“What’s all this commotion?”

Not having heard the full story, she began to press Riena.

“Walking in the rain in the middle of the night? Do you know what misunderstandings Baron Rothman might have if he sees this!”

Even in this situation, Riena found it amusing that she was still talking about a ‘walk’. It was also funny how she was shouting so loudly while worrying about waking Baron Rothman.

“Mother, if you speak so loudly, you might wake Baron Rothman.”

Only then did the Countess lower her voice.

“Before Baron Rothman wakes up, you need to go inside right now…”

As she was whispering with a reddened face, her gaze belatedly turned to Cassel standing next to Riena. Her face hardened.

“You couldn’t possibly…”

“I can guess what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that.”

“Then?”

“It’s not an elopement, but a formal proposal.”

“What?”

The Countess’s voice, which had just quieted down, grew loud again.

“A proposal? What do you mean…”

Riena showed her left hand to the Countess. On Riena’s slender white ring finger, the diamond ring Cassel had put on was shining. The ring that neither Baron Rothman nor Johannes had prepared when they came to discuss marriage.

After confirming the ring, the Countess shouted and pulled Riena’s hand.

“Take it off right now! How can there be a proposal without the permission of me, the family elder!”

Riena violently shook off the Countess’s hand. At her signal, the quick-witted Cassel handed the letter from earlier to the Countess.

Riena explained.

“If you read it, you’ll see it’s a letter from Father. Although it’s not a formal proposal, he suggested marriage to this man.”

“Wh-what?”

The Countess, who hadn’t even glanced at the letter, finally started reading it.

“Then since Father has already approved this marriage, it’s not an unreasonable procedure. No, it’s rather a legitimate one.”

“Legitimate procedure? Your father is already dead, and this man came long after the funeral! How can you call this a legitimate procedure!”

“It’s a marriage that was already discussed between the heads of the families in the past. What reason is there for this to be unreasonable?”

“I don’t accept it! Riena Dyke! You’re still a Dyke, and you must follow my words!”

After reading the letter, the Countess, unable to contain her anger, tried to tear the letter to pieces, but fortunately, the letter didn’t tear. It was thanks to a preservation spell.

“Mother!”

Even after Riena snatched the letter away in shock, she couldn’t suppress her anger and stomped her feet.

“You!”

The Countess lunged at Riena with bulging eyes. Cassel quickly blocked her way. The anger that lost its target now turned towards the innocent Cassel.

“Who are you to try and take my daughter away! I’m the only one who can decide this child’s marriage!”

“Strictly speaking, that’s not true. The Count left me a letter entrusting Lady Dyke to me, and I intend to make her my wife following his wishes.”

“Who are you! Anyway, if I object, the temple won’t write a marriage contract!”

It was right when the Countess shouted with all her might. Baron Rothman, who had rushed out after hearing the commotion, was shocked after hearing all this conversation.

“Marriage contract? What are you talking about, Madam? And who is this man?”

“It’s exactly as it sounds. I…”

As Riena tried to speak, Cassel stopped her with a nod and spoke instead.

“Lady Dyke and I are engaged.”

“Who decided that! Lady Dyke and I…”

“I heard that you never actually proposed in the first place.”

That was true. Baron Rothman, momentarily stumbling over his words, began to make excuses that were painful to watch.

“I was going to do it when the day breaks!”

“The Lady has said she has no intention of accepting your proposal.”

Again, he couldn’t answer immediately. The Baron’s face turned red and blue, then he shouted at Riena.

“How dare you! You dare to mock me?”

Riena was dumbfounded. Although she was a noble lady without a title, she was a person of the venerable Dyke family. There was no reason for her to be called ‘you’ by a Baron.

Seeing Riena not saying anything out of bewilderment, Baron Rothman, thinking she was scared, became even more overbearing. He hurled insults at her face without regard for anyone.

“I heard you were modest, but how promiscuously must you have behaved for men to seize every opportunity to cling to you? Are you not a virgin but have already slept with several men? Hah, I see. Did you seduce Lord Belliard with your body too? Did you sneak into his bed at night?”

“…”

“But seeing that you chose that guy instead of Lord Belliard, I guess his night skills must be better?”

