Chapter 23
Chapter 23
"I need to hurry the engagement ceremony."
Aslan, who was sitting at his desk and working, suddenly muttered. His aide, Dylan, who was standing by his side, asked back.
"Pardon?"
Dylan had been a long-time retainer, having been with Aslan since he was only fourteen years old when he was exiled to the harsh northern territory of Blackford.
Considering the time he had known Aslan, their relationship was even longer, and he was confident that there was nothing he didn't know about his lord.
Even his other side.
"I was going to wait until Vivian's condition improved, but I can't stand it anymore. I'm so anxious I'm going crazy."
Aslan broke the pen and threw it away. Ink splattered all over the documents he was looking at.
"If Your Highness wishes, I have no intention of opposing, but originally, you didn't dislike the Lady… no, Madam, did you? To the point of publicly humiliating her."
"I regret it."
"Rumors are rife in the capital. That the reason Your Highness is so protective of Madam is because of the inheritance you will receive after she dies."
Aslan's face twisted even more fiercely. His mood plummeted when the part he was already concerned about was pointed out so accurately.
He knew that Vivian didn't trust him. It was only natural.
He had always been cold to her. He had declared in front of people that there was no way a woman like her would ever become the Grand Duchess.
Thinking about it now, it was insane. It felt like a miracle that Vivian had stayed by his side until now…
'Yes, it's a miracle. Perhaps it's the last chance she's giving me.'
He was planning to slowly caress Vivian's heart over time. It was actually going well, and she was starting to accept him little by little.
When she hugged him first in the carriage, his whole body trembled with excitement.
How much patience had he exercised to get to this point?
There could be no interference in any way.
"You're being careful not to let Vivian hear about it, right?"
"Of course. We are always careful not only about controlling the servants' mouths but also when bringing people in from outside."
"Caution is not enough. You'll have to be more thorough."
Aslan picked up another document placed next to his desk. It was a report that the family doctors submitted every week about Vivian's condition.
"Indeed, it would be better to hurry the engagement ceremony."
Aslan's expression was not good as he looked at the document.
It stated that although they were alleviating the symptoms, they were still skeptical about the recovery from Consumption. There was also an addendum that it was difficult to guarantee how long Vivian would last.
Aslan's eyes darkened, and Dylan cautiously interjected.
He could only guess one reason why Aslan was suddenly hurrying the engagement.
"Your Highness, are you perhaps considering the Imprint?"
"……."
"You must be careful. For Your Highness's sake, and for Madam's sake as well."
"But I don't see any other way to save Vivian besides this."
The Imprint was a kind of contract that a Demon Hand made with its partner.
If they shared each other's blood and had physical relations according to a certain ritual, an inverted Pentagram, the symbol of the devil, would appear on both of their hearts, and the Imprint would be established.
"Once the Imprint is established, Vivian's lifespan will follow mine. Vivian cannot die until I die."
"Instead, Madam will also die when Your Highness passes away, right? Without any time to do anything about it."
Aslan had many enemies.
There was the Empress and the Crown Prince, who had passed the curse on to him, the nobles who had driven him to the harsh northern territory when he was still young, and the Emperor, who was wary of Aslan's followers.
This was the reason why Aslan had not easily mentioned the Imprint until now.
If he were to die unexpectedly, Vivian would also die with him.
"But I can't let Vivian go without doing anything like this."
"That's not the only problem, is it?"
Dylan had no particular ill feelings towards Vivian.
Rather, he hoped that she would stay by his lord's side for as long as possible, as she was gently taming Aslan's violent and reckless nature.
Of course, even so, the most important person to Dylan was undoubtedly Aslan.
"If Madam betrays Your Highness, Your Highness will never be able to return to being human."
"I don't care."
"Didn't you hate the time when the curse was activated and you were trapped at the bottom of your consciousness? What kind of heart do you think I had when I watched Your Highness's screams…!"
"I said I don't care!"
Because of Aslan's Demonic energy, the documents he was holding burned black and disappeared.
It was proof that he was genuinely angry. Dylan drooped and lowered his gaze.
