An Unexpected Engagement
Ashily Dolores.
Ashily Dolores.
The only daughter of the Dolores family, which oversaw the nation’s finances, and a young lady of considerable renown in high society.
In Ellyse’s eyes the girl was a spoiled brat who adored luxury, yet her deep blue hair, luminous eyes, and exquisite beauty ranked among the finest in all of Westania.
With a background like that, even a pragmatic mind would assume she would marry well.
Ellyse had never agreed with Ashily’s claim that she would make a perfect wife and mother once wed, but the girl was undeniably impressive; at the very least, she was bound to catch someone equally outstanding.
……Demian? The Demian I know?
Only, being too impressive was the problem.
Ellyse Bertman wiped the splashed coffee from her lips and the table with a dazed expression.
Her mind, however, refused to settle.
The sudden mention of that name had thrown her into confusion, and the entirely unforeseen subject of marriage left her dumbfounded.
It was true that both she and Ashily had come of age. The snot-nosed children had grown into young women of marrying age, that was also true. But to suddenly declare a marriage?
And with that Demian Cloud?!
Even as she dabbed at her mouth with a napkin, Ellyse Bertman kept her gaze pinned on Ashily Dolores across the table.
With the thought Aah, this is extremely awkward written plainly across her face, she glared at the spoiled young lady who was deliberately avoiding her eyes.
The tightly clenched fist and rigid shoulders visible beneath the table felt shameless, as if the girl were bracing for some unknown counterattack.
She had no connection to Demian Cloud whatsoever, so what was this about?
More than that—why did the news leave her feeling so incredulous and angry……?
Ellyse Bertman’s eyelids fluttered. She closed her eyes and forced her thoughts back into order.
It was a moment of conflicting emotions, yet the most urgent task was determining the truth.
She needed to find out what exactly this girl was thinking, showing up after work just to drop a bombshell like this.
She also needed to regain her composure.
Pressing hard around her eyes, Ellyse reluctantly spoke the words that had to come first.
“……Right. Congratulations.”
“……Uh, thanks. But—”
“Considering I told you to do well with me only a few weeks ago, I’m dying to know what happened that marriage talks are already on the table.”
“……”
Watching Ellyse Bertman wear the most beautiful, serene smile in the world, Ashily suddenly sensed a threat to her life.
If she handled this wrong, she would never leave this seat alive.
Intuition screaming, Ashily Dolores abandoned every excuse she had prepared.
She squeezed her eyes shut once more and blurted out her main point.
“……So, I’m going to break off the engagement!”
“……?”
“……So, in short.”
Ellyse pressed a hand to her forehead and muttered.
She now felt her head throbbing for an entirely different reason.
She had known for years that the girl before her had no sense of restraint.
They had been like real sisters since childhood, after all.
There was no way she could be unaware of her impulsive, headstrong personality.
She simply hadn’t realized the girl was reckless enough to upend a family arrangement that was already decided, all because it seemed her friend might like the other party.
“Because you’re more precious to me.”
Ashily Dolores clasped both hands together as if waiting to be praised, eyes sparkling.
To Ellyse Bertman, she was an utterly infuriating creature.
Sipping the fresh coffee she had ordered, Ellyse stared hard at her. No matter how she turned it over, it made no sense.
“If you were going to break the engagement, you should have refused on the spot. Why drag it out and only tell me now?”
“……That hurts my feelings. I needed time to think, too! How could I say no when Dad was crying tears of joy?”
“……I suppose that’s fair.”
Ellyse tilted her head, then asked again.
“Still, couldn’t you have taken care of it before coming to me?”
Even her father, Abriham Dolores, could not ignore his daughter’s wishes. If Ashily said she disliked it, the engagement would fall apart.
They could have met later to talk, so why come all this way to deliver the news in person?
To that question Ashily Dolores lifted the corners of her mouth and answered boldly.
“Because your reaction is entertaining.”
At those words Ellyse Bertman blinked, then clenched her fist.
She felt she would only feel better if she beat the hell out of that damn girl right then and there.
“Aaaack!! The inspector is hitting someone! The inspector is beating a person!”
So she finally delivered the punishment.
Other patrons’ eyes snapped toward the sudden commotion, but once Ellyse made up her mind she never looked back.
