The Proposal's Aftermath
"Haha, Sir Edward. What a strange joke to make."
"It is no joke. I am proposing to you, Lady Vera Rystein."
"...There is a limit to even the most tasteless jokes. Please return that ring to me at once. If you do so now, I will pretend this never happened."
As if you’d ever let it go, given your personality.
When I extended the engagement ring toward Vera, Monica erupted. She wasn't the type to raise her voice when angry; she simply cornered her opponent with cold, chilling silence. The sharp-witted servants hurried out of the dining hall.
"I will say it again: I am not joking."
"What kind of nonsense is this? This matter has already been settled. If you keep this up, it will be a breach of contract," Monica spat out. She was resisting with a tone more refined than I had expected. She hadn't cursed, so she was clearly holding back. Was it because her mother was present?
"Yes. Of course, I did agree to offer my victory to Lady Monica."
"And?" Monica retorted, narrowing her eyes into slits. Facing that expression made me feel like I couldn't breathe, but I forced myself to act as if I were fine.
"...However, I said I would offer my victory. I never said I would offer myself and this ring to Lady Monica."
"Ha, do you honestly think that makes any sense?"
Logically, of course, a knight offering his victory to a lady was practically a pick-up line. Since the families had pre-arranged for me to enter as a son-in-law, she must have assumed she was the one I would be marrying.
"Sir Edward, I am sorry, but that will not do."
"Why not?"
"As Monica said, it has already been agreed between our houses that the Rystein and Mountbern families will be united through marriage. You and my daughter, Monica, are to be the link that connects our two houses. This isn't a marriage between commoners; it is a momentous affair involving the decisions of our families. It cannot be undone or changed simply because you had a change of heart."
I had anticipated this level of rebuttal.
"This proposal does not contradict the agreement between our houses."
"That is enough of that nonsense."
"Monica. Mind your manners."
As Monica grew agitated, Vera cautioned her. Being only nineteen, her emotional expression was far more volatile than the calm, cold-headed woman I remembered.
"You said that Lady Monica and I would be the link between the two houses, did you not?"
"That is correct."
"Does the link not still exist if Lady Rystein and I marry? The fact that a member of the Mountbern family and a member of the Rystein family are marrying remains unchanged."
"No..."
"Ha, is that what this is? Are you trying to squeeze something more out of us?"
What? Squeeze what out of whom? I stared at her in disbelief, and Monica lashed out again.
"This is why men are the worst! Always lurking, looking for an opportunity, thinking of nothing but how to strip a woman bare! You're just the same!"
"Monica Rystein!"
Monica had always hated men. Even in my past life, I was treated as the closest thing to a man only because I was the one who had the most physical contact with her. That kind of remark didn't hurt me at all. But that didn't mean I would just let it slide. What I saw before me wasn't the overbearing Countess Monica Rystein, but a green, naive young lady who hadn't even lost her baby fat. No matter how much I had been looked down upon, I didn't have to endure it now—
"I apologize, Sir Edward."
"Pardon?"
"Mother!"
"Be still!"
Since Vera had stepped in to apologize first, it became awkward for me to get angry.
"I believe my daughter was momentarily overcome after hearing something so shocking. This doesn't seem like a matter to be concluded tonight, so would you mind resting in your room for now?"
"Hm, yes. Understood."
Leaving behind Monica’s dissatisfied glare, I walked out of the dining hall. I felt my entire body shrinking under that cold gaze, but I didn't let it show and quickly made my escape. This time, I would avoid that hellish life with Monica.
"Oh my, what a mess..."
"I knew he had some ulterior motive. I was only putting up with him because he was at least decent to look at..."
Vera Rystein was completely bewildered. The young man brought from the neighboring count's estate as a prospective son-in-law had suddenly proposed to her, and her daughter was throwing a tantrum like a child.
"Monica. Do not forget your dignity."
"Mother!"
Monica stood up abruptly. Her face was flushed with heat.
"This is why I said I hated marriage! His eyes are sinister; he looks suspicious at a glance. For a man like that to marry into our count's house—it's absurd!"
His eyes hadn't been that sinister. Vera thought they looked more like the eyes of someone exhausted.
