Bala: The Duke's Contract Wife

The Past: Pierre Cornohen

It took Rose a year to finally succeed in weakening Duke Cornohen's influence. From stealing Duke Cornohen's side businesses, making bad rumors about Duke Cornohen's daughter, to making agreements with mercenaries.

Rose made sure Duke Cornohen's finances were ruined. When their money declined, their power declined as well. Rose instructed Rendre to approach one by one the nobles who began to turn their backs on Duke Cornohen. Especially with the bad rumors about Flora Cornohen, the daughter of Duke Cornohen, people's image of the Cornohen family had deteriorated.

Rose also sabotaged some of Duke Cornohen's obligations as a palace adviser. There was never any concrete evidence, so Duke Cornohen was always to blame. The king started to feel hesitant to give big projects to the duke.

There was only one thing Rose needed to do.

"You."

Rose had been waiting for Pierre Cornohen to speak to her. Pierre was the only son and heir to Duke Cornohen. Like his father, he was a man of honor. He was also a reliable knight, thus many soldiers would follow him.

The young man's gaze was full of hatred. And it was directed at Rose.

Rose wasn't surprised. It was a normal response when all of a sudden some hired mercenaries kidnapped you. Yes, the reason Rose hired mercenaries was to bring Pierre to Rose.

Pierre was an observant man. He must have realized that the misfortune that befell his family during that time was schemed by someone. Pierre's suspicions must have fallen on Rendre. Because the nobles who were previously on Cornohen's side began to turn to Rendre. Cornohen's previous businesses that fell, when investigated, revealed Rendre's intervention as well.

But Pierre, who had already met Rendre and Anisa, doubted that the two could create such detailed schemes. Rendre was too rash and had short temper. While Anisa was too ... well, the girl never think before saying anything.

So when some mercenaries kidnapped him and brought him to face a masked woman at the Fullmeir residence, he could piece all the puzzles.

"You are the real strategist," Pierre said, kneeling in one corner of Rose's room. Magical chains bound his body and arms. Pierre knew it was useless to try to escape.

The mercenaries received their p*****t from Rose and disappeared without a trace from Rose's bedroom window.

"Who are you really?"

Instead of answering, Rose instead said, "Cooperate with me." Then Rose put a necklace on Pierre. A magic necklace that could make the user invisible and unheard by others.

"What are you doing–"

"I'm going to show you something, Pierre Cornohen," Rose said, "And then you have to decide for yourself whether you're going to be my pawn or not."

Before Pierre could ask again, the door of the room opened roughly. Rendre entered the room drunk.

"You," called Rendre. "I asked you to destroy Cornohen a year ago!" Angrily, Rendre hit the wall of Rose's room with a bottle of alcohol he was carrying. The bottle broke into pieces. He still clutched the neck of the bottle which ended in jagged glasses.

Rose didn't budge.

After the incident with the hot tea water, almost every day the wounds on Rose's body increased. That was because Rose sometimes rejected Rendre's will. Sometimes the violent man asked Rose to destroy a family or a particular person that had upset him, which Rose would reject to do. The annoyed Rendre never held back anymore. The man didn't even hesitate to hit or hurt Rose.

However, whenever Rose used the excuse that it would hinder Anisa's plan to be the Queen, Rendre would accept the rejection. After he made Rose a punching bag to unleash his anger. As a result, Rose had to wear a mask and long sleeves almost every day to cover the wounds.

Although she was able to recover quickly, it still took time for the wounds to heal. And the pain remained.

Rendre also never rewarded Rose again. The man took Rose's hard work for granted.

"You know what that son of a b***h did to me at the council meeting?" Rendre continued, "He dared to defy my suggestion in front of the King. And when Count Dimala supported him, half of the council supported him too."

In an instant, Rendre closed the distance between them and grabbed Rose's hair.

"You assured me yesterday that Cornohen's influence has weakened ... Then why does Count Dimala still support him?" Rendre shouted loudly

Rose gritted her teeth. She knew if she tried to fight back, Rendre would just hurt her even more. So she endured the pain. But behind her silver mask, her red eyes were smoldering with fire within.

"Rose, kill Count Dimala," Rendre said next.

"C– calm down, half the board doesn't mean your suggestion is rejected entirely–"

"Argh!"

Rendre sent Rose's body flying to her wardrobe. Rose's body hit the wood furniture hard and fell to the floor. Rose's mask fell off, showing a bruised face.

"I was humiliated in front of His Majesty! That Cornohen bastard laughed at my opinion to raise taxes."

Well, Cornohen is right to laugh. Your opinion is never logical... All your good opinions only come from me.

"Count Dimala used to be a commoner. Of course, he would oppose a tax increase. In times of this monetary crisis, increasing the tax rate will only strangle the people."

"I don't care!!" shout Rendre. 

Rendre's eyes sharpened on Rose that was still on the floor. "Kill Dimala, destroy his family," Rendre ordered.

Shit.

Rose only planned to show Pierre that all this time she was forced to do Rendre's wishes. But she didn't think Rendre would ask her to kill anyone.

Nonetheless, Rose couldn't let Dimala be killed.

When Rose did not answer, Rendre growled, "You forgot, huh? Your soul is mine."

