TBKBS 27

Chapter : 27

For a moment, the only thing that filled my father’s study was silence.

At first, I thought I had misheard, but even my father and Luke looked completely stunned.

I barely managed to gather my wits and asked him again.

“Your Highness… are you proposing to me right now?”

“Haha. As I thought, you’re exactly my type. And among those in this room, you’re the one who reacted the fastest.”

Wait… are we measuring reaction speed now?

“You really are proposing marriage to me, right?”

Just answer me.

“Yes. I’ve said countless times that you’re my type. I liked you from the start, but when I heard you were to marry Duke Rion, I thought there was nothing I could do. But if you dislike him that much, then marry me instead—this marriage.”

Why is he speaking so casually about this?

Marriage isn’t some child’s game. Is he joking? Or is this sly man up to some other scheme?

“Your Highness, are you speaking sincerely?”

Finally regaining his composure, even my father asked.

“Yes. I doubt I seem like someone who speaks thoughtlessly, Duke Brockburg. But our agreement remains unchanged. I will start a war on the date you provide, and you must uphold the terms I request. Even if your daughter becomes not the Empress of Everetian, but the Crown Princess of Dakkers.”

Ah!

It must be because of that secret agreement.

Watching Eden make this bombshell announcement while confirming with my father that the secret pact would be carried out, I began to vaguely understand his motive for proposing marriage.

Eden continued speaking.

“I gain a Crown Princess to my liking, and you, Lyn, regardless of whether the Duke and Duke Rion succeed in their rebellion, can secure the safety you desire. The Duke likely won’t mind sending his daughter to me. After all, a daughter running away from her father would be best sent to become the Crown Princess of the Dakkers Empire, right?”

This man… he’s using even marriage as a means to achieve his goals.

And I had thought of him as nothing more than a dilettante.

Marrying a man like that… is this even reasonable?

I said to Eden,

“So, you’re saying that if I want to survive, I should choose marriage?”

Eden smiled faintly.

“You wanted to flee, didn’t you? Seems like an easy choice… isn’t marrying me better than exile?”

Is that what you think?

Exile is far better, if you ask me!

But aside from personal feelings, my mind started turning rapidly.

This was an unexpected development.

Marrying Eden… Exile is far preferable, but that option has already become impossible…

While I was rolling my eyes, trying to process it, Eden continued.

“You asked me once—if Calix or Rion becomes Emperor, I wouldn’t know, but if Calix does and demands that I hand over you, the one who sought refuge in my empire, what would you do?”

I swallowed silently.

“I’ve thought about it. Even if the exile is to my liking, an ordinary exile can’t solve political issues without compensation. And I’m not someone who gives that freely.”

A thoroughly calculating man.

“Then what do you gain from marrying me?”

Stop talking about preferences and tell me your true intentions!

Eden smiled faintly again.

“The Dakkers Empire wouldn’t need to protect you, nor is there justification to do so. But if you were Crown Princess or Empress, that changes things.”

He ignored my question and continued speaking as if only his words mattered.

“But Eden, you gain nothing from marrying me.”

I only give compensation to those who provide what I need, he had said.

“Why nothing? I gain you.”

“!!!!”

What is that supposed to mean?!

Does he… actually like me?

“You don’t like me, not really. Just… a preference.”

I felt embarrassed speaking aloud that I’m his “type.”

“Is it easy to find a woman of one’s type? I think someone like you could even provoke feelings. I already… like you a little.”

!!!!

Whoa! Even if such words count as a confession, I can feel conflicted hearing it.

“Answer me, Kaelin Brockburg. I want an answer right here.”

My father and Luke froze again at what sounded like Eden’s half-confession.

No matter how I thought about it, I doubted Eden genuinely liked me.

He seemed to hide, mask, and disguise himself completely.

Marrying such a man… how could I decide that here?

I wanted to refuse immediately, but I couldn’t.

Everything he said was correct.

If my top priority is survival, and becoming Crown Princess of Dakkers is the only way, then it’s not something I could reject on impulse.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t decide whether to marry right now. Could you give me a few days?”

“Hmmm… is deciding to marry me that hard? It seems far more advantageous than exile, after all.”

Exile is so much better.

Exile only changes countries; marriage brings a husband too. And one I don’t love.

Yet, if I accept his proposed marriage, I regain a foothold in the Dakkers Empire, which I had already abandoned, and Eden Dakkers becomes a pivotal figure in my life.

Considering all possibilities, I spoke cautiously, so as not to upset him.

“Eden, no woman could decide on marriage immediately after a proposal. Actually, no man could either.”

“One day. I’ll give you one day. Give me your answer by tomorrow, Lyn.”

