For the past few days, the only thing Daisy could think about was Marquis Killian de Essel. Of course, it wasn’t because Daisy had a crush on the marquis. The man was too scary and too elusive to fall in love with. Besides, she had heard that he had really high standards.

‘It doesn’t matter how handsome he is. I can’t fall for a guy with such a cold heart,’ thought Daisy as she dressed herself. Then she quietly laughed for no reason. Of course, the only thing on her mind was the upcoming negotiation with Killian. Today was the day Killian was coming to negotiate. The events Daisy had predicted yesterday were published in the newspaper, so Killian would come to see Daisy. She sat on the sofa in the living room on the ground floor and waited for her guest.

“What are you doing?” Rose asked suspiciously.

“Nothing,” said Daisy shaking her head.

There was a knock on the door just before lunchtime. Instead of the maid, Daisy, who had been waiting for her guest to arrive, answered the door. A servant she had never seen before bowed his head. “How do you do? I’m Marquis Essel’s servant.”

“Marquis Essel?” Rose’s expression changed. A hopeful expectation spread across her face. Daisy felt a little guilty. Rose was thinking that Marquis Essel had changed his mind and sent his servant to get her.

“Is Lady Daisy de Philbern here?” Rose’s expression quickly changed.

“Yes, that’s me,” answered Daisy.

The servant bowed politely and said, “Marquis Killian de Essel wants to see you. I’ll take you to him.”

Daisy followed the servant. The expression on Rose’s face made her feel a bit uneasy. She recalled Rose’s death in her previous life once again.

Holding a large luggage in her hand, Daisy got into the carriage. The wagon that carried Daisy seemed to travel for a long time. She opened up the curtain and peered outside. The wagon was heading out of town.

When the carriage came to a stop, Daisy stepped off of it.

“This place…”

A huge building stood in front of Daisy, boasting its majestic qualities. It was the famous casino owned by Killian de Essel.

Daisy inhaled deeply.

“I’ll take you through the VIP-only route over here,” said the servant softly, with his two hands placed politely in front of him.

Daisy swallowed hard. Entering a place like this as an unmarried woman was equivalent to social suicide.

She walked down the hall following the servant. Luxurious chandeliers hung from the ceiling in every corner. Frames decorated in gold were hanging on the walls. Through the windows, Daisy could see the interior of the lavish casino. Aristocrats dressed in their finest were playing roulette or blackjack for money. Among them were women dressed seductively in dresses that revealed their cleavage. They were all busy rolling dice or bringing drinks around. All the women working there were beautiful like goddesses.

In the center of the casino was a huge gold fountain from which colorful water seemed to flow continuously. According to the rumors, that colorful water was alcohol. Above heaven was Killian de Essel’s casino, a famous poet had once said. That seemed to be true.

‘Oh, my God, this is a whole new world. I can’t believe Father’s been coming to a place like this and amassed such a huge debt.’

Daisy often couldn’t afford to buy a new dress during the high society party season. Rose, on the other hand, was always surrounded by gifts she received from her admirers.

Daisy always wore an old dress she mended to parties. But her father was wasting the family fortune in here. Daisy couldn’t help but laugh.

“Here we are, milady. With all due respect, the marquis is often sensitive during business hours. Please go in, but don’t speak to him first and just wait for a while.” The servant quietly told her the things she should keep in mind when interacting with the marquis. His mannerisms reminded her of a trainer teaching her how to handle a beast. Daisy grinned once more.

‘Poor guy, he probably needs to stay on his toes when he’s dealing with such a frightening man.’

Killian de Essel was a dangerous man who would turn the capital into a place of bloodbath in a few years. Daisy went inside cautiously. The office was neat and elegant. It had a high ceiling, and in contrast to the atmosphere outside, the interior was decorated in a way more befitting an aristocrat.

Killian was sitting in front of the black marble desk between the bookshelves. Daisy stood inside quietly, not speaking for a moment. Killian looked up after he finished signing a document.

“You’re quiet today, Lady Philbern.”

“I was waiting for you because you seemed busy.”

“Your father got a private loan yesterday.”

“…What?”

Daisy’s mind went blank. Killian handed her the documents he had just signed. Daisy approached him and received the documents.

“Take a seat.”

Daisy sat on a chair next to the desk. The document Killian handed over was about the loan. As she read it, it said that Killian would take over the loan that her father just received from a private lender. Daisy turned pale once she finished reading the document. Her father owing more money wasn’t in the future she knew. Perhaps, something went wrong?

“I was watching your father just in case. He probably got a private loan to pay me back. And to pay off his debt, he thought he could double the money by gambling. He’s probably running around the gambling dens right now. That’s always the way gambling addicts think. Your father is one of the worst I’ve seen.”

