“……!”

“……?”

Leia’s bombshell statement created a heavy silence among the three. However, that stillness was brief, and soon the eyes of the two men shook incessantly.

With Leia’s fragmented words, confusion reigned in their minds. Dmitry, who stood in front of Akkia, turned abruptly towards them.

“Leia! Wh-what are you saying…?”

Dmitry thought he must have misheard. Otherwise, Leia, his granddaughter, wouldn’t say such things.

Approaching Leia in his bewilderment, Dmitry couldn’t hide his astonishment on a face tinged with shock.

“What, what on earth are you saying…?”

Akkia, too, was equally perplexed. He repeated Leia’s words in his mind several times, unsure if he had heard correctly.

Nevertheless, without a hint of confusion, Leia responded to the two with a determined expression.

“I’m talking about marriage.”

“……Marriage?”

The unexpected word “marriage” left the two men in a somewhat dazed state.

“Yes, marriage. Of course, I don’t mean we should have a wedding immediately, but at least legally, I want to become the wife of the Duke.”

“…….?”

“Other than that, there’s no way I can refuse the Emperor’s proposal. If possible, I’d like to conclude the marriage vows quickly.”

It was said that the Emperor’s birthday celebration party would be held soon. Since Ilei had sent his proposal in line with that schedule,

‘He probably intended to announce our engagement on that day.’

Even if Leia went to the Emperor and asked him to withdraw the proposal, it wouldn’t be easily done.

Since the Emperor had already presented the proposal, Leia had no choice but to accept it.

“Secretly take the marriage vows, and the public announcement…”

As Leia raised her head, Akkia and the empty air met gazes.

“A palace party would be nice soon.”

“When you say a palace party… are you perhaps talking about the Emperor’s birthday celebration?”

Dmitry’s gaze, listening to Leia’s words, sharpened. And, in response to his questioning, Leia nodded.

“That’s right. Since everyone will gather for the Emperor’s birthday, isn’t it the most appropriate time?”

After hearing her explanation, Akkia let out a breath he had been holding.

“Yeah, that might be for the best.”

Dmitry nodded with a voice that sounded almost resigned. Since there was no way to refuse the Emperor’s proposal unless the engagement with Edward was annulled, marrying Akkia seemed to be the best option.

The Duke of Hydren also didn’t want Leia to become the Empress. The seat the Duke Ilei occupied was stained with the sacrifices of others.

To entrust his precious granddaughter to such a time bomb was unthinkable. Leia was still a child, but being by the side of Duke Hydren, who cherished her more than his own life, seemed better.

Dmitry stood up and rang the bell. Seeing the two engrossed in a conversation, Akkia, who was standing at a distance, approached Leia.

“Leia, when you say such things… make sure to say everything properly till the end.”

Akkia’s words from their first meeting kept circling in his mind more than the marriage vow Leia mentioned.

“What?”

However, Leia just stared at the Duke with wide-open eyes, seemingly unaffected by his words.

After that, the wedding preparations proceeded smoothly.

As Leia’s desired marriage was more of an administrative procedure, there was no need to spend much time on the preparations.

“Done.”

Without fully reading the densely written contents on the thick paper, Leia signed it. Her nonchalant actions were in stark contrast to Akkia, who was carefully examining the documents.

Observing Leia’s behavior, Dmitry’s face expressed deep concern.

“Leia, are you sure we can proceed like this?”
The unique heir of the Belarus Ducal family declared marriage without a proper wedding ceremony. Dmitry’s mouth tasted bitter, as if he had swallowed a bitter pill.

Even his daughter Ariel couldn’t have a grand wedding. Ariel had eloped secretly with a knight in the middle of the night, so there was no other way.

Dmitry couldn’t bless his daughter’s marriage, and the memory of the nightmare that forced Ariel away haunted him. The guilt Dmitry felt towards Leia, who had suffered in the orphanage throughout her childhood, deepened.

“I wanted to do everything for the wedding as grandly as possible, just as I couldn’t do so far…”

The Duke of Hydren, who had intended to make the wedding as splendid as the imperial court, was melancholy.

“You can have the wedding later. Once the hot spring business and this matter are settled, we can have it then, Grandfather.”

Whether Leia sensed Dmitry’s feelings or not, she continued in a bright voice.

“For now, it’s much safer to be legally married, so that the Emperor can’t propose again.”

Leia had not thought she would become the wife of the Duke of Hydren so hastily. However, given the circumstances, avoiding marriage to the Emperor was as crucial as it could be.