Please Marry My Son (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1

“Do you like mathematics?”

“Huh? Oh, no.”

“Then you must have no interest in divine arts either. What about swordsmanship?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know anything about demons or magic?”

“Y-yes?”

The man set his teacup down expressionlessly.

The woman, who had initially been sitting demurely with a shy expression, could no longer hide her flustered look.

“What a pity. We have absolutely no common interests. Shouldn’t we at least be able to hold a conversation if we’re meant to spend our lives together?”

The woman seated before him turned bright red.

“This seems like a waste of time. Shall I take my leave now?”

The man walked away firmly, leaving her alone.

As he passed through the corridor, he encountered a woman struggling to open a door while holding a stack of documents so tall it nearly obscured her face.

“Oh, excuse me for a moment.”

After asking for her pardon, he opened the door for her, and she stepped inside, offering her thanks.

“Thank you.”

“…”

Seeing how large and heavy the stack of papers looked, his ingrained manners wouldn’t let him simply walk away, so he reluctantly asked,

“Shall I carry those for you?”

“No, it’s fine. But could you close the door behind me?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as she stepped inside, he shut the door and walked away indifferently.

‘I really wish I could just go home.’

But if he didn’t stop by his parents’ place to report today’s outcome, things would surely become troublesome.

Yet if he did tell them, another storm of nagging would inevitably follow.

In his mind, the image of his furious father and bedridden mother appeared naturally.

‘Just how many more times do I have to tell them before they stop this nonsense?’

Frustrated and stifled, he finally loosened his tie.

Eric Russell Gloucester.

Heir to the House of Gloucester and himself the Earl Russell, as well as Captain of the Second Knights.

Exceptionally capable and strikingly handsome—any praise imaginable, such as “bright future ahead,” would still fall short. Universally acknowledged as the Empire of Britannia’s number one bachelor.

Yet his personality was utterly terrible—downright disastrous.

Nicknamed “the Black Lion of Britannia” to his face, and behind his back, “the top 3% of Britannia” or “the heartbreaker from the demon realm.”

A man who was the center of attention in the empire, for both good and ill.

Today, he had once again effortlessly ruined yet another blind date—though he’d long since lost count of how many times this had happened.

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“You damn son of mine!!”

The Duke of Gloucester finally shouted.

He thought his face might burst from turning so red.

“I should just die, yes, I should die!”

The Duchess of Gloucester groaned, clutching her head as she collapsed onto the sofa.

But he had already anticipated this scenario from past experience.

He really should have just kept his mouth shut.

“I clearly stated I had no interest.”

It wasn’t the first or second time this had happened, yet he still felt compelled to add that remark.

“What, you little brat!!”

“Oh dear, oh dear!”

The Duke’s roar and the Duchess’s groans grew even louder.

“I also told you not to do anything pointless.”

“Eeeeh!!!”

“Uuuuugh!”

The Duke of Gloucester trembled furiously in anger, while the Duchess let out an even louder wail as if her insides were bursting.

The butler standing nearby shook his head, thinking, ‘Just as I expected, again today.’

But Eric drank the tea the butler had given him without the slightest change in expression.

“Butler, the tea tastes especially good today.”

“It’s your favorite Orange Ceylon, sir. I prepared it knowing you’d be coming today.”

“You remembered. Thank you, Butler.”

Seeing his son calmly sipping tea only made him even more furious.

“Fine, why did you dislike her this time? At least tell me.”

“We couldn’t communicate at all.”

“Communicate? About what?”

“She said she doesn’t like mathematics.”

“…What?”

‘What on earth is this about? Mathematics, out of nowhere? How many people actually like math anyway?’

‘More importantly, who in their right mind would ask about liking math during a blind date?’

Utterly bewildered, he stared at his son.

“She has no interest in swordsmanship, doesn’t know demons—anyway, we had absolutely nothing in common.”

“…Is there even a woman—or a person, for that matter—who can hold a conversation with you?”

Eric frowned at that but quickly shrugged as if conceding the point.

That only made him angrier.

“You brat! You know better, so why do such things? There’s a limit to shaming your parents!”

“Oh.”

“Get out, you little rascal!”

Finally unable to contain himself, the Duke of Gloucester grabbed a cushion and threw it.

But his son, exceptionally skilled in martial arts, easily dodged it—even while holding his teacup, not a single drop spilled.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

He set his teacup on the table, placed the fallen cushion back on the sofa, and walked out calmly.

“Oh dear, oh dear.”

The Duchess’s wailing continued until the door closed, but he paid it no mind.

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“Dear, at this rate, we’ll die of stress before we ever see grandchildren.”

The Duchess of Gloucester, barely managing to sit up from the sofa, pressed her head and groaned.

“I must have committed many sins in my life. Otherwise, why would such chaos befall us in our twilight years?”

The Duke of Gloucester, barely suppressing his anger, sat heavily on the sofa and bowed his head deeply.

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Looking back, Eric had truly been a source of pride.

Their son, born with difficulty in their later years, had never been seriously ill nor caused them grief.

During military academy, he excelled both academically and physically, topping his class.

After commissioning, his career progressed smoothly, and he even became the youngest captain of a knight order.

