Evading the Evil Duke's Love

“I’m sorry for wasting your time, Your Excellency. I wanted to ask if Your Excellency would be interested in forming a contract with me.”

“…” 

Venio suddenly opened his lips slightly. 

“Did you just say contract?” 

Fortunately, the Grand Duke looked as if he had heard something odd instead of feeling upset by it. Venio sharply watched as Laila took in a long breath after feeling relieved.

“You’re the one who brought up the contract, but you’re so nervous.”

Venio almost said that she was speaking nonsense since she couldn’t control her shaking body, but stopped himself. He let out a deep sigh, looking annoyed.

“A contract, huh? I’m not quite sure yet, but why don’t you tell me about it? So, what do you want? Oh, I should probably call you a lady instead of a young lady.”

“Oh, calling me a young lady is more than enough,” Laila awkwardly responded.

“Hmm. If you say so.” 

“So, what about the contract?” Venio asked comfortably. 

Actually, he didn’t really want to meet any woman, especially a lady, because of a particular woman who was being clingy towards him recently. This meant that he didn’t want to necessarily give a good impression to any young lady who looked like a rabbit.

‘But it is quite interesting that she’s suggesting a contract.’ 

So, he decided to hear her out. Venio smiled slightly with his eyes as his aura radiated from his body, as if it was almost ready to possess the people around him. However, he couldn’t relax any longer.

“Just for one month, please pretend that you love me.” 

“…” 

His sharp gaze changed into an interested look when he heard the weird word ‘love.’ 

“Pretend you said…?” 

Venio’s sharp gaze changed into an interesting look after hearing the weird word ‘love.’ He had fully turned towards her and was now completely facing her.

But when he observed her in more detail, confusion started rising in him. If she was asking for a relationship, he wouldn’t have been confused at all. The problem was that he couldn’t figure out what she was thinking or feeling when she offered the suggestion. The only thing he could feel from her was a sense of desperation.

‘What is this about?’ 

There was no doubt that he was an attractive man. Honestly, he was more than just attractive. He wasn’t being self-indulgent, he was just enjoying the fact. And because of that, he usually viewed this type of expression positively if he didn’t have to deal with the woman who was constantly clinging to him.

‘But she doesn’t seem like…’ 

He was sure the woman was definitely not feeling s*xually attracted to him, and he couldn’t understand what she meant by ‘one month’ or ‘pretending.’ On top of that, her eyes were full of fear, as if someone was about to kill her. It reminded him of a white rabbit being chased by a hunter.

Venio squinted his eyes and lowered his head a little. She had an instinctual appearance—her voice was quiet from a lack of confidence and she startled easily, but her tone of voice remained calm.

“So, Lady.”

Laila was slightly startled when she noticed the changed appellation, but the other party was more startled than her. Although he thought it was possibly the most stupid question she could ask, he questioned her as if he was explaining something step by step to a child.

“Are you saying you want to have a relationship with me?

“No.” 

Hearing her immediate response made his mouth slightly open.

“Then what is it?” 

“Just for a month… pretend that you love me.”

“Isn’t that same as being in a relationship?” 

“It’s different because you have to pretend as if you are.” 

He was going to respond after that, but stopped when he realized the woman in front of him had the purest eyes. It was an unexpected random realization, but now it was getting more interesting.

“You said pretend… And you also said it was going to be a contract. Then what am I going to gain from being part of the contract?” 

“I’ll be your shield.” 

Laila put all her energy into her well-prepared answer and stared at him, waiting for his response. Venio’s dark purple eyes confused her, making her feel as if she was falling into an abyss.

“Did you just say… a shield?” 

Laila was slightly scared when she stared into his charming eyes and didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Yes. Aren’t you in a difficult position because of Lady Nevira Bedelium? I’ll be a good shield for you.”