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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Starfall]
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Chapter 12: You have no intention of getting married, do you?
Philip, meticulously dressed, was riding in his carriage when he suddenly asked the coachman to stop.
“My lord, what’s the matter?”
The coachman asked, puzzled. Philip, his face slightly flushed, replied.
“I’m going to try something I read in a book.”
He approached a flower vendor on the street and bought a large bouquet of roses.
‘This is the first time I’ve bought flowers since I got them for Christa.’
The large gentleman’s ears were already red from the unfamiliarity of the task.
“Alright, let’s go,” he said, getting back into the carriage.
The strong scent of roses filled the carriage, making him feel a little dizzy, but Philip sat upright, careful not to disturb his gentleman’s hat, holding the flowers preciously in his arms.
Meanwhile, Selina was waiting for Philip at the cafe, trying to calm her nerves.
‘Why did he ask to see me?’
No matter how much she thought about it, clutching her pounding heart, she couldn’t come up with any other reason.
‘Is he going to be angry and say, “How dare you make such a proposal to my son?” He must be terrifying when he’s angry.’
Knock, knock.
“The guest you’ve been waiting for has arrived.”
“Show him in.”
Selina wiped the cold sweat from her hands and was about to greet him with a curtsy when she froze in surprise.
Philip, as large as Janus, entered, carefully holding a bouquet of red roses.
“Yo… Your Grace.”
Selina finally came to her senses and greeted him.
‘The Grand Duke really resembles his father.’
It was like seeing Janus 30 years in the future.
“First impressions are important in any encounter. It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lady. I am Janus’s father. This is a gift to signify our future relationship.”
With a bright smile, Philip held out the roses.
After a brief hesitation, Selina accepted them, saying, “Thank you.”
“Do you dislike flowers?”
Philip was adept at reading people’s expressions, having seen countless soldiers on the battlefield.
It was a skill he had developed by unknowingly observing people in order to distinguish between imperial spies and enemy spies who approached his son.
Selina was a little surprised that Philip had read her mind so easily, but she calmly replied.
“It’s not that I dislike them, but I’m not used to them. No one has ever given me flowers before.”
“I heard you had a fiancé. I guess he didn’t give you gifts like this. Good riddance. A beautiful and intelligent young lady like you shouldn’t date a man who doesn’t even give you flowers.”
‘Even the Grand Duke hasn’t given me any flowers yet… Haha.’
“Shall we sit down?”
“Yes.”
As the two sat facing each other, the manager entered at the perfect moment.
“My lady, the tea is ready.”
“Bring it in.”
The manager came in, poured the tea, placed the cookies, and left. Philip tasted the tea and remarked,
“If you serve tea like this, I can see why people would want to come to the cafe and pay for it. Excellent, my lady.”
“Thank you for the compliment. I manage the cafes in the capital myself. It’s only been two years since I started, but it’s been a great help to the company’s profits lately. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, though.”
Philip nodded, watching Selina speak with sparkling eyes.
“You seem to truly enjoy your work at the company, Lady.”
“Yes, it’s not something I do because I’m the Acting Head of the family. I do it because I want to.”
“Then is this also… something you want to do?”
With that, Philip pulled out the engagement contract he had brought with him.
“Oh… that…”
‘How did that get into Duke Philip’s hands…?’
As if reading Selina’s bewildered expression, Philip calmly said, “This is a family matter, so I had no choice but to read it. I review and decide on the signing of any contracts related to the family.”
“Oh… I see.”
“If you truly want to do this, speak more confidently, Lady. Do you think entering into this engagement contract is a big mistake?”
“I thought it might not be seen favorably by the elders.”
“I didn’t come here to interrogate you, Lady Selina. I just have a few questions. Why are you only getting engaged to my son, even going so far as to sign a contract?”
“What?”
“I mean, why only an engagement?”
Philip continued, not even looking at the puzzled Selina, as if excited.
“Why not get married? Wouldn’t marriage be beneficial to you as well? The Grand Duke has wealth and honor that everyone desires. The territory is vast and the profitability isn’t bad either. With such a family offering an alliance, why settle for a mere engagement? Why not marriage?”
“I… I…”
Philip, suddenly grasping Selina’s intent, asked, “You have no intention of getting married, do you?”
At Philip’s words, Selina lowered her head.
“You have no thoughts of marriage at all. That’s why you set the conditions of engagement and annulment.”
Philip nodded, as if he finally understood.
* * *
“How dare they ignore my summons to the palace?!”
The Emperor raged, his body trembling with fury.
Ruth, his closest advisor, observed the Emperor’s hand tighten around his glass and responded.
“It’s not unusual, Your Majesty.”
“No, this time it’s different!”
As if to prove his point, the Emperor hurled the crystal glass he held onto the floor, shattering it.
The shards grazed Ruth’s long socks, drawing blood, but Ruth remained unmoving, standing respectfully in place.
“Who am I? I am the Emperor of this nation! The only one in this country who can bear the name Sephia. This name, forbidden even to Eric, is mine alone.”
Unable to contain his rage, the Emperor screamed like a madman.
“And yet, that mere Grand Duke, banished from the imperial family, dares to defy me? Just because he possesses the power of the dragon? It’s not even the power of immortality, so what right does he have to ignore me, the Emperor? The audacity of that Grand Duke!”
Ruth kept his head bowed in silence until the Emperor’s fury subsided.
“Those who always defied me, only ever knelt and bowed their heads to receive the spoils of Christa, which I bestowed upon them as rewards for their victories. Every time they pleaded, I swore to myself that one day, I would have their heads.”
The Emperor’s eyes turned cold.
“But now, the time has come, and they have not arrived. Do you understand what this means?”
Ruth’s face hardened for a moment.
“Yes, that’s it,” the Emperor said, nonchalantly pouring wine into another crystal glass.
“They’ve finally found his true mate. Those fools must be fuming right now, realizing they’ve been deceived by me.”
He took a sip of wine and chuckled.
“Fools. For 12 years, they’ve been chasing the false leads I planted, their eyes bloodshot as they scoured the empire. Ha! Did they really think finding the ‘real one’ would solve everything?”
The thought that the empire might once again be plunged into bloodshed made Ruth uneasy, but he suppressed his feelings.
“Ruth, come closer and show me your face.”
Ruth approached the Emperor and presented his face.
A large scar ran above his right eyebrow. It was a wound he received while protecting the Emperor during a battle for the throne.
The Emperor looked at it with satisfaction, then patted Ruth’s shoulder.
“We must show them that finding the true mate is useless.”
Ruth flinched at the Emperor’s words but then silently lowered his head.
“Do you have any objections?”
Ruth squeezed out a single sentence in response to the Emperor’s question.
“It’s just a Count’s family.”
“Of course, they can marry, but she will never ascend to the throne as Empress. We’ll just have her sign a prenuptial agreement beforehand.”
“As always, your wisdom is unwavering, Your Majesty.”
“Proceed as quickly as possible. We must secure Selina’s loyalty to the Crown before she discovers her true identity.”
“As you wish.”
“As Emperor, I cannot be tainted with the accusation of killing my friend’s family. Handle it well, Ruth.”
Ruth bowed his head to conceal any trace of apprehension.
“Your orders will be obeyed, Your Majesty.”
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Starfall]
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