Chapter 005
The sudden word “marriage” made me feel like my thoughts stopped for a moment.
This man was supposed to marry Hesse Herman…
Something had gone terribly wrong.
“You also seem to dislike being engaged to Marquis Giuer.”
“That is my problem. Breaking off the engagement with the marquis is also something I have to do myself.”
“I have no intention of taking away what belongs to you, Lady. I simply want to make that task a little easier.”
Haillus was right.
A count breaking off an engagement with a marquis was something that could not happen.
But what if that broken engagement was done through the power of a duke?
Then it was completely possible.
“What does Duke Haillus gain by doing that?”
“…Let’s just say it is a little entertainment.”
“Entertainment?”
“However, Lady, you will have to play the role of my wife at official events.”
“You are saying that we should make a contract, right?”
“If you want to put it that way, yes.”
“Alright. Instead, let’s divorce cleanly after one year.”
At the word divorce, Haillus’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
He looked at me with an interested expression and slowly changed his posture without taking his eyes off me.
The longer he stared at me while touching his chin, the more I strangely felt myself shrinking.
“Why do you want a divorce?”
“I want to spend the rest of my life with someone I love.”
“Someone you love…”
“Isn’t that the same for you, Duke?”
“Well, we see marriage as part of business.”
Right.
That was true.
But in the novel The Lady Holding the Leash, Haillus…
You were obsessed with the female lead.
“I am different from those crazy businessmen.”
“So, who is the person Lady loves?”
“I can find that person little by little while I am in a fake marriage with you, Duke.”
“You intend to cheat on me while I am your husband?”
“C-Cheat? No, that’s not what I mean. But if you feel that way, then I will look for someone after the divorce.”
“One year is too short. Four years.”
“Two years. I won’t accept anything longer.”
“…Fine.”
A major matter was decided through a short exchange of words.
First, Duke Haillus would help me break off my engagement with Marquis Giuer.
Second, I would live as Duke Haillus’s wife for two years.
After two years passed, I would divorce him and marry my favorite character, Siobhan Akane!
The good thing was that divorce was not considered a flaw in this world.
Rather, it was seen as freedom.
Originally, commoners’ divorces were not considered important, but nobles who cared about appearances rarely divorced.
The Emperor usually had concubines, but the previous emperor did not.
Instead of taking a concubine, he chose divorce and remarriage.
He said having a concubine was no different from hurting the Empress, and he became the first person to proceed with a mutual divorce.
After that, divorce was no longer considered a disgrace among nobles.
‘I will marry the person I like.’
Rather, this was a great opportunity.
Since Haillus and Siobhan were close, after marrying him, I could find out what Siobhan liked and what kind of person was his ideal type.
I was satisfied with the amazing plan forming in my head.
“Where did you learn archery?”
“Since I was young, I learned archery… Ah.”
I almost mentioned my life as Jang Hye-ah.
“Since you were young?”
“Yes. Since I was young, I often held a bow while following my father.”
After hearing my answer, Haillus lightly nodded and muttered quietly.
“So that is why, in that forest…”
“What?”
“Forget the engagement. Let’s go straight to marriage. I will send the proposal letter to your family first.”
“R-Right now?”
Haillus looked at me as if I had asked something obvious.
He rang the small golden bell on his desk, and the butler I had seen earlier entered.
“Send the proposal letter to the Romania Count family immediately.”
“Yes, the proposal… the proposal letter?”
The butler was just as shocked as I was.
However, Haillus only answered calmly without even blinking.
“Among all the previous duchesses, she will become the most daring Duchess.”
After returning home, I immediately took Eloah’s diary out from under the bed.
I had already read it all when I first found it, but I wondered if I had missed something.
However, just when I thought there was nothing more to gain from reading it again, I discovered a blank page.
Why was only this page empty?
Between pages filled with writing on both sides, there was only one clean sheet.
Even when I held it against fire, nothing appeared.
It was simply a clean piece of paper.
I did not think much of it, organized the diary, put it back in its place, and threw myself onto the bed.
The previous owner of this body.
The real Eloah.
After learning that she had used a soul exchange technique, I searched through every book in the Count’s study.
But there were no books related to magic or souls.
In the first place, magic was only a legend that disappeared 200 years ago.
The only places where such old books could exist were the Imperial Palace Library or the Temple Library.
