TMIP 12

Chapter : 12

“Welcome, Agatha.”

With an indifferent expression.

And yet, the handsome man somehow made even the flowers look beautiful. His neat yet gentle voice, and the sudden sound of her name, made Agatha’s earlobes burn.

This is… unfair.

She had received countless bouquets before.

But this was the first time her heart had raced like this, the joy making her voice tremble as she spoke.

“…Enoch?”

“Yes. I hope you like the flowers I prepared. As I kept choosing ones that would suit you, the bouquet ended up much bigger than I expected.”

He strode up and handed her the bouquet. It was indeed so large and heavy that it was hard for Agatha to hold in her arms, but—

“…It’s perfect.”

The rich fragrance filling her nose felt deep and comforting, just like the man himself. The man, smiling gently, went down on one knee before her.

The maids standing behind them, the palace attendants, and even the imperial knights who had followed along—

All stared at the two of them with eyes wide open.

“Agatha.”

He whispered as he pressed a deep kiss to the back of her hand.

“Though the time we’ve known each other is short, I swear that in any circumstance I am ready to cherish you, love you, and protect you. So…”

“….”

“Will you accept my proposal?”

She had thought the reason he mentioned marriage was only to investigate his relatives who were likely plotting behind the scenes.

So she had suspected it might be nothing more than a proposal in words.

But for it to be this sincere…

Agatha decided it didn’t matter what he truly valued more. Still holding the hand he had taken, she pulled him toward her.

“You said it would be enough.”

Rising onto her toes, she kissed the man’s cheek. A sweet sound lingered as her lips softly touched and parted.

“I’ll accept your proposal.”

Agatha smiled brightly at the man who looked down at her without even blinking.

This time, she felt it would truly be a happy marriage.

Agatha chose the biggest and prettiest vase and arranged the bouquet beautifully inside.

She didn’t forget to pick one of each kind and set them aside separately.

“These, I’ll dry carefully and turn them into a framed keepsake later, so take good care of them. All right?”

“Yes, miss.”

After his proposal was accepted, Enoch had grown quiet. Still, feeling his steady gaze on her, Agatha placed her hand on his arm and led him outside the palace.

The weather was nice, her mood was good, and her condition wasn’t bad either, so she thought of going out to the imperial garden.

“A walk sounds all right, doesn’t it?”

Once they reached the garden, there were more people around than usual. Even Agatha, accustomed to others’ gazes, could tell they were all watching the two of them.

It seemed the rumor that Enoch had formally proposed had already spread far and wide.

Agatha had been through moments like this many times before, so she knew how to deal with them.

The best response was to ignore them.

Treating the onlookers as if they didn’t exist, she moved on, and Enoch caught on to her intention and followed suit.

The garden wasn’t far from Agatha’s palace. Bathed in warm sunlight, with late-spring and early-summer flowers in bloom, it showed off a riot of colors.

Cool water burst up from fountains scattered throughout.

Enoch, who had silently escorted her, hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Are you feeling all right?”

“Of course. I’m perfectly fine—fine enough to walk around like this.”

At his worried words, Agatha widened her eyes, then soon smiled softly.

“Still, it doesn’t feel bad to have you worry about me like this.”

She would have liked to enjoy the moment longer, but there was something she needed to say.

With a gesture, Agatha had the attendants fall back, then handed Enoch some documents she had prepared in advance.

“Would you like to take a look? It’s an alternative proposal to present to His Majesty.”

“Is this the trade plan with the Eastern Continent you mentioned before?”

“Yes.”

As his long, straight fingers slowly turned the pages, his gaze stopped at a certain part.

“You plan to personally take part in negotiations with the Myneukor Empire?”

“Only at the beginning, to sort out relations. Ideally I’d just provide the island and not step forward myself, but the terms His Majesty wants will probably include me getting involved.”

“Is there a separate reason you must be the one to do it?”

“……”

She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she had to say it so bluntly, but since they were to be married, it seemed better not to hide it.

Besides, it was something anyone could find out with a little digging.

“The reason relations between the Myneukor Empire and ours have grown delicate is because of my divorce from Prince Fernand.”

“……”

“Of course, it was almost ten years ago, and it happened because they were at fault, but it would look better in many ways if I were the one to step in. It would also be advantageous for the negotiations…”

At some point, he had lifted his eyes from the report and was staring at her.

