chapter 08
“…She still hasn’t replied?”
“No, sir,” Norton answered.
Eden frowned.
He had waited not just a week, but two extra days. Still, there was no reply from Hildegard.
Worried the letter might have gotten lost, he called in the servant who delivered it. But the servant insisted he had handed it to Godell in person.
“I’m sure it was Godell Hildegard herself!”
His eyes were full of frustration and sincerity.
If that was true, then it meant Godell had received the proposal.
“…Was there anything else? Any unusual behavior?”
The servant tried to remember carefully. It was a question from his employer—he had to give an answer. After thinking hard, he finally spoke with a small “Ah!”
“She looked… very displeased.”
“…Displeased?”
“Yes. To be exact, she seemed angry—”
The servant had been explaining innocently when he suddenly fell silent, sensing the rising tension in the room.
Eden let out a dry laugh.
Her unpleasant expression, and the lack of any response—both pointed to only one thing.
She was rejecting his proposal.
“Godell Hildegard… rejecting me?”
He had never considered this as even a possibility. As Eden’s mood grew darker, Miller, who had been quietly observing, stepped in.
“Maybe she realized she’s not fit for such a position. Haha…”
“……”
Miller tried to lighten the mood, but Eden didn’t respond. So Miller took the chance to offer a more practical suggestion.
“Duke, maybe it’s time to move on and look for someone else? We don’t have much time left. Our side needs time to prepare for the ceremony as well.”
Miller wasn’t wrong. The marriage had to happen within about two weeks. The executor had even started pushing gently for it. Though it was framed as carrying out a will, the real pressure was likely coming from Eden’s uncle—the Emperor.
And that was the bigger issue.
Eden was well past the usual marrying age. Most of his peers were already wed, and those still single were desperate to find a match quickly.
In noble society, remaining unmarried was seen as a personal failing. Men could delay marriage with excuses like business or family responsibilities, but women were not given the same freedom.
So any unmarried woman of age was likely already aligned with the Emperor.
Sure, if they scoured every corner of the remote countryside, they might find someone who wasn’t loyal to the Emperor yet.
But time was far too short. If they wasted it, the family’s wealth and title would slip right into the Emperor’s hands—and his uncle would be the one laughing.
It was a lose-lose situation—whether he married or not.
“Damn it.”
Eden’s expression darkened. At this point, rebellion almost sounded like a better option. Even as such wild thoughts crossed his mind, Miller continued to speak.
“And really, think about it, sir. Even if we’re desperate, why choose a woman with such a bad reputation and no decent family?”
Miller sighed.
“Plus, didn’t you see her? The way she kept shouting strange things…”
“Wait.”
After a long silence, Eden suddenly cut him off.
Strange things. Yes, he had heard them clearly. He couldn’t recall exactly, but they sounded oddly familiar.
Because of his father’s obsession with the family’s prestige, Eden had been forced to read all kinds of books since childhood. Most of it bored him, but one topic had once caught his eye—the Sage.
He remembered it from a book of bizarre, unofficial legends not found in proper history texts. The Sage had supposedly appeared in the empire long ago, speaking in a strange way and behaving freely, like someone from another world.
But everything the Sage said came true. People called him a prophet, and the royal family had even married off a princess based on the Sage’s word.
Then, after the wedding, the Sage suddenly disappeared without a trace.
People believed he had been sent by the gods to guide the empire’s future.
As a child, Eden had once wished the Sage would return and declare his uncle unfit to be emperor.
But now? He didn’t believe it. If the Sage could really see the future, he should’ve warned them of the empire’s downfall first. Then his dear uncle would’ve never taken the throne.
‘And the Sage was known for shouting strange things all the time…’
Yes. He remembered clearly. The Sage spoke in languages that didn’t even exist in their world.
Just like that phrase.
“Logout.”
Eden’s quiet voice echoed through the office. Miller blinked.
“Why are you saying the same thing as that woman, sir?”
But Eden didn’t answer. Instead, he slowly smiled.
“So that’s why she rejected my proposal.”
Since the Emperor was her uncle, it made sense that she would be afraid to respond.
“Well, yeah. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared ignore my proposal.”
Godel Hildegarde…
Eden finally repeated the name of the woman he had proposed to. He stood up. Just a moment ago, he had been frowning, but now his expression was oddly confident.
“Miller, prepare the carriage.”
“Pardon? Right now? W-Where are you going?”
“Where do you think?”
