did make sense.
Lumina was only a ward of House Heart. She had no official connection to Karayan.
Even if it was for a short time, meeting with Karayan frequently would surely draw suspicious gazes.
*‘But…’*
The position of the Young Duchess of House Heart?
It was too greedy.
A red alert blared in her mind, warning her that she should be satisfied with her position as a ward and not get any more involved.
“If you become the Young Duchess, your relatives will scatter.”
Once Lumina became the Young Duchess and Endymion left for the academy, her relatives would have no excuse to stay in the mansion under the pretext of caring for the children.
It was a rather tempting advantage.
But still, it was too greedy.
Just as Lumina was trying to steady her wavering heart,
He delivered the final blow.
“And when you divorce, I'll give you this much in alimony.”
He scribbled something on a piece of parchment and held it out for only Lumina to see.
*‘One, ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand…’*
*Cha-ching, cha-ching!*
At the endless parade of zeros, Lumina's eyes glazed over.
*‘Oh, no!’*
Sensing the danger to herself, Lumina squeezed her eyes shut.
But the number he had presented kept shimmering in her mind.
*‘Don't fall for the money! Lumina, were you always this easy?!’*
Slightly.
She opened her eyes.
The enormous number was still there before her, written as large as life.
She felt not only her eyes but her brain go limp. Lumina's dormant instincts had awakened.
*‘He's saying he'll give me that money just for treating Karayan as we agreed. It's like money falling from the sky!’*
A fortune, falling from the sky.
What a romantic sentence.
*‘No! This is no time to get lost in romantic notions!’*
Reason screamed at her once more. Marriage was definitely not something to be entered into lightly.
The chance to marry as a minor came only once, and divorce was only possible after becoming an adult.
Furthermore, even after a divorce, remarriage was not possible until one was past the prime age for marriage.
It was a law created to prevent abuse by the many nobles who used marriage as a political tool.
So, if she married this year, she couldn't even dream of marrying another man for at least ten years.
*‘And if I become the Young Duke's wife, I'll receive even more attention than I do as a ward.’*
As Lumina weighed the pros and cons, she suddenly realized something and broke into a cold sweat.
She should have been thinking only of refusing, but she had unconsciously started thinking on the premise that she would accept.
The moment she saw the number he presented, the inner voice that had been crying ‘Greed!’ had suddenly fallen silent.
“Is the amount not to your liking?”
As Lumina remained silent for a long moment, Lucius pulled the parchment away.
It was just a number. Yet Lumina felt as if money she already possessed had been snatched away.
*Gulp.*
She swallowed dryly.
She shouldn't have any lingering attachments, but they kept sprouting.
While Lumina fought with her inner self again and again, Lucius drew a line through the number on the parchment.
*Screech—.*
For some reason, Lumina felt her heart being torn to shreds.
As she fought the urge to clutch her chest, he wrote a new number.
“How about this?”
Lucius held out the parchment again.
Below the previous number, which was crossed out with a line, a new number was written.
There were more zeros.
The moment she saw it, Lumina's mouth moved of its own accord.
“I…”
Her voice trembled.
“I'll do it.”
It was too much money to refuse.
***
*Dong, dong—.*
A heavy bell tolled.
It was a clear day without a single cloud in the sky. Flower petals scattered on the gentle breeze.
Her face covered by a veil, Lumina walked along the white aisle in her wedding dress.
Walking slowly, Lumina lifted her head.
There stood the man who would be her husband...
“Aaaah!”
*Snap—.*
Lumina screamed as her eyes flew open.
That's right. It had all been a bizarre dream.
A bright, cloudless day?
A pure white wedding dress?
A groom waiting at the end of a white aisle?
None of it was real.
“My lady!”
The only thing before her was Olivia, who had rushed in after hearing her scream.
“Olivia…”
“Was there an intruder? What happened?”
Every time Olivia moved closer, Lumina couldn't help but flinch.
“There's no intruder. Can you put that down first?”
“Huh? Oh.”
Coming to her senses, Olivia lowered the menacing sword in her right hand.
One wrong move, and Lumina might have fallen into a dream she could never wake from—death.
“I just had a nightmare.”
“What kind of nightmare made you scream like that? You're so pale. You're sweating, too.”
Olivia wiped the cold sweat from her brow.
Lumina mulled over the nightmare, breathing heavily.
Lumina was only twelve years old.
And yet, she'd just dreamed of getting married, something she'd never even done in her past life.
No. She almost had, in her past life.
The problem was that she didn't even know the man's face. Thinking about it with a clear head, it was a horrifying prospect.
*‘I only agreed back then because I wasn't in my right mind. The me of today would have smashed a tray over my uncle's head.’*
Besides, knowing Joseph's personality, there was no way he would have chosen a proper groom.
It would have been something like the tenth wife of some rich, greedy old man.
“I must have scared you with that loud scream, right? I'm sorry. Don't worry, you can go back.”
“No, my lady. It was almost time for you to wake up, so I was planning on coming anyway.”
Hm?
It was dawn, with a faint blue light seeping through the curtains.
But it's time to wake up?
“We're holding the ceremony, remember?”
Lumina's lips parted slightly.
“I'll go prepare the washbasin, then.”
Thinking Lumina was still half-asleep, Olivia let out a small chuckle and turned away.
Behind Olivia's back, Lumina pinched her own cheek.
“Ow.”
She pinched so hard that tears welled up in her eyes.
*‘It wasn't a dream…?’*
She had to swallow her tears and rub her reddened cheek.
***
Lumina quickly washed her face and changed her clothes.
After her hair was neatly brushed, she followed Olivia.
It was early, so the mansion was quiet.
*‘I remember hearing we'd hold the ceremony early. I was too groggy to recall it right away.’*
Especially after having a dream like that.
“This way, my lady.”
The place Lumina arrived at was the annex.
She had only ever seen the building from a distance; this was her first time going inside.
A scene completely different from her dream unfolded.
There was no bright afternoon, no splendid wedding dress.
Instead, flickering candlelight faintly illuminated the antique interior.
It felt as oppressive as visiting an ancient castle. The darkness was deeper than the light.
Furthermore, a geometric pattern drawn in what looked to be blood adorned the floor.
An eerie atmosphere permeated the air.
*‘…Are they performing some kind of demon-summoning ritual?’*
It was a reasonable suspicion to have.
And before the ritual had even begun, a devil appeared.
No, not a real devil.
It was Lucius, who looked like he would play the part of the devil if he were a character in a fairytale.
