SWGMBWD CH 10

‘I don’t know why.’

Ray fell into thought for a moment.

Perhaps it was because her eyes, despite her claim that she didn’t have much time left to live, were so incredibly full of life.

It was probably that strange contradiction that kept drawing his gaze toward her.

—Then I suppose we’re destined for each other.

When she had said that with a sweet smile, Ray had suddenly felt as though his heart were being squeezed.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before, and it left him confused.

He had even been so dazed that he had momentarily lost himself.

“Very well. Then how about we do this?”

The knight who had been watching him suddenly spoke.

“How about you simply refuse to marry and endure the situation?”

For a solution that had supposedly taken some thought, it was rather unimpressive.

But it wasn’t as though they had any other options.

“I see. His Majesty has brought up Your Grace’s marriage more times than I can count.”

The butler nodded in agreement.

The Emperor telling the Duke to marry was practically a routine remark whenever they met.

Perhaps this time, too, the Duke had taken what was meant to be half a joke seriously.

Thinking that, the butler cautiously offered the suggestion.

“No. This time is different. Judging by the fact that he even invoked an imperial decree, it seemed like he was completely serious.”

It might have sounded as though the Emperor had merely tossed the words out casually, but the Emperor rarely used the term imperial decree.

That was why Ray understood.

This was not a joke.

“B-But Your Grace will be returning to your territory soon. If you remain there for a while, perhaps His Majesty will forget about it.”

“Too many people have already seen this.”

The Duke gestured toward the papers covering his desk.

Every single one was a marriage proposal from one of the Empire’s most prominent noble families.

After making such a huge commotion, could the person at the center of it all simply flee to his territory?

Even if time was supposed to heal all wounds, this was unlikely to be something that could easily be swept under the rug.

“If I marry, this uproar will probably die down.”

The Duke rubbed his chin thoughtfully and let out a faint hum.

Then he spoke.

“For now, politely return every proposal we have received.”

“E-Every one of them?”

“Yes. Every single one. And don’t accept any more.”

Every single one.

The butler stared at the mountain of marriage proposals covering the desk and swallowed a sigh.

Technically, he was being told to return them.

But simply sending the proposal letters back would be terribly rude.

As the Duke’s butler, he couldn’t possibly damage his master’s reputation like that.

Which meant he would have to write a polite rejection to every single one.

‘There goes any hope of finishing today.’

If they were going to reply to all of them, every servant in the mansion would have to work through the night.

And yet, the butler’s expression was surprisingly bright.

He might be half-dead by tomorrow morning, but he was pleased by one particular word.

Every.

But that lasted only a moment.

“Then I’ll take all of these out and—”

“Ah, except this one.”

“Ghk.”

Of course.

Watching the paper disappear from his reach as though his master were deliberately teasing him, the butler lowered his head.

The one the Duke had taken was none other than a single marriage proposal.

But it didn’t end there.

“And don’t receive any guests tomorrow.”

“Pardon?”

The butler froze.

Perhaps he had misheard.

He hurriedly gathered up the marriage proposals.

“Why are you so slow to understand? I said don’t let any more guests into the mansion.”

“Then the young ladies who are coming tomorrow…”

“Send them back somehow.”

Somehow.

At that word, the butler’s vision went dark.

By now, news of the Duke’s marriage must have spread throughout the entire capital.

And dozens of women had already been turned away today alone.

‘Tomorrow certainly won’t be any better. If anything, it’ll be worse.’

And these weren’t ordinary women.

They were young ladies from Argen’s high society.

In a society where it was unusual for a woman to propose first, the fact that they were boldly coming forward in droves meant they were women with very strong personalities.

Just thinking about having to deal with all of them made the butler want to surrender and raise a white flag already.

‘Haaaa…’

Whether or not he knew what his butler was feeling, his master was leisurely examining the troublesome document.

Seeing his master looking unusually excited made the butler strangely uneasy.

‘I have a bad feeling about this…’

He had a feeling something big was about to happen.

“Mmm…”

Bella stretched lazily and groaned as she sat up.

Then she immediately collapsed back down.

Her legs were trembling beneath her.

“Well, I was standing for such a long time. I suppose it’s only natural that they hurt.”

Tap, tap, tap.

Bella patted her stiff legs and let out a deep sigh.

The fatigue had overwhelmed her so much that she had fallen asleep last night without even eating dinner.

Today was the fourth day of the festival.

In other words, it was practically a day off for her.

No one would bother her about whatever she did today.

So Bella decided to enjoy the last remaining day of her freedom to the fullest.

She ate a late breakfast and spent the morning reading the books she wanted to read.

Then she dozed off for a nap.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already early evening.

“Are you going to the festival again today?”

“Of course. It’s the last day.”

Roxy had come upstairs to dress her.

