Chapter 69
The Duke and his fiancée, who everyone thought had left, reappeared at the banquet hall. The nobles, who had remained and were seriously discussing emigration, thought to themselves,
‘We should have just gone home earlier.’
While the men stealthily hid their hands and the women tightly locked their lips, the Duke and his fiancée nonchalantly took their places in the middle of the hall.
‘Are they suddenly going to dance enthusiastically after making such a commotion?’
Somehow that was even more chilling, so they couldn’t bear to look directly and just glanced furtively, when suddenly the Duke knelt down on one knee.
To be precise, he was forcibly made to kneel.
They saw clearly even out of the corners of their eyes. The fiancée, facing him, grabbed the Duke’s arm and pressed it down.
The Duke, hesitating and then steadying himself, once again reached hesitantly into his inside jacket pocket. Considering he was someone who could casually break other people’s fingers, his attitude was passive, but it was definitely a proposal pose.
‘What is that?’
This time, the nobles craned their necks to see what the Duke had taken out of his pocket. It was much bigger and longer than a ring case, and it gleamed under the chandelier lights.
While no one could readily speak even after seeing it, the person with the most courage muttered to himself.
“Isn’t that gold…?”
Once the correct answer was given, the outline became clear. The Duke was proposing with a whopping large gold bar.
‘I can’t believe it. I heard her engagement gift was a necklace worth billions, so the upper classes’ proposal gifts are extraordinary too.’
Even though it wasn’t a ring, the fiancée who received it showed no sign of surprise and covered her mouth with both hands, deeply moved.
It was very contrived how she even twisted her body as if she was shy, but this time no one opened their mouths.
Except for one person, Irene Schwein.
“What a bunch of birdbrains. That damn villainess was right about you all.”
Irene, her neck flushed red, chuckling while holding a wine glass that was wobbling precariously in one hand. The words she spat out while completely drunk flowed out without anyone stopping her.
“The city folks have no loyalty, no guts… You all fell for my words and cursed her together, and now you’re all watching the Duke’s every move? You stupid bastards have no backbone and no pride. Pathetic, pathetic.”
After being alone and constantly drinking, she swallowed another mouthful as soon as she finished speaking and was drawing attention with her strange laughter.
Frederick, who was watching this, was convinced that now was the moment he should step forward.
Earlier, he couldn’t talk to Hermia because his fiancée was clinging to him, but since he saw a guy who only got his fingers broken for stepping forward unnecessarily, staying still turned out to be an opportunity.
He, who firmly believed that he was not included among the ugly guys Hermia had mentioned, finally stepped forward. Wasn’t it always the case that the main character always appeared last?
“What kind of disgrace is this on such an auspicious day, Miss Irene Schwein.”
As he took his fiancée’s hand off his arm and walked forward with a solemn expression, everyone’s eyes followed him. He lifted his chin, leisurely enjoying the attention focused on him.
“How utterly pathetic. For someone who claimed to be Hermia’s closest friend to be so miserable…”
“Who is this? Aren’t you Helen’s ex-fiancé?”
“If you’re drunk, you should quietly…”
“Haven’t you gotten rid of that habit yet? Are you hitting on me now too?”
“W-what? Hey!”
Frederick barely had time to process what was happening before Irene, swaying wildly, suddenly flung her wine in his direction.
“Good heavens! Freddy!”
His new fiancée, turning pale, ran to him in one stride. Frederick could only blink his surprised eyes without even wiping the wine running down his chin.
“Freddy! Are you okay? Oh my god, what is this…! Kyaa!”
The woman, who was constantly wiping her fiancé’s face with her sleeve, became even more pale as she lifted his wet bangs. Frederick, belatedly regaining his senses, tried to grab her arm, but his fiancée had already charged at Irene.
“Y-you! What did you put in that wine?! What did you do to him?! Why is his hairline receding?!”
“What? Ahh! Let go!”
“GIVE HIM BACK HIS HAIR, YOU WITCH!”
“Bianca, please stop!”
The woman named Bianca grabbed Irene’s hair and shook it wildly.Frederick tried to pull her off.
Hermia, who was watching the scene from afar. Then, she urgently puffed up her chest.
“Alright! I accept!”
Walter, who hadn’t said anything, turned his head. Hermia was shouting loudly as if wanting everyone to hear.
“I will accept the Duke’s proposal!”
Following the royal orchestra, even the conductor had now lowered his baton. The young ladies fighting and the prospective Duchess shouting as if she wouldn’t be outdone. It was a rare spectacle that no one could afford to miss.
For them, the scene they witnessed today was destined to become a lasting anecdote in history that would be passed down for generations.
* * *
With this, Hermia’s goal was successfully achieved.
