“If Ersia is married, there will be only one heir, Lawrence, left in the family. Then, with the special law of double lineage, even if we get married, it won’t be a problem. At the same time, you will become the Grand Duchess. I will also keep my current position and become the Viscount’s son-in-law. How is it? Does the story flow easily?”
His eyes glowed. I opened my mouth with an absurd face as I stared at the twinkling eyes as if asking for candy because he got the answer right.
“No, why are you deciding that alone?”
“Uh?”
He let out a puzzled voice with a puzzled look on his face. I scratched my cheek and smiled with an embarrassed expression.
“I said I thought about getting married for a while, but I didn’t say I would. And what kind of marriage are you at eighteen, what kind of thief’s heart do you have?”
“Me a thief?”
“Do you know how old we are?”
He thought for a moment, then answered quietly.
“We are about five years apart.”
“Your birthday is early. In a month, we’ll be six years apart again.”
I smiled as I watched him keep his mouth shut.
“We’re getting married in just seven years.”
Looking at his hardened face, he answered plainly. His shocked expression was quite funny. Ah, a man who has a taste for teasing. But marriage… Actually, I grew older, but considering that I was 28 before returning, this man was no different from a younger man. It’s true that he looks a little dependable, but there were many times when he looked like a younger brother in what he did. But what about marriage? There were quite a few positive factors. Besides, it was true that although I didn’t particularly love or like this man, I had some interest and crush on him.
“…Hey Lawrence, no matter what, in 7 years I will be 30 years old…”
I stared blankly at Ian, who was trying hard to convince me by moving his mouth in front of me. It was definitely a good plan. It was an opportunity to take care of Ersia and at the same time protect the family and drive out the foolish flies. However, he responded with the most shameless face while hiding his taste on the outside.
“Then wait until I’m over thirty.”
Faced with his open mouth, I smiled again. It’s fun because the expressions were different. As expected, the thought that I would not be bored if I lived with him stuck in my head.
* * *
The Duke of Sapeldrick was famous for his daughters. Rick Bale, the current head of the Sapeldrick family, failed to overcome the family torch and made numerous efforts to have a son, but failed and only got daughters. They said that he had no luck around him, but the Duke of Sapeldrick himself was quite happy. Having four daughters was like being in a flower garden.
Bale opened his eyes every morning and kissed his beautiful wife. After that, when he had breakfast while doing simple work, there were four flowers spread around him. He thought that this was true happiness if he was buried between his daughters and his wife, who each had their own charms. In particular, when he was patting his youngest child, who hadn’t even lost her milk teeth yet, he wondered what kind of worries he would have about the upcoming cold. However, when the main dish disappeared, the love letters sent to the daughters were always revealed like a thorn in the eye. The daughters, who were always thought to be young and cute, have grown up enough to get married.
The first was already over 20 years old, and the second also had to go through a coming-of-age ceremony in the year of Yul. The third was thirteen years old this year, and although she was still dainty, a letter of love came flying in front of his daughter. He remembered what kind of crazy bastard he was and always vowed to get revenge the next time they met.
But today was different. Breaking the rest of the quiet and cozy spring day, her first daughter burst into tears. It happened after he entered the room after receiving a letter in the morning. It was right after returning from attending a regular banquet held in the Duchy of Berdian not too long ago. She talked loudly about Ian for a while, and it seemed that it had something to do with him.
“Ah, Dad, the Grand Duke of Berdian said there was a woman he was dating!”
He knew full well that her first daughter had fallen for Ian the youngster. Since she was little, she often hung out with Ian, and now insisted that it be otherwise. She’s getting older and it’s time to think about getting married, but she still hasn’t forgotten the child. She cried and ate the mustard. She put a bridge between the two of them, but Ian coldly refused. Still, she couldn’t give up. It didn’t matter if Ian enjoyed sodomy. Whenever she saw him, she sighed.
He hated getting her married, but he hated hanging her with a man who wouldn’t do it either. It was a feeling that he would rather bring a man who liked her even if it was a commoner.
