Your Grace, It Was a Mistake! - Chapter 8

“Rabbit—!”

‘…Rabbit?’

Vivian was tossing carrots into the forest, calling out for a rabbit. Lennox leaned forward, craning his neck to see better. Soon, a group of rabbits emerged from the dark woods. The rabbit family munched noisily on the cabbage and carrots Vivian had spread out, while she crouched beside them with a silly, beaming grin.

“…”

Watching this, Lennox felt an indescribable emotion. A rabbit feeding other rabbits…

‘Is this… some kind of kin-relief effort?’

What happened next was even more surprising. The wild rabbits began to nuzzle against Vivian, acting affectionately.

‘The rabbits in this forest are usually wary and rarely approach humans.’

Lennox let out a dry laugh. Was she truly a rabbit that had transformed into a human? Watching her looking so bright and innocent, he felt his own guard beginning to melt away.

“Kyah, that tickles!”

Vivian was surrounded by the fluffballs, getting relentlessly nuzzled. Even as her dress wrinkled and stained with grass, she rolled around on the lawn, playing happily with the rabbits.

As Lennox stared blankly at the scene, his feelings grew stranger. The fluttering in his heart was bizarre. What was it about Vivian Lewis that made him so interested, unable to tear his eyes away? Was it because she was a rare, pure soul? Was it because, unlike the countless people who had approached him with hidden agendas, she seemed to like him with such genuine purity?

‘…I should leave.’

Lennox felt uncomfortable with these unfamiliar, burgeoning emotions. Perhaps he was afraid that she might actually change him.

‘I must have become overly interested in her because of that ridiculous romance novel.’

It would be best to stop here. Lennox tensed his legs to stand up. But just then, he sensed a presence nearby.

‘Patrols already…?’

He quickly looked toward Vivian. She was still rolling around in the grass, seemingly oblivious to the approaching footsteps.

‘Dammit.’

His hesitation was brief. Lennox lunged forward, snatched Vivian, and pulled her into the thicket where he had been hiding. With his large hand covering her mouth and his other arm around her waist, her eyes went wide with shock. Before she could scream, Lennox whispered:

“Shh. There are patrols.”

“…!”

Hearing his voice, she struggled to turn around.

“Please… stay still.”

Lennox whispered urgently, pulling her tighter against him. Her waist felt incredibly slender in his arms. She really doesn’t just live on greens, does she?

“Hahaha, so I told him…” “Anyway, that guy…”

The rabbit family had long since vanished, and the patrolmen walked noisily past the exact spot where Vivian had been rolling just moments before. If Lennox hadn’t hidden her at that perfect moment, she would have been caught red-handed.

‘And she would have been arrested for trespassing on Imperial property.’

What on earth was in this lady’s head to be so reckless? Lennox let out a sigh the moment the patrols were out of earshot. As he loosened his grip, Vivian immediately turned to face him. Her apple-green eyes, reflecting Lennox’s face, widened significantly.

“Grand—”

Her lips trembled, and she cupped her cheeks with both hands. She looked as though she was about to burst into tears. Her fair face was flushed, and her light green eyes shimmered.

Seeing her like that, Lennox momentarily forgot what he was going to say. He had never seen someone whose feelings of “liking someone” were so transparently displayed. And the person she liked was…

‘…Me.’

As he realized this anew, his heart felt strangely ticklish. Vivian looked overwhelmed, as if she might spill tears of joy at any second.

‘Is she so happy to see me that she’s crying?’

Watching her cute, tearful face, he felt a strange impulse he had never experienced before. He wanted to comfort her… but at the same time, he wanted to make her cry even more.

‘…If she knew I read that romance novel, she’d cry her eyes out from shame.’

Lennox found himself genuinely wanting to act out her book. What if he performed the cringy actions his fictional self did, just to tease her? It wouldn’t be hard.

‘However…’

Lennox quietly observed her slender silhouette in the moonlight—her small frame and still-youthful face.

‘She’s too young.’

He wanted to tease her properly, perhaps by saying, “This novel is too wholesome; let’s try something else,” but she seemed so young. Of course, they were only four years apart, and the average marriage age in the Empire was seventeen. But looking at the girl before him, he felt a protective instinct.

