The Contract

Damien was genuinely surprised to hear such resolve from someone like Rosalie Ashter, however, what was bothering him the most still remained unanswered. Thus, he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, and looked at the girl rather secretively and suspiciously, which made her lean forward too, as if they two were ready to share some important secrets in the privacy of their company.

Damien spoke first,

"Lady Rosalie, I have two important questions I need to ask you."

"Oh... Alright, go ahead."

"First, why do you have to stay here only for one year? What is going to happen after that time is up? And second, how did you find out about the nature of my curse and the way to attend to it?"

Even though Rosalie had thought about the time condition many times already, somehow, she still got uneasy upon hearing the Duke ask about it.