Edward’s intense gaze lingered in Vera’s mind. To be looked at by a handsome young man with such an expression—honestly speaking, as a woman before she was a mother, it didn't feel bad. Her heart raced as if she had returned to her maiden days. She couldn't show it in front of Monica, though.
"Monica. It is this mother's wish that you marry. Don't you need to carry on the line?"
"But!"
"In any other count's house, you would have been married off five years ago. It is fortunate that you have the right of succession, but for a typical noble lady to remain unmarried as she nears twenty is unthinkable."
At Vera's words, Monica had no choice but to bite her lip in frustration. She knew herself that she was an old maid. How many marriage proposals had she broken off until now?
"A second son of the Mountbern count's house is the best son-in-law you could hope for right now. If this marriage proposal falls through, we will have to find a son-in-law from a baron's house, and I would be truly saddened if we became the Barony of Rystein."
"Fine..."
Monica didn't want the family's title to be downgraded because of her, either. If she married the child of a baron, their children would only inherit the baronial title due to morganatic marriage. Baron Rystein—it was a phrase she didn't even want to utter.
"He seems like a decent enough young man, so try to win him over. A woman only finds happiness once she is married."
"Liar. You were never happy, Mother."
"...I was happy just looking at my daughter."
In Monica's memory, there were almost no times when her mother, Vera, had smiled because of her father. A life trapped within the count's house without any external activities or attention. It was as if his only goal had been to have Monica; her father had never given her mother a shred of interest. Until her father died, her mother's life had been like a flower slowly withering away.
'Fine, I suppose I have to get married.'
Her mother had lived her whole life looking only at her. Since her mother wanted this so much, how hard could one marriage be? It wasn't as if Monica herself was being married off; she was just taking in a son-in-law, so there was nothing to be bothered by. She could just give him a title like 'husband' as an honorary position and cut off his hands and feet.
'Well, he'll at least be nice to look at.'
The fact that Edward's appearance pleased her was a blessing in disguise. For someone like her, who felt a physiological aversion to most men, he was the first person she had encountered whose rational curiosity was strong enough to balance that out.
"If he proposes again, I'll accept."
With that, Monica listened to Vera's final instructions, returned to her room, and went to sleep.
'Ah, I'm screwed.'
The next day, waking up in bed, I couldn't help but feel bewildered by the memories of last night. Yesterday, in the joy of overcoming my trauma and winning, and because of Monica's surprisingly gentle attitude, I had just blurted it out. Had I been drunk on something? I hadn't even had any wine.
Proposing to my mother-in-law—it was a topic Monica would use to nag and torment me for months.
'No, get a grip. I can't be scared already.'
I didn't know if I had lived through the future, dreamt of the future, or returned to the past. Regardless, the important thing was that I had been given one more chance. With the memories of my life's miserable wrong answers intact, that is.
In that sense, proposing to Vera was, in a way, a decent choice. Last night, it felt like I had jumped into a side path without knowing what was there just to avoid the thorny road, but thinking about it now, it didn't seem like such a bad path. I did have a rational attraction to Vera, after all.
Even if this path were also a thorny road, it would at best be the life I remembered. Since I had twisted the starting point of my marriage, nothing was certain anymore. However, there was one thing I felt clearly right now.
"Sir Edward, are you awake?"
This time, I wouldn't live as miserably as I remembered.
Vera was sitting alone in the dining hall, drinking tea and waiting for me. Monica must have finished her meal early, as she was nowhere to be seen. At least I wouldn't have to hear her nagging from the morning. I greeted Vera with a refreshed heart.
"Good morning, Lady Rystein."
"Good morning. Normally, I would have had breakfast brought to your room, but I called you to the dining hall because there is something I wish to discuss. Is that alright?"
"Of course. And Lady Monica...?"
"She said she would eat separately. It is for the best, actually. There is no need for Monica to hear what I have to say. First, eat before it gets cold."
As Vera gestured, a maid brought out warm bread and soup. Indeed, a hearty, warm soup is best in the morning.
"*Ahem.*"
As I was finishing my breakfast, Vera, having finished her tea, cleared her throat. As I looked up, taking the last spoonful of soup, she brought up the topic from last night.
"Sir Edward. I will pretend I did not hear what you said last night."
"Pardon?"