Chapter 2.3

“Are you saying that’s why you accepted land bordering the Empire?” 

The Marquis asked, astonished.

The land Heizen had received along with the title of Count was the Castle of Boeur, near Blackgate. If the Empire ever decided to invade again, it would be the first place in danger.

“There’s no need to worry about the Empire’s threats.”

Heizen said with conviction, his tone unwavering. The Marquis narrowed his eyes. Did Heizen truly believe he could fend off an invasion by the Empire, should it happen?

Confidence was a good trait for a general, but as a father with a daughter, such recklessness was deeply unsettling. The Marquis, whose heart had been slightly swayed by Albert’s persuasion, began to reconsider.

“I have no intention of leaving my wife in such a dangerous place.”0

Heizen added. When he had asked for southern land, he had specifically requested a region close to Kabakia. However, the King had ignored his request and granted him Boeur instead.

Boeur was not part of Heizen’s plans. He would have preferred land in the north over Boeur. But what could he do? The King had made his decision.

“Then what do you plan to do?” 

The Marquis asked.

“She will be able to live peacefully in Kabakia for the rest of her life.” 

Heizen replied. He revealed that he was currently looking to purchase a villa in Kabakia. Located in the southern part of Loen, Kabakia was a beautiful coastal retreat that Rizle visited every winter.

If she could live there permanently, she would have no complaints about her living situation. Heizen was confident that this would satisfy the Marquis of Thruella. Thus, he spoke with assurance.

“Forever? What nonsense is this? If she becomes the lady of the house of Boeur, she must live in Boeur!” 

The Marchioness of Thruella, who had been smiling softly, suddenly raised her voice.

“It may have been intended as consideration, but ignoring the position of a wife who has taken her husband’s name is an act of disrespect. If my husband had said such a thing to me, I would never have tolerated it!”

It would be better to suggest facing their final moments together in Boeur.

The Marchioness clicked her tongue and muttered under her breath. Caught off guard by the unexpected reprimand, Heizen’s expression wavered.

“My thinking was shortsighted.”

He admitted.

“If you wish to marry my daughter, you must be prepared to protect both my daughter and Boeur. Otherwise…”

She left her sentence unfinished, but Heizen understood exactly what she meant.

“I will be prepared.”

He replied seriously.

The Marquis of Thruella furrowed one eyebrow, his expression complicated. With his wife taking such a firm stance, it became difficult to criticize Heizen for not wanting to leave his daughter in such a dangerous place. Yet, it didn’t sit well with him to simply give his blessing and entrust his daughter to Heizen.

Even when children reached adulthood, they still felt like kids to their parents. He believed in respecting them as individuals so they could grow, but this was hard to apply to Rizle. Perhaps because she was the youngest, she seemed more like a child than her brothers, someone he always wanted to protect. The thought of sending her off in marriage made him want to hide her away forever.

‘It seems it’s still not the right time. I’m not ready.’

The Marquis glanced at his wife. If she declared that Heizen lacked the resolve and rejected him, he planned to agree and deny the marriage.

Whether she had read his thoughts or not, the Marchioness lifted her daughter’s hand and showed it to her husband. On Rizle’s hand was a sparkling ring.

The Marquis sighed deeply as he looked at the ring and his wife’s expression. Despite his muscular build, which remained impressive even in his fifties, he seemed to deflate like a balloon losing air.

“Albert is strongly in favor, my wife does not appear to oppose it, and, most importantly, Rizle seems to have accepted him. Very well. I give my permission.”

“Father!” 

Gilbert shouted in protest. Beside him, Albert clapped his hands, stood up, and extended his hand toward Heizen.

“From the moment you saved my life, Count, I had a feeling we’d become family.”

As Albert and Heizen shook hands, Gilbert ground his teeth so hard that Marika, watching from the side, grimaced as if she could feel the pain herself.

“Even if Gilbert acts prickly, try to understand. He’s just a sensitive person who takes time to warm up to others. It’ll pass soon enough, so please be patient with him.” 

Albert said, winking playfully at Heizen.

Breakfast was next, and as they were now family, they should eat together. After breakfast, he would give Heizen a brief tour of the area. There was a spot perfect for hunting. Oh, now that he thought about it, the Count was from here, so he probably knew the area as well as Albert did. 

Rizle found it odd that Albert seemed more excited about the marriage approval than the people directly involved.

“It’s too early to celebrate. There are conditions attached to my permission.”

The Marquis of Thruella said in a deep, low voice. Everyone turned their attention to him.

“First, you must always speak respectfully to each other.”

Regardless of their elevated status or marriage, he would not tolerate any form of disrespect.

The Marquis, who had briefly appeared deflated, straightened up again and issued his warning. Heizen accepted this condition, vowing to keep it in mind.

“When we say ‘each other,’ that includes you as well.”

The Marchioness whispered to Rizle.

Rizle pouted slightly, annoyed that her mother felt the need to remind her, as if she couldn’t be trusted to know this herself.

“Second, if anything happens to Rizle, I will mobilize all the power of Thruella to come after you.”

The Marquis’s temple throbbed as he imagined what “anything” might mean. His threat was no mere words. If Rizle ever shed tears because of Heizen Warkliber, if she ever wrote even a single line in a letter saying she couldn’t bear it, he was ready to rise up immediately.

Heizen should not underestimate the Marquis of Thruella. Troskan was the only land the Empire had never breached. The title of “Sentinel” was not given lightly.

“You must always keep these two conditions in mind.”

The Marquis of Thruella firmly concluded his statement and stood up from his seat.

“If you understand, let us head to breakfast.”

***

Throughout the meal, Rizle was consumed by a whirlwind of emotions.

She was astonished to learn that Heizen had requested southern land for her sake. Whether it was true or not, the fact that he knew she was sensitive to the cold was surprising in itself.

‘I thought he didn’t care about me at all.’

Rizle was deeply curious about what was going on in Heizen’s mind. Distracted, she barely ate and ended up receiving a scolding from the Marchioness.

Even after being reprimanded, she couldn’t fully focus on her meal. Her thoughts were entirely preoccupied with Heizen. Her gaze kept drifting toward him, which led her to notice that he didn’t seem to enjoy his food.

‘Is there something he doesn’t like?’

She tried to figure out what he disliked by watching him, but he ate all the food with equal disinterest. Perhaps she had been staring too openly because Heizen suddenly looked up at her.

The two of them stared at each other silently for a moment. Rizle was the first to look away. She rarely felt uncomfortable making eye contact with others, but there was something about the unreadable expression in his eyes that made her uneasy.

The problem was that even after realizing how uneasy it made her, she couldn’t stop herself from looking at him. Throughout the meal, she kept sneaking glances at him, pretending to look elsewhere when caught, only to look again moments later.

When what felt like the longest meal in the world finally ended, Rizle couldn’t hold back any longer and decided to approach Heizen.

“How about going hunting together?”

But Albert beat her to it. Fortunately, Marika noticed Rizle glaring daggers at the back of Albert’s head and intervened.

“I understand how you feel, but let’s hold off for now, for the young lady’s sake.”

Rizle winked at Marika in gratitude and approached Heizen. She wanted to ask if they could have a moment to talk, perhaps over tea. Several phrases swirled in her mind, but her heart was pounding so wildly that the words that came out of her mouth were completely unexpected.

“Look at my face when you speak to me!”

Her words came out jumbled and strange, a mix of all the things she wanted to say. Naturally, Heizen stared at her with a puzzled expression, asking what she meant.

“No, that’s not what I meant. I want to finish what we couldn’t earlier.”

Rizle stammered, finally managing to articulate her thoughts. Heizen nodded in understanding and followed her.