19. Contract

Ellie paced nervously in her room, her mind in turmoil.

"What possessed me yesterday!?" she wondered.

She regretted her actions towards Cassius the previous night.

She had promised herself not to give her heart to anyone until she knew the clarity of her future.

"It was just a kiss! Whether he kissed me or even slept with me for hidden intentions, I shouldn't be angry if I have no feelings for him!"

Because her anger confirmed her feelings.

Ellie sat on the sofa in her room with an empty gaze.

She felt confusion and chaos in her mind. every moment filled with bewildering questions.

"What do I truly feel for him?" she murmured in the silence.

"Was the kiss just causing confusion or is there a deeper feeling?"

Ellie recalled the revelations in the novel.

The information shook her beliefs and triggered her profound fears.

Loving Cassius meant opening herself up to someone who could potentially hurt and ruin her life.

She held her chest just above her heart. Even now, her heart raced just thinking about him.

"No. No. I've never fallen in love in my entire life. How could I possibly fall in love now, when my life and my family are at stake?!"

"If I decide to be with him until the end, I'll be as foolish as Eleanor, who was willing to throw herself into hell for Lucas!"

And Ellie had already confirmed his ambition last night that he was aiming for the highest position in the country.

A ruler.

A sovereign.

An emperor.

And that ambition was extremely dangerous for the survival of Ashford Duchy.

"If that's the case, I have no choice but to sacrifice my heart for the sake of my family and my own life."

With that thought, she resolved herself and planned to go to Grand Duke Cassius' mansion.

***

In the dark and damp underground prison, a heavy stench of blood permeated the air.

Along the dark corridor, a man walked casually as if nothing in the world could restrain him.

The prison guards he passed by, trembled and averted their gazes out of fear.

He entered one of the prison cells, and a guard offered him a wooden chair to sit on.

In front of him was a prisoner whose form no longer resembled a human.

However, for some reason, he was still breathing.

Both of his legs were gone, and the nail beds of his fingers were also gone, leaving black marks as if the nails had been forcibly ripped out.

His eye sockets were empty, devoid of eyeballs.

Not a single part of his body was free from wounds.

The only parts still working properly were his hearing and his tongue.

When the prisoner heard someone's footsteps, he broke out in a cold sweat and shivered in fear.

There was only one reason he was here: to torture him.

"Please! I've told you everything I know! Let me die!"

Cassius sat with a smile on his face, watching an assassin who had been sent to kill him, begging for death.

"You said Empress Dowager sent you."

"Yes, that's true! Please!"

"Do you think I'm unaware of your tactics? You're like someone who throws a stone and hides their hand. Accusing others, hoping I'll attack the one you accused, all for the sake of your master."

"....! You know all along...?"

"Of course. Many want me dead. However, Empress Dowager is not one of them."

The prisoner fell silent.

"Let me guess... Was it the old man on the throne who ordered you?"

Upon hearing that, he looked panicked and attempted to see with his eyes that were no longer there.

"Yes. I suspected as much. He is the number one person who wants me dead." Cassius' laughter reverberated within the prison cell.

"If you've known all along, why did you still torture me? Why didn't you just kill me?!"

"Let me think... Hmm, perhaps because you tried to protect him until the end? Your death would be quicker and less painful if you had been honest from the beginning," Cassius said with a grin.

He continued, "There have been many like you, whom that old man sent to die at my hands... Why did they all choose a painful death just to protect him?" Cassius grumbled, looking irritated.

"You're a sick man! A madman! Damned you, Caspian!" The prisoner shouted and grew increasingly frantic.

"Since your tongue is useless now, I suppose my hounds can have it, right?"

Cassius raised his hand, and a guard released a pack of hounds that resembled pit bulls but were larger.

Because the prisoner was reeking of blood, the hounds didn't hesitate to attack him.

Seeing the scene before him, Cassius sneered in mockery.

"I will make sure you remember your loyalty to your Master till the end."

As Cassius watched the prisoner being torn apart by his hounds, a guard approached him and said, "My Lord, there is a carriage with Duke Ashford's emblem at the gate."

"Is it Duke Ashford or his daughter?"

"Lady Eleanor."

Upon hearing that, Cassius immediately walked toward his mansion and said to the guard, "Let her in. And escort her to the Parlor."

Cassius, while walking, suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned around.

"No. Escort her into my room."

This was because Theo was currently roaming around his mansion.

If Eleanor were to encounter him, she would become furious and believe he had been deceiving her all along.

'I can't let her know that the Hidden Hand is mine.'

