Chapter 7: Chapter 7

***

“Your Grace, you are so beautiful.”

“You have such smooth skin.”

Satisfaction filled Elysee’s face as she studied her reflection in the mirror.

‘I’m ten years younger.’

She looked the same as she did when she was 19. The only different thing was the color of her eyes and hair. Elysée gently touched her light purple hair that had been braided up. She was pleased that her eyes were the same color as her hair. She looked pure and languid with an effortless thread of seduction.

Elysee didn’t dislike her dark hair and dark brown eyes from her past life, but she hadn’t been proud of either. Because she lived as an actress, there were many times her coloring and casting had limited her roles.

“Yes. It’s pretty.”

To the compliments of her maids, Elysee replied as if such praise were natural. What could she do with humility? She was far from being polite.

Fortunately, she was even pretty in the eyes of Elysee’s husband, Blake. As soon as he entered her room and spotted her, he froze, stunned.

Elysee smiled and looked back at him.

“Your Grace.”

“… wife.”

He approached slowly and kissed her on the cheek. There was a breeze. Elysee glanced away and looked at her maids.

“You are dismissed.”

Realizing their mistake, the maids hurriedly bowed their heads and left the room.

It was when the two of them were left that Elysee looked up at Blake. With or without others around, he was looking only at her.

“Wife, aren’t you exhausted?”

“Yes, I’m fine now. I’m well-rested because of your Grace’s consideration.”

“I’m glad I hear it.”

His lips painted a smooth arc.

“Then let’s have lunch together.”

“Alright.”

Elysee lightly folded her arms around his right arm, allowing him to escort her. Perhaps because she slightly grazed his chest, his body became slightly stiff.

‘Waah, I want to tease you.’

It was evident that if she provoked him a little more during lunch, he would embrace her and take her to bed. She thought such a circumstance would be very interesting, but she decided to hold back for now because….

‘Because it’s time to meet the Male Lead.’

Sure enough.

“Lord Clanton will be present.”

Blake announced the attendance of Lucas Clanton at the luncheon.

“My older brother still hasn’t left yet?”

Despite already knowing, Elysée opened her eyes wide, feigning surprise.

“It seems that he would feel more at ease if he saw you, wife.”

“Ah… .”

Elysee smiled sardonically. This, too, was acting, but of course, Blake didn’t notice it.

“Lord Clanton… seems to be close to you.”

In a slightly uncomfortable voice, he brought up the relationship between Lucas and Elysee. Of course, Elysee answered clearly as if she was utterly ignorant of what he was inferring.

“Yes, we’ve always been close. Sometimes I am more dependent on him than my father… My brother took care of me a lot.”

“… But now you have me. I will do my best so that you can trust and rely on me more than anyone else.”

He spoke in a strong tone and came off cute to Elysee.

“I’m happy. I, too, will try to be a wife who satisfies your Grace’s heart.”

“You are already enough for me.”

Ah, this guy. He’s really sweet. Internally, Elysée laughed for a while. Although he was not a fellow agent and ally, he was a man she liked.

As she walked with him, Elysee remembered roughly the structure of her castle.

The bedroom they spent their first night in was on the third floor, along with Blake’s office and study. There were numerous rooms on the second floor, including the VIP room, but it seemed that it would take a few hours to inspect each room one by one.

The main hall where the reception was held, the reception room, and the dining room were all located on the first floor.

As they went down the stairs and Elysee glanced out a window, there were several large buildings in the inner wall besides the main castle. The height of the inner wall was so high that she could not see beyond it, but the distance between the watchtowers gave an estimate of the complex’s scale and the size of the outer castle.

‘It’s impressive. Like a royal castle.’

Elysée quickly realized that he was not at the level of an ordinary nobleman.

Upon reaching the first floor, the attendants who were guarding the front of the dining room opened the door for them. Elysée took a deep breath to compose herself. She was her habit of focusing just before a scene.

The first thing that entered her eyes was the bright blonde through the open door. As if announcing the beginning of the scene, the ring on her finger vibrated.

“His Grace and Her Grace, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.”

A man in a white uniform got up from his seat and bowed in respect. The announcing of their presence was the first line in this scene.

‘That’s the original male lead, Lucas Clanton.’

He was the deputy leader of the Knights of Nephrus who protected the Imperial family and was Clanton’s successor, recognized by the Marquis.

‘What a handsome blonde young man with bright green eyes… . You look like a prince from a fairy tale.’

His eyes looked up and turned towards her.

“Elysee.”

The corner of his mouth twitched awkwardly. Elysée recalled the script describing his behavior: he should have said it ‘with a bright smile.’