She wasn't the type of person he could bend to his will. Moreover, judging from how Mrs. Berner treated her, it appeared to be impossible to use the family's safety as a threat and convince Rubica.
Edgar decided to use his experience of running his estate and numerous businesses to deal with Rubica as a negotiator. He was going to marry her, anyway.
"I have already gotten the special permission from the king. If I don't marry you, I will get punished along with you for defying him."
Rubica's eyes slightly shook, and he could see his method was working.
"I never accepted your proposal, so if you tell Your Majesty there has been a misunderstanding, he will not punish you."
"But your uncle, his family and my messenger will be punished for lying. The messenger will have to be executed."
Rubica's uncle and his family were not enough to convince her, but the guilt of dragging an innocent man was.
"That's, that's too cruel. He was just fooled by my uncle."
"He is guilty of not seeing you and asking your opinion. He cannot get away from that."
"But… then why didn't you follow the manners of proposing and came yourself? You could have avoided this…"
"I was busy," Edgar firmly cut Rubica's question and continued, "I was busy yesterday, I am busy today, and I will be busy tomorrow. I even have an emergency conference tomorrow. That is why the king quickly issued me the permission and I came to bring you to my mansion quicker than the promised date. Do you know how much it would cost the kingdom if my work is delayed just for a day?"
His forehead frowned because anger made him sensitive but when he showed his temper, he would look even better. Rubica couldn't help but stare at him in a daze. He looked so handsome, even when he was mad!
If there was a god who created humans, he must have made Rubica carelessly with his feet and made Edgar with all the power he had.
"I don't want to waste my time on writing a report to the king to explain, defending myself, and waiting for the trials."
"… but."
"Rubica, listen to me first."
Edgar called her name without using words like chéri or fiancé to mock her. Unlike before, she could feel he was respecting her, although his attitude was businesslike. She closed her mouth and listened to him.
"Marry me for now. It will let both of us avoid troublesome matters, and we can get divorced after things get quiet."
"… get divorced?"
"Yes, divorced."
Even though he had said the word 'divorce' first, he raised one of his eyebrows as if he didn't like it.
Rubica couldn't understand why he was trying so hard to marry her. Nevertheless, she thought it was a pretty good idea. In fact, the offer was quite good for Rubica. She would be able to avoid the punishment of the king as long as they had a good reason for their divorce, and she could even get away from her uncle and aunt.
She didn't know why he was giving her such a good offer, but she had to grab that chance.
"Okay then, how long should the marriage last? Would a year be enough?"
"No."
"What?"
"A duke getting divorced a year after marrying a poor and lowly woman, what would the people think of me?"
A poor and lowly woman. Edgar's sharp words made Rubica frown. Gods were so fair. They had given such a rude way of talking to such a beautiful man.
However, it was all true, so she couldn't talk back.
Edgar saw she was trying hard to hold back her anger and realized he had made yet another mistake.
She was such a strange woman.
Edgar could name at least 10 women eager to marry Duke Claymore. There were also a number of middle-aged aristocrats who bothered him even without trying to hide their intention of arranging a marriage. He also knew he was good-looking enough to charm most women.
Ladies who snorted after hearing praises about his beauty would eventually redden their cheeks when standing in front of him.
However, Rubica was different. She did stare at him in a daze with red cheeks from time to time like other women, but she wasn't in love with him.
She looked at him like a child looking at a cake with a huge amount of cream on top of it on her birthday. However, there was something clearer than such vague emotions in her eyes.
'Hatred'.
Just a few minutes of talking let him know that Rubica hated him and wasn't trying to hide it.
It was an unfamiliar feeling. Did most people like him? Well, no. Even if they liked him, businesses and schemes changed people. However, they hid this in front of him, as he had great power, and looked at him with fear.
Sometimes, women would emit similar emotions like Rubica in front of him, but it had just been a scheme to win him. However, Rubica genuinely hated him.
Moreover, she didn't try to endure his rudeness.
'If she had been someone else, she couldn't have agreed with me more.'
Edgar had grown up amongst people who always wore masks in front of him. He felt a thrill hard to explain toward Rubica who acted as her true self. Nevertheless, he didn't apologize for calling her 'poor and lowly woman'. His rank and pride were too high to apologize for such a mistake.
"Then how long should it last, Your Grace?"
Rubica also knew that hoping for Edgar's apology was like hoping for the sun to rise in the west. So, she sighed and changed the subject.
"I don't know, about a decade?"
"That is nonsense!"
"Is it too long?"
"If a year is too short to avoid blames, how about 2 years?"
"Two years is too short. An apple sap cannot grow and bear fruits in 2 years."
"Two years is long enough for a crawling child to run."
Now the long negotiation about the duration of their marriage started. Edgar had thought he would be able to easily bend her to his will, so he was quietly impressed by her good negotiation skills. They were too good to be an ordinary lady's. They were like the skills of an old woman who had run the house for a long time and knew how to react to all kinds of schemes from the merchants.
What kind of life had she led at the Berner Mansion for a lady at the age of 22 to become like that?
Edgar frowned.
Anyway, the two agreed to stay married for a little less than 4 years. Edgar had thought Rubica would get tired and give up then. However, Rubica had worked at the poor abbey and learned how to endure a long fight with the merchants to buy food for hundreds with a small sum of money. She knew that there was at least a 90% probability of the fruits at the bottom of the crate to be rotten if she bought only because the ones at the top were good.
"No kids, and I will not sleep with you, of course."
How interesting. Edgar raised a corner of his lips. A virgin talking of sleeping together. Rubica stubbornly stared at the duke but, on the inside, she was so embarrassed. She had been clenching one fist under her dress to endure it.
However, thinking 'he will respect me' and believing a guy was never good was one of the few principles she believed in.
"I hope you are not passionate enough to sleep with a woman who doesn't love you?"
"Don't think of me as such garbage."
Edgar clenched his teeth and growled as if he didn't want to hear more of this. His blue eyes glowed even brighter like fire, and Rubica instinctively looked for something that matched those eyes and soon came to her senses.
"Good, then we have reached an agreement."
Rubica's voice showed she was relieved. Suddenly, Edgar wanted to pull a prank on her. She had been trying to put him on her hand and toy with him. He wanted her to know she could do that only because he was letting her do it.
Edgar smiled.
Most women were captivated by his smile, but Rubica straightened her back, tensed.
However, he didn't miss the emotion that floated up in her eyes for a second. That emotion was like that of a child seeing delicious candy.
He abruptly grabbed Rubica's chin and put his head close to hers, close enough to feel each other's breath. Her auburn eyes were so deep that he couldn't see the pupils well, but he could see the eyes shaking.
"But what if you want?" Edgar asked.
"What…"
"I will not disappoint you if you want me to sleep with you."
"You beast!"
Oh, but he shouldn't have said that. Rubica immediately woke up from the charm of his beauty and pushed away the duke in rage.
Slap-
A sound pierced the air. Edgar couldn't understand what had just happened to him. He grabbed his red cheek and blankly stared at Rubica.
"You cannot do it if you're not in love with each other, even if the woman wants it! You, you…"
Rubica's face was now as red as fire. She tried to hold it back. Really, she tried her best to stop herself from saying that, but her anger didn't let her.
"You bastard!"
She immediately went out and slammed the door behind her. Edgar was left alone in the carriage. For some time, he sat there and stared at the chair on which Rubica had just sat.
Soon a sound came out of his mouth. He should have let out a sound of anger about Rubica, who had greatly dishonored him, but…
"Hahahahahaha!"
What came out of his mouth was laughter.