When Bella nodded, Roxy hurried out of the attic and soon returned with a dress of a fairly modest design.

“Is that Cecil’s too?”

“Yes. She’s never worn it and has just left it sitting in her room, so I secretly set it aside for occasions like this.”

“Hehehe.”

Roxy’s mischievous laugh made her look like an evil little demon to Bella.

Not a scary demon, of course.

A cute one.

“By the way, this is unexpected. I didn’t think you would attend a party with so many people.”

“There’s an answer I need to hear.”

“An answer? What answer?”

“There is such a thing.”

Bella answered curtly and let out a deep sigh.

That was right.

There was an answer she needed to hear.

‘I stayed at home all day yesterday just in case.’

What if the Duke sent someone to find her?

She had secretly hoped for it and stayed at home waiting.

But the entire day had been so quiet that it had almost been boring.

‘I could have sworn I sensed some hesitation from him.’

“Hmmm…”

She inhaled softly and fell into thought.

She couldn’t forget the way his red eyes had wavered.

‘Surely God isn’t playing some last-minute trick on me.’

She had reached the point where she was beginning to doubt even God’s consideration.

‘If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll see him again today.’

She had considered going back to the Duke’s residence, but it was obvious that the place would once again be crowded with young ladies trying to propose to the Duke.

That was why she decided to take advantage of the festival instead.

‘Still, it’s the last day. He’ll probably have to greet His Majesty before leaving.’

With that thought, Bella looked into the mirror.

Roxy, skilled with her hands, had twisted Bella’s hair into a beautiful style and pinned it neatly in place.

“Wait. Isn’t this a little too much?”

“Too much? Not at all! The festival is ending soon. If you don’t dress up like this now, when will you ever get another chance?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“And you’re a young lady, after all. You’re not a servant like us. I hope you won’t lose your pride as the only daughter of the Etten Count family.”

Bella had grown accustomed to being treated much like a servant, so even her clothes had become plain.

That was why dressing as extravagantly as other noble ladies felt awkward to her.

Thirteen years had stripped away her sense of identity as a noblewoman.

And that was exactly what the foxes had intended.

Bella stared blankly at her reflection before letting out a small sigh.

“What’s the point? The day after tomorrow, I’ll be back to sweeping dust off the stairs.”

“Miss…”

At the sudden gloominess of the atmosphere, Roxy pouted.

Seeing her expression through the mirror, Bella immediately felt guilty.

Roxy had probably been trying her best to cheer her up.

And Bella had responded so coldly.

What could she say to make Roxy feel better?

She was still thinking when—

“Oh, right! Miss, I had something to give you—”

Fortunately, Roxy quickly became cheerful again as though nothing had happened and pulled something from her arms.

Wrapped neatly in a handkerchief was a flower-shaped sugar cookie.

“What’s that?”

“I got it from the kitchen. There were lots left over this morning.”

At the appearance of a dessert that could only be enjoyed during the festival, Bella swallowed eagerly.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t eaten anything on the first day because she had been running around looking for her destined person.

And yesterday, on the second day, she had spent most of her time outside the Duke’s residence waiting for her turn to be received.

Cookies packed with sugar were coveted treats among ordinary commoners, but for a young lady of a Count’s family, they were easy enough to obtain.

But Bella was different.

“If Cecil finds out, she’ll make a huge fuss.”

She had no idea what kind of trouble Cecil would cause if she found out.

The little fox was truly incapable of leaving even the smallest moment of happiness alone.

“Don’t worry. The little miss and Madam went out this morning and aren’t here.”

“Went out?”

No wonder the house had seemed so quiet.

Only then did Bella relax.

She bit into the cookie in her hand with a loud crunch.

“Oh, Miss, you didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Thanks to the Duke of Avalan, all the young ladies in high society are in an uproar!”

“……”

“There’s practically a war going on over the vacant position of Duchess. There’s no way Madam and the little miss would sit around and watch quietly.”

At Roxy’s words, Bella stiffened.

She didn’t know why, but the sweetness that had filled her mouth moments ago suddenly tasted bitter.

“Why don’t you go too, Miss? You never know! His Grace might take one look at you and choose you, and then you could escape from this horrible place!”

Roxy’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

She was being incredibly enthusiastic, saying that Bella wouldn’t have to marry that dreadful Viscount either, and wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Bella couldn’t say a word.

Because she had already gone there yesterday.

And she thought she had made quite a strong impression.

‘But judging by the fact that there’s been no word…’

Oh no.

The bitterness in her mouth was getting worse.

Bella completely lost her appetite, put down the cookie, and rinsed her mouth with water.

But even that couldn’t wash away the unpleasant, sticky feeling lingering in her mouth.

No.

It almost felt as though something sticky had traveled down her throat and was writhing somewhere inside her.