Chapter 2

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: A Deceptive Proposal
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A glance back revealed Diello shaking his head slightly.

“…Are you really asking me to lay a hand on the dress of a lady I’ve only just met?”

“I gave you my permission. Besides…”

I turned to face him.

And I took his slightly raised hand, pulling it toward me.

I could see my reflection in his blue eyes.

“This is a matter concerning your fate and that of Argenta. Shouldn't you see for yourself?”

“…”

Diello, who had hesitated, fell silent at my words.

Then, he finally rose from his seat.

*Click-clack.*

As I turned my back to him again, the sound of my heels echoed unusually loud in the room.

“…”

Then his hand, slowly approaching, finally touched my back.

Though he only touched the button through the fabric, a strange heat traveled up my spine.

I couldn't tell if it was from the tension or because of the fire ability Diello Argenta wielded.

*Pop.*

His hand undid the button.

I could feel the nape of my neck, where his name was supposed to be engraved, being exposed to the air.

“Look closely. Here is the proof that I am a fake.”

I bit my lip. This was something I had to do. I clenched my fists without realizing it.

Croire Alloje could manipulate water.

Though her ability was said to be so weak she couldn't even gather spilled water, it was impossible that she couldn't move the blood within her own body.

It might be difficult, but I had to move it!

*Fwoosh!*

The moment I thought that, a faint blue light seeped from my hand.

And I almost froze.

This is… easier than I thought?

Was Croire's ability greater than what was described in the original novel?

Moving the blood in my body was as simple as lifting a finger.

Did something change when I possessed her body?

“…!”

Meanwhile, Diello's expression was changing by the second.

Of course it was.

The mark carved on the nape of my neck, right between my shoulder blades where my neckline began, was fading.

“This is…”

If it were a true Pero's mark, it couldn't disappear like this.

I turned back to him.

I had no time to worry about my slightly loosened dress.

In this moment, I had to convince Diello Argenta.

“Duke Alloje forcibly carved your name into my body.”

With the ability to move water, there was no reason I couldn't also move blood.

“This is the proof that I am a fake.”

I looked back at him.

My gaze met his blue eyes, which were like a stormy sea.

“Now, are you perhaps a little more willing to make a deal with me?”

*Can you trust me?*

*Thud.*

I asked, leaning a hand on the desk.

A considerable amount of pain shot through me as the blood that had been pooled under my skin in the shape of his name began to move.

But thankfully, the stinging pain helped clear my head.

“Duke Alloje only ordered me to deceive Your Grace and become your Pero. Proposing this deal is my own spontaneous action.”

I held out my hand, palm open.

“In other words, not a single person in the entirety of Alloje, let alone the Duke, knows what I'm thinking.”

Diello, who had been staring at me as if trying to read my mind, slowly opened his mouth.

“A fake Pero… I knew Argenta was being underestimated, but I never imagined it was to this extent.”

His blue eyes gazed at me.

“Do you think Argenta would let someone who tried to deceive its master go free?”

“No, you wouldn't let them live.”

Not even Diello Argenta, known for his gentle nature.

“That's why I'm proposing a deal. Because I want to live.”

At my words, Diello glanced down at his now-cool teacup.

“Are you saying there's a reason for me to go through with this marriage, even though you are a fake Pero?”

“Yes. There are two.”

I answered confidently. Diello raised an eyebrow slightly.

“First.”

I looked Diello Argenta straight in the eye and continued.

“Argenta is known to have the weakest master in its history right now. That's why both the Alloje of Water and the Cartiel of Wind are looking down on you. So much so that they'd try to deceive you with a fake Pero.”

Looking into his blue eyes, I went on.

“If you marry me, you can pretend to be deceived. It means you can buy time, letting them lower their guard until Your Grace finds your real Pero and gains your power.”

Duke Alloje would believe Diello had been completely fooled by the fake Pero.

“Second.”

I looked down at my fingertips.

“This is Argenta, protector of the Infinite Sea. I've heard that defending the borders of the Infinite Sea has become difficult because your Pero has been late to appear.”

My gaze met his directly.

“Until the real Pero arrives, having me and my Alloje power should be helpful in holding back the sea, don't you think?”

In the original novel, Croire Alloje wasn't said to be born with a proper affinity for controlling water.

But according to a side note from the author, abilities are amplified where their source of power is abundant.

If that's the case, what about before the overflowing sea? Even if I could only move a little of that water, I would be a great asset.

I glanced down at the teacup before me.

If I could move this water more freely, it would help convince Diello.

The original novel said Croire's ability was so weak she couldn't even gather spilled tea.

But just a moment ago, when I used my ability, the blood moved so freely.

What about this time?

*Splash!*

The water in the teacup leaped up, forming the exact shape of the cup that had held it.

…And this is supposed to be a weak ability?

It wasn't hard at all to move an entire cup of water, not just a few spilled drops.

