Celine's Marriage Proposal
Celine
“…What are you doing?”
“Ah””
Both of them were startled at the same time. They glared at each other while staring at Neville.
It’s all your fault.
That’s what I said, didn’t I?
Now they were competing with just their eyes. And Neville, who didn’t understand the meaning.
“Hey, you two?”
At his questioning gaze, they opened their mouths hesitantly.
“Ah, because today the Breina family is visiting, so we came to see Oppa. But he was lying down.”
“Indeed. We were discussing who would guard him until we call the servant.”
“Really? Do we really need to guard him…”
And I thought he said he was going to wash, right?
Did I mishear?
Neville muttered quietly.
Helena and Anna exchanged glances again and continued hurriedly.
“That, that’s because the Breina family might come earlier than expected. And because if the Breina young lady enters, it might be troublesome, so we were trying to guard him.”
“Correct. We didn’t know the exact visit time. It’s usually basic, but it’s strange.”
“She’s always like that. Rude and only rationalizes…”
Helena was about to continue but glanced at Neville’s eyes.
It seems she still thinks I have feelings for Celine.
“Yeah, stupid girl— um, woman. Don’t worry, Helena, what are you going to say?”
Neville slowly stood up.
The part that reacted in the morning had finally calmed down.
There was a bit of embarrassment if they had seen it.
“I’ll go wash first. Let’s have breakfast together, Helena.”
“Ah, yes. Oppa!”
Helena answered with a bright smile, and Neville gently stroked her head and left the room.
The two watched his back quietly.
Helena smiled happily at the lingering heat on her head and looked at Anna.
“…You’re the reason I couldn’t see it.”
A subjectless resentment.
Anna answered while slightly lowering her eyes as if she was being provoked.
“…What are you talking about?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You saw that too— that huge thing.”
Huge thing.
She saw it.
Neville lying on the floor without covering himself with the blanket.
Anna, who momentarily thought it was a long, thick dagger.
Helena was the same.
To the two who only knew its existence through books and education, that dangerous size was like Pandora’s box.
Curiosity to actually see it.
And the mistaken judgment that they could see it if he washed.
They were competing with the rationalization that even if he woke up, they could make up some excuse.
“…I had no such impure intentions.”
“Haha. Do you think no one noticed the fixed gaze?”
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Don’t lie.”
The two stood there for a long time, bickering with words.
While their mouths moved quickly, their minds were painting clear afterimages.
. .
. .
“The Breina family’s Celine young lady has arrived. She says she’ll be waiting in the reception room.”
“Really? Let’s go.”
“…Are you planning to go like that?”
“Yeah, and no matter what I say, don’t be too surprised. Prepare a vomit bucket too, since it’ll be disgusting at the end.”
“I will obey.”
Anna, who could have asked but didn’t, because she was sensitive about meeting Celine, the quietness was rather comforting.
They walked quickly to the reception room.
“Huu—”
Neville exhaled a long breath and opened the door.
At his words, the pink-haired woman who was sitting up and smiling.
Celine.
Celine.
Celine.
He forced the tension in his jaw to relax and suppressed the rising killing intent.
He turned anger into a smile, killing intent into happiness, and vengeful thoughts into eyes full of love.
He looked at her as affectionately as he wanted to kill her.
“Oh— my love, bright Celine. You’ve gone through a lot. You came to visit suddenly today and made me happy.”
He swallowed the rising bile.
His body trembled as he tried to hold back the suppressed killing intent and anger so it wouldn’t spill out.
“Neville! Nice to meet you. But.. you’re dressed in training clothes?”
The way she blinked her big eyes in surprise was annoying.
She had deliberately moved her body too much.
To prevent her body from reacting first and snapping Neville’s neck in case of a mistake.
“Ah, Celine said to stop the sword. She told me not to build muscle either, so I’ve been sweating a lot to lose fat.”
“Is that so? I’m really happy that you listened to me, Neville!”
He quickly blocked her from trying to hug him.
He didn’t have the confidence to kill her.
He would torment this woman, torment her, and kill her in the most painful moment.
