As she grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, a familiar silhouette came into view.
Platinum blonde hair that shimmered strangely in the sunset and soft moonlight.
Green eyes meeting hers head-on and lips stubbornly pressed together.
“Grace Blodin.”
“Your Highness.”
Her expression, though devoid of any hint of a smile, strangely looked arrogant—perhaps even resolute.
But in contrast, her two hands, held together tightly in front of her, were as polite as could be.
“May I come in?”
Instead of answering, Karl stepped aside.
Grace walked in and sat close beside the nearest sofa.
“Have you made up your mind?”
“Yes.”
Grace replied clearly, her voice neither loud nor soft.
Then she raised her eyes and stared at Crown Prince Karl.
Her sky-blue eyes were so transparent it seemed they might peer into his soul.
But Grace knew—even if they were transparent, they weren’t pure.
He wanted to become emperor.
She wanted to escape a marriage where she’d be sold off.
In the end, they were just using each other to achieve their own goals.
One last time, she wanted to confirm.
With dry lips, she barely managed to speak.
“You’ll cleanly end it once you get what you want, right?”
“Of course.”
Grace took a deep breath.
“Then… I’ll do it. The contract.”
The lips on his sculpture-like face curled into a smile.
His blue eyes looked at her with satisfaction—like a well-fed lion.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“To summarize once more. My conditions are very simple.”
Karl smiled lightly as he looked at her.
“Marry me and help me until I become emperor. The contract ends the day after the coronation.”
Grace, sitting up straight, looked down at the contract in front of her.
“Then when will I get what I want?”
“After the coronation. I’ll handle everything you asked for—including the divorce. It’ll all be over within a month at most.”
“So, one month after the coronation, the contract ends. Then the marriage…”
“We’ll get married before the coronation.”
Grace blinked and picked up the contract.
As she studied it with a serious face, Karl continued.
“Of course, after the marriage, nothing will happen between us. It’s just a contractual marriage. We’ll prepare separate rooms and beds.”
Grace nodded.
That part was clearly stated in the contract.
Even if either of them developed true feelings for someone else during the contract, the terms about how to act were written too.
“You can write what you want in the blank space. That’s the point of our deal—to give you what you want.”
Just like Karl said, there was a blank section at the bottom of the paper.
Grace hesitated, gripping the pen beside the document.
This is still better than being sold off to that old viscount.
But would the crown prince really grant her wish after the divorce?
Could she really trust him?
Doubt slowly crept in.
While she held the pen and tapped its end on the table in thought, Karl had gotten up and was making tea.
“The only tea here is rose petal tea. Will that be okay?”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
Grace nodded quickly, caught off guard.
Soon, a soft fragrance filled the drawing room, and a teacup with rose petals floated beside her.
The Crown Prince, making tea himself?
She had thought he would just sit coldly and command others around with that aloof face.
“Thank you.”
The unexpected situation left Grace slightly bewildered.
As Karl sat across from her, he said,
“I traveled abroad for a long time. I’ve gotten used to doing things myself.”
Grace’s body tensed slightly.
Was her expression showing her thoughts? Or could he possibly…
“You’re not… a mage, are you?”
“?”
“Just asking, just in case.”
Grace forced her expression to stay calm and pretended to sip tea, half-hiding her face behind the cup.
“What if you use some strange power to erase the contract or pretend it never existed?”
“…”
As she peeked at him over the teacup, her eyes met his.
His piercing blue gaze followed her like a predator, as if not missing even the smallest movement.
Since when had he been watching her like that?
“You seem hesitant. Why are you still unsure?”
“…Because I still have questions.”
Karl nodded, as if to say, “Ask anything.”
Grace brought up the question she’d had since the beginning.
“You said you had to become emperor to survive. What did you mean by that?”
She cautiously studied his face.
Was it the calming effect of the rose tea?
Or had she simply focused too much on the contract and papers until now?
Because now she was noticing parts of the Crown Prince she hadn’t before.
Right now, Karl looked… different.
An unbuttoned shirt, half-lidded eyes.
His slow-moving blue gaze gave off a relaxed and strangely seductive aura.
“That’s what you were curious about?”
His low voice spread slowly. Grace unconsciously swallowed.
“Yes. I might get caught up in something dangerous too, after all.”
“I see.”
Karl wet his lips and answered with an understanding expression.
“I never intended to become emperor. I thought there were others more fit than me.”
Someone else fit to be emperor besides the crown prince?
“Her Highness the Princess?”
“Yes. My sister, the Duchess of Grichel, handled many royal affairs and did it well.”
“Then this is related to her?”
The moment she asked, his blue eyes curved into a smile.
“I can’t tell anyone who hasn’t signed the contract.”
