Chapter : 7 – I’m Going Crazy
At Leonard’s voice from beside her, Cielie was startled.
So focused on the letter that she hadn’t even noticed him approach, she now realized he had already read its contents.
“Why are you reading a private letter…?”
“Viscount Hacelian? Is that the same person I know?”
“What?”
Cielie couldn’t stop Leonard, who had already taken the marriage contract out of the envelope and was reading it.
She had reacted too slowly from shock, and his expression was terrifying.
“Do you know him?”
“Yes.”
Leonard’s eyes turned cold as he gritted his teeth.
His sharp gaze made Cielie even more flustered, while she kept shifting uneasily under his oppressive aura, like she was standing before an enemy commander.
Finally, she snapped back to her senses.
‘Wait, why is he reading my contract?’
Not only was he reading her private letter, he was even checking the documents inside the envelope. Even if he was her superior, this was going too far—but she couldn’t bring herself to protest because of his frightening expression.
“You’re marrying Viscount Hacelian?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
“Not?”
Cielie immediately denied it but avoided his eyes.
She couldn’t meet his gaze, looking everywhere except at him.
Leonard spoke again in a low, firm voice.
“Then what is this?”
He shook the letter in his hand, jaw tense, eyes sharp and intimidating.
But Cielie still avoided his gaze, acting as if nothing was wrong.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
She snatched the document from his hand and ran out of the office.
She knew this wasn’t something that could be solved like this, but she just wanted to escape the situation for now.
Her secret—something she never wanted anyone to know—had been exposed.
And of all people, it was her difficult superior.
‘Why did the letter have to come to the office?’
Her footsteps echoed loudly through the palace corridor as she ran.
Servants and maids who saw her quickly looked away.
Rumors were already spreading that Cielie, now Leonard’s aide, was dissatisfied with her position. And since Leonard himself often avoided her, the palace servants added more and more details to the gossip.
“They say they’re like sworn enemies.”
“No, worse. They don’t even look at each other.”
“They won’t last long like that.”
“Knight Cielie is from a noble family too, right?”
“House Arius? But the previous duke passed away, and she left the house. They say she was basically disowned.”
The whispers followed her, but Cielie’s expression didn’t change.
She kept walking as if she hadn’t heard anything at all.
‘Words like that don’t matter.’
If she were the kind of person who got hurt by gossip, she would never have left House Arius in the first place.
Right now, she had bigger problems.
The second letter had arrived—so a third might mean her uncle coming in person.
“Saha!”
Seeing Saha on patrol in the distance, she called out to him without hesitation.
Her voice was urgent.
Without explanation, she blurted out:
“Marry me!”
“What the hell.”
Saha didn’t hesitate at all.
Cielie frowned.
“I don’t mean it for real. It’s fake.”
“Are you insane? You know what my family is like and still ask me that?”
“What’s wrong with your family!”
“If I sign a marriage contract with you, my father will immediately call me in. He’ll interrogate me endlessly about when I started dating the daughter of House Arius.”
“So what?”
“And you think I’d marry you? Are you crazy?”
“….”
Cielie drooped at his rejection.
Saha, surprised by her reaction, felt a bit guilty. Normally she would have shouted back, but seeing her like this made him uneasy.
“What happened?”
“I got a marriage contract.”
“A marriage contract?”
Saha raised his voice, and Cielie quickly covered his mouth.
“Quiet!”
“You’re insane. Your uncle is insane.”
“Exactly.”
“He’s trying to drain your inheritance.”
“Yeah.”
“And your dowry too.”
“Right.”
Saha, who understood her situation, grabbed her arm and pulled her into the knights’休息 room.
After checking no one was inside, they sat on the floor. Even though there were chairs, neither of them used them.
Silence fell between them.
To break the awkwardness, Cielie spoke first.
“It looks like he already made a deal with the groom’s family.”
“Who is it?”
Saha leaned in immediately, eager to investigate.
Cielie hesitated.
Leonard’s cold gaze from earlier came to mind.
“…Viscount Hacelian.”
“Ah, Hacelian—what?”
“Hacelian Viscount.”
“Are you insane?”
“Your vocabulary has gotten worse.”
“Are you kidding me? That guy is forty years old!”
“What?”
“And this is his third marriage. They say he’s looking for a third wife—and that’s you?”
“It’s not me yet! I didn’t sign anything!”
Saha immediately grabbed her shoulders.
“Listen to me. Do NOT do it.”
“If you marry that bastard, you might disappear without anyone noticing.”
“I’m not going to! I said I’m not!”
“And don’t you dare get weak and sign it later. I know you sometimes give money to your cousin when she visits.”
Cielie’s eyes widened.
Her uncle’s daughter, Orcana, occasionally visited and asked for money. She had always given it to her just to make her leave quickly.
“You knew about that?”
“Everyone in the knight order knows. Galale saw it.”
“That mouthy guy…”
“We used to chase her away whenever she showed up. You really didn’t know?”
“I didn’t.”
Cielie had assumed she simply stopped coming.
She hadn’t realized her comrades had been handling it.
“…I see.”
“Anyway, don’t sign that contract.”
“What contract are you talking about?”
Lante entered the room.
Seeing him, Cielie immediately asked:
“Knight Lante, will you marry me?”
“Is she insane?!”
Saha quickly covered her mouth.
Lante’s usual calm expression wavered.
Then—
“Knight Cielie.”
Leonard entered the room.
The atmosphere instantly turned cold.
Everyone tensed.
Cielie instinctively tried to summon her bow—but Leonard spoke first.
“Come with me.”
He motioned with his finger and left the room.
“What did you do wrong?”
Saha asked, but Cielie didn’t answer.
She realized she had left work without permission.
“…I’ll go.”
“Good luck.”
As she stepped outside, Leonard stood waiting, eyes sharp.
“You ran away without answering properly.”
“I’m sorry.”
“So, what’s your answer? Are you getting married?”
At that question, Cielie hesitated.
She couldn’t speak.
She had wanted to keep this private.
But then—
Her eyes slowly moved over Leonard.
‘Wait.’
His status was untouchable even by House Arius.
He was wealthy enough not to care about her inheritance.
Powerful enough that even her uncle couldn’t interfere.
And worst of all…
He had no interest in her.
The perfect shield.
Cielie’s eyes sparkled.
And she looked straight at Leonard.
