When Selina entered her room after hearing that the count had returned from the imperial palace and was looking for her, Flora, Brandon, and Sebastian were already gathered there.
“Come and sit down.”
“I didn’t realize this was a family meeting.”
Count Arsene paced hesitantly for a moment before speaking up suddenly.
“Selina, have you found a new fiancé?”
“Ah, yes. I met with him today, and we spoke again.”
“Really? Did he say he wants to get engaged immediately?”
Selina was slightly taken aback by the sudden look of delight that washed over the count’s face, but she soon replied,
“Actually… a slightly different subject came up.”
At that, Count Arsene grabbed Selina’s shoulders as if lunging forward.
“You must get engaged within this month, no matter what. And if you get married, all the better!”
“Pardon?”
While Selina struggled to understand what was happening, Flora asked, barely suppressing her joy,
“Then… you won’t be taking on the role of deputy head after you marry, right?”
Selina shot back sharply,
“You’re getting far ahead of yourselves. I haven’t even decided whether I’ll agree to marry.”
“No, we’re not getting ahead of ourselves. Selina, listen to me carefully.”
Count Arsene looked straight into her eyes.
“If possible, marry at once and secure yourself a safe backing. There is no time left. There is no other way out than to marry quickly.”
The count was urging this out of fear that the imperial family had set its sights on Selina, but knowing nothing of the background, she completely misread his intentions.
Brushing her father’s hands from her shoulders, she replied bitterly,
“I knew you never intended to pass the family to me. Did you make me deputy head just so I could have my turn for a bit, only to marry quietly and leave for another house?”
Caught off guard, Count Arsene rushed to explain himself.
“Selina, it isn’t like that. I—”
“If it isn’t, then explain it to me, Father.”
Selina continued coldly,
“Please don’t force me into a marriage. I’ll marry when I want, and to the person I choose.”
Right then, a knock sounded at the door.
“Come in.”
Ben, the head butler, stepped inside holding an ornate envelope.
“A letter from the imperial palace for Miss Selina.”
Count Arsene’s expression hardened, but Selina didn’t notice as she opened the letter before the family.
“They are summoning me to the palace tomorrow morning.”
“Did you cause some kind of trouble? Why are they summoning you?”
“I have no idea what this is about.”
Then a thought struck her, and she turned to Count Arsene.
“Father, do you know something? Is this why you told me to marry quickly?”
“Let’s talk in my study.”
The head’s study was a room permitted only to the lord of the house, his closest confidants, and the deputy head.
The moment Flora heard those words, she cried out in sharp indignation,
“How disappointing, Count! Sebastian has turned eight, yet you still treat us like outsiders. When will we ever become a true family and discuss household matters like everyone else?”
“I will tell you everything you need to know separately. There is no time now. Selina, let us go.”
With that, he led Selina to his study.
“So His Majesty wants to make me the Crown Princess?”
“Yes. He summoned me today and stated it outright. And look… he’s already rushing you in tomorrow. Something is definitely happening. Otherwise, there’s no reason for such sudden haste. Nothing explains this, and I have no grounds to stop it.”
The room seemed to spin before Selina’s eyes as she imagined what would follow if the Emperor’s plans succeeded.
‘Because of him, I became the villainess.’
If an imperial decree forced her to marry Erik tomorrow, she would be socially ruined forever.
‘They will say that the woman who stood in the way of Miss Hazel and the Crown Prince this entire time has finally resorted to foul means to become the Crown Princess. Even if the truth comes to light later, no one will believe me. I’ll even lose my dream of inheriting the family.’
Selina pictured Brandon sneering that he had finally taken the Arsene family for himself, and she shook her head violently.
“Father… you’re against me becoming the Crown Princess, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am. I only want you to maintain the current distance with the imperial family. What will you do, then? If things went well with the suitor you found, I will go to His Majesty tomorrow and request—”
“That won’t work.”
“What do you mean?”
Selina hesitated for a moment before answering,
“The suitor I chose… is Grand Duke Eustia.”
“What? Why… of all people…?”
“I only intended to get engaged. Then, once my reputation improved a little, I was going to break it off.”
“Do you think breaking an engagement is so simple? And even if you were cornered, how could you choose that house…?”
The hostility the Emperor harbored toward Grand Duke Eustia was a sentiment that could never be spoken of openly.
An emperor jealous of his nephew’s power—merely uttering such words was enough to cost a person their head.
Yet no one was blind to the truth of that animosity.
Selina, too, knew well that the Emperor viewed the grand ducal house with displeasure.
‘I only wanted a temporary engagement… but now it will look as if the Duke snatched away the person the imperial family wanted to claim.’
The count studied Selina’s conflicted face and asked,
“Did the Duke agree to that as well?”
“The Duke himself reached out first. In fact, to be blunt… he proposed to me.”
“Proposed to you? That man, who spends his life on the front lines? When did this happen?”
“Just before my engagement was broken.”
Count Arsene retrieved a drink from the corner of the study, poured himself a glass, took a sip, and sat back in thought.
‘Why Duke Eustia, of all people? If Selina goes to him now… His Majesty will assume I’ve taken the Duke’s side. Could he have caught wind of this from somewhere else? Is he doing all this just to keep me from getting close to the Duke?’
The count rubbed his gaunt face with one hand and asked,
“Were you close enough with the Duke for him to propose to you?”
“No, if that were the case, you would have known before anyone else. We’ve hardly ever met. I was at the academy, and he was on the battlefield.”
“And yet he proposed? Does he have a reason?”
At her father’s question, realization suddenly struck Selina.
‘Right… whatever the reason is, I have to know. There must be a real reason both the Duke and the Emperor are suddenly trying to claim me. I need to find out why.’
As she remained silent, unable to answer, the count spoke,
“I didn’t interfere when your engagement with the Patel heir was broken because I knew you didn’t truly love him. I don’t know what you are thinking, but I married the woman I loved and lived happily. Perhaps that’s why I can’t bear to see you live with someone you don’t want.”
“Father…”
“Even if the Duke took the initiative, if you don’t want him, I cannot agree. I dislike the idea of you marrying into the imperial family, but that kind of marriage… is unacceptable.”
The count let out a long sigh and continued,
“When I told you earlier to get married, I didn’t know it involved the Duke. That’s out of the question.”
“Then… does that mean I’ll be forced to marry Erik?”
Count Arsene had no answer. And Selina knew all too well that no one could easily alter the Emperor’s will.
“I’ll find a solution myself.”
“What are you planning to do? Selina… Selina!”
Selina pulled open the study door forcefully, leaving behind her father’s anxious calls.
Flora had been eavesdropping outside; caught red-handed, fluster washed over her face. But Selina had no time for her.
“Out of my way.”
She brushed past Flora’s shoulder and hurried toward the east wing.
‘The reason the Emperor and the Duke want me… I will find out the truth, no matter what.’
Donning a wide-brimmed hat that concealed her face, Selina tucked the contract document Philip had returned to her inside her coat, and hurried out of the mansion.
