MHOW 02

Chapter 02

After a minor commotion, Herina calmed herself, opened her eyes, and called Ares.
“First, put that sword down and sit here. I can keep you tied up if I still don’t trust you, but it doesn’t seem like I’m the only one in danger right now.”

Herina’s mind raced.
If the ceremony didn’t take place, all the hardships she’d endured and the humiliations she’d suffered would have been for nothing.
No, putting that aside, if she didn’t marry this man immediately, how could she survive in her now-fractured family, in that position?

But Ares stood at a distance, sword in hand, still on guard.

“Ah, hurry! If you can’t trust me, then stay there and listen. You may not want to believe it, but about twenty hours from now, you and I will be getting married. And the Emperor himself has already approved it.”

Mentioning the Emperor finally caused a change in Ares’s expression.

“If that’s nonsense, do you know what kind of punishment you’d face for spouting it?”

Herina glared at him, incredulous.

“You, of all people, surely understand what the Emperor’s approval means, don’t you?”

Ares’s face hardened for a moment at Herina’s words, then he stepped forward and untied her.
“You’d better not think about running away.”

Rubbing her wrists and ankles, Herina quickly explained the situation.
“No matter that you’re seventeen, you should know your family’s standing. You’re the head of one of the Empire’s five sacred noble houses—the Duke Ares Harvinent. That’s you.”

Mentioning the family caused Ares’s expression to harden.
Even as a young man, being raised as the heir of his house, hearing that brought a heavy sense of responsibility.

“Why am I a duke all of a sudden? My father was fine just yesterday.”

Herina let out a deep sigh.
“This is the time when you’re twenty-four, living in the future. You… are experiencing the events of seven years from now.”

Ares frowned deeply, still clearly not understanding.
“That doesn’t make sense. Suddenly there’s talk of marriage… and you’re saying this is the future, seven years from now?”

Herina pounded her chest in frustration and stood, shouting.
“No! Precisely, you’re seven years in the past. This is the present! You alone have gone back in time!”

Herina restrained the urge to yell, ‘You’re the only one who got younger, you brat!’ and spoke as calmly as she could.

“So all the nonsense you’ve said until now… is actually true?”

Herina reached toward the portraits decorating one wall.
“If you don’t believe me, go and look! See how you’ve grown in seven years! And see who’s standing beside you!”

Ares walked toward the portrait on the wall. The man depicted looked far more mature than the boy he remembered himself to be.

“This… is… real…?”

Herina stood behind him, reading his conflicted expression.
“Do you understand now? The situation? That something really big is happening?”

“So… you’re saying that you’re my real wife, and if we marry… it would be an arranged marriage? Are you the daughter of some noble family?”

Ares’s tone softened slightly, as if beginning to accept the truth.

“I’m the daughter of Count Obelia of the Adenman Empire. It’s not an arranged marriage… well, to be precise, you fell for me. You chased me passionately.”

“Pfft!”

Herina turned in shock at the laughter beside her.
“You… you’re laughing? At what? I haven’t said anything funny.”

“Ah… sorry. This isn’t the right situation… but…”

Ares could only apologize, still barely suppressing his laughter.

Herina was exasperated. This little brat…

“Is this funny? Just because I’m talking nicely, you don’t understand the seriousness?”

Ares shook his head.
“No… it’s not that. I just think you’re not really my type. I wondered if twenty-four-year-old me would see things differently, so I laughed.”

Herina was caught off guard by his blunt honesty.
It was true that twenty-four-year-old Ares hadn’t fallen for her at first glance. And she herself had deliberately approached him, not the other way around!
Still, officially, he had fallen for her and chased her.

“No! The twenty-four-year-old you told me I was really beautiful! Every day, you’d treasure me, worried I’d wear out if touched, and you never held back from saying I was beautiful!”

Of course, this was an exaggeration. Ares felt love for her, but wasn’t one for words.
But she refused to lose to the young version of him.

“Hmm. I see. Well, that makes sense. If it’s Obelia, there wouldn’t have been any advantage for the family, and without some abstract reason, there’d be no reason to decide to marry.”

Her teenage husband was blunt and reckless, enough to make Herina roll her eyes.

“You… you… half-grown!!”

Finally giving up her dignity as an adult, Herina shouted.
“Do you mean me, the half-grown one? Miss Obelia?”

Ares repeated, as if he’d misheard.
“Is there someone else here who’s less grown than me, young lady Duke?”

“Do you know that you’re much smaller than me? And is it being an adult to be unable to hide your feelings like this to a minor?”

Herina stomped her foot and glared at Ares, who returned her gaze without flinching.

“Childish. Fine, I’m an adult, let’s drop it. What would I even say to a child?”

Ha! Ares agreed with that assessment.
Even though he was older than he appeared now, watching a girl act younger than ten made his future self resent him.

“Just so you don’t forget in your panic, our wedding is tomorrow.”

Herina reminded him once more, and Ares didn’t even try to hide his displeasure, turning his head sharply.

“If you understood the situation, you wouldn’t be making that face.”

As she explained the current situation in detail, Ares sighed, increasingly exasperated.

“Then how will the wedding go? Just so you know, I have no intention of canceling it under these circumstances.”

Ares’s threat was, surprisingly, reassuring to Herina.

“You just said nonsense before, and now suddenly…”

Ares crossed his long legs and nodded.
He looked arrogant, whether as a boy or a grown man.

“That was assuming I wasn’t a duke. I don’t imagine you think it’s possible to cancel a duke’s wedding now. Do you know what it would mean to overturn a marriage approved by the Emperor himself, especially one of the Harvinent family?”

Herina’s patience twisted at his every word, but she forced herself to stay composed.

“You’re probably the only one who didn’t realize that. So, the mighty Duke of the Harvinent family actually has a plan to hold the wedding safely? Someone like me, from a family with no advantages, couldn’t even imagine what a bold plan that would be.”

This time, Ares’s face clouded.

“Oh, I hope you didn’t just blurt out, ‘We have to marry!’ like a child without a plan?”

“That’s not the case. First, we need to figure out the wedding route, so young lady, I’ll need your help.”

Ares hurriedly prepared to leave the bedroom, but Herina sat with her arms crossed, watching him silently.

“What are you doing? Do you plan to just sit there when time is so short?”

Herina’s mind was just as busy, but she had no intention of being swayed by a boy who didn’t even know what he was holding in his hands—unlike the twenty-four-year-old Ares, who would give her everything.