In the novel, Grand Duke Richard had been portrayed as a ruthless man who trusted no one. Someone like him was hardly likely to agree to meet a complete stranger.
After giving it some thought, I'd decided to use the identification badge of one of his subordinates. Anyone willing to stage a protest on his behalf had to be fairly close to him.
Surely the grand duke would agree to a visit if he thought a servant sent by one of his trusted officers had come bearing an urgent message.
And sure enough, Grand Duke Benedict Richard eventually appeared in the underground prison's visiting room.
He regarded me with a cold, impassive stare.
“Are you Lieutenant Victor Genoa's maid? What message does he have for me?”
“Marry me.”
The red eyes of the man sitting across from me widened in utter disbelief.
Understandably so.
After all, we'd never met before today.
“Didn't you say you were Lieutenant Victor Genoa's maid?”
“Actually, I'm not a maid. I lied because I needed to see you.”
“What?”
He shot to his feet and glared down at me with undisguised contempt.
His expression was so cold and unyielding that he looked incapable of shedding a single drop of blood. Coupled with his towering physique, it made for an intimidating sight.
“I have no intention of speaking to someone who won't even identify herself properly. Get out.”
“If I tell you who I am, will you sit back down?”
“I'm not interested.”
He turned away, the chains around his wrists and ankles clanking with every step.
I'd expected him to be difficult. Clearly, there was no point beating around the bush.
As he headed for the door, I called after him.
“Not even if I'm the person who can prove your innocence?”
He stopped dead.
For a moment, he seemed genuinely startled. Then his composure returned, and he let out a derisive snort.
“Hah. So you're simply insane.”
Damn. That didn't work.
With my opportunity slipping away, I scrambled out of my chair and hurried to block his path.
“Why don't you hear me out for just a moment?”
“I doubt anything you have to say is worth hearing. Especially when you opened our conversation by proposing marriage to a man you've never met—a man who's about to be executed.”
I swallowed under his icy gaze.
In my previous life, I'd dealt with more villains than I could count, but the man before me was in a league of his own.
His sheer presence was overwhelming.
No wonder they called him a murderous fiend.
Still, I'm no pushover myself.
“If you're going to be executed no matter what, what do you have to lose by hearing me out?”
I consciously straightened my shoulders, which had hunched slightly under his intimidating stare.
Our eyes met, and one of his eyebrows twitched.
Okay. I think I'm getting somewhere. Time for one final push.
“If you still think I'm wasting your time after five minutes, I'll leave immediately.”
I delivered the ultimatum firmly and gestured toward the chair he'd abandoned.
His narrow eyes tightened for a moment before he strode back to the table.
He sat down, leaning as far back as possible, as though daring me to say something worth his time.
“You have three minutes.”
“Yes, sir!”
The instant he gave me permission, I darted back to my seat and leaned forward eagerly.
Then I began my pitch, carefully enunciating every word.
“Given the charges against you, the upcoming trial will almost certainly end with the confiscation of your entire estate and a death sentence. Even if the court shows mercy, you'll be looking at life imprisonment. And considering the current state of public opinion, I wouldn't count on any mercy.”
Grand Duke Richard's chin shot up.
Before he could lose his temper and walk out again, I hurriedly continued.
“I've looked into your case, and I'm confident I can get you acquitted.”
“…”
He still looked deeply suspicious.
His eyes practically screamed the question.
And how exactly is someone like you supposed to do that?
I answered the unspoken challenge without missing a beat.
“Appoint me as your defense counsel at the upcoming trial.”
“Are you even qualified to practice law?”
His eyes narrowed as he looked me up and down.
Clearly, he doubted that a woman who looked as though she could barely afford her next meal possessed any legal qualifications.
I answered truthfully.
“Well… not in this country, no. I doubt the bar exam would be particularly difficult, but unfortunately, there isn't another one scheduled before your trial.”
“Hah. Do you take me for a fool?”
The grand duke sprang to his feet again, apparently having heard more than enough.
His expression made no secret of how offended he was at being toyed with.
But I'd anticipated this reaction.
Resting my chin on my interlaced fingers, I smiled sweetly up at him.
“That's precisely why I asked you to marry me.”
“…What?”
“Under imperial law, there are only three parties permitted to represent a defendant in court: the defendant himself, a member of his family, or a licensed attorney.”
