Genevieve arrived at Erwart Restaurant a little late. A man brushed past her side.
‘What kind of mark…’
She clicked her tongue at the glimpse of the obsessively sucked and bitten marks. She was about to pass by with a hollow laugh. As if reading her inner thoughts, the man slightly turned his head.
Genevieve’s eyes widened upon seeing the man’s face.
“…Oscar Serpentine?”
“Ah. You’re here.”
In fact, she had also hesitated because Oscar’s hair color was the same. But to have those kinds of kiss marks. They were marks that didn’t suit Oscar Serpentine’s image.
Moreover, there was another reason she couldn’t recognize him at a glance.
‘Is he in disguise?’
Not only was Oscar dressed much more plainly than usual, but he was also wearing thick glasses with large lenses.
“But why are you sitting in such a noticeable spot?”
“I was guided to a seat inside, but I was waiting in case you couldn’t find me. Let’s go.”
As Oscar smiled and got up from his seat, Genevieve paused and sighed.
‘He’s quite considerate too.’
Waiting here to escort her, he was a more polite man than she had thought. Oscar, unable to know Genevieve’s thoughts, simply walked in the direction the staff had guided.
Then, after sitting down and ordering food, Genevieve looked at Oscar and asked,
“What’s with those clothes?”
Clothes? At those words, Oscar glanced down at his clothes and chuckled. In the moment of his beautiful laughter, Genevieve was briefly dazed, and Oscar calmly said,
“…Hm. I snuck out.”
“What?”
“That’s why I have to go back soon. My fa-, I mean, the Marquis and Marchioness will be worried.”
“Ah, I see.”
It was just as he said. Oscar seemed to be in a hurry about something. In such a hurry that he brought up the matter to Genevieve before the food even arrived.
“I’ll ask you directly. What is it that you aim to gain through marriage, Lady Raven?”
Even Genevieve, who had an impatient personality, welcomed Oscar’s straightforward attitude, but she couldn’t hide her puzzlement. Genevieve said, as if slightly backing away,
“As I mentioned before, I will let you know once we get marr-“
“Then I will not do it.”
It was a firm attitude of not getting entangled in Genevieve’s mind games no matter what.
“You have to tell me the reason so that I can cooperate and speak about it.”
Genevieve stared intently at Oscar.
Even in his plain attire, Oscar shone and sparkled like an elaborately crafted jewel.
‘…I guess my standards are too damn high.’
Recently, it was said that the threshold of the Serpentine household was wearing out from the letters of aristocratic families coming and going. To marry Oscar, that is. But of all people, Oscar had to fall into the hands of her, who only needed a “formal marriage.”
Even if she thought she should back down now for the sake of Oscar’s bright future, there was no one as suitable as him.
“Money.”
Genevieve spoke decisively.
“I love jewels, and I also immensely love other luxury goods. So I’ve been cunning all this time, trying to become the head of the family, but I made a mistake. I should have been more meticulous… Well, even if it’s a mistake, it’s still my fault. Anyway, for various reasons, it’s been decided that my younger brother will inherit the family. So I was just waiting for the wealth that would fall into my mouth. But you know how old-fashioned our family is, they say I have to marry a proper aristocrat to receive a portion of the Raven family’s assets.”
She had been agonizing over this quite a bit. Oscar, who couldn’t possibly know the detailed circumstances, simply listened without saying anything in particular. Genevieve hesitated, brushed back her hair, and continued,
“So what I need is a marriage that’s just for show. By the time I transfer all the assets to my side, I was looking for a suitable young aristocrat who would break off the engagement for me.”
“Why me of all people?”
“To be honest, at first, it was because of the rumors.”
At Genevieve’s words, Oscar fell into thought for a moment. Then he soon lowered his eyes and smiled.
“You liked that I’m sickly. There are even rumors that I’m terminally ill.”
“…I can’t say I didn’t have such calculating intentions at all.”
Genevieve was more honest than expected.
“But as we exchanged letters, I felt that you were a better person than I had thought. Moreover, I thought I could sufficiently help you with the aspects you were interested in.”
“Hm.”