"Above all, if you make an Imprint, evidence of the contract will remain on Madam's body. How will you explain that? Can you tell Madam everything?"
That you are not actually a complete human being. That you are a sacrifice who has been burdened with a curse passed down through the imperial family for generations.
Dylan swallowed the rest of his words, but Aslan knew what he meant.
If they made an Imprint, a dark red mark of the contract would be engraved on Vivian's chest. It was a symbol of the devil that anyone could see.
"Yes, I was foolish."
Aslan silently rubbed his face. His Demonic energy gradually subsided.
"I can't tell Vivian anything…"
The blatant disgust he had suffered every time his identity was revealed.
The gaze as if looking at a monster. The eyes that were disgusted even to be in the same space.
After returning from Blackford, he no longer had to endure such humiliation, but only Vivian.
If Vivian looked at him with those eyes.
"Still, I will proceed with the engagement ceremony. Even if it's not because of the Imprint, I want to make our relationship more certain."
"Then I will tell the Chamberlain to prepare the procedures. We should also formally send people to Eleonora."
Dylan, who noticed that his lord's will had been broken, gathered the processed documents and bowed, saying that he would get up first.
As he opened the door and went out, he suddenly added as if he had just remembered.
"Your Highness, have you proposed to Madam?"
"Of course. You know that, don't you?"
Aslan clicked his tongue as if he was talking nonsense.
He had put in a lot of effort to seduce Vivian until now.
He had resolutely settled with the Emperor, who demanded the annulment of the engagement, and thoroughly crushed and ousted the rivals who were aiming for Vivian.
He had also tried to win the favor of her brother, Alex, and had repeatedly presented Vivian with Marriage Certificates and engagement gifts with sincerity.
"Your Highness."
But Dylan's expression after hearing the answer was somehow complex and subtle. He rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache.
"That's not it."
Dylan finally made the statement that all the servants in the mansion wanted to make.
＊ ＊ ＊
Vivian, who sleeps in late, starts her day a little later than others.
At the earliest, 10 a.m., and at the latest, around 11 a.m.
When she gets up late, she first takes a bath to warm up her body. She doesn't stay in for long, about 30 minutes.
Then, when she comes out and dries her hair, Aslan comes in and brushes and massages it for her.
It's been about a week since this started, and unlike her initial expectation that it would only last three days, it was lasting quite a while.
It was when Vivian was leisurely lounging in a rose petal-filled bathtub.
"Madam, your face is flushed. Are you dizzy?"
"Now that you mention it, it does feel like it. Shall we get up now?"
"Yes, then I will tell Master that Madam is coming out."
The servants treated Vivian even more respectfully than their own master.
They had never seen Aslan so kind to anyone. Thanks to this, the atmosphere of the mansion, which had been like walking on a knife's edge, became much softer and more comfortable.
It was the biggest change that had occurred since Vivian came.
One of the maids hurried out of the bathroom, saying that she would call her master.
"Come this way, Madam. Be careful not to slip."
"Okay."
"Would you like to go to the mirror?"
Vivian entrusted her body to the large bath towels held out by the maids.
I shouldn't get too used to this comfortable life. Vivian muttered quietly and looked in the mirror.
And tilted her head.
'What is this?'
There was something sparkling on her left chest, where her heart was.
She wondered if it was undried water, but the maids were carefully wiping away every last drop of moisture left on her body.
Vivian rubbed it with her fingertips.
"……?"
Instead of disappearing, it shone even brighter and then faded. It didn't fade completely, but only returned to its original state.
"Emma, can you see this?"
"What are you talking about?"
Vivian asked Emma, the experienced middle-aged head maid. But she only fiddled with her monocle and did not give a satisfactory answer.
'She's finally getting presbyopia.'
Vivian thought that she should give Emma eye vitamins as a gift and asked the other maids. But they also shook their heads in unison.
'Do they all have presbyopia?'
Vivian thought that she should order more eye vitamins and dismissed the maids.
Left alone, she looked in the mirror and pondered.
"It looks like a Pentagram."
It was very transparent silver, so it wasn't very noticeable. But if you looked closely, you could definitely see the shape faintly.
