When I entered the bedroom hesitantly, the man was already there.

The Northern Grand Duke, Kishian Lynn Lehman, who was once small... but has now grown large enough to comfortably embrace me in his arms.

At times, he exuded an aura of intimidation more befitting the throne than my father, the Emperor.

Kishian roughly brushed away his jet-black hair, which was damp from his fresh shower, and turned his gaze to me, who had just arrived in the bedroom.

"..."

The thin slip the maids had made me wear, saying I should look good on my first night, did not protect me at all, neither from the winter cold nor from Kishian's sharp gaze.

Would it have been less embarrassing if I had been naked? As his numb golden eyes slowly scanned my body, my toes curled involuntarily.

I was about to cover my chest with both arms, feeling embarrassed as if I had been thrown naked before a cold-blooded critic.

Kishian's lips formed a slanted curve.

"I was worried. I thought you'd go to bed first even though it was supposed to be your first night as newlyweds."

"I'm sorry. I was preparing so I ended up being a little late."

Kishian looked at them in turn. My skin is smooth from washing in expensive medicinal water, and my light golden hair shines from applying high-quality rose oil.

Of course, there was no compliment.

"Ha."

There was only a cynical snort.

"Well, I heard your excuse for being late. Are you going to stand there the whole time?"

He gestured to the empty seat next to him with his chin. I thought that even if I called the bedroom slave, he would be more courteous than me.

It was so rude of him to call me a Princess...

"..."

Instead of scolding him, I went to lie down next to him without saying a word.

Of course, I had my own reasons for tolerating his rudeness.

The first reason, I understood Keshian's feelings.

In the distant past, when Grand Duke Lehman was devastated by the rampage of monsters, he was nothing more than a frail child who had lost his parents and was not even protected by his relatives.

Unfortunately, my father was not a man of such noble character, and instead of helping the poor child, he chose to take him to the palace as a hostage and abuse him.

So it was natural that Kishian, who had suffered so much as a child, would treat the royal family, including me, coldly.

In the first place, wasn't the request to send 'Princess Letie' to the bedroom today, saying that I would take her as my wife, a form of revenge against the royal family?

And the second reason is...

"Letie."

I came to my senses at the sudden sound of Kishian's call.

Before I knew it, he was on top of me.

I awkwardly smiled back at him as he looked down at me and called my twin sister's name.

"...Yes. Kishian.”

"You probably already know that I'm not hugging you right now because I love you."

"..."

"Do you know?"

Of course, I know. It's just that it makes me sad to hear it in this situation.

I tried to respond with my lips starting to hurt from forcing a smile.

"...I know."

"You came to my bedroom knowing that..."

"Yes, I know exactly how you want to embrace me, and I'm ready for it. So I won't blame you later."

"..."

"Is this what you wanted to hear?"

His eyes, which had been cold the whole time, softened a little. Did he feel a new sense of guilt about embracing the innocent Princess with the Impure intention of taking revenge on the royal family?

Of course, his actions deserved to be condemned, but he didn't intend to point fingers at me. After all, I was the one who committed the crime, too.

"So, it's okay to start."

It was a situation where I couldn't refuse anyway. I readily gave him my permission, hoping that it would at least put my mind at ease.

Of course, I didn't just give permission verbally. I raised my fingertips and skimmed over his bare chest that was right in front of me.

As befitting the one known as the greatest swordsman in the empire, his perfectly woven muscles twitched along the trajectory of my fingertips.

Although I was forced into the bedroom against my will, I didn't feel any discomfort while touching his body.

Whatever his attitude, he was clearly a strong and beautiful man.

I figured it wouldn't be such a bad thing to have a first with a man that other women would covet.

Above all, this man was unique.

The only person my sister Letie who covets everything I have and tries to take it from me, doesn't take anything from me.

"Ha..."

Kishian's excited breath was exhaled into the cold winter air.

I continued to move my hands, admiring his face as it became filled with pleasure.

When the fingertips that had been grazing down like that finally dug into the gap between his pants.

"...!"

He tore my thin slip off in one motion with both hands.

Even though I was naked, I didn't feel the cold. I was held in an embrace that was hot enough to drive away the winter cold.

“Letie...”

