Chapter 8
Episode 8.
‘……She didn't seem fully recovered.’
She was a woman so ill that even white powder couldn't properly conceal it. He had stepped away, but that woman would surely be preoccupied with something else.
Perhaps finding her seventh arranged marriage prospect.
He hadn't intended to think about it at all, but seeing the woman pushing herself, his thoughts instinctively drifted that way.
Consciously cutting off his thoughts, Enoch reached for the proposal.
"By the way. Did you look into what I mentioned?"
"Yes. It was just as you suspected, Master. I've heard that relatives are reaching out to the families of the young ladies sending introductions these days."
As he had already anticipated this, Enoch wasn't surprised by the butler, Ben's, words.
These were the people who had been exploiting everything of Aratus as if they were its masters for about ten years.
Even though they had been stripped of all their privileges as collateral relatives and driven out of the capital, they were not the kind of people to remain idle.
Especially since the head of the family, who had come of age long ago, didn't even have a fiancée.
His marriage was the last chance for the relatives to return to the family's inner circle.
They must have thought that with so many introductions pouring in, it would be impossible to investigate everyone who had joined forces with them.
Enoch had no intention of letting this situation slide.
If an opportunity to interfere had arisen, why not eliminate it?
"We need to nip this in the bud before it gets any bigger."
"We are securing the list. However, they are moving with extreme secrecy, so it seems it will take some time."
Therefore, knowing who was doing this and which families to avoid was not enough.
Ultimately, this opportunity would only be truly resolved when a proper mistress of the house appeared.
"I'll get married."
"Pardon? Are you serious?"
"Given the current circumstances, there's no reason why not."
Though the butler and his aide were aghast, Enoch was serious.
He was already uneasy about leaving domestic affairs to his younger sister, who lacked the proper upbringing of a noblewoman.
If he could find a companion to share his life with, and simultaneously sever the grasp of his relatives, marriage wouldn't be so bad.
He had already resigned himself to an arranged marriage, hadn't he?
Enoch glanced down at the proposal for a moment. His conditions were firm.
A woman who had no need to join forces with relatives.
A noblewoman with a background and circumstances strong enough to firmly reject any temptation, should it arise.
It was ironic that the very woman he had been consciously trying to push away was the one who fit these conditions.
"Master. The summons for the retainer meeting has been completed."
"I'll go now."
Agatha Nobilis would likely not choose him.
Currently, her desired candidate was not the head of the faltering Marquisate, but a husband who could make proposals to the Emperor.
Enoch stood up, proposal in hand, and commanded Ben, the butler.
"Once the list is secured, also compile a list for arranged marriages. Specifically, a young lady from a family that would absolutely not side with relatives."
"...Understood."
It was about three days later that Enoch had finished moderately adjusting Agatha's proposal through the retainer meeting.
The night he sent the letter to the Imperial Palace, Agatha Nobilis immediately sent an invitation to the palace.
It was a very swift response.
Agatha had been moving frantically for several days. In the meantime, the Emperor had already nearly finished classifying the relatives involved in the attack and only the final confirmation remained.
With the execution of the relatives only a few days away now.
Agatha, with the help of the Crown Prince, Antony Roxiva, obtained information on which noble the Emperor favored and succeeded in considering a sea route to the Eastern Continent.
Fortunately, when traveling north from the newly established port, there was an island that could be used as a base in the Nobilis territory.
The problem was the need for maritime negotiations with the Mainyucore Empire.
This was likely the troublesome part that led the Emperor to consider a noble with Sicirbil Island, usable when traveling south, as her partner.
"What will you do, my lady?"
A retainer, who had entered the palace for a report, asked for her intentions.
As a result of separate investigations, the Duke of Sicirbil was, of course, not on the seventh list of marriage candidates brought by the retainer.
Instead, his record appeared on the list of those to be avoided.
"Currently has one mistress, but has multiple casual acquaintances / Records of visiting the casino more than twice a month."
Regardless of whom she married, the candidate was not the Duke of Sicirbil.
Agatha shrugged and placed the report next to the list.
"What choice do we have? We'll have to concede some benefits and focus on improving relations with Mainyucore."
"I don't know how Prince Fernand will react."
Fernand Mainumconti is the second prince of the Mainyucore Empire.
