Chapter 1: The Grand Duke Is in My Bedroom

My eyes fluttered open to find my bedroom dark, barely lit by the faint glow of a dying lamp. I could do little more than blink dazedly for a while after, until my mind and senses suddenly snapped into working order.

What was I doing just before?

Unable to answer the question, I began to examine myself when my hand came across something quite firm under my thigh—something entirely too firm to be the bed.

What could this be...?

As I slowly shifted my eyes downward, I found a very familiar person sprawled out under me. Shiny silver hair, sky-blue eyes, delicate features…

G-Grand Duke Glenn?! What is he doing in my bed?!

Even more alarming was the fact that I of all people was currently perched atop his waist.

My goodness!

“AHHH!”

Quickly rolling away, I escaped to the furthest corner of the bed. My heart was already beating a mile a minute, but it kicked into overdrive when I noticed the Grand Duke’s steadfast gaze locked onto me.

What on earth is going on? Perhaps this is all a dream?

I frowned and raised my head in his direction, but the Grand Duke said nothing, opting to return my silent stare with his own.

H-has he hurt his head or something?

Though I was trembling with fear, I scooched closer to examine him. Obviously he was lying on my bed, but I now also noticed that his wrists were bound with rope…

I can’t believe this…

He was also…completely nude from the waist up.

Oh my.

Stunned by the sight, I lost my balance and fell backward off the bed, landing on the floor with a heavy thunk. I was pretty sure I’d bumped my head, but I was in such a state of shock that I didn’t even feel any pain.

Oh, what have I done?! For shame, Vivian Louis, for shame! You kidnapped the Grand Duke! Not only that, he’s tied up on my bed... What was I even trying to do? Haha...

As I was laughing incredulously, I heard the Grand Duke moving atop the bed. When his voice floated down from above, I instinctively froze.

“What’s wrong? Keep going.”

Pardon...?

Faced with such a preposterous suggestion, I could do nothing but blink, dumbfounded.

What did you just say, Your Imperial Highness? I can’t possibly have heard that correctly, right?!

As if he’d read my mind, he said, “I would like you to continue, Miss Vivian Louis.”

Right now, there was only one thought running through my head:

I’m done for. Vivian Louis, twenty-one years of age. While not in full possession of my faculties, I somehow managed to kidnap Grand Duke Glenn...and now the secret’s out! The fact that I’ve been fangirling over him for the past seven years! Agh!

I tugged at my hair while screaming internally. Yes, the secret was out, because all around my bedroom—the very room I’d brought him into—were paintings, tapestries, and pillows of the Grand Duke.

* * *

The first time I laid eyes upon Grand Duke Glenn, I was only fourteen years old. It was when I attended the debutante ball, an event overflowing with the hopes and dreams of young noblewomen. I, like many other ladies, was nervous and excited at the thought of meeting a wonderful man there who would fall in love with me.

“Oh, look over there! It’s Grand Duke Glenn.”

“My word, he’s so handsome...”

“Goodness, I think I’m in love!”

With my curiosity piqued after having overheard the whispers of some other ladies my age, I turned to look in the direction they were stealing glances at. And there he was. Lennox Elphidion Glenn, eighteen years of age. He had been bequeathed his title at the tender age of seventeen and was now treated as a noble in his own right. He shined like a jewel, surrounded by the bright lights of the chandelier and the praises of those around him. Shining silver tresses, eyes bluer than the autumn sky, and lovely, fair skin... He was so beautiful, it almost appeared as though he were really glowing!

Oh...my...God…

That was the moment I fell in love. Yes, I was indeed the type to give my heart away quite easily. After falling for the Grand Duke at first sight, my seven years of fangirling began.

I followed the Grand Duke everywhere, always sketching his figure in a little notebook I carried. I was so thankful to be good at drawing. Had I not possessed such artistic talent, I wouldn’t have been able to immortalize the Grand Duke’s beauty on paper! Plus, this way I was free to admire his loveliness while keeping my feelings from everyone outside my family and a few close friends. If I’d instead been forced to commission an artist to make a thousand, no, ten thousand paintings of the Grand Duke, it would have truly seemed to everyone as though I’d gone off the deep end.

Although, to be honest, I don't feel like I’m exactly all there right now.

* * *

Vacantly, I looked around my room. The tapestries on the walls, the embroidered pillows, all the picture frames and albums... Practically everything had the Grand Duke’s likeness on it.

Seriously... This is heaven!

“Wheeee!”

I leaped onto my bed, hugging the giant body pillow I landed beside; an image of the Grand Duke’s entire body covered its length. This bedroom was my paradise, because my beloved Grand Duke was everywhere I looked!

So wonderful, so thrilling! I never want to marry! I’d rather live like this forever.