But I had no time to be surprised.

In this moment, I had to be a trustworthy partner in this deal.

I looked straight at Diello.

“…”

As I moved the water, Diello's gaze shifted to the teacup made of water.

From his perspective, as someone who had to face an endless ocean with fire, my ability to move water had to be tempting.

*Will he take the bait?*

The moment our eyes met, Diello spoke.

“…Your ability aside, as you said, I am not a strong master. Making a deal with me won't be enough to stop Alloje.”

A sorrowful smile.

But it was an act.

A lie.

“No, you can stop them.”

I refuted his words with conviction. I had enough evidence without even bringing up the original novel.

“The world may know you as weak, but if your power were truly lacking, most of Argenta would have deserted you by now.”

But Argenta's core members remain.

That meant the power passed down from the master of Argenta wasn't weak at all.

The reason he was treated as a weak master was because he was supposedly unable to wield the master's power skillfully.

But having read the original novel, I knew the truth.

He was merely biding his time, waiting for the right moment to turn the tables. He was the most powerful master in Argenta's history.

I knew it even without having read to the end.

That is, if the synopsis and the reviews weren't all lying in unison.

Meaning, as long as I don't twist the original plot on my end.

As long as I don't erase his lily mark instead of the real Pero, he can blossom into the most powerful master.

The problem was buying time until then.

“Duke Alloje already suspects you, Your Grace.”

As they say, it takes one to know one; while Duke Alloje looked down on Diello, he couldn't ignore the subtle sense of unease he felt.

A reputedly weak and gentle master, yet the desertion rate of his household was zero.

Questioning this, Duke Alloje went so far as to commit the mad act of sending a fake Pero.

If Diello was truly weak, it was to use this chance to crush Argenta for good.

I leaned a little closer to him.

His chiseled jawline and sharp nose, as if sculpted with care by a god, drew nearer.

Diello Argenta. They said he was called handsome even as a child for his well-defined features.

He was wavering. Now was the time to give him certainty.

“I truly have no intention of seducing you, Your Grace.”

Diello's gaze turned to me.

“If I were to steal your power and potential as Duke Alloje planned, I would become someone unwelcome in both Alloje and Argenta.”

To Alloje, a pawn no longer of use. To Argenta, a shameless wretch who stole the master's power.

“What would you have done if I didn't believe your words, coming here like this?”

Diello's cautious gaze studied me again.

“Because I believed you would be wise enough to accept this proposal.”

I let out a short breath.

If this deal fails, I die. So I had to be as confident as possible.

I straightened my back.

“As I said before, let's get married.”

The marriage part doesn't change.

“We'll also spend the night together, just as Alloje wishes.”

Just as Diello's expression began to stiffen at my words, I added smoothly.

“—Instead.”

I extended my hand toward his pale one.

“We'll only hold hands.”

*We'll pretend to have spent the night together. Until your real Pero arrives.*

At my words, Diello's eyes widened.

“We'll let Alloje and Cartiel lower their guard until Your Grace's real Pero appears, and then, with the power you'll gain with your Pero, you'll wipe out Alloje.”

According to the original novel, the real Pero appears about two months after Croire arrives as the fake.

Until then, we'll keep our opponent off guard.

I held out my hand.

“Because I'm sure Your Grace… has more than enough power to do so.”

This had to be an attractive deal that Diello Argenta couldn't possibly refuse.

There were many who sought to harm him, but likely no one willing to be his ally.

And the one who had come offering to be his ally was none other than the opponent's hidden card, Croire Alloje.

“Are those the terms of your deal, my lady?”

Diello's blue eyes studied me. I gave a slight nod.

“Yes. In exchange for this contract marriage, please take down Alloje and protect me, Your Grace, Duke Diello Argenta.”

At my words, Diello stroked his lips as if in thought.

A long silence. A long contemplation.

Just as I was thinking that his cerulean eyes, once like a shallow sea, now looked like the abyss…

Diello finally spoke. A gentle smile played on his lips.

“Very well. From now on, call me Diello.”

He extended his hand to me.

“As has been announced to both our families, I will marry you, Lady Croire. And we will have our first night at the upcoming wedding…”

His blue eyes closed.

“From that day on, I will gradually lose my chance to blossom.”

His sorrowful voice echoed.

“—Or rather, I'll pretend to lose it.”

With those words, Diello approached me.

As I flinched and stepped back in surprise, he closed the distance and placed a hand on my back.

I froze.

“Allow me to observe some belated courtesies, my lady.”

He gave a faint smile.

“…Ah.”

For a moment, the tension left me, and my shoulders slumped.

*Click.*

The button on my dress that his hand had unfastened was now fastened again.

Just as I shivered from the strange heat and tension that crept up my back and neck…

*Whoosh.*

He took off his uniform jacket and draped it over my exposed back.

Warmth enveloped me.

He smiled at me. The deal was struck.

The original story had begun to stray.