Chapter 19

Chapter 19

As expected, the ring Irenea had prepared fit his finger perfectly.

Struck anew by how strange that was, Leonard gazed down at his left hand, and Irenea pressed the remaining ring into his palm.

“Now you have to put one on my hand too.”

The hand spread out before Leonard’s eyes could not have been more self-assured.

With a huff of a laugh, he gently took hold of Irenea’s fingertips and slid the ring onto the ring finger of her left hand.

As if to prove its worth, the vermilion gem sparkled beautifully in the light, but it could not shine as dazzlingly as Irenea’s eyes.

“Sir Leonard, may I kiss you to celebrate our engagement?”

“Pardon?”

“You just said yes, didn’t you?”

Before he could even ask whether there had been a question mark at the end of that, Irenea’s slender arms wound around his neck.

If he had wanted to pull them off, he could have.

But how could he lay a hand on arms so thin they looked as though a tap would snap them?

Even as he watched Irenea’s face draw closer, all Leonard could do was squeeze his eyes shut.

With the feel of soft flesh pressing plushly against his lips, a lovely fragrance seeped into the tip of his nose.

Leonard’s hand twitched for a moment, and when he realized he had very nearly wrapped his arms around Irenea’s back, he startled and hunched his shoulders.

Did she take that for embarrassment?

Irenea drew her lips away and smiled playfully.

“This time I took it properly, Sir Leonard’s first kiss.”

“…That was it just now?”

“Oh my, may I make it a deeper one?”

“No, no. That was a slip of the tongue.”

His face felt as if it were on fire.

Leonard hurriedly shook his head and pressed his teeth into his lower lip.

It had passed so quickly that he couldn’t feel he had actually kissed anyone.

Without realizing it, Leonard drew a deep breath, as if trying to savor again the scent he had caught a moment ago.

“Now then, you have your sword back too. Since we’ve become a true couple, I’ll call you Ray from now on. That’s all right, isn’t it?”

“Do as you like.”

He didn’t bother to say that it was far easier on the ears than “darling.”

Because he suspected that if he did, she would start calling him darling.

“And from now on, Ray, please call me Lin.”

“Lin?”

“On informal occasions I use the alias Linia. That name is a little more familiar to me.”

Once more, a faint longing settled over Irenea’s smile.

All at once, Leonard realized something.

What was mixed into that longing was a tender ache for someone she could never see again.

‘Could it be… that the person she truly loved is already dead?’

Perhaps I was chosen because I resemble that person.

“Ray? What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

Rather than voice the question, Leonard shook his head.

“By the way, what happens if the terms of the pledge are broken?”

“Oh my, you signed without reading it properly. It’s written right there. If you break even one of the terms, you can’t claim your bodily freedom even if the other party confines you.”

“…What? Confines me?”

Leonard’s face colored with bewilderment, since he had been picturing something sensible, like returning the betrothal money.

“That’s right. If you show even the slightest sign of being friendly with another woman, you’ll be confined to the sunniest bedroom in this mansion, living a confined life with three meals a day, complete with snacks and tea time, and only one hour of walking time per day.”

…Isn’t that actually quite nice?

It was such an enticing condition that on days when life grew tiring and exhausting, he might even think it was fine to try seeing another woman.

Irenea, utterly unaware of what Leonard was thinking, took a fresh document out of the drawer and brought it over.

“Here, it’s the same document you signed earlier. Read it through again, nice and slowly.”

Just as Irenea had said, the last section of the document stated that, in case of a breach, one had to submit obediently to being confined by the other party.

There would be confinement, but nothing said the limbs would be bound.

On top of that, family members would even be allowed to visit.

‘I think she has the wrong idea about what confinement means.’

If confinement were this comfortable and peaceful, wouldn’t everyone be clamoring to be confined?

Surely the other clauses weren’t like this too.

Worried on her behalf, Leonard finally examined the contents closely.

Sure enough, there wasn’t a single item unfavorable to him.

He had signed at once without reading every clause as an expression of trust, to repay the sincerity Irenea had shown, but the terms were so lopsided that he wondered whether that gesture had meant anything at all.

“Will the Marquis Consort be given a private allowance as well?”

“Of course. A separate sum is set aside for maintaining your dignity, so don’t buy clothes or accessories on your own; call the steward and have him handle it.”

The more he listened, the more it felt as though she was itching to give him money and couldn’t manage to.

By contrast, what he had to do was hardly anything.

Just keep his fidelity and chastity as her fiancé, more or less?

“Is there nothing you want from me? Normally it’s out of the question to add items after the signing is done, but if there’s something you want, I’ll add it.”

“There isn’t.”

What on earth was she planning to do for him beyond this?

