Kneel, Your Grace!

Chapter 8

Among the many aides who had changed over the past year, Chloe Ambroise had set an unprecedented record by staying for three months.

After placing the documents down with precise movements, she saluted and left the room.

The two men, who hadn’t said a word since Chloe entered, finally looked at each other after the door closed. Curtis was the first to speak.

“…She’s from the navy, isn’t she?”

“Curtis,”Noel shook his head.

But Curtis was already pulling out Chloe Ambroise’s commissioning documents from his desk drawer. A family with a first-class merit medal. Navy background. And thankfully, a special hereditary title.

“Her family seems quite poor.”

Noel urgently tried to intervene.

“Curtis, no.”

As he flipped through the documents, Curtis frowned and looked up.

“I’m not saying I’ll propose to her immediately. Besides, there’s a risk we might actually have to marry, and the difference in our standings is too great.”

“…”

“Trying to avoid Glintland might lead to even more troublesome consequences. Ideally, we should find a suitable marriage prospect within the fortnight, propose, and settle it quickly.”

“I’m glad you think so, but…”

Noel sighed softly. In the end, they decided to search diligently for a clever and plausible young lady who could act as Curtis Sean Burke’s shield within the next fifteen days.

But it was impossible.

Proposals were typically managed by the family elders.

No matter how desirable a match Curtis was, the elders saw him as someone despised by the king, with a disagreeable personality and position.

There was no way they could find a suitable young lady, contact the family elders, and arrange a proposal within fifteen days.

In the end, Curtis reviewed Chloes documents again. He designated her as his aide for the evening’s banquet.

***

Curtis finished his explanation, looking exhausted. He added,

“I had considered you, but I didn’t expect it to actually come to this.”

But that didn’t explain to Chloe why she had to endure what she did at the banquet today.

“Originally, I intended to show you the situation and then carefully ask for your cooperation.”

Cooperation. The smooth texture of the red brooch in her hand was comforting.

“You mean to act as your betrothed?”

“…It was supposed to be just pretending to be lovers for a while.”

Curtis covered his eyes with his hand. Chloe felt uneasy.

Well, she could understand. He couldn’t have anticipated that the king would so suddenly bring up the marriage proposal to the Duke of Glintland. If Curtis had merely mentioned he was dating someone, the king could have easily commanded them to marry on the spot, citing the exchanged proposals.

“Given the circumstances, there wasn’t much choice.”

Chloe awkwardly scratched her forehead. Curtis, startled, lowered his hand and looked at her, disbelief evident on his face.

“…Do you understand what you’re saying?”

“I do.”

“I think we need to confirm that what you understand and what I understand are the same. Explain.”

“In short, the charming and intelligent navy officer Second Lieutenant Ambroise has captured the heart of His Excellency Duke Burke and is destined to become the duchess.”

Curtis let out a short, surprised laugh at her boldness, but he could see she grasped the gravity of the situation.

Under normal circumstances, how would this have played out? Curtis Sean Burke would certainly have frowned at Chloe’s jokes without laughing and retorted, ‘Do you find me amusing?’ Then, she would be punished.

But now was clearly an emergency.

“…I have a lot to say, but let’s just say you’re close enough.”

Curtis’s response confirmed it was indeed an emergency. Chloe’s thoughts were interrupted by his next question.

“And?”

“And under the overwhelming pressure from His Majesty the King, I suddenly realized my love and decided to accept your proposal, dear.”

Curtis, momentarily stunned by Chloe’s casual tone, quickly regained his composure with a cough and thanked her.

“Thank you.”

Chloe responded cheerfully.

“For what?”

Curtis looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“…Werent you saying you’d help me just now?”

Chloe smiled silently. Curtis watched her for a moment before speaking again.

“What do you need? Name your price…”

“Do you know something, Your Excellency?”

She interrupted him, rolling the brooch in her hand. The red brooch was round and shiny, offering a pleasant sensation to her fingertips.

Since Chloe was appointed as Curtis’s aide three months ago, her life had been filled with overtime and suffering, causing her to curse the gods. If there were a god, it certainly wasn’t on her side.

