From what little she had seen, Euclid didn’t seem to have any interest in her. So of course he would reject her, and if she clung to him a few more times—
Erensia grinned.
She’d be cursed out like crazy!
The reputation of the Duke and Duchess of Nobelita would take a hit too. People would say they couldn’t even manage their own daughter.
And on top of that, wasn’t Euclid from Gredellos, Nobelita’s rival?
It was certain that, beyond mere bewilderment, he would feel genuine displeasure at her advances.
A man with the perfect qualifications to become an enemy of her family, that was Euclid!
“Perfect!”
Erensia clapped her hands together.
She had been deep in thought with a serious expression, but when she suddenly burst into loud laughter, Agnes, who had been tidying up, stopped and turned to look at her.
My lady… she isn’t unwell, is she?
Agnes’s worries only deepened.
“There’s someone I want to marry.”
At breakfast, Erensia dropped a bomb onto the quiet dining table.
Elvers dropped his fork, and Evan let the piece of turkey he had been biting fall with a dull thud.
The already tense atmosphere, strained by the cold war between the Duke and Duchess of Nobelita, plunged straight off a cliff.
The family’s faces stiffened.
Clink, clink. The only one who continued eating was Erensia.
“What did you say, Erensia?”
The Duke of Nobelita asked. Erensia lightly dabbed the sauce at the corner of her lips with a cloth.
Her blue eyes looked straight at him.
“I said there’s someone I want to marry. I’ve decided to propose. I’m telling you in advance so you know.”
“Propose?”
The Duchess repeated, as if confirming what she heard. She had shown no interest in men, and now suddenly she was proposing?
Erensia had always been indifferent to her surroundings. Especially to people. She was so detached that she often didn’t even notice when the servants attending her were changed.
And now, not only had she taken an interest in a man, she intended to propose herself.
Just who could it be?
“Erensia, have you been secretly dating someone without telling your brothers?”
Elvers asked, barely regaining his composure. Erensia shook her head.
“No.”
“Then you’re proposing?”
“It was love at first sight.”
She gave the answer she had prepared.
A girl who fell in love at first sight. The perfect excuse to justify irrational behavior.
“With whom?”
Erensia had high standards.
So did Elvers and Evan.
Seeing their own reflections in the mirror every day made it inevitable.
The Nobelita family was blessed with excellent looks.
If Erensia had fallen at first sight, the man must either be extraordinarily handsome, or incredibly powerful, or have an overwhelming background—
“Euclid Gredellos.”
Clang.
A utensil fell and rolled across the floor with an unpleasant sound.
The dining room froze instantly.
A man who had everything. And yet, an absolutely unacceptable match.
“With whom?”
Though he had heard clearly, the Duke asked again. Facing his hardened expression directly, Erensia answered.
“Euclid Gredellos. Acting Duke of Gredellos, and the heir.”
“No.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the Duke refused.
Nobelita and Gredellos were natural enemies. This marriage offered none of the usual benefits of a noble union.
It wouldn’t expand their power. It wouldn’t strengthen alliances.
There was no gain, only loss.
“Even if you oppose it, it won’t matter. I’ve already sent the proposal letter.”
But Erensia didn’t yield. She had expected opposition.
She drank her water calmly.
Everyone else turned pale. In the end, the Duke clutched the back of his neck and collapsed.
The butler and attendants rushed in to support him.
The dining room erupted into chaos.
Amid the commotion, Erensia continued her meal.
Thinking something along the lines of, Father is more fragile than I expected.
“What is this?”
Heat radiated from Euclid’s body as he returned from his early morning training.
His aide, Frederick, held out a pink letter along with a towel for wiping sweat.
Euclid took only the towel, wiping himself, and gestured at the letter with his eyes.
“It’s from Lady Erensia.”
“Why?”
Seeing his immediate frown, Frederick let out a faint sigh.
“If you ask me that, how would I know?”
Euclid looked down at the letter with indifferent eyes, then walked straight into his room.
“And the letter?”
Frederick fluttered it as he followed.
“Open it.”
Euclid said lazily, tossing off his upper garment in front of the bath.
“Me?”
Frederick asked, uneasy.
“That’s your job. Don’t you usually read and filter the letters before showing them to me?”
Euclid replied as if it were nothing.
That was true.
Since he was acting in place of the reclusive Duke, the volume of letters he received daily was overwhelming.
Of course, Euclid couldn’t read them all. So Frederick and a few others screened them in advance.
But that only applied to official correspondence.
A pink letter with a faint fragrance, sealed with a heart.
Anyone could tell this was a love letter!
There was no way he could read this.
“It would be better if you read it yourself.”
Frederick had no desire to involve himself in someone else’s romance.
“Don’t make me repeat myself this early in the morning. I’m tired.”
The blunt tone struck Frederick’s ears.
Euclid clearly had no intention of reading it. If Frederick didn’t, it would end up in the trash.
Frederick stared at his master’s broad back for a moment, then gave up.
“Then I’ll… read it?”
“Go ahead.”
Euclid loosened his belt.
“To the esteemed Sir Euclid.”
A typical greeting.
But what followed was anything but ordinary.
“Let’s get married?”
Even Frederick, reading it aloud, seemed incredulous. Though it ended with a period, his tone rose like a question.
“What?”
Euclid froze mid-step.
Turning with one foot still lifted, he looked at Frederick.
Frederick’s flushed face came into view, as if he were holding back laughter or feeling embarrassed on Euclid’s behalf.
“Stop joking, Frederick.”
“It’s real.”
Frederick waved the letter as he approached.
“To the esteemed Sir Euclid, let’s get married. Erensia Nobelita.”
Like a dutiful aide, he read it clearly once more.
Then he held it out in front of Euclid. Before the words came into view, a faint rose scent reached him.
Euclid leaned back slightly, and the neat handwriting became visible.
It was exactly as Frederick had read.
His tired face tilted to the side.
Even for a joke, this is elaborate.
“…She’s insane.”
After a long silence, Euclid spoke.
“Lady Erensia is here?”
Before he could recover from the morning’s shock, Erensia had stormed into Euclid’s estate.
“Was that letter a declaration of war?”
Euclid had just come out of the bath.
“You make it sound like a battle, when it was a proposal.”
Frederick found it amusing to see Euclid so unsettled.
When he chuckled, Euclid shot him a sharp glare.
“Does that look like a proposal to you? It looks like she’s picking a fight.”
Euclid pointed toward the letter he had thrown into the trash.
“Well, wouldn’t it be best to ask her directly?”
Euclid agreed.
Even if she hadn’t come, he had been planning to meet her soon.
Yesterday’s incident with the horse had been called an accident, but now it almost felt intentional.
If she wanted attention by bothering him, he intended to make it very clear she was wasting her time.
“Tell her to wait in the reception room. I’ll be down shortly.”
“Dressed like that?”
Frederick pointed out his attire.
Fresh from washing up, Euclid wore a loose shirt and trousers.
With two buttons undone and sleeves carelessly rolled up, he looked far more unruly than his usual composed self.
“She came unannounced. She should consider it an honor I’m meeting her at all. Do I need to dress up too?”
Frederick raised and lowered his brows.
It seemed Euclid didn’t like Lady Erensia very much.
She had disrupted his perfectly ordered life, after all.
“I’ll bring her in.”
Euclid irritably set down the document he had been holding and ran a hand through his disheveled hair.
If she really thinks she’s fallen for me, I’ll make sure she’s thoroughly disillusioned today.
Euclid had absolutely no desire to get entangled with Nobelita.
