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Chapter : 10
“……”
Enoch looked reluctant, but Agatha firmly snatched the proposal document he had brought.
She shoved it deep under the pile of papers stacked at the corner of the table so he couldn’t retrieve it, and it felt as though his gaze followed it there.
Agatha pretended not to notice.
“I’ll go see His Majesty in a few days. I’ll let you know once the appointment is set.”
“……As you wish.”
Agatha escorted Enoch as far as the palace gates before returning.
Sitting blankly in the drawing room and staring up at the ceiling, she gradually felt her ears burn red. The ring finger of her left hand, where his slightly rough lips had touched, seemed to start burning only now.
“……What a proposal, honestly.”
Had she ever received such a plain, matter-of-fact proposal before?
He hadn’t even said any sweet words, yet it felt as though a storm had just passed through her.
It was sudden, but not bad.
No—if anything, it might even be good. Though he didn’t know it, hadn’t she just been proposed to first by the man she liked?
“Ugh.”
After sitting there blushing for a long while, Agatha quickly pulled the proposal back out and read it. Then she rang the bell at once to summon her attendant maid.
“You called for me, miss.”
“Tell the administrator to come.”
Agatha decided to take care of the Aratus family’s affairs right away while she had the chance.
The faster she could send help in return, the more it would ease the worries weighing on that man.
Though he had been almost swept out, as if chased away,
Enoch obediently followed Agatha’s wishes and returned to the Aratus residence in the capital.
Seeing her up close, he had realized that although she looked better than before, her complexion was still far from good.
“Welcome back, my lord.”
In front of the main residence, the butler, Ben, was waiting to greet him.
Enoch hopped down from his horse, took off the formal coat he had worn to the palace, handed it to Ben, and entered the first-floor hall.
“Anything out of the ordinary?”
“No, sir.”
Once again, the hall was filled with servants from various houses.
Letters of introduction, invitations, or gifts.
After pausing for a moment, Enoch gave Ben an order.
“From today on, refuse all letters of introduction that come in.”
“All of them, sir?”
“Yes. I’m planning to get married soon.”
“……!”
Visitors who had been pretending not to pay attention suddenly snapped their heads up.
Whether they were trying to form ties with Aratus or simply to probe, a marriage would have an enormous impact either way.
Passing through the internally panicking visitors, Enoch went upstairs. Ben, who had barely managed to hide his surprise, followed after him.
“My lord. Is there already a young lady you have in mind?”
“I’ve had someone in mind, yes.”
“May I ask which family she’s from?”
It hadn’t even been a week since he’d been ordered to draw up a list of candidates for a political marriage.
The knights guarding the office door bowed their heads. Entering through the open door, Enoch perched on the edge of his desk.
“Agatha Nobilis.”
“…….”
Click.
At the sound of the door closing behind him, Ben finally snapped out of it. That was how unexpected it was—and how overwhelmingly great a match.
“……Will that really be all right?”
“She accepted on her end.”
Ben, who had been worried just moments before, was shocked once at hearing he had already proposed, and then again at the fact that the outcome had already been decided.
No matter how composed a butler he was, at this moment his expression twisted in astonishment.
“You’ve… already received her consent?”
“Yes.”
Weren’t you just going today to deliver the proposal…?
Ben swallowed the question that rose to his throat. Whatever had happened, Agatha Nobilis was more than worthy of being welcomed with open arms.
She was the greatest possible bride of this age—of a family, lineage, and fortune so great that there was no need to ally with, or even entangle themselves with, Aratus’s relatives at all.
There could be no better mistress for them right now.
Though he quickly composed himself, joy he couldn’t hide rippled across Butler Ben’s face.
“Then I suppose we should tear up the list of political marriage candidates at once. Congratulations, my lord. I can assure you the other retainers will be just as shocked as I am.”
“Is that so.”
Enoch fell silent for a moment. Then, still perched there, he tapped the desk a few times and continued.
“Prepare flowers, Ben. I should go make a proper proposal before the execution ceremony ends.”
“Even for a political marriage, it’s best to observe the formalities. I’ll prepare the most beautiful bouquet for you.”
“Good. I can trust you with that.”
Enoch turned his head to look over the desk. The surface, which had been spotless overnight, was once again piled high with letters and documents.
Quite a few of those letters would be gone now, at least.
