When she tried to call herself a slave, her mouth tasted bitter for no reason. However, there was no other word to use.

Her current self was exactly that of a slave he had bought for a huge sum.

“A slave…… Your Highness the Princess, do you think you’re a slave sold to me right now?”

“…… Isn’t that obvious?”

The voice that made her confirm her situation once more felt heartless. Luciella lowered her head and barely answered.

“I’d like to ask which slave lives in such a room and can sit face-to-face with the master in private audience.”

Luciella finally realized her mistake at Enoch’s words. Having lived as a princess her entire life, she was accustomed to looking down on others regardless of their intentions.

She was always the one sitting on the sofa first, and she was always the one giving permission for someone to sit.

However, that was no longer the case. Luciella, who only now realized this fact, didn’t know what to do and jumped up from her seat.

“Ah, sor, sorry……”

The words of apology couldn’t be completely uttered. It was because of shame. Her face turned red to her ears.

‘Ho, how should I be?’

She had stood up, but Luciella was confused about what posture she should take. She recalled how the maids who had been by her side had behaved. The cold bare floor came into her busy thinking vision.

The moment she was about to kneel on the floor while standing awkwardly….

“I didn’t say that to chase you away from the sofa.”

Enoch opened his mouth just in time. Fortunately, he stopped Luciella from heading to the floor.

“Please sit back down.”

Following the firm command, Luciella cautiously sat back down on the sofa.

“I didn’t bring Your Highness the Princess here to do such vulgar dog-like acts.”

“Then why on earth……”

Luciella was uncomfortable with the man in front of her who showed her inexplicable kindness.

He surely must want something.

She couldn’t tell what he desired, but the generosity he had shown was far too excessive. Luciella could tell, unless she was a fool, that his demands would be significant accordingly.

Enoch paused for a moment. He sat arrogantly with his long legs crossed, placed his hands on his knees, and tapped his fingers at a steady pace — tap, tap.

He looked like he was deep in thought.

Luciella had to swallow dryly helplessly in the uncomfortable silence, like sitting on a bed of thorns.

“Marriage.”

“……Pardon?”

Luciella didn’t hear properly and asked again. Then Enoch opened his mouth again firmly, like driving in a wedge.

“I would like Your Highness the Princess to become my wife.”

Each word Enoch uttered struck Luciella’s ears slowly and clearly.

“Wh, what on earth are you saying right now……”

Even though she had clearly heard it, Luciella asked again like a fool. She was blinking with her round eyes wide open.

“Exactly what I said.”

Her plump lips opened blankly. Luciella lost her words for a long time and shook her head in denial. She couldn’t grasp what reaction she should show.

‘Marriage? He’s serious?’

Then what I thought earlier was right?

Why on earth would he, who seemed to lack nothing, want to marry her? Luciella couldn’t understand it at all.

So she lost her words for a long time and just stupidly kept shaking her head.

‘Origins. Right, it must be because of origins.’

Enoch Walter. Because he was of commoner origin, he was constantly pushed back by the conservative noble faction’s checks and couldn’t even gain proper speaking rights.

That meant Enoch was merely the Empire’s hunting dog with a good facade and a marquis in name only.

‘He wants to marry me, a princess, to cleanse his status……’

No matter how much wealth and honor he accumulated, high nobles wouldn’t want to marry their daughters to a half-baked marquis.

The Empire’s nobles were that conservative.

‘No one would readily step forward to send marriage proposals.’

The moment it became known that they had sent him a marriage proposal, they would surely be branded as traitors among the high nobles regardless of whether it was successful or not.

Would those who lacked nothing bother with such a gamble?

It was obvious. Only lower nobles with similar circumstances to his, who only had wealth, or merchant families who needed honor would be sending marriage proposals.

This was separate from becoming the first love of young ladies.

Marriage was a union between families.

No matter how much Bert was a small country and had fallen…… he’s mistaken that marrying me, a princess, would help solidify his position even a little.

Luciella knew all too well how absurd that thought was.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

That’s why she couldn’t accept this proposal even more.

Even though she knew she had no choice.

“But I cannot accept.”

“Do you think you’re in a position to refuse right now, Your Highness the Princess?”

Enoch asked with a sharp voice in response to Luciella’s words. She answered by shaking her head slightly instead of speaking.

“Even if you marry me, you won’t be able to gain the position you desire.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying right now.”

“I cannot marry you, Marquis.”

