Chapter 09
He was probably only flustered because he didn’t expect me to reject him so quickly. As I was thinking that, the young lord of Madros lifted his head.
What now?
He bit his lip and looked straight at me. I started feeling confused when I saw the strange look in his eyes—like he had just made a huge life decision.
“Lady Lefevre.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sure you know the marriage proposal I brought wasn’t really my idea.”
“…?”
So what?
I tilted my head slightly, but his face looked too serious. Like he’d suddenly decided to risk everything.
“I’ve never really seen you properly before today, Lady. But now that I have… I realized something. Please, don’t doubt my sincerity. I… fell in love with you at first sight.”
“…What?”
“I mean it. I’m being completely honest.”
Beside him, Marc Hunt muttered, “My Lord…?”—proof that even he was shocked.
Then the young Lord Madros pulled off the ring he had on his finger. As expected of a nobleman coming with a marriage proposal, he was dressed impeccably and followed all the proper traditions.
And that ring—especially that ring—I knew it well.
It was the ring worn by an heir of a noble family.
Enrico used to joke, “Wanna have it?” while showing it to me. It had the family crest engraved on it, overlapping with the royal symbol.
Lord Madros reached for my hand. I froze in surprise as he tried to slide the ring onto my finger.
“Please… marry me, Lady Lefevre.”
“No, thanks.”
I pulled my hand back quickly.
****
He actually walked out crying.
Raphael Clovis couldn’t believe it.
The military was in a buzz over Lord Madros’s ridiculous proposal.
At first, everyone thought the formal proposal was just some plan or petty game from the former Supreme Commander. But when he tried to actually put a ring on her finger—that was no joke.
He looked completely lovestruck.
Of course, he didn’t bawl like a child, but he did cover his eyes with one hand as he left.
Tears streamed down his face, slipping through the gaps.
It was an embarrassing scene—but also one no one expected to witness.
Raphael thought the Madros family would be absolutely stunned.
“Commander!”
Raphael turned at the news that Schloitz had returned.
As usual, the first thing Schloitz did upon arrival was check the holy sword. He was the only one who did that every time.
Lifting hundreds of sacred swords at once sometimes caused even those strong weapons to crack.
“Where’s Blandae Lefevre?”
“Oh. She’s… well, kind of upset? Or maybe just shocked? She’s resting in her quarters right now.”
“Why is she upset?”
“Lord Madros suddenly proposed to her.”
Schloitz didn’t even look up from the artifact.
“Do women get upset when they’re proposed to?”
“Not exactly…”
Raphael frowned slightly.
“It looked like he actually fell for her. He even tried to put a ring on her finger. She refused. Then he left—crying.”
“What a joke. Did he really come all the way to the military just to embarrass himself?”
Schloitz clicked his tongue and stood up. Raphael scratched his head awkwardly.
“Actually, I think there’s more embarrassment coming. Duke Madros is a nasty spider of a man.”
“Handle it however you like.”
“Got it. I won’t let you down.”
“Like I’d get disappointed over something like that.”
“I know. Just trying to lighten the mood… okay, I’ll stop.”
Duke Madros looked like a poor old commander forced into retirement by a young prodigy. But in truth, he was a cold and calculating man.
During his time in power, he made sure to tangle up all the document systems and planted his allies in key positions.
To remove one meant pulling out the whole network.
He set that up intentionally so he could still influence the military after stepping down.
To untangle it all cleanly, Raphael had been working nonstop behind the scenes—which was why he was so sleep-deprived these days.
Just a little more…
“By the way, where’s Dios?”
“He went to get a medic.”
“Is he injured?”
Raphael’s brow slowly furrowed. Why hadn’t the smell of blood faded yet?
“Commander?”
****
Hector wrote a paper using the artifact? At least Enrico won’t be bored around him.
I was sitting at my desk, reading through a thick document from the estate.
But truthfully, I wasn’t really focused on the words.
That guy’s insane.
Who suddenly confesses love like that?
