Chapter 10

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 10

Chapter Title: Proposal Accepted

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“……”

Enoch looked reluctant, but Agatha resolutely snatched the proposal document he had brought.

She shoved it deep under the stack of documents piled in the corner of the table so he couldn't grab it, and his gaze seemed to follow it there.

Agatha pretended not to notice.

“I'll go see His Majesty in a few days. I'll contact you once the appointment is set.”

“……Very well.”

Agatha saw Enoch off all the way to the front of the palace and returned.

Sitting blankly in the drawing room and staring at the ceiling, her ears gradually turned red. The ring finger on her left hand, where his slightly rough lips had brushed, now burned belatedly.

“……What kind of proposal is this?”

Had she ever received such a straightforward proposal before?

No sweet words had been spoken, yet it felt like a storm had swept through.

Sudden, but not unwelcome.

No, in a way, it even seemed good. He might not realize it, but wasn't this her receiving a proposal first from someone she liked?

“Ugh.”

After blushing furiously in place for a while, Agatha quickly pulled the proposal document toward her and read it. Then she rang the bell at once to summon her attendant maid.

“You called, Miss?”

“Fetch the administrative officer.”

Agatha decided to settle the Aratus family matter right away in the meantime.

The sooner the recompense arrived, the less that man would have to worry.

A little swept up and shooed out, but still.

Enoch meekly returned to the Aratus mansion in the capital, following Agatha's will.

He had noticed upon close inspection that while her complexion was better than before, it was still far from healthy.

“Welcome back, Master.”

The head steward Ben was waiting out front of the main residence to greet him.

Enoch leaped down from his horse, handed over the coat from his formal court attire, and stepped into the first-floor hall.

“Nothing

of note.”

The hall was packed today as well with servants from various families.

Letters of introduction, invitations, or gifts.

Enoch paused briefly and gave Ben his orders.

“Starting today, reject all incoming letters of introduction.”

“All of them, sir?”

“Yes. I'm planning to marry soon.”

“……!”

The visitors, who had been pretending indifference while fixated on his arrival, snapped their heads up.

Marriage would have an enormous impact, whether to forge ties with House Aratus or simply to gauge their stance.

Enoch passed by the visitors in inner turmoil and headed upstairs. Ben followed close behind, having swiftly masked his momentary fluster.

“Master, do you have a particular lady in mind?”

“I do.”

“Might I inquire as to which house she hails from?”

It had been less than a week since he'd received orders to compile a list of candidates for a political marriage.

The knights guarding the office door bowed their heads. As he stepped through the open door, Enoch perched casually on the desk.

“Agatha Noblesse.”

“…….”

Thud-

At the belated sound of the door closing, Ben finally snapped out of it. It was that shocking, that utterly unforeseen—a partner of unimaginable stature.

“……Are you sure about this?”

“She accepted.”

Ben, who had been bracing for concern, reeled first from the revelation that the proposal had already gone out, then again from the fact that there was already a result.

Even a level-headed steward like him couldn't keep his face from twisting in astonishment right then.

“You've already received her permission?”

“Yes.”

No, didn't you just go to deliver the proposal today...?

Ben swallowed the question rising in his throat. Whatever had transpired, Agatha Noblesse was a match worth rolling out the red carpet for.

The premier bride of the era, from a house boasting bloodline, assets, and status that required no alliances with Aratus kin—no connections needed at all.

There was no finer mistress for them at present.

He quickly schooled his features, but joy uncontained rippled across the steward Ben's face.

“I must shred that list of political marriage candidates at once. Congratulations, Master. I can guarantee the other retainers will be every bit as stunned as I am.”

“Is that right.”

Enoch fell silent for a moment. Then, still perched, he tapped the desk a few times before continuing.

“Prepare some flowers, Ben. I need to make a formal proposal before the execution ceremony wraps up.”

“Even in a political match, proper procedure is best. I'll procure the finest bouquet.”

“Good. I can count on you.”

Enoch turned to survey the desk. Cleared spotless overnight, it was now buried once more in letters and documents.

Quite a few of those letters would soon be on their way out.