She couldn’t listen anymore. This was not just an insult to Riena, but to the entire Dyke family. Moreover, it was tarnishing the honor of Count Dyke who had raised her with love and care.

“Now…”

However, when Riena opened her mouth to protest, Cassel, who was standing next to her, extended his arm to stop her. Slightly shaking his head at her, he glared at Baron Rothman.

“Choosing a marriage partner is Lady Dyke’s prerogative. A true gentleman should respect a lady’s wishes and know when to withdraw even if rejected. But how dare you disrespect the Lady instead of respecting her?”

“What?”

And in his words that immediately followed, Riena realized why he could be so confident.

“How much money have I lent to the Countess Dyke! I was going to forgive all the debt with this marriage, but what? Now you say you can’t marry? Isn’t this all a conspiracy? Do you think I won’t collect my money if you run away like this?”

Riena let out a hollow laugh and gazed sharply at Countess Dyke. When their eyes met, the Countess turned her head away.

‘She’s in debt? And she’s forgiving the debt in exchange for marriage?’

Riena knew that during Count Dyke’s lifetime, the Count and Countess often argued over financial matters. Her father never showed it in front of her, but Riena was not a child who was completely ignorant of the family situation.

She had heard that the Countess was extravagant and sometimes even gambled. It was said that Count Dyke had declared he would not give her an allowance if she gambled one more time.

‘Still, I didn’t think the financial situation was bad enough to be in debt to Baron Rothman.’

Seeing how the Countess had rushed Riena’s marriage, the situation seemed worse than she thought.

“So whether the Lady accepts my proposal or not, she is my wife!”

Baron Rothman tried to grab Riena’s wrist while making this unreasonable claim.

And it was in the blink of an eye for Riena. Cassel, who had clearly been wearing his sword at his waist until just now, instantly drew it and pointed it at Baron Rothman. Baron Rothman raised both hands and stumbled backward.

“W-wait. Let’s not do this and talk…”

“I will not tolerate anyone laying hands on the Lady carelessly.”

Cassel’s speech had now changed to informal.

Riena belatedly realized. Informal speech suited Cassel much better than formal speech. It had to be that way.

After all, he was a Duke who reigned above everyone else. She also realized that the reason he had been using formal speech until now was solely because of her.

“How much was the debt?”

“Th-that…”

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever the amount, I’ll return it tenfold.”

“T-tenfold…”

“If you have any complaints, formally protest to the House of Winckler.”

“Win…ckler?”

There was no one in the empire who didn’t know that name. Baron Rothman, who was mulling over the name, immediately prostrated himself before Cassel.

“I-I-I-I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize Your Grace…”

Was that man such a cowardly fellow? Riena inwardly sneered.

A man rumored to have killed his wife, a man who acted as if he feared nothing in the world in front of her. It was hilarious to see such a man prostrate himself as if he was about to bury his nose in the mud.

At the same time, it felt unreal.

‘To think that cowardly Cas has changed like this.’

When he first came to the Dyke mansion, Cas was so timid that he couldn’t even look properly at Riena, who was the same age. He would almost have a seizure if a large adult male approached him.

Although he showed signs of changing bit by bit as he learned swordsmanship from Count Dyke and spent time with Riena, he still had timid aspects when he left the Dyke mansion.

What on earth happened in those 10 years for that boy to change like this?

While Riena was pondering, looking at Cassel’s hardened face, he sheathed his sword. Taking that as a signal, Baron Rothman scurried into the mansion. He would probably start packing his bags as soon as he got to his room.

“To think you were a Duke…”

Countess Dyke trembled. Cassel gave her a cold look and asked in a low voice.

“Do you have anything more to say?”

“No, I…”

“Then I’ll take it that you have no objections to Lady Dyke coming with me, and we’ll be heading to the capital.”

He then asked Riena.

“Do you have anything you want to take with you?”

“Ah…”

Riena looked back at the mansion where she had lived her entire life with a wistful expression. There were many things she wanted to take.

The apple tree that her birth mother, whose face she could barely remember, had planted for her, the swing in the backyard that her father had hung for her when she was little, the wide fields where she used to go horseback riding with her father in spring.

No, perhaps what she wanted to take were the memories she had shared here.