I am living unmarried with my terminally ill lover.
Episode 4
Ines read the letter and immediately contacted the Marquis of Asdeon.
He said he would visit this afternoon.
‘I can’t believe my brother’s been sending me mixed messages.
He refused to read it, so she didn’t know.
But at least I’ll have a chance to meet Callad.
“This time,” I thought, “I’ll have to convince him.
To maintain my ability to see misery, I needed regular contact with Khalid.
Just thinking about how to keep him by my side filled my head.
Before long, Ines’ carriage pulled up to the Marquis of Asdeon’s estate.
The manor was quite plain.
The exterior walls were slightly dingy from age.
The garden was small, and it wasn’t far from the gate to the front door.
As far as Ines knew, the Asdeons weren’t a very prestigious family for a title.
Asdeon owed its fame to Callad.
Ever since Kalad had become the master of the magic sword, everyone had known Asdeon.
“Lady. We have arrived.”
The coachman’s words brought the carriage to a stop.
The carriage door opened and Ines stepped out.
Ines lifted her head and stared at the doorway.
A young man with brown hair stood at the front.
He was probably Dihas Asdeon, the man who had sent me the marriage proposal.
Behind him were a middle-aged man and woman, presumably the Marquis and Marquise.
None of them looked anything like Khalad.
And finally…….
Ines looked at Kalad in the distance.
He stood closer to his hired help than his family.
Ines narrowed her eyes at the strange atmosphere.
“Is it because he’s an adopted son that he doesn’t get along with his family?
Then his eyes met Khalid’s.
He stiffened, and Ines thought to herself.
“Yeah, I bet he didn’t expect me to come looking for him.
She turned to him, the corners of her mouth quirking upward.
“My dear Eldin. I am honored that you have come.”
The brown-haired young man returned the greeting, his face beaming.
“I am Dihas Asdeon.”
So you’re the one who persisted in asking me to marry him, no matter how many times I turned him down.
He was my least favorite, but I couldn’t be more grateful now.
“Welcome to the Marquisate of Asdeon.”
“You’ve had a long journey here, haven’t you?”
The Marquis and Marquise greeted Ines with broad smiles.
Ines smiled back.
“Thank you for your hospitality. I’m Ines Eldin.”
She extended her hand.
Dihas coldly kissed the back of her hand.
A puff of black smoke instantly obscured his face.
[I’ve been rejected by young Eldin……!]
The image of Dihas pouring himself a drink flashed before his eyes.
It was so predictable, he was not surprised.
Ines tore her gaze away from the next misfortune and stared at Kalad.
The Marquis and Dihas’s faces hardened slightly.
“He is the eldest son of our family. As I’m sure you know.”
There was a hint of reluctance in the Marquis’s tone.
Dihas glanced at Ines and spoke cautiously.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to introduce you to…….”
“No, sir. I’m just happy to meet someone of your stature.”
When Ines didn’t seem to mind, the Marquis glanced at Khalad.
Under the stares of his family, Khalad had no choice but to walk in front of Ines.
He opened his lips slowly.
“……Calad Asdeon.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Ines smiled and extended her hand.
After a moment’s hesitation, Khalad gently squeezed her fingertips.
His lips brushed the back of her hand, then fell away.
His hand was warm, in contrast to his cold demeanor.
In that moment, Kalad’s unhappiness unfolded before Ines’ eyes.
[I wonder how things came to this.]
[Engaged to Eldin Young Ae…….]
Ines opened her eyes wide.
Amid the misery that flashed before her eyes was Kalad, who was betrothed to me.
“What, engaged?
For once, Ines couldn’t help but be baffled.
No, more than that…….
“Why is it a misfortune that he’s engaged to me?
It’s like winning the lottery.
Ines glared lightly at the back of Khalad’s head.
Then she remembered.
“…… Isn’t that nice?
Early morning.
The Marquis of Asdeon’s mansion was unusually busy.
“Move the statue to the left!”
“There’s dust here!”
“Bring some roses from the garden to decorate it.”
Under the Marquise’s orders, the hired help ran around nonstop.
Everyone was busy cleaning and refurbishing the mansion.
Meanwhile, Dijas, the younger son, was taking great pains to groom himself.
He brought out his favorite clothes and trimmed his hair.
He looked like the center of attention at a birthday banquet.
The commotion that started in the morning could be heard even in the annex.
Khalid, who had been resting in his room since it was his day off, was forced to come out to the main building.
The hustle and bustle of the hired help stopped dead in their tracks when they saw him.
Instead of greeting him, they were afraid and wouldn’t even make eye contact.
Kalad strode on, accustomed to their behavior.
As he exited the main building, he saw Dihas in full dress.
The room fell silent at his entrance.
“…….”
Dihas frowned.
His disdain for Kalad was clear in his eyes.
He couldn’t help but snap.
Dijas turned to the Marquise next to him.
“Did you have to call him in?”
“It’s better to show a harmonious family.”
“It’s a big day, and I don’t want to ruin it…….”