The moment I'd settled on my target the previous evening, I'd rushed to a bookstore.
There, I'd located a copy of the imperial law code and frantically flipped through its pages.
I couldn't afford to buy it, so I'd simply committed everything I needed to memory.
The furious shopkeeper had eventually thrown me out, but not before I'd accomplished my objective.
“Of those three options, which one do you think is available to me right now? That's right. Becoming a member of your family.”
“…”
He stared at me in utter bewilderment.
Then, as though under some strange spell, he slowly sank back into his chair.
“Marriage is the fastest way for us to become family. Of course, if you're absolutely opposed to getting married…”
I trailed off and glanced at his handsome face, trying to estimate his age.
He couldn't be much older than his mid-to-late twenties.
Would that work?
“You could always adopt me instead.”
“What the hell…”
A half-muttered curse escaped his perfectly shaped lips.
He'd been looking at me as though I were out of my mind from the moment we met.
Apparently, he'd finally lost the will to keep that opinion to himself.
“So, what do you think? Marriage or adoption? Just pick whichever option you prefer, and—”
“Neither. I refuse both. I have no intention of accepting your proposal.”
My mouth fell open.
That was not the answer I'd expected.
Usually, clients came to me begging for help, swearing they'd do absolutely anything if I could just get them out of prison.
But this man…
I could only blink at him.
Grand Duke Richard continued in an even voice.
“Every time I stepped onto a battlefield, I was prepared to die. I have no intention of manufacturing some desperate personal relationship simply to argue for my innocence.”
His tone was calm but resolute.
I studied him, genuinely surprised.
A thin shaft of light slipped into the dim visiting room, casting deep shadows across his sharply defined features.
“Ah, I see. So your precious pride matters more to you than the lives of your subordinates.”
I met his gaze and delivered the words without flinching.
It was my final provocation.
After all, I needed this man if I was going to escape the hell of poverty.
Bang!
The grand duke slammed his hand against the table with a deafening crash.
The guard stationed outside immediately peered into the room, his expression tense.
I waved to indicate that everything was fine, and he withdrew.
“Keep speaking to me with such insolence, and you'll regret it.”
The grand duke's tightly clenched fist trembled.
Veins stood out against the pale skin of his hand.
Unperturbed, I pressed on, my voice laced with reproach.
“Your men are outside this prison protesting day and night for your release.”
I paused, then produced the identification badge I'd stolen earlier and slid it across the table toward him.
“Lieutenant Victor Genoa is one of them.”
“…”
A complicated expression crossed the grand duke's face as he looked down at Victor's badge.
“If you simply accept your execution, have you considered what that will do to the people who followed you? What will they even call the Richard Unit once you're gone?”
“…”
The Richard Unit was the name given to the Imperial Army's 107th Regiment, which Grand Duke Richard commanded.
As the emperor's illegitimate son, he'd originally joined the military in hopes of earning his father's recognition through his achievements.
He'd gone on to annihilate so many enemies that he'd earned the nickname the Battlefield Butcher.
His accomplishments had brought him considerable renown within the imperial army.
Although he was the villain who tormented the protagonists in the novel, he'd also earned the loyalty of a great many soldiers.
“Actually, perhaps that's the least of their worries. They'll be lucky if they manage to keep their heads.”
“…”
I caught the subtle darkening of his expression.
Of course he understood what would happen after his death.
Those who'd fought to save him—more precisely, those who'd remained loyal to him—would inevitably become targets of a purge.
The imperial family would never allow potential threats to remain.
“If you know there's a way to secure your acquittal and still refuse to take it, aren't you betraying the very people who put their faith in you?”
His massive fist slowly relaxed.
Grand Duke Richard lowered his eyes, his expression pained.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then his lips finally moved.
“Can you truly prove my innocence?”
Yes!
I could barely contain my delight.
He'd almost taken the bait.
The grand duke let out a faint sigh.
“And what do you want in return?”
“My terms are simple.”
At last, I pulled a contract and a pen from inside my clothes and placed them before him.
He examined the document with a deeply suspicious expression.
“Hah.”
As he read through the contract, the grand duke suddenly let out a hollow laugh.
As though he'd discovered something terribly wrong with its contents.