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Chapter : 11
Everyone around him was in an uproar, trying to guess what on earth was going on, but Enoch ran a hand through his hair, feeling as though he already knew.
It was obvious. They must have brought the clauses of the proposal, properly prepared.
‘She didn’t even look that well.’
To have sent all that in barely half a day meant she must have pushed herself again.
Handing a wet towel to a servant, Enoch headed toward the main residence.
Sure enough, the moment he left the training grounds, his brow furrowed slightly at the sight of more than ten carriages lined up.
Among the Nobillis retainers who had been waiting, one who seemed to be their representative stepped forward and bowed.
“Greetings. I am Denny Kaylor, First Executor of House Nobillis. You must be Marquis Aratus?”
Enoch nodded, glancing at the crowd of retainers who had followed him out.
“A pleasure. Have you come to carry out the terms of the proposal?”
“Yes. The young lady insisted that not a single debt remain before the marriage—she pressed us quite hard. Haha. Have we come too early and caused you inconvenience?”
“No. You’ve come at just the right time.”
There was no need for long explanations—they would see for themselves. As the retainers hesitated, the administrator, Conrad, hurried forward.
After exchanging brief greetings, Conrad gestured toward the carriages.
“Um, I heard you came to fulfill the proposal. That, perhaps…?”
“Yes. The one hundred thousand kar in gold you requested, along with the documents related to the merchant guild.”
One hundred thousand kar of gold was a sum equivalent to the annual budget of a respectable noble house.
And they had prepared it in just half a day!
The executor walked straight to the cargo carriage and showed the sacks filled with gold coins inside.
Excited, the retainers carried out a verification under the butler’s direction. It was exactly one hundred thousand gold coins.
“Oh, and regarding the interest rate—you said it could be adjusted. The young lady insisted she could never charge interest to her fiancé. This is a letter she sent to you, my lord.”
“……”
Enoch, who had slightly furrowed his brow, silently reached out for the letter offered by Denny Kaylor, First Executor of Nobillis. Pretending not to care, everyone’s gaze inevitably followed.
On the letter, infused with a floral scent, was a single purple statice—the symbol of Agatha Nobillis—along with the Nobillis crest sealed in wax.
Leaving the task of turning the proposal into a contract to the butler, Enoch lowered his gaze to the letter.
It was a handwriting he had never seen before—upright, yet somehow soft.
“To my beloved fiancé.”
He paused briefly, then slowly read on.
**“You weren’t too surprised, were you?
I thought it would be best to resolve this quickly, so I caught the administrator before he went too far away.
How fortunate that we were able to finish everything yesterday.
I accepted your conditions as they were, except for the interest part.
Of course, there were a few adjustments, but since, as you said yesterday, we’ll soon be married—surely we can omit something like interest, right?
Things wrapped up earlier than expected, so it seems I’ll be able to receive permission to have an audience with His Majesty within a few days.
I’ve already arranged things so you may enter the Imperial Palace at any time, so please feel free to visit.
Until the day we meet again, which I eagerly await.
From your fiancée.
P.S. I heard the rumors circulating in the capital. Were your relatives also taken aback by the sudden news of our engagement?”**
“……”
Unlike the two polite, dictated letters he had received before, this one was astonishingly affectionate.
“Is this how people usually write to their fiancé?”
“Y-yes…?”
The retainers, who had been hovering nearby trying desperately to peek at the letter, pricked up their ears.
Without a change in expression, Enoch slipped the letter into his coat and looked at Denny Kaylor.
“Let’s go inside and discuss the merchant guild.”
“Yes. I’ve been waiting for that, my lord.”
At those words, the Aratus retainers clamped their mouths shut. They had countless questions, but the matters related to the proposal came first.
After the Nobillis side finished confirming the contractual clauses and other details and departed—
Enoch entered his office, followed closely by the butler and the Aratus retainers.
Placing writing paper on the desk, Enoch let out a long breath.
“You’ve just confirmed that I’m getting married and even congratulated me. What more are you curious about?”
Seizing the chance, the retainers erupted with questions—what exactly had happened, whether anything was exchanged as the price of the engagement, when the wedding would be, and so on.
That they would prepare a separate residence to live in, that she wanted safety while he wanted no interaction with his relatives, that they would respect each other while keeping basic boundaries—he answered some things vaguely and let others go in one ear and out the other as he dipped his quill deep into the inkwell.
