Chapter 16

“Are you truly certain about this?”

“I’m more than okay with it. As long as you’re alright with it, Lord Nazelbert… Ah, but I suppose getting married to the ‘Potato Lady’ is the last thing you want. I understand; I’ve spent my life being avoided by the opposite sex, after all.”

“…Lady Agnes?”

“Of course, a sham marriage or a white marriage would be perfectly fine. We might not be able to avoid the wedding since it’s an order from His Majesty, but if a woman you truly care for ever appears, please let me know. I’ll step aside without a fuss.”

Lord Nazelbert was the benefactor who had picked me up, so I absolutely didn’t want to do anything that would trouble him.

“No, rather than marrying Princess Mia, marrying you…”

Lord Nazelbert began muttering something in a small voice. I couldn’t quite catch it, though.

Well, whatever…

“Brother, let me go with you. Father and the others are wrong.”

Perhaps sparked by my desire to go, Lord Julian began to plead his case for the frontier in a serious tone.

“No, Julian. What about Mother? Do you intend to leave her all alone in this house?”

“That’s…”

Biting his lip, Lord Julian fell into a troubled silence.

“I can no longer remain in the House of Florescrus. Julian, I’m counting on you to look after Mother.”

Though Lord Julian looked frustrated and clearly dissatisfied, he gave a silent nod to his brother’s words.

“Julian, could you go check on Father and our eldest brother? They should have received word about the documents by now.”

“A-Alright.”

Once he confirmed his younger brother had left the room, Lord Nazelbert turned toward me and dropped to one knee.

Then, he took my hand in his, enveloping it gently as he spoke.

“In that case, Lady Agnes.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Will you marry me?”

“…!!”

For a moment, my thoughts ground to a halt.

A few seconds later, once the meaning of his words finally registered, I stared wide-eyed at Nazelbert and shrieked.

“A proposal?! Was that a proposal just now?!”

I was completely losing my cool.

However, Nazelbert addressed me with an expression of utmost sincerity.

“It was, Lady Agnes. I want you to marry me and come to the frontier with me.”

So that was why he sent Lord Julian away and cleared the room…

In any case, I had only one answer.

“Yes, a sham marriage, then. I’ll go with you.”

When I gave my response, Nazelbert looked dissatisfied.

“No. If we go through with a sham marriage, the one who will suffer after it’s dissolved is the woman. This time, you really would have nowhere left to go. I don’t want to do anything that would leave people pointing fingers at you. If you don’t find it disagreeable, let’s have a proper marriage.”

“Lord Nazelbert…”

Wasn’t he just a bit too nice?

I was actually starting to get a little worried…

“Lady Agnes, will you accept my proposal?”

“O-Of course. But are you sure you won’t regret this, Lord Nazelbert?! I’m someone who doesn’t even come close to the Princess’s level!”

“Regret? There’s no way I would. If anything, I’m relieved that I get to marry you instead of Princess Mia.”

Nazelbert then placed his hands on my shoulders.

“This may be a marriage by command, but regardless of that, I want to treasure you. To be honest, I might put you through some hardships out on the frontier, but…”

“Bring it on!”

Nazelbert’s beautiful face was so close that I didn’t even know what I was saying anymore.

Marrying someone this wonderful… I felt like I was going to have a nosebleed.

For a fleeting moment, Nazelbert looked happy, but I was probably just imagining things. I mustn’t get ahead of myself.

I felt like he was getting closer and closer, but surely that was just my imagination too…

But then, something soft touched my forehead, and I snapped back to reality.

—It wasn’t an illusion, he really was getting closer! And just now… was that… a k-k-k-k-kiss?!

“Um, uh, Lord Nazelbert…”

In response to my flustered stammering, Nazelbert wore a smile that was gentle yet surprisingly assertive.

“I’ll be in your care from now on.”

“The pleasure is mine, I look forward to working with chew.”

I was so nervous I bit my tongue. It was incredibly embarrassing.

Not appearing to mind in the slightest, Lord Nazelbert released my hands with a somewhat satisfied look.

And so, my marriage to Lord Nazelbert was officially set in stone.