For a moment, the air froze.
Bajjik!
At that time, Dale stood up, turned his back to me, and looked at the wall. (What are you doing?)*
“?”
Was it an unreasonable request?
But now I'm tired of moving every few weeks or every few months.
'If I marry this man, I won't have to do this, right?'
It's not that I didn't think about marrying another man, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't marry any man.
None of the men I met were my type.
But this guy was.
I mean, I like handsome guys.
It is not necessary for me to actually get married.
'Isn't it easier to break up with a mercenary than to marry a gentleman I don't like?'
Is he a mercenary running a family?
no.
My husband's family is bossy?
He has no family.
It's the best!
First class groom
He is handsome, the living space is separate, and there is no interference.
I stared at Dale's broad back.
If I was going to have an arranged marriage, it would be with a man like him.
I stared at the strong muscles of the groom's perfect back.
But why didn't he answer me?
Are the funds insufficient?
“Huh…….”
I think I heard a deep sigh, but I decided to ignore it.
Then Dale turned his head and looked at me.
“Why……”
“What?”
“Why do you need a husband…….”
He blushed in confusion, looked like he was about to cry, pinched his forehead, and continued.
“I think there's a man you might like, Anne.”
"I?"
“Why do you want a contract husband and not a regular husband?”
“Because I don’t want to get married.”
“……!”
Dale looked like a squirrel that had been robbed of an acorn.
“You don’t want to?
Why?…….”
“What?
I can’t hear you.”
“Did you get a marriage proposal..?”
"naturally."
"It's a long story.
I was on the run for three years because of this show."
“…….”
“I was offered marriage to a very dangerous, frightening and cruel man.”
“Dangerous and cruel……”
Dale pressed his forehead, looking more serious than before.
Even his face looked pale.
“What is the name of this dangerous and cruel man?”
“Would you recognize him if I told you his name?”
“Oh…….”
Dale looked stunned.
"I'm sorry.
I definitely wouldn't know."
The mercenary looked curious, thinking he knew the names of all the people of the empire.
“I can't tell Dale his name because he didn't accept my request.”
“…….”
Dale stared at me for a long time, his face scrunching and twitching as if he were deeply disturbed.
“No, I'm not forcing you.”
The moment I got up, he grabbed me.
“I will do so, this request.”
"truly?"
“It will be me, Anne’s husband.”
Dale answered quickly.
* * *
“So my father is, Duke Lockhart.
My real name is not Anne, but Enya Lockhart.
I am the Princess of the Duchy of Lockhart.”
Dale accepted the request, and matters were quickly settled.
Basic salary: 1 million kroner.
Plus 10,000 kroner a day, which is deposited in the jewelry box in the living room every morning.
※If direct payment is not possible, please leave it in advance.
And the contract.
Dale and I entered into a contract by agreement and we each took a copy.
“You're not surprised?”
Dale tilted his head after hearing the question.
“You didn't bat an eyelid when I told you that the person who asked me to marry him was the Emperor.
I thought you would be surprised because he is more than you imagined, but you are not?”
“It was not unexpected.”
"truly?"
“I wasn’t hoping for it, but...”
“What?
Oh, I didn’t hear you because the carriage was shaking.”
"nothing."
I heard a faint sigh from him.
The way he was looking at the window seemed strangely distracted.
I stared at him.
His dark black hair shone like that of a black panther, and his sharp eyes were slightly raised like those of a cat, making him even more attractive.
His skin was clear and transparent, giving him an appearance of innocence and beauty.
He also had a high nose and broad shoulders so he didn't look weak.
'Is it really extra?'
I looked at his tightly pulled shirt.
Dale was handsome, had a great body, and, true to his personality so far, gentle and shy.
The extras are better than the main characters.
'I don't know who Dale will actually end up marrying, but I hope it's a good person.'
“Enya-san”
“Oh yeah?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“?”
Dale said, touching his earlobe in embarrassment.
“You were staring at me...”
“Oh, I'm sorry, you're so handsome that I looked at you without realizing it.”
“!”
Dale's eyes widened.
As if he had never been praised in this way before.
“You are handsome.”
“…….”
"handsome?"
Dale's face grew redder with every word.
"Huh?
We're here."
And just then the carriage stopped.
I peeked out the window and handed Dale the papers.
"Come on.
You have all the information we need, don't you?"
Dale nodded, covering his red face.
“We had a long-distance relationship, and we broke up over the objections of Enya-san’s parents, and Enya-san couldn’t convince them, so she came to the south…… Is that true?”
“That is why we want to register our marriage.”
“Enya-san’s family is the Duchy of Lockhart, and we first met at a party in the capital.”
“Should we write the family name?
Or the regular name of the people of the empire?”
“...the second option...”
Squeak.
I wrote on the papers and then stopped.
'I'm thinking about the Emperor for no reason.'
No, let's not tie everything to the Emperor.
“Okay.
Where exactly did we meet at the party…….”
“In the garden behind the Imperial Palace.”
“Garden?”
I stopped moving my pen and looked up.
“Why the garden?”
“The reason……” (Are you thinking what I’m thinking)*
Dale looked at me thinking.
“I thought it would be romantic.”
“Aha.”
Things like this happen too.
I quietly wrote a note on a piece of paper.
-Dale is romantic.
I should take note of this.
There are a lot of things I need to know.
“I'll repeat it again, first, Dale is from the north.”
“That's right, from the Pendragon region in the north.”
“You are a first-class mercenary and belong to Blacktail, the Northern Guild, right?”
"Yes."
“Oh, by the way, why did you suddenly travel from the north to Grunwald County in the far south, and what if the priest asks you about it?”
I pointed to the temple that could be seen from the window.
Today I came to register my marriage to Dale.
“It has to feel like a real marriage, like we are in love, so we have to know everything.”
“There was an accident.”
He started speaking with a dark expression and seemed to be telling a story.
“I dreamed of a future for a long time, but it never came true.”
"Future?
Was it a big deal?"
“It was my life's goal.”
Dale looked at me with a bitter smile.
As the sun's rays bathed his handsome face, a deep compassion I never knew existed flowed through me.
“So you came to a land that has nothing to do with the North?”
"Yes."
For some reason, he seemed to have given up on everything.
But I don't need to know my contract husband's story, do I?
Moreover, this story is from the past.
"rejoice."
I encouraged him with formal words.
He looked at me and blushed softly.
“Then from now on, I will use the second floor and Dale will use the first floor.
We will not interfere in each other’s private lives, but we will act as husband and wife when necessary.
Right?”
"correct."
“And once we do that, there's no going back.”
He nodded seriously at my words.
Dale was handsome, kind, and from the few days I had known him, a good housekeeper.
How can a man like him stay single?
Is he?
“Have you ever dated someone?”
***
I ask God for forgiveness 🤍.