A Foolish Man, Ten Boxes of Sweets, and a Ruined Reputation
"There isn't a single soul in the Royal Guard who doesn't know that Warrant Officer Dubois introduced Warrant Officer Amboise to his parents as the woman he was going to marry."
At her words, both Chloe's and Ezra's mouths fell slightly open. Of course, they weren't the only ones shocked. Lady Basilure, who had been trying to hold Agathe back, widened her eyes in astonishment. No one in the room could have anticipated such a juicy piece of gossip slipping from Agathe's lips. Julia was fidgeting in sheer panic, while Leah, who was holding Iris, stared with eyes as wide as saucers.
As for Camille...
Oh.
Camille seemed to have slipped away in the meantime. Judging by the absence of the clerk who had been holding Agathe back, they had likely gone downstairs to handle the aftermath. Well, that wasn't Chloe's concern right now.
Chloe bit her lip, then let out a sigh laced with laughter. Pressing her fingers to her temples, she looked at Ezra.
"Ezra."
Addressed so directly, Ezra replied with a face that screamed he wanted to die on the spot.
"...My deepest apologies."
"You explain it. I don't have the heart to."
Leah urgently chimed in. "Chloe, don't tell me...?"
"Yes," Chloe replied instantly.
Leah turned to Ezra with a look of utter horror. "So you're the pathetic excuse of a man who couldn't tell his mother he didn't want to get married, so he borrowed his friend's name instead...?"
Ezra, who had been trying to muster a sheepish smile, twitched at her biting assessment. "I can explain."
To be precise, this shocking and embarrassing misunderstanding stemmed from the personal affairs of Warrant Officer Ezra Dubois. And in truth, those personal affairs were nothing grand.
Ezra was the second son of the wealthy Viscount Dubois family. His older sister had inherited the title after proving herself exceptionally competent. In such cases, the second son, Ezra, would typically receive neither title nor inheritance. However, their mother was a traditionalist. While she loved both of her children, she favored her son, Ezra, just a little more. She desperately wanted him to have some inheritance of his own. In the end, the current Viscount Dubois—Ezra's older sister—promised their mother that she would provide Ezra with enough property to settle down once he established a household. It was a compromise possible only because of how harmonious their family was.
Naturally, his mother began badgering Ezra to get married. But Ezra had no desire to do so. To reiterate, the Dubois family was harmonious, and Ezra was always grateful to his sister for taking on the headache of the title. The problem was that his sister, who had taken in a husband, had not produced an heir even after two years of marriage. Ezra worried about what would happen if he married and had a child before his older sister could secure an heir. Their mother was exactly the type of person who, out of misguided maternal love, would sow seeds of discord between the siblings.
So, Ezra resisted with everything he had. Yet, his mother's nagging never ceased. He was dragged into countless pointless matchmaking arrangements, but his refusal only made her more relentless. Naturally, Ezra turned to drink. To be exact, he loathed the thought of going home after work, so he would drag his colleagues to the pub to kill time. Chloe, who had just become close friends with him back then, often sat with him, using his misery as a side dish for her drinks. Well, it was none of her business, but...
"Hey, this bastard Ezra is going to grant his mother eternal life. You know why?"
"Why?"
"Because his mother won't be able to close her eyes in peace until he marries a rich woman."
The joke, cracked by Georges over a pint of beer, had been the catalyst.
"Hey, Ezra. Why don't you tell your mother you're in love with Chloe?"
"What? Georges, have you lost your mind, you bastard?"
As the 2nd Squad Leader tried to choke the life out of the 1st Squad Leader, the drunken Georges yelled:
"If you throw a fit and claim you're marrying her, your mother will be absolutely horrified! It's better than getting sent to a border post!"
By then, Ezra was so tormented by his mother that he was seriously considering volunteering for border duty. And Chloe, who had transferred from the navy to become the aide to Curtis Shan Berk—a position equivalent to a death sentence—was, well...
"She has no money, a mountain of dependents, and she's even from the navy! Isn't she literally a goddess sent to save you?"
A family of first-class honorary knights, dirt poor... and her youngest sibling was an adopted child who clearly had immigrant blood. In short, the "low-class family" label Curtis loved to throw around had actually been recognized by Georges first. Of course, Georges's remarks were met with a barrage of boos, curses, and flying cups from the numerous Royal Guard comrades present.
"You son of a bitch, watch your mouth!"
"You bastard, apologize to Chloe before I pluck every hair from your mustache!"
It wasn't a particularly heartwarming tale, since those were the kinds of shouts that followed:
"She's the only aide we've managed to keep! If she runs away, Marshal Victor will slaughter us first!"
In any case, Georges, who had run his mouth so carelessly, met a fitting end, pelted thoroughly by flying cups and tin spoons. And Chloe, for her part...
"Oh, really? You can use my name if you want."
"Hey, even so..."
"Well, as long as you don't actually drag me to your house, I don't mind."
