0 - Prologue

Prologue

Soft streetlights illuminated the lakeshore. Two blurry shadows swayed, overlapping on the calm ripples. Stars studded the deep blue sky, almost excessively.

It was an overly peaceful and beautiful place.

Eris gazed down at the scene reflected in the lake and quietly drew a breath. The cool night air, mixed with the scent of the water, filled her lungs and eased her tension.

She finally felt like she could breathe.

Yet, a corner of her heart remained restless.

“Eris.”

That uneasiness was likely because of him.

At the gentle voice calling her name, Eris stiffly turned her head, like a rusty machine. The man’s striking, clear-cut features and blue eyes immediately caught her attention.

His silver hair was disheveled. His clothes were crumpled and soiled. Fresh red bloodstains marred his pale skin. Anyone could see he was a complete mess, but honestly, none of it seemed to diminish his striking good looks.

Certainly, Young Duke Ciel von Silverion was the most beautiful man Eris had ever laid eyes on. His beauty was so striking that she almost regretted merely seeing him once. It made her want to scrape together every ounce of artistic talent she lacked just to capture his image in a drawing.

Most women who ever caught a glimpse of him felt the same way Eris did, their eyes lingering. Countless rumors and whispers followed him wherever he went.

“What’s with that look?”

But Ciel’s constant entanglement in life-threatening situations couldn’t solely be attributed to his brilliant looks. What kind of life had he led, to be threatened with his life even on a supposed reward vacation?

Then as now, he was the root cause of Eris’s agitation.

“What about my face?”

Ciel, his head tilted, gazed at Eris’s face. He reached out a hand. As his fingers gently brushed her eye area, Eris sucked in a breath.

His hand, which looked like it had never touched anything but holy water from a temple, felt surprisingly rough, hardened with calluses.

“Not a mistake. I feel like having a proper scandal with you.”

At his blatant remark, the composure she had barely clung to shattered like glass. A strange heat rushed through her.

“Stop joking.”

Eris instinctively took a step back, hastily lowering her gaze. It was just a slight touch of his thumb, but her skin subtly trembled, and her heart seemed to burn.

She must be crazy.

Fearing that heat would betray her, she quickly tried to retreat.

Ciel closed the distance, stepping even closer than she had tried to create. From such a close distance, his scent enveloped her, like the refreshing aroma of the sea.

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

Ciel von Silverion. She didn’t even know what he was truly thinking. Yet, feeling such confused emotions over a seemingly nonsensical joke felt utterly shameful.

“Lord Ciel, is that all you can say in a situation like this?”

Like a cornered beast pushed into a rat hole, Eris suddenly raised her voice, a final, desperate roar.

“What kind of situation is this?”

She was speechless at his brazen question.

“Lord Ciel, do you even know you have blood on your face?”

Yet, his striking good looks remained undimmed, and her heart stirred despite herself. That was the problem. Was madness contagious? She even felt like she was turning into a pervert herself. The thought filled her with dismay.

Eris forced her eyes wide open, determined to regain her composure.

“Ah, is it because my face isn’t pretty enough?”

His serious face, searching for the reason behind her rebuke, was so utterly ridiculous that she let out a disbelieving gasp.

“That’s not the point!”

“If not that, then what? Eris, you’ve just cheated death. Let’s be honest with each other.”

Ciel roughly scrubbed his gaunt face and grinned.

Eris clenched her fists and raised her voice.

“I’m not in the mood for games, you hear me? Lord Ciel, you almost just died. Aren’t you scared?”

Ciel stared at Eris. Eris stared back, refusing to lose the silent battle. As she quietly met Ciel’s steady blue gaze, it felt as if she was being sucked into a swirling, inescapable vortex. In the end, it was Eris who looked away first.

“Eris.”

Then the man’s deep, solemn voice reached her ears. There was no trace of his confident demeanor from moments before.

“Why? What are you going to say this ti—”

“Come live with me.”

“…What?”

She never expected normal words to come from that beautiful mouth, but Ciel’s words were more outrageous than she could have imagined. Eris’s eyes widened, and she looked up at him.

“Let’s live together.”

He stated it matter-of-factly, without a change in expression.

“Hmm? Because you have to protect me, Eris.”

Indeed, she was once again forced to realize that life was a continuous series of uncertainties.

Just as she had fatefully encountered him again that day.