I left the knights’ office, bracing myself as if I were heading to my doom.
Upon arriving home, the Duke’s carriage, as I had requested, was waiting outside. Butler Derrek greeted me warmly, his face alight with joy.
The reason I specifically asked the Duke’s carriage to come to my home rather than the knights’ office was simple….. because it would be embarrassing to explain to my subordinates.
I was not strong enough to tell them yet that I was engaged to the Young Duke.
‘I will never be able to endure that awkwardly damp atmosphere after telling them..…!’
Especially that brat Lionel, I could already imagine his teasing laughter. He probably wouldn’t stop until it’s time for the engagement to be broken off.
Honestly, even aside from that, things had been so busy that there really hadn’t been a good moment to talk about my personal matters anyway.
‘Still… I need to tell them eventually. I’ll have to invite them to the engagement ceremony after all…’
Speaking of invitations, I also needed to visit Commander Geloic, who had summoned me the other day. Maybe I should take that opportunity to give him an invitation to the engagement ceremony as well.
‘I’m sure this will come as quite the shock……’
I climbed onto the carriage with a mix of trepidation and determination.
* * *
As soon as I arrived at the Duke’s residence, the butler guided me straight to the dining room. It seemed like he was still guilty (?) about me skipping the meal last time and was determined to make sure I didn’t do it again.
After dinner, we moved to the reception room where tea was served. Shortly after, Ludger appeared, looking like he’d just rushed home from work, much like he had the last time we met.
“Hello, Captain Clara.”
“Yes. Nice to see you again, Sir Ludger.”
“Thank you for your hard work today.”
My greeting was stiff, as if I were addressing a superior. At that, Ludger let out a small chuckle and settled into the chair across from me.
“Did I say something odd?”
“Hmm? No, not at all. Why?”
“You laughed, so I wondered.”
“Well, yes, but it wasn’t because of the way you spoke.”
“……?”
“It’s just that being greeted by you when I come home feels better than I expected.”
‘Don’t your servants usually greet you?’
Maybe it felt different from being welcomed by someone familiar rather than just the servants. After all, he doesn’t have much of a family…..
I, too, sometimes felt a sense of loneliness when returning to an empty room, so I could understand where he was coming from.
“Is it okay for you to skip the meal?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. What about you, Captain? Did you eat well? Derrek’s been waiting for a chance, you know.”
“Yes, it was all delicious!”
From the scallop salad served as an appetizer to the venison that came as the main dish, everything was impeccable.
Ludger, clearly pleased by my enthusiastic response, smiled again.
“Yes, I’d like it if you could think of a good meal as one of the perks of this engagement.”
“That’s surely a tempting offer.”
With a nod, Ludger handed me the folder containing the engagement contract. The terms, which we had discussed previously, were neatly laid out.
Aside from the clause stating that we must maintain the engagement for a certain period and commit to it sincerely, most of the content centered on making decisions by mutual agreement.
I had reviewed the contract multiple times beforehand, and since there was nothing particularly disadvantageous to me, I finished the final check and signed it.
After signing it, I handed it over to Ludger with the same mechanical motion as when receiving a confirmation slip from a civil petitioner, but the moment I saw what he was holding, I flinched.
Ludger had taken out the Duke’s seal and stamped it.
‘Can’t you just sign it?! It’s not even an official family document.’
It felt overly formal, almost as though it was reinforcing that this engagement wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Yeah, not that I planned to.
“With this, Captain Clara, you’ve officially become my fiancée.”
“Yes, I’ll rely on your guidance……”
I was about to respond out of courtesy, but I was startled by his next action. He took my hand and pressed his lips to the back of it.
“I promise I’ll do my best to stand by your side as your fiancé, with pride.”
“……I, I’ll also fulfill my duties as your fiancée to the best of my ability.”
“I look forward to it.”
Ludger raised his head and smiled playfully. However, it didn’t seem like he was being insincere. On the contrary, the glimpses of boyishness that occasionally showed through only made my heart skip a beat.
“Have you been using the sword I gave you?”
“Not really. There hasn’t been much need for it. Honestly, I wish I could have, but for the sake of peace in Melshas City, it’s probably better that I haven’t.”
“That’s true.”
Ludger nodded, but as if he had something in mind, he didn’t release my left hand. Instead, he absentmindedly fiddled with my fingers, as if reluctant to let go.
For a moment, I looked down in confusion, but as soon as I saw the ring snugly fitted on Ludger’s finger, I realized. The memory of him giving me a ring surfaced.
“Oh! I’ve been keeping the ring you gave me safe.”
With the hand not held by Ludger, I reached into my collar and took out the ruby ring that was hanging on a chain.
