chapter 07
I used the paper knife on the side table and opened the letter right away.
To my beloved daughter, Godel.
I read your last letter well. Sorry for the late reply. After Gilbert passed, it took me some time to get over the sadness.
Sadness? Yeah, right.
He didn’t care about Gilbert—he was too busy gambling.
I scoffed, but then frowned as I read the next part.
But Godel, the amount of money last month was lower than usual.
I know you’re living with Echo now. But that’s no reason to reduce the amount of money you send.
Haven’t I always told you? If the father is doing well, the family does well too.
Your late mother used to say the same thing. You shouldn’t go against that. Gilbert, who passed away, wouldn’t want me to be treated like this either. So…
“What kind of lunatic nonsense is this?”
My sharp words made Echo flinch beside me. Oops. I quickly shut my mouth, but I couldn’t calm down.
Bringing up his dead wife and son just to ask for more money — it was so ridiculous it made me furious.
Ugh. The sweet potato I just ate felt like it was stuck in my throat all over again.
“G-Godel, are you okay…?”
I couldn’t say anything, just held the back of my neck in frustration. Echo nervously asked with concern. But I couldn’t explain all this to her. Messy money matters like this should be handled between adults.
“It’s nothing. Just someone sending a weird message.”
I smiled faintly and crumpled the letter in front of her, like it was no big deal. And just as I was about to close the door—
“Lady.”
A low voice called out.
Now what?
Still full of frustration, I turned around with a frown.
Standing there was a man dressed very neatly. When our eyes met, he flinched—but then quickly gave a polite smile.
“Are you Miss Godel Hildegarde?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Please accept this.”
The man, with one arm behind his back, politely handed me something — another letter. From the texture of the paper and his formal attitude, it was clear this wasn’t a simple matter.
“…Is this really addressed to me?”
“Yes. To Miss Godel Hildegarde.”
I asked again just to be sure, and he confirmed it clearly. I hesitated a bit, then took the letter.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
The man took off his hat, gave a polite nod, and walked away.
In Godel’s memories, she’d never seen anyone treat her this politely before. Still a bit stunned, I stared at his back as he left, then headed back inside.
“Who was that, Godel?”
Echo, looking more curious than usual, asked me softly.
“I’m not sure either.”
I shook my head and turned the letter over. A very fancy seal was stamped right on the back.
In this game, there’s only one kind of situation where you receive a letter like this—
When someone sends a marriage proposal for Echo.
But this one was addressed to me, so that wasn’t it.
I gave a small, dry laugh and opened the letter.
And a moment later, I froze.
It was a marriage proposal.
“…?”
My mind couldn’t quite process it at first. A proposal letter. I had received plenty of these while playing the game, so I knew the contents by heart.
So… this really was a proposal?
I got even more confused. It wasn’t even addressed to Echo—so what kind of lunatic would propose to Godel?
I looked down to see who sent it.
Eden Bertanon
“…!”
As soon as I saw that name, a chill ran down my spine.
While playing the game, Echo had received proposals from all kinds of beings: nobles, commoners, monsters, animal gods, heavenly beings, fairies—you name it. There were so many, it was impossible to count.
Among them, the noble routes were the easiest to reach, so I knew almost every noble’s name.
But there was one person who was absolutely un-romanceable. And that was Bertanon.
Hardcore players had long suspected Eden Bertanon was the key to a hidden ending, and many had tried to open a route with him.
But approaching him never ended well. He’d show up saying the player wasn’t raising the child (Echo) well enough, or raid the house under suspicion of child abuse.
Each time, poor sweet Echo’s stress level would shoot up by +150, to the point where even players chasing hidden endings gave up in frustration.
So why was this man proposing to me?
‘…No way.’
Suddenly, a terrible thought crossed my mind.
This game had multiple endings, and naturally, some were more hated than others. The worst one was always considered to be the “marriage with the adoptive guardian” ending.
Basically, the most messed-up route. And the scary part? There wasn’t just one ending like that.
‘So… what if this proposal is the beginning of one of those messed-up routes?’
It wasn’t impossible. My face twisted without me realizing it.
Of course, it could just be a misunderstanding. But that made it even weirder.
Why me of all people?
Eden and Godel had never met. And even if they had, why would someone as high-ranking as a duke propose to someone with terrible rumors and a ruined family name like Godel?
“Godel?”
Echo tilted her head, sensing something was wrong. Her green eyes were as pure as ever. No—this couldn’t be allowed. How dare he come after my precious daughter?
“It’s nothing.”
I shook my head and crumpled the letter. In this game, once a proposal was rejected, the suitor never sent another. If I just ignored it and didn’t respond, it would never come again.
“There’ve just been a lot of crazy people around lately.”
I smiled and, for the first time in both this life and my previous one, tossed aside a marriage proposal.
“Duke, a letter has arrived.”
“Leave it there.”
Eden, who had been reviewing documents, gave a small nod at the butler, Norton.
Eden glanced at the stack of letters without much interest—until suddenly he remembered.
It had already been a week since he sent a proposal to Godel Hildegarde.
“I will propose to Godel Hildegarde.”
That declaration had caused a stir in the entire Bertanon estate. People would’ve done anything to join the powerful Bertanon family.
But proposing to someone with a bad reputation, questionable personality, and poor family standing? It made no sense.
Still, Eden thought no one suited him better than Godel.
Godel had missed her chance at marriage while being obsessed with love. And even if she had come to her senses now, her reputation was so poor that no one would want to propose to her.
In this society, unmarried women were often looked down upon. It wasn’t Eden’s personal opinion—it was just how society worked.
And on top of that, all of Gilbert’s money was going straight into gambling, so she was likely in a bad financial state too. Especially with Gilbert’s daughter living with her.
So to Eden, marrying her made perfect sense.
Unlike other well-established nobles who might resist, Godel would make both marriage and divorce easy. And she was far from the kind of refined lady his father had wanted as the Duchess of Bertanon.
So Eden had sent her the proposal without hesitation. And now… he realized time had flown by.
‘Almost made a mistake.’
Sure, he wasn’t desperate—but if he didn’t follow up, he might look like someone rude enough to ignore his own proposal.
Eden put down his pen and scanned the pile of letters.
“…”
But no matter how much he looked, there was no letter from Godel.
His brows furrowed.
“Norton!”
“Yes, Duke!”
Norton rushed back into the room at Eden’s call.
“Is this all the mail?”
“Yes, sir… Is there a problem?”
Norton looked puzzled.
“If you’re looking for something specific, I can check again.”
“…”
Norton offered politely, but Eden couldn’t answer.
He couldn’t bring himself to say, I’m waiting for a reply to my marriage proposal.
“Forget it. You may go.”
With a frown, Eden gave a short answer.
Godel’s estate was far from his townhouse in the capital. It might take more time for a response to arrive.
If it takes time to send, it’ll take time to return too.
A week. Just one more week.
A full month had been given, and a week had already passed. Time was running out, but Eden decided to wait a little longer—graciously.
‘The answer is already obvious, anyway.’
Eden smiled, sure that this first—and last—proposal of his would be accepted.
But he was very wrong.
