The Main Event of the Wedding
"Warrant Officer, do you plan on living with me for the rest of your life? Do you love me?"
Having said that, Curtis looked at Chloe and furrowed his brow.
"No, absolutely not."
Flustered, Chloe immediately denied it with a deadpan face.
This is actually a bit irritating in its own way, Curtis thought.
He asked back, "If not that, then what?"
"It's nothing."
"Speak."
"I feel like my survival would be threatened if I said it."
Hearing her say that, it was more than obvious that a highly insolent answer was coming. But at this point, it would be awkward to just let it slide. Curtis curled his lips upward and said, "Why is your survival brought up so frequently? I won't lift a single finger against you, so speak."
"Salute. I was simply amazed by how confident Your Grace is that you would be capable of dating."
In other words: A psychopath like you, dating? Dare you even dream of it? That was what she meant.
Curtis began to suspect that his aide had agreed to this marriage just to mock him at every opportunity. Ironically, he had no idea that this thought struck incredibly close to the heart of the matter.
"You think I can't? Who do you take me for?" Thus, instead of showing suspicion, Curtis bared his teeth in a grin. "It's embarrassing to say it myself, but the noble ladies who harbor affection for this body could form an entire division."
"Then why, leaving that entire division behind, are you marrying poor old me...?"
"Pfft."
Noel, who was standing beside them, couldn't hold back his laughter and let out a small snort. It wasn't a lie. After all, wasn't Curtis the very person who, unable to find a suitable partner, was currently exchanging a marriage contract with Chloe in this very room? He glared at Noel, then rubbed his temples in irritation.
"I am human too. If the Royal Guard hadn't been so incredibly lax, I believe I would have been a rather decent superior officer."
"Hearing that come from your own mouth...?"
In the end, one of Curtis's fingers twitched. Chloe quickly lifted the top of the contract she was writing to show him.
Curtis Shan Berk shall regard Chloe Amboise as his superior officer and treat her with the utmost respect.
Around that point, Second Lieutenant Noel also felt the need to defend his friend, so he stepped in to add his piece.
"Haha. It is true, Warrant Officer Amboise. Curtis was an exceptionally good superior on the battlefield, where the chain of command is absolute."
The chain of command. Chloe rolled her eyes slightly.
While the navy was known for its lax discipline, the Royal Guard was actually a complete mess behind closed doors as well. This was because the guard members were all noble children, but she would omit the detailed explanation for now.
Curtis, whose mood had improved slightly thanks to Noel, crossed his arms and snorted.
"What a look on your face. Don't worry, I have no intention of showing you my charms, so let's leave it at that."
"Thank you very much."
Whether he knew Chloe's gratitude was genuine or not, Curtis continued his explanation.
"Just know that as soon as we fend off His Majesty the King, I plan to find a family of matching status and remarry as quickly as possible."
At those words, Chloe looked down at the ring finger of her left hand. The flashing amethyst ring, and the proposal Curtis had made. He had asked her to become the temporary master of his soul.
A temporary master.
"Then, when we divorce due to Your Grace's fault, will the reason be infidelity?"
Curtis looked at Chloe with renewed wonder.
"...Are you not offended?"
"By what? The part about a family of matching status?" Chloe shrugged. "It's not like you're wrong."
That was true. But it wasn't exactly something that wouldn't offend someone.
"Hmm..."
Chloe seemed to notice that Curtis was looking at her with a somewhat subtle gaze.
"If you were worried about offending someone's feelings, shouldn't you have just avoided saying it in the first place?"
"...I wasn't worried."
For some reason, it was Curtis who ended up feeling embarrassed instead. Regardless of Curtis's reaction, Chloe continued reading the document before pointing to a specific section and showing it to him.
3. Chloe Amboise shall not trespass upon Curtis Shan Berk's personal space within the duration of this contract, nor shall she harbor or express any personal feelings toward him.
"Regarding this clause. How far does 'personal space' extend? The bedroom? The office?"
"The bed."
Chloe grimaced openly. Curtis elaborated with a blank expression.
"I dislike a complete stranger lying on my bed. I also dislike having anyone in the same space as me. It's not like we're in a military tent during a war."
"But aren't we getting married? In unavoidable circumstances..."
"Warrant Officer. Let me make this clear: if you have any personal feelings for me, this is your chance to give them up."
"I feel like they're about to develop starting from this very moment. For example, anger."
Curtis crossed out "personal feelings" with a couple of swift strokes and rewrote it.
Feelings of love.
Chloe took on a serious expression.
"I dare say this is the clause I am most confident in keeping."
"Don't be so sure."
"As the daughter of a family of unmatched status, I am highly confident."
