The Duchess of Peacefield, Charlotte, is preparing for her wedding in 15 days to her chosen fiancé, the honest Martin Chambers. However, she hears rumors of his infidelity and finds him at his manor flying kites with another woman, Joanna, who claims to be his cousin. Charlotte confronts them, and Joanna provocatively reveals Martin spent the night making the kite for her. Martin confirms he invited Joanna and made the kite himself, showing the cuts on his hands. Charlotte's perfect plan for a reliable husband and a political alliance shatters as she witnesses his intimate effort for another woman on the eve of their wedding.
After Martin gets hurt making a kite for the newcomer Joanna, his fiancée, Charlotte, sarcastically suggests he go cut bamboo to make more. Martin criticizes Charlotte's coldness, contrasting her with Joanna's sympathy. His mother reveals Martin is slated for a high-ranking promotion, strengthening his position. Privately, Martin resolves to assert dominance over the 'powerless' Charlotte. Confronted by Charlotte about his ingratitude, Martin and his mother side with Joanna. To demonstrate her authority, Charlotte orders her maid to slap Joanna.
Charlotte confronts her fiancé Martin after discovering he has been entertaining another woman, Joanna, at their manor. He defiantly announces he intends to make Joanna his co-wife after their wedding. Insulted and furious, Charlotte rejects the arrangement, calling Martin's behavior disgusting. She makes a decisive choice, cutting her own hand and declaring Martin is no longer her fiancé. She then orders the guards to throw Martin and Joanna out, permanently banishing them from her family's properties.
Charlotte confronts her fiancé Martin, whom the King arranged for her to marry. She publicly calls off their engagement after accusing him of cheating before their wedding. Despite his warnings about scandal and the King's anger, Charlotte insists on ending it. To salvage her position, she orders a list of eligible noblemen, planning to ask the King for a new fiancé instead. Outside, a commotion erupts as someone loudly gives away free coins to the crowd.
Timothy, heir to the Duke of Protectora, causes a scene by celebrating his dog Snowy's birthday in the street and giving out coins, drawing a huge crowd and blocking traffic. Onlookers criticize him as a hopeless, spoiled heir. His furious father arrives, calling him a bastard and vowing to break his legs, chasing him with a weapon while Timothy tries to calm him. As Timothy agilely evades the attack, a watching woman, initially scornful, finds herself unexpectedly intrigued by the handsome, unconventional heir.
Timothy confronts his father, who unexpectedly kneels before him. After declaring 'Now we're even,' Timothy flees, prompting his father to offer a reward for his capture. As men pursue Timothy through the streets, he escapes by seeking refuge with a young woman in a carriage. She protects him and then flirts, asking if he is betrothed and suggesting she has fallen for him. He plays along, complimenting her beauty and moving to kiss her, but suddenly stops, accusing her of setting a marriage trap. He then abruptly makes an excuse and leaves, evading both his pursuers and the woman's potential scheme.
After witnessing Martin's disreputable behavior, the Duchess of Peacefield announces to the man she just met, Timothy, that she will marry him instead. She then presents Timothy, bound and captured, to his father to claim a reward, revealing her pragmatic nature. While Timothy vows revenge, the Duchess uncovers a mysterious object on him, prompting her to investigate his true background. Meanwhile, the King rewards her by promoting her original fiancé, Martin, to Vice Minister of Finance, setting the stage for a tangled web of political and personal alliances.
A woman pleads with her sovereign to cancel her wedding, revealing her fiancé, Martin, cheated and planned to make his cousin Joanna his co-wife. She refuses to share her husband and explains her vulnerable position as an only child. The sovereign, acknowledging her father's sacrifice, agrees to cancel the marriage and withdraws a promised promotion for Martin. To secure her family line, the woman now seeks a man to marry into her family, obey her, and protect her assets, leaving the sovereign curious about her chosen candidate.
Following an injury Martin sustained from Charlotte, a doctor reassures his mother the damage will not affect his writing ability, securing his future career. Martin and his mother misinterpret Charlotte's subsequent gesture of sending the King's physician as a sign she still loves him and regrets her actions. They scheme to exploit this, planning to force Charlotte to accept Martin's co-wife Joanna, apologize, and surrender all her assets after their marriage, with the ultimate goal of discarding her for a nobler wife. Meanwhile, Charlotte's servant brings her information about Timothy, the Duke of Protectora's heir, and Charlotte, revealing she knows his wastrel persona is a disguise, instructs her maid to arrange a meeting to confirm her suspicions.
It’s been three days, and Charlotte has not apologized for reportedly being seen intimately with another man. As Martin grows agitated, he is invited by the Duchess of Peacefield to her residence for tea. She shocks him by proposing a collaboration, revealing she knows his hidden past and true motive for revenge. She then declares she has chosen him not only as her husband but to marry into her family. Intrigued despite the absurdity, Martin demands to know how she plans to convince a Duke's heir to accept such a proposal.