Chapter 1

“So, how about marriage?”

 

I shook my head at the voice I heard.

 

The Emperor and the Mad Dog were looking down at me at the same time. The one I had to convince was the Mad Dog, but he shut his mouth like a mad dog and didn’t say anything, only the Emperor kept talking.

 

“Hoho. You’re quite young, and you’re also a girl. That’s why it’d be nice if you got married to a good family and get your husband’s protection.”

 

“I am deeply grateful.” I greeted them according to etiquette.

 

It was awkward because I was a nine-year-old with short limbs, but it wasn’t difficult remembering I had been polite all my life.

 

The Emperor looked at me with a happy smile. He liked children who behaved like adults.

 

“I will make you the woman of the Duke of Lodgemund.”

 

Once again, I should say, “I am deeply grateful,” but no voice came out.

 

Lodgemund, that damn name grabbed my heart and shook it.

 

“As you know, Lodgemund is the most noble family in this Berkel Empire. Being only a daughter of a viscount, it is truly a great thing for you to become the Duchess of Lodgemund. No one will harm you.”

 

I bowed my head. It was to hide my trembling lips.

 

When I become the Duchess of Lodgemund, no one will harm me, he said?

 

Those words were plausible. The Emperor smoothly offered them all. But I knew what was inside the shell was a hideous lump of filth.

 

In my previous life, I only trusted the Emperor’s words and became the Duchess of Lodgemund. Starting at my present age of nine and into adulthood, I lived a life being abused by Lodgemund’s damn bastards. At the end, I was slaughtered immediately after I was forced to make a will as an adult to hand over everything I had in trust accounts, a keepsake of my parents, to the Duke of Lodgemund.

 

And when I opened my eyes, I was nine years old again.

 

Ever since I found out that I had returned last night, I only thought of ways to avoid getting married to Lodgemund.

 

“It’s rare for me to show such generosity. But since your parents, Viscount and Viscountess Schwires, lost their lives searching for ‘Void’, shouldn’t I treat you like this?”

 

The ‘Void’ was a mysterious space that existed in the Empire. For a long time, a constant black mist erupted from that space, threatening and sometimes killing people. And there were also Dark Magicians who worshipped that black mist and used its power.

 

The Emperor, unable to see its harm, ordered his men to search for the ‘Void’ and destroy it, but no one was willing to step forward. Meanwhile Viscount and Viscountess Schwires, my parents, applied themselves to explore the ‘Void’.

 

Then they were eaten by the black mist and died.

 

That made the Emperor particularly concerned about me, the only blood that my parents left behind. Because if the Emperor was going to slander me like this, no one will come forward to explore The Void in the future.

 

I bit my lip. The death of my parents is always sad to think about. But now is not the time to mourn. If my parents were here, they would’ve wanted me to actively find a way to live.

 

As I continued my thoughts, the Emperor continued telling his story, “Wait a minute, I will send a messenger on my very own to Lodgemund.”

 

I shuddered when I heard the words of the Emperor that followed.

 

‘It is now. Now is the right time to change my destiny.’

 

I took one step forward. And when I saw that the Emperor’s attention had been swept over me, I slumped down.

 

Ouch, I hit my knee too hard.

 

But now is not the time to worry about that.

 

I pushed my forehead to the floor. The feel of the carpet spread throughout the Hall of Glory was transmitted through my hands on the floor.

 

“Excuse me, Your Imperial Majesty!” I opened my mouth with a loud voice. “There are too few girls suited to be a part of the dazzling Duke of Lodgemund.”

 

He tilted his head. The Emperor looked down at me with his eyes wide open.

 

“So, please, reap the undeserved grace for this little girl.”

 

“But the Prince of Lodgemund is the best husband…” He muttered.

 

(t/n: ‘Prince’ here refers to the Duke’s son, or also can be translated to ‘Young Lord’.)

 

It was such an awkward tone that I couldn’t believe he was the emperor of this gigantic Berkel.

 

The Emperor was very ignorant.

 

Well, I mean, he didn’t even notice that the girl he had arranged for a marriage was being abused.

 

Anyway, for now, I have to bet everything on that stupid side of the Emperor.

 

With a trembling heart, I waited for the Emperor’s next words. He crossed his legs, and as he loosened them, he showed a sign of discomfort, saying, “Still, I’ll have to watch the Lady get married.”

 

I sighed inwardly. I’d rather have the Emperor to give me an order to get married, but… It didn’t seem like things were going to be that easy.

 

“Or even an engagement. Wouldn’t that lift a burden on Viscount and Viscountess Schwires beyond The Void?”

 

If the Emperor’s will is so firm, it’s time to put the plan I had in mind into practice.

 

I tried to be as sincere as possible. She lost her parents just a few weeks ago and became an orphan, but she grew up as the daughter of a scholar, cautious in everything, but still looks like a clumsy child.

 

“This girl, there is actually a family she has admired for a long time. If I had to get married, I’d rather be a member of the family I have admired for so long, not Lodgemund.”

 

“Hoo, a family you’ve been admiring for so long?” The pale face of the Emperor began to gleam with interest. “Where is it? Let me take responsibility for your wedding.”

 

With that said, I turned my gaze to the mad dog… No, to the man standing behind the Emperor.

 

Kellerhan Barmuth.

 

I’m 9 years old now, so he’s going to be 32 this year, right?

 

Jet-black hair, a black uniform without a single gold band, and boots made of black buffalo leather. He was all black from head to toe. If someone who didn’t know him saw him, he could be mistaken for a devil.

 

The only thing that had color was his iris, which shone wildly and vividly in red. But his iris was as cold as the black uniform surrounding him.

 

I swallowed my saliva unconsciously.