"Warrant Officer, you hold quite a grudge, don't you?" Curtis said, narrowing his eyes. "Unavoidable circumstances can't be helped. But in those cases, tie your hair up if possible. And wear long clothes."
Ah, right. This man is a clean-freak. Chloe looked at him with hollow eyes.
"I am truly curious about something. Does Your Grace's own hair not bother you?"
"My hair is short."
"Most of the guard members have short hair too."
"Those bastards are dirty. I am clean."
Wow, this is deeply unfair. Chloe quickly protested.
"I am clean too!"
But Curtis was firm.
"Your hair is black and long. If it falls, it stands out. Mine is blonde, so it's hard to see."
"Riiight..."
While they bickered, the contract was finally completed. Looking at the contract, which clearly outlined both parties' demands, they both had the same thought: This is an incredibly childish and absurd contract.
But at the very least, it was a contract that satisfied both sides. Second Lieutenant Noel copied the contract, and each of them received a copy. The original written by the two of them was to be kept by Second Lieutenant Noel, as he was the witness to this agreement.
Receiving the contract with the signature Noel Montpis at the very bottom, Chloe let out a sigh.
"Thank you, Second Lieutenant Montpis."
"Don't mention it. Feel free to find me whenever you're in trouble in the future."
Second Lieutenant Noel smiled and handed her the pen. While Chloe was signing, Curtis added one more thing.
"Noel. I trust you, but absolutely do not let a word of this slip outside. Especially to Agathe."
"That's my line."
Chloe blinked as she listened to their conversation. Agathe? Is that a person's name? Meeting Chloe's highly curious gaze, Noel gave a bitter smile.
"She is my younger sister."
"Ah, you have a younger sister."
"She likes that bastard over there."
"How did she ever meet with such a terrible misfortune...?"
Following Chloe's lament, Curtis, who was signing his name, bared his teeth in a grin. In the process, ink splattered onto the man's finger.
"I don't think that's something Warrant Officer Amboise should be saying."
Chloe pretended not to hear. Noel chuckled and tucked the signed contracts into a leather folder.
"This is the real one, and from now on, the fake contract."
Since Curtis was royalty, a prenuptial agreement had to be submitted to the royal family. This was because the title of Grand Duke Berk was bestowed by the Royal House of Ivanes. Noel began to draft the fake contract with a far more careless attitude than before.
"The title will be inherited by the child born between the two of you. And... how much should I write for the dowry to be sent to the royal family? The King will surely try to squeeze out every single penny."
At Second Lieutenant Noel's words, Curtis, who was wiping the ink off his hand with a handkerchief, snorted.
"What is there to take from a woman who earns a monthly salary of forty thousand sing? It would be like drawing blood from a stone. Write down that I will pay eighty million sing."
"Eighty million sing?"
Chloe was appalled. Noel lightly added an explanation.
"Eighty million sing is the exact amount of the dowry promised by Glintland on the condition of wiping out the Pirate King, Bartholomew Rogers."
Eighty million sing. Chloe was bewildered by this unexpected expenditure. However, even though Curtis was the one paying the money, he didn't seem to care about the amount at all.
"That will also serve to prove my love for the Warrant Officer."
Hearing those words, she recalled the statement he had released in the newspaper the previous morning.
Those who did not know their true intentions would have been deeply moved by those words. But Chloe was suddenly struck by fear. Because she was a miser.
Chloe had a habit of questioning whether everything she spent her money on was truly worth the cost. And that applied to other people's money as well. If someone else was spending money on her, she felt she had to play her part properly to earn it.
But eighty million sing?
Chloe began to doubt whether she was a person who could ever live up to the value of such a massive sum of money. But it was already too late. The contract had been written, and Chloe had signed it. Just then, Noel handed her the folder containing the real contract.
"Please take this for now."
A leather folder stamped with the seal of the Grand Ducal House. Chloe carefully opened the folder.
The paper was also high-quality, bearing the watermark of the Grand Ducal House, and the contract clauses rewritten in high-grade ink were clearly visible—a beautiful contract. Although its contents were filled with truly ridiculous clauses, at a glance, it looked quite plausible. Noel's neat and tidy handwriting likely played a big part in that.
But I feel like the original was a bit better.
Chloe glanced at the original copy lying on the desk. The one with Curtis's scribbled handwriting strangely looked a bit more authentic. However, Noel soon gathered that one up as well and tucked it into his breast pocket.
Why was it? Watching that contract disappear into Noel's pocket left her with a strange sense of lingering regret.
It was then.
"Now. Since we've written everything we need to write, shall we move on to the main event of the wedding?"
Curtis stood up from his seat and extended his hand to her. Chloe blinked, looking at the man's hand, which still had traces of ink on it.
"The main event?"