She brought her knuckles down on the crown of Ashily’s head, releasing all the resentment left over from the previous banquet as well.
The salon patrons watched the adorable scene and thought the young ladies were getting along splendidly.
Of course, for Ashily—the one actually on the receiving end—there was nothing to do but scream.
“Ack! Aaaaack!!”
Once the punishment was over, Ellyse felt her heart grow peaceful once more.
Ashily teared up and rubbed the lump rising on her head.
She sobbed in a way that didn’t suit her age at all.
This time Ashily Dolores glared at the strangely refreshed-looking Ellyse and grumbled.
“……I came running all this way thinking of you.”
When she put it like that, Ellyse Bertman had no retort. She averted her gaze from that venomous stare.
Marriage to Cloud would double the already formidable influence of the Dolores family.
She didn’t know the full circumstances, but deciding to reject the engagement simply because she herself had taken an interest in Demian was, in its own way, an enormous choice.
“……Right. Thank you. But if you were going to call it fun, you should have braced yourself.”
“Who beats people up over something like that!”
“Anyone listening would think I really hit you. I only gave you two or three very light knocks on the head.”
“What do you mean, very light! It hurt like hell!”
“Yeah, very light.”
“You idiot Ellyse! Muscle-brained gorilla Ellyse! That’s why you’ve gone twenty years without a single boyfriend!”
“……Do you actually want to die?”
When Ellyse smiled and raised her fist, a startled Ashily threw both arms over her face. She cowered, eyes squeezed shut.
Hmm. Still a coward, as always.
Ellyse lowered her fist with a click of her tongue. Only then did Ashily lower her arms, glare at her, and mutter under her breath.
“……Only your strength is disgustingly strong.”
“What did you just say?”
“……I didn’t say anything.”
Seeing Ashily’s lips pout out, Ellyse let out a dry laugh.
Yes. The spoiled Ashily Dolores she knew had always been like this.
Since the girl was sulking on her account and had even rejected a marriage prospect, she ought to give her something.
Maybe she should buy her a designer bag with the allowance she had saved.
While Ellyse was weighing the idea and nodding to herself, Ashily Dolores—who had calmed down considerably—regained her smile and spoke again.
“Oh, right. So I’m meeting Demian tomorrow evening.”
“……Why meet him? Just reject him over the phone.”
“No, Dad already set the appointment. It would be ruder to refuse without even seeing his face.”
Well, that was also true.
“Anyway, I’ll turn down the engagement. After that, it’s up to you. Even if it’s broken off, I don’t have the confidence to marry a man my best friend likes and make it work.”
“……It wasn’t broken off.”
“Yeah, I saw the rejection loud and clear.”
When Ellyse clenched her fist again, Ashily reflexively raised her arms and shouted.
“Stop trying to solve everything with violence! You’re supposed to be a righteous inspector! You liar!”
Since that was also true, Ellyse Bertman simply glared at her and lowered her fist.
Immediately regaining her bravado, Ashily Dolores grinned and shrugged.
“Want to come to tomorrow evening’s meeting? You can tell him, ‘My friend will marry you in my place.’”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Even if you don’t, you’re still bothered, right? If the conversation takes a strange turn, it could end in an actual wedding.”
“You said you’d reject it.”
“That’s what I mean. If you’re really worried, come spy from a little ways away. I’ll show you just how impressive a woman I am.”
Watching Ashily Dolores’s nose rise higher and higher, Ellyse let out a small snort of laughter.
“That won’t be necessary.”
She wasn’t a stalker; why on earth would she spy?
“Mademoiselle, may I kiss your beautiful hand?”
In a garden swallowed by darkness, a man knelt before a woman and spoke.
“……Yes?……Eh?”
Ashily Dolores’s eyes simply trembled. From a distance, Ellyse Bertman could only open and close her mouth wordlessly.
Demian Cloud nodded at the bewildered young lady.
“Then I shall take that as consent.”
With those words, Demian slowly lowered his head and pressed his lips to the back of Ashily Dolores’s hand.
He slid a ring onto her finger.
Hidden among the bushes, Ellyse watched the scene with painful clarity and screamed inside her head.
……How did it come to this?
She could not understand it at all.