Ah—Ben added, as if something had just occurred to him.
“Then I suppose the discussion results of the proposal document will be nullified. The retainers, especially Administrator Conrad, are waiting for the outcome. Shall I tell them that?”
“……Well. I don’t think that’s quite right.”
“Did my lady say she would pay the life debt as it is?”
“Yes. No matter how much I tried to stop her, it was no use.”
She had said she’d look into what the current Aratus needed—but that was no different from saying she’d send the life price right away.
Given her personality of making excess her norm, it wouldn’t be surprising if the contents of the proposal were carried out today.
For a moment Ben looked taken aback, but he smoothly composed himself and nodded.
“Indeed, my lady is different. She’s led a family for a long time, so perhaps she judged it necessary to look into the difficulties of the family she’ll be marrying into beforehand.”
“…….”
That didn’t seem to be the reason, but
Enoch didn’t bother correcting Ben’s misunderstanding. It was a positive interpretation, and if she had a good relationship with the head butler, her burdens would be lighter too.
Already worrying that Agatha might overexert herself after marriage, Enoch awkwardly rubbed his face.
“Am I thinking about this too early?”
He was just worrying about the woman who would soon be his wife. There was nothing wrong with that.
It just felt a little unfamiliar to himself.
“Ah, this is no time for that. I’ll go secure the flowers right away, my lord.”
“Good. And check on the movements of our relatives as well. There’s bound to be a reaction.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Left alone in the office, Enoch thought for a moment, then took out some stationery and began writing a letter.
The recipient: Isabel Aratus.
His younger sister, who was currently touring their territory and being worked to the bone with internal affairs.
“…It’s probably better to let her know in advance, at least.”
The letter, sealed with wax and his signet, was soon handed off to a servant.
Because he had deliberately made it known in advance, news that Enoch Aratus was preparing to propose to someone spread through the capital overnight.
That was why, early in the morning, the retainers—led by Administrator Conrad—came flooding into the Aratus residence in the capital.
“My lord!”
“Head of the family!”
Just after the sun had barely risen,
Enoch, who had just finished basic physical training with the knights at the training grounds, felt a sense of déjà vu as he saw the crowd running toward him, out of breath.
He loosened the sword he hadn’t even drawn yet and set it aside.
Was today’s training ending with just conditioning?
“I should go. Leon, lead the training.”
“Yes, my lord.”
His premonition was not wrong. No sooner had he approached the entrance to the training grounds than the panting retainers arrived and surrounded him.
Every single one of them had their eyes wide open in shock.
“They say you’re getting married!”
“No, I heard you’re going to propose!”
“It’s the same thing! My lord, who is it? There’s a rumor all over the capital that you told them to turn away letters because you’re about to go propose!”
“What about the proposal document? Is it a marriage arranged through Agatha Nobilis?”
“Or did she refuse the proposal and just offer to broker a marriage instead?!”
While Enoch was overwhelmed by their volume, the retainers’ imaginations ran wild. A firm voice cut heavily through the clamor.
“That’s enough. If you keep shouting, I won’t tell you anything.”
“……!”
The retainers snapped their mouths shut. With a weary face, Enoch buried his face in the towel Ben handed him.
First things first.
“Ask one at a time. What do you want to know?”
“The marriage partner!”
“I’ve decided on Agatha Nobilis. I’ve received her clear answer about marriage, and I’ll be going to make a proper proposal in a few days. Next.”
“M-What…?”
The retainers’ eyes shook in utter disbelief, as if they’d just eaten dirt. The knights, who had been pretending not to listen while training, were the same.
Administrator Conrad’s voice trembled as he asked,
“A-Agatha Nobilis? You mean that Lady Agatha Nobilis, the sole heir of House Nobilis?”
“Yes. As for the proposal document… there’s a high chance it’ll be carried out as we suggested.”
“What? Y-You’re getting married, so why would you still pay the price for saving your life? Are you really getting married, my lord?!”
They had just been shocked that they couldn’t believe it—
but now that they’d spotted something strange, cries almost like shrieks erupted from everywhere, asking if he really was getting married.
As Enoch wearily rubbed his face, Ben—who had disappeared briefly and returned—spoke.
“My lord. I think you should step out in front of the residence for a moment.”
“What is it?”
“Someone from Nobilis has arrived.”
