Chapter 10
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Chapter 10 : My Start Will Be Small (5)
After her first lesson, Legina returned to her room, washed off the sweat, changed her clothes, and then waited for Aaron. There was no elaborate dressing up. This was, after all, a business meeting. For her purpose, leveraging this meeting from the very start was beneficial for Legina.
However, Legina instructed that no one should pass through the areas around her room and the path from the training ground to her room, leaving only Selma and Una, in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
I am prepared for scandal. But he hasn’t decided anything yet.
This was a private meeting with the Imperial Princess. If it became known, rumors would spread in some form, and considering the actions she planned to take afterward, it would absolutely not be good for Aaron.
If he accepts the deal, the story changes a little, but until then, it’s right to be cautious, even for his sake.
Before her regression, Aaron had succeeded the deceased Egil Vestein as the Margrave of the East and died defending the border from barbarian invasions. Although she had no direct contact with him, it was a definite event she remembered because it involved the death of a direct line of Vestein. Furthermore, after Aaron’s death, the Duchess of Vestein and the Duke of Vestein died as if on cue.
‘It seemed a terrible curse had fallen upon the family.’
That was her last conversation with Gissley Vestein, Aaron’s elder brother and the ducal family’s eldest son who inherited the title. Before the regression, the relationship between Legina, the young Duke of Slyveig’s fiancée and acting regent, and Gissley wasn’t particularly good. To Gissley Vestein, who led the pro-Emperor nobles, Legina, with her potential to usurp the throne, was a target of caution.
She had shared drinks with him privately only once. It was the day before Theore’s coming-of-age ceremony. The next morning, when the sun rose, Theore would finally have his coming-of-age ceremony and become the true Emperor of this Ellias Empire. Gissley’s tension seemed to have eased slightly with that thought. The drinks, not particularly strong, were enough to draw out the deeper stories of both of them, especially Legina, who was a little excited at the thought of finally putting down the regent’s crown. Most of their conversation was about family.
At that time, Legina believed that when the morning sun rose and Theore became an adult, she and Gissley could become friends. And the next day, Gissley died at the hands of Hermann Slyveig.
This time, I won’t let anyone on my side die.
Legina corrected her sitting posture at Una’s announcement of Aaron’s arrival and nodded slightly. At her gesture, Selma personally opened the door and ushered Aaron inside. Once Una had prepared tea for two and left the room, Selma, who had been looking at Legina with a worried expression, also exited.
Now, only Legina and Aaron remained in the room.
“Thank you for accepting this sudden invitation, my lord.”
“Yes.”
And then, silence. She had felt it earlier in the training ground, but Aaron wasn’t particularly good as a conversation partner. His blunt, knife-like single-word answers made her feel as if her words were being abruptly cut short.
However, she didn’t feel unpleasant. Unpleasantness at that face… It was more like she felt she should express gratitude just for him being seated before her. While Legina herself possessed a remarkably beautiful appearance, Aaron was on an entirely different level.
“You’re not one to beat around the bush, are you?”
“No, long-winded talk is a method chosen by those who have much to hide. I do not trust it.”
Wow… That was the longest sentence she had heard from him today. Legina admired this small fact and looked at Aaron’s face, specifically the area around his cheekbones. It was an important conversation, so she had to look him in the eye, but she didn’t trust herself to maintain a conversation while looking directly at that face, so this was her fallback.
“Since you don’t like long speeches, I’ll be brief. I want to break off my engagement.”
Breaking the engagement was a secondary objective and method; what she truly intended to do was something else, but this was all she could tell Aaron. After all, if she were to say that she had died and returned to the past, and that Slyveig would rebel and destroy the empire in the future, and she intended to stop it, she would obviously be treated like a madwoman.
“Yes.”
“…You’re not surprised?”
“I am surprised.”
There was no hint of surprise on his beautiful face, but Legina decided to overlook that for now, cleared her throat, and continued. “I don’t know why His Majesty wants to bind me to Slyveig, but I am not pleased with this engagement.”
“Yes.”
“So I need your help.”
“What kind of help are you referring to?”
“Be my lover.”
“What?”
“Not a real lover, a fake one! To put it simply, I’m asking you for a temporary contractual relationship.”
Legina looked straight into Aaron’s eyes as she spoke. Her heart pounded rapidly as if captivated by his red eyes, but to convey her sincerity, she had to meet his gaze. His red eyes, which had wavered as if startled by Legina’s sudden words, quickly regained their composure.
