Chapter 15:

When people talked about the Chastang family, the first thing they mentioned was the Behemoth Knights Order.

The Behemoth Knights Order was the largest knights’ order in the kingdom. Mages and knights made up roughly half of its members each.

About 30% of the mages who had passed through the Magic Tower eventually chose the Behemoth Knights Order as their career.

I had never understood people who were fascinated by monsters or monster hunting.

But there was no doubt that they were doing honorable work.

The important part was this:

I had never understood people who were fascinated by monsters or monster hunting.

For example, someone like the man sitting in front of me.

“Were you a noble, Nico?”

I placed my teacup on the table and looked at the man sitting across from me.

He had strong masculine features, thick eyebrows, and a body trained like a rock.

His red hair and handsome face stood out, while his powerful body seemed almost too large for the formal uniform he was wearing.

He scratched the tip of his nose and smiled.

“It’s a family tradition to hide our status while studying at the Magic Tower.”

“I apologize for hiding it.”

“You don’t have to apologize…”

“Please, just speak comfortably with me.”

“I still feel more comfortable talking like we did in the past.”

“Well… it is a little strange because we’re not exactly in the same position anymore.”

“And I’ve grown quite a lot since then.”

He certainly had.

Not only had he grown taller, but his muscles had become enormous.

He looked almost twice as wide as before.

The difference in our size was so extreme that I could actually feel the physical pressure of being near him.

Surprisingly, Countess Chastang’s second son, the person she said I had helped, was an old friend from the Magic Tower.

If Leon Voltane had been the famous beautiful boy at the Magic Tower who was also completely crazy, then Nico, or rather Dominique, had been a rising star.

He was handsome and had a gentle personality.

Unfortunately, his popularity didn’t last very long.

“There is no doubt you’re getting plenty of chances to hunt monsters as the second son of the Chastang family.”

“You remember what I like!”

Dominique immediately brightened.

He excitedly began telling me about his latest hunting trip.

It had started when a farmer in a village discovered an unusually large egg.

Then came the twelve knights, their long journey, dreams, adventures…

And, of course, the monster.

He kept talking from noon until the sky slowly began turning orange.

“…And that’s how we found the young dragon and managed to pull out one of its claws!”

“You really haven’t changed.”

“Even at the Magic Tower, your score in monster anatomy was strangely high.”

I answered with slight exhaustion in my voice.

Yes.

This man was obsessed with monsters.

He could probably talk about monsters for three days and three nights without stopping.

Of course, since there had been people who died during the adventure, I couldn’t exactly congratulate him.

Still, I gave him a small round of applause.

Only then did Dominique realize that he had talked too much.

His cheeks quickly turned red, and he scratched the tip of his nose again.

“I actually came here today for another reason.”

“Thank you for giving me your time.”

“Come on. I told you not to be so formal.”

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“I wanted to give you this.”

He handed me an envelope.

I pointed toward the wax seal and asked if I could open it now.

He nodded.

The moment I opened the envelope, I regretted looking inside.

It was a marriage proposal.

“……”

I looked back and forth between the proposal and Dominique.

Is this really happening?

Perhaps he realized from my expression that I was overwhelmed.

So Dominique began explaining.

“You’ve been bitten by something dangerous.”

“Excuse me?”

It took me a moment to realize that he was talking about Leon Voltane.

These men…

Why couldn’t they just say things simply?

“Leon Voltane is a dangerous man.”

“Politically, of course, but also as a person…”

“Wait, wait.”

I stopped him before he could continue.

“What does Leon Voltane being dangerous have to do with this marriage proposal?”

“I know he’s troubling you, Irina.”

“That part is true.”

“As someone who owes you his life, I want to save you from him.”

“Nico, you’re a knight.”

“If you propose marriage every time someone saves your life, even having ten bodies wouldn’t be enough.”

“Th-that…”

Dominique’s face turned red.

I immediately regretted saying that.

I didn’t really want to hear what he was about to say.

“Because…”

“I have feelings for you.”

I sighed and leaned back against the sofa.

Looking at this innocent-looking knight, I felt like I had somehow become the villain from a cheap romance novel.

There was something I wanted to ask him.

Then why didn’t you come in my previous life?

I realized I was being a little unfair.

Because those were also the words I wanted to say to Leon Voltane.

Why were these impressive men suddenly interested in me?

Why now?

They had never cared about my life in my previous life.

Was it because my family was no longer in the way?

Because I had broken off my engagement?

Because I was richer than before?

None of those explanations made sense.

If these men had truly wanted me, those things wouldn’t have mattered.

Love?

It sounded convincing.

But I had already been fooled by that once.

“Even if it hadn’t been you, I would have done the same thing back then.”

“Irina.”

“I didn’t save you because you were special.”

“If someone is about to die, you save them. That’s all.”

I placed the marriage proposal on the table and pushed it back toward him.

“I’m going to be firm about this, at least for the sake of our friendship.”

“Take it back.”

“Irina, can’t you think about it one more time?”

“The greatest gift you can give me is to pretend this never happened.”

I desperately hoped I could convince him.

“Does Countess Chastang know about this proposal?”

“…No.”

“Wonderful.”

“Then while I’m already involved in a scandal with Duke Voltane, I’ll become known as the greatest seductress in history for seducing Countess Chastang’s son too.”

“I was the one who proposed.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong…”

“Who do you think will believe that?”

Dominique stared at the marriage proposal on the table for a long time.

Then he spoke in a quiet, restrained voice.

“…Leon Voltane was like this back then too.”

“He controlled you and used the excuse of being your lover to make you take all the blame.”

He reached out his hand.

I didn’t think he had any bad intentions, so I let him.

He gently took my hand.

He carefully looked at my fingertips.

My hands were covered in countless tiny scars, scattered like stars.

They were completely different from my mother’s soft hands.

Dominique held my rough hand and looked up at me.

“Who would treat the hands of someone they love like this?”

I pulled my hand away and picked up my teacup.

My fingers trembled slightly.

“You don’t need to talk about what happened at the Magic Tower.”

“That was then. This is now.”

“I can’t just stand by and watch the same thing happen again.”

His stubborn voice reminded me of the boy he used to be.

His appearance had changed a lot, but inside, he seemed almost exactly the same.

“But…”

Dominique picked up the marriage proposal from the table and tore it into several pieces.

He slowly stood up and pushed the pieces into the fire in the fireplace.

“You said you don’t like sudden marriage proposals.”

“So I’ll step back for now.”

The flames suddenly grew brighter.

His profile looked as hard and stubborn as a perfectly carved stone.

I stared at him.

Eventually, his gentle brown eyes met mine.

“But I won’t just stand by and watch him control you.”

I gave a dry laugh.

Then I offered the innocent-looking man one piece of advice.

“You probably won’t believe me…”

Well, whether he believed me or not was up to him.

“But back then, he also gave me a great deal.”