Chapter 17
I greeted them just as the Count had taught me, ‘gently and humbly, but without being servile.’
Then, as they suggested, I sat down across from Arthur.
He had neatly arranged chestnut-brown hair and a face with features as straight as though they had been drawn.
His hazel eyes looked ordinary at first glance, but they suited his calm and composed air perfectly.
‘He has the feel of an exemplary husband candidate, doesn’t he?’
He might not be a handsome man who immediately caught the eye like Ash McCallen, but he seemed like the type who would devote himself to his family and society without ever getting involved in anything dangerous or reckless.
I felt sorry for our police officer, but men like this were more popular in the marriage market.
The two chaperoning countesses exchanged meaningless conversation for about ten minutes.
They talked about the weather, how the economy had been lately, and how some acquaintance had gotten engaged.
Around the time I had taken two or three sips of the black tea served before me, they seemed to exchange a glance before cautiously broaching the subject.
“It would seem rather inconsiderate for us old folks to sit around too long while young people are meeting. We should leave first.”
“You’re quite right, Countess. Then, Arthur, do your duty as a gentleman toward Miss Rosalyn. Understood?”
Countess Gottfried earnestly instructed her son, and I followed Arthur to my feet before seeing them off.
At the end, I could almost hear Countess Brough’s voice as she looked back at me and slightly raised her eyebrows.
[You must hold on to Arthur!]
In fact, thanks to the Count and Countess Brough, the marriage already seemed more than halfway decided, but if the man who had spoken with me decided he absolutely did not want it, this marriage proposal would be off the table.
‘If that happens, I don’t think Count Brough will leave me alone.’
Personally, I was more tempted by the idea of living alone in Tessis, but that seemed difficult.
After all, I hadn’t exactly made a peaceful and beautiful exit from <Mulberry>.
Considering that, staying in Herona was safer.
‘They won’t think I’m in the capital.’
So I needed a reason to stay here and a stronger fence to protect me.
A family like the Gottfried viscountcy seemed quite trustworthy.
‘Since things have come this far, I’ll make that man fall for me!’
Was that really something I could accomplish just by deciding to?
Well, it probably was.
As I said before, every member of the <Mulberry> troupe was a criminal.
Among them were quite a few who made a living by seducing the opposite sex and extorting money from them, and I had learned the tricks of seducing someone from them since I was young.
At the time, I had learned them so I could become an attractive leading lady on stage, but in the end, I was using them to seduce someone for money just like they did.
Anyway, I smiled without taking my eyes off him.
It was the same smile I had worn when I played ‘Lavieta,’ the princess of an enemy country who received the knight’s passionate love in the play <The Knight of Schulemann>—a smile mixed with curiosity and fondness, liveliness and caution.
Arthur, who had been stealing glances at me, then spoke.
“I’ve heard a great deal about you. You’re much more beautiful than you looked in the photographs.”
A good start.
To be honest, I had never met a man who wasn’t swayed by this smile.
“You flatter me. You’re even more impressive than I imagined, Young Master.”
“Hearing you say that makes me want to become an even better person, somehow.”
We continued our conversation slowly, maintaining a pleasant sense of tension.
I had worried that sitting there might become uncomfortable, but he took the lead in the conversation while making his companion feel at ease and occasionally slipping in a joke.
About two hours passed.
By focusing on every single word he said in order to figure out his preferences, I learned a few things.
First of all, he was a pacifist in the best sense of the word, or an indecisive man in the worst.
He didn’t seem to have the will to fight for and seize something he wanted.
Perhaps it was because he was so well-off that he didn’t have to.
And he mentioned a ‘childhood friend’ about three times, and I could bet my entire fortune that this friend was a woman.
Still, it was ambiguous to regard it as romantic affection between a man and a woman, so I decided to reserve judgment on that matter for now.
Finally, this man was currently looking down on me as though I were far beneath him.
‘This is only because I’m better than what he expected from Rosalyn. If the real Rosalyn had shown up, this marriage would have fallen through long ago.’
