Eurene, embarrassed in a different way by the count’s uncharacteristically calm yet serious words, shouted before Van could respond. What’s wrong with this person, really! Her whole body felt itchy, and strangely, the tip of her nose stung. Though she tried to hide it, tears were already welling up in her eyes. Van chuckled softly watching her. He held her hand, interlocking their fingers, and said.

“I understand.”

He added with a slight smile.

“It wouldn’t be bad to come live with the in-laws after having a son and passing on the title. Ah, when we get married, do I become part of your family, brother-in-law?”

The count and countess’ mouths fell open again at his natural and bold declaration that he would freeload and his shameless change to the respectful term “brother-in-law.” The count muttered dazedly.

“Ye-es…… Well, I… guess so?”

“I understand. Now my retirement plan is solid, which is reassuring.”

With a grin that revealed his white teeth, Van took Eurene’s hand and stood up. The Eifel family members, who had also risen in confusion, received a respectful greeting from Duke Carca, who then asked Eurene to see him out and left together. Receiving the gaze of her family standing as if a typhoon had just passed, Eurene rubbed her cheek.

“Would we really do that?”

“What?”

As they walked through the garden, Van suddenly spoke, and she looked up. When their eyes met, his violet eyes curved kindly.

“When we get older, I mean. Should we pass everything to our children and come live here?”

“Oh, is that even possible?”

“Why not? Nothing impossible about it.”

Van grinned and pulled Eurene’s hand to link her arm with his. His crescent-shaped eye smile under the sunlight looked quite handsome. Eurene giggled and leaned against him. It was a beautiful day with good sunshine under the blue sky. A pair of white birds flew gently and perched on the rooftop.

Suddenly Van said.

“You seem to have grown up being truly loved.”

Unlike me. Eurene tilted her head.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you, Eurene. Though I have neither a sister nor a daughter, I could feel that your brother sincerely worries about and loves you. Genuine affection tends to be conveyed without special emphasis.”

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Eurene tried to change the subject, and Van laughed softly.

“I’m particularly sensitive to such things because I’ve never experienced them myself. I should be good to your brother. If he had been like a typical nobleman, you would have been sold off in an arranged marriage before we even met.”

“Hmm, then we wouldn’t have met.”

The thought alone made her dizzy. When Eurene shuddered, she received a blank stare as if to say “what are you talking about?”

“Why wouldn’t we meet? It might have been a bit more complicated, but the result would be the same. Do I look like someone who would give up on you just because some other guy took you?”

“But that’s diff—”

She started to say something but closed her mouth. Come to think of it, if they had such concepts, they wouldn’t have come this far. With this uncomfortably unproud realization, she scratched her head in disbelief. Though such things were common in noble marriages, Eurene still couldn’t quite adapt. She pouted her lips.

“I hate that. If that had happened, I wouldn’t have met you.”

“Huh?”

Van’s eyebrows twitched.

“No, why?! You prefer some arranged marriage scoundrel over me? You’re joking, right?!”

His fury toward a non-existent hypothetical man seemed quite meaningless, but since this couple was already immersed in their imaginary scenario, neither noticed they were having a completely pointless argument. Eurene, being quite serious herself, spoke deliberately.

“Of course not. But I would have a husband, you know.”

“So what! Didn’t I have a wife too?”

What a thing to brag about.

“But that wasn’t my spouse. I know I’m not a good person, but at the very least, I don’t want to deceive or betray my husband. I mean, I know this hardly matters to nobles…… Well, what I’m saying is that whatever way I get married and become someone’s wife, I would never do anything to break my own home.”

“……”

Van remained silent for a moment. But he soon seemed to understand her thoughts and calmed his rather absurd jealousy. She’d rather be the woman who breaks someone else’s home than break her own. It was a selfish and self-centered way of thinking, yet somehow her psychology was vaguely understandable. For such an indecisive and simple woman to say this meant it was one of her few important guidelines.

He quietly stared down at his woman before suddenly saying,

“I think I know why I’m drawn to you.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Unlike me, you grew up loved without special hardships, and I’ve always longed for someone overflowing with affection and comfort to embrace me completely in a nest where only I can enter. All my life until I grew up, like a thirst. It’s okay if it’s a bit selfish. No, that’s even better. I can’t be a good person either.”