It happened to be right before Leah's birthday. The deal struck in their drunken stupor went roughly like this:
"Mother, I've found someone I love. I won't marry anyone but her."
"Oh my! Who is she, the young lady who stole my son's heart?"
"Her name is Chloe Amboise. She's the Brigadier General's new aide, just transferred from the navy. Oh, but her family situation is a bit... complicated."
Ezra's mother took to her bed in shock. Ezra pretended to be bedridden as well. His sister, Viscount Dubois, who was in on the scheme, took it a step further, declaring:
"I didn't promise to give Ezra his inheritance just so he could support another family. Mother, I oppose this match as well."
As a result, Ezra's bachelorhood was successfully extended by a few more years. The nagging about marriage vanished instantly. And Chloe? Without ever showing her face to the Dubois family, she received ten boxes of cakes and pastries from the most expensive, high-end confectionery in the capital. They became Leah's birthday presents. She had completely forgotten about it until now.
"Those pastries were really delicious..." Leah muttered in embarrassment, then gasped and quickly looked at Iris. But young Iris, seemingly unable to comprehend the conversation, merely blinked under her crown.
Ezra was the only one sweating bullets.
"Do you understand now, Sergeant Monfils? It was just a drunken joke that got wildly out of hand."
"How utterly ridiculous, Warrant Officer." But Agathe didn't even bother to listen to Ezra's explanation, turning her head away dismissively. "An unmarried noble lady risking her reputation for ten boxes of pastries? You expect me to believe that?"
Chloe, who had indeed thrown her reputation away for ten boxes of pastries, found herself speechless. She glanced up and met Julia's eyes; the maid looked equally bewildered. Well, it wasn't just pastries this time. In exchange for ruining her reputation a bit more, she had received a ring and the title of Grand Duchess.
As Chloe stood there awkwardly, Ezra desperately tried to clear the air.
"I only told my mother that to reject matchmaking proposals I didn't want!"
"Oh, really? My mother seemed to think otherwise," Agathe continued, her face still twisted in a sneer. "It's an open secret that Warrant Officer Dubois fell into a rather embarrassing unrequited love!"
Is she talking about me? Probably. Chloe scratched her chin awkwardly. She had heard rumors that Ezra's mother had complained to her acquaintances, asking what kind of family the Amboises even were. But Chloe's parents had zero interest in high society, and they weren't even in the country to begin with. Chloe herself had never expected to step foot into high society, so she hadn't given it a second thought. She had figured lending her name in exchange for some delicious treats was a fair trade.
Well, it's not like I knew I'd end up as the Grand Duchess.
But to an outsider who didn't know the full story...
"You certainly are generous, Warrant Officer Dubois! Defending a woman who abandoned and betrayed you after only two months of dating!"
...it certainly looked that way.
Ezra looked utterly soul-crushed, while Lady Basilure merely darted her eyes back and forth. Leah, lost in her own thoughts, had stepped back while holding Iris.
"Look, I understand how this could be misunderstood. But Miss Monfils, in the first place, we—"
"Misunderstood? How amusing."
What's so funny? Do tell. Because I'm not laughing... Regardless of Chloe's internal thoughts, Agathe continued her mockery.
"A Grand Duchess who prattles on about misunderstandings, yet parades her paramour around the very day after her wedding."
I told you, he's not my lover. As Chloe debated how to respond, Agathe added another jab.
"I wonder if Lord Curtis knows about this."
Staring at the haughty face glaring down at her, Chloe answered without a second thought.
"Actually, he does."
"...What?" Agathe's expression faltered. Naturally.
Chloe found the situation both absurd and hilarious. She doubted Curtis had assigned Ezra to her with this specific scenario in mind, but now that things had turned out this way, she couldn't deny it was highly entertaining.
"Warrant Officer Ezra Dubois is the escort my husband assigned to me today."
Her brief hesitation before saying "my husband" was the result of a fierce internal debate: Is it right to call my husband 'the Grand Duke'? But after all that 'darling' business, using his formal title now would look strange, wouldn't it?
Fearing her opponent might catch that split-second hesitation, Chloe raised her chin in imitation of Agathe and continued.
"Do you truly believe I have the authority to deploy the Royal Guard as my personal escorts on a whim?"
"Unbelievable... Lord Curtis obviously has no idea of your infidelity, Dame Amboise!"
"Well, probably," Chloe agreed instantly. Agathe's face contorted further. Ignoring her, Chloe made a show of scratching her ear as she spoke. "I didn't even know I was committing infidelity myself until you just told me, so how could the Grand Duke possibly know?"
Agathe's eyes narrowed into slits. But Chloe wasn't finished.
"And there's one more thing—actually, two things I'd like to say."
Flustered, Agathe snapped back defensively. "What is it?"
"First." Chloe spoke with solemn gravity. "I have eyes too, Sergeant Monfils."
Ezra let out a low groan.