Kishian called my sister's name again, his breath heavy with pleasure.

I felt resentful toward him for tearing the hem of my clothes without hesitation, but every time I did that, I kept thinking about the second sin our royal family had committed against him.

Now I was deceiving him by pretending to be my twin sister, 'Letie', and that was my second sin.

"..."

Instead of answering his call, I hugged the back of his neck as if hanging onto him.

To forget the guilt that was as jarring as sand in my eyes, I focused only on the pleasure of my body.

I just hoped that the snowflakes that had piled up on the windowsill all night would hide my body and mind that were shamefully exposed.

***

After that first night where pain and pleasure were mixed.

As promised, Kishian left to subdue the monsters, and I returned to my usual, uneventful daily life.

I thought that my position in the imperial court might change a little since I was sleeping with Kishian instead of my father's most precious treasure, Savior Letie, who was also the empire's treasure, but that was not the case.

All I heard was a word of praise from my father, saying that thanks to him I was able to protect Letie.

But if there was one thing that had changed, it was my feelings towards Kishian.

I don't know if it was because I had grown fond of him overnight, but I wrote him a letter.

So that he, who is risking his life to subdue monsters, can have some peace of mind.

To my surprise, he replied to my letter. It didn't contain the kind of passionate expressions of affection that a real couple would have, but it wasn't a malicious letter either.

It had some ordinary content written on it, like, "We're working hard, so please wait a little longer for our return."

A year passed like that, and then two years passed.

After about two years, I stopped receiving letters from him.

Is that guy dead?

To me, who was living in worry, and feeling a little heartbroken, the story my father suddenly told me was quite shocking.

"You don't have to worry anymore, Elona. We've dealt with Grand Duke Lehman cleanly."

"You took care of it?"

"I personally sent a water cannon to cut off his lifeline. I have received a report that he is definitely dead, so he will never return. You will no longer have to deal with that violent man."

After hearing that, I immediately investigated what had happened.

As it turned out, the cause was that Letie had fallen in love with a man named the Duke of Herssen.

The father wanted to fulfill that, and as a result, he killed Kishian.

If Kishian came back alive, then my father really had to give him Letie as payment for subduing the monsters.

If that happened, Letie would not be able to marry the Duke of Herssen.

As soon as Kishian's death became certain, Letie became engaged to the Duke of Herssen. What a swift move.

But in the process, there was one thing that neither my father, Letie, nor even the Duke of Herssen had calculated.

That is, Kishian's lifeline was much more tenacious than others.

Exactly three years had passed since the day he left to subdue the demons. He had arrived in front of the palace, alive and well.

Even in the face of the monster's attacks and the threat of assassination, he returned alive and thrust his sword at the imperial family.

Saying that if they give him Letie as promised, he will go back quietly.

"Hurry up, hurry up!! Why are you so slow!!"

The poor maids flinched at my father's angry scolding.

The maids applied powder to my face, their already quick movements of hands even more rapid.

I couldn't help but feel dissatisfied inside, even though I just gave them my face because I felt sorry for them.

'Is this necessary? No matter how much you try to dress me up, his resentment towards the royal family will never subside.'

My father, His Majesty the Great Emperor, used to torment the young Grand Duke Kishian so viciously that he would be tamed from a young age so that even when he became the Northern Grand Duke, he would never dare to speak out against the imperial family.

But the Grand Duke... Kishian was not someone who could be tamed so easily.

He pretended to be tamed to survive and grew stronger until he became the Grand Duke of the North.

So, three years ago, their relationship was finally reversed. My father had grown old, but Kishian had grown into a young Emperor who ruled the North.

And he didn't miss the sweet moment of revenge that came to him.

"How could I turn away from the suffering of His Majesty, who is like my own father? I will gladly go out to subdue the demons."

These were the words that Kishian spoke in front of my father when a large-scale monster rampage occurred and even the imperial power was in danger.

When he heard that, my father was very happy. And at that moment, Kishian threw out a cruel condition that shattered my father's joy.

"However, it will be a difficult journey that will require me to risk my life, so before that, I would like to take your daughter as the Grand Duchess. Please allow me to marry Her Highness the Second Princess Letie."

