Chapter 2: The Absurd Engagement Proposal Incident
Relieved that the evening party had ended in her brother’s complete defeat, Claudia was counting on her fingers the things she needed to do before returning to the territory when the head butler arrived.
“Oh my, how unusual. Did something happen?”
Behind him, several maids followed.
Normally, the one who took care of Claudia was her personal maid, Kitty.
The other maids only helped when Kitty needed extra hands.
And yet, here they were.
At this point, she had nothing but a bad feeling.
“Young Lady, Lord Gilbert of the Sylvester Marquis House has come to propose an engagement to you, and the master has requested that you join them.”
“To me? Could there be some mistake with my younger sister?”
“Lady Sylvia already has a fiancé. Lord Gilbert specifically named Lady Claudia. Please allow us to prepare you.”
Behind the head butler, who bowed politely, the maids’ eyes were gleaming, and Claudia’s face twitched dramatically.
“My apologies for keeping you waiting.”
She had not the slightest interest in this man called Gilbert Sylvester, heir of the Marquis House, and surely it was all some kind of mistake.
Thinking so, she had tried to escape, but was stopped, and the maids had swarmed her and dressed her up.
On top of that, she had been escorted here under the watch of the head butler and even a guard attendant, leaving her no chance to flee.
In that case, it would be quicker to get this over with.
Inside the room were only her father and a man who appeared to be around twenty years old.
The man with platinum hair and bright yellow-green eyes felt vaguely familiar.
Where had she seen him before?
Well, that didn’t matter now.
More importantly, he was alone.
The marquis was not present.
He must have also thought this was some sort of mistake.
And it seemed that assumption was correct.
The man called Gilbert Sylvester, heir of the Marquis House, had been beaming with delight when Claudia entered the room, but now his expression was filled with confusion.
After taking a seat beside her father, he formally introduced them both, even though it was already obvious.
“Claudia, this is Lord Gilbert Sylvester, heir of the Marquis House. Lord Gilbert, this is my daughter, Claudia.”
“Nice to meet you, I am Claudia Ragley.”
“You are Lady Claudia Ragley…?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Pardon me, but did you attend the evening party held at the Pyler Marquis House the other day?”
“Yes, I did attend.”
“Were you wearing a red dress?”
“Yes, I wore a crimson dress that day. There were several others wearing red dresses as well.”
There was no need to confirm so much; she wished he would just get to the point.
The Sylvester heir slumped his shoulders in dejection.
Her father, who surely understood how this would proceed, kept his expression unchanged.
The Sylvester heir suddenly lifted his head as if realizing something, then bowed deeply once more.
And then—