The Pledge Kiss
What he held in his hand was that damned amethyst ring.
When did the ceremony get this far?
As Chloe stared at him in alarm, Curtis gave her the most beautiful, radiant smile imaginable. Then, in a whisper too quiet for anyone else to hear, he said, “I know I told His Majesty that your charm was stupidity, but do you really have to commit to the role this thoroughly?”
“…”
“Pull yourself together, unless you want rumors spreading that the future Grand Duchess is an idiot.”
To anyone watching, it would look as though the Grand Duke, ring in hand, were murmuring words of love to her.
The contents were as cold as ice.
Chloe twisted the corner of her mouth upward. Thanks to him, she snapped back to her senses at once. But in the very next moment, his words sent her wits flying again.
“I, Curtis Siarnach an Ibanes Berk, before God, offer this ring to Chloe Amboise as proof of my love and fidelity.”
Chloe knew exactly what that meant.
Not as a token of marriage. Not to Chloe Berk.
She stared at him in sheer disbelief. The Grand Duke, whether she did or not, stepped closer and slid the ring onto her finger.
Chloe clenched her teeth and whispered, “What are you doing right now, Your Grace?”
“I thought you didn’t know military ventriloquism because you were Navy. When did you learn?”
As if she had learned it.
She wanted to snap back at that amused sarcasm, but hundreds of eyes were fixed on them.
Curtis, unconcerned, pressed a kiss to the back of her gloved hand and whispered again.
“Think of it as a special bonus.”
A bonus?
What kind of bonus was this? Chloe was baffled.
Have I misunderstood the definition of a bonus?
A bonus was that thing, wasn’t it? When you bought two loaves of bread at the market and the vendor threw in a cookie.
Who gave away a national treasure as a bonus?
Just as she was about to ask what scheme he was plotting, Curtis continued.
“Or, well… you may think of it as damages.”
Damages?
At that ominous word, Chloe’s eyes instantly sharpened into triangles.
Because Chloe was not an idiot.
She had already received quite a hefty price for this marriage. And now a bonus? Damages?
What kind of damage was he planning to inflict that he would toss her something this outrageous in advance?
But Curtis rose languidly without adding another word and lightly straightened her disheveled veil. He avoided Chloe’s gaze.
“Grand Duke.”
The priest belatedly cleared his throat and urged Grand Duke Berk along.
“You may give gifts to your beloved bride at another time. This is a place for vows before God.”
“My apologies. The token of marriage is prepared separately.”
Despite the priest’s reproach, the Grand Duke smiled with ease and gestured.
A footman approached with another box.
Inside the equally lavishly decorated box lay an enormous diamond necklace so brilliant it almost blinded the eye.
That, too, was probably something that had belonged to the Queen.
The Grand Duke came closer again, fastened the necklace around Chloe’s neck, and whispered, “It does look a little odd over a uniform. If only we’d had the time, a dress really would have been better.”
“What damages?”
“Who knows. When you ask me that with a face like you’re about to die any second, what am I supposed to say?”
Did I really look that sour?
Chloe felt oddly uncertain.
“I, Curtis Siarnach an Ibanes Berk, before God, present this necklace to Chloe Le David Berk as a solemn covenant and token of marriage.”
Of course, regardless of Chloe’s condition, the Grand Duke calmly declared the necklace to be the token of marriage.
Le David.
Second Lieutenant Monfis had seemed to be agonizing over the middle name that would be given to Chloe yesterday, and apparently, this was the name they had settled on.
Curtis’s middle name was shortened to Shan.
Then what does my middle name shorten to? Le? Or Da?
Well, what did it matter?
It wasn’t a name she would use for long anyway.
More important than that was the object that now belonged to her forever.
For example, the ring on her finger.
How much is this worth?
Chloe looked down at the amethyst on the fourth finger of her left hand and felt her mood lift.
But only briefly. Soon, she grew troubled.
Ha. Damn it. This isn’t something to be happy about.
If he was going to give her something, he should have given her something easier to sell….
Something on the level of the Sacred Flame was practically a national treasure. It was not an item someone like Chloe could dispose of carelessly to just anyone.
For something like this, she would have to call in a professional jeweler and haggle for days on end.