He wanted to tease her, yet he wanted to protect her. It was an irony even he recognized, but since emotions rarely follow logic, Lennox simply accepted it. Besides, there was a bigger problem.

Lennox let out a faint, mocking smile at himself.

‘…I was going to stop.’

He had intended to drop all interest in Vivian Lewis the moment he left this forest. Unfortunately, it seemed that was not his destiny. And no matter how interested he was… it wasn’t the right time yet.

Lennox finally spoke. “It is too early, Lady Vivian Lewis.”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, it’s too early for you to have slipped out of the ballroom.”

“Ah, I see. You’re right! Haha…”

She laughed awkwardly and avoided his gaze. She couldn’t even look him in the eye out of embarrassment. And yet, she wrote such a bold novel, Lennox thought with an internal smirk.

‘Four years… no, I can wait even longer.’

If now wasn’t the right time, he could be patient until the time was right. Waiting a few years for her to become an adult was nothing; he prided himself on his patience. Lennox decided he didn’t want to let her go. He had tried to release her, but “coincidence” had interfered. He decided to be grateful for that coincidence. It had given him the resolve to hold onto the person who made him feel these new emotions.

Vivian wouldn’t know. She wouldn’t know the feelings that were starting to stir within the man she liked so much. Someday… if he showed her these feelings exactly as they were, what would happen then?

Lennox politely extended his hand to her. Vivian took it with a shy face. He wore the smile of a predator as he pulled her close.

“Then, let us return to the ballroom, Lady Lewis.”

“Ye-yes! Let’s!”

She nodded vigorously like an obedient student, then fidgeted with the hem of her grass-stained yellow dress and said timidly, “Um, thank you for helping me, Your Grace…”

“…”

Watching Vivian peek at him with a beet-red face, Lennox found himself thinking: I have never seen such a cute creature in my life.

It seemed that something had officially begun.

Five Years Later.

Lennox, who had spent five years steadily building a plan to formally claim Vivian, was met with an unexpected incident before he could even execute it.

“Your Grace…”

Vivian had come to find him, appearing—no matter how he looked at it—completely out of her mind.

“Lady Vivian Lewis?”

Lennox was bewildered. He had been taking a stroll through his night garden when she suddenly appeared. Here, at his estate.

‘Security is tight; how did she get in?’

Normally, the guards would notify the butler, and the butler would notify the master. But Lennox hadn’t heard a word about a guest.

‘Which means this is a break-in.’

Lennox observed her as she stumbled toward him. Her eyes were unfocused, and more importantly, a faint black energy flickered around her.

‘…Black magic?’

A black aura was a “symptom” that appeared when mana was used in a way that defied the laws of nature. In this case, there were only two possibilities: either Vivian had used black magic, or she was being used by someone who had.

‘Obviously, it’s the latter.’

He had watched over her patiently for five years. He knew well that she had no talent for magic, let alone black magic.

Lennox reflected on those past five years. His observation of Vivian had become increasingly obsessive. At some point, he began to feel foul whenever she smiled at another man. In extreme moments, he wanted to pluck out the eyes of anyone who dared to intercept her smiles.

‘It’s not normal.’

But he didn’t care. He had lived his life being called a monster and a madman anyway. What difference would a little more madness make? He was desperate for Vivian. He wanted to be by her side openly. He had been planning to launch his “attack” soon, and yet…

‘Which bastard…’

Used black magic on my Vivian? Lennox ground his teeth.

Judging by her state, she seemed to be under some kind of brainwashing. He could use dispelling magic to drive out the dark mana, but that carried the risk of damaging her mind. Thus, Lennox decided to watch how she acted first. If the black magic was activated for assassination, she would attack him.

‘Who would do such a thing with me as the target? The Crown Prince? …That bastard is more than capable of it.’

“Grand Duke…”

Vivian, who had reached him, collapsed into his arms. Her sweet, vanilla-like scent hit him instantly. She looked up at him with dreamy eyes. Lennox felt his reason snapping for a moment.