After hesitating for a moment, his hand finally wrote the first line.
“To my beloved fiancée.”
The eyes of the retainers, who had been firing questions while secretly paying attention to the letter, looked as though they might pop out.
“My lo—!”
Thud!
The butler’s and other retainers’ fists slammed into Conrad’s side as he tried to speak without thinking.
After glancing briefly at the wheezing administrator, Enoch dismissed them.
“Do you all seem to have nothing better to do?”
“No, sir! We were just about to leave!”
In a flurry, the group scattered in panic.
Only the butler, Ben, remained. He brought over fresh writing paper.
“My lord. Would you like to use this paper instead?”
“……”
It was bluish paper, richly imbued with a refreshing fragrance—clearly prepared in advance.
After looking at it in silence, Enoch set aside the sheet he had started and pulled the new one toward him.
**“To my beloved fiancée.
The gift you so carefully prepared has arrived safely at House Aratus.
It couldn’t have been easy to prepare all this in such a short time, so I worry for my future bride’s health.
Please let me know the date of the audience, and I will prepare accordingly.
From Enoch Aratus.
P.S. I also worry whether this was not too sudden for you as well. I will visit you soon.”**
He tried to write in neat block letters. After ten years of hurried correspondence on the battlefield, he still had the habit of scrawling roughly even after returning to the capital.
“Does it look too harsh?”
“No. Among the letters you’ve written recently, this is the gentlest.”
At the old butler’s testimony, Enoch sealed the letter and stamped it with his signet.
“Please deliver it to Lady Nobillis.”
“Yes, my lord.”
As Ben respectfully accepted the letter and bowed again, he spoke carefully.
“My lord. This may be presumptuous, but when you meet her next time, might you consider changing how you address her? Since you’ll soon be engaged, it troubles this old servant that there still seems to be distance in your form of address.”
“……I’ll keep it in mind. And the flowers?”
“They’re scheduled to arrive today. I’ve called a skilled floral artisan.”
After thinking for a moment, Enoch added,
“I’d like to choose the type of flowers myself. Let me know when he arrives.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Ben left the office. But when he closed the door and turned around, he found the retainers—who were supposed to have left—waiting for him.
“You haven’t gone yet?”
“How could we? After seeing that—!”
Led by Conrad, the retainers crowded around Ben.
Afraid their voices might be heard inside, they swallowed hard while eyeing the letter in the butler’s hand.
Smiling, Ben casually tucked the letter into his coat.
“It seems this isn’t merely a political marriage.”
“As expected…!”
“That’s wonderful. Isn’t this his first proper romance since that time?”
“Quiet. Why bring that up on such a good day?”
Everyone except Ben glared at the vice-captain who had spoken without thinking. Startled, he quickly shut his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s enough.”
The retainers then gathered around the butler and whispered.
“If the young lady ever comes to visit, you must be sure to tell us too. All right? Promise?”
Agatha had been in a good mood lately.
In exchange for getting the marriage she wanted, she had taken on an enormous workload, still had dealings with the Emperor to settle, and had piles of tasks ahead—wedding preparations and negotiations with the Maynucor Empire among them.
But the moment she took a single letter from her bosom, all of it became bearable.
“Enoch Aratus”
The stiff handwriting written at the bottom of the deep blue envelope made her smile every time she saw it.
“He must have pressed down so hard while writing.”
Indeed, when she skimmed the contents, she could see how the ends of the letters subtly flew off.
For some reason, she found that strangely cute.
Perhaps because she could see traces of him trying to restrain his rough handwriting here and there.
Just as Agatha was savoring the faint lingering scent and picking up her quill—
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Her close attendant maid entered with welcome news.
“My lady. Marquis Aratus has come to visit.”
“Really?”
Agatha immediately ordered that he be shown to the reception room and, with the maids’ help, checked her attire.
Her golden hair, simply let down over a fresh, water-colored dress, fluttered like a veil in the sunlight.
“Will this do?”
“You look more than beautiful, my lady.”
After touching up her makeup and choosing slightly more ornate jewelry, she put on shoes with a small heel instead of her usual low ones and headed to the reception room.
“My lady has arrived.”
The moment the doors opened—
Agatha was left speechless by the sight before her and the fragrant scent of flowers.
Dressed in splendid formal attire, his usually wild hair neatly swept back—
Enoch Aratus stood there holding a bouquet so large and full it seemed to overflow even from his broad arms.
