Chapter 1

A sigh filled the small attic attached to the temple. There was a tremor in the shadows as the candle illuminating the desk shook. Isabelle tensed up and held her breath, fearing that her unintentional sigh might extinguish the flame. Fortunately, the candle only flickered a bit and stayed lit. She had intended to go to sleep as soon as she came up with a solution to her problem. However, the candle had burned down to its base now and she had yet to come up with anything.

What should I do...?

Isabelle barely managed to hold back another sigh. Finally, after keeping her sadness and fear at bay for so long, she became teary, causing her sky-blue eyes to glisten. Upon realizing she was about to cry, the girl bit her lower lip, set the pen down, and rested her chin on her hand. No matter how hard she tried to rationalize it, it was still unfair of the priest to sell her to a noble for a one-night stand just because he saw her as an eyesore.

Why me...?

Isabelle recalled the secret transaction she had witnessed Father Mateo make a few days ago. On a foggy night, he had received a heavy sack from someone. Judging from the jingling noise it produced and how the contents gleamed in the moonlight, it must’ve been a bag full of gold coins. At that time, Isabelle still had no idea what he had sold and was more curious about how much he had received. It was probably enough to purchase a manor. As she wondered what he could have sold for such a large sum, she heard him say her name.

“Why would you pay such a high price for that nuisance Isabelle? I don’t know why you and Sister Maria are defending the child. She’s just a waste of the temple’s food.”

“This is the woman that Duke Cardiego will take. She’s worth much more than this.”

Father Mateo laughed and tucked the bag of gold coins into his clothing. After fumbling with his uniform, which had ballooned to the point where he resembled a pregnant woman, he had instructed, “Take Isabelle the day after tomorrow. The saints aren’t at the temple right now, but they’re nearby and might return soon.”

After that, Father Mateo continued to talk about Isabelle for a long time. He even made it clear to the other party that, having been raised by Sister Maria since she was a newborn, she was a virgin.

Isabelle liked her silver hair and blue eyes, but she felt sick to her stomach when the priest praised her appearance. He had sounded so calm that she got goosebumps whenever she remembered it.

Father Mateo visited the temple regularly, and Isabelle knew he found her bothersome. She simply thought he hated her because, according to him, she lived at the temple even though she wasn’t a saint.

That doesn’t mean he has to sell me to an impotent duke.

Even though Isabelle lived in the attic, she was well aware of the rumors about the mysterious Duke Cardiego.

I heard that he has a clean list of ex-lovers because he kills all the women he has a one-night stand with due to his inferiority complex. If he captures me, I’ll lose my purity and die.

Isabelle was scared to lose her life, but the thought of dying after meaninglessly losing her virginity terrified her even more to the point of tears. Although she didn’t know which man would take it, she had secretly expected a passionate night. She absolutely hated the idea of being killed after a worthless one-night stand.

Isabelle had never intended to be Duke Cardiego’s one-night fling. The duke was an eccentric tyrant who was known for always wearing a mask. She thought of possible ways she could avoid this terrible situation. If she ran away, the saints—once they returned to the temple—would be the ones to deal with the consequences of her actions. Then, Father Mateo, having already received his payment, would employ any means necessary to fulfill his part of the deal.

Isabelle was scheduled to be sold the day after tomorrow, so she had no time to devise an elaborate escape plan. That left her with only one option. I have no choice but to give myself a flaw—something that would make Duke Cardiego reluctant to be with me.

However, she had no idea what sort of imperfection to give herself. Isabelle thought about the people she could always count on for sound advice. Her eyes welled up with more tears as she remembered the currently-absent saints. Because they had always been there for her, she had forgotten that she was an orphan who lost her parents as soon as she came into the world. She neither had any relatives nor a surname, but she regarded them as her family.

They would want me to survive somehow.

As Isabelle wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, she remembered her childhood friend of ten years, who regularly came to see her a couple of times a month. Unlike the saints, who always advised her to “think carefully in the will of the gods,” Lix never offered her any sound counsel. All he told her was to try to fix the situation as much as she could. Amazingly enough, her problems would always get solved following his unhelpful advice.

Come to think of it, I’m supposed to meet Lix tomorrow.

For a moment, excitement washed over Isabelle before she came to a sudden realization. She had accumulated vast knowledge about romantic relationships between men and women through her smuggled romance novels. The reason the duke deliberately chose a woman who leeches off the temple far away from the capital is because he values purity.

If that were the case, the answer to her predicament was simple. I need a man. Isabelle went into serious thinking mode and started twisting strands of her hair between her fingers. I should ask Lix to introduce me to someone I can marry... No, never mind. I’m his only friend.

Her childhood friend knew nothing about socializing. Sometimes, even boys the same age as him who visited the temple grew sick and tired of him. Isabelle, clinging to the solution she had just come up with, pictured herself sitting next to Lix and laughed. Her face brightened, and for a moment, she looked as if she hadn’t just cried her eyes out.

Impossible. Lix and me?

That concept would be as awkward as a child trying to fit into adult clothes.