Yet now, this marriageable son had become nothing short of a damn nuisance.

Every blind date he attended ended in rejection, and eventually, as if in rebellion, he began doing absurd things that caused breakups—making apologies to the other family a daily routine.

Just today, it took him exactly fifteen minutes—from exchanging introductions, asking ridiculous questions, to storming out.

His unnecessary learning ability seemed excellent too; he was getting faster at rejecting matches. Today’s fifteen minutes set a miraculous new record.

Next time, he might finish in ten.

Once, utterly exasperated, they’d steeled themselves and asked seriously,

“Could it be that you prefer men?”

At that, his son instantly made a face as if he’d just crawled out of hell, and they secretly sighed in relief.

If it’s not that he prefers men, then why won’t he marry, you brat?

You’re perfectly fine—why won’t you marry? You damn son!

No matter what, how dare you make that face at your own parents? You ungrateful child!

They’d cursed him endlessly in their hearts but never voiced it aloud, fearing he might stray even further.

Regardless of the Duke and Duchess’s feelings, the elderly butler—who had served the Gloucester household for decades—had already prepared, as usual, an apology letter and an abundance of gifts for the other family, quietly waiting for the Duke’s signature.

“Sigh.”

As the Duke of Gloucester sluggishly signed the letter, a servant, equally accustomed to the routine, loaded the letter and gifts onto a carriage and departed for delivery.

“With the cost of those gifts alone, we could’ve bought a mansion.”

The head maid muttered, watching the carriage drive away.

Beside her, the butler silently nodded in agreement, gazing toward the drawing room, which still seemed to echo with sighs.

“With the young master’s temperament, pushing him like this might backfire.”

“Indeed. He’s the type who won’t do something even if you put a knife to his throat. Why are they in such a rush? If the right lady appears, he’ll do anything—even if she clings to his trousers to stop him.”

“Maybe you should quietly talk to him.”

“Do you think I haven’t tried? He wouldn’t even listen with the side of his ear. What about you, Butler?”

“My words don’t even reach the vicinity of his ears, it seems.”

In the end, they simply looked at each other and sighed.

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Whether his parents were bedridden or not, Eric returned to his own townhouse.

“Welcome back, sir.”

“Hmm.”

The butler greeted him respectfully.

The moment he stepped inside, he loosened the tie around his neck.

Ignoring the butler, who seemed to be scrutinizing him more closely than usual, he walked on.

‘Not today either.’

Though he’d expected as much, the butler—disappointed inwardly—followed Eric without a word.

Servants and maids who had come out hoping for news saw the butler’s expression and returned to their posts with resigned looks of “Of course.”

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After changing into comfortable clothes, he headed straight for the knights’ training grounds.

“You’re here, Captain.”

“How’s the training?”

“We were just about to begin.”

“Aren’t you late?”

“Not at all. We’ll proceed as scheduled.”

“Is that so?”

Alan, Eric’s adjutant and junior from the military academy, grinned as he spoke to Eric, who was picking up his sword and glancing at his watch.

“You arrived much too early, Captain.”

“What did you expect?”

“Oh, nothing.”

He shrugged.

He’d anticipated this, but honestly, Eric had arrived even earlier than expected.

“How long did you last today?”

“Hmm… about fifteen minutes?”

“Oh! A new record! You’re getting faster and faster!”

He clapped enthusiastically, exclaiming in admiration.

Several knights behind them exchanged money with mixed expressions of laughter and tears.

Eric saw it all clearly but was too tired to say anything, so he simply pretended not to notice.

“Seriously, why keep attending these blind dates? Hurting innocent young ladies once or twice is enough. One day, you’ll really get yourself in trouble.”

“I’ll worry about that when it happens. Besides, I clearly said from the start that I didn’t want to go. I didn’t even know it was a blind date.”

“Ah.”

Alan already knew from hearsay that the Duke and Duchess’s skill at summoning their son whenever matchmaking was mentioned had been improving daily, as he always refused immediately.

“So what was it about today?”

“Remember that estate in the Vass region I once joked about developing?”

“Yes. Weren’t you thinking of raising horses there?”

“A development company came saying they wanted to develop it and asked me to check if it was a scam.”

“Wow. You’re becoming more professional by the day?”

“Exactly. They even sent the company documents ahead of time. Turns out, Father founded that company too.”

“…If your parents are going to this much trouble, why not just get married?”

Both sides were truly something. And seeing this, it was clear they were truly parent and child.

“Still, wasn’t fifteen minutes a bit too harsh?”

“No shared interests, completely different mindsets—how could I sit there longer when we couldn’t even talk?”

“Then just imagine she’s a man.”

At that, Eric scowled deeply.

“Ah, scratch that. Even I find that unpleasant.”

Without responding to Alan’s smirk, he gripped his sword.

“So what if a woman you actually connect with appears?”

“She doesn’t exist.”

“But you never know. Could there really be no one in this vast Empire of Britannia?”

“Hmm. If there were—”

“If there were?”

After a brief pause, as if lost in thought, he immediately replied,

“No, she definitely doesn’t exist.”

“Don’t be so certain. How can you know?”

“Shut up. You’ve played enough. Get moving. Assemble!”