Chapter : 9 – Excuse Me, Commander
“Then… I should look for someone else—”
“Is there someone better than me?”
Leonard raised his eyebrow. Cielie, who had been watching his mood, thought again. If you only looked at the conditions, there was no one better than Leonard. But still—
‘The biggest problem is that he’s my superior.’
“So, let’s do that marriage with me.”
“No, wait a moment, Commander.”
Talking with Leonard like this made her feel the stares of people around them. No one was close enough to hear, so it was unlikely their conversation would spread, but Cielie still felt uneasy and grabbed his arm.
Leonard followed her without resistance, and they headed to the office together. As soon as they entered, she closed the door and leaned toward him.
“Commander, why do you keep asking me to marry you?”
“Why? Is that a problem?”
“No, it’s not that…”
‘How do I say it’s suspicious because you’re acting so casual about it?’
She needed a partner for a contract marriage, and Leonard was the best option. She had even tried to ask him before but gave up.
‘And he’s a Grand Duke…’
She had thought of it lightly, but Leonard’s status was extremely high. If she married him, even the Emperor would know, and later she could never say it was just a contract marriage.
While she was lost in thought, she heard his low voice.
“Since we’re already living in the same house, there’s no need to move.”
“Ah, about that…”
“Do we just need to submit the oath document?”
“As you know, Commander, what I want is a fake marriage. It’s not a real one.”
“Did I ever say it would be real?”
“Huh?”
Leonard frowned slightly. Cielie’s face turned red in embarrassment. She had thought he was serious about marriage since he kept bringing it up.
“It just happens that my older brother has been bothering me.”
“Oh… yes. Your brother… Wait, His Majesty?!”
“Yes.”
Leonard nodded seriously. He returned to his desk and started writing something. Cielie stared at his side profile for a while, then slowly approached him.
‘Marriage contract?’
She read the title at the top of the paper.
“Do we really need to write something like this?”
“How can I trust you enough to marry without something like this?”
“Ah… that makes sense.”
The conditions were completely in her favor. If Leonard wanted, many noble ladies would line up just to marry him, even under such conditions. Compared to them, Cielie had enemies and a complicated background.
While watching him write the clauses, her eyes moved to a flower placed on one side of his desk.
‘Huh? That’s…’
It was a verbena flower, something she had seen in the territory of the House of Arius where she grew up. The small flowers in the glass bottle looked fresh, as if preserved by magic.
“Do you know that flower?”
“It’s verbena.”
“Verbena… I see.”
“It means ‘a happy family.’ Whoever gave it to you must really like you, Commander.”
“What?”
Leonard raised his eyebrow sharply. His gaze turned cold, and Cielie hurriedly explained.
“Giving verbena means they want to become family with you.”
“With me?”
“Yes, with you, Commander.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
He kept asking, but soon fell into thought and ignored her.
“I see.”
After reaching some conclusion, Leonard tore the contract he had been writing.
“W-why did you tear it?”
“Thinking about it… things like this should be based on trust.”
“Trust?”
“If we trust each other, we don’t need this, right?”
“But just now you said how could you trust me enough to marry…”
“I trust you.”
“Excuse me?”
“I trust you now.”
It sounded vague, but since he said he trusted her, it was hard for Cielie to argue. Facing his serious eyes, she nervously licked her dry lips.
“Then… you’re marrying me…?”
“Do we just write the marriage oath?”
“Ah, yes. That’s enough.”
Submitting it to the Imperial Palace would definitely cause chaos.
“I’ll submit it to the Palace.”
“What?”
“The oath. I’ll submit it.”
“Ah… understood.”
“Then should we prepare it now?”
“Um… Commander, are you sure we don’t need a separate contract?”
“If we agree and separate later, that’s enough, right?”
“Yes… that’s true.”
Cielie nodded. He was right. They would agree, then separate.
“Then I’ll be in your care for a while.”
“You rely on me quite a lot.”
“I’m always grateful!”
“You haven’t paid rent yet…”
“Ah!”
At his words, Cielie’s eyes darted around. She wanted to pay, but she had no money left until her salary came. Two months ago, she had used all her savings for a deposit at her previous house.
‘Wait… I was completely scammed, wasn’t I?’
She felt angry. If she could find that landlord, she wanted to chase him to the ends of the earth. But working at the Imperial Palace made that difficult. Seeing her eyes turn sharp, Leonard smirked.
“Have you found the landlord?”
“No, not yet.”
She answered through clenched teeth. Then Leonard gave her some good news.
“You know there will be a friendly competition with the neighboring empire soon, right?”
“Yes.”
It was an annual swordsmanship competition held jointly with the neighboring empire.
“If you go there, you might find the landlord who ran away.”
“What?”
“You never thought of that?”
“You’re right…”
“I heard Sir Saha won last year.”
“That’s because I didn’t participate.”
Cielie smiled confidently.
“I’ll participate this time.”
Last year she couldn’t join because she was busy finding a house, but this time was different.
‘I’ll chase him to the end and deal with him.’
Just thinking about it made her smile brightly. Seeing the sharp intent hidden in her smile, Leonard shook his head.
“I’ll prepare the oath.”
“Commander.”
At her low voice, he turned his head. Seeing her serious expression, he waited for her to speak.
“Why are you doing this much for me?”
“What do you mean?”
“You gave me a place to stay, and now marriage…”
“Cielie.”
Leonard cut her off and rubbed his forehead tiredly.
“It’s nothing to give the first floor to my aide.”
“Ah… yes.”
“There are people who even live with their aides.”
“That’s true.”
“As for marriage… well. It doesn’t have to be you.”
He paused, then shrugged.
“But it’s better than looking far away. You don’t seem interested in my position.”
“That’s right!”
“There were families who tried to take that position and disappeared. Did you know that?”
“N-no, I didn’t.”
“Now you do. My brother is very strict about that.”
“I’ll remember that deeply.”
“Then go home first. I’ll bring the oath document later.”
“Yes.”
As Cielie left the office, she suddenly felt something strange.
‘Huh… that conversation felt too… friendly?’
It was the first time she had talked this long with Leonard. And it was also the first time their conversation felt this gentle. Thinking maybe her superior wasn’t as bad as she thought, she walked away lightly.
Everything seemed to be resolving at once.
That evening, Cielie met Leonard knocking on her door.
“Cielie… actually, it would be better if you come to my room.”
Her room was too messy and small for him to sit. Leonard, who came to discuss the oath, immediately stepped out again, and she followed him.
“Cielie.”
“Yes?”
She was startled when he called her name.
“Call me Leonard.”
“Excuse me?”
“My name is Leonard. How long will you keep calling me Commander? Even after we write the oath? No one will believe we’re married.”
“No, that’s not it!”
“Then say it.”
“…What?”
“Is that all you can say?”
Under his pressure, Cielie felt dizzy.
‘O-of course, we’ll be a married couple after the oath… but still!’
She needed time, but Leonard didn’t seem willing to give her any.
“Call my name.”
“L-Leonard?”
“Good.”
He smiled softly. It felt like the surroundings suddenly brightened. His blue eyes looked at her gently, and her heart started beating fast.
She was afraid he might hear it.
The night wind blew through his hair, making him look even more wild and attractive. She noticed his broad shoulders, strong arms, and firm waist.
Her gaze quickly returned to his face. Their eyes met—her light blue eyes and his deep ocean-blue eyes.
For a moment, she could only stare at him.
It reminded her of something from long ago—those sapphire-like eyes she had seen as a child.
“Cielie.”
At his voice, her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest. She clenched her fists tightly.
