C9
"You're not going to... What?"
Belreck, who was puzzled with an expression as if he had been struck, laughed as if he had concluded that my words were a joke.
"Your skills at making me angry are improving. If it's a joke, it's not funny."
"It's not a joke."
"Deborah, don't talk nonsense. Declaring that you're abandoning the duty of noble ladies. Are you insane, or are you really going to enter a monastery?"
...
When the word "monastery," which she unconditionally wanted to avoid, came out of her mouth, her heart pounded heavily.
"Mind your manners. That means stopping humiliating your family."
As the vassals approached Belreck, who was angrily grumbling, from behind, I clicked my tongue and took a step back.
"Let's talk again later."
"I have nothing to say."
I replied with trembling hands.
"Even if you don't want to, you will. And as your older brother, I sincerely advise you to give up on Philap Montes."
...
"Louie Gargell is good enough. He comes from a wealthy family; you'll thank me later."
Belreck patted my shoulder lightly with a smile.
"Aren't you past the age of having only what you want?"
He said only what he wanted to say, and then quickly walked away.
"Monastery..."
I stood there for a while, distracted, pushing against my temples, which were beginning to throb.
------------------
After the discussion with Belreck, I was in a state of panic for a while. I never imagined that Belreck Seymour would show up and pressure me into marriage.
It was a grave situation because Belreck's voice and influence in the family couldn't even be compared to mine, a princess.
"I'm going crazy."
Deborah turns 19 this year.
If she makes her debut this fall, she'll be old enough to get married; so if things continue this way, she'll marry Louie Gargell...
"I'm doomed."
There was such a terrible setup hidden in the novel.
That's why Deborah harassed the heroine even more.
Deborah was intoxicated with her own pride, so there was no way some random Gargell from a count's family would catch her attention.
Even the Prince of the Montes family, whom she had had her eye on for a long time, clung to a woman from an unknown family.
Every time she saw Mia, she couldn't help but get angry.
"Oh my God!"
I'm getting angry too.
I don't even want to date a thug like Kim Han Joon, but I can't believe I'm going to marry a pervert.
This is complete nonsense.
Somehow it was going too well.
Feeling frustrated and resentful, I punched the soft pillow as if it were a sandbag.
I naively thought that I could avoid going to the monastery if I didn't do anything bad to the heroine, and so I could continue living her life.
"Wait a moment."
I, who had been lying face down with messy hair, jumped up and called the maid who had brought the tea.
"Yes, Princess."
The maid quickly placed the tray down and prostrated herself with a pale and terrified face.
"What happens when the daughter of a noble family doesn't want to go through with her arranged marriage? I suddenly got curious, and I'm going crazy."
The maid's complexion grew even paler as I pulled at my hair. Naturally, a crazy person is scarier than a bad one.
"I-I'm sorry, but there's no such case..."
"Use your imagination."
"If she doesn't get married..."
The maid's desperate words followed.
If she doesn't get married, she won't be able to take the surname, so naturally, she'll be stripped of her title, expelled from aristocracy, and sent to a monastery.
"I'm going crazy. How is this any different from the original ending?"
Was her fate supposed to be a monastery?
Now I know why Belreck was so astonished by my announcement of no marriage.
It really did sound like nonsense.
Feeling bewildered, I pressed the maid again, desperate.
"That's strange. Why hasn't anyone refused to get married? You can push someone you don't want into your family to get married."
It's where people live, and there can be no exceptions.
"Isn't there an exceptional case? I'm curious. I can't sleep when I'm curious. Will you be responsible if I can't sleep?"
I stubbornly questioned while developing my logic.
I thought something would come out if I pressured her.
Thanks to the original novel, I knew how well-informed the maids were about high society news. Noble servants were nothing less than a nest of rumors.
One of their most enjoyable pastimes was gathering during breaks to discuss all sorts of high society gossip.
"Think about it until you come up with something."
While I glared at her fiercely, not letting her go until she answered, the sweating maid worked her brain and quickly spoke.
"Oh! There was a noble lady who fell in love with a commoner mercenary and eloped."
"And?"
"The issue was resolved when she received a noble title. She was a Class 6 witch. I heard that in the war, she made a significant contribution with her husband, the leader of the mercenaries, and seized another country's territory."
"Are you saying you can receive a title by distinguishing yourself in war?"
"Yes."
Ah~ I see.
