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Chapter 10
‘Gasp, that is…’
The moment I caught sight of the turquoise satin box peeking out between his fingers, I froze.
There was no way I could fail to recognize the box of the most prestigious accessory shop in the capital of Orden.
He placed the palm-sized, obviously meaningful-looking box on the table and quietly stared at me, as though he wanted to enjoy my reaction.
“Getting married right away would be too sudden and burdensome, wouldn’t it? So, for now…”
For now?
“I’d like us to continue seeing each other on the condition that we become engaged.”
“…What?”
Before I could even process his words, the ring box in his hand suddenly sprang open.
When the emerald ring inside was revealed, its green color exactly matching my eyes, I was left speechless.
This is serious. This man is actually serious.
“So this is…”
“A shackle, in a way. A beautiful form of binding someone to you with a contract.”
“…I’m pretty sure you’re the only person who would call an engagement ring that, Your Highness.”
“Still, you do realize that it’s an engagement ring.”
He smiled and held the box out toward me again.
I hesitated to touch it, but then the Grand Duke casually held out two document envelopes.
“This one is the ‘Engagement Pledge.’ It’s not that I don’t trust you, but just in case. The contents have already been legally certified through my lawyer, and my signature is already on it. So all you have to do is sign. Once you sign it and give it to me, I’ll register it with the Imperial Family.”
“Pledge?”
“No matter how much I might want to deny it, I am still a member of the Imperial Family. Because of that, the procedures are much more complicated than they are for ordinary nobles.”
The Grand Duke spoke as though it were slightly troublesome.
“And the other one… simply put, you could call it my engagement gift in advance. A kind of bribe.”
“Oh my. A bribe for me? It must be quite difficult to win my favor.”
“That’s why I put a lot of effort into it. I think you’ll like it.”
I wonder. Will I really?
When I looked at him skeptically, he spoke first.
“Exclusive port rights.”
“What?”
“To be precise, exclusive rights to use a port.”
Wait, what did he just say?
At the completely unexpected nature of the bribe, I quickly picked up the documents.
When I checked the contents, there really was a certificate transferring the rights to Valka Port, exactly as he had said.
“I have a territory called ‘Valka’ among the lands I own. It’s located along the coast, and I’m currently building a port there. It’s scheduled to be completed within this month. This is the certificate granting Loire Trading Company exclusive rights to use that port.”
“T-This…”
“In other words, it’s a port that only House Zaherete can use.”
“…”
“Do you like it?”
“Do I like it? Of course I do! This, this is incredible!”
All the tea leaves currently grown by Loire were transported by land.
The problem was that the terrain between the growing regions, the factories, and the capital was mountainous. On top of that, because proper roads had not been built, the routes had to go far around.
As a result, transportation took a long time, and the losses were quite substantial.
To make matters worse, although some of these routes could hardly even be called roads, the nobles who owned the territories along them took advantage of the situation and demanded tolls.
But what if transportation by sea became possible instead of by land?
“If you like it, I’m glad. Then, do you feel a little more interested in getting engaged now?”
Oh, no.
It suddenly felt as though someone had thrown cold water over me, and my mind snapped back to reality.
I had been wildly imagining all sorts of business plans, only to be suddenly dragged back into the real world.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat and quietly set the troublesome documents back down.
This was an incredibly sweet and delicious piece of candy.
But it wasn’t something I could simply accept without hesitation.
“My signature is already on the transfer certificate. As long as you sign, the rights will be transferred immediately. Of course, that is on the condition that you sign the engagement document as well.”
“What if… I only sign the transfer certificate and then tear up the engagement document?”
“I don’t think that would work.”
“What?”
“Actually, that’s why I came today, to prevent that from happening.”
The corner of the Grand Duke’s mouth lifted slightly.
It almost looked as though he wanted me to actually try it.
“If you’re really curious, why don’t you try? But I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll definitely regret it.”
When I asked what he meant, he winked and smiled brightly.
“Don’t worry. You’ll find out soon enough, even if you don’t want to.”
I stared blankly at him and swallowed hard.
That didn’t sound like a simple warning.
“That’s all I have to propose. Think it over carefully.”
