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“Are you here to directly interfere with my business?”
Hazel approached, visibly flustered.
“I’m kidding.”
“Oh…”
“We have known each other since a year ago, isn’t it about time you got used to my way of speaking?”
Speaking with his own words, it struck him that a lot has changed in the span of a year. When he first met Hazel, he never imagined that he would become a lover with the kidnapper of his younger siblings. When he remembered what he had misunderstood and was angry about that day, he felt embarrassed again. Elliot got up from his desk and led Hazel to the sofa in front of the fireplace.
“Because I can’t tell the difference between jokes and seriousness…”
Hazel sat on the edge of the sofa and looked around awkwardly, as if she were new to the office. Come to think of it, whenever Hazel came to the housekeeper’s room, the two always had a desk between them. It was the first time they sat side by side like today.
“It’s okay, there will be more time to get used to each other in the future. We’ll spend more time together.”
Elliot looked at Hazel, her cheeks blushing like fresh apples, and he remembered the night before. If it became known that he was in a relationship with her, Hazel would be criticized and jealous, so he asked her why would she go so far as to protect him.
“Your Highness and the chestnuts are my benefactors.”
“Benefactor?”
“The chestnuts were the first to see my true self without prejudice. Your Highness helped me to clear the false charge that I was a man-eating witch. That’s why you are my benefactors.”
They were Hazel’s benefactors. Elliot believed that Hazel was the Grand Duke’s benefactor. Thanks to this, she became friends with her younger siblings and repeatedly defeated assassination threats.
“It may be my only thought, but it is like a precious family. Thanks to you, I am not lonely anymore.”
She was not lonely anymore Then it meant that she used to be lonely. It was only then that he realized how lonely life must have been if she lived hidden in the forest, being misunderstood and rejected as an evil witch by other people. Hearing that, his confession, which he thought was premature, actually felt like it was too late.
‘Yes, let’s have a relationship.’
Elliot lifted Hazel’s hand, which was stained with moonlight, and carved an oath kiss on the back of her hand.
‘Let’s date now and get married later. I will be your family.’
An oath to never take lightly a relationship with this lonely woman. It was time for him to fulfill that unspoken oath once again.
“I… I prepared this.”
Hazel held out the roll of parchment she had been holding in her arms. Elliot, who was about to say that she was his lover and that she would no longer have to use honorifics when they were together, was dazed the moment the words written in the middle of the parchment caught his eyes.
Disguise love contract.
Each of the letters in the paper turned his heart into stone and in his head he felt like an idiot. He knew all three words, but putting them together didn’t make sense. Elliott glared at those three words as if they were his parents’ enemies, but couldn’t help but draw a disappointing conclusion.
‘Hazel didn’t like me.’
Elliot looked at Hazel’s proud face with a desperate heart.
‘You’re really just trying to protect me.’
Even if a person was too nice, it’s a ride. There were cruel women in the world who kick men this kindly.
‘I meant to be a real lover.’
Elliot struggled to suppress the urge to say this. If he said such a thing, he would be the man who was dumped on the day of the announcement of his relationship, even if it was this disguised relationship, and she would be awkward with Hazel and would not even look at each other. He had no choice but to read Hazel’s contract before she changed her mind.
“If there is something you don’t like, please feel free to tell me.”
“Can I really speak comfortably?”
Elliot said with his eyes to Hazel, who blinked her big eyes in bewilderment.
‘I don’t like anything of this contract.’
His mind reading the contract didn’t seem to work. He was shaking his head trying to focus. Elliot read the worthless contract with his eyes, then tapped one of the clauses with his fingertips.
“Ending?”
“Oh, I didn’t know, so I set it to 3 months, but is it really too short?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Ah… after all, three months isn’t such a short time either. Haha…”
“No, I mean, you have to renew the contract every three months like this.”
look..
“Oh, I thought you will want to end this contract soo…”
Elliot hesitated after adding an auto-renewal clause to the contract.
“If you want to prepare for the time when you want to end the contract, you should also add a clause regarding contract termination.”
“Ah. I wrote that on the last page.”
Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time by giving oral notice to the other party. At this time, the other party must unconditionally respond to the request for termination of the contract.
“When Your Highness wants to end this fake relationship, if you tell me anytime, it will end immediately.”
Elliott, who was staring at the clause, suddenly muttered with a bright smile on his face.
“That’s fine.”
This meant they could always end this fake relationship and start a real relationship.
“That’s a very good idea.”
Elliot, who turned the page again without touching this clause, was puzzled. Hazel’s expression was darker than before.
“Where are you uncomfortable?”
“No!”
It didn’t seem like it’s wrong, but he didn’t ask again, since she didn’t have any intention of telling him. Elliott continued examining the contract and pointed to a clause.
If necessary, you can tell someone you trust that the relationship you have is not real.
“’If necessary’ and ‘someone you trust’ are ambiguous.”
“Then shall we add a detailed example and name below?
Elliot shook his head and crossed out the clause with an inked quill.
“Why don’t we keep this fake relationship a secret between the two of us?”
“I-I like it.”
“If you want to fool your enemies, you have to fool your allies first.”
‘And someday it will be real.’
Elliot promised himself, and he grinned and looked at Hazel. He could change the contract at will, right? It was not his fault that she didn’t like him.
Elliot returned the signed contract to Hazel, who was blushing for some reason. Hazel also signed it, and the two of them shared a copy of the contract.
“Then I’m just…”
“Wait a moment.”
When Hazel was about to leave, Elliot stopped her and walked over to his desk.
“As the Grand Duke’s lover, you should go into your first mission.”
“Yes?”
What he picked up from his desk was an invitation to a ball from the Baron of Hobart.
“I have to reply that I’m attending. I can also reply in Miss Hazel’s name, right?”
“Ah… that’s difficult.”
Eliot was taken aback by her unexpected refusal. Wasn’t pretending to be a lover in front of others the key to this contract relationship?
“Why are you in trouble?”
“According to the rules of the duchy, I must report to Sir Daniel all the people I meet after going out privately. There are so many people in a ball that my head will explode if I try to memorize them all.”
The reason for her refusal was even more embarrassing.
“Daniel and his men who have to write it all down and investigate will have their heads exploding.”
“Right? That’s why I’m not going…”
“You’re going out with me, so why is there a report?
“But the rule is…”
“That rule, I made it.”
Elliott let out a short sigh and extended his hand.
“What?”
“Nanny Rules.”
Rules may be broken with the Grand Duke’s permission.
Elliot’s eyes narrowed as he added new rules to the notebook. After erasing one of the above rules and rewriting it, Hazel’s emerald eyes became round like green grapes.
She was told by her employer that no physical contact was allowed. But now rules said it’s good to hug.
Elliot grinned again at Hazel, who was blushing.
* * *
Bang, bang, crackle.
“Aaaagh! I won’t let anyone go!”
The sound of smashing furniture and pottery echoed endlessly in the princess’s palace. Sometimes, the screams of the princess’s anger were mixed with it.
“Your Highness, calm down.”
Her ladies-in-waiting rushed to stop the princess from going wild, but it was not enough.
“You’re going to hit your pretty hand and face like that.”
At that moment, the princess stopped her hand that was about to throw a vase and glared at her maid with a bloody smile.
“Ah, that’s right, even a savage’s plaything must be flawless in order to be sold at a reasonable price.”
Today, an envoy from a small northern country came to the imperial palace. As always, she thought it was a negotiation about a small or large dispute in the border area, but it was not. It was to conclude a marriage alliance for peace. Send the princess of the Brillant Empire to the king of a small country. And Regina was the only princess in the Brillant Empire.
“You guys must have laughed on the inside watching me suffer that humiliation. You’re laughing even now!”
“Oh, no. We…”
“I don’t want to look like that! Get out of here!”
As Regina tossed the vase among her attendants, they all eventually ran out of the room. She sat alone on the men’s couch. Her clenched fists trembled as she trembled.
“For me, the only princess, they dare to send me to a small country like this… to a country, and it’s no different from a tribe of savages.”