But now she believed that all the suffering was just preparation for greater happiness. If there was a god, it was definitely on her side.

Otherwise, how could she be given such a golden opportunity?

A chance to get back at the superior she always wanted to punch.

“Love can’t be bought with money.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I’m the type who believes that sincere actions complete love.”

Curtis didn’t seem to believe her words, but Chloe was sincere.

Staring at the red brooch for a long time, Chloe Ambroise finally met his gaze and smiled sweetly.

“First.”

“…”

“Kneel before me, Your Excellency.”

The most handsome man in the kingdom’s forehead wrinkled deeply.

She was thrilled.

***

At this point, its necessary to look back at Chloes first day when she was appointed as Curtiss aide. She didnt always want to punch her superior from the beginning, after all.

“Chloe Ambroise. You are appointed as the aide to His Excellency Curtis Sean Burke as of today. Your rank is second lieutenant.”

That day, Chloe was in a good mood. It was a truly warm spring day. The Royal Guard building where she was appointed was incredibly beautiful. The contract with incentives and a considerable salary was even more beautiful. She should have realized something was off when the Royal Guard members looked at her with pity as she signed the contract.

“Second Lieutenant Ambroise.”

“Pleased to meet you!”

Chloe still remembers Curtis Sean Burke’s response to her salute on that first day.

“Have you thought about cutting your hair short?”

“…Excuse me?”

Chloe couldn’t believe her ears. Her hand unconsciously touched her hair. She had neatly tied it up into a tight ponytail for her first day. Was there a problem?

“I don’t think I was unclear.”

Curtis’s expressionless question left Chloe flustered, but she tried to answer calmly.

“As far as I know, theres no regulation regarding hair length in the Royal Guards code of conduct. But if Im wrong, Ill correct it.”

“Youre correct. There is no such regulation.”

“Then why…?”

The duke, sitting behind a large desk with his arms crossed, replied,

“It seems you have no intention of cutting it. Continue to report to work with it in that state.”

“Excuse me? Your Excellency…”

“Chloe Ambroise, Second Lieutenant.”

Without listening to Chloe’s puzzled response, Duke Burke cut her off.

“If you question me one more time, youll face a pay cut too.”

The use of “too”implied that others had suffered the same fate, making it clear that any wrong answer would lead to severe consequences.

Having spent a long time in the military, Chloe recognized the seriousness of the situation and instinctively shut her mouth instead of exploring her unease.

Seeing Chloe quiet down, Duke Burke nodded slightly and pointed to a small room adjacent to his office with his finger.

“Go work in there.”

“Understood. I will comply.”

Still not fully grasping the situation, Chloe entered the room in a daze and was confronted with a mountain of paperwork. The room, though clean, had a small bed next to the desk.

In hindsight, it was absurd. It was supposed to be an aide’s office. Why was there a bed?

But at the time, Chloe was preoccupied with questioning why her hair length was an issue and missed the significance of the bed.

Of course, she soon discovered the truth behind the question, “Have you thought about cutting your hair?”

“Our Duke likes things to be clean….”

It was Lieutenant Noel’s explanation. Saying “likes things to be clean”was an overly polite way of putting it; in reality, it meant Duke Curtis Sean Burke had a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. He detested any trace of others in his space, including hair and scent.

“If you had come with your hair down, he probably wouldnt have even acknowledged you.”

It all made sense then.

An extreme neat freak. Of course. No wonder all nineteen aides had resigned. There must have been people like Chloe who needed the immediate pay, or others who understood that having “aide to war hero Curtis Sean Burke”on their resume would be beneficial for their military career.
But more than half of the aides were dismissed for “uncleanliness.”One aide was expelled for having a sweat odor, and another for not bathing due to working late nights.

However, these weren’t the only reasons for Chloe’s resentment towards Duke Burke.

For example:

“Second Lieutenant? Where are you going? You’re not thinking of leaving work unfinished, are you?”

“…Loyalty. Of course not, Your Excellency. I was just going to get some ink from the supply room….”

“Then why do you look like that?”

“Apologies, Your Excellency! I naturally have a gloomy expression!”