Luciella thought this was the minimum courtesy toward Enoch, who had treated her humanely. He had helped her avoid the situation of being put on the auction stage and nearly sold to some old man.

Whether he intended it or not.

“Because of my bloodline…… you want to marry me, don’t you?”

Luciella said while carefully watching his reaction. She tried hard to speak indirectly, but there were no other words to express it.

“Ha.”

Sure enough, he seemed displeased when talk related to origins came up. Enoch’s face cracked.

“……You speak like I bought Your Highness the Princess to cleanse my status.”

He said while twisting up one corner of his mouth. Luciella didn’t particularly refute it.

‘……Isn’t that right?’

If that wasn’t it, this situation didn’t make sense.

“Rather than me, a merchant family with good wealth would be more helpful……”

Before Luciella could finish speaking, applause echoed through the room. Clap, clap, clap. The steady friction sound rang in her ears. Startled, she looked at Enoch with a dumbfounded face. He was clapping his hands repeatedly with an expressionless face.

“Your Highness the Princess is indeed capable.”

“……Pardon?”

“You know all such things and try to give advice to a lowly person like me.”

His sarcastic tone was fierce. She had expected it, but he really seemed sensitive about origins and status. Luciella thought so and lowered her head.

She felt like she had touched his sore spot for no reason.

“But your Highness the Princess has no choice, I said earlier.”

“……”

“I came today not to seek consent, but to notify you.”

He said while pulling up the corners of his mouth. Looking at Enoch’s face drawing a fresh smile, Luciella couldn’t give any answer.

It seemed clear he wanted to remind her once again that she had no authority.

“I’ll announce the engagement news soon. The engagement ceremony will be simple, and the wedding will also proceed quickly in the near future, so please keep that in mind.”

“Marquis……”

“Ah, don’t worry too much. I’ll still prepare so Your Highness the Princess can choose the dress and ring according to your taste.”

With those words as the last, Enoch stood up from his seat, cutting off further conversation.

Thud, followed by the sound of the large door closing, and he completely disappeared from sight.

Only Luciella remained sitting alone in the room for a long time.

* * *

“Your Highness the Princess, from now on we will assist Your Highness. What kind of fragrance would you like?”

Whether assigned by Enoch’s command, the maids of the marquis estate approached Luciella and spoke respectfully. Luciella’s appearance after being dragged to the Empire through hardship for several days was terrible.

The maids had prepared warm bath water and tried to attend to Luciella’s bath.

Luciella, who had been pondering for a moment, carefully opened her mouth.

“It’s fine…… ah, no, it’s fine. I can do it sufficiently by myself.”

She who was about to speak casually belatedly thought ‘oh no’ and used honorifics. Though talk of marriage and such had passed, Luciella knew her situation was not that of the mistress of this place.

She had no intention of becoming such a thing either.

“You don’t need to do this much. It’s rather uncomfortable……”

Luciella carefully but firmly refused all their service. However, the maids also didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down easily.

“However, Your Highness the Princess. This is His Grace the Marquis’s command. We have received orders to serve Your Highness the Princess.”

“But……”

Her heart wavered.

She wasn’t in a position to be picky about this and that in this state.

‘If I just pretend not to know anything and marry the Marquis……’

The Marquis would realize he had been deceived before long, but she could lead a stable life until then at least.

Luciella lowered her head. She fell into thought, fidgeting with her innocent hands. But she still couldn’t readily accept the marriage.

‘It will surely come back as a big disaster later.’

That was because Luciella had one more problem.

A secret that even her brother didn’t know.

The fact that she didn’t menstruate for very long periods.

Of course, she didn’t never menstruate at all. Her menstrual cycle was longer than others, so it was close to hardly menstruating at all. But Luciella knew all too well what that meant. She also knew how big a flaw it would become for her.

That’s why she had thoroughly hidden it until now.

Though she hadn’t received an exact diagnosis of infertility from a physician, she sometimes skipped menstruation for nearly a year, so even without medical professionals, she could sufficiently know that such a body was not normal.

Confusion settled in Luciella’s expression. The maids who noticed she was pondering moved quickly.

“Ah……”

She belatedly thought ‘oh no,’ but the maids were already focused on helping with the bath service.

While she was stupidly being flustered, warm water instantly enveloped Luciella’s body.

How long had it been since she felt such comfort……

Luciella unconsciously let out a sigh of relief in the momentary comfort.

‘Right, just for a very short while would be okay.’

Just for a very short time…… let’s live like this for just a short time.