She remembered Diego’s empty face from the last time she’d seen him in the carriage. He was still haunted by his past, and it was Adriana’s job to put him out of his misery. Like any romance novel plotline, she was the missing piece to fill his empty heart.

“No, don’t say that. There has to be something, some other way.”

Estella looked at Adriana urgently. Then, in a determined tone, she said

“I’ll talk to the Duke again.”

She wasn’t convinced Diego would change his mind if she did, but it was better than nothing. Estella gave Adriana’s hand a reassuring squeeze, then turned and walked out onto the terrace.

Adriana watched her go with sadness in her eyes. When Estella was out of sight, she let out an involuntary sigh.

Adriana stroked her right thigh with a mixed feeling. The spot where she had pinched herself was still tingling. She managed to squeeze out a handful of tears.

“You’re going to feel sorry for yourself for the rest of your life because you just ruined the life of a perfectly normal person.”

A voice from behind her made Adriana turn in surprise. Lionel stood with his hands in his pockets, watching Estella disappear over the terrace.

If there was one word to describe what he was feeling right now, it would be ridiculous. How could Diego’s despicable behavior in front of that woman lead to such favorable comments. Lionel let out a short scoff.

Suddenly, he felt a gaze on his side, and he glanced to his left. Under the circumstances, it seemed he had said the right thing to the right person, but it couldn’t hurt to be sure. Lionel asked for confirmation.

“May I ask your name?”

Adriana ducked her head in surprise as she realized who the other person was. Lionel was a man she would never recognize in the capital. Adriana greeted him as politely as she could.

“Good evening, Your Royal Highness. I am Adriana, daughter of the Marquise of Astez.”

Lionel, who returned Adriana’s greeting with a dry smile, spoke back in an equally nonchalant voice.

“Well, I see I didn’t have to walk far. Let’s go meet your pig of a father.”

* * *

When Estella stepped back onto the terrace, Diego was leaning against the railing, looking out. For a moment, she felt as if she were back to the first time she’d met him, because there was an icy coldness in his air. Estella suddenly realized that Diego had influenced her a lot in recent times.

Diego’s gaze returned slowly to Estella. Surely he wasn’t the kind of man to rage like fire. Even when he realized his father’s final betrayal, he kept his feelings to himself, quietly.

Estella cautiously opened her mouth to address him.

“Little Duke.”

“Miss Margaret, I am very angry right now.”

“…….”

“I’m sure you know why.”

The air had grown chillier now that the sun had fully set. Estella swallowed hard. There was nothing she could say to excuse herself. She meekly apologized.

“I apologize, Your Grace. I was out of line.”

Diego already knew that Estella had deliberately made room for Adriana. She wanted him to at least know that she didn’t do this for the money. Estella hesitated, then opened her mouth.

“I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I just wanted to…….”

“You wanted to save Lady Adriana.”

“…….”

“No?”

Diego snapped back. He was intentionally giving off an air of intimidation, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t angry with her.

She was trying to push him repeatedly into the arms of a blackmailer. Adriana wasn’t the only one Estella was using as a means to an end, as Cecilia and Cedric were protected in the same way.

She was being kind to everyone, but she was acting like a villain towards Diego. Perhaps it was because she saw him as someone who could handle such treatment without caring, while she herself was a kind woman who couldn’t bear to harm anyone unless she was trying to save everyone.

In that case, there would be no better candidate than me, a human breed like myself, to reap what has been sown.

Diego stared at Estella with narrowed eyes, not releasing her arm.

“You must be aware that I went through a very troublesome ordeal because of you bringing Lady Adriana to me.”

“I have no words to offer.”

“So it is. I have never encountered someone as shameless as Miss Margaret.”

Diego leaned loosely against the structure, but his relaxed posture put a lot of pressure on Estella. Diego stared at her long and hard.

“Miss Margaret, do you want me to help Miss Adriana?”

“Yes…….”

“Even to the extent of marrying her?”

