Chapter 10

“Become your husband…”

At Diana’s proposal, Alan caught his breath.

That meant, quite simply, that the two of them would become husband and wife.

While he certainly didn’t dislike Diana, that didn’t mean he wanted to take advantage of her.

A seventeen-year age gap.

The responsibilities of being of royal blood.

Was he truly a fitting match for her future? nEvery thought crossing his mind was washed away by the look in Diana’s eyes.

“The Duke of Gazard’s household can protect you.”

Diana’s proposal was undeniably advantageous to Alan.

The Duke of Gazard’s household commanded a mighty knighthood.

In terms of military might, wealth, and even political influence, they stood out far above the rest within the kingdom.

The current Duke of Gazard was an old friend of Alan’s and someone he could confide in without reservation.

Rather than remaining confined within a stifling royal palace where his life was in constant danger, seeking refuge with the Duke of Gazard’s household would undoubtedly guarantee his safety.

Even so, that was entirely from Alan’s perspective alone.

“No… I cannot drag Lady Diana into my own messy circumstances.”

“Lord Alan!!”

As Alan shook his head, Diana raised her voice.

Her pained tone made Alan’s heart ache.

Yet, Diana was still only eighteen years old.

Having just graduated from the academy, a brilliant and shining future awaited her.

He could not possibly bind her life to his own for the sake of his personal circumstances.

“Lady Diana, as for me, I shall be quite all right—”

Mid-sentence, Alan’s voice abruptly faltered.

He had locked eyes directly with Diana as she gazed up at him.

Those large, amethyst-like eyes were wavering.

She was clearly trying desperately to hold back her tears, pressing her pale pink lips tightly together.

──No.

He had repeatedly told himself not to view her as a woman, but this was never the expression he had wanted to bring to her face.

A dull, throbbing pain flared in Alan’s chest.

“…I’m sorry, Lord Alan.”

“Lady Diana?”

At the sudden apology, Alan let out a bewildered sound.

Wasn’t he the one who should be apologizing right now?

Leaving Alan’s confusion behind, Diana continued.

“I am a deceitful person. I used logic and excuses to try and bind you to me. Without ever confirming your true feelings, I was only acting upon my own selfish impulses.”

Unable to make sense of her words, Alan simply stared at Diana in a daze.

The light wavered, and a single tear slipped from her amethyst eyes.

“Even so, my desire for you to keep living will never change.”

“That is…”

She had used logic as an excuse to try and bind him to her.

Did that mean the proposal to become her husband was merely a pretext, and her true feelings lay elsewhere?

Which meant…

“I love you, Lord Alan. I have loved you, always and forever.”

At Diana’s words, Alan’s breath caught in his throat.

It was a confession carrying an overwhelmingly direct outpouring of emotion.

Having his feelings confessed to by such a stunningly beautiful woman whom he had cherished since childhood, he could hardly remain calm.

His heart thudded wildly, and his body temperature surged in an instant.

Even the refreshing breeze brushing against his cheek was far from enough to cool the heat in his body.

“Please, do not give up on living. If it brings you any advantage, I will gladly offer up this body of mine.”

Diana’s voice melted sweetly against his ears.

(Ah, I can no longer turn a blind eye to this…)

Things having reached this point, he had no choice but to admit it.

He was, without a doubt, deeply enamored with this girl seventeen years his junior.

“Please, stand against fate together with me!”

It was a proclamation far more passionate than any standard marriage proposal.

Just how much meaning was packed into those words, Alan had no way of knowing at present.

Yet, he understood more than enough of the profound resolve woven into them.

As Diana let her tears spill freely while keeping her head bowed, the sound of a chair scraping against the floor echoed in her ears.

When she instinctively lifted her gaze, she found Alan crouching right beside her.

“Lady Diana… I am seventeen years your senior. Are you truly certain of this?”

“Of course, I am…”

She gave a soft sniff and steadied her breathing.

To Alan, Diana looked endlessly endearing in that moment.

“I want only you. There is no one else I would ever accept.”

Diana’s words were uncompromisingly straight.

Countering the reasonings trying to hold him back, her feelings pierced straight through his heart.

“To you, I may perhaps seem like nothing more than a child… but I have watched only you, always and forever.”

Alan’s strong, calloused fingers wiped away the tears dampening Diana’s cheek.

Diana’s body gave a slight shiver.

“I knew, you see. I knew that you held affection for me. But I pretended not to notice. Because I could never bring myself to believe I had the right to accept it…”

Words slipped past Alan’s lips.

The feelings he had dammed up until now slowly began to spill over.

Having his affections confessed to with such unwavering honesty, he could no longer turn away.

“I told myself over and over that I must not let myself dwell on you… yet you kept growing into an ever more captivating woman, which quite troubled me. I am not a man of infinite patience, you know.”

“Lord Alan…?”

At Alan’s words, Diana blinked her damp eyes in surprise.

Alan’s hand, pulling away from Diana’s cheek, reached down to take her trembling hand tightly in his own.

“How could I… possibly help falling in love with someone like you?”

“────!”

Alan’s lips brushed against the back of Diana’s hand.

After placing that gentle kiss, his blue-gray eyes gazed steadily up at her.

“Allow me to be the one to say these words… Lady Diana, will you marry me?”

“Lord Alan…!”

Once again, large tears overflowed from Diana’s eyes.

These were not the restrained tears she had shed moments ago.

These were tears of sheer joy, welling up from the very depths of her heart.

“Yes, with all my heart—!”

Alan’s strong arms wrapped around her slender frame and pulled her close.

Held tightly in the arms of the person she adored most, Diana closed her eyes as she leaned against his chest.

“Diana…”

Hearing that sweet voice echo in her ear, she blissfully opened her eyes.

Where her damp gaze fluttered, she found the soft, tender smile of the man she loved.

“Lord Alan…”

A large palm gently cupped Diana’s cheek.

As she slowly closed her eyes, melting into that warmth—

There came the soft, warm sensation of lips touching her own.