The ash gray eyes traced along Lisi’s nape. He parted his lips slightly as if he wanted to bite her throat at any moment, then closed them again. His gaze, sunk into a damp gloom, wandered from Lisi’s neck down to her chest and further to her abdomen.
It felt as if the sharp stare pierced through her dress and thoroughly caressed every inch of her body.
She wanted to run away.
Coming to find this man had been a mistake after all.
He was known as the upright guardian of the sacred relics, but she knew how savage he truly was. Thinking that his savagery would allow him to protect her had been an error.
She had fled from a beast only to walk straight into a beast’s den.
Yet Lisi did not run.
The old Lisi would have had her legs give out beneath her, trembling until she collapsed to the ground. But this time she did not collapse.
Without revealing her agitation, Lisi lifted her chin slightly and looked straight at him.
At her unwavering gaze, one corner of his lips twisted. But there was no amusement in his eyes.
“I must have heard wrong.”
A low, heavy voice slipped between lips as red as blood.
“Did the Flower of the Whitlow Ducal House just propose to me? And she came here herself to do it?”
“Yes. Marry me, Count Kayvrant Green.”
Kay’s eyes narrowed.
It was not an expression of amusement. It was a sharp look meant to uncover Lisi’s hidden intentions.
“The Flower of the Whitlow Ducal House.”
Kay strode forward and stopped right in front of Lisi.
A cool scent drifted from him, like the scent of a forest.
“I don’t think you understand what you’re saying right now.”
His hand slowly rose toward the back of Lisi’s neck. The large hand approached as if to grasp her slender throat, but it stopped just before touching her skin.
“Do you even know what marriage means?”
“I do.”
Oh, she knew very well.
“In that case…”
The hand that had paused moved and touched Lisi’s neck. The cold palm slid down her nape and stopped on her delicate shoulder. Lisi trembled slightly, but she did not lower the gaze she had fixed on him.
“Then you must also know what a husband and wife are supposed to do.”
Of course she knew. She knew far too well. He would be quite shocked if she said it aloud.
Instead of voicing what she was thinking, Lisi lifted a finger and pushed away the wrist of Kay’s hand resting on her shoulder. His hand fell away easily.
“We’re not married yet.”
Kay smiled faintly, raised both hands slightly in a gesture of surrender, and stepped back.
His eyes were still not smiling, which made Lisi feel a faint chill.
“Lady Whitlow.”
He raised a palm and pointed toward the door.
“Get out.”
It was a rude and unmistakable rejection.
Another lady would have been too ashamed to even lift her head. But Lisi was not.
This level of humiliation meant nothing.
If she could escape that house… if she could finally live properly… she would do anything.
Lisi lifted her head proudly and stared straight at Kay.
“Alford, the master of the Huchis Grand Merchant Guild, promised Duke Whitlow the gold mine of Lavent in exchange for me. Duke Whitlow plans to take the mine and hand me over to Alford.”
“Your tone has grown rather short.”
“You started it. If you prefer polite speech, you should use it first. Then I’ll show the appropriate courtesy.”
Kay’s eyes narrowed.
This time he looked amused.
He stared intently at Lisi’s face in silence before abruptly turning and walking to the sofa. He dropped onto it and crossed his legs, then gestured toward the sofa opposite with his chin.
It clearly meant for her to sit.
But Lisi did not move.
No one would command her anymore.
Her life would belong to her alone.
No one would ever again seize and shake her fate at their whim.
“If you offer the Benote gold mine you own, Duke Whitlow will certainly hand me over to you. The Benote gold mine is far larger than the Lavent mine.”
“Do you believe you’re worth as much as the Benote gold mine, Lady Whitlow? I don’t think so.”
“Isn’t the Flower of the Whitlow Ducal House better than a mine that will soon collapse? At least the flower hasn’t withered yet.”
A wrinkle formed between Kay’s brows.
He was likely wondering how the Flower of the Whitlow Ducal House knew the Benote gold mine would soon fail.
But Lisi had no intention of answering that question.
Instead of voicing his curiosity, Kay pointed toward the door again.
“I’ll say it again, Lady Whitlow. Get out.”
When it became clear Lisi had no intention of moving, Kay crossed his arms.
“I have no interest in whether the Flower of the Ducal House is blooming brightly or withering away. It means you’re not valuable enough for me to buy with a mine that’s about to fail.”
Looking at Lisi with languid eyes, as though he had lost interest, Kay spoke firmly.
“So, Lady Whitlow. Get out. Before I break that pretty neck.”
Lisi had already known that Kay had no interest in something like the Flower of the Ducal House.
She had merely tested him before revealing the card she truly held.
‘There’s no choice but to play it now.’
Lisi took a quiet breath.
Revealing this card meant placing her own neck on the line as well.
Once she revealed it, she had no idea whether Kay would spare her or kill her.
