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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Your Husband is My Lover
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"Sold for 360 million Les!"
Bang, bang, bang. While Roje stood frozen, staring at Grand Duke Arteum, Luna's Tear was sold to some unknown noble. For a staggering 360 million Les.
"Why aren't you answering? Surely you weren't planning to run away without taking any responsibility?"
Grand Duke Arteum glared fiercely at Roje, like a beast baring its fangs. Roje felt a chill at the Grand Duke's gaze, as if he might devour her any moment. Her palms grew slick with sweat under the Grand Duke's intense pressure. Stiff and rigid, Roje stared at the Grand Duke with trembling eyes. If she couldn't say anything here...
'I might die.'
He wasn't called 'the Mad Killer of the North' for nothing. It was clear he harmed people on a whim. She had to answer, but for some reason, her lips wouldn't part. It must have been fear. The terror of what the Grand Duke might do to her was suffocating Roje. Then, Roje's voice, thin and trembling, finally emerged.
"I, I can stake my body on it."
"Your body?"
Roje, who had answered with her eyes squeezed shut, realized in an instant that something was wrong. In her nervousness, she had said 'body' instead of 'neck' (life). The Grand Duke questioned her again, as if to confirm her slip.
"Ah..."
At the same time, Roje's face flushed a furious red, as if it would explode.
'I must be crazy!'
Her words had slipped out due to nerves. Like an idiot.
"Oh, no, that's not what I meant."
Roje tried to correct herself belatedly, but Grand Duke Arteum seemed to have no intention of listening to her.
"I'm not interested in women who are already taken."
His lips twitched involuntarily at Roje's flustered appearance. But Roje had her head bowed deeply in embarrassment, so she didn't see the Grand Duke's expression.
'I need to explain myself. Otherwise, he might misunderstand me as a strange woman.'
Roje was certain the Grand Duke had misunderstood her intention. Then, she hastily reached out to him.
"Grand Duke Arteum, wait."
However, Grand Duke Arteum rose from his seat before Roje's hand could even reach him. Roje watched the Grand Duke turn his back and leave without clearing up the misunderstanding, and she silently despaired. It wasn't easy to stop a man who had already turned his back and stood up. Especially if that man was Grand Duke Arteum. In the end, Roje had to let Grand Duke Arteum leave without explaining herself. Unaware that Grand Duke Arteum hadn't taken her slip of the tongue to heart at all, Roje tore at her hair and despaired. Grand Duke Arteum left the auction house without any lingering thoughts and headed for his carriage.
'It's quite unsettling to buy something after being told it's a fake.'
He had come here to bid on Luna's Tear, but since the auction for it was over, he had no further business here.
'No, perhaps I should have just ignored it and bought it anyway.'
In truth, Roje's words weren't entirely trustworthy. To him, Roje had the image of a 'foolish woman'. A woman who, blinded by love, couldn't tell right from wrong and drove nails into her parents' hearts. It was even said she never contacted her parents first. Grand Duke Arteum, having completely exited the auction house, shook his head and got into his carriage. The auction was already over. Thinking about it now wouldn't change anything. Grand Duke Arteum recalled the noble who had won Luna's Tear and murmured softly.
"I can just buy it from him for a premium."
The Grand Duke spoke casually, then gazed out the window. The cold night air seeped into the rapidly moving carriage.
"She's the spitting image of Countess Serviat."
Grand Duke Arteum recalled Roje, who had looked at him with wide eyes, and murmured. He had thought the same thing sixteen years ago, when he first saw Roje. Roje, astonishingly similar to Countess Serviat. She resembled her mother so much that Count Serviat's genes were nowhere to be found. Though he had last seen her sixteen years ago, he recognized her at a glance. Roje, however, didn't seem to recognize him.
"Well, it's understandable that the child wouldn't remember me."
The Grand Duke recalled the day he visited the estate at the invitation of Roje's father, Count Serviat. When he first met Roje, she peeked out from behind the Countess and said this:
"That's not the Prince..."
"Oh, Roje. You've been singing 'Prince, Prince' for a week. Come out and say hello."
"No... That's not the Prince... The Prince Roje knows... doesn't look like that. Waaah!"
Roje whimpered as she looked at the Grand Duke's face, then finally burst into tears. She said the Prince she imagined didn't look so scary.
A smile involuntarily bloomed on Grand Duke Arteum's face as he recalled Roje, her cheeks puffed out, sobbing uncontrollably. Happy childhood memories flooded over him like a tide as he recalled his encounter with Roje. But that lasted only a moment; the Grand Duke's face turned chillingly grim, devoid of any trace of a smile. Only furious eyes, their thoughts unreadable, glinted menacingly.
***
"Sereun."
"Yes, My Lady."
"I... I think I might have made a mistake with the Grand Duke, didn't I?"
In the end, Roje bought nothing. She spoke blankly to Sereun, looking as if she had lost her mind. At a time like this, it would have been nice if he'd even lied and said 'No, My Lady,' but Sereun was still a new knight, lacking in social graces.
"Yes... Don't worry, My Lady. I will protect you no matter what happens."
Did Sereun know? That his words, meant as comfort, sounded even more ominous to Roje. Roje's face crumpled even more than before, and she let out a deep sigh.