Then he entered the bathroom in his room, to wash off the foul stench of blood that clung to his body.

***

A servant escorted Ellie into a room.

As Ellie entered the room, she saw a double king-size bed wrapped in gray and black curtains, exuding an elegant aura.

There were many swords, axes, and arrows hanging on the walls as decorations.

There was a long black sofa and a small table in one corner of the room.

The atmosphere in the room was dark but elegant. The marble floor, which was also black, added to the cold impression.

Unlike the rooms of kings Ellie had seen on TV, this room resembled the chamber of a warrior.

'Wait, a bedroom?'

"Where is this?"

"It's Grand Duke Cassius's room, Lady Eleanor."

"Shouldn't I be in the Parlor?"

"The Grand Duke ordered us to bring you here, My Lady."

'What's wrong with me? I shouldn't be so worried just because it's his room.'

"Fine."

The servant who escorted her closed the door and left, and Ellie sat in a corner of the room.

Shortly after, the servant returned with a tray full of food and tea.

"Please, My Lady."

Then she left again, closing the door.

It felt strange for Ellie to be in her future husband's room.

If she didn't have any feelings for Cassius, she wouldn't be so restless.

Ellie cursed herself and reminded herself of her purpose for coming here.

As Ellie sipped her tea, she saw a man wearing only a towel coming out of the bathroom.

Ellie froze as she looked at his broad chest, his muscular thighs, and his long, wet black hair.

Ellie was snapped out of her trance by a voice echoing in the quiet room.

"Your eyes could pierce through my body if you stare at me like that," Cassius said with a smile.

The tea Ellie was about to swallow made her choke, and she coughed.

He approached her and poured a glass of water for her.

Ellie reflexively moved away, feeling uncomfortable when Cassius approached her.

"So, for what reason does this lovely lady come to my humble house?"

'Your humble house my ass!' Ellie thought.

When she entered Grand Duke Caspian's mansion, her mouth kept gaping open throughout the journey. 'His mansion is almost like a royal palace!'

Ellie wondered who maintained the mansion's beauty, considering there were no women there.

Normally, the management of a noble's residence was handled by women like the mother or the nobleman's wife.

"Do you take care of your own mansion?"

Cassius didn't know where that question came from.

"Yes. Some help me, but I do most of it myself."

"Don't you have a butler?"

"No. He retired," Cassius replied coldly.

Ellie felt surprised because usually the position of a butler is passed down from generation to generation, and if the butler is too old, their child would take over.

'Well, maybe his butler didn't have any children.'

"You haven't answered my question."

"Oh. Ahem, first, let me apologize for my childish behavior last night. What happened wasn't something to be exaggerated, I was drunk. And secondly—can you put on some clothes?"

Ellie's eyes wandered everywhere in the room except toward what was in front of her because it made her feel nervous.

He laughed at Ellie's behavior. Then he stood up, took a nightgown, casually removed his towel and put on the gown in front of Ellie.

Ellie, who briefly glimpsed Cassius' naked body, immediately looked away.

But it was too late, as she had seen his muscular buttocks.

Her face turned red, as red as her eyes.

What she didn't like was that he seemed at ease, as if it didn't matter to him that Ellie had seen him.

Meanwhile, she struggled with her embarrassment.

'Am I the only one affected here?'

Then Ellie's expression turned bleak.

'No, it's actually better if he doesn't have any feelings for me.'

"Was there something you wanted to say earlier?"

"Do you wear a nightgown in your daily life, Your Grace?"

"No. I'm just too lazy to choose clothes. Is that what you wanted to ask?"

"No. Firstly, I want to discuss our marriage."

Cassius nodded. "Preparations are already 80% complete. You don't need to do anything. Just bring your body. When it's finished, I will let you know to discuss the date," Cassius said with a smirk.

At the beginning of the agreement, that was what was agreed upon.

Ellie only needed to prepare the Bridal Gift, that's all. But for some reason, it felt indecent when it came out of his mouth.

"I understand, but that's not what I meant. I want to make a prenuptial agreement."

"A contract?"

"Yes, something like that. And I want you to sign it."

"What if I don't want to? Sooner or later, you will become my wife."

"I want you to respect me, not possess me. If you don't want to, fine. But don't blame me if this marriage can't bring you peace."

"What's in the contract?"

"You can read it yourself." Ellie handed him a piece of paper.

As Cassius read it, his hand clenched until it turned white.

'This woman... Ha! What the hell is this!'

His strongest desire at that moment was to tear the paper apart and burn it right then and there.