Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Juliana Auburn, and the Marquis of Auburn, had a lot of money.

And the huge dowry she brought with her came from the Golden Mine on the edge of the mountain owned by the Marquise’s family.

Even on the other side of the mine, there were ruins and the remains of a dead dragon scattered all over the ground. The archaeological heritage site belonged to the Auburn family for generations because the Marquises had a good foothold.

Even the noble archaeologists of the Imperial Palace knocked on the door of the House of Auburn, saying they would study the dragon’s pieces every summer. Of course, paying part of the cost of transportation and research was also included.

Therefore, the house of Auburn grew up to become one of the few wealthiest of the empire, and Juliana Auburn, the only daughter of the house of Auburn, was a woman who grew up with the wealth to her heart’s content.

When she was married to the Ducal family of Hilcheon, she said she would not spend the money of the ‘Dirty illegitimate bastard,’ and played with the money she had brought with her.

Naturally, as a Duchess, the Duchess of Hilcheon’s financial status was not examined, and she simply stayed at the Duke’s residence like a guest who was playing in the middle of the summer.

The only thing she did well was to keep her hands off the Duke’s money.

Not long after the Duke returned, however, Duchess Juliana Auburn began to touch on the property of the Duke of Hilcheon.

Of course, it was a bad play.

People finally shook their heads that the Duchess was on the path to becoming a true wicked wife.

And meanwhile, there was a man who heard the rumor and knocked on the Duke’s gate in one month.

It was Marquis Hilden Auburn.

He was the opposite of his daughter, a round, blunt man, unlike his daughter, who boasted a fine rose-like beauty.

Moreover, he even had an innocent impression that he would not harm anyone after his belly came out and he went bald as he got older.

He loved his daughter so much that he carried her on his back until she walked on two feet and was taller than a princess.

And he’s never regretted it once, and only a bit today. On a day like today when his daughter was overdoing things.

“Hmm, hmm!”

Hilden Auburn had no time to see his son-in-law, so he stopped by the Duchess of Hilcheon at the time when Evan might have gone to the Knights of the Imperial Palace.

Looking around, he waited for permission in front of his daughter’s tightly locked door.

If he had a temper, he would’ve either opened the door vulgarly and got angry or cried with tears (The Marquis of Auburn usually thrilled his daughter in the latter way.), but he could not do such a thing to the mistress of the Duke’s castle.

As he stood at the door as calm as possible, Juliana spoke in a slow voice belatedly.

“Father, long time no see.”

Surprisingly, Juliana opened the door herself.

His daughter, who appeared in front of his belly, was more beautiful than usual. No, it was too flashy, like a poisonous rose that caught the eye and took a life.

The colorful and luxurious dress and lavishly decorated ornaments sparkled brilliantly with a hazy winter glow.

The necklace that matched the thick red rouge was ruby, and white diamond earrings glistened on her ears. The dark red hair that came down to the waist was as brilliant as the rose petals that did not wither even in winter.

He looked closely at her because he was under the illusion that her hair was shining whenever she moved, and a red diamond-like hair tie was tightly tied behind her head as if saying, “The heart of a dragon hardens between the locks of her head.”

It would never have been a fake if it were according to his daughter’s sincerity. When he thought about how much everything she had ever worn would be worth, he saw her twirling around.

“Huh-hyuk!”

“Why are you surprised?”

Juliana grinned. And twisting the head of a kerak with one hand, then said.

“You look as if you’ve seen something you’ve never seen before.”

“You, Juliana!”

“Well, I know my name is Juliana Auburn.”

She said coyly.

Then she led her old father’s hand, which looked dazed with shock. And sat him comfortably in a chair arranged on one side of her room, more or less splendidly decorated.

“What’s your business?”

“My, don’t you know why I’m here?”

Hilden said pitifully.

Then he looked around and scanned his surroundings.

Originally, she’s supposed to be a daughter who’s not afraid of people’s mouths, but this was a little too much.

It wasn’t enough to mingle with men and laugh openly at the Duke, but now you’re spending Duke Hilcheon fortune too!

The marriage of Juliana Auburn and Evan Hilcheon was not an easy one. She was crossing the line in ways you would never have thought of.

“Juliana.”

“Would you like some cookies? I was just eating.”

To turn her father’s eyes away, she held out cookies.

First, she asked as if he didn’t care about the food he saw in front of him. Then a piece of crispy, crumbly cookie fell on the chest of the Marquis.

At the same time, Juliana dusted the crumbs off her breasts with a handkerchief. The heart of the Marquis, who had come with the intention of scolding her severely, melted.

