Chapter 15
Here is the full English translation, keeping all established names and tone consistent:
“Hey, future brother-in-law. Already having a marital spat?”
“Who are you calling future brother-in-law, and who’s having a marital spat?”
“You’re pricklier than usual. Then again, so am I.”
Brother Jenuer crossed his arms and shot Kainess a crooked look.
He lifted his chin, not even trying to hide his displeasure.
“I heard my little sister proposed.”
How dare you.
The unspoken words were clear in Brother Jenuer’s eyes.
It wasn’t exactly untrue… but it hadn’t been a romantic situation either.
It had only been a means to bring Kainess in front of the duke—my would-be father-in-law.
“B-Brother… If you say that so loudly, it’s embarrassing.”
“…Tsk.”
Brother Jenuer looked Kainess up and down as if he didn’t approve.
“What on earth do you even see in him?”
His voice genuinely carried disbelief.
“Well, he’s handsome.”
“So if he’s handsome, that’s all that matters? If that’s the case, our older brother is the most handsome!”
“How am I supposed to marry my own brother?!”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Jenuer frowned, still dissatisfied.
“How do you know if he’ll grow up handsome or ugly?”
I know. I’m the reader.
Had I smiled slyly without realizing it?
Both Brother Jenuer and Kainess stiffened slightly as they looked at me.
“…Talking about my looks like I’m not even here is unpleasant.”
“Future brother-in-law, don’t be so prickly. I just barely gave my permission.”
With a slippery grin, Brother Jenuer smacked Kainess on the back.
“Ah! Don’t hit him!”
I fidgeted beside them, trying to stop him.
“That didn’t hurt, did it? Are you okay?”
“…Could you please just stay quiet?”
Kainess dragged a hand down his face, looking embarrassed by my fussing.
Fortunately, he seemed fine.
“Brother! How could you hit him? What if Kainess got hurt?”
“Honestly, do you think he’s made of glass?”
Jenuer looked exasperated. He even coughed awkwardly before pressing his fingers to his throbbing temple.
“You two look close enough. That’s good. I’m leaving. See you at the training grounds later.”
“…Yes.”
Kainess answered through clenched teeth, as if grinding the words out. He looked embarrassed in more ways than one.
Does he dislike being overprotected?
But how could I know whether his body had been bruised or scarred?
I couldn’t stop the worried look in my eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m fine.”
“But…”
“Haah…”
Kainess let out a long sigh and suddenly grabbed my hand.
Oh my!
“What is this? That’s embarrassing.”
It wasn’t embarrassing at all, but I playfully pouted and lightly pushed his shoulder with my fist.
Kainess looked dumbfounded and touched the shoulder I’d pushed.
“Don’t you understand?”
Understand what?
At that moment, a cold chill wrapped around my body. Even after neutralizing it yesterday, the lingering energy still made today feel chilly.
“Even if I get hurt, I heal quickly. It’s probably because of this.”
Kainess glanced at my hand. Beneath his calm gaze, there was a hint of fatigue.
He didn’t even call it mana—just “this.”
“It’ll be a great strength to you later.”
When he goes to war, it’ll help him earn the title of the strongest human alive.
The strongest in offense and even defense—just imagining what an incredible swordsman he would become made me excited already.
“Anyway, there’s no reason for you to worry about me, Esta.”
“But I do worry. Just because you heal quickly doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. You’ll still be in pain—and maybe even twice as much as other people.”
Just because wounds closed fast didn’t mean his body wasn’t burdened. Like growing pains when a body develops, using his ability strained him.
He’d said his muscles throbbed and it felt like his blood reversed. He once described it as feeling like someone was tearing his insides apart.
I had never experienced it myself, but knowing indirectly made me frown.
“I’m worried about you.”
Feeling his faint agitation only deepened my guilt.
“So… won’t you marry me?”
“….”
“Let’s get married. Please?”
I held his hand and tugged slightly, acting spoiled. Kainess bit his lip and held back his answer.
For the first time, I was glad I was fifteen like him.
If I were fully grown and acting like this, it would be unbearably cringe.
“There is no reason for you to take responsibility for me.”
“There is.”
One of Kainess’s brows tilted sharply.
“You’re keeping me alive. If it weren’t for you, I might die.”
My grip tightened around his hand. Strangely, those words made my heart flutter more than my repeated proposals.
There wasn’t a single lie in them. That was precisely why they were more embarrassing to reveal.
“You saved me with this mana. I just want to save you too.”