“Oh, my lovely eldest daughter, Nerdika. Don’t worry. If that kid, no, the Grand Duke of Berdian is dating a woman, why don’t you find another man?”
“I can’t! I only have him!”
“But don’t they say there’s a woman he is dating? Sometimes you have to give up. Why don’t you try dating another guy? Daddy will find out.”
“I don’t need it! My heart belongs only to him. My heart, my chest… my heart is all his!”
‘Why are you talking like that? That person never had you…”
He wanted to say more but… There was no rally logic. He was just sweating profusely and trying to comfort her, but once burst into tears, they did not stop flowing from her eyes. In the end, Bale grunted in sweat and opened his mouth with a sigh.
“Calm down for now. The two of them haven’t been officially engaged yet.”
“But they kissed while everyone else was watching!”
Did they? Then it looked right. However, after saying this, he felt that the situation could not be undone, so he made up the words with difficulty.
“…You haven’t heard a definite answer from him yet. So let’s have a conversation.”
“Conversation…?”
His weeping daughter lifted her head. The flowing tears had stopped. Phew, he nodded slowly, wishing she had finally turned off her faucet.
“At the beginning of next month, I heard that a kid… no, the Grand Duke would stop by. I’ll tell him, so why don’t we meet up and talk.”
Actually, it was pointless. Rick Bale knew Ian very well. Perhaps it was because he had been growling with the man who was Ian’s father for a long time, he hated him, and he felt like he was his own son. He was pretty cute when he was little. He had seen him playing with his daughters, and he cocked his chin arrogantly, saying that he was old and a little big. Now, as he opened his eyes wide and called their titles, saying that they were the same Duke, the cuteness had completely disappeared.
But even so, Duke Sapeldrick’s assessment was that Ian wasn’t a bad person. Ian was thorough in his self-management and good at his job. He had a strong sense of responsibility, and even though he was being treated unfairly by the Berdian family in the imperial family, he never uttered a word of dislike. He liked how he was sober and silent. Besides, Ian didn’t like rumors about him, so he was a man who didn’t reveal much about himself. But while everyone else was watching, they kissed? He didn’t know, but he was pretty sure there’s some kind of relationship between Ian and the woman.
But even if he knew this, he couldn’t help his parents’ feelings. If left like this, she would have cried all day. Even now, she cried and says she couldn’t forget Ian. She’d rather have a hot confession once, and no regrets about the result.
‘Well, I feel sorry for that little boy. I’m sorry to leave it to Ian, but what can I do?’ His first daughter was invincible, so he couldn’t win.
* * *
As time passed and the day Ian was supposed to come came, Nerdika dressed up and waited for Ian. Seeing her humming a song to meet the boy made Bale’s stomach churn. However, as long as Nerdika could give up on him, he whispered to himself that it would be okay.
When breakfast was over and it was time for Ian to arrive, the door of the mansion opened and a huge carriage entered. Bale opened the door of the mansion with a dignified outfit and a dignified face to greet Ian.
“You’re here!”
However, it was Nerdika who opened the door and went out first to hit the carriage. Bale tumbled her rich dress and went down the steps of the mansion, clicking his tongue low as he stared blankly at the back of his daughter as she sprinted away.
She circled the garden and she stood at the entrance of the mansion. Nerdika waited for Ian with her eyes shining. Somehow, the sight of it set him on fire. The expression of his daughter, who had never made it to him, was for such an idiot…! But he had to be patient, so he pressed on and waited for Ian.
The sound of the hooves of the horses that drove the carriage stopped and the attendant opened the carriage door. Inside the door, where the family emblem of the Duke of Berdian was drawn, he could see a human figure. Nerdika tried to greet the person with a face full of joy, but that person didn’t look like a man in Bale’s eyes.
‘Isn’t that a dress?’
The moment he thought so, a woman got out of the carriage carefully holding an impressive light blue dress in her hand.
What? Who was that? Before he could connect his thoughts, the woman smiled and she approached Bale and greeted him gracefully.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. Thank you very much for reading.
Next post will be released on May, 8.
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