The Marriage Proposal
If Khalid von Aquitaine was a regressor, then everything made sense.
The realization clicked into place so perfectly that Elizabeth felt a chill run down her spine.
‘So, that was it…!’
The reason he had changed so abruptly. The source of his inexplicable confidence. His attitude, as if he already knew the future. His motivation for insisting on passing the throne to his younger brother.
…All of it pointed to a single conclusion.
“……A regression.”
Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut. It was an absurd, unrealistic deduction. It sounded like a lie, but…
Conversely, it was the most plausible explanation.
To begin with, the fact that he knew what would happen in the future was already beyond the realm of reality.
Her heart had already tipped toward the belief that Khalid was indeed a regressor.
Confirmation bias.
Once she had reached that conclusion, she found herself constantly dwelling on reasons why he was a regressor rather than why he wasn't.
…That was a mistake the brilliant Elizabeth rarely made.
Under any other circumstances, she would have hesitated before jumping to such a conclusion. But this was different.
‘I, I feel so sorry for him.’
A stirring of emotion. For the first time in her life, she felt the palpitations of a new feeling, and her thought process was functioning differently than usual.
In Elizabeth’s mind, Khalid had already become a man who had returned from a ruined future to dedicate his life to the empire.
‘How much hardship must he have endured…’
Come to think of it, his face had always seemed filled with hidden sorrow.
Elizabeth was the Iron-Blooded Chancellor, a woman whom the Ministry of Internal Affairs staff described as having neither blood nor tears. Yet, she was now feeling a pang of heartbreak as she imagined the Khalid of the future.
A fallen empire, a continent plunged into chaos, a world hurtling toward destruction. Khalid, exhausted and alone, looking down at the ruins of the empire after surviving by himself. And finally, the moment he decided to turn back time.
“……So that’s how it was.”
Elizabeth nodded, having instantly conjured up a backstory that would span several volumes if it were a novel. It was a truly perfect deduction.
That was the problem, in fact. Even though it diverged from the truth, her brilliant mind had automatically filled in the gaps with logical connections.
If there had been any contradictions, she might have doubted it… but once she hit upon the idea of ‘regression’ to solve the biggest inconsistency, her train of thought became unstoppable.
Just like that, Khalid had become a man no less tragic than the male leads in the dark romance novels Lily often read.
“Poor man…”
Elizabeth wiped away a tear and clenched her fist. Even if he had been alone until now, she would not let him be alone anymore.
It was a needlessly heroic resolution.
“……B, by the way.”
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.
“Then what kind of relationship did he and I have in the future…?”
What could they have been to each other that, upon returning to the past, Khalid trusted her so deeply, entrusted her with all his authority, and chose her as his partner to rebuild the fallen empire?
‘Could it be… love?’
Elizabeth felt her cheeks burning hot.
“W-why is it so hot?”
Flap, flap.
She fanned herself with her hand to cool the heat on her face. Even then, her face remained flushed for a long time. Her ears felt like they were on fire, too.
“……Could it be that in the future, he and I were… you know?”
Eek— A small, girlish scream escaped her lips. Her delusions continued naturally. Elizabeth covered her face with her palms.
Then, she suddenly put on a cold expression.
“A, ah, no. You never know. If the situation was desperate enough to turn back time…”
Perhaps her future self was already dead.
…And if Khalid, in despair over losing the woman he loved, had turned back time to save her?
The bleak landscape of the future instantly transformed into a heroic and romantic scene.
“Kyaaaaaa…”
I’ve gone mad!
Her face flushed crimson. Her thoughts kept drifting toward a soft, pink-tinted direction. Elizabeth realized she was not in a normal state of mind.
“Ahem!”
Elizabeth cleared her throat. She needed to calm down first. If she kept this up, she would be lost in wild fantasies all night.
This was too big an issue to focus solely on her own love life. It meant there was some massive event in the future that forced Khalid to turn back time. Now that she knew, she had to prepare for it herself.
She shouldn't be swayed by such trivial romantic feelings.
…Wait!
Elizabeth hurriedly made excuses.
“Besides, it’s not like I actually like him.”