And in public, too? Even die-hard romantics don’t do that kind of thing. It’s just asking to get mocked.
Though I don’t think he meant to humiliate me… it’s that look in his eyes.
Lord Madros seemed genuinely smitten.
I started to worry.
It didn’t feel good.
There were scenes in the novel where Enrico was annoyed by noble girls who fell for him and wouldn’t leave him alone.
One of them even turned into a stalker.
Didn’t she once sneak into his bed and wait for him to arrive? I didn’t remember clearly.
I wasn’t all that interested in Enrico’s storyline.
Am I going to end up in his position now? Since I’m similar to him?
Is Lord Madros going to become that stalker?
I stood up like a ghost and poked around the bed with my sheathed sword.
But of course, nothing was hiding under the neatly arranged blankets.
Maybe I should carry something—like brass knuckles?
Luckily, Lord Madros wasn’t officially part of the military. He hadn’t undergone any military training.
This reminds me of when I was little.
I used to always check under the bed. Venus would look at me with such a tired face.
Knock knock.
I heard a knock at the door.
“Lady Blandae, Sir Raphael is here to see you.”
When I went downstairs, Raphael was waiting.
He looked extremely pale.
What’s this about?
Before I could ask about his face, he beat me to it.
“Lady Blandae. Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. Totally fine.”
“That’s good to hear. The Commander… he had a question about the artifact and asked to see you.”
“Oh, where is he?”
“In his office.”
I was about to go, but then I paused.
There was a strong smell of blood coming from Raphael.
“Did you just kill a beast?”
“Ah. Yes.”
Raphael looked a bit flustered.
“Guess the smell hasn’t quite gone away yet. The Commander and I just checked something quickly.”
Why would you kill a beast for a “check”?
I stared at him, baffled, and said,
“I can go on my own, you know.”
“Uh…”
“You’re busy, right? You don’t have to follow me around like this. Do I look like a child to you?”
“No! Of course not…”
“Then go already.”
Raphael blinked in surprise. He looked like he didn’t know what to do, but eventually nodded and thanked me.
As he turned away, his legs wobbled like baby deer’s.
He’s obviously just overworked. I can only imagine one of two scenarios: he either got so tired and angry that he betrayed Schloitz… or he died to a beast.
Since I wasn’t sure yet, I planned to be as kind as I could for now.
I headed to Schloitz’s office.
It was spring, but the room felt cold.
The scent of old wood, still unfamiliar to me, seemed to sink deep into my lungs.
I knocked lightly, waited five seconds, and opened the door.
“……”
Schloitz was sitting at his desk, resting his chin on one hand with a bored look. Even though he knew I was there, he didn’t bother to look up.
I didn’t mind.
Honestly, it was better for me—since I couldn’t look him straight in the eyes anyway.
When he wasn’t looking at me, I could sneak a glance or two.
Even if it was just for a few blinks, I always felt a strange sense of longing.
I spoke politely, as usual.
“Commander Procyon. I heard you called for me.”
On the other hand, he was lightly holding and releasing the artifact. I glanced at it.
“Lady Lefevre.”
“Yes, Commander?”
“The artifact’s power is… unstable.”
“What? Ah… can I take some notes? I need to send a report to my family.”
“Go ahead.”
As soon as I started walking toward the side desk, he jerked his chin toward himself.
“Come here.”
I changed direction and walked over to him instead.
Schloitz handed me a notepad and quill from his desk. As I leaned awkwardly over to write, he spoke quietly.
“Why don’t you sit?”
Startled, I quickly pulled over the nearest chair and sat down.
“Thank you.”
I dipped the quill into the ink and tapped it lightly. Then I waited for him to speak.
“The artifact’s shield broke earlier. A beast attacked.”
“…What?”
I looked up from my notes, surprised—not because the shield broke, but because he looked completely fine.
Artifacts put a huge strain on their users, especially without a divine blessing.
Venus once said she even coughed up blood from the stress.
And now Schloitz’s artifact shield broke… and he looks perfectly okay?