If I want to live on my terms, I have to go to war and seize the territory I want to rule.
Damn it, that's easy to say. I can't handle mana, let alone Class 6...
Drowning in a swamp of deepening despair, a fragment of memory related to titles suddenly came to mind.
There was a family that Deborah despised for having no roots, and that was because the previous head of the family had bought the nobility title from a bankrupt family.
"Even if you don't go to war, you can buy a title with money!"
What if I buy a title myself and start a family?
I won't have to marry a Thompson or something like that.
If I'm the head of the family, who would dare argue that I should get married?
"If you buy a title, you won't be subject to that, right?"
The maid hesitated to answer.
"T-That's correct, but even the price of the lowest baron title is astronomical."
No matter how expensive it was, it was a much more promising story than going to war.
"How much does it cost?"
"I don't know. I'm really sorry."
Well, it's not common to buy a title, and she can't know the details.
"Get out. I'm sleepy."
I let the frightened maid out of the room. Then, I jumped out of bed instantly.
First, let's assess the situation of my possessions.
"Wow...
There are so many. What kind of dragon is that?"
Seeing the numerous boxes of jewelry and the amount of jewelry inside that belonged to Deborah, I couldn't help but be amazed.
Deborah possessed as many jewels and dowries as most families.
How extravagant have you been? I'm grateful.
Thanks to the heap of jewelry in my hands, I could at least regain my stability.
"There are also many jewels in the dresses."
It might be possible to buy a title by creating a secret fund while exploiting Seymour's infrastructure as much as possible.
The issue is the time.
"Wouldn't it be possible to delay the marriage for two to three years, considering the marriageable age?"
On average, noble ladies here married between the ages of nineteen and twenty-two.
It's fortunate that the marriageable age is two years later than when the country was founded, due to the increasing number of noble ladies completing advanced courses at the Academy.
"Fortunately, I'm also attending the Academy."
If I postpone marriage and save money in the meantime to buy the title, theoretically, there should be no problem...
"No way, the family head won't switch to Belreck before I buy the title, right?"
I immediately shook my head.
Because Duke Seymour is the only Class 7 magician in the empire, he wields great influence in the Magicians Association.
Furthermore, the youngest, Enrique Seymour, is so young that he won't be able to hand over the position so quickly.
Still, there might be a variable. The smartest way was to save money as quickly as possible and buy a title.
In the end, even here, money is everything.
As I tried to figure out how to accumulate gold coins, a knocking sound was heard. The Duke was standing outside the study.
"Are you here?"
I quickly put my notebook in the drawer and got up.
"Don't tell me you're studying... Did I interrupt you?"
The Duke looked at me with very strange eyes.
Deborah rarely used the study, so her reaction wasn't incomprehensible.
"Yes. I'll have them prepare tea and refreshments."
"Yes."
In the living room next to the study, I sat across from the Duke.
He remained silent, and I had nothing to say, so a heavy silence filled the room.
"I'm suffocating."
I moved my hands, put a lump of sugar in my tea, and spoke.
"I'll give you the letter when I return."
Upon my words, the Duke let out a small sigh.
"I'm not here to receive a letter today."
"T-then, are you going to tell me to get married?" I patiently waited for the next words.
"Deborah, the poem you recited. Can you read it again sometime?"
The Duke's words were completely unexpected.
"I'll read it to you every time the white flowers are in full bloom, and it's snowing heavily."
I hinted at my intention to stay in the Seymour house for a long time. However, the Duke continued to sip his tea with indifferent eyes.
"Of course, it's not easy."
I clicked my tongue and picked up a cookie.
"Anyway, he's a prolific poet, so it must have been difficult to find the poem in the letter, but you did it. The letter didn't even contain the title of the poem; it must have taken you some time."
It didn't take as long as the Duke probably thought.
In Korea, people practice their ability to grasp the main points of poems for university entrance exams...
There's no way to explain this.
"I was lucky."
"Lucky. I think you've been trying to be careful with your manners lately, but excessive modesty is not good, Deborah. It's the same as simply declining."
"..."
"I really mean it when I say I want to give you what you want. I sense the sincerity behind your words that you want to be the connection between Marien and me. I'm not trying to test you, so feel free to say anything."
He was telling me to say what I wanted with such seriousness that it felt foolish to keep refusing.
I've never asked for anything in my life, so I felt nervous about it.
I moistened my dry lips once.
"In that case..."