Chapter 2: The Fiancé Won’t Let the Reincarnated Young Lady Escape
“Eliana, come sit here.”
I sat beside Father after he prompted me.
When I turned my gaze toward the man, he smiled brightly.
He was extremely handsome, so his smile was dazzling!
“This is Cedric Herman, the son of a duke.”
“It seems he has come today because he has some business with you, Eliana.”
‘Business with me? Could it be about forming a party?’
“This is the first time I have formally told you my name.”
“My name is Cedric.”
“I actually knew about you even before I spoke to you.”
“Today, I have brought a formal marriage proposal for you, Lady Eliana.”
“I was hoping you would consider becoming engaged to me.”
“……”
Why??
Seeing my blank expression, Father spoke to me.
“Eliana, you may decide as you like.”
“I apologize to Lord Cedric, but our family does not engage in political marriages.”
“It will depend entirely on Eliana’s feelings.”
“We will not accept any coercion.”
Father’s smiling face only increased his beauty, but the pressure behind it was overwhelming.
“Of course.”
“If I intended to use power to force this engagement, there would have been no need for me to come here personally.”
“I want Lady Eliana to accept willingly, and for the engagement to be made through mutual agreement.”
Perhaps satisfied with Cedric’s answer, Father said,
“The rest is for the two of you to decide.”
Then he left the room with Mother.
‘An engagement with this person? Isn’t that impossible?’
‘His status and appearance are both exceptional, and women around him would surely cause trouble.’
‘I absolutely don’t want to deal with any drama…’
‘This is such a hassle.’
Cedric noticed my clearly displeased expression after I thought about it for a while and spoke.
“Lady Eliana, are you trying to avoid engagements altogether?”
“Hmm.”
“My sister will be marrying, so I will inherit this house.”
“I also understand that it is my duty to produce an heir.”
“But for now, I still want to be free.”
“There are many things I want to do.”
“Spending time on a fiancé would be a waste—”
I suddenly realized the extra word I had said and covered my mouth with my hand.
‘Did I just say waste?’
‘I said waste to a duke’s son…’
I placed my hands on my knees, straightened my posture, and slowly shifted my gaze toward the window while pretending to think.
“Ahem.”
“It’s simply that I don’t have time to spend on a fiancé.”
I smiled brightly.
‘Did I manage to cover it up?’
“Pfft…”
“Ahaha!”
“Sorry…”
“You thought that would cover it up?”
“That’s impossible!”
Cedric burst out laughing while holding his stomach.
“I—I tried my best!”
I made a completely nonsensical protest.
Cedric looked at me with tears forming at the corners of his eyes from laughing.
“Lady Eliana, you are adorable.”
My heart skipped a beat at his gentle smile.
Cedric calmed his breathing and then spoke with a serious expression.
“I admire the way you understand your role as a noble and personally work to protect your people.”
“Certainly, nobles are expected to spend money luxuriously as a way of circulating wealth among the people.”
“But mindless luxury is nothing but contemptible.”
“I heard about you from the receptionists at the guild.”
“Lady Eliana, you need a merchant company, don’t you?”
“My family owns several.”
“And it would even be possible for you to be involved with them without revealing your name.”
He smiled warmly.
‘The words that follow that smile must be… if we become engaged, right?’
‘But someday I will have to get engaged to someone.’
‘If that’s the case, maybe someone I at least somewhat know would be better…’
I nodded to myself while thinking.
Alright!!
“May I speak honestly?”
“But will you promise not to get angry after hearing it?”
I wanted Cedric to hear my true feelings and then decide what he wanted to do afterward.
“I understand.”
“I love this house and our territory very much.”
“I also deeply respect the way my father protects the people.”
“He never hesitates to spend money if it is for the sake of the people.”
“I truly love that way of thinking.”
“If you want savings, you should earn them yourself.”
“Money should be created by your own efforts.”
“That is my belief.”
“Right now, I mainly work as an adventurer…”
“But someday I want to sell products I have ideas for and develop this territory.”
“That’s why even if I had a fiancé, the time spent on them would feel like a waste.”
Cedric looked straight into my eyes and listened carefully.
Just from that alone, I could tell he was a sincere person.
“I understand your way of thinking, Lady Eliana.”
“In that case, all the more reason for you to become engaged to me.”
“I will not deny your beliefs.”
“In fact, I quite like that way of thinking.”