I didn’t want to see the male lead in pain. I wanted to protect him.
And I needed to survive too.
In this situation, marriage seemed like the best excuse.
“Let’s get married. Just for seven years.”
We’ll separate once we’re adults.
Kainess, who had seemed moved, suddenly looked hollow the moment he heard the last part.
Why…?
Twenty years old—that was the age recognized as adulthood under imperial law.
Meaning he wouldn’t have to remain under the duke’s authority anymore.
I thought he would understand that, which was why I said it.
“Are you proposing a contract marriage?”
When I nodded slightly, Kainess looked at me coldly.
Without another word, he strode past me toward the training grounds.
It was a look he had never shown—not when I suggested breaking off the engagement, not when I asked to marry him.
Ugh, what’s with him?
“Is it puberty?”
I’m trying this hard for his sake.
I thought it was a win-win, but apparently it wasn’t an offer that satisfied him.
Since the groom himself objected, my entire plan came to a halt.
Kainess walked toward the training grounds with angry steps. When he turned the corner and realized Esta wasn’t following him, his steps suddenly stopped.
‘Why…?’
He didn’t understand why his heart felt so resentful.
The only thing that had changed was Esta.
He liked how she spoke up for him.
He liked how she stood before his father.
But whenever she firmly suggested breaking the engagement—or divorcing after seven years—it felt as if a needle pierced part of his heart.
He placed a hand over his chest at the strange sensation.
Thump. Thump.
His heart pounded loudly, refusing to calm.
Did I hate Esta that much?
He had spoken harshly to her before. He’d said he disliked her, avoided her openly.
But he had never truly thought he hated her.
She was one of the few people who approached him without hesitation.
Yet being entangled with him meant inevitably being entangled with his father.
More than anyone, he knew this place was a hellhole. The end of a mine shaft. The kind of place you wouldn’t want someone who had grown up happily to ever come near.
That was why he had rejected her proposal.
Then why did he feel so rotten?
“So annoying.”
An inexplicable irritation surged through him, making it hard to maintain his usual blank expression.
He had always thought wearing a mask was the easiest thing.
But lately, whenever he stood before Esta, that mask crumbled far too easily.
He must just be angry that she so casually spoke of marriage while already planning divorce.
That foolish Esta.
“Yeah. That must be it.”
He told himself it was just a passing breeze.
Breaking off the engagement, marriage, divorce—he had no intention of letting things go her way.
But at this moment, Kainess did not yet realize—
What he thought was a passing breeze was, in truth, a massive typhoon.
And he was standing at its very center—the eye of the storm.
How do I seduce Kainess?
It was a thought I had every day lately. How to change Kainess’s mind.
Since he’d been avoiding me, adamantly refusing marriage, we hadn’t had a proper conversation.
“What do I do….”
I muttered to myself while sprawled across the sofa when Ellie happened to enter the room and gasped at the sight.
“My lady! You mustn’t lie on the sofa while wearing a skirt!”
“It’s my room… Who’s going to see?”
“I will! You’ve learned etiquette—how can you lie down like that? If Madam sees this, I’ll be the one scolded.”
“You’ll get scolded?”
Well, in that case.
I awkwardly gathered my legs and sat properly, though my whole body ached in protest.
Can’t I relax at home at least…?
“What do I do….”
Even while sore, all I could think about was how to win Kainess over.
Seduction? That wouldn’t work.
Objectively, Esta was pretty—but in Kainess’s eyes, she was nothing more than an annoying burden.
Negotiation? I’d completely botched that.
I suggested marriage in exchange for healing me with his magic, and he looked at me like I was trash.
Okay, yes, it did sound trashy—but still, that hurt.
Threats? I didn’t want to go that far.
I’d already practically blackmailed him a few times. I’d almost exposed the magic he was hiding in front of his family.
If I pushed further, he might threaten my life in return. In the novel, he was never a kind man.
“Alright, alright… so what method would work…?”
“My lady, what are you muttering about?”
“Oh, you heard that?”
“Is something wrong? If you’re troubled, please tell me. I’ll help you.”
I hesitated while looking at the eager Ellie.
‘Kainess rejected my proposal.’
If I said that, the entire estate would turn upside down.
They might even strongly oppose the marriage.
“It’s nothing!”
I quickly abandoned the idea of confiding in her and smiled brightly. Ellie tilted her head in confusion but soon went into the bedroom to tidy up.
After a while, she came back out and casually asked,
“I heard there’s a night market tonight. Will you be going, my lady? Or are you not going, like usual?”