“I also want to hug my beloved Celine, but I’ve sweated too much..”
Are you trying to stop me? How dare you?
Celine smiled brightly but felt doubt.
The Valkian family’s fool, Neville.
Normally, she would have run into his arms and laughed like an idiot.
Something’s weird.
Just as she was about to ask while staring at his red eyes.
She felt the hand wrapping her shoulder trembling.
Aha—
It was clear she was forcing herself to hold back the urge to hug him.
This fool wouldn’t push her away.
It seemed he had come running because he didn’t want to wait.
And she didn’t want to be hugged by a body covered in dirty sweat either, so it was fine.
“Oh my, Neville. You’re considering me. You’ve become even more handsome. I’m so happy.”
Stupid.
Although his handsome face was a bit annoying, he was a man who would die anyway.
He smiled coldly inside and took out the prepared words.
“Neville, actually, I came alone today to talk about marriage. Without telling Father.”
Neville, suppressing the impulse to shake off the hand gripping his shoulder, released it.
“Really? What content? Why did you come without telling Father, my love?”
“Huhu- If I win just one duel, I can marry you!”
“…A duel?”
“Yes. Father said that even though Neville is a prince of the Valkian family, if his sword skills are lacking, there’s no chance for marriage.”
Celine spat out crazy words with a laughing face.
Suppressing the impulse to tear her mouth apart and the anger, he answered.
“Um, well… but?”
“Fortunately, there’s a pretty famous 3-star swordsman in our family’s retainer! Even if it’s been a while since he put down the sword, I think Neville would be enough for that level!”
Crazy woman.
Neville, who barely held back the harsh words, nodded with a smile.
“Really? I should tell the head of the family right away! What about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? I’m really happy!”
Stupid guy.
Celine laughed heartily at Neville’s pathetic behavior.
The retainer she mentioned was a 5-star swordsman from the Breina family.
Since the information was thoroughly hidden, it would be hard to confirm, and even if he only formed 3 rings, he wouldn’t notice.
But the difference between a 5-star swordsman forming 3 rings and a 3-star swordsman forming 3 rings was on a different level.
It was like an adult using only one hand against a child.
Neville would have no choice but to lose the fight.
The problem was whether to accept it or not.
It’s so easy it’s annoying.
Contrary to her words, Celine smiled brightly.
Neville was forcing a smile too.
“However, the head of the family might say I need to put up more stakes. I put down the sword for Celine, but it’s unfair compensation, right?”
“It can be. But Neville can explain it well, right?”
“Well, I can’t even call him Father anymore, I call him head of the family. It might only be possible if the head of the family accepts the head of the family’s proposal from the Breina family.”
…Kaiser de Valkian. The head is the problem.
Neville, who heard his words and put down the sword.
He became a broken man who couldn’t even call him Father after being cut off by the head.
A man whose face he couldn’t even show in the social world.
Of course, it wasn’t because of him putting down the sword, but because he gave up because it was hard, and the board was set.
There would be no damage to the Breina family.
Celine thought hard.
Neville’s rebuttal was a bit strangely reasonable, but it wasn’t wrong.
And the family’s knight had no reason to lose to the pathetic man in front of him.
But I can’t let it go easily. I should add more conditions for when I lose.
“It’s true, Neville. I’ll talk to Father. But… when you lose, don’t ask for conditions?”
“There’s no way I’ll lose! If the Breina family decides, it’s fine.”
Looking at Neville laughing like an idiot, Celine smiled brightly.
“I’m so happy that you trust me like this, Neville!”
The two smiled brightly at each other.
It would look like a picture to others.
But in reality, it was completely different.
After Celine left, Neville hurriedly slammed his face into the vomit bucket prepared by Anna.
“Uweeeeeek—”
“..Prince. Are you okay?”
“Weeeek— uuk— hu- I’m fine, Anna. uuk—”
Neville vomited for a long time.
All the actions and words he had done to Celine were extremely disgusting. It was painful to hold back the desire to kill her right away.
He would kill her.
Most miserably.
