Chapter~24
Ninth, Holding an Engagement Ceremony with My Boss
After the noisy summer passed, autumn arrived with a cool breeze.
Unlike usual, I was wearing a somewhat stifling—but equally extravagant—dress.
Layers of fresh green fabric overlapped, forming a voluminous silhouette.
“…It feels even more extravagant than when I attended the social season before….”
Even if it was a fake born of necessity, it was still an engagement ceremony, so that was only natural.
Thankfully, I had worked hard to raise my stats and upgrade my etiquette skill.
Still, I needed to maintain proper decorum for the ceremony.
“Etiquette is now at intermediate level. Swordsmanship has also been upgraded to upper-intermediate advanced swordsmanship….”
At this rate, it seemed I could smoothly meet the required stats within about a year.
“The problem is my reputation…”
I recalled the titles displayed in my results window.
[Titles: Caregiver, Knight of the Edenrosa Ducal House, Young Duke’s Lover, Mad Duelist]
With those, my reputation had reached around 150.
Considering I needed 500, there was still a long way to go.
Still, I was hopeful that this engagement ceremony would grant me the official fiancée title and boost my reputation further.
As I sat in the waiting room, lost in thought, someone knocked lightly on the door.
“Unni, are you there?”
It was Mabel.
“Of course I am! Come in, Mabel!”
She opened the door and, upon seeing me, broke into a bright smile.
“You look so beautiful, Unni!”
You’re prettier.
“Right? The Young Duke prepared it for me.”
“I wanted to pick your dress!”
Mabel said with a slightly disappointed expression.
“Then next time we have an engagement ceremony, you can pick it!”
“…Mabel. Usually, there’s only one engagement ceremony….”
“You never know.”
For a moment, I wondered if she wanted me to break off the engagement… but my angel looked completely innocent.
“Unni! I like the idea of you living with me forever!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
If I broke off the engagement, that might actually happen.
‘Sonnet. There’s even a saying that a widow is better than a woman whose engagement was broken.’
‘People must think very negatively of it.’
‘Yes. I feel sorry for you. So if you wish—’
‘It’s fine. I’m being paid enough for it.’
‘…I see.’
Judging by the way Pierre talked lately, it seemed that women with broken engagements had extremely bad reputations.
As I chatted warmly with Mabel, time flew by, and soon it was time to go out.
“Miss! It’s time for you to come out!”
The door opened, and the butler called me.
He had been delighted about the engagement ceremony, and seeing me fully dressed up now, he seemed overwhelmed with emotion.
“To think that you’ve finally found a good match, Miss… I could cry….”
“A good match? You mean the Duke?”
“Yes! And Miss Mabel, one day you’ll find someone like—”
Mabel seemed to have many thoughts about that.
“Calm down, Butler. We have to go, right?”
“Y-yes, of course! Let’s go, Miss!”
The butler, standing in place of my parents, matched his steps to mine as we walked.
After wiping his tears, he escorted me down the beautifully decorated path and bowed to the man waiting at the end.
“Please take good care of Miss Sonnet.”
“Do not worry. Come, Sonnet.”
He extended a hand clad in a white glove.
“Yes.”
I carefully took his hand and walked with him.
Behind me, I could hear the butler sobbing.
…If I told him this was all staged, he might faint.
The thought that he might collapse when we eventually break off the engagement suddenly crossed my mind.
“Sonnet?”
“Yes?”
“Is the dress very uncomfortable?”
“No, I’m fine.”
The path, lavishly decorated with flowers and ribbons, stretched ahead.
At the end stood a priest behind a pure white altar, waiting for us.
“Sonnet de Eduke.”
“Yes.”
“Pierre de Edenrosa.”
“Yes.”
“Do you both swear to become husband and wife in the future?”
For a brief moment, the reality of it all hit me, and I hesitated—but Pierre answered first.
“I swear.”
“I… also swear.”
“Then exchange rings that symbolize an unbreakable promise.”
I saw him take out a ring case.
I followed suit and opened mine.
As both cases opened, identical rings—differing only in size—sparkled in the sunlight.
He took his ring and slid it onto my finger.
“I’ll give you something even more valuable at the wedding.”
“Thank you.”
The delicate ring, adorned with a red ruby, fit perfectly on my finger.
But…
It felt strange.
I stared blankly at the ring on my left ring finger before carefully placing his ring on his finger as well.
“I’ll do my best to live up to your feelings, Pierre.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
His calloused, slightly rough fingertips brushed against my palm.
Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, I froze for a moment—then he gently intertwined our fingers.
“I like you, Sonnet.”
His eyes were filled with a thick, almost cloying sweetness.
So warm, so affectionate—it felt real enough to be mistaken for genuine.
“…Me too.”
It was a lie.
Nothing but deception.
I knew that, and yet meeting his softly curved eyes was strangely difficult.
While trying to act natural and think of something else, the priest’s long blessing finally came to an end.
“This concludes the ceremony.”
“Waaah—!”
“Come, Sonnet.”
“Yes.”
Amid the applause pouring down on us, I forced a smile.
I wondered if it looked unnatural.
* * *
Even after the main ceremony ended, the engagement itself wasn’t over.
We still had to greet the guests who had come to congratulate us.
Before the meal began, we moved busily from place to place.
Most of the guests were those seeking connections with the heir of the Edenrosa Ducal House.
A few had ties to Count Eduke, but not many of significance.
“The Young Duke is finally getting married! Sir Sonnet, take good care of him!”
“Haha… It’s just an engagement for now.”
“Indeed. When is the wedding? Have you met the Duke?”
“We paid our respects before the ceremony.”
“It’s a shame the Duke couldn’t attend, even if he’s gravely ill. Good thing Baron Coquelicot came in his stead…”
“Let’s hope the timing works out for the wedding.”
The Duke of Edenrosa…
‘Let’s say we’ve already met Father.’
‘Is that really okay?’
It made things easier for me, but was that acceptable?
Don’t nobles care about appearances?
‘It doesn’t matter. He wouldn’t care anyway. He won’t even leave the territory.’
Pierre had said to ignore it, claiming his father stayed secluded under the excuse of illness.
But when he said that, he had looked somewhat displeased.
Were they not on good terms?
The former Duke never appeared in the game either, so I was curious.
What kind of person was he?
“The representative is one of the retainers from the main estate, right? I heard he’s your grandfather…”
“Yes. By blood, that is. We’re not particularly close. Let’s go greet him.”
His tone sank, just like when he spoke about the Duke.
The Duke’s representative sat alone in a corner. As Pierre approached, the man looked up at him with a blank expression.
“It’s been a while, Baron Coquelicot.”
“It has been a while, Lord Pierre.”
The middle-aged man, who looked somewhat similar to Pierre yet not quite, bowed politely.
His tired expression made it seem like the journey had been difficult.
“Is this your fiancée, Lord Pierre?”
“Yes. My lover.”
The man stared at me intently, and for a fleeting moment, an unreadable emotion crossed his face.
Before I could figure it out, he bowed to me.
“You are very beautiful. You suit Lord Pierre well.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“I sincerely hope your love will last forever.”
“That’s enough. Let’s go, Sonnet. There are many more people to greet.”
As if that was sufficient, Pierre pulled me along.
Still bothered by the expression I had just seen, I hesitated and glanced back.
Baron Coquelicot, who had been quietly drinking, met my gaze and gave me a bittersweet smile.
Why that expression?
Did something happen?
It left an uneasy feeling in my chest.
Maybe I should talk to him later.
