Chapter 67

“Are you joking?” Carl widened his eyes. Left without a response, Hendrick cleared his throat unnecessarily.

“Anyway, you worried needlessly. I’ve never been concerned about such matters, so rest easy.”

“As you should be. I never had any such intentions.”

Carl gave Hendrick a sidelong glance before sprawling back on the sofa. Hendrick, in contrast, regarded Carl with notably calm eyes.

“…Since it came up, let me ask you something honestly. Do you intend to marry Lady Sian?”

Still sprawled on the sofa, Carl stared blankly at Hendrick.

“How exactly did that question ‘come up’? It seems quite out of nowhere.”

“Because you’re such a push— never mind. I was thinking how someone with so little ambition could rush into an engagement with a woman whose family and profession are unknown.”

Carl nodded.

“That I can understand. As you say, I plan to return to Ivarid with her once matters here are settled.”

Carl answered without hesitation, with the decisiveness of someone who had already made up their mind. Hendrick’s expression grew even more complicated than when discussing the black dragon.

“Though you’re a prince now, soon you’ll be left with just the title of Lord of Ivarid. I won’t lecture you about marrying someone suitable to your birth, but…”

“Isn’t she the only daughter of Margrave Chandler of the border? What more impressive background do I need in choosing a spouse?”

“Her birth means nothing since she’s recorded as dead. Now she’s just a noble in name only—Baroness Haley Dude.”

“Isn’t being a baroness enough? It’s not like she’s a slave.”

Carl spoke confidently, as if asking what the problem was. Hendrick’s expression was enigmatic.

The thought ‘This is exactly why you’re called a pushover’ was clearly written on his face, but Carl failed to notice.

For someone of his standing—a prince and the Lord of Ivarid—the orthodox choice would be to select a bride from a family that could offer political, economic, or military advantages, but Carl truly seemed completely unconcerned about such matters.

“…Well, if that’s how you feel, I have nothing more to say, but…”

“Is there a problem? Your expression seems somewhat disapproving.”

“How could there not be problems? You don’t even know why she was erased from the Chandler family and lived as a wanderer, do you?”

“Ah, that…”

Carl scratched the back of his neck, remembering how he had glossed over Sian’s irresponsible ‘I’ll handle it’ statement. Hendrick raised an eyebrow at Carl’s ambiguous response.

“Do you know?”

“No, I don’t. But it’s fine.”

“How can it be fine when you don’t know?”

Hendrick, who needed to divide everything perfectly into cause and effect, looked completely bewildered.

“It doesn’t matter what it is. Whether she was a count’s daughter in the past or a dragon hunter’s friend or whatever.”

“That’s quite a dangerous philosophy for someone in power. You might end up letting in a spy and getting yourself killed.”

“Why are you cursing at me? Do you really think I can’t even distinguish spies from regular people?”

“…”

He probably couldn’t. Hendrick was deeply worried but couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

“Didn’t you just say it yourself, Brother? That a dragon is just a dragon. Similarly, Sian is just Sian. I don’t care what her true identity might be.”

Hendrick barely managed to suppress a groan at Carl’s words. But that was a mistake. Seeing Hendrick maintain his composure on the surface, Carl, thinking there was no problem, proudly straightened his shoulders.

“Despite appearances, I’m actually a very practical person, Brother. How else could I have developed Ivarid from the wasteland it was to what it is now? And from that practical judgment, there’s no one more perfect than Lady Sian to be the lady of Ivarid.”

“She does seem like a capable and intelligent woman, setting aside the concerning aspects of her past, but…”

Hendrick finally let out the groan he had been holding back.

“Let me ask one more thing. What exactly do you like so much about Lady Sian that makes you, who never showed any interest in marriage, so determined about this?”

Despite his position as Crown Prince, Hendrick still had no fiancée. While the official reason was that marriage discussions were impossible due to the Emperor’s illness, the truth was that Hendrick simply had no interest in women.

Thus, he had left the matter neglected out of annoyance. While there were many who desired the Prince of Ivarid as well, Hendrick had assumed from the rumors that his situation was similar.

So when his youngest brother suddenly brought some woman whose past was unknown and introduced her as his fiancée after a major incident, Hendrick couldn’t help but be curious.

An intelligent and bold mercenary woman who even wore a sword when he first saw her.

Just what was it about Lady Sian, whom Carl claimed was perfect as the future lady of Ivarid, that made him decide on engagement so easily? How much did he like about her, and what aspects exactly?

Hendrick waited for Carl’s answer with considerable anticipation.

“Really, Brother. You ask such strange things.”

Carl clicked his tongue lightly and smiled. Then, with an utterly satisfied expression, he proudly declared:

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

Truly, it was an answer befitting someone who claimed to be very practical.