Although there were many things in between and she was distracted at the end, she was still proposed to by the Duke in front of people, so this was a great success.
She leaned her messy hair against the carriage wall and looked at Walter, who was sitting opposite her.
Maybe it was just the sense of victory, but for some reason, he looked even more handsome than usual tonight.
She couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“Are you really going to marry me?”
“I’ll prepare a proper ring and propose formally again. Today…”
Seeing Walter trailing off as if he was embarrassed, laughter leaked out again.
“This was more than enough. I’d feel a little bad if I got proposed to three times.”
Perhaps it was because she had overcome a big mountain, but as her tension eased, a rapid sense of fatigue washed over her. Hermia took a deep breath and blinked slowly as she exhaled it like a sigh.
Her whole body was heavy like cotton soaked in water, and it was hard to move even a finger. Walter, who was quietly observing Hermia, saw her reddish cheeks and placed his hand on her forehead.
“You have a mild fever. We shouldn’t go to the Count’s estate…”
“Somehow I’ve been feeling chilly since earlier. But no, let’s go to my house. I have something to show you.”
Hermia said and closed her eyes. Walter took off his jacket and wrapped it around her like a blanket, then knocked on the wall near the driver’s seat. At the signal to increase the speed, the Duke’s carriage began to run even faster.
* * *
As soon as he arrived at the Vansen family’s mansion, he ordered the servants who followed to bring a doctor and had the Duke’s maids who remained at the mansion change Hermia’s clothes.
The fever, which was weak when they returned, became more intense when she was laid in bed, and her whole body felt like a ball of fire. Hermia’s mind was even confused.
She was freezing to death, but they wouldn’t let her cover herself with a blanket, and after wiping her body with a wet towel, people were frantically moving back and forth.
When she closed her eyes and opened them, there was an old man, and when she closed them again and opened them, there was Emily, and when she finally opened her eyes again, Walter was next to her.
“What time is it now…?”
She asked in a cracked voice and then laughed again, making a sound like air escaping. It was absurd that she actually had a metallic sound coming from her throat, as if she really had a sore throat.
“It’s still dawn. Get some more sleep.”
“I think I really caught a cold. My throat hurts.”
“The doctor said it’s not a cold, just exhaustion. Your voice is probably hoarse from…”
Walter helped her up, put a cushion behind her back, and brought her water.
“From yelling too much tonight.”
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, she had been yelling several times in one night, so her vocal cords were bound to be surprised.
Hermia swallowed the water and rolled her eyes.
“By the way… you’re really going to…”
“Yes, I will marry you.”
“…I asked a lot, didn’t I.”
“It seems like your throat will hurt if you talk more, so I think it would be better if you didn’t ask any more questions today.”
She was constantly muttering words like ‘marriage, will you marry’ in between sleeping. ‘All the gold is mine’ was often mixed in between, but Walter didn’t show it and wiped away the cold sweat.
She was truly an eventful woman. He wanted to take a peek into that small head of hers, to see what so many thoughts she had inside.
Even though he told her not to talk anymore because her throat would hurt, the words she stubbornly opened her mouth to spit out were also difficult for Walter to understand.
“Carry me on your back a little. I told you I had something to show you. I’ll show you now.”
“Now?”
Hermia nodded weakly. Walter, sighing, brought a blanket, wrapped it around her, and held her in his arms.
It would have been romantic if he had princess-carried her instead of carrying her on his back, but with only her head sticking out and wrapped in a thick blanket, it wasn’t a very heart-fluttering sight.
Hermia was inwardly dissatisfied, but she decided to endure it. Her absolute ally always prioritized her physical condition the most.
“Go to the kitchen pantry.”
She said, as if whispering, so that the servants who were sleeping all over the mansion wouldn’t wake up. Walter obediently followed her words.
It was much easier to breathe when they arrived at the pantry and closed the door. She gestured with her chin at the rug, and he noticed that there was a basement below it and brought a candle. Even in the silence, the two worked well together.
Hermia held the candle and Walter held Hermia, who was holding the candle, and went down the basement stairs.
Walter, who was faithfully moving according to her instructions, lowered his head and carefully stepped into the wine cellar that had been broken and opened wide.
“Put me down and look at the floor.”
As he carried out the instructions silently again this time, Walter unknowingly smiled. It was because he was suddenly proud of how she naturally gave orders as if she had been in that high position since the moment she was born.
And the act of obeying it was not just pleasing, but even enjoyable. Lost in that unfamiliar feeling, he examined the basement floor.
“There’s a wine box buried.”
“Open the lid.”
As ordered. He even answered politely in his mind and inserted the fork that he must have used as a lever into the gap.
The smile was erased from Walter’s face at the pile of gold bars that was revealed.
