“I……”

It was a considerable time later when Elaina finally gave an answer to Sinclair’s words that bordered on coercion.

As Elaina quietly parted her lips, Sinclair, who had been looking at her injured leg, met her gaze as if nothing had happened.

“I don’t really know.”

“About what?”

“About what benefit marrying me would bring to Your Highness.”

Everyone shunned her and was quick to mock her.

But Elaina was not a fool like the rumors surrounding her suggested, nor was she stupid. Rather, she was quite the opposite.

…Anyway, Sinclair had said that if he returned victorious from the war, he wanted his wish granted, and the Emperor had accepted his son’s proposal.

Of course, the Emperor had drastically reduced the military support on the day of Sinclair’s departure, hoping his son would die on the battlefield.

Regardless of the process, the result was that Sinclair had returned with a great victory, so the Emperor had to grant his wish.

It was not a secret promise between father and son, and if even Melissa had heard the rumors, it would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone in the Imperial Palace knew about it.

So Sinclair could ask for anything.

Of course, as Leila had said, he could not make an outrageous wish like asking to be reinstated as the Crown Prince…

But he used that golden opportunity to ask for permission to marry a woman like me?

There must be a reason for Sinclair’s absurd action. If there was no reason for something like this, it would be even more preposterous.

“Are you in a position to worry about the benefits I will gain, Elaina Aswald?”

But Sinclair answered with a sneer.

“You know it too. The fact that Melvin, your father, is planning to sell you off for a small dowry.”

It was the truth, so Elaina did not reply.

She simply stared at Sinclair.

“I heard that Duke Hank offered the largest dowry. At this rate, you’ll become the Duke’s concubine within a month at the latest. The seventh concubine, at that.”

“……”

“I don’t suppose you’re thinking of getting along well with the other concubines and tending to the eighty-year-old geezer’s sickbed?”

He continued in a nonchalant tone.

“Even if he luckily dies early, you won’t receive a single penny of inheritance.”

Elaina let out a bitter laugh at Sinclair’s blunt words.

“Of course, if that’s your taste, it would be a remarkably wonderful piece of news.”

“…I never said that was my taste, Your Highness.”

“Then, are you planning to run away?”

Sinclair asked, looking down at Elaina’s ruined leg.

“With a leg like that, it would be impossible.”

“……”

“Isn’t that right?”

…Yes, Sinclair was right.

With a leg like this, I can’t run away either.

In the first place, if my leg hadn’t been ruined like this. If I had been able to move freely, I would have run away a long time ago.

Abandoning this damn Aswald family…

“Now is not the time for you to worry about someone else’s situation. Do we still need more conversation?”

Sinclair continued.

“Or do you not like me? I thought I wasn’t bad-looking.”

Then he smirked and asked.

“…To be precise, I’m so flustered that I’ve never even thought about it.”

At that brazen answer, this time it was Sinclair who let out a bitter laugh.

“To be honest, Your Highness’s proposal is not bad for me at all. As you know, I’m about to be sold off as a concubine.”

“So?”

“But even in that situation, shouldn’t I know whether the place I’m willingly walking into is a death trap or a temporary safe haven?”

It was absurd. Despite having nothing to offer, she looked straight into his eyes and said such things.

There was no one in the Empire who could have a conversation with Sinclair like this.

So Sinclair laughed.

“I don’t know if it will be a safe haven, but at the very least, it won’t be a death trap.”

And he told her.

“As long as you live as my wife, no harm will come to you.”

“……”

“Let’s set the contract period to one year.”

…Contract?

Elaina’s eyes narrowed at Sinclair’s unexpected words.

“How much do you know about me, Elaina?”

“…I only know as much as everyone else does.”

“Then you must know that I killed the Emperor’s beloved concubine in broad daylight and fell out of favor overnight.”

Was there anyone in the Empire who didn’t know that story? Elaina thought.

“The Emperor elevated my half-brother and that concubine’s son, Hister, to the position of Crown Prince. At this rate, Hister will become the Emperor. But I have no intention of just watching it happen.”

“…Your Highness?”

