“Hah.”
Anneliese involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.
Cold sweat broke out across her skin.
Like a mouse standing before a lion, her body instinctively froze.
She barely managed to collect herself.
‘Get a grip. This isn’t the time to freeze.’
What kind of look was the Grand Duke giving her?
A “look of being in love” was something she had grown sick of seeing.
She had lived her whole life as a beauty capable of making people fall in love at first sight.
If his gaze were anything like the Crown Prince’s, she had already decided she would turn and run without looking back.
So if she had to describe the gaze of the Grand Duke of Aperhis—
It was… peculiar.
‘Can a person’s eyes even look like that?’
How could she explain it? If she had to compare it to something… they were like the eyes of a doll.
The man standing before her was clearly alive.
‘But there’s something off. It’s like I’m looking at something entirely different, just wearing a human form.’
His eyes were completely unlike those of other men. She couldn’t read a single emotion from them.
No—did he even have emotions at all?
While she was turning that thought over in her head, his gaze shifted.
Her tense eyes followed his line of sight.
‘…Why is he staring at my wrist?’
Bang.
A loud noise echoed—the reception room door had shut.
Now only the two of them remained in the silent corridor.
“...Um, Your Grace?”
Sorry for asking this upon first meeting, but did my wrist offend you somehow?
Either let go of it, or stop staring at it—just pick one, please.
The moment Anneliese tensed her captured wrist—
The Grand Duke finally spoke.
“Hand.”
His dark brows lifted slightly, as if puzzled.
“Why is your wrist so thin? It feels like I’m holding a twig.”
“...Excuse me?”
There wasn’t a trace of emotion in his low voice.
Not even the slightest hint of affection or interest.
He simply sounded genuinely curious about why it was so thin.
Flustered, Anneliese examined him.
Between his leather gloves and sleeve, a glimpse of bare skin showed—smooth, bronzed, with veins faintly standing out.
He was clearly a young man around her age.
And yet, this perfectly marriageable adult man, holding a stranger woman’s wrist, had only one thing to say—
‘Why is your wrist so thin?’
Well, because my parents gave birth to me this way?
‘More importantly, is this really how you speak to someone you’ve just met? Are northern customs that different?’
The instinctive fear she had felt when meeting his eyes had long since disappeared.
The Grand Duke, unconcerned by her silence, continued.
“Your skin is excessively pale.”
Now her skin had become the next subject.
After a brief pause, he added in the same expressionless tone:
“Make sure to get regular sunlight. Photosynthesis is beneficial for humans as well.”
Now he was even offering solutions she hadn’t asked for.
“…Ah, yes. Thank you,” she replied awkwardly.
The Grand Duke stared at her hand as if it were something unpleasant, then released it as though he’d seen enough.
‘What is wrong with him?’
Anneliese had no idea how to deal with him.
He was baffling—and oddly refreshing.
‘At least one thing is clear. Whatever his intentions are, he doesn’t seem to have any romantic interest in me.’
Especially those dull, lifeless eyes. No man who felt attraction toward someone could look like that.
‘At least… no human man would.’
Anneliese had been pursued by men her entire life. She could be certain of that much.
‘And what was that ridiculous conversation just now?’
It definitely wasn’t how someone acted toward a person they liked.
‘This man… might not fall in love with me.’
Her heart swelled with hope.
‘I’ll never find eyes that dry again. I have to catch him now.’
She hurried after the Grand Duke, who was already walking away.
“Your Grace! I’m Anneliese of the Solaritzen Count family. If it’s not rude, may I ask you one question?”
He stopped.
As if granting permission, he turned his head toward her.
Though why he was looking at her hand instead of her face while she spoke—she had no idea what country’s etiquette that was.
Still, it worked in her favor.
“Do you happen to have someone in mind for a Grand Duchess? Or a fiancée?”
“No.”
It was an incredibly rude question to ask upon first meeting, and she had been prepared to be ignored—but thankfully, he answered.
For someone so lacking in manners himself, he seemed rather tolerant of others’ rudeness.
At his clear response, her face brightened.
“Then—”
“You’re talking too much. Didn’t you say you’d ask only one question?”
At this rate, she should’ve asked if she could ask five thousand nine hundred fifty questions instead.
The Grand Duke clearly had no intention of giving her more time.
Anneliese quickly thought of a way to secure another meeting.
“The holy relic of Aldeon shown at the imperial palace is fake. The real one is in my possession.”
It worked.
The Grand Duke, who had been staring only at her hand the entire time, finally lifted his head.
The air seemed to grow heavier.
“How do you know I’m looking for it?”
There was no need to be that wary. Anneliese took a step back as she formulated her answer.
The Northern Territory was a closed region where imperial citizens couldn’t freely enter.
The reason the Grand Duke, who had cut off all exchanges and isolated himself there, came to the capital only once—
‘It was because the imperial consort offered the Aldeon relic as a bargaining condition.’
In the end, it was revealed to be fake, and the deal fell apart.
Even the consort hadn’t known.
That the treasure said to have vanished centuries ago was actually in the possession of the Solaritzen family.
“I heard it from His Highness the Crown Prince.”
She couldn’t say it was knowledge from her past life, so she used the Crown Prince as an excuse.
At the mention of him, the Grand Duke seemed to accept it.
“If you want the Aldeon relic, you’ll have to deal with me—not His Majesty. I’ll be waiting at the Emperor’s birthday banquet.”
“A banquet…”
The Grand Duke tilted his head slightly, studying her.
Waiting for his answer, Anneliese met his gaze.
His eyes passed over her indifferently, like someone glancing at a fallen leaf on the road.
‘Dead fish eyes.’
No—beyond that—
‘More like dried flounder eyes.’
Eyes that wouldn’t look out of place in a seaside dried fish market.
‘They’re so dry I feel like spraying them with water.’
As that thought crossed her mind, his indifferent eyes disappeared behind a mask.
A black mask covered his entire face.
“…Very well.”
Anneliese’s eyes widened.
‘Did he just say “very well”?’
“Thank you, Your Grace. Then I’ll see you soon. Please take care.”
He gave no reply to her farewell.
With long strides, he quickly disappeared down the corridor.
Only after he was completely out of sight—
‘I did it…’
Anneliese slowly leaned against the wall as the tension drained from her body.
“You’ve returned?”
Their lord, who had gone to the imperial palace, was back.
Isaiah halted the horses and opened the carriage door.
Parting the heavy curtains, his master stepped inside.
The moment he sat down, he removed the cumbersome mask that had been blocking his vision.
In the dark, unlit carriage, only his golden eyes gleamed ominously.
“Yes.”
His tone was as indifferent as ever—but today, something felt slightly different.
‘His response was delayed by a few seconds… as if his mind were elsewhere.’
Isaiah noticed the subtle change.
‘What could have happened at the palace?’
Curiosity stirred at the unfamiliar reaction.
Isaiah opened his mouth to ask what had happened—
Never imagining that he would end up listening for five straight hours about the first impression of a certain woman.
