The Archduke’s Flower Is in Danger - Chapter 3

Perfume. Though she was often mocked as a scentless artificial flower, Idel Fleure never used perfume. She could easily imagine the Countess and Roseline sneering at her for trying to layer on a deceitful fragrance.

Moreover, she had never been fond of pungent perfumes in the first place. If there was any scent she carried, it was merely the faint aroma of the bath oil she used. Even that was nearly odorless, making the Grand Duke’s question, asking if she wore perfume, difficult for her to comprehend.

“No. I do not wear any.”

“You do not?”

At her answer, the Grand Duke’s blue eyes sharpened, searching her face intensely. Her expression was innocent and devoid of any opening. He leaned one hand against the bookshelf and lowered his head toward her. The movement forced Idel to face him at a distance so close that their breaths mingled.

Because of his flawless, cold impression, she had expected his deep blue eyes to be freezing. Yet, meeting them from such a short distance, they felt more like blue lava, burning with an unexpected heat.

“This is troublesome.”

In this situation, Idel Fleure felt she was clearly the one in trouble.

Nevertheless, he spoke through gritted teeth as if suppressing something with great effort. The blue lava in the man’s eyes surged violently, looking as if it might swallow her whole.

“I feel as though I am losing my self-control because of your scent.”

Her mouth went dry with tension, as if she were watching a volcano on the verge of eruption. Though he only held her by the wrist, she felt as if her entire body were bound, unable to move a muscle.

“What scent could you possibly mean?”

Idel asked in a trembling voice, utterly bewildered. If it were her half-sister, Roseline, it might be different, but there was no way she herself possessed a fragrance. If she had, her mother might not have died, she wouldn’t have grown up amidst years of reproach, and she wouldn’t have been sold into a marriage to an unwanted man.

Suddenly, a surge of long-suppressed resentment rose within her, and Idel spoke sharply, her tone agitated.

“Are you mocking me? Even if you are the Grand Duke, this is a clear insolence.”

“You must be the one mocking me. When such a thick fragrance emanates from you, if it is not perfume, then is this your natural scent?”

Kaeron Roman de Helios instinctively brought his nose closer to the nape of her neck. A maddening impulse to lick her white skin, which looked as soft as whipped cream, surged through him. Startled by the hot breath against her neck, the woman writhed and twisted her body. As she moved, the scent intensified, causing his barely-tethered reason to run wild.

“Damn it.”

Kaeron let out a low groan and growled, “What kind of trick did you use?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about. However, I know one thing for certain: your current actions are a clear violation of Imperial Law.”

Facing the unstable Grand Duke, Idel resolved to remain calm. Though her body still trembled slightly, she continued in a firm voice.

“I believe the Grand Duke is well aware of Article 251 of the Imperial Code regarding forced molestation. Physical contact against another’s will is a punishable offense.”

Kaeron let out a dry laugh as he looked at the bold woman citing the law to him, the Chief Justice of the Empire. In this situation, her unexpected response was certainly commendable. The wild energy surging through him settled slightly. While his arousal cooled, a different kind of emotion rose in its place.

“So, please let me go, Your Grace.”

She was a fragile woman who looked as though she might crumble if he applied even a little pressure to the slender wrist he held. Her light green eyes, like freshly sprouted leaves, appeared infinitely delicate. Yet, he found it quite intriguing how she stared back at him with such a spirited gaze.

“Forced molestation.”

Since birth, Kaeron had been thoroughly indifferent to others. Touching someone’s body by his own will was a foreign experience. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have cared if a woman tripped and fell right in front of him.

Yet, the moment her body had swayed, his own had reacted before he could think. Despite her polite request to be released, he did not want to let go of the hand he held. Even after hearing her mention molestation, he felt the same. He found his own behavior both unfamiliar and absurd.

At first, he suspected her scent, the one clouding his reason, was a perfume acting as an aphrodisiac. After all, Kaeron was plagued daily by women trying to seduce him through all sorts of bizarre methods.

If she intended to seduce me, there would be no reason for her to plead so desperately to be released. The woman before him was fighting to escape his presence.

Just who is she?

To be honest, his body, reacting to her scent, had not yet cooled down. He had only just regained his mental composure. Looking at this woman who turned him into a beast without a leash, Kaeron felt a sense of curiosity toward another person for the first time in his life.

Sensing that the man’s grip had loosened as he fell into thought, Idel seized the moment and wrenched her hand away with all her strength. He let her go without resistance.