Cruelly.
Painfully.
Terribly.
He would break every bone, rip out the organs alive, and chew them.
All related ones.
In Neville’s red eyes, which lifted his head from the vomit bucket, a thick killing intent flowed.
“I should go wash and meet the head of the family.”
“I will obey.”
The killing intent was enough to make even the Sword Master Anna panic.
. .
. .
“I greet the head of the family.”
Kaiser, sitting in the office sorting documents.
At Neville’s greeting, he nodded and looked at him.
“The Breina family’s girl came?”
“She took the bait. It seems you should just think about the compensation you’ll receive.”
“Compensation…”
Kaiser smiled slightly as if amused.
The Breina family approached faster than expected according to Neville’s words.
After talking to Neville, they failed to find the family’s rat.
But in the process, they revealed that the Breina family had allied with the Second Prince’s faction.
As the saying goes, the longer the tail, the more it gets stepped on.
The shadow unit patrolling the Breina territory had ‘accidentally’ obtained the letter exchanged between Celine and the Second Prince.
The letter was full of information about the Second Prince faction and details revealing their closeness.
It even had the Breina family’s seal that couldn’t be forged.
By informing the Second Prince faction of this fact, and winning the duel to receive the compensation, they could greatly shake the Breina family.
“What kind of proposal do you think is good?”
Father’s test and opportunity.
Neville understood the intent from Kaiser’s question.
Depending on how he answered, he could gain his father’s trust.
“May I ask if you have confirmed whether the Breina family is a spy family of the Second Prince faction?”
“…What reason do you think that?”
“I thought that if it were you, the head of the family, you would have confirmed it after our conversation.”
Kaiser smiled quietly.
It was a positive meaning.
“Interesting. So?”
“I have figured out the reason, and if we can use it, I think it’s better to increase the stakes of the duel.”
“Increase the stakes?”
“Yes. Tell them this. I have confirmed that they are spies of the Second Prince faction, and I have evidence. Regardless of the outcome of the duel, I plan to break off the engagement and pay the compensation for breaking off the engagement. If they don’t want that, I will win the duel, and if I lose, I will ask for the Bulldog taken by the Breina family and the mining rights of the mana stone mine of the Breina family.”
In the quiet room.
Unlike the suffocating silence, the surrounding mana was turbulent as if reacting to Kaiser’s emotions.
“…Win. I’ll set the board. Go.”
Kaiser’s voice broke the silence.
Neville slowly raised his head and answered.
“I will do it with the honor of the Valkian family. I will not betray your trust, head of the family.”
Looking at Neville leaving, Kaiser smiled quietly.
Since meeting Neville always brought something to laugh about, the anger from the past 4 years felt like a lie.
I knew I would move.. And I figured out the reason for accepting the engagement.
The heirloom of the Valkian family that the Breina family took.
The sword Bulldog used by the first head of the family.
The economic disasters that hit the family when Kaiser’s grandfather was head of the family.
It was clearly someone’s duke, but they needed a lot of money without time to check it.
At that time, the Breina family extended a hand, and the Bulldog was requested as collateral.
The heirloom is both a symbol of the family and identity.
Despite the unreasonable demand, no family lent a hand to the surroundings.
With a heart-wrenching feeling, the Bulldog was entrusted and a huge sum was received.
With the efforts of the previous head and Kaiser, they tried to repay all debts and repay the principal to receive it back.
They just couldn’t receive it because they avoided it openly.
They accepted the uneasy engagement thinking they could receive it when Neville got married.
This was also the Breina family’s planned scheme.
To collapse the Valkian family from within.
The previous head must have been dealt with by the Breina family too.
Kaiser was not a fool.
Since they were the ones they suspected the most, he had tried to find out the truth through multiple paths.
He found out that there was evidence in the Breina family head’s office, but there was no way to approach it.
But this opportunity would definitely create a gap if they shook the Breina family.
“Double the favor, and revenge thoroughly to the point where the opponent can’t do anything about it.”
The start of that revenge lay in the outcome of tomorrow’s duel.