Chapter : 1 – Marriage? Marriiaaage?
My name is Cielie Arius.
She is the eldest daughter of the Arius Duke Family, but after her parents died, she abandoned her title and ran away to escape her uncle who tried to kill her and take over the dukedom.
Her goal was to live freely and peacefully, so she took the Imperial Knight Order exam and has now been serving for 3 years after passing it.
As a government worker, I was spending another peaceful day. It wasn’t a job with huge responsibility, nor did I go out to dangerous battlefields. I simply guarded the imperial palace and occasionally escorted royals during hunting festivals. In short—an unimportant role, whether I existed or not didn’t really matter.
Boring? Not at all.
There was no one forcing etiquette on me like in the duke’s household, no one telling me how a woman should behave.
Her uncle, who used to send assassins, seemed to have given up because there had been no contact recently. And if someone brought up marriage or something similar, I could just respond that I was loyal to the Empire. Nothing boring about that.
My salary came regularly, and I even received occasional bonuses. At this rate, I could soon buy a house.
“Cielie!”
So today as well, I served my loyalty to the Lind Empire.
“They say the Commander is back!”
“The Commander?”
In three years working at the Imperial Palace, I had never once seen the Commander’s face. When Cielie asked about him, people avoided answering.
“Why should a newbie even know that?”
“I’ve been here three years already. I think I should know something by now.”
“For low-ranking people like us, ignorance is better.”
At her senior’s words, she gave up her curiosity.
Her life motto was “long and thin”—to live quietly and steadily. Getting too interested in high-ranking figures could disrupt her peaceful life. She didn’t want that.
When Cielie stopped asking, her senior leaned in and whispered.
“It seems this time he’s not just visiting briefly—he’s coming back for good. There will probably be chaos in the palace, so stay low.”
“I’ve always done that.”
“Yes, but be extra careful. Especially you—you’re from a duke family.”
“Understood, senior.”
She answered casually under the worried gaze of her senior.
It was already widely known that although she was from the Arius Duke Family, she had left it.
Cielie had cut ties with her family to live freely.
“What’s a noble lady’s life anyway?”
You go to salons and banquets, build connections, and deal with people carefully with sharp words. You wear beautiful dresses, but starve yourself endlessly to maintain beauty and posture.
Then you marry well, elevate your family’s status, and bear heirs before stepping back.
She didn’t want that kind of life.
“I can’t live like that.”
Raised freely by her parents, she knew herself well.
She was born not in the capital, but in wide open land. She grew up riding horses and shooting bows.
Her mother, who had a weak body, chose a quiet estate instead of the busy capital to give birth to her. But after Cielie was born, her mother fell ill and passed away after years of suffering.
Her father, devastated, followed her mother shortly after. She was twenty-two at the time.
Was she sad? She didn’t even have time to be.
She had to deal with greedy people trying to take everything they left behind.
After two years of fighting them, she abandoned the inheritance in the bank and moved to the capital. That was three years ago.
Assassins kept coming—but she eliminated them all.
There were also talks of marriage. Of course there were.
If she married, her surname would change, and her uncle could claim inheritance and dowry under marriage law. She understood his intentions perfectly.
Unless she married someone above the duke family, her inheritance would be taken.
“What duke family…”
They were all trash.
That was her honest judgment.
She had seen too much to beg for affection. Anyone from the Arius family made her disgusted.
Because news of her inheritance would spread, she kept quiet even within the knight order.
Her uncle also strangely stayed silent.
Later she learned why—he had used her inheritance as collateral to borrow money from loan sharks.
“Pardon?”
Cielie, who had been called to the deputy commander’s office, raised her voice in confusion.
She asked again if she had heard wrong—but she hadn’t.
“You heard correctly. When the Commander arrives, you will serve as his aide.”
“Why is the Commander only showing up now after three years of me working here without ever seeing him!”
“He’s always been a mysterious figure. Someone like you would never meet him.”
“Then why assign someone like me as his aide?!”
Cielie shouted in anger.
The deputy commander looked startled, but she didn’t care.
Her peaceful life was being destroyed.
Until now, the deputy commander had been handling the Commander’s work. Seeing his workload, she had promised herself never to live like that.
And now—she had to serve directly under him?!
She slammed the desk with frustration.
The deputy commander silently handed her a document.
“What is this?”
“An order.”
When she opened it, she froze.
“…Crazy.”
It was an official imperial order appointing her as aide to the Knight Commander, stamped with the Emperor’s seal.
The deputy commander spoke.
“Did you not know? The Commander is a Grand Duke.”
“A Grand Duke?”
“The Emperor’s younger brother.”
Cielie’s eyes widened.
With a teasing smile, the deputy commander added:
“You’ve been assigned to serve a very important person.”
“I refuse.”
“What?”
“I said I refuse.”
She stormed out of the office—but was immediately grabbed by a fellow knight, Lante, waiting outside.
It was clear this had been arranged.
“Cielie Arius.”
“I’m a bit busy today…”
“This is an imperial order. You are to be escorted to the Commander’s office immediately.”
“Escorted? Why me?”
“If you resist, you are to be forcibly taken.”
“Me?!”
Lante showed the imperial document and grabbed her arm.
“Wait, wait a minute!”
Her protests were useless.
Lante, known for his strict personality and imperial knight status, dragged her away without hesitation.
“This is unbelievable!”
She struggled, but he didn’t let go.
“Don’t think about escaping. Sir Saha is at the north gate, Sir Galael at the south, and Lady Mielle at the east.”
“You deployed the entire knight order just to catch me?!”
“More precisely, imperial guards are stationed everywhere. Please cooperate.”
Cielie gritted her teeth.
“So you’re forcing me into this aide position?”
“It is the Emperor’s order.”
“Damn it.”
“That language is disrespectful to His Majesty.”
“Shut up.”
“You are being impolite.”
“Keep talking and you’ll get an arrow in your head, Lante.”
Eventually, she was dragged into the Commander’s office.
“Why isn’t he here?”
It had already been an hour.
The Commander was nowhere to be seen.
She had only heard rumors that he avoided work and wandered around freely—but now she believed them.
“Am I going to end up doing all the work?”
Stacks of documents were piled high on the desk.
Still no sign of the Commander.
Just as she was fuming—
Knock knock.
Her expression brightened instantly.
“He’s here!”
She rushed to open the door—but it was only a palace servant.
“Cielie Arius Knight, this is a letter for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
Without explanation, the servant left.
Confused, she opened it quickly.
“…What is this!”
It was a marriage contract.
< Cielie Arius
As a member of the Arius Duke Family, fulfill your duty.
You are ordered in the name of the family to marry the person enclosed. >
“Crazy.”
It was a forced engagement document.
Her signature space was left blank.
Her face turned pale.
She tore the contract into pieces.
“Ha! Marriage? Who decided that?!”
She stomped her foot in rage.
“Marriage? Marriiiage?!”
Her frustration exploded.
Summoning mana, she formed a bow in her hand.
She shot magical arrows at the torn pieces on the floor, turning them into ash.
“I’ve tolerated attempts to kill me for three years… but marriage? Marriage?!”