“Excuse me, Your Grace.”

Leaving a brief farewell, the woman turned and practically ran out of the archives. Her hair, as golden as wheat ready for harvest, waved in the wind. Kaeron watched her retreating figure intently. Despite his composed expression, his fists were clenched tight. His body screamed to chase after her immediately.

Even after she had completely vanished, the image of her looking at him with those upright eyes remained etched in his mind.

I hope she never crosses my path again.

His reason told him that would be for the best. Kaeron was not a man who enjoyed variables. Specifically, losing his composure due to a woman was a variable he considered the height of foolishness. To think he would encounter such a variable at the Imperial University, a place he visited only rarely.

Upon entering the library corridor, he had been intoxicated by a strange fragrance that pulled at him so strongly he had walked here as if possessed. And at the end of that walk, he had found her, lost in her books.

“I must have been out of my mind.”

Kaeron Roman de Helios brushed his hair back with a self-mocking smile. Dismissing the moment as a brief, inexplicable impulse, he prepared to leave but stopped in his tracks. His gaze fell upon a cloche hat she seemed to have left behind. Eventually, he picked up the trace she had left.

“Idel Fleure.”

It was the name embroidered inside the hat. He searched his memory for the names of daughters from noble families but could find none. Her etiquette seemed naturally noble, so perhaps she was from a well-educated middle-class family.

“Your Grace! You were here? I’ve been looking for you for ages.”

Breaking his reverie was his aide, Gregory. In a way, this talkative aide was the culprit behind him encountering this unwanted variable.

“I hear the entrance exams are over. Let’s head to the Dean’s office. Oh? What’s that in your hand? It looks like a lady’s cloche.”

Kaeron exhaled deeply and walked toward the Dean’s office without a word. Gregory scurried after him.

“Why do you have a lady’s hat when you didn’t have one when we arrived? Don’t tell me you had a secret tryst in the library.”

“If you keep talking nonsense, I’m canceling the plan to hire a new junior aide.”

“How can you say something so hurtful? You know how long I’ve waited for this day! Professor Niechen, who was the proctor, says a magnificent talent has applied.”

Filtering out Gregory’s noisy chatter, Kaeron walked in silence, his eyes fixed out the window. His gaze seemed to be unconsciously searching for someone.

“Grand Duke! You’ve arrived.”

When they reached the Dean’s office, Jefferson, the Dean of Jupiter Imperial University, greeted him warmly. Professor Niechen of the Department of Administration also noticed him and bowed politely.

“I heard you are planning to take a junior aide for the Grand Ducal House from the incoming freshmen. There are many talented students among the upperclassmen, so why a freshman?”

“Well, I thought it would be more rewarding to train someone from the start. Besides, His Grace intends to provide full support for a talent who shows great promise. Right, Your Grace?”

Gregory replied on the Duke’s behalf. Kaeron gave a half-hearted nod. He was tired of Gregory constantly pestering him to hire a junior to handle the heavy workload.

“Among the freshmen who took the exam, this answer sheet is the most outstanding. But, about this student.”

“Oh, really? Let me see.”

Cutting off Professor Niechen, the impatient Gregory snatched the answer sheet away.

“Wait, about that freshman.” Professor Niechen’s mouth hung open, his words trailing off. While the answer sheet was undeniably the work of a top-tier student, there was a complication in this person becoming an aide for the Grand Ducal House.

“Wow! This answer is perfect. You’re telling me a freshman wrote this?”

Gregory marveled as he skimmed the paper. The writing was organized and the arguments were supported by solid evidence. For all his chatter, Gregory was efficient at his job.

Kaeron, uninterested in the student’s paper, was lost in thought while fiddling with the cloche hat.

“Let’s go with this person! No, it has to be this person. Let’s see, the name is.”

With conviction, Gregory checked the name on the exam.

“Number 136, Idel Fleure?”

At the familiar name, Kaeron’s hand stopped moving. Simultaneously, his long fingers reached out for the paper Gregory was holding.

“Give it to me.”

Taking the sheet, his eyes sharpened as he searched for traces of her. A faint scent, identical to the one on the cloche, drifted from the paper. The handwriting was slender and elegant, yet the sentences were concise and clear, matching the owner of the hat perfectly.

“That student submitted the paper first and left. That is why I remember. The student who submitted that answer sheet was.”

Professor Niechen hesitated before continuing.

“A woman.”