“If you were hiding your status as a noble to work at the Duke’s Estate, you must have wanted something, right?”
“T-that, how did you… *hiccup.*”
Gerald leaned back loosely in his chair, his red lips parting.
“If you believed you could deceive the Vines Ducal Family that easily, should I call you naive?”
“I apologize. I was wrong. I needed the money…”
She readily admitted her fault.
“The reason you infiltrated the ducal estate is because of money?”
Gerald leaned further toward her to study her reaction.
“…It wasn’t an infiltration; it was employment.”
She muttered in a timid voice.
“And you stayed by my side because of money, too?”
“…I wasn’t ‘staying by your side.’ I was assisting you.”
She replied, her voice taut with indignation—a brave performance for someone trembling so violently.
“And the whispering in my ear? Was that also for money?”
“…I whispered because, Your Grace, you dislike loud noises.”
Even as he openly teased her, she didn’t catch on at all.
Gerald found himself smiling before he even realized it.
“So, all of this is because of money?”
“Yes.”
“Then how much will it take?”
“…What do you mean?”
“I said it earlier. Let’s get engaged. What price will it take for you to accept a contractual engagement?”
“Whaaat?”
“Keep it short.”
She lowered her voice and asked again, breathless.
“I am dim-witted, so I do not understand what Your Grace is implying.”
“Didn’t you say you liked living at the Duke’s Estate? Congratulations. You’ll be able to continue staying in the place you love.”
“Actually, now that I think about it, I don’t think it’s all that great…”
“Is that so? Hmm, I wonder where you’ll go if I expose you for deceiving the ducal family…”
“But! The best place is the Duke’s Estate, Your Grace! Did I ever tell you before? That I wanted to bury my bones in this beautiful, lovable ducal family?”
“No, I didn’t hear that.”
Gerald chuckled, no longer hiding his smile.
“Oh, my. I thought I had already said it. I intended to serve Your Grace with all my heart until I bury my bones in this place—”
Gerald cut off her earnest, passionate speech, though she seemed as sincere as possible.
“I don’t need your bones; I want a fiancée.”
“By any chance—in the off chance—do I have the right to refuse?”
She asked, her voice trembling.
“Do you think you do?”
When the answer returned just as it had when she asked if she could change her wish, Marin mumbled with a dejected look.
“…No.”
To be forgiven for her deception in exchange for a contractual engagement.
A contractual engagement.
It was an unfamiliar term, yet it mirrored the contract marriages and engagements she had read about countless times in the novels of her past life.
Is this even possible? There was no such content in the book.
Marin bit back the urge to tear at her hair and raised her hand slightly.
“Um, I have a question.”
“Ask.”
“When did you find out I was a noble? Why did you keep watching me all this time?”
“From the beginning. Are you asking why someone who deceived me was allowed to continue doing so until now?”
As he sneered, Marin shut her mouth quietly, her expression flushed with embarrassment.
An awkward silence settled between the two.
Marin raised her hand quietly once again.
“May I ask… why you are choosing to enter into this contractual—no, employment engagement with me? If Your Grace were to propose, all the noble ladies in the Western Region would accept.”
“I need a temporary fiancée. And as luck would have it, there is a noble lady working temporarily right by my side. A lady who even has the crime of daring to deceive the Duke.”
Wow, I don’t know who that is, but she’s the perfect fit.
That’s me.
Marin wept inwardly at the sin she had committed against the Duke.
“My nieces and nephews will be arriving soon.”
“Yes.”
Duke Vines will become the guardian of those children.
“I need someone to teach them. I also need a chaperone for the eldest’s debutante.”
Suddenly, a new job appeared before her.
“By any chance, did you mistake a governess for a fiancée? I think that can happen sometimes.”
I personally think that could absolutely never happen.
However, when a superior’s superior is spouting nonsense, one needs to play along.
“Temporary. Do I look like someone who would spout such nonsense that I’d confuse the two?”
*Gasp!* Mind reading? It’s definitely mind reading!
Marin glanced at the Duke and gently placed both hands over her chest, an effort to shield her thoughts at all costs.
“I have many enemies.”
“Yes…”
Caught off guard by the sudden confession, Marin spoke awkwardly.
“That is why I intend to throw a grand party to celebrate our engagement.”
“Whaaat?”
It was already a huge mental burden to accept the engagement, but a grand party?
Why would he talk about enemies and then immediately talk about a party?
Is this Duke actually insane?
He hasn’t even lost his sister for long. And yet, he’s throwing a grand party for an engagement?
In high society, the Duke will be rumored to have ignored the late Count and Countess and to have gone mad for a woman.
Marin stared at the Duke with an incredulous look, then felt a chill run down her spine at a sudden realization.
What if the deaths of the Count and Countess were the work of his enemies?
Since the novel only briefly mentioned it as an accident, she had naturally assumed it was just that.
But if they were murdered on purpose, who could it be? The Emperor’s faction? The noble faction?
Marin examined the Duke’s complexion with a pitiful gaze.
“You seem to like grand parties.”
No, why can’t he read my mind at a time like this?
“I do not!”
Marin shook her head vigorously.
“Your reaction is quite intense.”
A smile formed on the Duke’s lips and vanished just as quickly.
“It is a standard reaction to being surprised.”
Marin pouted, offering an excuse.
“Temporary, why do you think I want a grand party?”
He threw the question at her as if testing her.
The children are coming soon. The Duke has many enemies. He’s throwing a party.
Marin cautiously confided her thoughts.
“To protect the children.”
The Duke listened in silence, inviting her to continue.
“Is it not to prevent the Duke’s enemies from targeting the children, by diverting their eyes solely toward the Duke?”
He nodded as if satisfied.
“As expected, you have the makings of an excellent spy.”
“I am truly not a spy.”
Marin whispered with an aggrieved face. Every time she heard the word ‘spy,’ her heart sank.
“If you were a real spy, you wouldn’t be in this position.”
Her nape turned cold at his indifferent tone. Marin rubbed her neck gingerly.
“But I am worried about one thing. The children who just lost their parents will see a grand party the moment they arrive, and I fear they might misunderstand Your Grace.”
“Then I can deceive my enemies all the better.”
Marin parted her pink lips slightly, then closed them again, watching the Duke in silence.
This man was only thinking of ways to protect his nieces and nephews, even more than he cared about being misunderstood by them.
It felt as if she had caught a glimpse of the Duke’s heart—a heart that cared for his family more than anyone else, hidden beneath his cold exterior.
“This contractual engagement is known only to you and me.”
“Yes.”
“The duration will be until the eldest, Dia, finishes her debutante. Your pay will be 10 gold a day.”
“Whaaat?”
She swallowed the words, ‘That much?’
In any case, she didn’t have the right to refuse.
If she could be forgiven for deceiving the Duke and earn a lot of money, it was a gain.
Marin decided to think as positively as possible.
“Temporary.”
His voice felt deep.
“Yes.”
“From now on, never leave my side.”
“Yes?”
Marin looked at the Duke’s serious face with a bewildered gaze.
“I would like to say ‘stay before my eyes,’ but since I cannot see…”
A bitter smile bloomed and faded on his lips.
“…”
She chose silence, not knowing what words of comfort to offer.
“I will protect you. I promise.”
The Duke’s heavy promise fell.
He said he was throwing a grand party to make the enemies believe that his nieces and nephews were not significant to him.
That meant, conversely, that she might become the target of his enemies.
The Duke was the strongest person in the Empire, but he was currently blind. Perhaps he had judged that it would be better to protect one fake fiancée than to risk the children.
“Yes!”
Marin replied courageously.
Vines protects. She trusted him.