Epilogue

Not long after Adrian returned from the war, marriage proposals piled up at the Harsen ducal residence every day.

Sending rejection letters was only manageable for a few days.

Adrian ordered the butler to simply return everything that came. It was rude, but he was Duke Harsen—the Empire’s hero.

Those sending proposals surely didn’t expect him to accept; they sent them just in case.

He was sick of marriage talk, even sicker of women.

He preferred slicing throats on the battlefield to dealing with young ladies clinging to him at parties. The smell of blood was better than the cloying perfumes and cosmetics.

But this time, the Emperor and Empress got involved.

“Do I really have to get married?”

“At least meet her once and then refuse. I’ll send all the proposals straight back to the ducal residence.”

When Adrian reacted indifferently, the Empress urged him to meet the girl just once before refusing. She was the Empress, but also his aunt.

She’d always treated him more kindly than his parents, so Adrian agreed to consider it and took the portrait.

On the way home, he checked the portrait in the carriage—Lady Elisia of the Earldom was beautiful. Her pink hair looked soft and sweet, her pale skin seemed like it would leave powder on his fingers.

“They must’ve paid the painter well.”

She was close to his ideal type, but Adrian rolled up the portrait indifferently. Still, his touch was much gentler than when he’d unrolled it.

Adrian saw Lady Elisia’s by chance.

On his way back from the temple, he spotted the Elisia family’s carriage. There was no guarantee Lady Elisia was inside, but Adrian found himself hiding and watching. He told himself he just wanted to see if she matched her portrait.

‘The portrait… didn’t do her justice.’

That was his verdict after seeing Lady Elisia in person.

The artist’s skills were sorely lacking; the living Lady Elisia looked as if the goddess of beauty herself had descended to earth.

He’d heard she was kidnapped as a child because of her looks, and now he saw it was true. He understood why the Elisia family had sent her to the estate and protected her so thoroughly.

Her scent on the breeze was pleasant, unlike other young ladies. If her personality was as good as her appearance, marriage wouldn’t be so bad.

And just as he’d seen her face by chance, Adrian got an unexpected opportunity to learn about Lady Elisia’s personality.

Almost like fate.

Robert, who had served as his strategist throughout the war, decided to retire and bought a bookstore. Actually, he inherited his grandfather’s shop and used his severance as a retirement fund.

Adrian visited to check in on Robert. He was surprised by how large the shop was, but Robert soon had to step out and asked Adrian to mind the store.

Apparently, there was a young lady who’d become a regular, and she liked a certain cake that was only available at a specific time.

Not long ago, Adrian would have dismissed romance and marriage as nonsense, but now he thought differently.

So he let Robert go and relaxed, reading in comfortable clothes. Then he sensed someone peeking inside. He thought some young lady had tracked him down again.

But outside the window—

‘It’s Lady Elisia.’

Even with her hood up and a magic ring changing her hair color, he was sure. The glimpse of violet eyes sealed it.

He stopped her from leaving. She mistook him for a clerk, but he found that amusing.

“P-please give me the red book!”

He was surprised by her unexpected request.

That made her even more appealing. And when she shouted “red book,” he felt a stirring below.

Selena didn’t immediately recognize him as the man from the bookstore. Or perhaps she did, but didn’t want to believe it.

He wondered when she’d figure it out, so he acted even more gentlemanly. The way Selena peeked at him was adorable. He wanted to kiss her and bite her all over.

But Adrian faithfully played the role of the proper fiancé.

At least until he got Robert’s message that Selena had visited ‘Michelan’ again. He rode hard to the store to arrive before she left, debating whether to wait for another chance, but his patience was at its limit.

He was done being the gentlemanly fiancé.

“So this is more your taste.”

The book Selena was reading suited him perfectly. ‘Duke, Please Put It In’—even if it wasn’t her taste yet, he wanted to make sure it would be.

It was something he wanted to hear from her one day.

After that, an unexpected obstacle appeared between him and Selena.

On the day of her debutante, of all times.

“You and. Me. Will. Marry.”

The problem was the chieftain’s daughter who came with the southern barbarian delegation.

In broken Imperial language, she insisted on marrying him. Their custom was to marry the strongest man.

“This is insane.”

He refused immediately, but the chieftain’s daughter was stubborn. The barbarians weren’t a single nation like the Empire. Even though Adrian had defeated them in war, their warlike nature meant another tribe could start a new conflict.

Adrian argued he was ready to fight again, but other nobles urged him to consider the hard-won peace.

As a result, he couldn’t attend Selena’s debutante with her, and she misunderstood.

Bang, bang—someone pounded on the door, yelling. Apparently, the mad barbarian woman had found his room in the palace. Adrian didn’t care. He’d told her when leaving the ballroom:

「Find a mate among the riffraff here. If you cling to me again, I’ll break your hand.」

He didn’t know if the interpreter had conveyed it properly, but it didn’t matter.

He heard knights’ footsteps over the banging.

Soon, the commotion quieted.

Selena, exhausted from a night with Adrian, fortunately didn’t know about the ruckus.

“Should we do the marriage vows at the temple first?”

Wedding preparations would take months. Adrian doubted he could wait that long.

If not, he could use the excuse of bridal lessons to bring Selena to the ducal residence.

Thinking of waking up together in bed, Adrian smiled deeply.

“I’d better stock up on more red books.”

And as he imagined the gifts that would soon make Selena groan, Adrian smiled even more.

『Lewd Fiancée』 The End