I tightened my embrace around the pillow. Unfortunately, I had recently received several marriage offers, and my parents seemed to be considering the matter seriously as well.

Ugh, but I don’t want to get married. I just want to admire the Grand Duke from afar forever!

“I don’t want to get marrieeeed—” I sobbed.

“You’re going on about that again?” my friend Marina asked, having silently entered my room as I whined facedown on my bed.

“Marina!”

I immediately ran over and gave her a hug.

Marina was the same age as me, but with how much more mature she was, our relationship was more like that between a younger and older sister.

“How long are you going to obsess over the Grand Duke?” she asked, shaking her head. “You need to meet a nice gentleman, get married, and live happily ever after.”

“But fangirling over the Grand Duke is what makes me happiest... Drawing pictures of him, writing stories about being courted by him...”

“You want to live like this until you die a lonely spinster?”

“W-why would I be lonely?! What about my brother?! I have Cassian, don’t I?!”

“Doesn’t Cassian think of this hobby of yours as pathetic?”

“Ugh.”

My shoulders drooped in the face of Marina’s truth bombs. Yeah, I was a Grand Duke fangirl! But so what?! I just liked him so much! When I glared at Marina balefully, she let out a sigh and patted me gently on the shoulder; then she handed me a bag.

“I need to head out for a little bit, so please hold onto this for me until I get back.”

“What’s in the bag?”

“My stuff. Some of the things in there are dangerous, so don’t open the bag—no matter what.”

“Okay...”

Marina was a mage studying at the Imperial Academy here in the capital. She was currently living with us since her hometown was quite a ways away and our families were close.

“Then I’ll be back later.” Marina stopped at the door and turned to face me. “And no matter what, don’t open that bag!”

“All right...”

But being told that just made me want to look inside even more.

Maybe I could just open it a little bit? Just one peek before I close it right back up. It should be fine as long as I don’t touch anything else!

My curiosity had been piqued. Placing the bag on the floor, my heartbeat quickened as I opened it carefully.

What could be in here?

Marina would occasionally show me different spells and magical artifacts, but they were all rather mundane. It felt as though she avoided showing me the more dangerous things on purpose.

I’m already twenty-one years old! Seriously! I know she sees me as a younger sister, but how long is she going to treat me like a child? Don’t worry, Marina! I’m just going to take a very quick look at these items and put them right back in the bag.

With a grin, I opened the bag up wide. The next moment…

Boom!

“Ahhh! What the?!”

Something in the bag seemed to have exploded, because item after item was flying out like kernels of popping corn.

“Oh no! Not my Grand Duke goodies!”

In the midst of all the mayhem, I ran all over the place in order to protect my precious treasures.

After some time had passed…

“Whew... Finally...is it over now?”

Looking around, I realized just how big of a mess my room had turned into. A few of the Grand Duke items I’d failed to shield had been destroyed too…

Sob...!

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you...”

I’m the worst... I couldn’t keep my precious treasures safe! I don’t deserve to be Grand Duke Glenn’s fangirl!

As tears ran down my face, I began to tidy my room. It felt too embarrassing to have a maid clean up the havoc I’d wreaked, so I had no choice but to do the work myself. After a long cleaning session, my room was back to its usual neat state, and all of Marina’s things were back in her bag. Wiping away the sweat on my brow, I stretched my limbs.

“Whew...that was a lot of work.”

Cleaning was hard work for a young noble lady like me who’d never done a day of real manual labor in her life.

“But at the very least, I managed to put all the artifacts back where they belong.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, I moved to close the bag, when I spotted a sparkling object out of the corner of my eye.

“Huh? What’s that?”

I slowly walked toward the object. It was probably one of Marina’s magical artifacts.

I must have missed that one…

“Is this...a black...orb?”

It was an unpleasantly pitch-black orb. After hesitating briefly, I reached down to pick it up. From the very first moment I looked into it, it felt like the orb was trying to mesmerize me.

Let’s hurry and put it back in the bag.

Whatever it was, it looked dangerous. I rushed back to where I’d left Marina’s bag and bent over to put it back inside—when it slipped from my fingers...

Crash!

It shattered into a million pieces against the floor.

“O-oh no…”

That was Marina’s...! This is bad. How do I fix...huh?

I froze as a cloud of black smoke emerged from the broken remnants of the orb and began to envelop me.

“Ahh! What is this?!”

I tried to run, but the smoke just surrounded me even more quickly.

“Help me—!”

My vision soon darkened, and I lost consciousness.

* * *

Yeah, that’s all I remember.

Back to the present, I was still watching Grand Duke Glenn, who I’d apparently kidnapped.

Shoot, what do I do...? This is all that orb’s fault! What else could it be?! Damn orb… or rather, this is all my fault to begin with. How foolish can you be Vivian! If only I hadn’t opened Marina’s bag...then none of this would have happened!