Besides, with a jewel this famous, it was questionable whether anyone would even dare to buy it.
And was that all?
If rumors spread that the Grand Duchess had sold off the ring she received as a wedding gift, all of Ibanes would be turned upside down. She would not be able to dispose of it for the time being.
If he was going to talk about damages, he should have given her cash.
Of course, that did not mean she disliked it.
It was expensive, after all.
But seriously, how much is this worth?
In any case, luxurious jewels had a way of clouding a person’s judgment.
Chloe was no exception, and because of that, she failed to think more deeply about the word “damages.”
And that was Chloe’s tragedy.
“Now then, the pledge kiss.”
…Pardon?
The pledge what?
By the time Chloe jerked her head up, it was already too late.
Curtis’s gloved hand had reached out and lightly tipped Chloe’s chin upward.
Then he brushed his thumb over the corner of her mouth.
With a soft flick, a single strand of Chloe’s dark navy-blue hair that had caught at the edge of her lips slipped free and grazed her cheek as it fell.
Her pink eyes widened like lanterns, but it was already too late.
Their lips met.
A gasp burst from the congregation.
Someone among the guards must have dropped their ceremonial saber, because a clear clang rang out.
Because the wedding had begun late in the afternoon, evening glow had already spread across the sky by the time they emerged from the temple.
People lingered in the open space before the temple, gazing at the red twilight with regret.
“Leaving aside the wedding vows, they’re not even holding a reception?”
“That’s Grand Duke Berk for you. I’ve never once seen him invite a single person to his estate.”
They had dressed up splendidly and come all this way, only to have no banquet where they could show themselves off.
Grand Duke Berk had said it would be embarrassing to hold a banquet for such a modest vow ceremony, and he truly prepared nothing beyond the wedding vows.
In truth, Second Lieutenant Noel had cautiously suggested, “Shouldn’t we at least hold a small reception?”
But the Grand Duke had coldly dismissed it, saying, “If we hold a banquet in an estate crawling with His Majesty’s spies, we’ll only have an incident on our hands.”
The gossips, knowing none of that, chattered as they pleased.
“Grand Duke Berk thinks no one notices, but he hates being touched by others, doesn’t he? Do you think a man like that would invite people into his own home?”
“Oh my, is that so?”
One man, who had been stroking his mustache while speaking ill of the Grand Duke, trembled with indignation.
“He pretends otherwise, but he’s unbelievably insufferable!”
“Isn’t he simply eccentric?”
“No. Count Vermont grinds his teeth whenever anyone mentions the Grand Duke, doesn’t he?”
Several years ago, a daughter of Count Vermont’s house had placed her hand on the Grand Duke’s arm to subtly express her affection, and the Grand Duke had abandoned his jacket on the spot and left.
That incident, along with several similar stories from the past, was brought up again.
The opinion gained force that if he disliked the smell of other people’s perfume and even their body odor that much, there was no way he would welcome a flood of guests into his estate.
“But… when I saw him earlier, he kissed the Grand Duchess just fine.”
“Exactly. That kiss really was something.”
A few married people who recalled the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess’s wedding vow kiss snickered.
It was widely known that the Grand Duke disliked other people touching him, as well as anything unclean.
So quite a few people had raised their eyes sharply, wondering how he would behave during the wedding vow ceremony.
Originally, the wedding vow kiss was literally a symbol of the vow, so it was usually performed lightly.
But Curtis, as though mocking convention, kissed the woman who would become Grand Duchess deeply.
After he touched the bride’s lips with his thumb, his own lips pressed in as if prying them open, and several conservative guests flushed bright red at the sight.
“Did you see the priest’s face? It was quite the spectacle.”
“The Grand Duchess looked horrified too!”
That was true.
Even the woman who had become that Grand Duke’s bride had startled so badly her shoulders jumped.
She probably had not expected to receive such an intense kiss at her wedding.
Thanks to that, a little laughter spread among the guests, and the priest missed his chance to say a word to the frivolous newlywed groom.
“But…”
Someone whispered under their breath.
“Then… wasn’t Glintland really just unlucky with the timing?”
“What timing?”
“You know. There was talk that he was marrying any woman he could grab just to defy His Majesty.”
People’s gazes crossed.