Even for someone like her, who had married and divorced six times already, talking about a former husband on the very day she was proposed to was awkward.

It was just something that had to be done, yet it was hard to finish the sentence.

“So, um… I think I’ll have to go to that island once. From what I expect, there’s a high chance His Majesty will order me to go there in the near future.”

“…I see.”

Was he surprised?

Agatha was quietly studying his expression, which hadn’t changed at all, when—

“My lady.”

An imperial knight approached, making his presence known, and pointed to a servant standing at a distance. He was from the chamberlain’s office.

“Marquis Aratus. Lady Nobilis.”

After paying his respects in turn, the servant spoke.

“His Majesty invites you to join him for luncheon two days from now. He has also invited Marquis Aratus, who is with you.”

“Really?”

He must have already heard that Enoch had proposed to her.

Since she had been granted an audience, it could be said that nine-tenths of their plan had already succeeded. Dismissing the servant, Agatha looked up at him with a bright smile.

“That’s great. Then shall we meet at His Majesty’s palace in two days?”

“No.”

At his quick refusal, Agatha’s eyes widened. After looking down at her for a moment, he spoke politely.

“I will come to fetch you. Please be ready and wait at your palace that day.”

“…!”

As if gauging her reaction, the man looked into her trembling violet eyes, then kissed her cheek.

His soft lips lightly touched and parted from her smooth skin.

“I’ll see you in two days, Agatha.”

Agatha lowered her trembling gaze beneath her long lashes. Even though she herself had done the same just moments before, her heart was now pounding helplessly.

The proposal had taken place in a quiet palace hall, but the kiss had been exchanged in the wide-open garden.

The news spread in an instant, like a massive tidal wave sweeping across the capital.

It was the news of Agatha Nobilis’s seventh marriage.

Clop, clop—

On the road back to the Aratus residence in the capital.

While riding as usual, Enoch was lost in other thoughts.

He was thinking about what he had just done.

He had impulsively kissed her cheek.

Unlike the moment when he had kissed her ring finger instead of offering a ring, this was an unrefined, unplanned contact.

After kissing her cheek, he had felt a subtle discomfort strangely transform into a sense of satisfaction. Though he hadn’t shown it outwardly, he had been taken aback by himself.

Thinking about it, she had been a woman who had oddly caught his attention from their very first meeting.

With a tired, fragile look.

She had been someone who worried about cleaning up the aftermath before even putting on a sword.

As Enoch awkwardly rubbed his face, another scene suddenly came to mind as soon as his tension eased, and he slowly blinked.

When he had proposed. The moment she smiled faintly and rose up on her toes.

With a knight’s keen dynamic vision, he had captured, as if in a picture, her softly folding eyes, her pretty lips, and everything that had shone so brightly.

Her trembling eyes, her cheeks flushed pink, and finally the movement of her long lashes as they hid her expression.

Was she always that beautiful?

He had known Agatha Nobilis was beautiful.

But this time, it struck him not in his head, but straight in his heart.

“…She’s on my mind.”

“Yes?”

The knights of Aratus, riding behind him, pricked up their ears, but Enoch said nothing more.

Meanwhile, there were those in the capital whose anger flared at the news of Agatha’s seventh marriage.

They were none other than Duchess Neuta of the previous generation, Duchess Neuta of the generation before that, and Lady Neuta—the very people who, three months earlier, had been the reason Agatha had chosen her sixth divorce.

The dowager duchess, mother of the current Duke Theodore Neuta, known as the Grand Duchess Neuta, slammed the table.

Bang!

“Another marriage, not even three months after the divorce!”

It had happened while they were still in seclusion at the Neuta ducal estate for three months after being swept up in the sudden divorce scandal.

The most agitated among them, the Grand Duchess, shouted,

“Mother, what should we do about this? At this rate, Theodore’s name will become a laughingstock!”

The one who gently tried to calm her down was the current duke’s grandmother, known as the Old Lady Neuta.

“Why would that be, Aga?”

“Agatha—if that girl had any sense, could she really do something like this? As long as I’m still alive, not a chance.”

“Of course, I trust you, Mother, but Agatha’s influence isn’t something to ignore either!”