Chapter 121
<Wasn’t this a strategy game? Chapter 121>
As endless questions flew around the dining table, Jepar leisurely set down his utensils and glanced at Eden.
“What are you talking about?”
“Like this, even if you become a couple with someone you’re not fond of.”
Despite the voice laced with some frustration, Jepar remained unfazed.
Or perhaps Eden already knew that such a bizarre marriage suited this world and the magnificent man in front of her more than a conventional one.
But why did it have to be *him*?
The game could have unfolded in entirely different ways—peacefully, without digging into each other’s weaknesses.
The unfairness of it all stirred up irritation.
“Entering into such a dangerous deal… *sigh* Grand Duke.”
“Please, go on.”
Eden bit her lip, trying to contain her rising anger.
After all, the new quest had already begun, and she needed to find Jepar’s weakness no matter what. The time to win Jepar’s heart had long passed.
In this story, Jepar was undeniably the villain.
But Eden didn’t want to define him that way. She still hoped that his weakness wasn’t of the kind that would lead to her own ruin.
Even under Jepar’s grasp, a flicker of affection lingered in her heart.
“Is this deal really entirely your decision?”
Eden asked what she had been longing to know. Of course, Jepar caught the underlying meaning of her question instantly.
He chuckled softly, pressed a white napkin against his mouth, and slowly opened his lips.
“It seems there’s a misunderstanding.”
“……”
“I genuinely want to be Eden Liliart’s husband.”
His quiet voice held no trace of laughter.
“Even if the Saint hadn’t become a Saint, I would have made the same proposal.”
At that, a chill ran down Eden’s spine. It dawned on her that the last time she met Jepar was before she became the Saint.
「I have always thought of you, Saint. The reason I couldn’t visit you is that I’ve been slightly busy with something I needed to find.」
A strange discomfort sent shivers down her back. Eden had assumed that Jepar was after her ‘status.’
‘Is that not true…? Then why…?’
Did it mean that she had been that necessary to Jepar even before becoming the Saint?
Of course, Jepar had sensed Eden’s capabilities too.
But was that it…?
“So, I’d like to clear up the misunderstanding that I’m holding on to someone I don’t care about solely for their usefulness.”
Briefly appearing kind, his icy gaze lingered relentlessly on Eden.
“This marriage is entirely my will.”
His kind tone was impenetrably firm.
If that answer were true, it meant there was no intervention from Patriar or any other factions in this marriage.
She should have felt relieved, yet somehow, the tension inside Eden had escalated even more.
As Jepar gazed at Eden, who seemed frozen in disbelief, he gently smiled, as if trying to ease the atmosphere.
“I know this is an unpleasant start for both of us.”
It was true. Eden felt unpleasant. It was particularly annoying how straightforward he was about it. And yet, he seemed to feel no remorse or regret, which truly irked her.
But why did Jepar have to be like this?
*Sigh*, his shamelessness was too far over the line.
“I didn’t realize you were also feeling unpleasant, Grand Duke.”
Jepar had been the one dragging this out. Having dug up Asmun’s weaknesses, he had effectively hindered Eden’s uninhibited progression, only to claim it was an unpleasant start for both of them.
With a smirk splattered across his face, Jepar replied.
“I, on the other hand, had hoped you wouldn’t even glance at my proposal.”
What did that mean?
Eden furrowed her brow, failing to grasp his words.
“I was secretly wishing you’d ruthlessly kick away this rude proposal that would tear apart the Saint’s honor, regardless of what happens to his Highness, the 3rd Prince.”
His soft yet smooth voice echoed quietly in the empty dining room.
It was then that Eden realized why Jepar felt unpleasant. He was discontented with how she was enduring such humiliation for Asmun.
Jepar had no idea about the fate that deeply intertwined with him.
That fate would eventually backstab him.
Oblivious, Jepar spoke up again, radiating warmth as he displayed his foolish determination.
“I will do my best. Until I fully win the Saint’s heart.”
The end of his soft voice felt painfully earnest but that was just a delusion. Jepar was a master at concealing his true intentions.
“I see. I now understand the Grand Duke’s intentions clearly.”
Eden decided to no longer infuse personal emotions into this episode.
