Chapter 74
“That may be, but…”
Watching me respond immediately, almost as if it were effortless, Damian Matapju muttered with a look of helplessness on his face.
“My lady, you really are clear and straightforward about everything.”
“Ah, of course, it wouldn’t be very impressive if I said that first. Let’s just say that if others begged me to become the heir, I’d have no choice but to change my mind.”
I said it in a refreshing, confident tone.
Damian Matapju, who had been staring at me for a moment, let out a small, wry laugh.
“…You had a similar attitude when you first suggested we get engaged.”
“So you dislike me because of that?”
“Honestly… you seem a bit headstrong, not thinking things through, and a little unplanned…”
“Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
At my teasing question, Damian Matapju chuckled softly.
“And that’s exactly why I like it.”
“Excuse me?”
“I wanted to do things your way, just as you said.”
Perhaps because he was sitting in the Matapju’s chair, Damian’s expression usually appeared stern, and his tone carried an air of authority.
But now, with a smile that seemed genuinely relieved, he looked almost boyish…
“Alright, then. I’ll make sure Polius, whom you dislike, is starkly outshined. Following the business aspect, I’ll prove my superior capability as a count as well.”
Damian grabbed the terrace door and said he’d go out first.
Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he turned back toward me.
“Thank you for giving me a reason to intervene in the estate.”
Click—the terrace door closed. Left alone, I muttered in a daze.
The expression Damian had shown me moments ago felt unfamiliar.
‘He really did smile so brightly, didn’t he?’
It was a fairly dark evening, with only the moonlight and the magical lamps in the garden providing illumination.
Yet that smile had imprinted itself firmly in my mind, refusing to fade.
I placed my hand over my chest and then removed it. Wow, why is his smile so handsome?
“What… why does he smile like that?”
I found myself muttering unconsciously.
It was strange—despite the night air being colder than earlier, why did my face feel warm?
“His smile is pretty. He should smile like that more often.”
He usually sneers, laughs mockingly, or smirks—but never like this, so bright and open.
Seeing someone behave differently from usual makes your heart skip a beat.
‘Wow… the power of a handsome man’s smile is incredible. I almost got carried away.’
Feeling embarrassed, I blinked several times.
Even after Damian Matapju disappeared, I stayed on the terrace a little longer.
Somehow, I felt the need to calm this restless, fluttering emotion.
While Mélanie attended to Empress Miriel and met with Scarlet and Clara, Damian was making the engagement ring.
In the past, when they went to rescue the hostages captured by Marquis Ingda, Mélanie wanted to come along, but he didn’t trust her fully and had attached numerous magical artifacts to her.
However, Mélanie found the bulky, numerous magical artifacts burdensome and ultimately didn’t wear any of them.
Of course, she had a bodyguard… but they weren’t always together.
In case something happened in that moment.
“….”
He painstakingly layered magic onto the mana stone that would serve as the ring, chanting the spells with patience so it would be effective even in a small size for Mélanie to wear.
Since it would be worn by a duchess, he also studied the design to ensure it wasn’t embarrassing.
If his past self had seen this, he wouldn’t have understood.
After relentless effort, the engagement ring was finally completed the day before yesterday.
“Matapju, do you really need to put this much effort into the engagement ring?”
Of course it was necessary.
Mélanie was meeting Empress Miriel, working for their engagement.
It was only natural that he had to do something as well.
Since his presence wouldn’t help much otherwise, it made sense for him to do what he was good at.
Interrupting Mélanie’s event would have been nothing but a hindrance.
‘Thanks to this, the engagement process has been improved… now I can give her the ring.’
Yet there was something strange.
For some reason, he felt hesitant to present the ring to Mélanie, even face-to-face.
Logically, it would be more efficient to give it sooner rather than later.
After completing the ring, he had felt both relief and urgency to give it, yet when the day of the banquet arrived and he faced Mélanie, he froze, unable to speak properly.
‘Why am I hesitating even though this isn’t a real engagement?’
Damian had made the ring himself, even though it wasn’t a true engagement, yet he wasn’t concerned about that; it was just a thought.
Since she was his business partner, worrying about her well-being was natural, and giving the ring for her safety was obvious.
Using the highest-grade magical materials and the best mana stones, selecting the perfect diamond—he had chosen only the best for Mélanie.
So why… when the time came to give it to her, did he suddenly feel frozen, unsure what to do?
He measured the right moment to give it several times, and only when the terrace was empty did he muster the courage to hand her the ring.
“We’re engaged for now, so I thought you should have a ring.”
He said, feigning casualness.
When Mélanie took the ring and slid it onto her finger, he finally felt he could exhale.
“I’ll use it well. I’ll do my best as your partner.”
Her natural words made his heart sink.
“Why are you…”
He didn’t know what expression he had on his face.
Mélanie’s expression changed for a moment, showing concern as she spoke to him, but Damian had no answer.
‘I don’t really know either,’ he swallowed the words in his mouth.
Why did the word ‘partner’ feel like it lodged in his chest?
Was it because “doing your best” implied a contractually bound relationship?
He wanted to ask, but he didn’t know why.
‘We’re just business partners. The engagement is just a contract… so why am I thinking like this?’
Why couldn’t he look away, even from her, or even in the presence of a woman?
Even Scarlet, who Mélanie felt comfortable with as a childhood friend, and Clara, who had been close for nearly as long, annoyed him.
‘It’s rude. I still address her formally, including her title, after all…’
But of course.
He and Mélanie were bound only by contract.
Any personal friendship… even if Damian felt some closeness, it might be one-sided.
They had no private time together outside of business.
Even the times that seemed like they were together casually, riding in a carriage to see flowers in the countryside—how was that?
Mélanie wasn’t as lively or amusing as those young ladies, so it might have been boring.
Damian couldn’t approach her with long familiarity like Scarlet, nor with the unique cheerfulness like Clara.
‘She looks happier than when she’s with me.’
For some reason, that thought left him conflicted in a different way this time.
Even when a major crisis had arisen with Beldert’s vassals coming to him, he found himself preoccupied with Mélanie instead.
The biggest issue in his life was the Beldert family’s problem, yet it was suddenly overshadowed by something comparatively trivial.
‘What are you, really…?’
I kept my promise to leave with Damian Matapju.
The next day, after only minimal preparations, I immediately boarded the carriage with him.
“It looked like it might rain, but fortunately, the weather’s nice.”
I said it cheerfully, but my mind was somewhat tangled.
‘The count and Polius raised taxes…’
Polius was extravagant. He had extorted money from not just me but several women, using it for various purposes.
He considered himself virtuous and kind, but really—if he were truly good, he wouldn’t make his fiancée borrow at usurious rates to save another woman.
He wouldn’t threaten while talking about blessings either.
‘Ugh… he’d be terrible with his family once married. Caring for others while neglecting his own.’
Compared to that, Damian Matapju was unfriendly to others but quite kind to me…
Wouldn’t he make a better husband?
‘No, it’s a contract engagement anyway. Why am I thinking like this? We’re supposed to part ways once the purpose is served.’
After all, I was the one who coaxed him into a contract engagement, despite not wanting it.
And now I’m thinking about potential husbands?
