Chapter : 97
The first to react to those words was Sasha.
“Is it perhaps because it’s too awkward for you to reject them directly? Should I cast a curse on your behalf to break it off? I can at least make them roll around in their own vomit… a little, anyway…”
“Don’t. Do we really want to start a feud between our houses?”
“But… it’s too much.”
Because Emil had always taken such good care of us, Sasha naturally felt a certain affection for him. There was probably also a sense of solidarity in being treated like a discarded, unworthy heir.
Ruska then seriously tried to dissuade Emil.
“There’s absolutely no need to entertain such an absurd proposal. I imagine Aunt Audrey would be upset about this too.”
“She did get a little upset at first. But she said it would be fine to meet, so…”
“…Aunt said that?”
“Yeah. There’s no need to confront the Deldomoss family aggressively. Meeting and finishing things smoothly seems better.”
While the others talked, I stayed silent, observing Emil.
So calm, so seemingly unbothered.
Every emotion strictly restrained.
To my eyes, it all looked strangely foreign.
I slowly spoke my opinion.
“Are we planning to meet and then reject them? Depending on the situation, that could be more rude. Isn’t it cleaner to just say from the start that you have no intention of an engagement, rather than meeting them and finding them disappointing?”
“Calmia is right. Deldomoss crossed the line first, so there’s no reason for us to go easy on them.”
As we spoke passionately, Emil blinked and then smiled faintly.
“Who knows? Maybe after meeting, I’d find them unexpectedly agreeable and want to accept the engagement?”
“What…?”
“Just joking. Mother already sent a reply, so it’s not like I can back out now.”
I was about to say something like, ‘Should I consult Grandpa since this is a family matter…’ but I stopped myself.
After all, the main house of Maitenze in Halrolren doesn’t pay much attention to individual heirs. Unless this is like the Roten incident where they underestimated the entire family, this is a personal insult aimed solely at Emil.
And since Aunt already sent a reply, she probably reported it to Grandpa first.
Grandpa would just watch how things unfold.
“Don’t take it too seriously. Even though they call it a formal meeting, it probably won’t be as grand as everyone imagines. Nobles usually just have young members visit and socialize, right?”
Since both of them weren’t fully adults yet, Deldomoss seemed to have proposed a casual tea gathering for them. The intention was for them to naturally get to know each other as friends, and then perhaps handle the engagement talk smoothly.
Deldomoss, making a backdoor escape route for themselves… that’s infuriating.
Yet hearing that, I actually saw multiple opportunities in it.
I lifted my head.
“So the main goal of Deldomoss is just to make friends for their precious heir?”
“Mm, officially, yes.”
“Then let’s all go.”
“…What?”
“Me, Sasha, and Ruska. All of us. Let’s go together.”
In a dark tone, I grabbed Sasha and Ruska by the wrists and pulled them along.
“They said they want to make friends, right? They want to attach Halrolren’s heir to their granddaughter? If we all join this ‘group meeting,’ they’ll have more options too, right? Let them pick. If that’s possible, of course.”
Hearing this, Sasha immediately beamed.
“Oh, that’s perfect. I’ll write to Deldomoss as soon as we return. Since Emil will visit, I’ll tell them we’re going too. Please take care of us.”
“W-wait…”
“Yeah. I’ll write too. No matter if my father opposes, we’re definitely going.”
Ruska nodded, showing firm resolve.
“No… there’s no real reason to do that. And Calmia, you’re a girl. Why would you attend a matchmaking meeting?”
“Deldomoss might want a female son-in-law. Why are you so rigid?”
“Oh, really!”
Emil made a face as if exasperated but eventually let out a bitter laugh.
Whether it was a matchmaking meeting or not, our determination to make a scene together against this ridiculous and insulting proposal was probably what amused him. Since they insulted us, we would trivialize their marriage proposal as if it were child’s play.
Even if it’s not a matchmaking meeting, this works perfectly.
We needed a reason to visit Deldomoss’s mansion for our plan to prevent the dungeon burst. Now we had the perfect excuse.
But the most important thing…
was Emil’s current state of mind.
I grabbed his collar tightly.
After the conversation ended, Sasha and Ruska went back to their rooms to send letters immediately.
“Hey, Calmia.”
“Yeah?”
“You deliberately brought Sasha and me along, right? Sorry for worrying you, and thank you. I guess you were pretty concerned.”
With only the three of us remaining, Emil naturally expressed his apology and gratitude.
He was always like that. Even though he was the one most confused and upset, he tried to calmly resolve the situation so that the others wouldn’t overreact.
Emil’s tendency to care for others wasn’t bad—it was a virtue.
But all the signs I observed today confirmed that this tendency wasn’t helping in this situation.
“Emil.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you busy?”
He widened his eyes at my question, then forced a smile.
“Hmm, sorry. I was planning to check some notes for my research using books I borrowed from the library.”
A polite refusal. He probably sensed that I wanted to talk and gently blocked it in advance.
It’s usually impolite to interrupt someone’s magical research.
But I didn’t care.
“Even if you’re busy, you’ll have to endure it. Life has things more important than research. Can’t be helped. Let’s go.”
“What?”
“Let’s go.”
I grabbed his hand firmly and started walking. Eventually, Emil gave in to my insistence.
“Here, drink this.”
In my private reception room at the Blackstone Hall, I handed him a cup of hot cocoa and plopped down beside him.
With Dad in the lab and the rest of the house quiet, it was peaceful.
Emil fiddled with the surface of the mug before speaking.
“Calmia. I understand why you called me.”
“…”
“You probably saw that I was upset about this situation but didn’t show it, so you were worried, right?”
“…”
“Of course, I was a little down, being human. But I’ve settled myself, and it’s not significant enough to talk about separately.”
His hair caught the afternoon sunlight, faintly shining.
Due to the backlight, shadows fell across his perfectly refined expression.
From the first time I met him as a child five years ago, Emil had always seemed mature.
But now, it was on a whole different level.
Childhood Emil had flaws, forced smiles, and showed signs of struggle.
But now… it wasn’t just being ‘mature,’ he had truly become an adult.
I felt a wall between us.
I thought I was close to Emil.
We had spent five years laughing and talking together.
I hoped it was just an illusion.
I hoped he had grown strong enough that this kind of thing seemed trivial and amusing, not serious.
Not hiding his true feelings from me.
Swallowing my complicated emotions, I spoke directly.
“Brother.”
Using a title I rarely spoke, Emil’s eyes widened immediately.
I seized that moment, and with a sentence sharpened like a blade, I dissected him.
“Aunt Audrey told you to give up being the main heir and become a son-in-law, right?”
“…”
At that moment, Emil’s perfectly composed expression completely collapsed.
