Kisa momentarily doubted her ears. She wondered if she had misheard the incredible statement that had just come out of Seyerd’s mouth.

“I-I’m sorry, but what did you say?”

However, Seyerd repeated the same words without changing his expression.

“Will you marry me?”

Oh God. What is this man saying?

Seeming to think his explanation was lacking, he conveyed his intentions in more detail than before.

“I don’t mean a conventional marriage.”

“Then what?”

“Kisa wants to avoid the impending marriage, and so do I.”

“That’s right.”

“There’s a traditional method that people in such situations have used since ancient times.”

“Surely not…”

“It’s to marry someone else first. Ah, are you thinking this now? That you don’t see how such a hasty marriage is any different from an unwanted one.”

She hadn’t thought exactly that. Kisa herself had also brought up the argument of marrying someone else to persuade the Count. The problem was that there was no suitable match with better conditions than Daniel.

“But if we make a contract before the marriage, we can solve that drawback.”

“A contract?”

“We set an expiration date for the marriage. After that period, both people become free.”

“…You mean divorce?”

Divorce. A more fatal path than breaking an engagement. There were some who took the risk to divorce, but what kind of looks did they receive from people?

“You could say that. Well, if divorce is practically difficult due to social conditions, we could consider other methods like separation.”

Watching Seyerd tilt his head and seriously contemplate, Kisa belatedly realized her mistake. His remarks were so shocking that she had unknowingly asked questions, but it was impossible from the start.

“Seyerd, I understand what you mean, more or less.”

“Really?”

“Yes, you mean a kind of contract marriage, right? I know the concept from romance novels and such. But it’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“…My father won’t allow it.”

Ordinary backgrounds wouldn’t be enough to satisfy Count Vanspelt. From his attire and manner of speech alone, it was clear enough that Seyerd was an upper-class person.

But that alone wasn’t enough. He would try to sell his beautiful daughter, whom he had strictly managed all her life, for the highest price.

Although she didn’t explain the detailed reasons, Seyerd seemed to understand the meaning of her words. After a moment of silence, he expressed his apologies.

“I’m sorry. It seems I pushed my own intentions too much.”

“Not at all! It was a suggestion you made with me in mind.”

“Even so, I think I surprised you too much.”

“I was a bit surprised. I never imagined Seyerd would have such thoughts.”

Seyerd awkwardly brushed his bangs, seeming embarrassed.

“Actually, I’m in the process of seeking another marriage partner, but it’s not going well, so I’ve been thinking about various options. I figured the other party would be tempted if there were some advantages to marrying me.”

For a moment, Kisa was surprised that even someone as attractive as him was struggling with marriage, but thinking about it, his situation was similar to hers.

In other words, he had to choose a partner while considering their background. It would be difficult to find a suitable match without an fiancé at this point.

Kisa gazed at the man sitting next to her. Knowing his human-like concerns, which were quite similar to her own, inevitably made him feel more familiar.

“Hey, Seyerd.”

“Yes, Kisa.”

Outwardly, the situation hadn’t particularly improved, but she felt more at ease. Kisa smiled sincerely for the first time today.

“Let’s both do our best. If we keep looking hard, don’t you think we’ll find good partners?”

Words without any basis. As she was worrying that it might sound irresponsible, his answer came.

“You’re right. We will definitely marry ideal partners.”

Seyerd smiled and added the next words somewhat belatedly.

“Both me and you.”

Whether it should be considered fortunate or not. Although he would have heard the report from Marsha later, Count Vanspelt didn’t leave any particular comments about Kisa’s actions of going to the Royal Library. Perhaps it was because she returned home early, unlike last time.

No, maybe the Count’s attention was focused elsewhere. The new Duke of Hillan who inherited the family in place of his deceased older brother.

Even though it had been nearly a month since he inherited the title, his behavior of not showing up in social circles at all was a matter of utmost interest.

‘The Duke of Hillan.’

Being such a big shot, there was a high probability that the Count, sensitive to political trends, was also keeping a close eye on him. It didn’t matter either way to Kisa.

To her, the Duke of Hillan was a stranger whose younger brother’s face she didn’t even know, and she had no particular connection with the older brother either. She heard they were twins, but wondered if their personalities were similar, as the previous Duke of Hillan rarely appeared in social circles.

Of course, she had exchanged greetings with him before when introduced by the Princess while moving around in social circles, and had passed by him a few times.

However, each time, Kisa intentionally avoided the late Duke of Hillan. Not only did he have the red hair that she found uncomfortable, but her first impression of him wasn’t very good either.

Perhaps because of that, she couldn’t remember his face well.