However, Isabelle couldn’t think of any other solution. She pondered for a moment before grabbing her pen. The sounds of scribbling and paper crumpling echoed repeatedly in the attic until the moon set and the sun rose.

***

The next day, Isabelle exited the temple and headed to a nearby thicket. It was where she always met Lix.

What if Lix says no...?

In the middle of her anxious thoughts, a dark shadow fell over her.

“You’re having devious thoughts again, aren’t you?” a male voice said accusingly.

“Lix!”

Isabelle looked up at her childhood friend, who was much taller than her. He looked like he had just gotten off work, what with his disheveled brown hair and the soot on his face. That wasn’t to say he was ugly, though. He had a high nose bridge and dark eyebrows, and if he just trimmed his shaggy hair, his appearance would improve even more. Since he made a living through manual labor, he had a strong physique and no potbelly.

Due to his sharp, crimson eyes, people assumed he enjoyed fighting or martial arts, but Isabelle, who had known him since they were children, knew better. Lix had no interest in women, nor any sexual desire, making him the most reliable childhood friend one could ask for.

Lix is a hundred times better than other men whose emotions are fickle.

Isabelle started explaining everything to her childhood friend, who had become nervous after seeing her bright smile. Gradually, his expression grew icy.

“What are you talking about...? Duke Cardiego is going to buy you?”

“No. It seems that one of his subordinates is secretly searching for a woman to present to His Grace as a gift.”

“Which bastard?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, Father Mateo already has the money and will hand me over soon. This wouldn’t have happened if Sister Maria was here.”

Isabelle wiped off the sorrowful expression on her face, put on her signature smile that made her eyes take the shape of a crescent moon, and grabbed Lix’s hands. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

“So, marry me, Lix.”

“What?”

“Nobles only want virgin women.” Isabelle didn’t notice Lix’s eyes shaking and continued, “If I say that I’m married, the priest and the nobles will realize I don’t have my purity anymore. That’s all I need.”

“Are you saying you’ll go through a fake marriage because you don’t want to be sold to Duke Cardiego?”

And with me? Lix wanted to jump up from his seat in frustration, but it was impossible because Isabelle was holding his hands tightly to prevent him from running away.

“Here, read this. I stayed up last night writing this contract. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

Lix read through the terms with a flat gaze. It stated that if he pretended to be her husband, she would cook, clean, and do the laundry for him until they divorced.

“You can treat me like a maid until we split up. What do you say?”

“This doesn’t benefit me at all. You can’t cook, clean, or do the laundry. I know Sister Maria scolds you because of that all the time.”

“That’s because she’s too picky. Lix... can’t you just marry me? Please?”

Lix sighed before asking in a melancholic voice, “You read novels about people falling in love and getting married after a one-night stand, yet you hate Duke Cardiego?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you being stubborn about this? He might be a good man.”

“Lix, that’s not the problem.” Isabelle crossed her legs and arms as she got ready for a serious discussion. For the first time that day, she adopted a solemn expression. “Duke Cardiego is impotent.”

“What?” Lix gasped in disbelief. “Who said that?”

“Everyone did. That’s the only reason the candidate to be the next emperor has never had any problems with women before. Actually, I don’t have a problem with everything else. I can understand if he’s a tyrant. It’s possible for anyone living a hard life to become one. But men have to be able to perform at night.”

“Hey, I’m a man too.”

“You try living with saints for twenty years. You’d understand how I feel.”

Isabelle offered her marriage contract to Lix again, and he took it with a bitter expression.

“When do I have to decide by?”

It was an ambiguous answer, but Isabelle felt like she had found a silver lining. She unclasped the necklace around her neck in order to make it official. It was the only accessory she was allowed to wear in the temple, where jewelry and other luxuries were strictly forbidden.

“We have to get married no later than the day after tomorrow if I want to keep my head, darling. This is a wedding dowry. Come here.”

Isabelle pulled Lix’s stiff body toward her and hung her necklace around his neck. She had never felt such desperation before.

***

Lix glanced back at Isabelle as she shouted that she had faith in him while waving goodbye. Her silver hair took on a beautiful honey-like color in the sunlight as it gently fluttered. When Isabelle smiled, she looked like a painting.

What a sly girl.

Lix couldn’t believe she had come up with the idea to fake a marriage with her childhood friend to avoid sleeping with Duke Cardiego. Even if she were joking, it wasn’t funny.

Should I really marry her?

He met her when he first moved to Cardiego Duchy and had known her for more than a decade. Lix was convinced he knew Isabelle better than she knew herself.

He even knew that her long-cherished dream was to “break the bed on the first night.” So he couldn’t believe she was using her childhood friend to fulfill such a bold dream.

Who else would want to live with such a sly woman?

Lix smirked as he walked through the narrow alleys like a stray cat. With a wave of his fingers, his surroundings changed.

As he considered Isabelle’s urgent proposal, he looked up. A row of robust knights stood before him, each of whom could easily bring down a stout young man with a single punch. The knights looked menacing as they formed what appeared to be a formidable human wall. It wouldn’t be strange to run away from such an intimidating scene.

However, Lix walked forward without much expression and commanded, “Let’s go.”

He had merely said two words, but all the knights bowed in unison.