“I have no other ulterior motives. I already have someone I love. So in order to live happily with that person, I desperately need the Raven family’s wealth. I’ve already given up everything I’ve built up until now for that person, so if I lose the money too, I won’t be able to do anything. Of course, I will provide you with appropriate compensation, Oscar.”
Oscar tapped the table lightly with his fingertips for a moment. It seemed as if he was lost in thought, trying to discern the truthfulness of her words.
“Half.”
At her words, Oscar raised his head.
“…”
“I will give you half of the assets I receive.”
She didn’t know how much Genevieve Raven would receive, but the Raven family was a very wealthy household. If the undisclosed artworks and jewels were included, no one in the kingdom could surpass the Raven family’s wealth.
“Of course, I will also help you with your interest in the Holy Empire, Oscar.”
Although it seemed like an extraordinary proposal on the surface, this was also an act of obstructing the future of a healthy young man in his prime marriageable age. Genevieve clenched her hands so that her anxiety wouldn’t be noticed.
‘Oscar Serpentine is the most suitable candidate.’
To maintain a fake married life while protecting her beloved, two definite conditions were necessary. The first was that he had to be a fairly reputable aristocrat. And the second was that he had to be from a family that didn’t have much interaction with the Raven family. That way, their sham marriage wouldn’t be discovered.
In that sense, Oscar was a perfect fit. The Serpentine and Raven families weren’t on good terms, so even if they got married, it would be difficult for them to interfere with each other’s affairs. Moreover, Oscar had royal blood flowing through his veins. The Raven family had no grounds to object.
‘Besides, for some reason, this person wants to know about the Holy Empire. There is no place that has more active exchanges with the Holy Empire than our family, so if he’s desperate, he has no choice but to choose me.’
In fact, Genevieve had intercepted the letters Oscar was sending to other aristocrats. Oscar tended to be clever and cautious.
Since Oscar had a very roundabout way of speaking in writing, it was initially difficult to grasp, but after observing for a while, she was able to find a commonality in his letters. Oscar was subtly probing the aristocrats about information on the empire to a level that wasn’t noticeable.
‘He was exchanging letters by leaking very limited information about the empire and probing to see if they knew that information. And judging by how he gradually cut off contact with unnecessary aristocratic families, he’s acting like a very cunning fisherman.’
Most people seemed to not have noticed, but Genevieve could tell.
“Then what do you desire, Oscar, that made you seek me out?”
She asked Oscar, pretending not to know even though she did.
“I…”
The tapping of Oscar’s fingers on the table, which had been slow since earlier, stopped.
“How discreetly can the Raven family make contact with the Holy Empire?”
It wasn’t an answer, but it could be seen as one.
Genevieve recalled the time when she was interacting with the empire to inherit the position of family head. Even then, the king was keeping a close eye, but getting permission from the royal family every single time to import and export goods was a huge waste of manpower and time.
So the Raven family had always been…
“To the extent that even the king wouldn’t know.”
Pioneering and utilizing secret routes.
At the same time, Oscar’s gaze changed. If his eyes had been lost in thought as if gauging her true intentions until now, now they seemed to have gained certainty. He straightened his posture.
Genevieve also stared at Oscar with a tense expression, caught up in the completely changed atmosphere.
“I don’t really need anything else. I just want you to secretly send one person to the Holy Empire.”
It’s too easy. Genevieve blinked and spoke in a dumbfounded tone.
“Is that all you want? Sending just one person wouldn’t be difficult at all…”
“No. They must be sent directly to the empire’s princess.”
“What?”
Genevieve’s eyes widened.
“Celestia Thaddeus.”
She was the third princess of the empire and currently at the center of the succession struggle.
“The individual must be sent directly to her without fail.”
***
What time is it?
I barely looked out the window in my hazy state of mind. The sun was already rising. As I blankly watched the rising sun, Zachary bit my neck as if telling me to focus on him. He nibbled my neck with his lips, stroked my sensitized back with his hand, and then hugged me tightly.
“Mmph…”
As I moaned and turned my gaze, our eyes immediately met. At the same time, Zachary reached out and grabbed my center.
We behaved like children who had just opened their eyes to sex.