ONE NIGHT STAND WITH HOT DUKE-Chapter 136: A weak bond

That night, one bitter truth was laid bare at last, the bond between Demian and Ivanka had never truly lived and Valerie, without ever sitting at that table, had claimed something that could not be seized by power or forced by decree.

And for the elders, it meant one deeply troubling thing, they were no longer dealing with a duke who hesitated but with a man who had already chosen.

The atmosphere in the dining hall grew heavier, as if even the air itself were holding its breath.

At last, one of the elders broke the silence. "If that is the case," he said quietly but firmly, "then what are we to do now, Ivanka?"

All eyes turned to her again. No longer demanding now searching. Looking for an answer, even a way out.

Another elder spoke, his tone edged with disbelief. "By all logic, once you were named his official partner, a Morvex heir should have made you the center of everything. A Morvex man usually cares for nothing beyond the woman he chooses he crowns her queen of his heart. Why has it turned out the opposite this time?"

The words cut Ivanka deeper than any threat.

She pressed her lips together, her fingers trembling despite her effort to stand tall. "How should I know?" she said at last, her voice more fragile than she intended. "I don’t even know when everything went wrong."

She drew a breath, then looked straight ahead. "From the beginning, Demian always kept his distance. There was always a boundary unseen, but undeniable. Every time I stepped closer, he took a step back."

Marquess Kosler frowned at his daughter. "You never told us this."

Ivanka gave a bitter smile. "What would have been the point? Everyone believed I only needed to wait. That eventually, Demian would become like other Morvex men."

She looked at the elders one by one. "But he never was with me."

The eldest elder let out a long sigh. "Morvex men have always been extreme," he murmured. "When they love, they love without restraint. And when they do not they do not even touch."

The statement tightened Ivanka’s chest.

"I tried everything," she said more softly, almost in confession. "I obeyed. I protected our family’s name. I never embarrassed him. But to him... I was always nothing more than an obligation."

"And that woman?" one of the elders asked coldly.

Ivanka’s face hardened. "With her, there is no obligation. No calculation. Only choice."

Marquess Kosler closed his eyes for a moment, as if holding back both anger and shame. "So all this time, we have been building our plans on something that never truly existed."

The elder nodded slowly. "That is precisely the problem."

Silence fell again this time not from anger, but from deadlock.

Ivanka’s shoulders sagged slightly. For the first time that night, she looked tired. "If you are asking what we should do now," she said quietly, "I want to know the answer as well."

She looked toward the door through which Demian had left. "Because when a Morvex sets a boundary... it means his heart already belongs elsewhere."

The elders exchanged grim looks. They understood one thing they had never been willing to admit before:

This was no longer about a political marriage. This was a battle already won by feeling and feeling was the one territory they could never rule.

And somewhere beyond these walls, unaware of this conversation, Valerie lay unconscious the very reason why every old plan was now collapsing, one by one.

Marquess Kosler broke the silence, his heavy voice carrying a panic he struggled to hide behind noble authority.

"Is there...," he said slowly, "no way at all to make him return to my daughter?"

The question hung in the air not as hope, but as a final plea from a father watching every plan he had built collapse one by one.

The elders exchanged glances. The pause stretched too long long enough for Ivanka to feel something cold crawl up her spine.

"There is," the eldest elder finally said. His voice was low, almost a whisper. "But the method is dangerous. And not everyone is capable of carrying it out."

Marquess Kosler turned sharply to his daughter, his gaze hard, insistent."Ivanka. You heard him," he said firmly. "Can you do it?"

Ivanka frowned. Unease was now clearly visible in her eyes."What do you mean?" she asked, her voice quieter than usual.

The elder folded his hands and let out a long breath as if the words themselves weighed heavily on him.

"We must make him sleep with you," he said at last."And bind him."

The words fell like a hammer.

Ivanka froze.

For a moment, the room fell into absolute silence. Even breathing sounded too loud. Marquess Kosler did not react at once he simply stared at his daughter, trying to read the pallor spreading across her face.

"You mean..." Ivanka finally spoke, her voice barely steady. "How?"

"By any means that do not violate written law," the elder replied coldly. "A Morvex bond is realized once the union occurs and is acknowledged. Once the bond is formed, bloodline and tradition will force Demian to take responsibility."

"Tradition will stand with you," another elder added. "Even if his heart refuses."

Ivanka let out a short laugh one that broke at the end."You want me to force him," she said quietly. "You want me to become the very thing I have always despised."

Marquess Kosler stepped closer."This is not about hatred or desire," he said harshly. "This is about your future. About our family’s name."

Ivanka lowered her head, her fingers curling into tight fists. Demian’s image flickered through her mind that cold gaze, the distance she had never crossed, and then... Valerie. The woman who never tried to claim anything, yet was chosen all the same.

"And if I fail?" Ivanka asked softly. "If he still refuses me?"

The eldest elder studied her for a long moment."Then you will know," he said at last, "that Demian Morvex cannot be bound by any means other than his own will."

The words were not a threat but a warning.

Ivanka lifted her head. Her eyes now gleamed not with tears, but with something harder: resolve born of wounded pride.

"I have waited too long," she said quietly but firmly. "I have done everything the honorable way, and it was never enough."

She looked at the elders one by one."If this is the only path you offer... then do not expect me to bear the consequences alone."

Marquess Kosler nodded slowly, as if accepting a decision not yet fully spoken.

Within that room, a plan began to take shape fragile, dangerous, and steeped in risk.

"Will this... actually work?" she asked quietly.

The question was no longer about hope.It was about the final line she was prepared to cross.

The eldest elder did not hesitate. "Yes."

His tone was calm too calm as if they were discussing a law of nature that could not be disputed.

Ivanka drew a long breath. Her chest rose and fell, then she gave a small nod one that looked more like surrender than consent.

"Then," she said softly, "this is the only way."

The words lingered in the air longer than they should have.

"Yes," the elder replied again. This time his voice was lower, darker. "Because what we are about to do... is not merely forcing him to choose."