A brief silence hung between the two.
Aeplin did not avoid Lucent’s gaze and waited for his answer.
But she had a certain degree of confidence.
Hadn’t she heard that the man named Lucent Blackakson was flawlessly excellent, yet his family background was very poor?
Suddenly, something Edmon had told her came to mind.
‘I heard the bank president suffered a great deal of injustice before achieving such success.’
Surely there had been a deficiency that tripped him up at every turn.
That was likely why he wanted to take a noblewoman as his wife.
She could understand it, yet it was also pitiable in a way.
In an unfair society, he must have struggled ceaselessly to survive.
Perhaps because he had lived that way, Lucent seemed to handle everything with meticulous care.
That was surely why he had hurriedly hired mercenaries to save her father.
He was the kind of man who, once he found a purpose, would seize the initiative no matter what.
“I want you.”
Lucent answered in a relaxed tone.
“Then how great is your desire for me, bank president?”
“……?!”
Lucent’s eyes wavered for a moment.
He had scolded her for knowing nothing of the world, yet in the meantime, she had learned one thing from him and understood ten—a clever woman.
Rather, her boldness in testing him brought a smile to his lips.
“All human beings have dignity. I believe it cannot be measured in money. But if you insist on converting my worth into money, I can tell you.”
‘So my question was vulgar, is that it.’
He liked how she conveyed even that reproach indirectly.
Even though her situation was extremely urgent, was she not calmly stating her opinion without wavering?
It was a moment that confirmed the true dignity of a noble lady.
“Did I offend you? I am a banker. In vulgar terms, I am a man who makes his living off money. So converting things into numbers has become a habit, but I do not fail to understand human dignity.”
“I understand.”
Aeplin smiled brightly at Lucent.
Her hand, lightly covering her mouth so that the smile would not spread too far, did not look like intentional acting, but like a natural habit she had possessed since birth.
“My value is 10 billion, no, 20 billion sallings—perhaps even more. As you know, my maternal grandfather is the King of Monas, and my mother and I hold the right of succession to the throne. One more thing: from the age of twelve, I received education in the imperial palace alongside His Highness the Crown Prince. Not all noble ladies are the same.”
It was too confident an attitude to call boasting.
Her high self-esteem shone like transparent crystal.
Moreover, the right of succession to the throne of Monas—could there be a more fascinating condition?
Aeplin was clearly different from any noble Lucent had ever seen.
“Hahaha—I feel as though I have become a snob.”
“A sage of the East said that the monster called the self wounds itself with the desire, anger, and delusion born in the heart. Since you say you want me, bank president, you must also pay the price for that desire. Whether in money or in heart…….”
‘As must I…….’
Aeplin smiled bitterly.
Lucent sympathized with her words, yet somehow felt irritated.
Far from disliking a woman who seemed to see through his inner thoughts and elegantly reproached him, he desired her.
Though he was seized by a strange sense of inferiority, in the end, his insight and choice had been right once again.
“I want to marry Lady Aeplin.”
A battle of wills disguised as negotiation would only waste time and emotion.
It was more efficient to confirm what each side wanted.
But Aeplin hesitated to answer.
For a very long time…….
“Can you save my father?”
Aeplin spoke in a desperate tone, like someone who had held her breath underwater and barely surfaced.
“It is a matter of a person’s life. So I will not make an unclear promise. But I will do my utmost.”
“And……. I would like it to appear to the world as a love match. A marriage made as a transaction……. I do not want that.”
Soon, when the fact of her broken engagement with the Crown Prince became known, all kinds of speculation would run wild.
And then there was her father’s debt as well…….
With her answer, the negotiation between the two was successfully concluded.
“That is not difficult.”
She should not have to bear the dishonor of being sold for money.
He would want the same if he were in her position.
This time, Aeplin asked what Lucent wanted in return, on the premise of marriage.
“Is there a condition you wish for, bank president?”
“Three or more children, and no divorce.”
Aeplin’s mind went blank for a moment.
Lucent’s demand was a blocked-off condition that allowed only moving forward—no turning to the side, no reversing backward.
If married life were smooth, that would be fine, but to block off a path she had not yet walked…….