“Ah, and right—looks like the proposal negotiations are off the table, then. The retainers, especially Administrative Officer Konrad, are awaiting the outcome. Shall I inform them as such?” Ben added belatedly, as if it had just occurred to him.

“……Hmm. Somehow, I doubt it.”

“Did Madam say she'd pay the life debt in full regardless?”

“Yes. No persuading her otherwise.”

What she'd said was that she'd assess House Aratus's current needs, but it amounted to the same as promising immediate payment of the blood debt.

Given her habit of pushing herself as a matter of course, it wouldn't be surprising if she enacted the proposal's terms that very day.

Ben, with a fleeting look of bewilderment, composed himself with practiced ease and nodded.

“As expected of Madam. Having led her house for so long, she must have deemed it wise to survey the trials of the family she means to wed into beforehand.”

“…….”

Not exactly the reason.

But Enoch saw no need to correct Ben's misapprehension. It was a positive spin, and good rapport with the head steward would lighten her load too.

Already fretting over Agatha overexerting herself post-marriage, Enoch awkwardly rubbed his face.

Is it too soon for thoughts like these?

Worrying over the woman who would soon be his wife. Nothing wrong with that.

It just felt a touch unfamiliar, coming from himself.

“Ah, no time to dawdle. I'll arrange the flowers straightaway, Master.”

“Do that. And keep tabs on the relatives' movements. Bound to be some reaction.”

“Understood, Master.”

Alone in the office now, Enoch pondered briefly before drawing out stationery and penning a letter.

Addressed to 「Isabel Aratus」.

His younger sister, presently on a territory circuit and swamped with domestic affairs.

……Best to give her advance word.

The letter, sealed with wax and signet, was soon passed into a servant's hands.

Thanks to his deliberate show of it, word that Enoch Aratus was preparing a proposal to someone spread like wildfire across the capital overnight.

That was why the retainers, Administrative Officer Konrad at their head, had stormed the capital Aratus mansion at the crack of dawn.

“My lord!”

“Family head!”

The sun had barely risen that morning.

Enoch had just wrapped basic endurance drills with the knights on the training grounds when he spotted the frantic horde barreling toward him, stirring a vague sense of déjà vu.

He unfastened the sword he hadn't even drawn and set it aside.

Training done for the day with conditioning?

“Handle it. Leon, take charge of training.”

“Yes, my lord.”

His hunch proved spot-on. No sooner had he neared the training grounds' entrance than the winded retainers encircled him.

Every last one with eyes bugging out.

“You're getting married?!”

“No way! Word is you're off to propose!”

“Tomato, tomahto! My lord, who's the lucky one? Rumor has it you told 'em to nix all introductions 'cause you're proposing soon—it's all over the capital!”

“What of the proposal talks? Did Agatha Noblesse broker the match?”

“Or did she turn down the proposal but offer to play matchmaker instead?!”

As Enoch recoiled from the deafening clamor, the retainers' imaginations soared to the heavens. A firm voice sliced heavily through the din.

“Enough. Keep yapping, and I say nothing.”

“……!”

The retainers clamped their mouths shut. Enoch, face weary, buried it in the towel Ben the steward proffered.

First off.

“One at a time, slow. What's eating you?”

“Your fiancée!”

“Agatha Noblesse. Got her firm yes on the marriage, proper proposal in a few days. Next.”

“Wh-what……?”

The retainers' eyes shook with shock, as if they'd swallowed gravel. The knights too, feigning focus on drills while eavesdropping, matched their stunned stares.

Administrative Officer Konrad, the one who'd posed the question, stammered with a quaver.

“A-Agatha Noblesse? You mean the Agatha Noblesse, House Noblesse's sole heiress?”

“That's the one. The proposal... high odds it'll go through exactly as we laid out.”

“Pardon? Wh-why foot the lifesaving fee on top of marriage? You are really marrying her, right, my lord?!”

Shocked disbelief mere moments ago.

Now they'd latched onto the oddity, shrieks questioning the marriage's legitimacy erupting left and right.

As Enoch wearily scrubbed his face, Ben the steward—who'd vanished briefly and returned—reported in.

“Master. Best head out front of the mansion at once.”

“What's the fuss?”

“Someone's arrived from Noblesse.”