Estella tried to say yes this time, but the words didn’t come easily. To her, Diego and Adriana were meant to be, and she’d been so focused on forming that connection that she’d neglected to consider his feelings, but a good thing was a good thing, and she’d made him more than a little uncomfortable.

“So you’re going to be a good person, and I’m going to carry all the baggage?”

Diego pointed out sharply. Estella was taken aback and took a step closer to him, but before she could come up with another excuse, he cut her off.

“I’m not good-natured enough to offer such an unearned kindness, as you know.”

“I don’t, Little Duke. I never meant to ask such an ungrateful favor.”

“Then what can you offer me in return for my listening to Adriana’s request?”

Estella paused at Diego’s question. He wasn’t wrong. Diego had nothing to gain from this marriage, except to be a one-sided remedy for Adriana’s misery.

It’s only in books that she can take their love for granted. Sure, they were in a novel now, but they were living and breathing in it. Here, Diego is not a man made of paper. He needed a different rationale to move him.

But what could a mere tutor offer the heir to the Duchy of Berta?

Diego studied Estella’s confused face for a moment. He didn’t expect her to come up with an answer right away. He spoke.

“Miss Margaret, I’ll ask you again. I want you to become engaged to me.”

“What?”

Estella could only stare at him in astonishment. As she froze, Diego kindly explained.

“In exchange for your hand in marriage to me, I will arrange a way for Lady Adriana to avoid any confusion. I have not the slightest inclination to be involved with her, and yet you want me to.”

It took Estella a moment to regain her composure. Slowly, like barely chewing through an accidentally large bite of food, she digested his words. As outrageous as the offer was, the price he was asking was equally outrageous. What Estella was asking for was for him and Adriana to marry, and Diego was asking for her to be his bride. There could never be more than one groom and two brides at a wedding.

Estella realized that he wasn’t trying to solve Adriana’s problem through marriage. Estella’s expression grew more serious.

“How are you going to handle Lady Adriana’s situation?”

“What kind of asshole leaks trade secrets before hearing a definite answer?”

Diego lazily tapped his fingers on the inside of his arm, not about to give this answer anytime soon.

Estella conceded. She wasn’t the one on the end of it now. Because while he had no responsibility to Adriana, she wasn’t in the same position.

Estella swallowed a sigh and asked another question.

“Then let me ask you something else. To be honest, I don’t quite understand what you mean, Little Duke, and why you keep asking me to marry you, since you have nothing to gain by marrying me.”

“I’m sure I’ve explained my reasons for asking you to marry me before. Has everything I’ve said to you been a joke?”

“…….To be honest, it didn’t sound very sincere.”

“I don’t think you were expecting a heartfelt love confession from me.”

“But even so, your sense of propriety was lacking.”

Estella had a fairly good idea of the kind of reaction she would receive when they announced their engagement. Perhaps everyone would consider her the luckiest of brides, having caught the best groom by chance. On the surface, it appeared that there were no tangible benefits for Diego in choosing Estella.

In her heart of hearts, Estella knew the same thing would happen if she looked deeper. Objectively, his proposal to her could not have been anything more than an act of charity. Not even the parties themselves would admit it.

Seeing Estella’s look of disbelief, Diego patiently explained.

“I proposed marriage to you because I am an individual who cannot establish a proper family. I didn’t want to live with a wife harboring lifelong secrets.”

“Just now, you admitted to at least one reason why you should marry Adriana. You mentioned that she is aware of what the Duke has done, right?”

“It’s different.”

Diego replied with a raised eyebrow, obviously displeased that Estella had brought up Adriana’s again, as he made sure to point out.

“It’s different. Because I trust you.”

“…….”

“I know a woman who was betrayed and died at the hands of her spouse. It was a very tragic affair.”

His voice was too serious to pass off as a joke. Diego’s words stumbled over a memory from the distant past, but his gaze remained fixed on her.

Estella fell silent, feeling perplexed. Did it mean that she had a trust that Adriana lacked. And if that’s so, what could be the difference between them.

She didn’t think her approach was that different from Adriana’s. After all, Estella had used the Duke of Berta’s death to steal his recognition.