“There are many reasons… but that man is sneakier than he looks. If he accuses me of something I didn’t do, I’ll end up taking the blame.”
“You mean him?”
Leonard frowned, thinking of Viscount Callio, who had gone crazy over a single glass of wine, claiming Leonard insulted him.
“But didn’t he really put something in your drink today? That’s not a false accusation.”
“Not today. If that becomes public, my benefactor will be harmed.”
Even if it wasn’t intentional… she got lucky.
As Irenea muttered that, Leonard’s sharp gaze softened a little.
If that’s the reason, then there’s no helping it.
“Is that all you wanted to ask?”
“No, I’ve saved the most important question for last.”
“Oh, I think I know what it is.”
Irenea’s eyes sparkled like she was holding a precious secret in her heart.
“You want to ask about what happens next, right?”
“If you already guessed, this’ll go faster. Tomorrow’s newspaper will likely have both our names side by side.”
There’s no way it won’t. There had been multiple articles just last week speculating who the marquis would marry.
“You’re not planning to break off the engagement right away, are you? So what do you plan to do?”
“I plan to ask you to marry me.”
“…What?”
Leonard wasn’t sure he heard correctly.
“Are you asking me to marry you?”
“Yes.”
“To who?”
“Who else? You, Leonard, the one whose name will be next to mine in the paper.”
Irenea said it with a bright smile, as if it were obvious. Leonard stared in shock.
“Wait… you’re proposing to me?”
“Yes!”
She nodded cheerfully.
“You agreed to play the part of my fiancé without hesitation, so you must not have someone else in mind or a fiancée, right? But since you’re a noble, you’ll need to marry eventually for your heir. So what do you think of me? I’ll meet any conditions you want—except cheating or divorce.”
She spoke so fast it was hard to believe she was even breathing. Leonard couldn’t catch half of it, but he understood what she meant.
“So… you want to marry me?”
Leonard couldn’t believe it.
“She must have done some digging on me to know even my measurements…”
Was her research incomplete? He decided to make it clear.
“I don’t think you really know me. I was born out of wedlock.”
“And that’s not your fault. No one gets to choose their parents.”
“That’s not all. I begged for food as a child, was sold to a mercenary group when I got older…”
“I’ll say it again: all of that is your parents’ fault, not yours. You just lived the life the adults forced on you. What did you do wrong?”
Her eyes were clear and sincere as she looked straight at Leonard.
Seeing her gaze like a calm lake reflecting his face, Leonard looked down—perhaps to hide how his own eyes wavered like water.
“Do you… really not think that’s a flaw?”
“Do you think it is, Leonard?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
How could he not think that way? Everyone around him said it was a flaw and judged him for it.
“If you marry me, I’ll make sure you never think that way again.”
Irenea placed her hand over her heart with confidence.
“Not just you—but everyone who made you think that way too.”
“Everything I said was sincere, so please take my proposal seriously, Lord Leonard.”
With those final words, Irenea stood up, wished him a peaceful night, and left.
But contrary to her wish, Leonard couldn’t sleep a wink.
He only managed to close his eyes around dawn, but was woken up after a few hours by Edward.
“Lord Leonard, wake up!”
“Ugh… what is it now? Another bug in the room?”
“Don’t say that! This is the Blair Marquis’s estate, not some random inn!”
“Marquis Blair…”
Finally realizing where he was, Leonard shot up. But his headache still lingered from lack of sleep.
“What time is it?”
“Just past 10. But Lord Leonard, look at this!”
Edward waved a newspaper excitedly.
Right there on the front page, their names were side by side.
Headline:
Breaking News! Marquis Blair’s fiancé revealed to be Count Elpheus!
Beneath a picture of Irenea and Leonard standing together, there was a detailed article explaining that Marquis Blair had introduced him as her future husband at the ball last night.
And it didn’t end there:
Who is Count Elpheus, the fiancé of Marquis Blair?
The knight who earned Anouf’s greatest honor, and now the heart of a marquis.
While Blair was a well-known figure, Leonard was not. So every newspaper had an article introducing him.
Leonard thought the reporters must’ve worked all night.
But then he saw another article:
How did a man born out of wedlock become a count?
They used the word “illegitimate” to stir up scandal.
Leonard checked the publisher: Lotus Press.
“Of course. Matthias again.”
“Huh? What do you mean—whoa!”
Edward noticed the headline and quickly snatched the paper away.
“Sorry! I thought I got rid of all the bad ones. Must’ve missed this one.”
That explained why most articles left out Leonard’s background and only talked about his title and achievements. Edward had filtered them already.
The ones he hid probably emphasized Leonard being an illegitimate child and former mercenary.
“Forget the apology. Give it here.”
“What? Why? You’re not going to read it, are you?”
“I want to know what they’re saying.”
“Why bother…”
Leonard took the paper from Edward and read the article.
It was worse than he expected.
They claimed that Leonard, once a wandering mercenary, became a count by having an affair with the previous countess of House Elpheus.
“This is insane.”
“What? An affair?! How dare they talk about the lady like that! We should sue them for defamation, right now!”
Edward had been sponsored by the previous countess and viewed her as a lifelong benefactor. That’s why he worked under Leonard despite the low pay.
So of course he was furious at the slander.
“How can journalists print such garbage? Let’s crush them, please!”
“And I go to jail?”
“Challenge them to a duel!”
“If Matthias himself had said it, I’d have thrown my glove at him. But look—”
Leonard pointed to the end of the article where the reporter’s name should be. It was blank.
“Anonymous.”
Journalists always signed their articles—unless they were afraid of retaliation.
“If I challenge him now, people will just say I have something to hide. It’s better to ignore it.”
“But still…”
Leonard crumpled the paper and tossed it in the trash.
“When I get the chance, I’ll destroy them properly. Satisfied?”
His voice was calm, but the content was not.
“Yes! I’ll always trust you, my lord!”
Edward wiped his nose and nodded bravely—but still cursed Matthias quietly in his head.
“Cowardly, petty little man!”
Matthias had once challenged Leonard to a duel—and lost. Ever since, he was out for revenge.
Using his family’s press to publish filth like this only showed how low he’d stoop.
“By the way, Lord Leonard…”
He was about to ask what would happen with the engagement, but Leonard suddenly noticed the date on the paper.
“Oh, right. That’s today, isn’t it?”
“Today? Oh! You mean the auction? Yes, it’s tonight.”
Edward nodded, then cautiously asked,
“I know it’s late to ask, but… are you really okay putting the family heirloom up for auction? That sword is a symbol of House Elpheus.”
As soon as that sword appeared on the auction stage, people would start gossiping.
Selling a family heirloom? How disgraceful. This is what happens when you take in a bastard like him…
“We’re on the verge of collapse. A sword isn’t more important than people. Survive first, then worry about pride.”
Right. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about sudden proposals.
If the sword sold at tonight’s auction for the price promised by his secret employer, he had a lot to do.
First and foremost: pay off the massive family debt.
Leonard sighed quietly, thinking of the mysterious employer who had somehow discovered his secret and made a secret offer.