“...”

Daisy bit her lips.

“Then we now owe you even more money.”

“Yes, so I have more leverage in our negotiations. Anyway, let’s get started.”

Killian smiled slightly which made the ends of his lips curl up. His alluring smile made Daisy’s heart beat faster with a strange mix of excitement and fear.

“When I looked into it, everything you told me turned out to be true. There was a tiger the imperial family was transporting, and there was also a plan to blow up a bridge organized by radicals. Thanks to you, we had people keeping an eye and were able to deal with it before it happened.”

Now Daisy understood why the newspaper articles were different from what she had seen in her previous life. Killian de Essel had lessened the impact of the incidents. She had forgotten that this man was capable of communicating with the imperial family even without the title of a duke.

“Who’s your source? How did you find out?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Daisy refused to say anything. He wouldn’t believe her even if she told him.

“But please just trust what I tell you from now on. I’m sure you understand that I can’t give away my trade secrets.”

“Trade secrets?” Killian grinned. Again, his smile was enough to make any woman’s heart flutter, but Daisy also knew Killian was a devil. She just adjusted her judgment of him a little—he was a devil with a killer smile.

“You told me you could make what I desire come true. There are two things I really want. Can you guess?”

“Yes,” Daisy nodded.

A few years from now, when Killian’s notoriety spread in the capital, all kinds of rumors would circulate about him. Some of them were true.

Daisy had read the newspapers and heard a lot of rumors about Killian, so she knew exactly what he wanted.

“There are two things you truly desire: The first is to get your revenge by becoming the duke, and the second is… to not fall in love.”

Killian’s expression changed. He gave Daisy a cold stare. Daisy froze a bit.

It was well known that Killian’s biological mother, Lady Essel, had been harmed by the duke, Killian’s father, who was now deceased. He poisoned Lady Essel in order to divorce her, then after marrying his mistress, he died along with his mistress as a result of a drug overdose, leaving his two children.

It was a picture-perfect, tragic ending.

The house of Silvesten had problems with women for generations. Two of their male ancestors had been stabbed by women, and some of the men killed their wives. People often said that the house of Silvesten owned the world, but love always brought them to their knees.

They were either destroyed by love or destroyed the women they loved and themselves in the process. Many generations of Silvestens were involved in strange madness of passion. Killian’s father was no exception.

Killian had an enormous grudge to settle because of his mother’s death. Knowing this, the current Duke Silvesten, Killian’s grandfather, expelled Killian from the family’s house. He was probably concerned that he would bring death to the family one day. Afterwards, Killian succeeded his title from his mother’s family, Essel, to become a young marquis. However, his ultimate goal was always to get back the title of the duke that belonged to him.

“And you can make that happen?”

“Yes, at least one of those, for sure.”

“Do you think I am not capable of becoming a duke without your help?”

“…No,” Daisy shook her head. “The marquis will become the duke one way or another. In fact, the title of Duke is practically yours already.”

Hearing this, Killian grimaced, “Are you playing games with me?”

Daisy had meant what she said. This man was capable of killing the duke right now in order to have his title. Daisy looked straight into his eyes and continued slowly, “You’d take your place as the duke even if you had to kill all of your brothers, and you are the one who truly deserves the title. But I can tell you an easier way of becoming the duke. Would you rather take the easy route or the hard route of fighting a war? Why have blood on your hands to take the title that rightfully belongs to you?”

Killian’s face softened. He looked at Daisy with genuine interest. Raising his arrogant head, he stared straight into Daisy’s eyes.

“Tell me what you know about my grandfather’s will.”

“First, let’s negotiate the price.”

Daisy swallowed hard. She was about to close a huge deal. From a private loan to gambling debt, the money her father owed to this man was enormous.

“Please write off my family’s debt. That’s my request.”

Killian nodded as if he had expected it.

“In return, you will tell me how I can become the duke the easy way?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Why don’t I threaten and torture you to find out?”

“What?” Daisy’s mouth dropped, but quickly shook her head. “I know you wouldn’t do such a thing.”’

Daisy could sense that Killian was just trying to get a reaction out of her. He was a devil but not completely merciless. He made sure people spent lots of money in his casino. However, when someone was losing too much money, he banned that person from entering his casino including her father. Although in her father’s case, he continued to go back and kept losing more money.

In her previous life, the marquis did take every little thing from their house to settle the debt, but also gave her and her sisters money to use as dowry. In the end, he didn’t insist that they pay back all of the money owed, either.

Daisy gathered her courage and said, “I think you’re different from what rumors say. I think you’re quite a compassionate person.”

Killian laughed as if Daisy had said something funny. He had never heard such a thing from a woman. It was interesting.