“Caleb, put me down. I have something to say.”

“……!”

It was as they passed the training grounds and reached the central garden. Astrid halted Caleb’s hurried steps toward the main building.

In his heart, he wanted to feign ignorance or avoid the conversation, but Caleb knew better than anyone that Astrid would not let this pass. In the end, he set her down at the edge of the splendid fountain that occupied the garden’s center.

Swaaah—!

Right then, a cool spray of water gushed upward, driving away the stifling air. Yet unlike the refreshing fountain, his chest felt only stifled.

“Astrid, if this is about that scoundrel prince, stop. I……”

“You’re not supposed to see blood before a good event.”

“Of course I know the prince came as part of a delegation. I’m not trying to make things difficult for Elkan…… D*mn it! I just wanted to make him pay a small price! If I used the Cliff’s Tears, I could teach him a lesson without leaving a trace……”

“Can’t someone else do it, instead of you?”

“……What?”

Someone else, instead of him?

He had expected her to argue fiercely against him, but the unexpected words from Astrid startled Caleb.

“Do you think I want to take that scoundrel prince’s side? For a foreign prince to dare commit such audacity in Cliff! It’s an insult to our Croatan royal house, to the Grand Duke of Cliff! If he did that knowing who I was, then what of others? To think that bastard might do the same to the women of Cliff as he pleases—why, I could rip his scalp off right now……”

“Astrid……?”

“……Ha. Just don’t k*ll him. But His Majesty of Sepia will have to pay a price. We hold the advantage in these negotiations, so we must use that chance well. It isn’t forgiveness. I want him punished more appropriately. If I think of what he did……”

Astrid shut her eyes tightly, biting off the rest of her words. Caleb was certain it would have been something harsher—perhaps that she wanted him dead.

“…….”

Even the harsh words from her fair lips, even the anger he had never seen from her before—unfamiliar, yet alluring.

Thump.

Startled by the sudden loud throb of his heart, Caleb furrowed one brow. Astrid, fists clenched, pouring out her rage, soon noticed the change in him.

“Are you all right?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Taking a step back, Caleb waved both hands in denial. Tilting her head, Astrid did not take her eyes off him.

“……Anyway, since a good event lies ahead, I don’t want your hands dirtied. I hear Sir Helman caused an uproar the moment he awoke. They say he’s determined not to let that Sepia bastard go unpunished?”

“……Hmph. That fool who couldn’t even protect you properly? Making him suffer without killing him is my specialty. Helman is no match for me. There’s a reason they call me monster slayer, the monster Grand Duke……”

“Uh, those words are a bit……”

Wearing an awkward smile, Astrid turned her body aside, arms wrapped protectively around her belly. Only then did Caleb notice, puzzlement rising, as he studied her face closely. From earlier she had been holding her belly, rubbing it.

Astrid, showing behavior unusual for her, made him suspicious.

“Don’t tell me……”

“Yes?”

Narrowing his eyes, he took a step forward. Astrid, visibly flustered, shrank back, her arms cradling her belly as if to shield it.

“It’s not pain from side effects, is it? You’ve been touching your belly strangely all this time! I told you again and again—if anything feels off, you must tell me at once……!”

“……Uh, uh!”

Avoiding Caleb, who was coming toward her, Astrid staggered as she stepped back and lost her balance.

Splash—!

At that moment, with a loud sound, water sprayed everywhere in a great splash.

“Caleb! Are you alright?”

Startled, Astrid bent at the waist and looked down at Caleb. Instead of Astrid, who had nearly lost her balance and fallen in, Caleb had received the dousing of water, and he glared at her, dripping wet.

“Why did you dodge?”

“No, I just……”

“You almost got hurt.”

It meant he didn’t like that she had nearly been hurt. Grumbling in a sullen voice, Caleb brushed back his dripping wet hair.

“Ah……”

Unlike usual, with his hair soaked and plastered down, he looked—what should she call it—like a young boy.

The Guardian of Croatan.

The man who had lived his whole life bearing the heavy duties of Grand Duke of Cliff on his shoulders. The one who had always seemed like a towering mountain, unwavering as he stood behind her. Yet today, Caleb felt like an ordinary man.

Thump.

Astrid, who suddenly felt her heart pound, pressed her hand to her chest.

‘What is this, am I falling for him again……?’

Just how many times was she going to fall for the same man? The situation was absurd and ridiculous. Yet even so, Astrid couldn’t stop the smile that spread to her lips.

With each heartbeat, happiness seemed to spread slowly from her chest to her whole body.

“I hope you won’t startle me too much.”

“What did I do?”

At some point, Caleb had stepped out of the fountain, wringing the hem of his clothes as he asked curtly.

“You’re always so charming, I don’t think my heart will survive it.”

“Ha……?”

At the unfitting joke, Caleb let out a short laugh.

“And also……”

“And also, what?”

“I hope you won’t stain your hands with blood. That you’ll only hear good things, see good things, and that you’ll read to me every night……”

“……What is that supposed to mean? Are you asking me to act like a nobleman?”

“……No.”

The instant Caleb’s words fell, Astrid flinched and let her words trail off. It seemed like she had something to say. Her attitude was puzzling. Growing impatient, Caleb leaned down toward her.

“What did you say?”

Astrid, who had been staring absentmindedly at the puddles forming in Caleb’s wake, finally opened her lips.

“……Because there’s the Little Star. I hope you’ll leave the rowdy prince to Sir Helman……”

“What? Little? What’s that supposed to……!”

In that instant, Caleb’s gaze, which had been fixed on Astrid’s face, slowly lowered.

“……No way, right?”

“Do you hope it’s not?”

Blushing, Astrid asked shyly, cautiously.

“……Caleb, Caleb?”

“……”

“What’s wrong with you? Did you hurt yourself when you stumbled earlier……!”

Astrid approached Caleb, who bowed his head without moving a muscle, and shook his shoulders as she held onto him. No, rather than holding him, it was closer to hanging off him on tiptoes.

“……!”

When Astrid finally met Caleb’s eyes and saw that they were wet, she could say nothing more.

“……Pretend you didn’t see this. I don’t want to be teased about it later.”

His voice, half-drowned, carried an expression she couldn’t tell was laughing or crying. Drenched as he was, unable even to embrace her, Caleb stood awkwardly with his arms half-spread as he spoke.

Astrid could never forget Caleb as he was that day. And this story of the beloved Grand Duke and Grand Duchess spread from mouth to mouth for a long time, remaining as a legend of Cliff.

From then on, for a long time, the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess, who had been taken away and wed by him. The Little Star who was born between them—later known by the name Iris, future Grand Duke of Cliff—and together with the people of Cliff, the three of them lived in peaceful times, free from the invasion of monsters.

A cold and barren land, yet vast enough to embrace the hardships of life. In Cliff, their beautiful homeland.

~~The End of Was Forced into Marriage by the Grand Duke~~