That is. Kissian demanded my father's most precious treasure in exchange for saving the empire from crisis.

The father was furious at the young rascal who dared to steal his treasure, but he had no choice but to agree to the marriage.

Because at that time, even the royal knights were dying helplessly in the face of the monster rampage.

In the first place, the demons were a disaster caused by the karma of the first Emperor. If this fact were known, the imperial power would also be in danger due to the public anger, so there was no other way.

So, Kishian was satisfied and prepared to go out to subdue the monsters.

But what he failed to account for was that my father's obsession and affection for Letie went beyond common sense.

My father was a man who would gladly sacrifice his less precious daughter to protect his treasure.

So I, the less precious daughter, pretended to be Letie, deceived the man who wanted Letie, and spent our first night together.

And now, three years later, my father was preparing for the exact same 'switching scam'...

"It is finished, Your Majesty."

After hearing the maids say it was over, I looked into the mirror.

Pale blonde hair, just like Letie. A transparent skin just like Letie's.

The white dress that Letie usually liked to wear.

In addition, I started to smell like daisy flowers, which I usually enjoy, and even I looked just like Letie.

My father seemed to think so too, nodding his head in satisfaction.

Soon he sent away all the maids leaving only the two of us behind and quietly opened his mouth.

"You're quite smart, so I'm sure you'll figure it out, but I'll say it again Just because I'm worried."

"Yes, father."

"He's a monster."

"..."

"He returned alive from the terrible battle against the monsters, and even survived the subsequent attack by the assassins sent by our side."

I almost sneered. If you knew he was a monster, you wouldn't have provoked him, but rather appeased him Why did you send someone like me?

You shouldn't touch an enemy you can't defeat.

So, before Kishian could come back and demand Letie be sent away, he should have never even thought of killing him...

But my father, who loved Letie so much, made such a foolish decision that he incurred the monster's wrath.

And as the monster came running towards him, baring its fangs, he was about to throw the fake into its mouth again.

"Deceive him thoroughly."

"..."

"Never let anyone find out that you are Elona. The day you are found out, not only you but also me and Letie will become targets of that monster."

If you're that worried, why don't you just send the real Letie like Kishian wants? I was about to say that, but I just laughed.

Because there would never have been a choice for my father to give up Letie in the first place.

Above all, I did not want to risk my life by staying in the palace.

Deep down, I wanted to escape.

Here in the palace, in this miserable life where I have to live in Letie's shadow.

"I know, me too. Don't worry, my identity won't be revealed."

After hearing my answer, he patted my shoulder with a relieved look on his face.

Then he led me to the knights standing outside.

On the way to Kishian under their escort, my thoughts naturally became more and more intense.

'It's okay. If he was just angry that they sent an assassin, he would have attacked the palace right away.'

My father promised to give Letie to Kishian if he defeated the monsters, but when he actually finished defeating them, my father sent not Letie but an assassin to Kissian.

If they had attacked the palace right away after suffering such an insult, I would have nodded, acknowledging that it was deserved.

However, Kishian did not invade the palace and made a deal, saying that if he gave Letie to him now, he would return quietly...

'Maybe he also... '

On that cold winter night when I had sex with Kishian, he looked at me with affectionate eyes after the act was over.

He occasionally replied to my letters to appease him as he went on a campaign.

I hoped that he would remember the feelings at that time and not be too harsh on me, and got into the carriage.

Soon, the sound of horses trotting was heard and the carriage began to move.

The pure white carriage used for royal weddings passed through the gardens carrying me.

And they moved all the way to the main gate where Kishian's army was encamped.

Rattling.

When the carriage came to a stop, I opened the carriage window curtains slightly.

There appeared to be thousands of soldiers.

Soldiers who would attack the palace at any moment with a single command from Kishian were staring in the direction of the palace with bleak eyes.

And among them was a man with a familiar silhouette.

Pure, pitch-black hair and rare golden eyes.

As expected of a northerner, he has a tall stature and a well-built body.

I could tell from afar. He was the enemy of my family, who had stubbornly returned from the River of Death several times.

The enemy of the family I slept with was looking right at me. Without blinking.

“Kishian...”

Did he hear his name flowing out of my lips without me knowing? His steps moved in that direction at exactly the right time.