I fell to my hands and knees in despair. Just then, I heard the sound of quiet laughter from above.

G-Grand Duke Glenn? Are you laughing at me right now? Do you not realize that you’ve just been kidnapped? Speaking of, how did I manage to kidnap him in the first place? He’s a bona fide sword master! And I’m just a frail noble lady. How did I even tie him up and get him on the bed?!

“Miss Vivian Louis, why do you look so glum?”

“W-well, that’s—”

My lips trembled.

Why do I look so glum, you ask? Can’t you tell? My life is over! Kidnapper of the Grand Duke...at the young age of twenty-one!

I was sure the imperial investigators would burst in shortly. Upon looking around the room, they’d say, “There are pictures of Grand Duke Glenn everywhere. How terrifying...”

Heh... Vivian Louis, twenty-one years old. This is it for me. Time to kiss the rest of my life goodbye. I’ll be arrested as Grand Duke Glenn’s stalker and end up in jail...

“There’s no need for you to sulk. Come over here, Vivian.”

Huh? The Grand Duke called me Vivian. Why is he suddenly addressing me in such a familiar manner? Wh-what’s going on?

I blinked in confusion, but rose to my feet when the Grand Duke gestured for me to approach with his chin.

I’m not sure what’s happening, but I should do as he says. No, wait. Before that, I should start off by untying his hands! What am I doing?!

“I’m so sorry, Your Imperial Highness! I’ll free your hands immediately!”

“What? Oh, it’s fine...”

“Of course it’s not fine! Oh, I even used rope!”

I’m the worst...! How could I cause such a grievous injury to Grand Duke Glenn’s precious body?!

I carefully undid the rope around his wrists, which was tied so tightly that it hurt to unwind.

This is definitely going to leave a mark…

Once the rope was removed, I could clearly see red lines wrapping around his wrists..

I’m so sorry, Your Imperial Highness... Because of me, your lovely wrists are…

It was upsetting to see them all reddened up like that. When tears began forming in my eyes, I dropped my head.

“It’s all right, Vivian. This is nothing.”

Unexpectedly, he stroked my hair with a gentle look on his face, causing me to jump like a startled rabbit.

G-Grand Duke Glenn, you’ve been kidnapped! And I’m your kidnapper!

“To be honest, I liked being tied up.”

Sorry...? Just now...I must have misheard him. Right?

“Only if this is the sort of thing you enjoy, Vivian.”

I fell into a daze. After a period of silence, with my lips trembling, I said, “Y-your Imperial Highness—”

“Yes, Vivian?”

Why do you keep addressing me by my first name? We’ve never even really spoken to each other! I think there’s something wrong with him! Did he...injure his head when I kidnapped him? Oh no! What should I do?!

“Your Imperial Highness! Look over here!”

“Hm?”

I must diagnose him right away!

I hurriedly raised my middle finger and asked, “Your Imperial Highness, how many fingers am I holding up?”

After tossing me a brief, perplexed look, Grand Duke Glenn laughed.

“One.”

“T-that’s correct.” I quickly moved onto the next question. “What is your full name?”

“Lennox Elphidion Glenn.”

“S-so you know. Good.”

The Grand Duke’s expression seemed to be asking why on earth I was stating the obvious. While I was relieved to see he hadn’t completely lost his marbles, that very fact also made me more anxious. If there was really nothing wrong with the Grand Duke, he should have been yelling things like, “How dare you kidnap me? You must have a death wish.”

So why is he so calm?! It feels like the Grand Duke is amused by this whole situation, or…am I mistaken? I must be. Right?

“Vivian.”

Straightening up, I briskly replied, “Y-yes, Your Imperial Highness!”

The Grand Duke then let out another laugh before pulling my hand toward him.

Uh, what?

“Is something wrong with my hand...?”

Startled, I alternated between looking up at the Grand Duke and down at my hand.

With a sweet smile, he asked, “Don’t you remember?”

“Sorry...?”

R-remember? Remember what? I’m drawing a total blank! I don’t remember anything after breaking that orb!

“You said you wanted to really make a mess out of me, didn’t you?”

“Urk, uh, ahem, I-I did?”

I choked on my breath and launched into a coughing fit so severe that tears formed in the corners of my eyes.

Sorry, what was that? Make a mess out of who?

“N-no way! I—”

“You said you’ve wanted to do this to me from the moment you first laid eyes on me.”

The Grand Duke leaned forward and placed a kiss on my hand. The moment his lips touched my skin, I jumped in shock.

I jumped in shock.

W-what just happened?! The Grand Duke kissed my hand—

“Eek!”

Quickly pulling my hand away, I hugged it to my chest. My heart thumped as though on the verge of breaking through my ribcage. However, my reaction merely seemed to entertain the Grand Duke all the more.

Just...what in the world happened?