SWGMBWD CH 06

“What are you so surprised about? You should hurry and get married.”

“But, Your Majesty. I……”

The duke, who had looked genuinely flustered for a brief moment, tried his best to argue back.

Or rather, he tried to.

But his objections were immediately silenced by the Emperor’s firm wave of his hand.

“No buts. Get married quickly. Ah, yes. Consider it an imperial decree.”

He had even gone so far as to add the weight of an imperial decree to his words.

Bella had no idea why the Emperor was going that far, but for the other noble ladies, this was an incredible opportunity.

The same was true for Bella.

‘Come to think of it, he’s returning in four days? Hmm. That seems a little too soon…….’

Finding the man from her dream was certainly fortunate, but the problem was what came next. There was no point in simply watching him from afar like this.

And now, the Emperor himself had practically issued an order urging him to marry……

‘Could this be it?’

For a moment, a spark like static electricity crackled inside her mind. Somehow, everything seemed to be falling perfectly into place.

Yes. If this wasn’t fate, then what was?

But—

“Your Majesty. I apologize, but I have no intention of getting married.”

The duke was no pushover either.

At his firm declaration, Bella could almost hear the sound of her carefully made plans collapsing to pieces.

Soon, sighs of disappointment rose from all around them. The Emperor was no exception. Sitting with his chin resting on his hand, his face was filled with irritation and displeasure.

“What do you mean by that? You need to marry soon and have an heir. If something were to happen to you later, who would protect the North?”

“But……”

“I said there are no buts. I would like you to introduce me to the future Duchess by the end of this year.”

Faced with the Emperor’s almost unreasonable insistence, Bella saw the duke frown slightly.

But perhaps because his opponent was the Emperor, he could not openly object.

“I’ll think about it……”

With those words, he withdrew.

Forcing an imperial decree into a nobleman’s marriage was hardly proper, but it could not simply be ignored.

After all, it was an imperial decree.

And what would happen if a duke—not just an ordinary noble—dared to defy it? Even if he was a hero who guarded the empire’s northern border?

‘Honestly, he should be grateful that the Emperor didn’t force someone on him.’

After all, if he was the one with real authority over the North, the Emperor had every reason to be wary of his power growing too strong.

The Emperor was a coward.

Normally, Bella absolutely hated that fact.

But not now.

She felt a little sorry for him, but to Bella, this was her final chance.

Glancing at the seemingly dejected duke, Bella smiled brightly inside.

Evan, who was standing beside her, subtly asked why she was smiling so frighteningly.

She answered with a radiant smile.

“Perhaps God is finally taking my side.”

Surely, this had to be God’s way of compensating her all at once for the horrifyingly unfair life she had endured.

Yes.

She was certain that was what was happening.

“Compensation, my foot.”

She took that back.

Bella let out a deep sigh.

“Of course. There’s no way God would ever be on my side.”

What compensation?

Apparently, she had somehow managed to become even more hated by God this time.

They were currently standing in front of the duke’s residence in the capital.

Bella was left speechless by the long line of carriages stretching from the main gate all the way down to the distant main road.

“This place is absolutely insane.”

And it wasn’t just the carriages.

The most distinguished young ladies of the capital had dressed themselves in the finest clothes and accessories and were lined up one after another, engaged in their own silent war.

Anyone looking at this would think a beauty pageant was being held.

‘That young lady over there is the daughter of a marquis.’

‘Did you hear how much that necklace she’s wearing cost?’

‘Apparently, the gift someone else brought is a rare painting by a famous artist from a neighboring country.’

And so on.

The noble ladies were practically snarling at one another as they competed and kept each other in check.

Watching them, Bella cautiously went to stand at the very end of the line.

Then a pale-looking man staggered toward her.

“Did you come to see His Grace the Duke as well, my lady?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Haaaa……”

What was that about?

The man let out a small sigh before holding something out to her.

Bella tilted her head in confusion and accepted it.

Looking down, she realized it was a number ticket.

“Please wait until the number written on the paper is called.”

“Yes……”

At the man’s polite words, Bella nodded almost automatically.

Just then, the man noticed yet another carriage joining the end of the line, and his expression darkened.

He trudged over to the young lady who had just stepped out of the carriage and handed her the same piece of paper.

That was when Bella realized.

‘They say there’s no such thing as an easy job in this world.’

She stared blankly at the number written on her ticket.

55.

Just a moment ago, they had called number 7.

She still had a very long way to go.

“Am I even going to get to meet him today?”

This was bad.

She didn’t have much time.

Bella looked up at the towering main gate and inwardly stamped her feet in frustration.

She had come all this way, yet she had not even managed to cross the threshold.

She couldn’t help feeling as though fate was once again pushing her farther and farther away from her destination.

But now that things had come this far, she couldn’t give up.

If she went back like this, it would truly be the end.

She had only two choices.

Move forward and die.

Or fall straight into the abyss of despair.

It was one or the other.

“Please come this way.”

Following the man’s guidance, Bella finally entered the residence and let out a deep sigh.

It had taken her a full five hours to get inside.

‘Still, it didn’t take as long as I thought.’

She had expected that she wouldn’t get inside until evening.

Since it was still daytime, it was actually fairly quick by comparison.

It also helped that several of the young ladies had lost patience and left along the way.

But the biggest reason was the short length of each audience.

Whether they were daughters of marquises or daughters of counts, most of them were sent back out within only a few minutes, regardless of their status.

Even the young ladies famous throughout high society for their beauty, and those who had supposedly once received marriage proposals from princes of neighboring countries—all of them were given the same few minutes.

