chapter 8
‘Did Kayla also meet Ricardo like this? I can’t remember.’
Thinking it over again, I was certain that in the original story, Ricardo and Kayla’s first meeting was different from this. Kayla, for one, wasn’t the type to take midnight walks alone at dawn.
‘The story has changed.’
It hit me again—by possessing Stella, the original plot had already begun to diverge.
Seeing him in person, one thing became absolutely clear. Ricardo Zenkyshi in front of me was far more striking than the one I had imagined or seen in my dreams. Even the illustrated cover that once depicted him couldn’t compare.
Now I understood why Kayla, who had once screamed about not wanting to marry a “bloodthirsty demon,” ended up falling hopelessly in love the moment she met him.
While I was lost in thought, he looked at me and asked coldly,
“Who are you?”
The moment I heard it, I snapped back to reality. He genuinely didn’t know who I was. Judging by that bored gaze, he probably thought I was just a maid working in the estate.
‘What should I say? That I came here to marry you?’
My lips trembled slightly, but no words came out.
“I asked who you are. Why are you wandering around at this hour dressed like that?”
His voice carried a hint of irritation as he turned his gaze away from me and began sheathing the sword in his hand.
I quickly pulled the robe that was slipping off my shoulders back over my nightclothes and spoke.
“Greetings, Your Grace. I am Stella Enrio. I got lost while taking a walk.”
At my answer, he paused mid-motion and looked at me.
“Enrio?”
He slowly walked toward me, arms crossed.
Perhaps he had been training with a sword in the early morning—his forehead and neck were damp with sweat when I saw him up close. His fitted shirt clung to his body, revealing a firm, sculpted chest. His dark navy eyes were like a silent winter lake, deep and mesmerizing.
“I heard that the young lady sent by Her Majesty the Empress has arrived at my estate. You returned so late that you didn’t even manage to show proper courtesy.”
Despite his words acknowledging discourtesy, his tone and expression were indifferent.
“I didn’t expect you to be diligent enough to be snooping around the estate on your very first day.”
His sarcasm made it sound like I was some kind of stray cat.
I knew he had no reason to think well of me, but I also had no reason to be misunderstood.
“I don’t know what you mean. I was just taking a walk, got lost, and was looking for someone to ask for help.”
My voice must have carried some edge, because he narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a faint, cold smile.
“We’ve just met, yet you already know my status? You didn’t even know I was in the estate. Was this encounter intentional?”
He spoke as if he had already decided I was the Empress’s spy.
“People who speak so arrogantly to strangers aren’t common. Unless you’re the highest-ranking person here, the rules of this ducal house would be quite disappointing.”
My reply seemed to provoke him further. The faint amusement on his lips disappeared, and his gaze turned icy.
Silence fell between us.
For a moment, I thought the sword in his hand might suddenly be pointed at me, and my eyes instinctively drifted toward it.
“A maidless young lady wandering a strange estate alone… are you fearless, or simply reckless? Then again, someone willing to marry a man they’ve never met must be no ordinary noblewoman. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about me, yet here you are, willing to marry anyway.”
He let out a short laugh, as if he found it amusing.
Just then, footsteps echoed from somewhere nearby. A servant who had just stepped out of the quarters after stretching saw us in the garden and rushed over in shock.
“D-Duke?!”
Ricardo, who had just been staring at me with a frightening expression, looked away and ordered coldly,
“This young lady says she got lost.”
“W-What? Ah, yes!”
The servant turned to me and bowed politely.
“Please, this way.”
“Thank you.”
I followed the servant slowly.
As I walked, I glanced back—and saw he was still standing there, watching me. His gaze wasn’t directed at a future bride, but at something insignificant that had wandered into his estate.
I never expected a warm reaction from him, but being under that cold stare made my steps feel heavier.
‘Should I run away now?’
Ha. My resolve to abandon him before being abandoned hadn’t even properly begun before it started wavering like grass in the wind.
Maybe my entire premise was wrong. To abandon someone, I first had to possess them. But after seeing Ricardo Zenkyshi in person, that already felt impossible.
‘Should I revise the plan completely? No—let’s not be a bride, but a vassal instead. I’ll use my knowledge of the future to help him and make him see me as an ally. As long as I don’t end up dying in the end, that’s enough!’
It was almost ridiculous how weak I became just from seeing him.
‘And I already turned coward like this, and still think I can change the original story?’
I felt pathetic, but it was too late to change course now. I had already met the Empress—soon I would be forced into a wedding, and I was already destined to become a bride despised by her husband.
If I wanted to run, I should have escaped from the lord’s estate back then.
“Ha….”
I stopped and grabbed my head. The servant beside me asked worriedly,
“Are you alright? Are you feeling unwell…?”
“No. I’m fine.”
I resumed walking as if nothing was wrong.
One small comfort was that I knew the original story.
I straightened my shoulders and posture again.
‘Right. I basically hold the strongest weapon in this world. Don’t get scared ahead of time.’
As if casting a spell, the thought eased my mind a little.
Ricardo lifted his muscular arm and pulled off his wet shirt in one motion.
Broad shoulders, a thick chest, and sharply defined abs were revealed beneath. His lean waist and powerful thighs looked like something carved by the gods for a warrior.
He took the towel handed to him by a servant and wiped the sweat from his face and neck.
He had returned after leading the war to victory and only arrived at the estate deep into the night.
Even though he was supposed to enter the imperial palace at dawn, he couldn’t sleep. The reason was simple—he had heard that the woman chosen by the Empress as his bride had arrived, and the news left a bitter feeling in his chest.
The thought that the Empress’s manipulative hand had reached even into the depths of his estate stirred something hot inside him.
Unable to sleep until the sky turned pale blue, he went to the training grounds to clear his mind. Only after swinging his sword and sweating heavily did the fire in his heart calm slightly.
After settling himself, he left the training grounds to prepare for an early departure to the palace—only to encounter a woman in the garden.
“Greetings, Your Grace. I am Stella Enrio. I got lost while taking a walk.”
A distant relative of the Empress, though he had never even heard the name of her family. He had only been told she came from a small remote territory.
A woman personally selected by the Empress—he didn’t need to see her to imagine what kind she would be. Either cunning and extravagant like the Empress herself, or deliberately chosen to be a foolish pawn meant to mock him.
So when he saw her in the garden, he truly didn’t recognize her as that woman.
Unlike his expectations, she was neither dazzling nor foolish.
Her violet eyes, shining like a harmless small animal, remained fixed on him without fear. Despite being small enough not to reach his shoulders, she spoke back to him boldly without hesitation.
He let out a brief scoff at the thought that he had even momentarily remembered her.
A political marriage, nothing more.
He recalled the Empress Dowager’s dying words before she passed.
“Ricardo. This is my final will. Swear before me and everyone that you will obey the Empress unconditionally as a son should.”
It was the best—and last—thing the dying Empress Dowager could do to bring back her grandson who had lived like a slave.
As she wished, he was taken into the imperial family as the Emperor’s son, and he kept his promise before her. He served the Emperor and Empress not as parents, but as a loyal subject.
He fought in the most dangerous battles, narrowly surviving death multiple times, and brought victory to the empire. Even after being recognized as the Emperor’s son, he never dared to covet the position of crown prince.
But there was one thing the late Empress Dowager failed to consider. The Empress never gave him enough space to remain merely an obedient son.