There was no room for negotiation in this episode, and all that remained was to find his weakness as soon as possible and return to the capital.
“Then for the next hundred days, Grand Duke, you can do your business. I’ll do what I must.”
As she said that while staring at the cold food still left on the table, both pairs of determined eyes confronted each other, the tension palpable.
‘Ha, I thought I was going to choke…’
After finishing the rather uncomfortable first meal in the Grand Duchy, Eden left Jepar behind and wandered carelessly around the massive mansion as declared.
‘Yeah, if that’s how it’s going to be, I’m shedding any guilt I might’ve felt.’
Just the morning before, she had felt uneasy about having to cut ties with Jepar, but now Eden had resolved to properly engage in this game.
To do so, she needed to grasp the structure of this mansion first. The prophecy book didn’t even mention whether there are statues on a few floors of corridors.
Eden felt a few servants trailing her as she roamed the mansion, likely to prevent her from escaping.
‘Daytime is not gonna work.’
With resignation, Eden’s pace gradually slowed down.
After all, the mansion was too vast; it would take forever to find all the statues.
That said, if she were to ask Jepar or the servants about the locations of the statues, it would look highly suspicious, so she couldn’t do that.
And as Eden wandered through the mansion to the point of her legs aching, she suddenly realized why the prophecy book didn’t describe the characteristics of the statues that led down to the underground.
‘There are way too many statues…!’
Inside the mansion of the Duchy of Yurenka, various statues stood captivatingly every twenty steps or so.
Damn, Eden cursed silently as she scrutinized the expressions of all those statues.
‘If you’re going to inform me, at least do it properly! What’s with this prophecy book…?!’
The further the story progressed, the more complicated the quest became, and even the rewards grew more ambiguous and incomplete.
Eden recalled that this game had once been a complete disaster due to its terrible balance.
‘I’m definitely going to score a point in this game.’
Grinding her teeth, Eden remembered Hamun, the statue she had carelessly left in the Saint’s Room.
There was so much to ask that irritating creator. She also had to find the egg to trigger the Easter egg. Also, she needed to track down the whereabouts of Silverstone.
There was a mountain of work to do, but as long as she was in the Grand Duchy, there was nothing she could do.
After finally exploring all the corridors on the left side of the first floor, Eden let out a small sigh and turned around.
‘First floor left X. Alright, I’ll check the right side tomorrow.’
However, that tomorrow didn’t seem to be granted to Eden.
“Fortunately, the weather’s nice. It’s a perfect day for a meal outside.”
To be precise, ever since the first day, Jepar had not left Eden alone for a moment.
“I’m thinking of heading to the plaza today. There’s a small festival happening. I’m sure the Saint would enjoy it.”
Eden was left speechless as she gazed at Jepar, who was smiling brightly.
It had already been ten days. Not one day had passed without her exploring the Grand Duchy with Jepar.
So, excluding the first day since arriving at the Grand Duchy, Eden’s schedule had been as follows:
Wake up early, have breakfast with Jepar, and without time for a walk, rush back to her room to prepare for going out.
After spending around another hour getting ready, she would leave the mansion in a lavish carriage to explore every nook and cranny of the Grand Duchy.
After going on a full circuit of the Grand Duchy, guided by Jepar, the lord of the Grand Duchy, she would return home late in the evening, too exhausted to do anything about figuring out the mansion’s structure or discovering the statue’s positions, promptly falling asleep instead.
‘Damn, I haven’t explored a single place since the first day.’
At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if a hundred days passed in the blink of an eye.
Eden snapped to attention and forced a stiff smile.
“Grand Duke, while exploring the Grand Duchy is nice, shouldn’t we first get accustomed to the mansion? I still find the place unfamiliar aside from my room and dining hall since I’ve been out every day.”
The obvious desire to relax at home was clear as day, but Jepar brushed it off with a grin.
“You’ll be living here, whether you like it or not. No need to rush.”
His tone was as if comforting a child throwing a tantrum about not wanting to go to school, yet the underlying meaning was stubbornly insisting on going out.
“After we explore the Grand Duchy thoroughly, I’ll be sure to show you around the mansion—every corner, including my bedroom.”