At the unexpected mention of her second ex-husband's name, Agatha raised an eyebrow.
"Administrator. I would prefer you not utter that man's name."
"Ah, I apologize."
It was a well-known anecdote that Agatha had been deeply hurt at the time by her second ex-husband's infidelity and the illegitimate child who had appeared like a volcanic bomb.
Now, she understood the world and avoided such people entirely.
"In any case, it is the Mainyucore Empire that will be at a disadvantage if past events are brought up, so they will likely agree to negotiations. His Majesty probably had that in mind when he hinted at his intentions to me."
A cunning godfather.
The Emperor surely knew that Agatha would have to take action either way and had simply stepped back, letting her handle it.
The island to be used as a base was hers, and she would be the envoy to the Mainyucore Empire, who would likely be lenient, so he expected her to resolve it herself.
While it was good that she could change her marriage candidate as she wished without resorting to drastic measures, she couldn't help but feel like she had been outmaneuvered by the Emperor.
"Tell them to discuss the negotiation terms."
"Yes, my lady."
Agatha, having caught her breath, dismissed the administrator and reached for her lukewarm cup of tea.
Her gaze was fixed on the seventh list of marriage candidates that had arrived today.
"Marquis Enoch Aratus."
"...As expected."
The name of the man who would visit soon was at the very top of the list.
Furthermore, there was a report record that was perfectly to her liking.
"No record of visiting casinos / No courtesans kept close / No mistress / No involvement in violent incidents."
All that remained was how he would think of her.
"He's only just returned to the capital, would he be thinking of an arranged marriage...?"
Up until now, suitors had been abundant, and she had always chosen someone who met her conditions, so things had never gone awry.
Still, there was always the possibility of 'what if'.
It was when Agatha was uncharacteristically contemplating, thinking of her potential partner for the first time.
Knock knock-
"My lady. Marquis Aratus has arrived."
"Please show him in."
Agatha immediately rose from her seat and moved to prepare the tea herself. The rest of the list was carelessly tossed aside, unexamined.
The moment a fragrant aroma filled the drawing-room.
Knock knock-
"My lady. You have a guest."
"...Come in."
With a neat knock, the door opened.
Behind the maid, the sleek tip of a shoe, long legs, short-cropped blue hair, and a solid upper body sequentially entered her view.
The moment her gaze met his deep, ashen eyes.
Agatha involuntarily averted her gaze.
Even so, the thought that the perfectly tailored suit suited him well today crossed her mind.
"Welcome, Marquis. Please have a seat on the sofa."
Agatha waved the maid away and busied herself with a clatter.
Bringing the boiling water. Measuring out the tea leaves. Preparing bite-sized snacks.
'...But why isn't he saying anything?'
Her slightly tense upper body stiffened unconsciously.
Thump-*
The sound of slow footsteps echoed. The man, approaching slowly as if to signal he meant no harm, cast a shadow behind her.
"Are you preparing the refreshments yourself?"
His pleasant voice seemed to tickle her ears from so close.
Agatha let out a shallow breath and turned around with a social smile.
"I just finished handling some other matters and felt like moving around a bit. Would rose tea be alright?"
"I don't mind any tea."
One step.
At that distance, the man's broad shoulders and rugged neckline were clearly visible.
He lightly reached out and kissed the back of Agatha's hand, his gaze falling on the dessert tray she had already prepared.
"Shall I bring this to the table?"
Even though it was just a greeting.
Agatha had to try hard not to show her trembling, simply by the slight increase in proximity.
"Please do."
While Agatha composed her expression and prepared the tea.
Enoch, who had moved to the table first, discovered an unexpected document.
Next to the half-read report, a list, presumably of noble gentlemen, lay carelessly discarded.
Considering his usual personality, he would have tidied it up and set it aside.
"Marquis Enoch Aratus."
"..."
Enoch, unexpectedly finding his name on the first line, frowned slightly instead of reaching out.
The brief record below it also came into full view.
"What's wrong? Something, ah..."
Agatha, following with the tea, hurriedly pushed the report and the list aside with a flustered expression.
Only then did Enoch place the dessert tray on the table. He sat opposite her, crossed his legs, and after a moment of thought, opened his mouth.
"Was that, by any chance, your seventh list of marriage candidates, my lady?"
