‘He stands like a knight.’

Knights always held themselves straight.

Even when at rest, their backs were straight.

In contrast, noblemen had a certain languid quality about them.

If there was a chair, they’d immediately sit, or if not, they’d lean against the wall.

‘His height… it seems similar to Sir Luther’s.’

Sir Luther was the tallest of the knights serving the Grand Duke of Jericho.

‘Why did I think he looked so intimidating?’

Though he didn’t have the delicate features of a slender, handsome man, he was strikingly masculine in his appeal.

Properly dressed and placed in a banquet hall, he would immediately become the center of attention.

Countless noblewomen would glance at him while pretending not to, fanning themselves constantly to hide their stares.

In the mirror, Cecilia’s gaze met Russell’s.

Neither of them looked away.

The time they spent gazing at each other through the mirror grew longer and longer.

“That day…”

Russell murmured, then fell silent.

Cecilia sensed that he hadn’t meant to speak aloud, as if his thoughts had slipped out unintentionally.

What was he going to say?

Curious, she asked him,

“If you have something to say, go ahead.”

Russell looked conflicted.

“Is it something I’d dislike hearing?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Russell let out a small sigh before he continued.

“I don’t mean to bring up the past. It’s just… back when you saw me at the Grand Duke’s castle, you seemed very uncomfortable around me.”

Uncomfortable. That was a light way of putting it.

At that time, Cecilia had despised him.

About a month before the wedding, rumors had circulated within the grand duke’s castle.

Rumors that Grand Duke Jericho intended to marry Cecilia off.

Cecilia had no desire to get married.

She had been content with her life back then.

She envisioned marriage as something far off in the future.

She even dreamed of a sweet romance.

Unlike her previous two marriages, which she had entered without knowing much, Cecilia was now old enough to voice her own opinions.

She had gone to the grand duke to confirm whether the rumors were true.

The grand duke had dismissed them as baseless, and Cecilia had believed him.

But a month later, her cousin Isabelle, who had always been her rival, suddenly approached her.

 

⌜Do you know who’s here? Your future husband. That barbarian from the cursed Lagos.⌟

 

Isabelle had said this with a smirk and laughed mockingly.

Cecilia had immediately stormed out of the room and rushed to the grand duke’s study.

She had shoved aside the knight guarding the door and barged in.

As always, no one stopped her from behaving as she pleased.

The moment she saw the grand duke’s face, she shouted,

 

⌜Are you really marrying me off, Uncle? Is it true that you’re sending me to marry some barbarian from Lagos?⌟

⌜Cecilia.⌟

⌜Absolutely not! I will never agree to this marriage!⌟

⌜Cecilia, calm yourself.⌟

⌜You told me last time it wasn’t true. And Lagos, of all places? You’re sending me to such a dreadful place?⌟

⌜Cecilia! You’re being excessive. We have a guest.⌟

 

Only then did Cecilia realize there was someone else in the study besides the grand duke.

And that was the day she first met Russell Cardros.

Even amidst her shock, she instinctively knew.

This stranger was the man Isabelle had spoken of—the one she was to marry.

As words like ‘cursed’ and ‘barbarian’ echoed in her mind, the dark-haired man appeared to her like the grim reaper.

Pointing a finger at him, she raised her voice even louder and shouted,

 

⌜No! Absolutely not!⌟

 

Then, Cecilia had been forcibly escorted out of the study by her maids, held by both arms.

It was the first time she had ever been treated that way, and she couldn’t shake the shock for the rest of the day.

‘Ahh…’

Back in the present, Cecilia felt an urge to hide somewhere.

It was a memory so painful to recall that she wanted to sink into the ground.

If it were possible to die from embarrassment, she would have died already.

She closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again.

She had grown enough to face her mistakes from the past and apologize instead of avoiding the situation.

“That day, I…”

“No, I don’t want to revisit that day now.”

Russell hurriedly interrupted her.

He looked up, then down, seeming to gather his thoughts before speaking again.

“I want to make things clear because I don’t want any misunderstandings from words alone. I just want to know… are you merely enduring being with me, finding it difficult?”

Cecilia looked at him in mild surprise.

“…I’m not enduring it.”

“It’s alright to be honest with me.”

“I truly mean it. I’m not the type to sit face-to-face with someone I dislike and carry on a conversation.”

Cecilia spoke with a faintly amused expression, her brows slightly furrowed.

“You saw that firsthand, didn’t you?”

Russell let out a brief laugh, then coughed to cover it up.