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Chapter: 07
At my firm voice, Father’s pupils wavered like a candle flame in the wind.
It made sense. More than anyone else, Father was the kind of person who never believed in rumors.
“You’re the one who always said that people should be judged only after you’ve met them yourself.”
“That’s right! Though… after seeing him up close earlier, I have to admit he was really scary.”
While I was speaking earnestly to Father, Cezar, who had been quietly shrinking into his seat beside me, suddenly interrupted.
The expression Father had just managed to calm twisted once more into something terrifying, and soon his thunderous roar filled the carriage.
“You idiots! Just how much did you drink to end up equally insane? One of you was so drunk you couldn’t even stand, and the other proposed to a complete stranger…!”
Thanks to Cezar, I ended up being lumped together with him, which felt terribly unfair, but I didn’t dare argue.
Father was pounding his chest to suppress his anger, and his imposing presence was far too frightening.
“Cezar. You’re not touching a single drop of alcohol for the next three months.”
Cezar cried out in horror at Father’s punishment, but Father remained unmoved.
Leaving the stunned Cezar behind, Father looked straight into my eyes.
“Dahlia. Tomorrow, you’re going to the Duke of Ballestein’s estate first thing in the morning and apologize.”
Father added that if I simply apologized and explained everything that happened today had been a mistake, he would personally take care of everything else.
“Father!”
“Yes, perhaps you’re right. Maybe the duke is different from the rumors. But that’s separate from the fact that what you did today was undeniably wrong. You know that, don’t you?”
I couldn’t refute a single word.
“…Yes. I understand.”
Faced with Father’s stern order to visit the ducal estate and apologize tomorrow, all I could do was nod.
But inside, I silently apologized to him.
I’m sorry, Father.
I intended to apologize, just as he wanted.
But I had no intention of simply apologizing and coming back.
The next day.
As soon as the sun rose, I headed to the Ballestein ducal estate.
After being guided to the reception room by the butler, I paced nervously, trying to calm my racing heart.
Just then—
Click.
The reception room door swung open, and a man dressed in training clothes walked inside.
He came straight toward me and casually dropped onto the sofa across from me.
Setting down my teacup, I greeted him in a slightly trembling voice.
“Hello. My name is Dahlia Feldrorang.”
“…”
No reply came.
When I cautiously lifted my head, my eyes met the duke’s.
“Hic.”
He’s terrifying.
He was doing nothing more than looking at me, yet the razor-sharp aura surrounding him overwhelmed me so completely that I let out an involuntary hiccup.
His ash-gray eyes, devoid of the slightest emotion, were so piercing they seemed capable of seeing straight through me.
The reception room fell into suffocating silence.
“Hic… hic…”
My hiccups echoed embarrassingly loudly through the room several times.
The man with the icy gaze stared silently at my face before finally speaking in a low voice.
“…Evan.”
Among nobles, it was customary to introduce yourself with your full name.
Failing to do so was considered terribly ill-mannered.
But the duke didn’t seem to care about such conventions at all.
Then, without warning, he reached out, took my empty teacup, and personally poured me another cup of tea.
“If someone saw this, they’d think I was about to eat you.”
His rough, dry tone contrasted so sharply with the thoughtful gesture that my eyes widened in surprise.
“Th-thank you.”
His unexpected kindness left me momentarily dazed.
But that wasn’t the important thing right now.
Stopping my relentless hiccups was far more urgent.
Ignoring all thoughts of proper etiquette, I gulped down the tea in one go.
Fortunately, it worked.
When I realized my hiccups had finally stopped and let out a sigh of relief—
“What brings you here?”
The duke, seated across from me, got straight to the point the moment he saw I had calmed down.
“I came to apologize. I have no excuse for what happened at the banquet. I’m truly sorry.”
I bowed my head slightly as I apologized for yesterday.
The duke answered in an indifferent voice.
“I’m glad you’re aware of that.”
When I raised my head slightly, I found him watching me with his head tilted ever so slightly.
I looked back at him curiously.
He’s a little different from the man I remember two years from now.
The duke in my memories was a cold-blooded man whose very blood seemed frozen, someone with almost no expressions.
The man before me now looked similar, yet different.
His intimidating presence was just as overwhelming as before, but now he gave off the impression of a dangerous beast that could lash out at any moment.
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
“What were you thinking when you did that?”
“Well…”
I couldn’t answer so easily.
If I told him I’d done it because I hated hearing the nobles slander him, would he even believe me?
As I hesitated, unable to respond, his low voice continued.
“It’s the first time someone’s accepted my proposal with a face that looked ready to cry, so I thought there might be a reason. But seeing you now… I suppose it was just a drunken mistake. Or a joke.”
His blunt words made my eyes widen.
Having been raised as a noble, I had been taught to control even the slightest rise and fall of my voice.
Compared to that, his straightforward manner of speaking felt incredibly refreshing.
And there was something else.
Did he live in another country before?
It was only faint, but there seemed to be a subtle accent in his speech, something unlike the Empire’s.
Just as I was thinking that—
I replayed what he had just said in my mind and realized this was hardly the time to be wondering about his accent.
I hurriedly tried to speak, but he was faster.
“I’ve accepted your apology. I won’t make any issue of this from now on, so you may leave.”
With that, the duke promptly walked out of the reception room.
I stared blankly at his retreating figure.
I hadn’t even managed to say everything I’d prepared.
Hurriedly, I chased after him.
“Huff… huff… Wait a moment!”
He walked so quickly that I barely managed to catch up to him on the way to the training grounds.
In my haste, I grabbed the edge of his clothing.
Only then did his long strides come to a stop.
“Do you still have something to say?”
The duke frowned, as though he hadn’t expected me to follow him this far.
Judging by his resolute attitude, I had the strong feeling that if I let this chance slip away, I would never see him again.
If things continued like this, within a month he would enter the political marriage arranged by the imperial family.
I don’t want him to live that kind of life again.
Swallowing nervously, I looked straight into his clear ash-gray eyes.
“I meant it when I asked you to marry me. Please marry me! I’ll take responsibility and protect you!”
I didn’t know why the duke had come looking for me that day in my previous life.
But one thing was certain.
In this life, I wanted to protect him.
Rather than being looked down on because of his birth and trapped in a marriage worse than being alone, wouldn’t it be far better if he married me?
Clatter.
Thud.
Crash.
At that very moment, several heavy objects hit the ground all at once nearby.
Turning toward the sound, I saw the knights who had been training with their swords.
Every single one of them stood frozen, mouths hanging open, staring at us in complete shock.