Accordingly, my heart, which was already beating fast, now started pounding so loudly that it felt like it was going to burst.

I looked away from the window and straightened my posture again, trying to look as calm as possible when Kishian opened the carriage doоr.

The sound of heavy footsteps approaching at a leisurely pace stopped right next to the carriage.

I clenched my fist.

Soon the carriage door will open and he will examine me. To make sure that this time the Emperor has properly sent the 'trade goods' as I requested.

'Because it's a trade item...'

I let out a self-deprecating laugh at the analogy that came to mind. It was so regrettable, almost comical, that I had come to compare myself to an object.

“Letie.”

The cold winter air poured into the wide-open carriage.

Just as cold as that, a low voice came to me as well.

I looked at him, pretending to be indifferent.

"...You have changed."

He's changed. A lot.

The man who had embraced me so affectionately three years ago seemed to have lost even that small warmth as he overcame the threat of death. His gaze toward me was dry.

I stared into those bleak eyes that contained not a single shred of emotion, then forced myself to turn my head away.

Because I felt like I saw something dark inside that I shouldn't have looked into.

But he seemed unwilling to tolerate even such a minor resistance. His rough, calloused hand grabbed my chin.

I couldn't resist that touch and had to stare at him.

"Letie... no, my wife."

My 'Wife'.

Before I could even be surprised at his attitude toward me as a Grand Duchess even at this point, a twisted smile spread across his lips.

"Your husband came back from the dead, so you should at least look at him. Is it okay to just ignore him like that?"

Now that you mention it, I can't ignore you any longer. I keep avoiding his gaze and fix it on him.

His face was now completely visible in my field of vision. He was stilI smiling faintly.

It was a dry and twisted smile, but a smile is still a smile.

So I clung to a faint hope. Maybe he wouldn't treat me so cruelly.

And just like he did to my father, he shattered my barely held hopes.

"Oh, is it so you don't want to look at any man other than Duke Herssen?"

"...!"

"When I was dying at the hands of an 

assassin, you were engaged to the Duke, right? You even had an engagement ceremony before your husband's life or death was confirmed. How deep must your love have been?"

Duke of Herssen. The moment I heard that name, my breath caught in my throat.

It felt like even the smallest ray of hope had faded before my eyes.

'You knew about that too. Of course, you didn't know, right? Then now this man also.. me.'

This is Kishian, who knows me as Letie. In his eyes, I must have been a woman who had betrayed our marital duty and become engaged to the Duke of Herssen.

The reality that I had tried so hard to ignore in the desperate hope that he didn't hate me was finally coming into focus.

"If it had been Duke Herssen who had returned from his journey, you would have run to greet him and hugged him, wouldn't you?"

Even after saying such shocking words, Kishian's lips were still forming a curve.

If a cat were to laugh while playing with a mouse that it was about to eat, it would probably laugh like that.

"I'm truly sorry. You must have had a great time with the Duke, but I came back alive like this without any sense."

"...No. How can you say that you're sorry for coming back?"

"..."

"The Duke of Herssen was only a political marriage partner, and I never had any special feelings for him. So I was happy that the Grand Duke returned safely, and I had no reason to think badly of you..."

"Oh, really? There are a lot of interesting rumors about you and the Duke..."

My shoulders trembled as I listened to his words, which became meaningfully blurred..

'How much do you know? No way... No way, you even knew about the rumors of an affair from a year ago?"

It could have been. My sister Letie could not properly hide her lewd affair with the Duke of Herssen, and the news spread everywhere.

As I glanced at Kishian's face to gauge his thoughts, I heard him snort.

"Yes. I see. I guess you haven't prepared your excuses yet, so I'll give you some time. Let's talk about it later."

He nodded, nodding, just as he had done three years ago when he had called me to bed. It meant for me to get out of the carriage.

He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, and then his eyes immediately crumpled violently.

"Are you going to hold out until the end...?"

Although I hesitated for only a moment, he did not give me a chance to explain myself this time either.

Before I could say anything in response, he nervously bent down and lifted me up.

"...!"

I was so surprised by the sensation of my body floating that I unconsciously hugged the back of his neck.