Only priests could enter the Temple Library, so the only option left was the Imperial Palace Library.
The families allowed to enter the Imperial Palace Library were the Haillus Duke family, the Herman Duke family, and people with a rank of third class or higher working in the palace.
To become third class or higher, one had to be a prime minister or a commander of the knights.
I could not become someone with such a rank right now.
Therefore, the closest way was to marry Haillus and enter as a duchess.
So many things had happened in such a short time that exhaustion suddenly overwhelmed me.
As soon as I became aware of my tiredness, my eyelids grew heavy.
‘I’ll think about this later…’
I woke up from a deep sleep not long after.
It was because Brandt, or rather, the real Eloah’s father, Count Brandt, had returned home after receiving Haillus’s proposal letter.
Summer told me that Count Brandt seemed displeased, and I became extremely nervous.
Even in my original life, I was a daughter who was not close to my father because he was quiet and distant.
Here, they were not even my real parents, so I felt even more nervous.
Knock knock—
It had finally come.
Only after swallowing my dry saliva with difficulty did I open my mouth.
“…Yes.”
“Ro-ah, it’s your father. May I come in for a moment?”
“Yes, please come in.”
In his hand was a proposal letter with the emblem of the Haillus Duke family.
He really sent it immediately.
“Ro-ah, I came because I wanted to hear your story.”
What should I say?
My lips moved, but no words came out.
Then—
“Roaaaa! My one and only daughter!”
My mother, Kayla’s voice came from outside the room.
Unlike Brandt, her voice sounded full of excitement.
Bang!
The tense atmosphere inside the room was brightened by Kayla’s curiosity and happiness.
“Madam.”
“Oh my, I heard you came straight home, so I wondered where you were. You were in Ro-ah’s room?”
“Th-that…”
“The proposal letter! Let me see!”
The usually calm Countess Kayla was completely different now.
Before Brandt could say anything, she took the proposal letter from his hand and began reading.
“‘I request a marriage proposal. Eden Kler Haillus.’”
“……”
“Oh my goodness! Ro-ah, is this really true? When I first heard about it, I thought it was a joke.”
“Mother, that…”
“Mother approves. I like Duke Haillus much more than Marquis Giuer.”
Unable to endure Kayla’s endless words, Brandt cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
“Oh, sorry. I’m sorry, dear.”
Only after Kayla sat beside Brandt could I finally speak.
Her presence had created a much lighter atmosphere.
“I want to break off my engagement with Marquis Ter Giuer and marry Duke Eden Kler Haillus.”
“When did this happen?”
“It has not been long.”
Brandt, who had only been quietly listening, finally spoke.
“Yes, Ro-ah. If that is what you want, we are fine with it. However…”
However…?
“I think marriage right away is too soon. Let’s have an engagement first, then proceed with marriage.”
“Yes.”
“Your father… still hasn’t been able to…”
“Sniff.”
Sniff…?
I wondered if I had heard wrong.
When I looked at Brandt, he had already leaned his large body toward Kayla and was crying in her arms.
“You don’t have to cry so much.”
“But, wife… sob…”
“The time has come to send our Ro-ah away.”
“Your father has too many tears. But isn’t that cute in its own way?”
They really were parents full of unexpected charm.
Only after Kayla comforted him several times did Brandt stop crying and speak again.
“For now, I will send a letter to Duke Haillus and tell him that we should have an engagement first.”
Kayla sent Brandt out first, then gently held my hand.
“My child, is Duke Haillus a good person?”
Is he a good person?
I was unsure.
But the answer that came out of my mouth was positive.
“Of course.”
“That is a relief. Actually, when you said you would marry Marquis Giuer, your expression looked like you were being sold away. I was very worried.”
“……”
“Your father and I only want you to be happy. Please do not think about the family. Marry for your own happiness.”
“……”
“Rest well, my child.”
Kayla’s warm lips touched my forehead briefly before moving away.
Yes.
I would marry for my own happiness.
Then first, I needed to meet my favorite character, Siobhan.
But until now, I had not even seen a single strand of his hair.
Since Siobhan was a member of the Imperial Knights, that was only natural.
Still, because Haillus and Siobhan were close, if I stayed by Haillus’s side, wouldn’t the chance of meeting him increase?
Alright.
Let’s go all the way to the third engagement route!