With that, he calmly stood up.
His strangely relaxed steps seemed to show just how at ease he was.
But when he reached the door, he suddenly turned his head back.
“Ah, before I leave. I should receive my advance payment this time too.”
Advance payment? Gasp, could it be…
I immediately remembered the kiss I had received from him last time and froze.
Is he going to kiss me again?
I became awkwardly fidgety, wondering whether that was what he meant.
As if trying to live up to my expectations, the dazzling face of the Grand Duke slowly approached me.
Oh no. Should I close my eyes this time or not?
If I should, when?
While I was seriously worrying over that…
“Leon.”
“What?”
“Try calling me Leon.”
“L-Leon?”
I repeated his name after him without thinking.
Then he, no, Leon, smiled brightly.
It was such a sweet smile that simply looking at it seemed enough to make all my worries and concerns disappear.
He looked incredibly satisfied just because I had called his name.
“Good. From now on, call me by my name. We’re close enough for that, aren’t we?”
Perhaps he was worried that I would reject him if he called us betrothed.
He had deliberately left that part unsaid, but it was easy enough to figure out what he meant.
Of course, we were only prospective betrothed for now, and that was only if I signed the documents sitting on the table.
Since he suggested that we call each other more casually, I nodded.
It wasn’t difficult, after all.
“Then I’ll be going, Erna.”
After saying goodbye once more, Leon slowly turned around.
Then he quietly left the room.
After he was gone, silence settled over the study once again.
I watched his retreating figure through the second-floor window.
Perhaps he noticed my gaze, because after walking for quite a while, Leon suddenly turned his head and looked directly toward where I was standing.
I was startled, as if I had been caught secretly watching him.
He smiled at me and waved.
I awkwardly waved back.
What on earth is this?
There was a strange ticklish feeling in one corner of my chest.
As confusion washed over me and I kept repeating the same question in my head, it happened.
“What on earth happened?! Tell me the truth. Everything! All of it!”
Bang!
The door flew open, and Laura stormed inside.
Judging by her heavy breathing, she must have run all the way here.
Apparently, she had figured it out.
“Ah, alright. I understand, Laura. So calm down first…”
“Do I look like I can calm down right now? My goodness, to think that such an incredible woman, the woman who brought down the Grand Duke of Bernstein himself, was right in front of my eyes…!”
Brought him down? Conquered him?
I had thought so for a while, but I really hated those expressions.
“Enough. Let’s just get to the conclusion. So, is Your Excellency the Grand Duke’s lover from those rumors?”
“I don’t know if I’d call myself his lover.”
Right. Lover or whatever. I didn’t really know exactly what our relationship was right now.
“But I did cause an incident.”
“An… incident?”
Yes.
An incident.
Laura, who had visibly looked disappointed when I said I wasn’t his lover, suddenly lit up again at the unfortunate word incident.
Her fierce eyes and bouncing shoulders were extremely burdensome, like a wild beast that had been starving for several days and was just about to pounce.
“My goodness! Oh, God!”
Then came an exclamation that sounded almost like a roar.
“Our Marchioness, who used to treat men like stones, finally, finally! You actually did something this adorable!”
“A-Adorable?”
“It was that day, wasn’t it? The day you spent the night away from home! I knew it! I knew something had happened. I thought, ‘There’s definitely something going on here!’ I have pretty good instincts, you know?!”
“L-Laura. Alright, I understand, so calm down first…”
“How am I supposed to calm down right now?! I feel like I want to run barefoot into Roden Street and shout it out right now!”
Shout what?
That our Marchioness slept with the famous Grand Duke of Bernstein? Something like that?
“Ahh. I thought I’d be grateful if you brought home any unmarried nobleman with a decent-looking face, even if he were much older than you… But the Grand Duke of Bernstein! Gasp, w-wait a moment. Then!”
After making a huge fuss and not knowing what to do with herself, Laura suddenly stopped.
Her face turned pale.
I stayed silent, wondering what strange idea she had come up with this time.
Then she asked,
“Are you really alright just standing here like this?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“What do you mean, what am I talking about? There could already be an heir to Your Highness and Your Excellency growing inside you!”
“…This is driving me crazy.”