Dihas muttered, looking at Khalad with a look of disgust.
“You sullen bastard…….”
Kalad gave a short, mocking laugh at that.
Dihas glared at Kalad, furious.
“Kalad Asdeon.”
The Marquise called out to Kalad.
Dihas was the one who started the argument, but Kalad was the one who got the attention.
He turned his head away from them both.
Meanwhile, all of House Asdeon had gathered on the Marquise’s porch.
The Marquise and Dihas had smiles on their faces.
“Being related to Elredin will not only help our family rise in politics.”
“The dowry would be huge, wouldn’t it?”
The Marquis and Marquise were ecstatic.
The Asdeon family had little power compared to the exalted status of the marquis.
The Marquis and Marquise planned to extort money from House Eldin and use it to fund their political campaigns.
“As it turned out, Count Eldin had gone to the provinces to recuperate……. his younger brother is at the academy?”
“So Count Eldin lives alone in that big mansion?”
The marquise asked in surprise.
She had never been inside Countess Eldin’s mansion, but every time she passed by, she was stunned by its enormity.
“We could live in Count Eldin’s house.”
The marquise did not hide her greed.
Before long, the Marquise was planning to marry Dijas and Ines and live with Count Eldin.
“Why do we need to live in Count Eldin’s house? We can take the dowry and build a new mansion in Asdeon.”
The Marquis and Marquise laughed.
“I hadn’t thought of that. Our son is smart.”
Unlike the rest of the family, Callard’s eyes were closed tightly.
He hadn’t slept, and he was tired from being called out since morning.
An unfamiliar carriage pulled into the garden.
The carriage stood out from a distance and shone like the sun.
The Marquis and Marquise were busy examining the carriage with fascination.
The carriage was white with platinum paint and studded with jewels.
Marquis Asdeon wondered if he could sell all his carriages and still afford the wheels of that one.
Soon the carriage came to a stop, and a gorgeous woman emerged.
Her dazzling silver hair shone brighter than the carriage she rode in.
She wore a blue dress with layers of lace and sparkling jewelry.
On anyone else, she would have looked overdressed or dead.
But her gorgeous face, more than her jewelry, made the dress and jewelry harmonize.
“…….”
Dihas was already mesmerized.
His mouth was open in mesmerization.
The marquis and his servants were no different.
They all gazed at her mesmerized, but only one.
Only Callad stiffened as soon as he saw her.
For some reason, the name Eldin seemed familiar…….
It was the woman from the weapons shop.
“Thank you for welcoming me. I’m Innes Eldin.”
After greeting the family, she looked at Kalad.
Khalad had no choice but to step forward.
“I’m Kalad Asdeon, …….”
“Pleased to meet you.”
She held out her hand, even though she knew he was the wielder of a magic sword.
Khalad reluctantly took Ines’ hand.
Out of courtesy, he pretended to press his lips to the back of her hand before setting it down.
But when he touched it, Ines paused.
It was different from the first time she had extended her hand.
Called shrugged it off as a matter of course.
After introductions were made, the Marquis said.
“Please come inside.”
They entered the mansion.
When they reached the drawing room, Callard paused.
It was a room he hadn’t been in since he was a child.
Upon entering the parlor, the Marquise kindly offered Ines a chair.
Ines sat down first, followed by the Marquise and Dijas across from her.
Called paused, then sat down in the empty chair.
He felt uncomfortable like he was in the wrong place.
The Marquise looked at Ines and smiled broadly.
“My dear Eldin. May I take it as a sign that you have come to see me in person, and that you think favorably of the Hondam?”
The Marquise, much to her chagrin, cut to the chase.
The Marquis and Dijas looked at Ines with tense faces.
Ines, sitting back, smiled.
“That’s right.”
The color drained from Diejas’s face.
The Marquis and Marquise received the words coldly.
“I don’t say that because he’s our son, but he’s a very fine groom indeed.”
“How Dihas sings of his desire to marry Youngae.”
The Marquis and Marquise expressed their pride in their son.
They stopped bragging only after Dihas said something about being embarrassed.
“Then we must talk about the engagement right away.”
“What would be a good date for the engagement?”
The excited marquises chattered on and on.
They were going to get engaged today.
After listening for a moment, Ines slapped the armrest of her chair with the fan she held in her hand.
The sound stopped them both in their tracks.
“There’s one thing I’d like to tell you first.”
Ines looked at Dijas.
The nape of his neck turned bright red under her gaze.
Their eyes met for only a moment, and his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest.
Does he want to marry her right away?
While he was daydreaming, the Marquis and Marquise were thinking the same thing.
“Since you two are so in love, why don’t you just skip the engagement and have a wedding?”
The Marquis suggested, unable to wait for Ines to speak.
Dihas couldn’t resist and added coldly.
“I’d be happy to marry you right away if you don’t mind…….”
“No.”
Ines rejected the proposal.
“The one I want to be engaged to.”
A bright smile spread across her face.
She glanced toward Kalad, who sat in the distance.
“Not you, but your brother.”