‘Get a grip, you crazy bastard,’ Lennox scolded himself internally. He wanted to pull her close and kiss her to his heart’s content, but now was not the time.

‘I need to read what kind of black magic is on her.’

Lennox cupped her cheeks and flowed his mana into her. While she blinked blankly, he quickly identified the spell.

‘As I thought, it’s Malicious Illusion.’

It was a spell that pulled out the target’s innermost malice to its peak, forcing them to attack a pre-determined target.

‘To do such a damnable thing… that dog Asmodeus…’

Lennox clenched his jaw. If he waited for the spell to wear off naturally, her mind would remain intact, but he was furious that someone dared use her like this. He wanted to storm the Crown Prince’s palace and strangle him right then.

‘If he has a problem with me, he should throw down a gauntlet.’

That coward never had the courage to challenge him directly, always resorting to these kinds of threats. Until now, it had been like a bothersome gnat, but this was different. Lennox wouldn’t let this slide.

‘I’ll make him pay a steep price for using Vivian.’

Unaware that Lennox was boiling with rage, Vivian looked up at him and beamed. She stretched her arms out toward him.

“Your Grace, I like you so much.”

“…!”

In that moment, even Lennox couldn’t help but flinch. Vivian stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, danging from him. Then, she said in a whiny voice:

“Your Grace, I don’t want to get married.”

‘Marriage?’

Come to think of it, quite a few families had sent marriage proposals to her recently. Lennox decided he would have to crush those guys soon, too.

“I want to spend my whole life liking the Grand Duke~ Huuuuh.”

“…Then just do that.”

“What? What do you mean by that!”

Unbelievable! Vivian let go of his neck in indignation. She stumbled as she landed back on the ground. Lennox hurriedly caught her by the shoulders.

“How can I spend my whole life only looking at you! I have to get married eventually!”

“Didn’t you just say you didn’t want to?”

“Not wanting to and having to do it are two different things. Your Grace is a big dummy.”

Watching Vivian condemn him for “not knowing that” made him feel like he was going crazy with how cute she was. Lennox barely managed to steady his trembling hands. Dammit, I want to kidnap her right now.

‘Wait, she’s supposed to be under Malicious Illusion right now.’

Vivian’s behavior was… trivial for someone under that spell.

“…”

In that moment, Lennox realized a certain truth and burst out laughing. Vivian stared blankly at him as he laughed uncontrollably.

“Why are you laughing? Am I funny to you?”

“What? No—well, you are funny, but.”

Vivian grabbed him by the lapels. But because she was short, she ended up dangling from him again. Lennox let out intermittent chuckles. Asmodeus, you moron.

‘He probably didn’t know. That Vivian’s head is more of a flower garden than anyone could imagine.’

Even under Malicious Illusion, there was no effect on Vivian. The most “malicious” thing she could muster was swinging her “rabbit paws,” which wasn’t painful at all—it just made him want to pet her. Most importantly, she simply didn’t have the temperament to harm others. Her personality was so remarkably bright that there was no room for darkness to seep in. That was Vivian Lewis. Having watched her for five years, Lennox knew this better than anyone.

“Your Grace, you’re really annoying…!”

“Yes, I am.” Lennox stroked her hair gently as she vented.

“You’re so annoying because you’re so handsome!”

“Thank you.”

“Huuuuh, I want to be the only one to see you, but you’re so popular!”

“Then why don’t you just kidnap me and lock me up somewhere, so you’re the only one who can see me?”

Vivian, who had been hitting Lennox’s chest, widened her eyes. Her lips moved before she asked, “Re-really…?”

“Do as you wish.”

Lennox was truly enjoying this situation. While he was furious at the Crown Prince for using her, he was satisfied that the plan had backfired. In the end, the Prince had only done Lennox a favor.

‘You should have picked someone other than Vivian. Idiot.’

“Then, Your Grace…”

Hesitating, Vivian fumbled in her cloak pocket and pulled something out. It was a thin rope. Lennox’s eyebrows twitched. Vivian held out the rope and said shyly:

“Please let me tie you up with this…”

“…”

So, she had that kind of taste? Lennox filed this new piece of information about Vivian away in his mind.

“Fine. Tie me up.”

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