Ugh. How petty.
Grace nodded and picked up the pen to write her wish in the blank.
“If I sign, you’ll tell me?”
“Of course.”
Karl gave a small smile.
Grace shot him a slight glare, then flipped to the last page.
Just one signature now, and the contract with the Crown Prince would be complete.
They’d both get what they wanted.
She just had to play the role of Crown Princess for a little while.
It would be brief.
Encouraging herself, Grace picked up the pen and signed the last blank.
“Then tell me now.”
She set the pen down. Karl, who had been staring at her, reached out, took the contract, and checked her wish and signature before speaking.
“Once I become an adult and get married, I inherit the throne. That’s why the Princess tried to kill me multiple times.”
“!”
“If I want to survive, I have to become emperor. That’s the only way I live.”
In the face of power, there is no family or lineage.
Grace nodded at Karl’s chilling yet matter-of-fact words.
A moment later, Karl handed her another document—it was her personal copy of the contract.
The original would be kept in a small secret box in his room.
Grace folded the contract carefully and placed it in her pocket.
“Is that everything now?”
“Yes.”
“Then what should I do? Am I Crown Princess now?”
“No.”
Grace looked at him curiously, waiting for his response.
“Of course, I could immediately announce you as the Crown Princess. But I won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because that would put you in danger.”
He wasn’t joking.
His calm blue eyes blazed quietly.
Grace realized he meant it.
“Because of the Princess?”
If the Princess tried to kill the Crown Prince for the throne, then the Crown Princess would also be seen as an enemy.
Karl just smiled silently. Grace knew it meant yes.
“But even after the coronation, will the Princess give up?”
“She might not stop even after I become emperor. But killing the emperor is a lot harder than killing the crown prince.”
“True.”
“That’s why I’ll do everything as safely as possible. No one else will be in danger.”
“Trust me”, Karl added softly.
Not like I have a choice. We’re in the same boat now.
“But how?”
“I’m going to hide you.”
“Hide me?”
How was that possible?
As Grace blinked in confusion, Karl smiled lightly.
“It’s simple. What my sister wants is the Crown Prince and his bride. As long as no one knows you’re the intended Crown Princess, you’re safe.”
He was right.
It was a simple solution.
But it felt insufficient somehow.
“So what exactly are you planning?”
“Most of the young noble ladies attending the upcoming social season are unofficial candidates for Crown Princess. All you need to do is be among them.”
The ladies of the social season?
“Are you saying… I need to attend a ball?”
Karl chuckled and nodded as if it were obvious.
“The first ball will be hosted by Duchess Grichel.”
Grace instinctively covered her mouth.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“Welcome, my lady.”
As the servant opened the door, Stea Macbury walked in immediately.
Everyone gathered in the lavishly decorated room turned to look at her.
A beautiful woman with pale skin and neatly pinned golden hair stood up. Her features were sharp.
“Welcome, Lady Macbury.”
“Hello, Duchess.”
Stea greeted her gracefully.
The Duchess Eleanor Grichel’s red lips curled upward quickly.
“Come, sit here.”
“Thank you.”
Eleanor led Stea to the seat beside her and looked around the room.
“We were discussing the upcoming ball. Preparations are going well, but I wanted to hear more suggestions.”
“Have the invitations been finalized?”
“Of course. Without an invitation, no one can even enter the mansion.”
Smiles bloomed across everyone’s faces.
“I can’t wait.”
“To be able to see Her Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince at the same time—it’s an honor.”
As people chimed in, Eleanor smiled.
“My father wanted to come too.”
“His Majesty the Emperor?”
“As a parent, of course he’d want to attend the first ball hosted by his daughter. Even if he’s the Emperor.”
“True. If he joined, it would’ve gone down in history. What a shame.”
“Well, we can invite him next year. It won’t be my first, but it’ll be his first attending mine.”
“Still, the Duchess’s ball will go down in history.”
“Now we just need to send out the invitations…”
Feeling someone’s gaze, Eleanor turned her head.
“Fortunately, I have extras. I can send one your way too, Countess Blodin.”
“Thank you, Duchess.”
Countess Blodin smiled kindly and bowed her head.
“Your Highness, you mentioned extra invitations. Could I have one more?”
“An extra invitation?”
Eleanor looked a bit surprised, setting her teacup down.
“Who are you planning to invite? It’s not a commoner, is it?”
“A friend I recently made. She’s a noble, but probably not from a wealthy enough house to be at your ball. Still, she’s a very good friend.”
“If you say that much, I’ll prepare one more.”
Once Eleanor approved, a servant went to fetch the extra invitation.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
And then, Stea Macbury’s eyes narrowed.