It’s annoying when someone only looks fine on the outside but is twisted inside, pretending to be perfectly bright. Van, who had been looking at her white-bread-like pale face with affectionate eyes, carefully traced the small scratch on her cheek. He muttered in a voice both regretful and murderous.

“I wish I could have killed that bastard Philio with my own hands; it’s quite disappointing.”

Despite his cold eyes, his touch was tender. To Eurene, who shrank her shoulders slightly, he continued with a sigh-like reminiscence.

“In my younger, more passionate days, I went to Sibyla as an envoy on knight order business and ended up dueling with him, then a prince, after a minor dispute. It sounds absurd now, but we were both boys, and I was quite immature too. In the end, we both shed blood. Remember the scar on his face? That’s my medal. Since then, despite the distance, we’ve become mortal enemies. It got worse after he became entangled with Sonya Chrisy. At the time, I never thought I’d become a duke, so I naively assumed we wouldn’t clash politically. I was stupid.”

So I’m trying to be more careful from now on. In response to his serious complaint, small plump fingers grabbed his hand. His violet eyes carefully examined Eurene.

“Are you perhaps scared or do you hate seeing me spill others’ blood? It might happen again in the future. Most will be avoided, and it will rarely reach my level, but still.”

It seemed he had been secretly worried about how she felt about him killing people without hesitation in front of her after she was kidnapped. Well, hmm. Eurene scratched her cheek. What should she say?

“You know I hate smoking, right?”

“……? Of course.”

Meeting his puzzled eyes, Eurene confessed something she had recently realized.

“At first, I just hated the smell of tobacco. But at some point, I realized that the reason I hate you smoking isn’t just because of that. It’s not the cigarettes I hate most, but how they harm your health.”

“……”

“My father also died of lung disease.”

Van’s lips parted slightly. Rarely at a loss for words due to confusion, he was watched by Eurene. Steadily.

“It’s exactly the same. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I understand.”

His heart pounded heavily. Dozens of flowers bloomed and withered inside. He managed to say,

“I won’t get hurt. And of course, I’ll quit smoking.”

He smiled briefly and bent down to kiss Eurene’s lips. Closing her eyes smoothly and responding, she looked like a well-ripened apple blossom. As their eyes met closer and deeper than ever before, he whispered.

“Marry me.”

Though she had heard these words before, they now carried an entirely different color and fragrance. Eurene’s breath stopped for a moment. Her large blue eyes blinked. In them reflected the image of a man kneeling. Like the protagonist of a romance novel, an overwhelmingly handsome and charming man looked at her passionately as he proposed. A pair of rings resembling his eyes sparkled.

“I want to spend my life with you. I won’t look at other women. I’ll really do well. I’m confident I can. If you’re not satisfied, file for property division. I’ll give you half. But no divorce. What do you say, will you do it?”

This should be a profitable deal. At this playful and half-serious proposal so typical of Duke Van Carca, Eurene laughed tearfully. When watching novels or plays, she found it strange how new brides cried with joy—she thought it was an overreaction—but now she understood. When happiness surges so much that your chest feels tight, tears come out. With her small nose turning red, Eurene mumbled in a nasal voice.

“Of course. The rumors are all out there now; if you don’t take responsibility, who will?”

“Yes. I’ll take responsibility for life.”

Van chuckled as he slipped the ring onto her finger. It was just like him to have already been wearing his own. His voice, mixed with laughter, reached her white ears as she lowered her head with a flushed face.

“I’m sorry. For impulsively proposing without prior planning last time. Erase that and replace it with this memory. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime memory, and I was thoughtless.”

“Aren’t you being too confident? How do you know it will happen only once?”

When Eurene teased him with a pout, Van immediately fell for it and smiled dangerously.

“Ah, right. Let’s do it again every 10-year anniversary. That’s what you meant, right?”

“Yes, well…”

Afraid of how he might react if she teased him further—his expression was quite serious—Eurene just giggled.

They held each other’s ringed hands tightly.

Eurene, I love you.

I love you too.