Chapter 9

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 9

Chapter Title: A Sudden Proposal

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"Yes. That's right."

How did he know?

Well, the background check was too superficial and limited to qualify as a proper investigation.

Agatha slid the teacup toward him as she explained.

"There are a few things I simply can't tolerate in a marriage. So I can't marry anyone who fits that description, which is why I look into them a little each time. I hope I didn't offend you?"

"Not at all. In that case, I've looked into you as well, Lady Noblesse, so we're even."

"Pardon?"

Agatha tilted her head for a moment before realizing with an ah.

It must have been when she proposed the escort position.

"It's only natural for nobles to investigate a potential partner before deepening ties."

He lifted his teacup as he replied.

She knew he'd left for the battlefield at age ten.

Even after ten years and returning to the capital, he still seemed perfectly attuned to noble thinking.

Agatha couldn't help but smile.

"Exactly. I'm glad you understand. Oh, might you be busy with the same issue, Your Lordship? I've heard that introduction letters from ladies of marriageable age are flooding the Aratus Marquisate these days."

Agatha had agonized over the news enough to waste several nights of short sleep.

She knew proposals for political marriages had poured in the moment he'd formed a connection with her.

Yet somehow, it was bothering her even more now, though she couldn't say exactly why.

Did he have someone in mind right now?

"I hadn't considered marriage, but recent events have changed my mind on that."

Just then, as Agatha pondered what incidents might bring introduction letters down on House Aratus...

"Lady Noblesse."

"Yes."

"Will you marry me?"

"......?"

Agatha blinked, momentarily unable to follow the conversation. Then realization hit her like a jolt.

"Marriage? With you, Your Lordship?"

"Yes. Truth be told, when I decided I needed to marry, you were the one who best fit the criteria. But I gave up on the idea, figuring there was no chance you'd marry me."

Enoch's gaze briefly touched the list of her seventh marriage candidates, pushed aside, then moved away.

"If you had me in mind, I'd welcome it. Please consider marriage to me without any pressure, Lady Noblesse."

"......"

Agatha nearly gaped but steadied herself.

It might not be a marriage born of emotion, but if she could maintain ties with him through a political union, it was more than welcome for her.

It was a first. The first time she'd felt a rational attraction to someone.

And the man didn't gamble, had no messy affairs with women, and showed no signs of violence. Wasn't that worth celebrating?

Even better, Enoch wanted her too.

Agatha set down her teacup calmly and smiled like a picture-perfect portrait.

"I'm fine with it. Will you be my seventh husband?"

Now it was Enoch's turn to falter. He paused briefly before calmly setting his teacup down.

"Are you sure you should answer so quickly?"

"Do you see this?"

"......?"

Agatha pulled the list closer and jabbed at the name pinned at the very top.

Enoch Aratus, Marquis

"Being at the top means you're my ideal husband candidate."

Bloodline, wealth, standing at court, the house's current situation—those were the usual things nobles fretted over.

But Agatha didn't concern herself with them.

Enoch, fresh back in the capital, might not realize it, but her marriages were special.

She held full authority over them, even if it meant bargaining with the emperor.

Her criteria focused on whether they had bad habits like thieving hands, wandering eyes, or sinister intentions to kill her.

"Do you enjoy gambling?"

"No."

"Do you have any women hidden away?"

"None."

"Would you kill me if I bore you a child?"

"......"

The man's eyes darkened coldly for an instant, but Agatha rounded her gentle eyes innocently.

It might sound like a joke, but she'd actually had a husband like that.

"Sadly, my fourth ex-husband was exactly that kind of man."

"......"

"But that's all in the past now."

Regaining her composure, Agatha quietly lifted her teacup. Her heart, elated moments ago, sank a little at the memory of her fourth ex-husband.

Looking at Enoch's face again lifted her spirits considerably.

After a brief look of surprise, he parted his taciturn lips.

"Beyond those conditions you mentioned, is there nothing else you want from me?"

It was an unexpectedly thoughtful question.

She'd never been this frank before, but most people jumped at a marriage proposal without asking.

"Would you hear me out?"

"I'll make the effort. It's what my wife wants."

"......"

It was oddly embarrassing. Agatha hid her expression behind her teacup and added her hopes.

"I'd like you to protect me from your relatives."

"That's a husband's natural duty. And?"

"I don't want to live in your manor or castle. I'd prefer a separate newlywed home. Other than that... respect for your wife's rights, I suppose?"

"......Is that all?"

What more could there be?

Though she'd been tossed around by the emperor's whims on marriage matters since childhood, Agatha was the sole heiress of Noblesse, one of the continent's premier ducal houses.

Her bloodline was impeccable, her wealth overflowing, her power third to none in the empire—enough to challenge even the emperor's will.

Agatha could have anything she wanted.

Everything except a happy marriage.

"That should be enough."

She consciously avoided asking to be loved.

There was nothing more ridiculous than discussing emotions in a political marriage.

"......I can't imagine what your married life has been like."

"Pardon?"

"No. Nothing."

Agatha tilted her head, missing his quiet mutter, but Enoch just shook his head.

It was then, as Agatha pushed aside the list she still held.

"Lady Noblesse."

"Yes."

Enoch slowly extended his hand as he continued.

"I have just one request of you. No dealings with my relatives. You're in a position to honor that request fully, and I believe no temptation will sway you. Am I correct?"

"No one is as clean of family entanglements as I am. A wise judgment."

For a moment, it seemed he smiled faintly.

How to describe that change in his impassive face, the slight curve of his lips?

"I promise."

"......"

"So, will you marry me, Lady Agatha Noblesse?"

Feeling her heart pound, Agatha clasped his hand.

Enoch was clearly as plagued by his relatives as she was by hers, and shamefully, Agatha was grateful for it.

Otherwise, this man never would have proposed to her.

"......Gladly. Let's make it work, Your Lordship."

The first choice where she'd let emotion color a marriage. Her seventh.

The man brushed a light kiss to the ring finger of her left hand before pulling away, then pondered briefly.

"The execution is days away, so we need His Majesty's permission first."

"Yes. But I have some matters to settle beforehand, so I'll need a little time. Hmm, a few days?"

Negotiations with the Mainucor Empire would come after the wedding itself.

But before then, she needed to prepare details on Palavi Island's value as a trade hub with the East Continent, sea routes, harbor expansions, city scaling, and more.

Otherwise, the emperor might slyly demand extras.

"Is this related to why His Majesty has been pressuring your marriage?"

"Yes. Have you heard? His Majesty is interested in new trade with the East Continent. Instead of refusing his proposed marriage, I'll offer another island as the hub."

It was high-level information, but whispers were already circulating at court amid the emperor's recent moves and investigations by Agatha's retainers.

That Agatha Noblesse's marriage this time was tied to East Continent trade.

It wasn't wrong. If she hadn't found an alternative, the emperor would have forced a marriage to a noble with suitable territory.

"I can offer one of my islands—a district or so—as dowry. Shall I transfer some rights there?"

"......You say such frightening things so casually. What if I actually coveted it?"

"That's why I can offer it. Oh, and give me that proposal you brought."

His gray eyes flashed with brief surprise toward her.

The situation had changed, and he'd clearly meant to let the debt slide.

But a marriage was a marriage, and a life debt was a life debt. Agatha had no intention of letting the repayment slide under the pretext of marriage.

"Are you telling me to demand a life debt from the lady who will be my wife?"

"After marriage, yes—but this happened before. It's a perfect chance to learn exactly what the current Aratus house needs."