PMBA | Chapter 18

Kyrie finished speaking calmly. Fortunately, her voice didn’t tremble.

Dominique silently observed her.

The woman who had stood like a statue for hours, waiting only for Lexion, had suddenly shifted her stance and presented him with a brazen proposal.

The funny thing was, he was seriously considering it. Not for any other reason than her eyes.

The eyes that had shown wariness just moments ago now held a palpable desperation, a desire for him. 

Kyrie Ernberg wanted Dominique Roman Haswell.

That, more than anything else, stirred something within him.

‘The conditions aren’t bad, all things considered.’

The mad dog’s notoriety was well known. Even if he married her, Duke Ernberg would likely disown her.

The Emperor would also be satisfied. That Dominique Roman Haswell, of all people, would lower himself to take a woman discarded by his son, a woman with a tarnished reputation.

Once he had an heir, suspected of madness like her mother, the Emperor would relax his guard.

Besides, he’d thought the same earlier. She wasn’t unpleasant to look at. Her sweet, soft-looking body and pert face could entertain him.

Dominique asked again, 

“Are you truly proposing to become my wife?”

“If Your Grace permits, yes.”

Dominique slowly looked her over, from head to toe. Her bare feet, slightly dirty from walking around, looked surprisingly good as she stepped towards him.

The woman standing in his dark, heavy mansion, finished with dark wood and marble, was a sight that strangely suited the place, like a painting. Kyrie’s silver hair scattered the light.

‘The question is her motivation.’ 

Why was Kyrie Ernberg acting this way?

It wasn’t difficult to guess. She must have a desperate reason to marry. Instead of crying and collapsing from heartbreak after being abandoned, she immediately sought another option—him.

But did he need to know the reason she ended up here?

‘Must I?’

Frankly, Kyrie Ernberg wasn’t someone who required his careful consideration. She was just a suitable candidate who met his criteria.

A few rumors about Kyrie flitted through his mind. Outrageous and frightening rumors. Rumors that made her a mad dog, and therefore, valuable to him.

The mad dog he’d met in person was a bit different from the madwoman in those rumors.

‘But even if they were all true…’ 

He was more than capable of handling her.

Moreover, Kyrie Ernberg seemed unlikely to betray him.

‘Though she could be more receptive to advice.’

She wouldn’t report his every move to the Emperor, and given her desperation for marriage, she wouldn’t betray him.

“Then…” 

Dominique took another step closer. 

“Would you be so kind as to bear me a… flawed child, born of a mad dog, Lady?”

A child who would remove the Haswell family from the Emperor’s scrutiny, a child who would appear flawed on the surface, but wouldn’t be.

They were now close enough to feel each other’s breath. Her small lips parted and closed several times.

“…Gladly.” 

Kyrie lifted her head, her eyes fixed on Dominique.

“You are my only option.”

Looking at her trembling eyelashes, Dominique smiled deeply.

* * *

Instead of giving her a definite answer, the Duke put Kyrie in a carriage back to the Ducal residence.

‘Just a moment, Your Grace.’

After acting as if he would accept her proposal. After practically proposing to her himself.

As Kyrie glared at him, anger rose at his noncommittal response…

‘You must wait, Lady.’

‘…’

‘Do you intend to stay in a bachelor’s residence before we’re even married?’

With those words, the Duke, after completely flustering Kyrie, effortlessly lifted her and placed her inside the carriage, dismissing the fact that she had already spent a night there.

As she squirmed slightly, feeling like she was being held by a hot iron, the carriage door closed with a chuckle.

The familiar, heavy scent of the Duke’s mansion lingered within the carriage.

‘…Is there a chance?’

At least, his words implied that it would be acceptable after they were married.

The colorless-eyed man, who had looked right through her, was certainly a better prospect than those old, lecherous suitors.

‘If he keeps his promise, that is.’

Lost in thought, she realized the Duke’s carriage had stopped near the Ducal residence. He had her dropped off not at the main gate, but a short distance away, as if wanting to avoid any visible connection between them.

This confused Kyrie.

‘Does he have feelings for me, or not?’

It didn’t matter if he had even a sliver of interest. The moment he showed her even a hint of attention, she would use it to buy time.

‘If the First Duke is interested in me…’

The Ducal family wouldn’t be able to send her to a convent so easily. Just as the attention she had drawn while pursuing Lexion had ironically protected her from being disposed of quietly.

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

Even without Lexion, she had to find a way to survive. The thought gave her the strength to endure the next few days.

Even if it meant returning to a reality where she was the foolish woman who lost the man she’d pursued for years to her younger sister, in front of everyone. And even if it meant being told she deserved to be pushed down the stairs by the Crown Prince.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” 

Kyrie brushed off the mocking laughter she’d heard during her fall.

There had always been those who mocked and insulted her. A few more insults wouldn’t make much difference to the layers of hurt already piled up in her heart.

Layers built on insults and accusations. But now, she would use those layers as a foundation to step towards a different path.

The Duke, too, would soon realize she was his best option.

‘I can do this.’

Kyrie stroked the pendant, believing that the day she would escape the insults and rumors would surely come.

As she walked towards the back door of the Ducal residence, about to enter her room as if nothing had happened…

“…”

Kyrie frowned and stopped, seeing an unexpected figure waiting by her door.

It was Veron.

“Kyrie.”

The moment her eldest brother, who resembled their father more than anyone, called her by her name, which he rarely used,

Kyrie felt a surge of unease.

“You didn’t come home last night.”

“Since when have you cared?”

Kyrie asked sincerely. If they truly cared, they would have sent someone to the Duke’s mansion as soon as they heard she’d fallen and been taken there.

His words now sounded ominous.

Then, Veron said something even more absurd,

“And sneaking in like a rat…”

“Ha.”

She had spent years quietly coming and going, unnoticed, and now he was criticizing her for it?

‘Unpleasant.’

Kyrie remembered Veron, equally young back then, avoiding her gaze whenever he saw her, saying, ‘Unpleasant.’

‘Mother died giving birth to you.’

Veron had always resented her for that reason.

He never hid his displeasure whenever she was in sight, so she had learned to be quiet and keep to herself. She, too, wanted to avoid unnecessary arguments and emotional confrontations.

And now he was faulting her for it? 

Kyrie retorted sarcastically, “Well, I guess I finally learned some shame, as you always said.”

“…”

“Since that kind little sister of yours stole my man.”

She deliberately brought up Elise, her sharp words causing a crack in Veron’s composure.

Kyrie had never truly considered Lexion “her man.” But the taunt worked. Seeing Veron’s distorted expression gave her a small sense of satisfaction.

‘Yes, even you can’t deny this.’

It was true that Elise, the sweet and innocent Elise, had taken the man Kyrie had pursued for years and become his lover. It wasn’t exactly something to be proud of. Especially now that so many people knew about it.

This time, Kyrie wouldn’t be the only one subject to negative gossip. The thought made her feel slightly better.

“I never would have dreamed… that sweet child would do such a thing.”

Just as Kyrie, smiling brightly, was about to add another sarcastic remark…

“…So you did that?”

“What?”

“Even if that’s the case, how dare you…”

As she was about to demand an explanation,

Slap!

A powerful force struck her from behind.