Chapter 4

“I’m sorry, Count. That’s impossible.”

“Hm?”

“There’s someone else I love.”

Damia clenched her small fists tightly so she wouldn’t shrink back even by accident.

Even if I anger that old count, I need to buy time somehow.

Next time, I’ll force that arrogant young duke to swallow the herb if I have to and secure my place as his temporary fiancée.

“D-Damia! What nonsense are you saying? You’re a girl who only stays in her room reading books!”

Her father, Baron Ponti, widened his eyes in shock. The steward fidgeted nervously.

Both of them looked like they wanted to cover Damia’s mouth immediately.

“H-haha. Love, you say?”

At that moment, Count Pavron, who had been stiff with surprise, suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“My daughter has had a slight fever since morning, so she’s talking nonsense…”

“That’s alright. A child’s first love isn’t such a big problem.”

Damia’s father, who had been trying to excuse her behavior, froze.

Count Pavron was smiling kindly.

Wait… this isn’t good.

Originally, Damia had planned to anger the count enough to make him storm out.

It wouldn’t make him give up on her completely as a bride candidate, but at least it would buy her some time.

“The young lady still has a cute childish side.”

But the old count’s eyes were still full of goodwill.

“Still, it would be better if you learned more about the qualities expected of a noble lady.”

“Count…”

“Well, you seem quite clever. I’m sure you’ll quickly grow into a model noblewoman.”

He rubbed his hands together as if he were genuinely looking forward to that moment.

“That won’t be necessary, Count.”

Even though chills ran down her spine at his reaction, Damia answered with a bright smile.

If she lost momentum now, everything would be over.

“Unfortunately, I cannot join the count’s family. In fact, I already proposed to the man I love.”

“W-what? You were proposed to?”

Baron Ponti’s eyes widened to their limit.

“No, Father. Listen carefully. I was the one who proposed.”

Her gentle voice didn’t match the slight irritation in her tone.

Damia kept smiling calmly, but her father and the steward looked like they might faint.

“W-what nonsense is that? A woman proposing first?!”

In the Belotea Empire, noble young ladies were expected to be extremely modest before marriage.

Seeing Damia casually damage her own reputation as a bride made Baron Ponti’s clenched fist tremble.

“But… what can I do? I’ve fallen so deeply in love with him that I can’t control my feelings.”

Damia slowly blinked her violet eyes and tilted her head slightly.

Her relaxed expression made her father pound his chest in frustration.

Honestly, if Father fainted right now, things might become easier.

Then that old count would have no choice but to leave for today.

Perhaps because she had left all her sense of filial duty in her previous life, she didn’t feel guilty at all.

“Father, the moment I first saw him, I decided. If I can’t marry that beautiful man, I’d rather enter a convent and live as a nun for the rest of my life.”

“Damia, please shut your mouth!”

“I think I’m very sensitive to appearances. So unfortunately… I feel absolutely nothing for you, Count.”

“Damia!”

Her father now looked like he was about to foam at the mouth.

“I was willing to overlook your childish behavior because it seemed cute, but now you’re going too far.”

The smile had disappeared from Count Pavron’s face.

When his voice dropped a tone lower, Damia’s hands began trembling slightly.

She hated that reaction. It was fear she had learned in her previous life.

“And…”

Damia hid her trembling hands behind her back and continued speaking.

“Isn’t it a bit too cruel to tell a young girl like me to marry someone older than my own father for the sake of the family?”

She spoke clearly, staring straight ahead.

If she stopped talking even for a moment, it felt like fear would freeze her entire body.

“W-why are you suddenly acting like this, Damia? You even started attending tea parties you never used to go to. It feels like you’ve fallen into some strange fantasy.”

Her father’s breathing became even heavier when Damia continued to stand confidently, as if she didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation.

“Oh, the tea party is exactly the reason, Father. That’s where I met him.”

At that moment, her father’s face turned pale.

He must have remembered Damia confidently saying she would find a fiancé far better than Count Pavron.

“There is no boy in the entire empire more perfect than him.”

“You… you…!”

Her father began trembling as if he had realized something.

“Child… you didn’t actually try to talk to the young Duke Sarkis, did you?”

Damia could almost hear the words her father was too afraid to say.

Please tell me you didn’t do that.

“I believe you’re not insane enough to go that far…”

“Oh! That guess was exactly right.”

“Damia! Do you think the ducal family will stay silent if you act so shamelessly? Do I have to tie you up somewhere for you to come to your senses?!”

At her father’s furious shout, Count Pavron’s cloudy eyes gleamed strangely.

“I agree. Your daughter seems to require proper ‘discipline.’”

Damia bit her lip hard to suppress the curse words rising in her throat.

She remembered all too well the “discipline” she had suffered in her previous life.

“How dare you mention the young Duke Sarkis! Do you think that makes any sense?!”

Her father looked desperate not to lose the chance to sell his daughter for a high price.

“Well, I thought the same thing.”

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice cut through the noisy room, bringing sudden silence.

The voice still had the tone of a boy, but it was low and pleasant to hear, carrying the confidence of someone who knew his own authority.

“Y-Young Duke Sarkis!”

Jet-black hair like the darkest night.

Blood-red eyes that captured everyone’s attention instantly.

Flawless features that seemed almost impossibly perfect.

“Y-Young Duke, why have you come to our humble house without sending word…!”

His overwhelming beauty alone made everyone around him seem insignificant.

Even the fairly handsome attendants who had come with him instantly faded into the background.

Even in this situation, Damia found herself admiring the sight.

“The baron’s daughter has quite a talent for turning impossible things into reality.”

It seemed that due to the lack of servants, no one had even noticed when the Sarkis ducal carriage had entered the estate.

“Well, I suppose I should apologize for arriving so suddenly.”

Cassian smiled slightly, though he didn’t look apologetic at all.

“I only intended to greet you and leave today…”

His red eyes slowly swept over Baron Ponti, the steward, and Count Pavron.

The gaze was cold and filled with contempt.

“But this is an unpleasant sight that I cannot ignore as her fiancé.”

It was the entrance of a savior straight out of a painting—
a little arrogant, perhaps, but still a savior.