Chapter Six

Duke Alexander eyed Alessandra suspiciously who just beamed innocently at him. But it did not fool him. Since the moment he met her, he had known the manipulative soul lay behind her innocent smile. 

“The duke and duchess of Terrence duchy were murdered,” Alexander said with a smile. “Since the young duchess is comparing the two incidents, I am even more curious as to what happened to the Maximillan duchess and her family.”

“Humans are like that after all. They are curious,” Alessandra said, unmoving. “But I guess I was wrong about something. Since the duke can be curious, he must be a human, right? Please accept my apologies for misunderstanding. I was just misunderstanding the duke based on the unfortunate incident that transpired two years ago.”

What? Did you think I will fall for your words so easily? I have more experience than you. Don’t underestimate the brain of an almost thirty six years old!

He took a deep breath as if he was trying to control himself. Alessandra chuckled silently. For her, nothing was more fun than stir up people. The more worked up they got, the weaker they became. And that was the chance to get them inside the palms and play them like chess pieces. 

But suddenly, he started laughing taking her by surprise. She looked at him with her curious big eyes and observed him closely. 

“I think I understand now how the young duchess has become the heir of the Maximillan duchy and also a well-respected member of the politics,” Alexander said. His stare suddenly turned dark as he looked deep into her ruby eyes. “But a mad man has nothing to fear. The quicker the young duchess knows this, the better. Don’t you think so, Young Duchess of Maximillan?” 

“Does the duke think that I am trying to go against the duke?” she asked. 

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“To be honest, it is only natural for us to go against each other. But right now, the Maximillan duchy has no intention of going against the duke. If the duke and I were to marry, the quicker we get along, the better,” Alessandra said. “But if the duke goes against me both in words and actions, I don’t think I will be able to stop myself from doing the same. And I assume I don’t have to remind the duke that it was the duke who went against me with words.”

“If that’s the case, should we make an effort to get along?” he asked. 

Alessandra was surprised that he agreed so quickly. She thought he would try to argue with her again. 

As for Alexander, he was quite amused to deal with the young duchess. Her words and actions were quite entertaining to him. But he was more curious in what her real self was that was yet to see. 

“I don’t see why not,” she smiled. “Shall we start with calling each other by name and be informal?”

Alexander smirked. “Sure, Alessandra.”

She blushed almost instantly, but quickly cleared her throat to clear the situation. She did not think he would say it right away and more importantly, she did not expect to have that type of effect. 

“Well, I figured I should not call the duke Alexander since it seems like my brother’s name,” she said. “So, can I call the duke Alex?”

“It’s fine. You can call me Alex,” he said. 

It was unusual of him. He would not allow someone to call his name so easily and moreover, he would never let anyone make a nickname for him. But since a while ago, he was more than eager to get close to Alessandra. 

Alexander did not know if it was because he was interested in seeing her real self or for what happened a while ago. His heart still had not fully gone back to normal since the moment he saw her blushing face. For a moment, she did not look as composed as usual. And the more he remembered her face back then, the more he wanted to make her like that. He wanted to see her flustered, as if he was bound to break her composed self. 

“Alex,” she mumbled. “Alessandra. Ugh, they still feel so similar. It can’t go on like this. It’s weird. What if... You can call me Ari.”

“Ari?”

“Yes. Ari,” she said with a faint smile. 

Ari was her nickname in her previous life. Her family and friends used to call her this. She felt weird to hear it again after eighteen years. 

“It’s my nickname,” she added. 

“Who calls you by this name?” he asked. 

“No one.”

“Yes,” he smirked, “Then I will gladly call you Ari.”

That time, she did not understand why he smirked. She did not know that this man wanted to be the only one, no matter what it was. 

“So, we can be informal, right?” she asked. 

“Yes.”

She sighed in relief. “Gosh, it’s so hard to maintain formality. Now I’m glad I don’t have to do so anymore. I bet you’re the same, huh?”

Alexander was surprised at her sudden change. But he was glad. This time, it did not seem like she was acting; rather it seemed that was how she truly was. 

“Yes. Well, I didn’t think it was hard for you as well. I thought it came out natural from you,” he said. “It was hard for me since I’m not used to it at all.”

She laughed. “No wonder. Now, now, Alex, I don’t think the storm has kept me here for no reason.”

Alexander smirked. He had expected her to notice it. But she was quicker than he expected. 

“It seems like you’re done with your food. Then should we get to the point?” 

“Sure,” she nodded. 

Alexander led her to his office. She looked around the moment they entered the room. Her red eyes were filled with the look of familiarity as she eyed the piled up documents on the table. 

“Take a seat,” he said and went at the opposite side of the table. 

Behind him stood a huge glass window. The storm had not calmed down yet. In the midst of the darkness led by the storm, his tall figure stood as a work of god. For a moment, she could not breathe as if captivated by him. 

Ack, he almost blinded me! 

“Here.”

He slid a paper towards her. She was so focused on admiring his features that she did not notice it until then. She cleared her throat and looked down. As she expected, it was a magical contract. 

“Please read it and see if there is anything you would like to change.”

Contractors:

Name: Alexander Terrence                                                    Name: Alessandra                           Maximillan

Duke of south Terrence Duchy                                        Heir of north Maximillan Duchy

Alexander Terrence and Alessandra Maximillan agree not to do anything that would disadvantage each other in the field of politics and personal life. Both of them will stay loyal to the other and respect each other. And when they will marry, they cannot divorce. 

Violation of the contract will lead to the death of the specific contractor. 

“Ah, it’s very short, but to the point,” she muttered. “I like it.”

“So, I can take that as a yes, I suppose,” he said. 

“Of course.”

“Then, shall we?” he said and stretched out his left hand. 

She placed her right hand on his and held out her other hand towards him. With his free hand, he unsheathed his dagger. 

Alexander glanced at her to see if she was afraid. But he was surprised to meet with her longing eyes, as if she was used to it. 

He cut a bit of her palm and let the blood drop on the contract paper. Then he cut his palm as well and put a few drops of his blood on the same place as well. A red string spread throughout the paper starting from their blood and a seal was created. 

“It’s completed,” he said. 

“Yes,” she said. 

It was Alessandra’s first time doing a magical contract. All the time, she just used her magic to mess with the contract since an actual magical contract was dangerous if violated the contract deals. But she could not do the same with Alexander’s magical contract since his power was superior to hers. 

“I can sense strong mana from you,” he said. “It’s the same that was used to try to break the barrier of my territory. No wonder you didn’t want to be the duchess of the south at first.”

She chuckled lazily and watched as he wrapped a handkerchief around her palm carefully. 

“Thank you,” she said. 

“You’re welcome,” he said. “Now shall we take a walk in the garden? After all, we need to get to know each other since we will be engaged soon.”

“And the storm has stopped so suddenly that I am too shocked to refuse it seems,” she said.