[While returning home completely drunk, the Baron tried to climb over a sharp-tipped fence, lost his footing, and fell onto it.
As a result of the accident, he has now become completely incapable of having children. (His voice also seems to have become slightly higher than before.)
He wasn’t injured anywhere else, but he suffered severe psychological shock and is currently bedridden.]
Gerald had originally been unable to have children, but that was something I knew only because I had regressed and knew the contents of the original novel.
Although rumors had spread calling him a “cucumber,” it had only been speculation based on the fact that he had never had a child, and the actual grounds were weak.
But now, physically, in a way that anyone could see, he had gained a body that absolutely couldn’t produce children.
Just like Rastan a moment ago, I bit down hard on my lower lip to keep from laughing.
“…We spread the rumor first, and now that rumor has become the truth.”
“And this incident is also planned to be spread in detail throughout high society.”
Rastan slightly lifted one corner of his lips in a mischievous smile.
“Now the Baron definitely won’t be able to take a new wife. His reputation was already at rock bottom and he has lost almost all his assets, but now it’s truly beyond doubt.”
After all, nobles placed greater importance than anything else on continuing the family line when it came to marriage.
Normally, it would be a pitiful accident deserving of great sympathy, but since the person involved was Gerald, it wasn’t sad at all and only felt ridiculous.
“Good. Now he won’t be able to bring in innocent women and make them suffer ever again.”
At that moment, I suddenly recalled the meaningful words Rastan had said yesterday.
‘No way. …Surely not…?’
“Um, Rastan.”
Instead of answering, Rastan met my gaze warmly.
“You know what you said yesterday. About removing something unnecessary from Gerald.”
“Yes.”
As I spoke that far, I remembered that this accident had happened because Gerald fell on his own.
There was nothing anywhere about someone pushing him. If so, this couldn’t have been something Rastan did.
‘No, wait.’
“Rastan. Could it be… your ability is controlling people?”
His expression stiffened ever so slightly. But it was only for a brief moment, and he quickly returned to his usual relaxed demeanor as he replied.
“Hmm, that would not be an appropriate way to put it.”
At this point, it was hardly different from admitting that he was behind it. Startled, I asked again.
“Then what is it?!”
“I believe I said I would tell you everything once we were engaged.”
“Wow… you are really using that card right now?”
I was so annoyed that I stamped my feet, but Rastan remained infuriatingly calm.
“…If we get engaged, will you really tell me everything? How you did it, everything, everything?”
This time, he looked surprised. Even that small reaction gave me a tiny sense of satisfaction, having managed to startle him at least a little.
“Did the thought of getting engaged occur to you?”
“No, I am not saying I will do it. I was just asking whether you really would, the conditions. Yes! Just the conditions!”
I hurriedly added words, and then added more, but Rastan’s handsome lips were already curving upward again.
“That’s right. When making a contract, it is important to check the conditions thoroughly. A good attitude.”
I waited a bit for him to say more, but absurdly, that was the end of it. In the end, I had to press him again for an answer.
“So, will you tell me everything or not?”
Rastan took one of my hands, lowered his head, and slowly pressed his lips to my fingers.
“If you would only agree to get engaged to me, then as much as you like. I will tell you everything about me.”
Then, out of nowhere, he started unbuttoning his shirt from the top, one button, then another.
“What are you doing right now?”
“Showing you all of me like this…”
“Are you crazy?!”
Even though it was obvious he was just trying to tease me, I ended up flustered beyond help. When I slapped his solid arm with a bright red face, Rastan burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
Watching him laugh so freely, as if it didn’t hurt at all, I realized something.
‘This is the first time I’ve seen Rastan laugh this loudly.’
The shadows that always seemed to cling to this man’s face lifted, and his once pale complexion shone like porcelain.
The man who used to do no more than smile quietly was laughing so healthily and brightly like this.
For a moment, it felt as if stardust were sparkling and drifting around him.
I forgot what we had even been talking about and stared at his face as if bewitched in an entirely different way.
No, I was properly enchanted.
Up until now, the Rastan I knew had been incomparably attractive, yet at times he also felt strangely distant, almost inhuman.
‘Was it because his expression and aura were so cold?’
But right now, he looked like a living, breathing human being with warmth in his body.
It was a strange way to put it, but that was genuinely how it felt.
‘Come to think of it, he seems to have changed quickly since I came into this ducal manor.’
That a person’s presence could change this much in such a short period of time…
‘Were the nightmares really that big of an issue for Rastan? If so, could I maybe make this person at least a little happier?’
I had always felt nothing but gratitude toward him, both in my previous life and in this one.
Even though I was helping him so he wouldn’t have nightmares, it was nowhere near enough to repay the debt I felt in my heart.
Since he was doing everything he could for me, I wanted to do everything I could for him as well.
If someone like me could be of help, even just a little, to such an extraordinary person.
“Evelyn?”
It seemed I had been staring at him absentmindedly while lost in thought. Rastan studied my expression with a slightly puzzled look.
‘Damn.’
I quickly put on an unaffected air and deliberately adopted a composed expression.
“Hmph, I wouldn’t get engaged for a reason like that! But… I will think about it!”
Rastan’s eyes widened immediately, but I quickly turned around and fled to my room.
It felt like if I lingered there any longer, I would end up getting swept along into agreeing to whatever he wanted.
Back in my room, I fell into thought, recalling the conversation I had just had with Rastan.
I was curious about what his ability was. I also wanted to know more about what kind of person he was. Of course, that didn’t mean I could get engaged for such reasons.
‘…Then for what reason should one get engaged?’
In Korea, people got engaged because they loved each other, but here, especially among nobles, engagements happened when each side’s needs aligned.
Moreover, what Rastan proposed to me was openly a “contract” engagement, so all that really mattered was whether both sides’ needs matched.
So what were the needs of the two of us?
‘Rastan and I do need to stay physically close to each other.’
For Rastan, his nightmares weakened, and for me, my special ability was strengthened at the same time.
On top of that, when he first proposed the contract engagement, he said he would provide a sufficient monthly allowance under the guise of the Duchess’s private funds.
Considering the point in time when I died and regressed, the future I knew amounted to less than two years anyway. So within that limited time, I needed to secure as much seed money as possible and grow it quickly.
‘When I think about it that way, entering a contract engagement with Rastan is actually a pretty good choice.’
In the first place, I had no intention of marrying in this life, and if I wanted to stand on my own, I absolutely needed money.
‘And with my current ability, there are hardly any ways I could earn that much money in a year.’
If I stayed close to Rastan, my special ability would gradually grow stronger, so once the engagement period ended later, maybe then I could use my ability to do work that contributed to the Empire.
Imagining a future where I worked using my ability and was recognized as a valuable talent of the Empire made me feel a little excited.
But then, as the last factor I needed to consider regarding an engagement to Rastan came to mind, that excitement immediately sank again.
‘Rosie.’
I had said I wouldn’t settle down here because I planned to live with Rosie, but right now, honestly, I couldn’t even be sure she existed.
No, saying I couldn’t be sure was only because I couldn’t bring myself to believe the investigation results from the two guilds.
‘Probably… probably she really doesn’t exist.’
Just that thought made my chest ache sharply, and tears welled up. I quickly wiped them away with my sleeve and drew a tentative conclusion.
‘Fine. If that’s the case, then I could accept something like a contract engagement with Rastan.’
But only after confirming, just once. Just one final time, for sure, whether Rosie truly didn’t exist. After that, I felt like I would be able to decide.