I had roughly anticipated that from the moment I first saw him.
Even when his mother stood up first to greet us, he had only pretended to greet Countess Brough and hadn’t even glanced in my direction.
He was treating me quite gentlemanly now, but who knew?
Perhaps this man had absolutely no intention of marrying me.
If I had been an ordinary, timid noble lady, I might have been offended and sulked at this point.
But I wasn’t a real noble lady, I wasn’t timid, and I had no intention of failing at this negotiation.
I hadn’t lived a life easy enough to give up on my goal over something as trivial as this.
“I really enjoyed today. To be honest, even more than I expected of myself.”
“I’m honored to hear that. I also…… enjoyed it.”
“If that’s the case, would you meet me three more times in the future? I also need something to show that I made an effort commensurate with the consideration Count Brough has shown me, and I think the same applies to you, Young Master. You may meet other ladies while you’re meeting me, I don’t mind.”
It seemed to surprise him that I was suggesting this not because I wanted to meet him, but for the sake of the people who had arranged this meeting.
Arthur’s expression changed slightly.
“Are you suggesting that we deceive the adults?”
“Of course not. I hope that through those three meetings, we can become people who will share a future together.”
If I ended my words there, it wouldn’t be impressive at all.
I added with a regretful smile.
“But even if that doesn’t happen, I mean that I will have no hard feelings toward you, Young Master. A relationship can’t be forced into existence, after all, can it?”
“That’s…… right.”
“That said, I’ll be quite a good conversational partner. I promise that while you’re with me, you’ll have more fun than playing billiards at a gentlemen’s club.”
At my confident declaration, the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward.
Unlike the merely polite smile he had worn until now, this one clearly held ‘curiosity.’
‘People like you need a fresh shock now and then. What do you think? You’re already starting to regret that there are only three meetings with me, aren’t you?’
I would probably be a type of woman he had never met before.
On top of that, I had made a cheeky proposal that an obedient lady would never dare to make.
Still, it wasn’t impolite, I had left room for him to refuse, and the reason behind my proposal was convincing.
So this man would accept my proposal.
“All right.”
As expected, his answer came easily, and I said nothing more, merely smiling sweetly.
That man still wouldn’t know what kind of trap he had just stepped into with that answer.
***
On Ash’s corkboard, after returning from Tessis, there were more notes stuck all over it than before.
He had gained quite a lot from his several-day investigation.
First of all, several facts that differed slightly from what he had known had come to light through the mouths of a few people.
“The Baron and his wife let the young lady do whatever she wanted. But I’m not sure whether they really did it for the young lady’s sake.”
“What do you mean?”
“The two of them had no intention of passing the title on to Miss Rosalyn. So they said they would let her do whatever she wanted until she got married…….”
The head maid who had worked at the baronial residence before quitting smoothly revealed a story she might have happened to overhear—or perhaps eavesdropped on.
According to her, the Baron and his wife had intended to sell off the title for a large sum of money.
Their coming to Herona was ostensibly because of Rosalyn’s marriage, but their true purpose had been to find someone willing to buy the title.
“If someone offered them a generous price, they intended to adopt that family’s son, register him in the family register, and then transfer the title to him early. They probably intended to pass the young lady off as the second wife of an old nobleman. Otherwise, it would be difficult to marry her off.”
The words struck me with a sudden realization.
The families trying to arrange a marriage with Rosalyn would also be calculating that they should offer an amount of money commensurate with receiving the title along with her.
But that money would ultimately belong to Rosalyn and the man who became her husband.
Even if the Baron himself could use some of it, he would clearly have to be quite mindful of his son-in-law and his in-laws when spending the money.
The reason the other family would give such a large sum was because it would become their son’s property, after all.
‘The Baron wanted money he could have complete control over.’
If so, could it be that Rosalyn, who only learned the Baron’s true intentions after coming to Herona, lost control of her anger for a moment and set the place on fire?