"If you kill Dimala now-"

Rose stopped her words as blood started pouring out from her throat. Suddenly, she could not speak. Her vocal cord would not obey her. 

Rendre just swung a shard of glass in his hand into Rose's neck. The red liquid flowed down on Rose's pale skin. Her body staggered backward. She covered the wound with her hands, trying to contain the bleeding.

The wound was not deep, and with the speed of her skin regeneration, Rose's wound was beginning to close slowly. But the incision had injured Rose's vocal cords.

She painstakingly issued her next words, "Dimala... Die... Anisa..." Blood gushed out every time she tried to make a sound. But she had to voice it. "... will not... Queen..."

"What does Dimala have to do with Anisa being a queen?"

Rose was waiting for the wound to close. After he made sure there was no more blood coming out she continued, "Dimala is the greatest influence in the eastern part of the kingdom. He also has an influence on the people of the former kingdom of Voreus. He dies, the kingdom of Voreus will rebel. If so, the only thing the royal family can do is tighten the ropes with Cornohen. They are the only ones with military power on par with the swordsmen of Voreus."

Rendre understood Rose immediately. The 'ropes' Rose referred to was the engagement relationship between Flora Cornohen and the Crown Prince. If that happens, then there would be no place for Anisa in the royal family.

Rendre understood Rose well enough... but he was still upset. And the only way to elevate his mood was to vent his anger at Rose. Rendre threw a broken bottle in his hand in the direction of Rose.

Not satisfied, the man grabbed and strangled Rose. Then he slammed Rose's head hard against the wall. When Rose fell on the floor again, Rendre didn't stop.

Unknowingly, Rose's eyes were fixed on one corner of her room. To someone who couldn't be seen by any eyes.

Ah, I didn't want to show him to this extent...

After Rendre was satisfied, the man's breath turned laborious. He immediately came out of the room by slamming the door.

Rose had no power to move. She knew she had to release Pierre immediately and talk to him... to proceed with her real plan. However, her whole body was aching everywhere. Her chest was stuffed... She was having trouble breathing. Every time she took a breath, her neck and chest burst with a lot of pain.

For a while, she was just lying on the floor with irregular breaths. The wounds started to close after a while. Black and purple bruises also faded.

The magic necklace Pierre wore had time expiration. She didn't know how long she remained on the floor until Pierre's form began to formed visually again. Rose was taken aback by how close Pierre's body was to Rose's. It looked like he crawled to the spot while Rose was still trying to regulate her breathing. Silvery hair and eye beads stared at Rose with a pained expression.

I was the one being abused, why are you the one looking in so much pain?

"If Dimala is killed and the Kingdom of Voreus rebels, war is most likely to take place," Pierre said, his eyes were watery. "You just stopped a war..."

The wound on Rose's neck had started to close, although there were still pink strokes on her skin. The tightness in her chest began to dissipate. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"If Rendre is left alone," Rose continued with a bitter smile, "You see for yourself, don't you? What kind of person he is? He will destroy the Kingdom of Ellyseria."

That night, Rose told Pierre about the whole situation. Why she had to obey Pierre's wishes... And her plan to stop Rendre. Rose needed a pawn for her plan. A public figure who could move people's hearts. Pierre was that guy.

"I'm sorry I had to ruin your family's big name. Your sister even had to relinquish her position as the Crown Prince's fiancée," Rose said, "But make a deal with me, Sir. Cornohen.

"I'm going to make you a defender of the people. A figure of hope for the people of the Kingdom of Ellyseria. Together with me, we will secretly thwart Rendre's ambitions."

That night was the origin of Pierre the Hero.

For five years, Rose built people's perceptions of Pierre. Using her magic contract, she also formed a small group to help Pierre. Soon, the group was known around the world as defenders of truth. They revealed the dirty play of politicians, punished the nobles who did illegal trades, as well as defended the rights of the people.

Because of their popularity, the royal family couldn't do much about Pierre. However, due to the growing number of nobles who dislike Pierre, the Crown Prince's engagement to Pierre's younger sister was canceled. And as Rose predicted, Anisa was chosen to be the Crown Prince's next fiancee.

Not infrequently, Rendre's dirty plays were also exposed. Of course, an angry Rendre would bestow his wrath on Rose. But Rose felt more at ease even though she was being increasingly tortured. Because for the first time, Rose had a way of fighting back. Rose had a chance to protect others from the destruction she had to do.

During that time, the people only saw Pierre's figure. Members of Pierre's group also only saw Pierre. None of them knew of Rose's role in helping Pierre.

Everything was almost perfect. Everything went according to Rose's plan. Slowly but surely. All the pawns were in place.

It won't be long from now. When the time comes, this long-burning fire will burn out Rendre and Anisa.

Even when Mawar was accused of the attempted murder of Anisa, everything was almost perfect...

...Until Pierre came out during the trial and confessed that he was the real culprit. Then Pierre, the People's Hero, struck his sword on Rendre's chest.

Rose seemed to have lost the ability to blink then.

On the same day, he saw Pierre Cornohen, the pawn that Rose had chosen, sentenced to death. The whole world felt unrest at the dead of the People's Hero.

This is not my plan... This isn't supposed to happen.

For the first time, Rose could not feel the fire inside her. The anger she always felt was covered by dirt. Her heart was replaced by a feeling of emptiness.