Of course, Juliana knew that with such an easy action, her father’s determination would melt and flow like ice cream on asphalt on a summer day.

“Why did you come out on a cold day like today?”

“Hmm, hmm!”

The Marquis took a breath after drinking the tea.

It was hard to find words to say, even though he didn’t know whether it was because sweet things went into his mouth or because his daughter, who didn’t get sick this time, was acting cute again.

“Yes, I’ve heard that you’re acting out of line.”

The Marquis’s eyes, barely speaking, were filled with tears of anticipation.

He seemed nervous as he wrapped his arms around his chubby chest under pressure to nag his daughter.

Juliana once again asked her father, offering him another cup of tea.

“Yes? Cross the line?”

“Look at this!”

Marquis Auburn raised his chubby hand. As if to make a declaration, he walked slowly, pointed to a luxurious room, and said, looking at the order sheet piled up on the book.

“The heart of the Dragon? How am I supposed to get this!”

“I want to have more diamonds with Dragon’s heart hardened.”

“As expected! That was genuine! I knew it!”

Juliana mumbled.

“Eh, Evan said I can order as much as I want.”

A few days ago, she found Evan and showed him a ridiculous order, and he didn’t even blink, telling her to buy as much as she wanted.

That’s the attitude you get when you hear your ambitious plan to spend money like crazy!

She wouldn’t do it without a breadwinner pushing her to it. That’s why she used a lot of rarest and hardest-to-find items.

Juliana was stabbed by her conscience and squeezed the hairband tightly studded with diamonds.

“I didn’t force him.”

She opened her mouth wide and hesitated, unable to find words to reply to her dumbfounded father.

Thanks to that, he shook his head and found a time to scold her quickly.

“Even if it’s not a compulsion, it’s such a rude demand! Juliana, isn’t it time to let go of your anger?”

“Anger?”

After five tries to ignore, Juliana, who proudly held her hand on her waist as if she was not willing to let go this time.

It wasn’t threatening at all to look plump like a marshmallow.

“I know very well that you want to avoid the Duke just because he’s illegitimate. But he’s an empire hero now! You can be satisfied with that, too, right?”

‘The Empire hero will kill his daughter in the future! If you don’t know, just stay still!’

This time, Juliana opened her mouth wide. And then, as he was about to get angry again, he bowed his head and looked at her.

Juliana, who was agonizing over how to overcome this humiliation, glistened her eyes.

Juliana, who was originally weak and had bad stamina, had a habit of using this weakness at every difficult moment, but now seemed to be a perfect time.

“Ah!”

Suddenly Juliana pointed at her forehead in an exaggerated manner. The Marquis, who was about to scold her again as if he was giving a speech, was startled and helped Juliana.

It was funny how short he was supporting Juliana, but she shamelessly did not put down her hand from her forehead.

“You, Juliana! What’s wrong with you!”

“Well, I have a headache…”

“Oh, no. Oh, my God. Are you feeling unwell again? Is that so? I’ve heard the walls of Duke Castle are a little thin. You must have caught a cold!”

‘You’re right,’ Juliana thought and took her father’s words. And she didn’t forget to drop her eyes pitifully and answered in a sharp way.

“…yes. That’s why the renovation was done a few days ago. I keep getting cold after getting married… The walls are so thin that there is a draft.”

“No, don’t say anything so tiring.”

“How could I complain to my father like that? Black, black.”

“My poor little girl…”

‘There we go, there we go!’

At this point, Juliana shined her eyes like Seung-Nyang [*kdrama], who grabbed her prey into the darkness.

And sobbed into the arms of Marquis Auburn.

“Hahaha. Father! That’s too hard! I’m a luxury. After some renovations, I got a gift from my husband for the first time in a while….People are jealous of me. Oh! I think this is the value of being born pretty. Whoo….”

The performance made Marquis Auburn jump from his seat. The short marshmallow seemed to bounce back and forth as if it was burning.

“Yes! Luxury. It can’t be true!”

“Are people really swearing at me?”

Juliana closed her mouth and looked shocked. Marquis Auburn shook his head madly in astonishment.

“Oh, Juliana. Don’t listen to the words of those who are unable to enter. They’re all jealous of you. There is someone with a deep will like you.”

“Black black. Father! I thought my father would know what I meant.”

“Of course!”

Marquis and Juliana hugged each other.

And as the maids watched the scene, they glanced at each other and talked silently.

‘I don’t think that is right….’

But the two people, already trapped in their own world, were just sniffling and hugging each other.

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Translator –