If the other party hadn’t been Marchioness Blair, Leonard would have seriously taken her by the shoulders and talked some sense into her.

At this rate, you could lose your entire fortune in an instant.

“Really nothing? This is your last chance, so think it over.”

“Truly, nothing. According to this pledge, we will live as husband and wife for the rest of our lives, and you will bear only my children, won’t you?”

“Lin.”

So that’s the part she picked up on right away.

Wondering whether everything else was truly fine with her, Leonard studied Irenea’s expression and said it again.

“Lin will bear only my children, won’t you?”

“Naturally. There won’t be any other man in my life but you.”

There won’t be? Did she mean there was no longer one in this world?

“…That is enough for me.”

If there was one thing Leonard had resolved in his life, it was never to produce a bastard as his own father had.

Nor would he sell off a child like a piece of merchandise.

That was why he had never been with a woman until now.

Extremely rare for a mercenary, he was a believer in saving himself for marriage.

“Then when shall we hold the wedding? I’d like to do it as soon as possible.”

“Whenever suits you.”

“Would a month from now be all right?”

A month?

Leonard, who had been about to nod without much thought, froze.

“A month? Is it even possible to marry that quickly?”

“Of course! All you need to do is show up. I’ll take care of everything else. And…”

Just then, someone knocked on the door of the reception room.

Irenea’s brow furrowed at being interrupted at such an important moment.

—Marchioness, a messenger has arrived from the imperial palace.

“From the palace?”

But she had no choice but to smooth her expression, because the messenger from the palace had brought the Emperor’s summons to appear at court at once.

“Ah… So I’m being called in after all.”

No matter how much of an emperor she was, she would not summon someone on the very same day for just any matter.

Which meant that Irenea being called now was no ordinary affair.

The one consolation was that nowhere on her face, as she sighed as if it were a nuisance, was there any sign of trouble.

Thanks to that, Leonard was able to ask Irenea.

“Do you have any idea why Her Majesty summoned you?”

“Hmm, probably.”

Irenea avoided giving a precise answer, but somehow Leonard thought he knew.

“It’s because of me.”

“How could I presume to guess Her Majesty’s intentions… But if we’re assigning blame, it isn’t your fault but the Second Prince’s, for playing a nasty trick on you, isn’t it?”

So she had indeed known about the deal that had passed between him and the Second Prince.

By now, it hardly even surprised him that she knew.

Leonard simply looked at Irenea and spoke in a worried voice.

“Lin, please don’t go and offend Her Majesty on my account.”

“Oh my, are you worried about me just now?”

“Would I not be? You’re being dragged off to the palace at such an early hour.”

“Don’t worry. Your fiancée is far more adored by Her Majesty than you think. Just watch. I’ll go and give that wastrel a thorough scolding.”

Whether it was early morning or late at night, when the Emperor said to come at once, there was no room to dawdle.

As Irenea rose from her seat, saying they could talk about the important matters later, Leonard offered her his arm.

“Then I will escort you to the palace.”

“Really?”

Even as she asked, Irenea had already placed her hand on Leonard’s arm.

Leonard looked at the hand resting on his arm as if to ask what the point of asking was.

Irenea pretended not to catch the meaning of that look and smiled slyly.

“Once we live together, Ray will escort me like this often, won’t he? How lovely.”

“Yes, well… A month from now, that will be the case.”

“Oh my, a month from now?”

At Irenea’s puzzled voice, it was Leonard who became even more puzzled.

“Didn’t you say we would marry a month from now?”

“Hmm? You didn’t read it properly to the end?”

Irenea opened the second page of the pledge Leonard held and kindly pointed to a certain passage.

[ Upon signing this pledge, Irenea Blair and Leonard Elpiers shall immediately become engaged, and for the sake of a happy and healthy married life, the two shall each receive bridal lessons and groom lessons.

As these lessons are conducted at the Blair residence, Leonard must move into and live at the Blair residence until the wedding ceremony.

Should urgent business make it unavoidable for him to be unable to come to the Blair residence, he must seek Irenea Blair’s understanding in advance. ]

“…Groom lessons?”

“Your room is already prepared. All you have to do is move in.”

His room was already prepared, she said.

Leonard imagined what would have happened had he refused to sign the pledge to the very end, and found himself laughing helplessly.

Because no matter how he thought about it, he doubted he could have held out against this woman until the end.

“What exactly does one learn in these groom lessons?”

“Hmm, what will you learn? Be patient, even if you’re curious. We start first thing tomorrow.”

Why did Irenea’s giggling face seem more frightening than his teacher’s face on the day he had first taught Leonard the sword?

Still, it wasn’t something he would be doing alone but together, so surely it would be fine?

Leonard thought so, easy in his mind.