“Wouldn’t it all be solved if we got married?”

Right now.

What did I just hear……? She suddenly felt dazed. His harsh voice made her mind go blank. She couldn’t think straight. Speechless, she just stood there, dazed and frozen. Why…… was he talking about marriage here….?

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Leon frowned even more at her reaction.

The tense, sharp air pressed down on her painfully.

His sharp gaze pressured her to answer. She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again, swallowing hard. Her whole body was trembling.

“Right now….”

As expected, her voice was trembling. She couldn’t help it. Marriage…… was the word she wanted to avoid the most.

“Marriage…… is a little too early….”

“What?”

Flinch. Her body trembled noticeably.

She wanted to cry when he cut her off in an angry voice before she could even finish her sentence.

“That’s…… something we need to think about carefully and decide…… for a long time.”

That’s not what I meant. Please. Marriage is a once-in-a-lifetime event. So don’t decide like you’re buying something.

Leon had never wanted to get married before. He had never even hinted at such a thing. She thought that maybe he would break up with her and go to another woman. It was because he seemed to see her as a punching bag, not as a woman. The engagement itself was so painful that she even wished for it.

“It’s been long enough for me. I can’t grant you that request.”

His answer was firmer and stronger than ever.

What does he mean long enough? She didn’t know when he had thought about marriage, and she didn’t know why he was lying like this. Still, the old Leon didn’t lie. Because there was no need. He had always been very blunt with her, even if it hurt her. She, who was sensitive to lies, was secretly disappointed in him.

“I know you must be frustrated because you can’t go out because of your body right now, but once you recover and start going out, you might change your mind….”

Yvonne couldn’t continue. Leon’s expression turned grim. She even heard him muttering something about a flower basket.

“You seem very offended. Then why did you act like you didn’t care then?”

She didn’t know what he was talking about. Had it always been this hard to communicate with Leon? It felt like they were talking about different things.

“It would be nice if you could tell me how you feel right away from now on.”

That had never happened before. He had never asked or wondered how she felt.

“I’ll make it up to you. So the sooner we get married, the better.”

Yvonne jumped back, her face a picture of horror. She didn’t hear him say anything about making it up to her, she only heard him say that they should get married as soon as possible. The sharp Leon couldn’t have missed that. A very, very strange look spread across his face.

“What’s wrong?”

Don’t…… you know? He really looked like he didn’t know. It was the moment she realized what it meant to go crazy.

She just trembled. His face frowned even more.

“What’s with this reaction when I’m saying let’s get married, which you wanted so badly?”

Huh?

Her mouth fell open. What…… did she just hear? They often misunderstood each other, but this was the worst.

“What…… do I want?”

Her voice trembled even more. What was he talking about? Leon didn’t seem normal.

“Marriage. You wanted it so badly, I don’t understand why you’re acting like this.”

That was what she wanted to say. Who didn’t understand who?

“Why…… are you doing this?”

“That’s what I want to ask.”

His voice was hard and cold. There was no communication at all. It was as if he was saying what she wanted to say.

“You…… didn’t rush the marriage. You acted like you didn’t want to. Don’t you remember?”

After more than a year of their engagement, her father had said to Leon,

“Shouldn’t you get married soon? It’s not good for anyone if the engagement drags on.”

She clearly remembered his answer at that time.

“There are others who have been engaged longer. So don’t be so hasty.”

She had been so relieved then. So why was he saying this ridiculous thing now?

No matter how much she told the truth, it didn’t work on Leon. He just looked at her with even more suspicion.

“Forget about the flower basket incident and stop being upset.”

He kept saying strange things.

“Why is the flower basket coming up here?”

Why did it feel like they were just saying what they wanted to say? Still, Leon had an expression on his face as if he was being generous to her. Don’t make that face. It doesn’t suit you at all.

When she came to her senses, she realized that he thought she was acting like this out of jealousy. Jealousy is an emotion you feel when you have affection. It hurt to even hear such a thing.

“You know that the only way to solve this problem is to get married as soon as possible, right?”

He kept insisting on something that didn’t make sense. How could she stop him? This…… was really ridiculous.

If she married him, she could keep the family. It was a problem that could be easily solved by making him Emil’s guardian, since she couldn’t step forward herself because she was a woman. There was no one better than him as a guardian. But she had decided not to sell her soul. There had to be another way. She wanted to break off her relationship with Leon and the Dukedom, which had only brought her years of pain, and live the life she deserved.

“Let’s…… talk again after your body recovers.”

“I want to do it now.”

He wasn’t backing down. His eyes were sinking into a dark abyss. It was clear how angry he was.

She began to feel scared of his eyes, which were filled with anger.

“So…… getting married…… with crutches…… it’s…… not dignified….”

Suddenly, she couldn’t speak properly as she tried to come up with a reason. Well, she had never been able to speak properly in front of Leon when he was angry. Her old habits came back. The atmosphere was heavy and the air around her was tense and oppressive. This atmosphere…… she knew it.

Her body began to shrink back as if she had been trained. Besides, this was the study. All the beatings had taken place here. This is how scary memories are.

He was just staring at her in silence. His eyes were sharper than ever. It was a look that said he would hit her if she got any closer. That’s how it looked to her trembling eyes.

“So you’re saying we should postpone the wedding?”

His voice, laced with anger, was low and menacing. It was as if his voice was dragging her feet down to the ground below.

“At least until your body recovers….”

She had to buy some time. Something might happen in the meantime. He might change his mind, or something might change. Her hands were still trembling.

“Right now…… we have more important things to do than that.”

“Than that?”

He was offended by her tone, which seemed to dismiss marriage so lightly.

She was trembling with anxiety when those words suddenly popped out of her mouth. His face, which was becoming more and more grim, scared her.

“What in the world is more important?”

She couldn’t answer his question right away. Yvonne had to take a moment to catch her breath and calm her fear. She still hadn’t gotten used to the violence. No matter how hard she tried to be brave, she couldn’t help but be afraid when she actually faced it.

“First…… we need to lift our people out of poverty, and only then will this Count’s estate get better….”

“Collect more taxes.”

Even though Yvonne was as gentle as a lamb, she was really angry. Her uncle was probably thinking the same thing. He would squeeze the people even more, making them poorer and more miserable. So she had to stop him. No matter what, she wouldn’t bend her principles. That determination pushed away her fear.

“I can’t be with someone who thinks like that.”

Nobility comes with responsibilities and obligations. Wielding it without knowing that is not being a noble. So, Leon, who could say such a thing so casually, was not qualified to be a noble. That’s what she thought.

But even though she had spoken harshly, Leon’s expression was strange. She didn’t know why, but he didn’t seem angry. He looked at her as if he was encouraging her to continue what she wanted to say. His gaze gave her courage she didn’t know she had.

“My uncle thinks the same way. That’s why I can’t let him be Emil’s guardian. He might do something evil before Emil grows up, just to get his hands on the title of count. And he’s the kind of person who would do that.”