“You may freely use my family’s merchant companies.”
“And for me, the best part is that time spent with my fiancée would not be wasted.”
Even though I would consider outings and tea parties a waste?
When I looked at him with confusion, he said,
“Because the time we spend together could simply be spent exploring dungeons or taking subjugation requests together.”
“Wouldn’t that be much more fun than what ordinary fiancés do?”
“And we would also get to spend much more time together.”
‘Hmm?’
‘If that’s the case, then all the time spent as fiancés could be used as my own time…’
‘That’s efficient!’
“But somehow it feels like all the benefits are only for me…”
“For me, it is enough just to be engaged to you.”
“If using what I have allows me to be engaged to you, then you may use as much of it as you like.”
‘Why is he so determined to become engaged to me?’
‘I really don’t understand.’
“You said earlier that you knew about me even before we met at the guild.”
“If it’s alright to ask, I would like to know why.”
Cedric seemed to think for a moment.
“I can tell you.”
“But could you please remain silent and listen until I finish?”
‘So that means I must quietly listen!’
“I understand.”
“When you first came to the guild, I happened to be there as well.”
“I had come with some classmates to request a subjugation mission.”
“To be honest, I was bored.”
“Even though we were classmates, we weren’t particularly close…”
“When I looked up at the guild building, I noticed you.”
“You had clenched your fist and were standing there with a nervous expression.”
“For some reason, you caught my attention.”
“Judging by your appearance, I assumed you had come to accept a request.”
“If that was the case, I intended to take the request myself and followed you.”
“But instead, you registered as an adventurer.”
I remembered that moment and nodded slightly.
“You looked excited as you headed out for a subjugation.”
“This city’s guild mainly handles high-rank adventurers, so there are no simple quests like herb gathering.”
“I honestly didn’t think you would be able to defeat a monster.”
“But when I saw you fighting while crying…”
“I was deeply moved.”
“And at that moment, I fell in love with you.”
Cedric leaned closer as if peering into my eyes.
“I wanted those eyes of yours to capture me.”
“I apologize, but I did investigate you quite thoroughly.”
“I wanted to know more about you.”
“But there were also some things you said during your first subjugation that caught my attention.”
“You are a reincarnated person, aren’t you?”
“…”
‘I’ve been found out…’
“It’s alright.”
“I have two classmates who are also reincarnated people.”
‘Eh…?’
My mouth remained open in shock.
Cedric chuckled softly and gently touched my cheek.
“Are there really that many reincarnated people?”
“Those two enjoy attracting attention.”
“Every country wants reincarnated people.”
“They willingly reveal it themselves because they enjoy being praised and admired.”
“But you were different.”
“You hid the fact that you were reincarnated and quietly worked for the sake of your territory and its people.”
“If you had used the title of a reincarnated person, you could have easily obtained a merchant company or anything else you wanted.”
“Why did you hide it?”
“…”
‘Is it really okay to say it?’
“I promise I won’t be angry no matter what you say.”
“If people discovered I was reincarnated, I thought I might be bound to royalty or high-ranking nobles…”
I glanced awkwardly toward Cedric.
“Just like how I am pressuring you into an engagement now?”
When I thought about the current situation, the answer naturally came to me.
“Lord Cedric is a little different.”
“Even after learning that I am reincarnated, you didn’t try to force the engagement.”
“You are properly speaking with me face to face.”
Alright.
I steeled my resolve.
“My priority is this territory.”
“My greatest wish is for my family and the people of this land to be happy.”
“I am prepared to do anything to achieve that.”
“Lord Cedric is the son of a duke.”
“Our house is only a viscount house.”
“I have no intention of marrying into another family.”
“If you are willing to marry into my house, then I will accept the engagement—”
Before I could finish speaking, Cedric suddenly grabbed my hands and began speaking rapidly.
“I am the eldest son.”
“But I have already spoken with my father.”
“If you accept the engagement, my younger brother will inherit the family instead.”
“I have already discussed it with my brother as well.”
“So, Lady Eliana…”
“Will you become engaged to me?”
He looked deeply into my eyes with a serious expression.
“Yes.”
“I accept.”
“Please take care of me.”
I bowed my head politely.
Cedric gently embraced me.
“I am truly happy.”
“Please take care of me as well.”
We separated and both bowed to each other once more.
‘Somehow… we might actually get along.’
Eliana ended up having that impression.