"I hope there won't be anything for you to protect me from."
Sereun, perhaps not hearing Roje's murmur, tilted his head and asked her.
"But why did you say it was a fake? The auctioneer is a highly trusted person who does business with nobles. He's been operating the auction house for years without any problems."
"Because it wasn't the auctioneer who intentionally sold a fake; someone swapped it with a counterfeit."
"What?! Really? How do you know that?"
At Sereun's voice, Roje instantly clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing her slip. She hadn't meant to say anything, but in her dazed state, she'd blurted out something unnecessary. She didn't know when, where, or who had swapped it with a counterfeit. Because she hadn't read the book in detail.
'If only I had known this much, I could have spoken with confidence.'
Roje, judging that there was no good in speaking when she knew nothing, offered an awkward smile to cover her tracks.
"In a dream."
"..."
Sereun, who had been looking at Roje with sparkling eyes, awkwardly averted his gaze at Roje's mention of 'a dream'.
"By the way, My Lady. You weren't able to buy the Count a present. Is that truly alright?"
Sereun changed the subject and forced a smile. It seemed he didn't quite believe Roje's words. Roje shrugged at Sereun's words and spoke indifferently.
"Do I really have to give him a present?"
"What?!"
Sereun's eyes widened so much they looked like they might pop out at Roje's words.
'Every year on the Count's birthday, she'd make such a fuss that people would shake their heads.'
In fact, rumors even circulated that Roje wasn't foolish, but had married with the intention of ruining the family by draining the Count's finances. But to hear such words come from that woman's mouth... Sereun couldn't hide his surprise, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"The Count doesn't celebrate my birthday either."
Roje spoke calmly, seemingly unconcerned with Sereun's reaction. Count Wens was someone who not only didn't celebrate Roje's birthday but couldn't even remember it. Every year on her birthday, Roje would wait for Count Wens with great anticipation, but the Count would never visit her; instead, he would spend the night with other women and only return the next day.
"W-well, that's true."
Sereun nodded, agreeing with Roje's words.
"So, starting this year, I'm not going to celebrate his birthday either."
Roje displayed a bright smile, like an innocent child, and got into the carriage. Sereun watched Roje's retreating figure as she strolled away, and murmured softly.
"Has Lady Roje... changed?"
Roje, who used to pursue anything related to the Count with fiery determination, had somehow become lax.
"Is she trying to catch the Count's attention by pretending not to care...?"
But Sereun wondered if this, too, was Roje's strategy. He believed Roje wouldn't turn her back on the Count so suddenly.
"Poor Lady Roje, so beautiful and young..."
Sereun's chest ached with a pang.
"If Lady Roje's heart grows cold like this, the Count will surely regret it later."
Sereun shook his head and mounted his horse. The carriage sped vigorously towards the Count's estate. Even inside the moving carriage, Roje felt uneasy as Grand Duke Arteum's glaring eyes kept replaying in her mind.
"Don't worry. He's someone I won't have to face again anyway."
Since Luna's Tear was definitely a fake, he wouldn't express his anger towards her. Even knowing that, Roje's heart kept pounding.
"And he's someone who will die soon anyway..."
Roje's voice trailed off. It felt somewhat unsettling to think he would die, even though she had only met him once. But she soon shook her head and murmured.
"Don't mind it."
She thought it was better to worry about how she would survive in this world going forward, rather than dwelling on someone who would soon die.
***
Returning to the Count's estate, Roje put her encounter with the Grand Duke out of her mind and spent her days uneventfully. Every day, she studied and learned about this world. Rumors spread that Eric and Doana were sharing a bedroom every night, as if they were perfectly in sync. Everyone seemed to hush up in front of Roje, but there was no way the rumors wouldn't reach her ears. Doana, brazenly, often came to visit Roje. She was supposed to be Eric's maid, but in reality, Doana did no work. She merely wore the uniform and stayed by Eric's side.
"What are you always looking at like that?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just bored doing nothing."
Doana's voice sounded, though Roje hadn't heard her enter. Roje saw Doana, who had entered her room without even knocking, and quietly tidied her documents. At Roje's words about being 'bored,' Doana let out a snicker and smiled.
'Well, there's no one here to keep you company. It makes sense you'd be bored.'
Doana tucked her long hair behind her ear, subtly sneering at Roje. That lasted only a moment before Doana approached Roje with a bright smile and spoke.
"Aren't you glad I'm here? You don't have anyone else to talk to, do you? It would be nice if the Count were just a little kinder to you."
Roje found Doana, who was trying to provoke her with insincere words, pretending to be concerned, utterly ridiculous. Doana, as if to show off the earrings she had received as a gift, tossed her hair from side to side and fiddled with them.
'Eric must have given them to her.'
It was obvious without even looking. A maid's salary wouldn't be enough to buy such expensive sapphire earrings. Roje let out a small smile at Doana's efforts to show off in front of her, then pretended not to know and asked her.
"What about your earrings?"
"Aren't they pretty? I got them as a gift."
Doana brazenly boasted about the earrings she had received from Roje's husband, radiating a sense of superiority.
"I got a boyfriend."
Doana couldn't hide the twitching of her lips. She wanted to tell Roje the truth right then and there: that Roje's husband was her lover.