 

The head of the Ducal of Barmuth who protects the imperial family and also the commander of the Gottfried Knights who is responsible for the security of the Empire… And the crazy dog of the imperial family.

 

With memories from my previous life, I knew how many heinous criminals he had executed. Rumors spread that his blade was black because it ate so much blood and there were even stories that his bedroom was decorated with the belongings of criminals who had been slaughtered.

 

But no matter how cruel he was, he was the one and only friend to me right now.

 

[Did the Duchess really write this will?]

 

In my previous life, he was the only person who questioned my will and tried to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to answer his questions properly, as I was so mad at that time, exhausted from the long and prolonged abuse.

 

[Please be honest.]

 

Then he said to me.

 

[Do you think that I do this job because I like my country? It’s just that I can’t stand things that go against the rules at Berkel.]

 

Yeah. Kellerhan Barmuth was strict and principled. Although he killed lots of people, all of them were criminals. At an older age, his principles made him want to defend justice.

 

If it’s like this, maybe the Barmuth family could save me from this hell.

 

Immediately after returning, I thought so.

 

If it was Barmuth, he wouldn’t have a pity on me, he wouldn’t like me, but at the very least he wouldn’t imprison and abuse me.

 

The Emperor will force me to get married like he did in my previous life, so at least I will become a bride of a family who will not play with my dignity, my life, and my parents’ legacy.

 

There weren’t many options.

 

It has to be a family that’s strong enough to convince the Emperor and contain numerous forces to keep those who are targeting me (or to be precise, the treasure left by my parents) in check. Moreover, to reject a duke’s house and get married, I have to join another duke’s house.

 

With that in mind, the candidates that I selected were the Five Dukes of the Empire. Except for the Duke of Lodgemund, there was only one family who had children the same age as the Duke of Barmuth’s that could be my husband.

 

“Tell me, which family is that?” The Emperor asked again.

 

Now it’s time to roll the dice of fate. No one knows whether this dice will roll a 1 or a 6. I opened my mouth, earnestly wishing for 6 in my heart.

 

“He’s right there… It’s the Duke of Barmuth.”

 

I shut my eyes tightly and opened them. The Emperor rounded his mouth and looked at me with an ‘oh!’ expression. Meanwhile, the Duke of Barmuth, that Kellerhan… He was expressionless.

 

I tried to get some positive clues from his face. But there was no use. His red eyes were like a thick veil, to the point that I couldn’t read their insides at all.

 

“This girl, she wants to be a member of the long-cherished Duke of Barmuth.” I bowed my head to the floor with earnest sincerity.

 

Even if it was a decision made after thorough calculations, my desire to go to Barmuth was the most sincere. If I think of going back to Lodgemund, it would’ve been better for me to die here.

 

“How is it, Duke?” After a while, the Emperor opened his mouth. “She is the daughter of Viscount Schwires. From what it seems today, she looks like her parents, as intelligent and smart as them. What if she’s paired with your son?”

 

I waited anxiously for Kellerhan’s reply. He stared at me with those veiled red eyes.

 

Ugh, it felt like my body was being pierced. My stomach stirred with tension. However, I couldn’t show any flaws.

 

I looked up at Kellerhan with a smile as harmless as possible.

 

“Well,” finally, Kellerhan opened his mouth.

 

It was a terribly slow and low voice, like the all-black appearance surrounding him. If you ever do that, you may be misunderstood for being arrogant.

 

But next to the Emperor… He was really a daring guy.

 

“Before they get married in earnest, there’s one thing I want to ask the Young Lady of Schwires.”

 

“Feel free to ask her.” The Emperor answered quickly.

 

It felt like my stomach was going to go wrong at any moment from the tension, but I barely held it in.

 

Kellerhan’s gaze was completely directed at me. He lifted one of his corner lips and gave a twisted smile. “Lady, I don’t know how it is to you, but I’ve been under Barmuth’s name for quite a long time. Yet so far, no one has said that they admire Barmuth.”

 

Obviously!

 

Who would adore a man who kills so cruelly, even if he’s a keeper of the law?! Even if you’re in awe!

 

“By the way, I am very curious about what made you fall in love with Barmuth. All I did was put knives on other people’s necks.”

 

For a moment, his red eyes flashed.

 

“Please do tell me, Lady. What do you admire about Barmuth?”

 

I bit the inside of my lip. Because I just returned yesterday, I couldn’t make any concrete plans. There was no time to think about detailed questions and answers other than to avoid Lodgemund and go to Barmuth.

 

Of course, I never thought that Kellerhan would ask me ‘reasons you like Barmuth’.

 

Calm down, Isabella. Come to your senses!

 

I looked back at all the memories of my previous life in my mind, literally gathering information about Kellerhan as much as possible.

 

After taking around five slow breaths, I regained my consciousness a little.

 

I raised my head and smiled brightly. One of Kellerhan’s eyebrows rose.

 

“This girl, the very scene where the Duke puts a knife on the neck of a criminal made her admire the Duke of Barmuth!”

 

“…What did you say?”

 

I still looked up at him with a grin on my face.

 

Kellerhan Barmuth, he is a man of principles. So it was clear what he likes and dislikes.

 

What he likes is enough to be a man of principle.

 

“Those who do not obey the law have nothing to say no matter what! I also want to become a member of Barmuth and bring down the outlaws!”

 

In an instant, Kellerhan’s expression turned strange.

 

“So please, take me as your daughter-in-law!”

 

I looked at his expression desperately. Nevertheless, there were no other changes except for the twisted lips.\nNot enough? Still not enough?

 

I used my age of nine to approach Kellerhan while pretending to be innocent. Then I clenched his sleeve and cried.

 

“Father!”