No one knew Lisi had come to the Green Count Estate. Kay knew that as well.
He might very well decide to silence everything by killing her.
‘If I die here, that’s fine too.’
Lisi knew what kind of life awaited her.
If she had to live that life, dying here would be better.
Steeling her resolve, she opened her mouth.
“The King of the Beastmen.”
At the softly murmured words, Kay’s eyes widened.
His solid ash gray eyes wavered slightly.
“I know what you’re trying to do, Kayvrant.”
Kay slowly rose to his feet.
Dark killing intent surged behind him. It rolled forward and swallowed Lisi’s body whole.
“The Flower of the Whitlow Ducal House will fall before she even has the chance to bloom.”
Kay’s hand seized Lisi’s throat.
Sharp fangs showed between his blood red lips, but Lisi did not so much as twitch an eyebrow.
“If the flower falls, your head will fall with it.”
Even with her throat being crushed, Lisi’s voice flowed out calmly.
The strength drained from Kay’s hand.
The killing intent that had filled his gray eyes disappeared, replaced by curiosity.
“You know my plan. It will fail, and you will die.”
“What else do you know?”
“That you have no choice but to marry me.”
Kay’s eyes widened before he suddenly smiled.
“Even if I ask how you know all that, you won’t answer.”
“That’s right.”
“If I refuse to marry you, you’ll go out there and reveal that I’m a beastman.”
“Correct.”
“And even if I kill you right here, you won’t flinch.”
“Mm.”
“But if I kill you here, then I die too.”
“Smart.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“You already do.”
Lisi spoke in a cheerful tone that almost sounded like singing.
Kay silently looked down at the fearless woman standing before him.
Skin so pale that veins almost showed beneath it, a slender long neck, beautifully defined collarbones above a full chest and narrow waist.
She was the kind of woman that made men’s mouths water.
And rumors said she truly was.
Countless men wanted to possess Iris Whitlow, the Flower of the Whitlow Ducal House who had grown up sheltered like a blossom in a greenhouse.
Many men must have been desperate to hold this body in their arms.
But Kay did not care about such things.
The supple body or the face said to be beautiful as a flower meant nothing to him.
What caught his attention was Lisi’s attitude.
Kay’s killing intent had substance.
Though invisible, it had form. It pressed against a person’s body and filled them with terror.
An ordinary woman, no, even a properly trained soldier would normally lose control of themselves under Kay’s killing intent.
But Lisi did not.
She did not even show frightened eyes.
That was what intrigued Kay.
Moreover, she did not seem to be lying.
There was something in Lisi’s eyes that made her words feel like truth.
“Let’s sit and talk.”
Kay released Lisi’s neck and walked toward the sofa.
Lisi did not move. She remained standing proudly where she was.
Kay frowned before recalling what Lisi had said earlier.
He gestured politely toward the sofa opposite him.
“Would you please sit down, Lady Whitlow.”
Lisi inclined her head slightly.
“Alright.”
As she slowly walked toward the sofa, Kay began to understand why people called her the Flower of the Whitlow Ducal House.
Her straight back and upright neck.
The dignity flowing from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.
Her slow and elegant movements.
She looked as delicate as a frightened little bird, yet her eyes held unwavering strength.
At last Lisi sat down and neatly placed both hands on her thighs, watching Kay.
With a noble expression, she waited for him to speak first.
“The fact that I’m a beastman. That I’m planning something. That it will fail and I’ll die. If you say you know such things, I’ll believe you without asking why.”
“……”
“But I would like to know the intention behind proposing marriage to a beastman destined to fail and die.”
Ripples stirred in Lisi’s once steady violet eyes.
For a moment her expression collapsed, as if recalling something horrifying.
Her gaze dropped to the side before returning to Kay.
“I want to escape that damned ducal house.”
It was an unexpected answer.
“I thought you were a flower in a greenhouse.”
“A greenhouse?”
A cold smile formed at Lisi’s lips.
For some reason, Kay found the Lisi standing before him now more attractive than at any moment since she had entered the room.
“That place isn’t a greenhouse. And I’m not a flower.”
Her voice was quiet and firm.
“I’m a weed that barely survived the flames of hell.”
They had been facing each other for less than an hour, yet Lisi had surprised Kay again and again.
Kay found the situation thoroughly entertaining.
“The Green Count House will not be a warm greenhouse either, Lady Whitlow.”
“It will become one, Count Green.”
Lisi said firmly.
“The strongest and warmest greenhouse in the world. A greenhouse standing at the very peak of power, where no one can step foot without permission.”
The peak of power.
Did this woman understand what that meant?
“In that greenhouse, I will give it my all. I will do my very best.”
A sweet smile blossomed on Lisi’s lips.
“To live lazily.”
Kay instantly found himself liking Lisi.