“But the Emperor is not that much of a fool either.”

“……”

“Even if it weren’t you, I would have gotten married soon. To the Emperor’s person. In other words, he would have brought in the daughter of an aristocratic family who could closely monitor and entangle me.”

Sinclair said with a self-deprecating smile.

“And he would make her report my every move. Every single day without fail.”

The Emperor intended to prevent his eldest son from grasping the imperial power by any means necessary. Sinclair was well aware of that fact. He knew it too well, and that was the problem.

“The Emperor knows my intentions, and I know the Emperor’s intentions. I need a woman who has no ties to the Emperor and who will leave Edenbell without any regrets once I safely become the Emperor.”

…Leave Edenbell? Elaina faltered.

“The reason is simple. There are countless people who would oppose an Emperor who ascended the throne through rebellion. So I need to somehow form ties with a powerful family that supports me. Isn’t that obvious?”

It was true. Even if Sinclair succeeded in his rebellion and ascended the throne, people’s reactions would not be very positive. Not only the commoners but also the opposition from the surviving imperial family and nobility was as clear as day.

In such a situation, the best choice he could make was exactly what he had just said – bringing in the daughter of a family that could wield strong power within Edenbell as the Empress.

“You’re not mistakenly thinking that I came here to propose a lifelong marriage, are you, Elaina?”

Sinclair made a ridiculous expression.

In the end, his words meant that he would use Elaina, who had no backing or power, as a shield to deceive the Emperor who wanted to monitor and restrain him.

“After one year, when the contract ends. I promise you wealth that will allow you to leave Edenbell and live a life of leisure for the rest of your days.”

Sinclair was speaking with an extremely arrogant expression and posture.

Such behavior of his somehow made her feel like her insides were twisting. The nerve of him.

“…Your Highness, why are you being so honest about this when I could reveal what I just heard to others?”

In reality, the Aswald family was a family that supported the Emperor. So they were pushing for Hister, not Sinclair, as the next Emperor.

If she were to run out right now and tell Melvin everything, Sinclair would be in a difficult situation. In the worst case, he might even be executed for plotting rebellion this time.

“Well, I never worried about such things at all.”

But Sinclair replied with a very leisurely face.

“Isn’t it obvious, Elaina Aswald? You have no lower place to fall.”

With a single word from Sinclair, Elaina lost all her fighting spirit. All she felt was a bitter sense of defeat.

Because, as before, there was not a single lie in his words.

“Were you stupid enough to miss the only chance to escape the gutter in such a way? I didn’t think you were.”

“You speak as if you knew me.”

There was no answer. Sinclair silently stared into Elaina’s blue eyes for a while without saying a word.

Then, after a considerable time had passed, he turned his gaze away and continued.

“If you need time to think, I’ll give it to you. Surprisingly, I’m a person with that much generosity.”

“……”

“But not for long. As you know, I’m not a very patient man.”

That was the end. Sinclair picked up the marriage contract without any hesitation, got up from his seat, and took a steady step forward.

Elaina stared intently at his back, then slowly moved her dry lips.

“There must be countless people living a life like mine, thrown into the gutter, Your Highness.”

Sinclair, who had been walking, paused and stood still.

“Why me, of all people?”

Of course, Elaina Aswald’s life was literally thrown into the gutter, but she couldn’t be the only one living such a miserable life in Edenbell. Perhaps there were people living even more pitiful lives.

“Even though I’m treated like a burden in the Aswald family and not even considered a person, there are gypsies and the poor who don’t even have a place like that and wander the streets. Isn’t that right?”

“Isn’t that too simple?”

Sinclair’s low voice quietly settled in the drawing room.

“Because to anyone’s eyes, you’re the most pitiful.”

“……”

“Gypsies and the poor with nowhere to go would still be better off than you. At the very least, they won’t be forcibly sold off. Let alone while filling someone else’s pockets.”

Ha.

In the end, Elaina let out a bitter laugh.

“Is that a sufficient answer now?”

Elaina did not respond to Sinclair’s words.

Regardless, Sinclair walked away just as before, and Elaina was once again left alone with a blank face.