Aeplin suddenly felt it was an unfair deal.
“What if the trust between husband and wife collapses? Even if you do not love me, if my husband takes a mistress…….”
For a man of the upper class, taking a mistress might not be a great flaw, but Aeplin’s circumstances were different.
“Are you jealous in advance?”
“It is not jealousy, but my honor being damaged. Of course, I hope such a thing never happens, but if it does, then either grant me a divorce or it must be fair.”
At Aeplin’s words, Lucent’s eyebrows rose.
Fair, she said?
“If you take a mistress, I will take a lover as well. A divorced woman is stripped of her right of succession to the throne of Monas. I want my children not to lose their right of succession to the throne of Monas.”
‘Well, look at this.’
Like a cat driven into a dead end, crawling weakly before him……. and now she had seized the initiative and was talking about fairness.
And so boldly, too…….
“Let us have the attorneys outside document the detailed clauses.”
“Yes, good. But…….”
Aeplin spoke in a trembling tone as she looked at Lucent.
It was because the memory of the Crown Prince proposing to her suddenly came to mind.
In a garden full of spring flowers, he had knelt and held out a ring……. That day felt like a distant memory, or perhaps like something from a fairy tale she had read as a child.
That she had to set conditions on marriage and calculate each other’s gain—it was distressing, somehow.
Even if not love, she wanted a marriage overflowing with understanding and respect.
“Please help me become a loved wife and a good mother. Family is very precious to me.”
Lucent smirked.
When he had first set Aeplin as his target and gathered all information about her, the most surprising fact was this: unlike other noble families, the Hapen family had strong bonds between its members.
A harmonious family atmosphere without a hint of discord…….
Lucent was the opposite, and that was why he was obsessed with family.
No matter how much money one earned, happiness could not be bought.
No, he did not even hope for happiness.
He would be content just not to have to clean up the messy affairs of his troublesome mother and sister.
At Aeplin’s words, Lucent rose from his seat and gently helped her to her feet.
“My expectations for the new family I will build are also very great.”
As she had said, it was a marriage whose value could not be measured.
Lucent’s large hand wrapped around Aeplin’s waist and pulled her close.
His face drew near, as if he were about to kiss her at any moment.
Just as his hot breath seemed to touch Aeplin’s lips like a storm, it changed direction to the back of her hand.
“……!”
It was a quite gentlemanly and courteous back-of-the-hand kiss.
It felt like an act certifying that their deal had been concluded.
It was only a common back-of-the-hand kiss, yet somehow it felt courteous and respectful.
Soon Lucent supported Aeplin’s waist with a firm arm, met her gaze, and smiled affectionately.
His eyes, seen up close, were intensely sensual.
Lucent did not dislike the sweet scent of apples and roses that wafted from Aeplin.
He had nearly kissed her by accident, but he was not so reckless…….
Yet Aeplin, finally in his arms, made him feel satisfied.
Lucent took her small hand and pulled it into his jacket.
“……?!”
Aeplin was startled by his bold action.
Not only was her hand buried inside his jacket, but she could feel the firm chest of a man directly.
A man broad, solid, and overflowing with strong masculinity.
Aeplin’s heart pounded like a startled rabbit fleeing, but Lucent was calm and warm.
It was as if her soul were being drawn into a mysterious hall……. It was a mystical experience.
In truth, it was a highly immoral and improper act, yet Lucent made the difference in value come down to a single thread.
It was certainly not an act done in a romantic situation, but it was astonishing that her heart could race like this.
Lucent set Aeplin down carefully, as if she were an expensive piece of porcelain.
Soon, as her thick eyelashes bloomed open like butterfly wings that had briefly folded, her verdant eyes sparkled especially brightly.
“Aeplin, you cannot take this back now.”
He was like a predator that had succeeded in the hunt.
His deep blue eyes and firm embrace trapped Aeplin like a trap made of steel.
“I know.”
In that moment, his heart, which had been quiet all along, throbbed.
At last, he was to take as his wife Aeplin of the Hapen count family, whom he had courted for so long.
Aeplin replaced with a meeting of eyes the promise of a great transaction called marriage with Lucent Blackakson.