“Are you proposing a deal?”
“Yes.”
“Then what do I gain from a deal with Your Highness?”
Good, at least he seems willing to continue the conversation. After all, he was facing an Imperial Princess; there was no one who could simply get up and leave, no matter what nonsense she spouted. Legina took extreme care not to be captivated by Aaron’s beautiful face as she spoke.
“My lord, isn’t it bothersome for you?”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
She had to coax him. She had to move like she was luring a child with sweet candy. Legina smiled as innocently and beautifully as possible, looking at Aaron’s cheekbones.
“I’ve heard that you have no intention of marrying. That’s why you haven’t taken a fiancée despite numerous proposals. But there are still many young ladies who haven’t given up, aren’t there?”
Although he didn’t frequent the capital, so rumors about him hadn’t spread widely, there were definitely people captivated by his face, a face that, once seen, could never be forgotten. Even if not for that, he was the second son of one of the two ducal houses that wielded great wealth and power. There was no way the capital’s nobles would leave such a tempting target alone, simply due to his status.
“I myself can be an excellent shield for you. Furthermore, your family wouldn’t be able to tell you to marry someone else if I’m involved, would they?”
Legina’s words grew longer, growing anxious at Aaron’s lack of reaction; he had only shown a slight surprise when she first brought it up, but no further response afterward. It might seem a bit pathetic, but after all, only Legina and Aaron were left in this room. She was planning to show Aaron all sorts of undignified things in the future, so being a little pathetic now would be fine.
“I apologize, Your Highness, but I believe a deal is about equal give and take.”
“…You mean the conditions I’ve offered are insufficient?”
“Yes.”
He was incredibly polite, yet firm. Legina sighed, watching Aaron, who clearly seemed to be humoring her out of obligation due to her status. She wanted to conduct the conversation in as friendly an atmosphere as possible, but if her conditions didn’t suit his taste, there was nothing she could do.
“Then I’ll put it this way, my lord.”
“Yes.”
“It’s an order. Date me.”
This might be like a bolt from the blue for Aaron, but from Legina’s perspective, it was truly an unavoidable choice. This might worsen her image in Aaron’s eyes, but… well, since she had already resolved to become a troublemaker, a little damage to her image here wouldn’t be a big problem.
Having come to terms with herself, Legina looked at Aaron. If he showed rejection or disobedience, then her only remaining option would be to use her ‘eyes’ to find his weakness and blackmail him. Considering that she needed to join forces with Vestein to deal with the traitors in the future, she absolutely didn’t want to use that method, so she could only hope Aaron would nod here.
“Understood.”
Fortunately, Aaron accepted her command. At the moment she gave the ‘order,’ there was no loyal Vestein who would refuse it. Even if another Vestein heir, not Aaron, had been sitting here, they would surely have answered the same way. Legina sighed in relief, watching Aaron nod obediently. Thankfully, blackmail wouldn’t be necessary.
“May I inquire about the plan?”
“I intend to become a troublemaker madly in love.”
It felt somewhat like committing a sin to utter the word “troublemaker” in front of that beautiful face, but there was nothing to gain by lying to an ally.
“Your Highness?”
“My plan is this: I will unilaterally cling to you. You simply treat me as the ‘Imperial Princess,’ as usual.”
“‘As usual’?”
“Yes! We’ll start that way, and eventually, you’ll show that you were forced to accept my mad pursuit. The real relationship will begin after that, for now.”
Before meeting Aaron, she had thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be good to show everyone that we’re madly in love in a contract relationship?’ But it was impossible. He was clearly a handsome man, but his words were short, his expressions dull, and most of all, he didn’t know how to sugarcoat anything. Acting with such a blunt and rigid man… Since she had decided to become a troublemaker madly in love anyway, it might be good to become a woman who goes absolutely crazy for a man indifferent to her.
“If possible, I’d like to get engaged. That way, I think I can prevent His Majesty from bringing in another potential fiancé.”
“Does Your Highness also have no intention of marrying?”
“Whose life do I want to ruin by marrying?”
Legina, more than anyone, knew what a burden the nickname “troublemaker” was to their family. It was a heavy burden, even for blood relatives, and she had no intention of becoming a troublemaker herself just to share that burden with a stranger who wasn’t even related by blood.
“That’s all I have to say. Do you have anything you want to say to me?”
“Just remember clearly that this is fake.”
That was precisely her wish. Legina smiled brightly and replied, “Don’t worry, my lord. I will absolutely never fall in love with you.”