Elizabeth muttered, acting coy.
“……Not that I dislike him, though.”
After saying it, she narrowed her eyes and added softly, even though she was talking to herself and no one could have heard.
“Of course, we might have had that kind of relationship in the future, but that’s not me right now, is it?”
.
.
.
W-wait, if we had that kind of relationship in the future, has he been looking at me like that every time we met until now?
“Kyaaaaaa…”
I don’t know!
Elizabeth stomped her feet. It was the height of youth.
***
What is it.
Elizabeth’s attitude since returning from her vacation is strange. Even the way she looks at me is a bit…
No. It’s not just the gaze.
“……Older brother.”
“……Older brother?”
The fact that she started calling me ‘older brother’ in private, just like when we were young, is… troublesome.
A grown-up childhood friend calling me ‘older brother’ has a lot of power. Quite a lot.
I can’t even show that it bothers me. When my reaction was a bit slow, Elizabeth cautiously gauged my expression.
“……Is it not allowed to call you that?”
“No, it’s not that it’s not allowed. It’s just a bit ticklish. Only Cecil calls me that, and I don’t see him that often.”
“Then I’ll call you that. It brings back old memories, and it’s nice.”
Of course, there were times when Elizabeth called me that in the past. But she never used to fix the title like this.
Still, I couldn’t tell her to stop. I nodded.
Besides, if that were the end of it, it would be fine. It wasn’t just the title that had changed.
“This… I baked these cookies myself. Would you like to try one?”
One day, Elizabeth approached me and held out a small bag of tea snacks.
“Why the sudden cookies?”
“Ahem! I just had some left over after baking.”
They were wrapped too carefully for that to be true. Since I’m not an oblivious person, I didn’t point it out.
“……Is my position being threatened?”
Lily muttered, seemingly feeling a sense of crisis.
Fortunately, she didn’t go as far as serving tea. Perhaps she was respecting that as Lily’s domain. Regardless, it was strange.
“……How does it taste?”
Look at this. The girl who would usually be laughing leisurely with a ‘hehe’ is now fidgeting, waiting for my evaluation.
“……It’s delicious.”
“Phew…”
So, what is it?
Elizabeth had always been good with her hands. She was excellent at cooking in general, not just baking. It was just that her status meant she rarely had a reason to show it. In other words, she was a skilled person who didn’t need to be this nervous.
“Elise.”
“Yes?”
I called her name. I intentionally used the nickname I used when we were young, just as she called me ‘older brother’.
“Did you call, older brother?”
She seems to be in a good mood.
“Did something happen during your vacation?”
“……No?”
So something did happen.
Her reaction was that of someone who clearly had something on their mind. To think that Elizabeth, who was so skilled at lying, would have such an honest reaction. What on earth happened?
“……Well, never mind.”
I have a rough guess.
Elizabeth, fidgeting with her fingers and glancing at me. Even now, I could see pale pink emotions bubbling up in real-time. Usually, even if I saw some pink, green was the dominant color. What on earth happened during her vacation?
By the way, this favorability check system. When I first received this from Hecate, I thought it was a very useful gift. But I rarely used it for its intended purpose, and it seems to be applied to me more often. It’s like a white elephant; I wonder if I can return it and get a different gift. I should ask Hecate when I see her later.
That’s that, though.
“…….”
What to do.
I fell into quiet contemplation. Elizabeth harboring affection for me? If you ask me if I like it, of course, I do. But as I’ve always said, I have no intention of dating anyone until I retire. The reason is omitted.
Regardless, there’s no guarantee that Elizabeth’s favor toward me will last until then.
…For now, it doesn’t interfere with work, so should I just watch?
Come to think of it, there’s also the matter of Serena. Isn’t it about time for her to return? I should check the date when she gets back.
Just as I finished organizing my thoughts,
“Your Majesty.”
Lily approached quietly.
“……A letter has arrived from the Kingdom Alliance. What should I do?”
Why are they suddenly doing this?
***
“……The Kingdom Alliance sent me a marriage proposal?”
Clatter—
The sound of a teacup falling and shattering echoed through the room.
Wait a minute.