Chapter 16

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: Chapter 114

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...No matter what tricks he pulls, he's dead set on stopping this engagement.

Why doesn't he get it?

The more desperately he fights, the more my resolve hardens.

'Fiancée of Marquis Evantes.'

That's a position with real power.

It would also serve as a solid shield to protect me.

It's not without its drawbacks... but in this situation, it's clearly the best option.

'But what was that about?'

<I... killed 'that woman,' and that's why you resent me.>

It has nothing to do with me, yet it nags at me like something stuck in my throat.

Who is that woman? Who did he kill?

And did he actually kill her, or not? The more I think about it, the more tangled it gets.

Replaying that conversation in my head sends my mood plummeting, leaving my stomach churning.

It feels like something I absolutely shouldn't know.

...This is all about Rozhi's past. And yet, I can't pretend I didn't hear it.

"I've come to see the Marquis."

Before I knew it, I'd arrived at Arjen's door while lost in thought.

I signaled to the knight standing guard to open the door.

"The Marquis has gone for a walk in the garden."

At this hour?

Isn't it a bit late for a stroll?

I nodded vaguely and headed straight for the garden.

A gust of cold wind hit me the moment I stepped outside the castle.

My body shivered. I was already prone to the cold.

I grumbled inwardly at my frail frame as I searched for Arjen.

If the chill made it hard to find him quickly, I'd come back tomorrow.

That's when I spotted Arjen toying with a bare tree branch.

He turned his head, noticing me late.

"Rozhi."

"Aren't you cold?"

"You look cold."

I was the one asking, yet Arjen eyed my trembling form with pity.

What? Whatever.

I finally took a proper look at Arjen.

With just a thin shirt draped over him as he wandered the garden, he seemed perfectly fine.

"Let's head back inside."

"I'm okay. I've adjusted a bit. Let's talk here."

It was true. My body temperature had acclimated to the outside air; it wasn't as cold now.

I didn't want to waste time moving back into the castle.

"I came because I have something to ask. If we get engaged, which is a given, how exactly do you plan to clear my name as a criminal?"

"You've made up your mind, then?"

I nodded. I never really had a choice to begin with.

"Can't have my fiancée branded a criminal."

One issue down, at least.

"So you'll help me keep my position as the Seyblin Baroness's aide?"

"Yes."

Arjen answered readily.

"You seem awfully attached to the Seyblin family."

"...Attached?"

"Why else would you agree to this deal?"

No, you didn't even give me a choice in the first place.

I let out a sigh and replied.

"Because that's where my life was."

Three years is a long time.

Everything I'd built during that time—everything I'd made for myself in this world—was tied to that place.

It wasn't something I could just abandon on a whim.

"And being Marquis Evantes's fiancée isn't so bad. Everyone covets that spot."

"Do you covet it too?"

"I'm going to start coveting it now."

If that's what it takes to escape those lunatics.

But Arjen fell silent.

He gazed at me with quiet eyes that hid his true intentions.

"How long will the engagement last?"

"...Engagement period?"

"You're going to marry someone else, right?"

Arjen was the epitome of aristocratic arrogance down to his bones.

So when he proposed to me, someone he saw as beneath him, I was shocked.

I never expected him to make such an offer to a mere commoner.

"How long do I have to stay by your side, Marquis? I want a clear deadline."

Arjen furrowed his brow.

From his expression, something in my words had rubbed him the wrong way.

But before catering to his ego, this needed to be settled.

'If he says indefinite, I'm out.'

That was my biggest worry right now.

I'm accepting this absurd condition of becoming his fiancée under threat because of the benefits.

But if it drags on too long, I can't commit.

I have my own life; I can't be tethered to him forever.

"A year at most."

"A year?"

I'd braced for some arbitrary line like 'until I'm satisfied.'

This was unexpected.

"A year is enough?"

"A year will do. After that, you'll have your freedom and whatever reward you want."

"What kind of reward?"

"Anything you desire."

Pretty generous for a blackmailer.

The deal starting off on the wrong foot made this shift in my favor feel almost suspicious.

"...Why such lenient terms?"

I couldn't help but ask; it was too strange.

"Who knows."

Arjen shut his mouth again.

Strangely, his smile seemed a touch wistful.

* * *

Rumors really are unpredictable.

The moment I accepted Arjen's proposal, they spread like wildfire.

<Remember that woman the Marquis was looking for?>

<Turns out she wasn't a criminal after all!>

<He came all the way north chasing his runaway love!>

<Talk about a romantic!>

Hearing all the chatter in the northern castle left me feeling bleak.

Better than being called a criminal, I guess...

Arjen, couldn't you spread the rumors properly?

I sighed and pulled out a newspaper.

[Monster Attack on Persen Trade Route Reveals Embezzlement Scandal... Mysterious 'Savior' Saves the Empire Once More!]

Something big must have happened recently.

'Persen Territory is right next door, isn't it?'

[Last week, a horde of monsters suddenly attacked the trade route in Persen.

But in the depths of despair, the Savior appeared, swiftly subduing the beasts and exposing hidden corruption, restoring safety to the land.]

'The Savior...'

I stared hard at the illustration in the paper.

No matter how much I racked my brain, no such character existed in the novel.

Who the hell is this person?

The world had been in chaos since the war.

This figure who emerged from the cracks was so ambiguous even their gender was unclear—people called them saintess or saint interchangeably.

Devotees were popping up in droves.

[...Someone testified to seeing pink hair fluttering from beneath the Savior's robe.]

[Rumors say they possess striking beauty...]

'Pink hair? What is this?'

Just the other day, they were saying black hair. Now it's pink, and they're arguing over it.

'Why is the reporting such a mess?'

This paper's backed by nobles and has solid funding. It's not some rag...

Nothing else clicked.

...Something felt off. Seeing this stirred an indescribable emotion.

I'd planned to look into them anyway.

...Becoming Arjen's fiancée would make investigating easier.

I set the newspaper down. My head was spinning; I needed a walk.

<I'm planning a party soon. I'll announce our engagement there.>

Arjen's words from a few days ago echoed in my mind.

He planned to declare it to the northern nobles first.

'Why bother?'

That was my immediate thought. Why rush it here instead of the capital?

I glanced out the window. Lately, carriages had been pouring into the castle—nobles eager to curry favor with Arjen.

As I started wandering the corridors in a daze,

I ran into a man in pristine white priestly robes.

My body froze.

"Why are you here...?"

I muttered without thinking upon seeing him.

I'd heard he'd left the north.

"Getting engaged, Rozhi?"

Rihart smiled smoothly as he looked at me.

"Keeping it from me while you marry another man?"