CH 13.2

She slipped by Cade, and the warmth from their slight physical contact inspired confidence.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to leave for the North tomorrow, father. I want our wedding to be prepared as early as possible so that I can quickly adjust to living there.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Cherryl. Don’t be rude and jump into men’s conversations.”

“His Highness must return to Karlsvik as soon as possible to see the estate he left behind.”

“I told you to be quiet.”

The Marquis ignored Cherryl coldly and led Cade to the drawing room, wearing a little grin.

“Let’s go this way, Grand Duke.”

Cade simply stared at Cherryl without moving and laughed.

Then he winked at his subordinate, waiting behind him.

“Bring all the carriage we’ve got. We will leave the mansion before dawn.”

“All right, boss.”

Everyone inside the room suspected what they just heard.

Boss?

They were so sure they heard it wrong.

At first, they doubted whether the men accompanying them were bandits or not, but why did they just call the Grand Duke their boss?

The servants thought they heard it wrong and looked into the air in confusion.

Only Cherryl knew that Cade was the head of the northern wildlings, the Balkans.

Cade might be a high-ranking aristocrat now, but the Balkan men seemed more comfortable calling him boss.

Suddenly, a giant shadow hung over Cherryl’s shoulder.

“Some people might assume you’re too exhausted to marry me.”

Cade leaned his upper body towards her so she’d be the only one to hear him chuckle and whisper in his ear. “Why did you say you didn’t want to marry without love?”

Cherryl forced herself to smile.”I am in a tight situation as well.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“I have seen and heard something I shouldn’t have. I’ll tell you about it later.”

His heartbeat felt relatively weak in his chest when it slightly bumped into her shoulder sockets.

She initially thought that the insensitive Duke’s heart wouldn’t beat busily no matter what, but surprisingly, they were a little fast, as if he was filled with excitement.

Cade seemed satisfied when Cherryl swallowed hard.

His handsome yet arrogant face soon turned to the Marquis of Milrose.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about this earlier but I already made a choice to marry your daughter.”

“Yes. Yes, Your Grace! Of course.”

“I believe that you wanted to delay our wedding, Marquis. But as Lady Cherryl said, we will be returning to my Household early in the morning.”

The Marquis seemed puzzled, but he didn’t dare challenge the Duke’s words any longer.

Still, he had an embarrassing look on his face as if he had a speech bubble floating over his head, ‘When the hell are we talking about money?’

“I’ll give you the money you want.” Cade said.

Now that financial discussions were out in the open, Cherryl pointed out without hesitation.

“Father. What about the dowry we should give to the Grand Duke?”

The Marquis asked again with a frown. “Dowry?”

Cherryl smiled with nonchalance.

“The Duke is going to be my husband, father. We will be wed in Carlsvik later, so you should pay the dowry.”

In the Empire where Cherryl lived, a woman must send dowry to the groom before their wedding.

The dignity and honor of the bride’s family were known depending on the amount, so dowries were always a hot topic for gossip in the aristocratic society.

In the marriage market, the system was never lenient to women without dowry because they wouldn’t be able to marry.

And yet, her father and stepmother continued plotting to sell Cherryl in exchange for money.

It was such a brazen ruse.

Cherryl held her hands together while waiting for the Marquis’ reply.

“I know you’ve got a dowry in store for me because you’ve been planning my wedding for a long time. Wouldn’t it be wise for us to follow the system since the Empire had established it?”

“Well, of course, you have a point, but….” The Marquis of Milrose began vaguely and trailed off.

The Marquis had demanded money from the Grand Duke several times, incessantly persuading him to buy his building and include Cherryl with that deal.

However, it made him even more frustrated that they weren’t easily influenced.

“You had yet to announce your intention to buy my building for your dowry, Your Grace. What am I supposed to do?” The Marquis stole a glance at him.

“From whom did my clever daughter get this idea from?  How can you ask me for a dowry when our family is already in debt? I know that you want me to give it to you before I can extort money from you.”

Even Cade began to support Cherryl’s demands.

“Were you even planning to give me the dowry in the first place?”

“Haha. Of course.”

“I’ll take it with pleasure. I didn’t know this marriage would be this significant.”

It was natural for the female’s family in this Empire to give a dowry to the new bridegroom, so what Cade said now was nothing but ridicule.

Oh, damn it.

It’s easier for the Marquis to think of this as an early investment.

The situation might be unexpected, but it would be easier if he thought about this in terms of business.

His daughter might become a foreigner in the North, but the rich Duke of Blkanov will be his son-in-law, so the money pouring out of the Marquis’ pockets would be infinite.

“If we’re talking about dowry, I’ve had it prepared.”

After the Marquis of Milose was done worrying, he beckoned Natasha.

“Go upstairs and get your jewels.”

Natasha was aware of her extravagance.

Unfortunately, business people often exchange their women’s jewelry for cash.

Natasha whispered in the Marquis’ ear, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

“All of them were destroyed in the fire. No! Not even one of the jewelry was intact after our bedroom got burned!”

Marquis Milose’s brows were crumpled.

The Marquis tried to lower his voice, but he still shouted loud enough at everyone who might be willing to listen.

“What are you talking about? How did you manage to burn them? And, why did our bedroom catch fire in the first place?”

“Cherryl had caused the fire. Oh, my God! What am I going to do with this?”

Natasha stomped her feet in frustration, and Cherryl reached out a helping hand.

“Why are you saying you don’t have any jewels?”

She pointed to Natasha’s adorned hands.

“I like that my mother’s favorite bracelets totaled the price of a mansion.”