Chapter 17
—
Feeling the impressive chest muscles, I couldn’t help but ask.
Kaiden shook his head and set me upright properly.
“Are your feet okay?”
“Yes. Luckily, I don’t think I sprained anything. These damn shoes.”
As I yanked off my shoes, Kaiden frowned.
“The night air is cold. Your feet will get chilly.”
“Still not as cold as Baltstein.”
I shrugged. Kaiden stared at me for a moment before unhesitatingly taking off his cloak.
“Your Grace?”
Kaiden draped the cloak over my shoulders and said.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
“What?!”
He swiftly lifted me into a princess carry—again!
“Put me down!”
As I squirmed, Kaiden frowned and said.
“Marion. Help me out a bit.”
His unexpected words made me stop struggling.
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“My grandfather is looking for me.”
“Oh.”
Kaiden’s grandfather, ‘Leopold Baltstein,’ the former grand duke, had been pressuring Kaiden to get married for the past year.
You could tell just by the fact that Kaiden had gone on over twenty arranged marriage meetings in that time.
“But what does helping you have to do with carrying me like this?”
When I asked, Kaiden said with a stern face.
“You just sprained your ankle.”
“What?”
“It’s a superior’s duty to take care of an injured subordinate.”
“Oh, right…”
I could feel his determination to avoid returning to the banquet hall at all costs. So I was curious.
“What on earth happened at the banquet?”
Kaiden’s face suddenly looked haggard.
* * *
When Marion went off to dance with the crown prince, Kaiden looked down at his empty hands, feeling an inexplicable emptiness in his chest. Even he couldn’t understand the sensation.
At that moment, a chilling voice came from behind.
“Kaiden.”
“…Greetings, Grandfather.”
Kaiden’s grandfather, Leopold, the former grand duke staying at the Baltstein estate in the capital, was staring at Kaiden with a terrifying look.
As soon as he appeared, the nobles lingering around Kaiden backed away.
Even they found the presence of the old warrior, who had dominated an era, intimidating.
Moreover, Leopold was known for being strict and having a prickly personality.
“You went and ruined the arranged meeting with Princess Serena, didn’t you?”
“She’s not a good match age-wise.”
“Nonsense! Are you insulting all the men in the world who’ve taken younger brides?”
“Don’t they deserve a bit of criticism?”
Leopold, visibly furious, grabbed the back of his neck and shouted.
“Do you know what rumors are going around in the capital? They say you, past twenty-eight, have never once been on a date with a woman!”
“That’s true.”
“There’s even a rumor that you’re impotent!”
“Gasp!”
The surrounding nobles gasped.
For Leopold, this must have been infuriating.
The sole heir of Baltstein, impotent!
It was a matter of pride. The Baltstein name could not be tarnished.
Kaiden calmly responded.
“That’s not true.”
“Of course it isn’t! I’ll personally make sure those rude bastards spreading such rumors become impotent themselves!”
At his roar, the men around subtly moved their hands to cover their lower abdomens.
Kaiden felt a headache coming on. While he was arguing with Leopold, he noticed Marion, who had finished the first dance, looking around the hall.
He needed to check on Marion, but Leopold showed no signs of letting him go.
His instincts were spot-on.
“Krenky.”
Leopold called his secretary.
A lean, agile man with black hair respectfully handed Leopold a rolled-up piece of paper.
Leopold unfurled it. The paper, longer than expected, unrolled with a rustle.
“From today until the banquet ends in a month, this is the list of women you’ll meet for arranged marriages.”
Kaiden wanted to flee the scene immediately.
* * *
“Pfft!”
I burst into hearty laughter, and Kaiden responded with a dour expression.
“I wish I could laugh like that.”
“Your grandfather is seriously amazing!”
While I laughed, Kaiden carefully set me down on a chair.
We were now in the imperial garden. He had carried me all the way here.
Whenever we passed servants who asked what was going on in surprise, I told them I’d sprained my leg and the grand duke was helping me.
That should reach the former grand duke’s ears.
“But, Your Grace.”
“What?”
“Have you really never been on a date?”
At my question, Kaiden nodded, completely unashamed.
“Not a single woman has caught your interest in your entire life?”
“Nope.”
“Hmm. Not even among the women who showed interest in you first?”
“Nope.”
Why was that?
Objectively speaking, Kaiden was handsome, wealthy, capable, and even from a great family—the perfect marriage candidate.
Yet he had no interest in women. Could it be…
“You prefer men…?”
When I cautiously asked, Kaiden furrowed his brows.
“Nonsense.”
“I know, I know.”
I laughed but felt a bittersweet pang.
As expected, was Kaiden only interested in the female lead, Stella?
But Stella was destined to end up with the second prince, Lucas. If that’s the case, our grand duke might truly grow old and die alone…
“I want to marry a woman I love.”
“What?”
“And I’d like it if that woman loved me too.”
Kaiden was staring at me intently. I looked back at him, thinking to myself.
‘What do I do… He’s way more of a romantic than I thought.’
Stella doesn’t love Kaiden.
He’ll probably spend his life gazing at Stella’s back, growing old alone. As a swordmaster, he’ll live longer than most, so his lonely days will be long.
Feeling sympathetic, I offered some advice.
“But you have to meet someone to fall in love, don’t you?”
“My father fell in love with my mother at first sight.”
“Oh…”
I let out a sympathetic sigh.
It was a famous story that Kaiden’s father, ‘Bastian Baltstein,’ fell in love at first sight with Kaiden’s mother, ‘Lilian Nox,’ and courted her.
Their statuses were perfectly matched, so they were able to marry quickly. However, Lilian, from the south, was frail and struggled with the harsh northern cold.
After giving birth to Kaiden, her health deteriorated, and she went to her family’s estate in the south, Nox, to recover.
Heartbroken and wasting away without her, Bastian eventually couldn’t stand it, packed his bags, and moved to the south to live with her.
The problem was that this was before he inherited the grand ducal title. It was only natural that Leopold was furious.
“The title succession is right around the corner!”
“I don’t need any of it! What’s the point of a title without my love, Lilian, by my side? Pass it on to Kaiden when he’s grown!”
“You ungrateful wretch!”
And so, despite both his parents being very much alive, Kaiden was raised by his grandfather from the age of five.
Not that his relationship with his parents was strained. He kept in touch through magical communication devices and visited them in the south using teleportation circles.
In any case, Kaiden grew up watching his parents’ love-filled relationship.
“Environment really matters…”
When I muttered, Kaiden looked at me, as if wondering what I meant.
I looked at him with pity and spoke.
“Love at first sight is great. It’s great, but…”
“What.”
“The odds aren’t exactly in its favor. There’s a reason people say you meet good people by meeting lots of people.”
“That doesn’t suit me.”
I barely held back a sigh that threatened to escape.
Normally, Kaiden was stoic and mercilessly cut down magical beasts, but in moments like this, you could tell he was raised as a noble’s son.
No, it’s not just any noble—it’s the fault of Kaiden’s specific environment.
“What’s your ideal type, Your Grace?”
“Someone I love.”
I had a feeling asking further would just lead us in circles.
With a look that said, ‘Fine, do whatever you want,’ I shook my head.
Kaiden, who had been staring at me, slowly spoke.
“What about you?”
“Huh?”
“What’s your ideal type?”
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By Anna 💓