“Well… it’s a bit unfortunate that I don’t have the chance to show off this beautiful ring, but I’ll make sure to wear it properly at the engagement ceremony.”
“Ah. That’s just a proposal ring. I’m preparing a separate official gift for the engagement ceremony.”
I nearly choked without realizing it, but managed to hold it in.
Keeping up with the extravagant whims of high-ranking nobles was beyond exhausting.
“Uh… yes. I understand.”
“The engagement ceremony will be held on the date we previously agreed upon.”
“Yes. That’s fine. It’s good there are no changes.”
The trial was two months away… I just have a month and a half of time. It was necessary to get the temple’s approval for the engagement as soon as possible.
The ceremony was scheduled for early May, a little over a month away. The butler explained excitedly ‘It’s the height of spring, so it’s the perfect time’. The preparation fell mostly to the butler, but despite the hurried timeline, he seemed more excited than stressed.
‘He seemed to be treating this as if he were preparing for his own grandson’s engagement……’
Though the fact that the engagement wasn’t real but just a contract weighed heavily on my conscience.
The engagement ceremony was set to take place at the Duke’s residence, without renting a temple or other venue. Since the guest list was to be kept to a minimum, this seemed like the better choice. If Ludger were to invite people from high society, the guest list would be endless, but it seemed he made this decision out of consideration for me.
“Derrek has already prepared the invitations, so make sure to take them with you when you head home.”
“…… Yes.”
The moment I could no longer avoid was drawing near.
It was time to confess (?) my engagement to the knights in our order.
“Judging by your expression, it seems you haven’t told your subordinates yet.”
“That’s… the timing wasn’t right. And honestly, bringing it up on purpose just feels a bit awkward.”
“If you’d prefer, how about keeping it a secret for the time being? We could scale the ceremony down even more.”
“No, I’ll tell them. After all, we need to ‘show’ this engagement to your uncle, don’t we?”
“That’s true.”
Ludger shrugged his shoulders, as if it weren’t a big deal to him.
“Since we’re on the topic, let’s discuss something important.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve mentioned before that my uncle isn’t someone to be trifled with.”
“…… Yes, I remember.”
It seemed a bit misleading to simply call someone who is so eager to seize the title of his orphaned nephew a ‘formidable person’.
“My uncle is very cautious and meticulous. If we exclude him from this engagement ceremony, he might find it suspicious, so we absolutely have to invite him.”
“Yes, even without that, I figured it would be natural since he’s a relative of the Young Duke.”
“It’s probably not the time to answer so calmly.”
“Pardon?”
He slowly stood up from his seat on the opposite side and plopped down next to me, much closer than necessary.
‘Is there really a need to sit this close when there are plenty of other sofas scattered around?’
As I tried to gather random thoughts in my head to ease the awkwardness, an unexpected remark followed.
“What I mean is, if we don’t play the role of the affectionate couple properly in front of my uncle on the day of the ceremony, it could raise suspicion.”
“Oh…”
Ludger’s eyes narrowed mischievously. The moment I saw the look on his face, my instincts sounded an alarm inside me. Something dangerous is going to happen.
As if to back up my instincts’ warning, Ludger’s hand, wearing the ring, reached toward me. His cold fingers briefly touched my earlobe before sliding through my hair. Unable to resist the delicate sensation, I flinched.
“As it stands, Captain Clara, you’re much too stiff… I don’t think anyone will be fooled.”
“That…!”
I wanted to protest, but honestly, even I had to admit he was right.
I’ve never had any romantic experience, let alone pretended to be in a relationship. In the knight order, I trained in the sparring halls without any regard for gender, so while I developed camaraderie, I never treated anyone as a potential romantic partner or thought of them in that way.
That’s why every time I interacted with Ludger… I felt incredibly nervous and awkward. Especially after the condition of the contractual engagement was set, it became even more so.
But now that the contract was signed, I couldn’t afford to stay like this.
“……You’re right, Young Duke, but I’ll try my best.”
“Effort is important.”
I could vividly feel his hand gently caressing each strand of my hair. Not knowing what to do, I lowered my gaze.
“But effort alone might not be enough, given the time constraints.”
“Since it’s a formal contract, I’m prepared as well. When I was in the provincial knight order, there was even a time when I stayed awake for five days straight!”
“The life of a knight always sounds so intense..…”
I coughed awkwardly. It probably wasn’t intense enough to describe that way, but I tried to press on.
“Ahem. What I mean is, with the time we have, we can overcome this by making highly efficient efforts. Like going through intense training, for example.”
For the record, this was a truth that also applied when building muscle.
“So, what you’re saying is, we need intense training even to pretend to be lovers.”
“Yes.”
“And what kind of training would that be?”