Suddenly, she recalled meeting him for the first time at Princess Arta’s birthday party when she was younger. Biserk Hillan was, as publicly evaluated, the most aristocratic man. Cold and merciless.

His aura was so similar to her father, Count Vanspelt, that Kisa only exchanged brief greetings with him and quickly left the place.

There was no need to have two people who made her feel guilty just by their presence.

Anyway, life is truly unpredictable. The brother who was once an outsider with nothing to envy as the Princess’s fiancé and the master of the Hillan duchy, inherited all the power and wealth of the family.

Who could have predicted it until just two months ago when the former Duke of Hillan breathed his last?

Many people were curious about what kind of person the new Duke, who had reportedly grown up in a monastery for half his life, would be like. Except for Kisa. She had enough headaches with her own affairs.

“Young miss, are you throwing these away?”

“Yes.”

Kisa nodded at Marsha’s question, looking at the envelopes in the trash can. The letters, beautifully decorated with ribbons and pressed flowers, disappeared from view along with the other trash.

It was a harsh decision for someone who usually kept all letters exchanged with acquaintances in a letterbox without exception.

“Those are from Miss Melissa, right?”

The nanny, who was tidying up Kisa’s attire, asked with a worried expression.

“Why so suddenly? Did you really have a fight with Miss Melissa?”

“Something like that.”

“I don’t know what happened, but it’s not like you to throw away letters that your friend wrote with sincerity.”

If sending several letters full of excuses and self-justification after committing a wrong could be called sincerity, the nanny’s words weren’t wrong.

But every time Melissa’s letters arrived, Kisa would briefly skim them and throw them in the trash.

“Oh my, why are you acting like this lately? Is it a late puberty?”

Leaving the nanny sighing heavily, Kisa examined herself in the mirror. The delicate silk fabric in a soft pink color, with darker flowers embroidered on top.

Kisa twirled around in one of her favorite dresses. Even to her own eyes, it was a perfect figure.

“As expected of our young miss! You’re so beautiful!”

Even the nanny who had been lamenting earlier clapped her hands in delight.

“That’s right. While you’re at it, enjoy the opera and refresh your mood, then make up with Miss Melissa.”

Unfortunately, the very last part was impossible, but she planned to enjoy just the opera.

“If it’s alright, please come.”

On the second day they met, Seyerd gifted Kisa opera tickets just before parting. He said he happened to get tickets and had two extra.

“Come, you say. Is Seyerd going to see the same opera?”

“Yes, we might meet there if we’re lucky. Ah, don’t worry about misunderstandings, we won’t be sitting next to each other.”

“No, I’m not worried about that.”

“That’s good. Anyway, I heard rumors that it’s a well-received performance recently. You’ll like it.”

The Castle of the Lord. She remembered hearing the young ladies praising it as fun at the Princess’s tea party.

Objectively speaking, Kisa might not be in a situation to leisurely go see performances right now.

However, since it was a gift from Seyerd, she wanted to respond to his kindness if possible, and she also felt rebellious. Daniel was doing whatever he wanted even in this situation, so why couldn’t Kisa?

Moreover, as expected, rumors about Kisa and Daniel were spreading after the tea party. Although no one directly showed it yet, one by one they were sending letters subtly probing Kisa’s true feelings, which was evidence of this.

In this situation, it was burdensome to appear in front of many people, but she absolutely hated the misunderstanding of being cooped up at home fretting over Daniel. She would act as if nothing was wrong. She could enjoy the opera as much as she wanted.

Firmly resolving this, Kisa left the mansion with the nanny seeing her off. Indeed, it must be a popular performance, as the opera house was overflowing with spectators.

Although she received two tickets from Seyerd, Kisa had no one in particular to come with, so she came alone and was about to enter the hall right away.

“Oh, isn’t this the daughter of Count Vanspelt?”

Unfortunately, she ran into a young man from a certain family whom she knew. He was the type who would throw obvious flirtations even at Kisa, who had a fiancé.

“Hello.”

“Are you here to see ‘The Castle of the Lord’ too?”

“Yes, now if you’ll excuse me-”

“Wait a moment! Where is your seat? The seat next to mine is empty, if you don’t mind, let’s watch together.”

He’s particularly persistent today. Could it be that he heard rumors about Kisa and Daniel’s relationship falling apart and is trying to take advantage of the situation?

“No, that’s fine.”

“Come on, let’s watch together.”

He even went so far as to physically block Kisa from leaving. Just as she was about to raise her voice-

“Hey, you! This isn’t the time or place for this!”

Someone who seemed to be the man’s companion approached and shouted.

“That Duke Hillan has arrived!”