Before I knew it, I was out of the carriage and in Kishian's arms.

In that situation, it was an irresistible force that made me hug his neck as if it were my lifeline. How could I just stand by and do nothing while thousands of the Grand Duke's soldiers stood there, emitting a menacing atmosphere?

Even though he knew I was cowering in fear, he offered me no tender comfort.

Although he made sarcastic remarks disguised as affection.

"Yes, now is the time for you to hug me. The Duke of Herssen won't come to rescue you on a white horse like in a fairy tale."

He came up to my black steed and put me on the saddle...

After that, he also climbed on behind me.

"It is not the Duke's white horse, but this black horse that you will ride from now on..."

Kishian, who was sitting right behind me, turned his head closer to mine.

A rough and worn-out voice, like a long-used sword, clung to my ears.

"I am the man who will take you, not the Duke. Accept that you have no other choice. For your own sake."

After leaving a grim warning, he gave orders to his soldiers.

"I'm going back!"

The thousands of soldiers who had been standing in rows and columns like swords finally took their eyes off the palace.

Thanks to this, the palace was saved from being burned down.

But I, who was offered as a sacrifice to protect that palace...

'What should I do? He thinks of me as a total traitor.'

I was scared. I could tell what my situation would be like after arriving at the Grand Duke's residence just by looking at Kishian's attitude.

'Should I lock him in a corner tower and continue to torment him until he gets his revenge? Or is he planning to use me as a hostage to pressure my father...?"

Until just now, I had been thinking rather complacently that this situation might be an opportunity for me.

I used to think that maybe God was giving me a chance to escape, having lived my whole life in Letie's shadow.

I dreamed of living a life as a 'Grand Duchess' rather than a 'Useless Princess'.

Looking at Kishian's attitude now, it seemed unlikely that I would be treated properly as a Grand Duchess.

It was the same even though I was currently disguised as Letie, the revered and called the savior of the empire.

He must have asked for Letie not because of her usefulness, but because of pure revenge.

The only thought in his head would be to make Letie suffer and take revenge on my father.

So, it would be inevitable that I would be locked up in some remote tower, and I had to consider even worse luck.

"..."

I checked by running my tongue inside my mouth.

Luckily, the thing I had brought hidden under my tongue was still there, safe and sound.

...***...

When they got some distance from the palace, the march stopped.

The place where they stopped was a quiet forest far from the city, where military supplies were hidden, seemingly prepared in case the deal with the palace did not go smoothly that is, in case the palace was attacked.

Everything that had been prepared for me was there too: a black carriage for me to ride in, and three maids who would pretend to serve me and watch my every move.

Kishian gave orders to the maids.

"Take the Grand Duchess into the carriage and search her thoroughly... Make sure she's not carrying any dangerous weapons."

Even if I had a weapon, I already knew that I wouldn't have the strength to stab him. But he still acted very thoroughly.

I thought, "I guess he's really scared of getting stabbed because he holds a grudge," but when I heard the orders he gave to the maids. I realized that wasn't the case.

"Find every single blade, even the smallest one as long as your finger. Even a silver spoon, if sharpened well, can be turned into a weapon to cut one's wrist."

So, he wasn't worried that I would stab him. He was worried that I would kill myself by cutting my wrists.

I looked at him with a bewildered heart and he came to me.

Then he gently stroked my hair.

"I'm afraid that my precious wife might make an extreme choice. It's not right for you to just leave on your own like that. And it hasn't even started yet..."

It was a talent to be able to make such a soft tone so creepy.

At that moment, I habitually moved my tongue to feel what was in my mouth.

The only lifeline that will save me when unbearable pain comes.

Still, I had no intention of using it right now.

I came here because I wanted to live, so I wanted to survive a little longer.

If I continue to live like that, I might find my own happiness in the distant future.

He looked at me, who was speechless, with his characteristically mad, affectionate gaze, then sent me to the maids.

"Your Highness, let me help you undress."

The maids really searched me thoroughly, every nook and cranny, just as Kishian had said.

They emptied everything, including the small bag I had been carrying on my wrist the whole time, as well as my body and the hems of my clothes.

It was fortunate that the poison I had secretly hidden in my mouth was small enough that they could not detect it.