As he adjusted the cuff buttons on his sleeve, his appearance became even more dignified. Even though he claimed not to care about marriage, he still knew the proper order of things, thanks to the love-obsessed people constantly around him.
A suitor must show how sincere he is.
Just sending a proposal letter wasn’t nearly enough.
He brushed his sleek black hair back and smiled with satisfaction.
“I’m going to propose again. To my bride.”
*
The first thing I did after entering this game world was tidy up the house. Even if Echo had tried her best to clean, Godel would mess it all up again in her unstable state, so the place was a mess.
That’s when I noticed that all of Echo’s clothes were worn out. Even if people in this world didn’t need as many clothes as we do in the modern world, there’s still a basic standard.
No matter how broke I was, I couldn’t let her wear torn clothes. Besides, I remembered how beautiful the seasonal clothes in this world were.
“It’s been a while since I dressed her up nicely.”
With that thought in mind, I took Echo to the plaza. But…
“…120 gold?”
“Yes. That’s the most reasonable price at the moment.”
My intention to buy her new clothes slowly faded as I faced the current market prices.
It wasn’t even a famous shop, and the quality didn’t seem particularly great. Yet it was more expensive than Godel’s memories told me it would be.
That’s when I remembered—Godel’s last outing was in the summer. It was now chilly, and of course, thicker clothes were more expensive than thin ones.
“I-I’m really okay. This outfit is enough,” Echo said, shaking her head, maybe having sensed my hesitation.
But wearing thin clothes in this weather could affect her health. That wasn’t something I could overlook.
“I’m not okay with it. I’ll take this one, please.”
“Certainly! Just a moment, please!”
I pushed Echo behind me and paid. The shopkeeper asked me to wait a bit for change, so I had some time to spare.
While waiting, I noticed Echo staring intently at something.
It was an art supplies stall. The most eye-catching thing there was a set of colorful paints.
From how she reacted when she fell, and other moments, I could tell Echo liked drawing. But ever since I came here, she hadn’t touched her paints. She must’ve been holding back because of me.
“Come to think of it… she said she had to make her own paint because she didn’t have any.”
What should I do? I hesitated for a moment.
The paint wasn’t that expensive, but after buying the winter clothes, I didn’t have much money left. I still had some of Gilbert’s pension, but now that I’d decided to live with Echo, I couldn’t keep relying on that. It was ill-gotten money, and Echo knew that too. Living off her dead father’s name would only bring guilt, not peace of mind.
“Are you interested in painting?” the vendor asked Echo.
“N-Not really… I was just looking.”
Echo smiled shyly and avoided the question, but anyone watching could see the truth.
Her eyes sparkled like stardust.
They shone so brightly that no light could compare, and without thinking, I asked:
“Do you want it?”
“Huh?”
Echo looked at me with a startled face, like I’d caught her secret.
“W-When did you get here, Lady Godel…?”
“Just now. Do you want the paints?”
“Ah… no, it’s fine. I was just looking.”
She quickly shook her head and denied it. But I could tell—those weren’t just curious eyes. I’d had the same look once.
When I was about Echo’s age, I saved up my allowance to buy something I really wanted. I was so happy, it felt like I owned the whole world. The cold winter didn’t even bother me—I was just so excited.
I probably had the same expression Echo had right now.
Then…
Now that I’m an adult, maybe I could give a small gift to someone going through a similar season.
With that thought, I said:
“Alright. Let’s get one. Just one, though—pick your favorite.”
My hesitation disappeared as if it had never existed. Echo’s eyes widened.
“Huh? B-But it’s really okay…”
“If you don’t pick in 10 seconds, I’ll choose one at random.”
I started counting—“One”—and folded a finger. Echo quickly panicked and grabbed a paint.
“That’s more like it.”
Nothing beats a surprise countdown. I smirked and paid for the paint. Echo, blinking blankly, suddenly seemed to realize what had just happened and rushed to my side.
“It must’ve been too expensive… Lady Godel, I’m really fine. Let’s go and exchange it. Please?”
She kept insisting she was fine and tried to persuade me. I listened for a while, then suddenly stopped walking.
“Ah…!”
I turned to Echo and gently pulled up the hood of the robe she was wearing.
Through her messy golden hair, her wide green eyes stared back at me in surprise.
When I played as the hero, Echo had been a cheerful, affectionate child. But now, she clearly felt awkward around me—and of course, she would. It’s not like she could suddenly feel close to someone like Godel overnight.
Because I knew that, I usually didn’t say much unless it was important.