Eden said my name with an almost excessive gentleness, making me want to refuse immediately.

“Yes.”

But instead of stubbornly resisting, I answered calmly.

Hearing my response, Eden suddenly turned to my father.

“Chancellor, if Lyn decides, you’ll support your daughter’s decision, right?”

My father looked back and forth between Eden and me, paused briefly, then said:

“Yes. I will.”

Like Eden had said, my father must have concluded that, judging by practical benefits, this marriage proposal wasn’t necessarily bad.

The conversation ended there.

I left the study, having agreed to give my answer by the next day, and Eden followed immediately.

Eden’s guest room was on the second floor, and my room was on the fourth.

Since my father’s study was on the third floor, we parted ways at the staircase.

I stopped after a few steps and turned back.

“Eden.”

Eden, descending the stairs, paused and looked back at me.

I took a moment to steady my mind and then began speaking to him.

“The reason you want me as Crown Princess… is it to create a safety measure that firmly binds my father to this agreement now that my alliance with Duke Rion has ended?”

My father had no reason to be bound by the pact for my sake alone.

Eden emphasizing continued adherence to the agreement must have been for that reason.

Eden smiled faintly at my question.

“That’s not all, but I haven’t ignored that either, Lyn.”

Yes, you must have considered a lot of things… frighteningly so.

“If my father succeeds in rebellion, Eden, you’d have the woman of highest rank in the Everetian Empire as your wife.”

In an empire without a princess, the only daughter of Chancellor and Duke Luc Tain Brockburg was objectively a suitable match for Eden.

Moreover, if my father succeeds in rebellion, his position strengthens even further.

“You could say that, Lyn.”

Eden did not deny it.

But my father would fail, right?

I had laid out my thoughts to ask the next question.

“But if my father fails, then I will be neither the Chancellor’s daughter nor the Duke’s daughter. Just the daughter of a failed rebel. Would I still have value as Crown Princess of the Dakkers Empire?”

Eden, you said you don’t love me.

You just claimed I’m your preference, and I might become insignificant—but still expect to marry me?

I couldn’t trust that word “preference.”

Not all preferences lead to marriage.

“Kaelin Brockburg.”

Eden called me by my full name.

“Yes.”

“You don’t seem to understand the word ‘preference.’ Until now, no woman has been so perfectly my type. There wasn’t anyone I would enjoy marrying. But if, as you say, your father fails in rebellion… you’d die, wouldn’t you?”

Sadly, you’re not my type.

“Exactly. That’s why I want to run away.”

By the way, why bring up that I could die in the middle of talking about preferences?

“I don’t want to see you die. I need a Crown Princess, and I think someone like you would do. I said it—I only give rewards to those who provide what I need. A mere exile can give me nothing. But if you become the Crown Princess I need, I’ll ensure at least the safety you desire.”

He still treats marriage as a transaction.

Binding my father to the agreement, taking the Chancellor’s daughter as his Crown Princess…

Still, I had to admit there was some goodwill on his part.

To go so far as to marry for a potential threat to my life.

So…

“Eden, if you win the war, there’s no problem. But if you lose, and Everetian demands I be handed over as the daughter of a rebel, what will you do?”

If I were just an exile, he would kill or surrender me.

As Crown Princess, I wanted to confirm whether he would truly protect me.

“Lyn, you always imagine the worst-case scenario. Your father fails in rebellion, and I lose the war.”

That worst-case is probably the real future.

So what would you do?

“What would you do?”

I asked again.

“Hmmm. Hahaha.”

Suddenly, Eden laughed.

Why now?

I’m serious here.

Seeing me frown at his ridiculous laughter, Eden finally stopped and answered.

“I told you. It would be hard to demand the Crown Princess. After all, she’s the Crown Princess of the Dakkers Empire. You wanted to flee to my country because you believed I wouldn’t easily hand over someone of your status, not just a mere exile, right?”

In such a worst-case scenario, having the status of Crown Princess is even more advantageous for personal safety.

Yes… he’s right.

If I let go of hope for a happy marriage with the person I love, his words are completely reasonable.

I should even feel grateful for his level of goodwill…

Still, I asked again.

“And if they still demand I be handed over?”

After all, in Everetian, the daughter of a rebellious Duke and Crown Princess of the Dakkers Empire might be an even better target for revenge than a mere exile.

Eden was silent for a moment, gazing up at me.

Then, finally, he said something truly unexpected.

“Lyn, if I have to give up the Crown Princess, I’ll send the princess instead.”

“!!!!!!!!”

The princess…!

The princess of the Dakkers Empire—Eden’s own sister, Estelle Dakkers, the heroine of my novel.