They entered with eyes sparkling with anticipation and excitement, only to walk back out with displeased expressions.

Some even snapped irritably at the servants, demanding to know why they had been made to stand around for hours just for this.

“Your Grace, I have brought Lady Bella Eton.”

Introduced by the butler, Bella cautiously stepped inside.

The spacious room contained little more than a sofa and a table.

There were other pieces of furniture as well, but they were all covered with white cloth, making them look as though they had never been used.

Apparently, the rumor that the duke intended to leave as soon as the Founding Festival was over was true.

“You may go inside.”

Bella nodded at the butler’s words and timidly made her way toward the sofa.

As she approached, she saw a man sitting there with his head tilted back.

Was he asleep?

Bella looked at him with his eyes closed, his breathing soft and steady.

‘He must be tired.’

It was understandable.

He had probably been tormented by all those women since morning.

And there was proof of it.

The neat black hair she had seen yesterday was now completely disheveled, while his pale face was filled with exhaustion to the point that she almost felt sorry for him.

‘Well, I’m just another nuisance too.’

As Bella stared at his face, her gaze suddenly stopped somewhere.

His hands.

‘What? He’s wearing gloves even indoors?’

Just like at the Imperial banquet, the man was wearing black gloves over his hands.

‘They said he was a clean freak. I guess that part was true after all…….’

Bella was lost in thought for a moment.

Then, suddenly—

The man, who had been slumped against the sofa, opened his eyes and looked up at her with vivid red eyes.

“What?”

Bella was startled.

She certainly hadn’t expected him to open his eyes so suddenly.

If he had been awake, he could have said something beforehand.

Now it looked as though she had been caught secretly staring at his sleeping face.

‘Well, I was staring at him, technically…….’

“If you’re here, sit down instead of standing there.”

“Ah. Yes.”

He gestured toward the seat across from him.

Flustered, Bella quickly sat down.

Perhaps because of what had just happened, she suddenly felt uncomfortable and stiffened in her seat.

All right.

What should she say first?

And how should she say it?

She was still trying to figure that out when—

“So, what story did you prepare?”

“What?”

Bella was momentarily confused by the word story that suddenly came out of his mouth.

Seeing the questioning look in her eyes, the duke’s red eyes narrowed.

“You didn’t prepare one? Everyone else came up with one.”

“……”

She had prepared one.

But the way he so confidently demanded one from her was what caught her off guard.

At the same time, she could tell just how many young ladies he had already dealt with.

“Family crisis. Abusive parents. Unwanted marriage. It’s usually one of those three. Which one is yours?”

“Uh…… I’m the third one……”

After hesitating for a moment, Bella cautiously chose number three.

Strictly speaking, the real answer was I came here so that you can kill me.

But that wasn’t one of the choices.

If she had to choose the closest one, then number three was definitely it.

At her answer, a faint glimmer appeared in the lifeless eyes of the duke.

Almost as if he were mocking her.

“At least you’re being honest.”

He straightened his posture and made a small gesture.

A maid standing behind him approached, filled the empty teacup, and then left the room.

What was this?

Had she at least been deemed worthy of being served a cup of tea?

“Go on. Keep talking. I’ll listen.”

The contempt in his tone was unmistakable.

An ordinary proud lady would probably have blushed in embarrassment under such circumstances.

But Bella wasn’t like that.

‘I’ve spent thirteen years dealing with those foxes.’

After living with unpleasant people for so long, even the most unpleasant behavior barely registered as anything more than adorable.

Hoo.

Bella took a deep breath.

Then she looked straight at him and opened her mouth.

“Please marry me.”

“……Why?”

“If things continue like this, I’m going to end up marrying a perverted old man.”

Bella deliberately added the word perverted.

She wasn’t sure why, but she thought perhaps it might earn her some sympathy.

However, the man didn’t even blink.

“My parents were murdered thirteen years ago. Their title and fortune were taken by some distant relative whose name I don’t even know. And because I became the thorn in my family’s side, I’m destined to be sold off in exchange for a dowry.”

The words flowed surprisingly smoothly, even though she had never actually prepared this speech.

Impressed by her own ability to handle a crisis, Bella secretly watched his reaction.

He still looked completely uninterested.

This wasn’t going well.

“I know. You probably think a woman who suddenly shows up and asks you to marry her must be out of her mind. But this proposal won’t be a disadvantage to you, Your Grace.”

Even after all her continued pleading, the man showed no sign of embarrassment or surprise.

He merely rolled his red eyes toward her and stared.

After some time had passed—

“So, you’re asking me to let myself be used without putting up a fight?”

“With all due respect…… yes. That is exactly what I’m asking.”

Bella nodded firmly.

“I’ve only just become an adult. It would be a little strange for me to marry someone who is twice my age.”

“Indeed. That is true.”

The man nodded in agreement.

Bella’s eyes sparkled.

Had something finally gotten through to him?

She desperately suppressed the rising hope in her heart when—

“But that is your problem.”

His following words were so cold that her hope froze solid.

“Your story is no different from the cliché stories of all the other young ladies who came before you.”

“C-Cliché……”

“Among nobles, marriage is essentially a means of maintaining power. Naturally, it is rare for someone to marry a person of the same age who already holds a title.”

At the duke’s firm words, Bella began to feel that something was going terribly wrong.

If this continued, she would undoubtedly be thrown out just like all the other young ladies.

Then she would have gained nothing and would have to return to that horrible house.

And next week, she would be sold off to that damned perverted old man.

That was the one thing she absolutely could not accept.