Chapter 17

It was obvious why the emperor came to visit her after disguising himself as his own representative.

In any case, it was good for her because she could skip the complicated procedures and quickly proceed with the deal. Of course, she didn’t like his sudden proposal right before her eyes.

“I, Marianne and the daughter of Duke Kling, gladly accept your proposal.”

She bowed slightly, trying not to tremble at all. She felt her heart beating fast when she put her hands on her chest in accordance with the established practices.

Clap, clap, clap. Awkward clapping came out from the opposite side. The man who clapped his hands was Colin.

Eckart raised his body and returned to his seat, clicking his tongue.

“Colin. I wonder whether you clapped hands as if you were the witness to my proposal.”

“Pardon? Well, this is your first proposal…”

“Sir Colin, are you kidding me?”

“Oh no… Sorry…”

Colin put down his hands, trying to make poor excuses. He cast down his glance like a dog whose snack was taken away. She felt sorry for his embarrassed look.

Not caring at all though, Eckart crossed his legs after sitting back on the sofa.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have flowers or jewelry right now. Let me give you a gift soon.”

“That’s too extravagant as a token of your taking me hostage.”

“Well, because there are lots of people who will be watching us in the future. Didn’t you ask me first to observe basic manners and decorum?”

“That’s not only for me but also for you.”

Eckart twisted his mouth at her response. Watching them waging a war of nerves like that, Colin bit his lip, rolling his red eyes. It was a too calculated and rigid an atmosphere for a couple who just proposed to each other a moment ago.

“Let’s get to the point now.”

“Well, I would like to start off by asking for your help in several things. Can you help me?”

As if to say it was okay, Eckart raised his sharp chin.

“I want you to clearly understand that my intention has not been reflected in this marriage at all,” she said, shining her green eyes. Eckart frowned a bit at that.

“Do you want me to play the villain?”

“Well, heroes are misunderstood and go through trials by nature. In this manner, they can develop the strength to defeat the enemy.”

Eckart laughed as if her remarks were ridiculous. How could a naive daughter of a duke dare to teach the emperor?

He had to scold her for her rudeness, even though she was his partner in the deal.

Her innocent rudeness to a representative of the emperor and her intentional rudeness to the emperor were completely different.

But even before Eckart pointed it out, she stepped in all of a sudden.

“Although I hate him terribly, I think it’s a waste to throw away my good weapon as his lover right away. If I still pretend to be affectionate for him, I think I can obtain one more secret tip about him. Of course, he will find out my feigned love in no time. Anyway, you need lots of intelligence about him.”

“Aren’t you scared if Ober, betrayed by your love, sends an assassin to your bedroom?”

“Well, sort of. If Ober feels impatient, he will try to harm not only me but my father as well. You will be hurt, too, if that happens. For that reason, let me assume that I am forcibly engaged by your coercion. Would you agree?”

Did she ask for too much shamelessly?

She felt a prick in her heart, but pretended not to know it.

Since it was the emperor who proposed marriage as the condition of a deal, she thought what she told him was not off the mark.

“Don’t you think that the nobles will blame me for my marriage without your agreement?”

“I believe you will fend off such criticism properly.”

“You are underestimating my cabinet ministers with a very innocent face.”

“Am I? But they’re underestimating me and Your Majesty, too. ”

Eckart stared at her intensely, resting his head on his right arm. His eyes shone like emerald without impurities. She did not avoid his glaring eyes, nor did she appear to flatter or play any pranks.

Suddenly, he recalled the intelligence report that Jed brought.

‘What did it say about her? She is naive and friendly, but hard to understand because she often causes troubles unexpectedly?’ he thought to himself.

“Is that all you ask for me?”

Eckart asked in a business-like manner after a brief silence.

“I have one more request. I’d like to meet my father in Lennox. If possible, I would like to see him before our marriage. He doesn’t know anything about this.”

“Let me think about it.”

“Don’t you have anything particular to tell me?”

“It’s too late for me to have a dialogue with you for long. If I spend more time here, somebody will smell a rat.”

Eckart loosened his crossed legs and stood up.

“You had better move your lodging here, too.”

He put on the hood again that he had taken off. She stood up to see him off and said, “Anyway, I have been disguised as the daughter of Earl Spring. The inn I’m staying at is not bad.”

“It’s not a good place when I inspected it.”

What he meant was his convenience was more important. Feeling offended a bit, she bit her lower lip and said, “If it is inconvenient for you, let me move to another place. Let me find another inn near the palace.”

“Oh, you don’t have to go to the trouble of finding one by yourself.”

Eckart resolutely refused and left.

Soon, the door was opened. While Eckart was leaving the door, he turned his head and said, “Colin, escort her to another inn before it’s too late.”

Bang!

The door was closed again.

Escort? As if she couldn’t understand, she looked at Colin with a perplexed expression.

“Can I help you with packing your stuff?”

He laughed with an awkward expression.

* * *

The residential areas of the capital Milan was concentrated east of the Lucio Imperial Palace. It was the achievement of Theodore IX who moved all the people living in the west to the east to reorganize the capital more than two hundred years ago. He distributed the land outside the eastern gate of the Imperial Palace to the settlers and made lots of efforts for the redevelopment of the western areas.

Since then, Milan’s eastern area became what it is today. Along the streams flowing beneath the Alpha Bridge, there were many homes of commoners in the northeast while noble residences were located mainly in the southeast. The houses of the nobles, who had been succeeding their forefathers’ knighthoods for many generations, became famous spots for the country bumpkins who came up to the capital. Small markets created in the alleys of the commoners’ residential areas were also great attractions.

The only exception was the Elior Mansion in the west, which did not belong to either area.

His mansion was like a royal palace. Theodore I, who first laid the groundwork and erected the mansion’s foundation named it the Elior Mansion, but it was no more than an ordinary house in terms of its size and use.

The mansion had no owner, and only those who got the emperor’s approval were allowed to stay there. As a rule, the royal family members favored by the emperor stayed there, or those who incurred the emperor’s hatred lived there in captivity. There were only a few nobles who lived there for the past several hundred years.

Its size was also amazing. Though it was not comparable to the imperial palace, it occupied the largest lot in the capital. There was an artificial lake in the garden of that mansion that closely resembled Lake Ronen, the largest and deepest lake in the empire. As royal family members mainly lived there, most of the building’s form and interior equipment resembled the royal style.

Above all, it was never opened to anybody completely. Parties and ceremonies were often held inside the mansion, but the participants only caught a glimpse of some of the outer gardens. Accordingly, many people considered the Elior Mansion as a mysterious and secret castle that appeared somewhere in the legends.

“…”

Standing in front of the main building of the mansion, Marianne was speechless for a moment.

“Wow!”

Cordeli expressed admiration on behalf of Marianne. As she brought no maid, Iric looked around carefully, holding her bags.

“Are you sure I’m going to stay here, Sir Colin?”

“You don’t like it? This is the best mansion except Lucio Imperial Palace in the capital.”

‘What are you talking about?’ She wanted to ask back, but barely held back.

“Welcome, daughter of Earl Spring!”

At that moment, someone spoke with a low voice. A group of people, who stood in a row along the statue of Airius erected before the entrance, bowed politely to her. She felt a bit creeped out.