Chapter 9

A little distance away, the laughter of the young ladies could be heard.

On the other hand, an uncomfortable silence hung around the area where Aurelia and the others were in the shade of the tree.

“Lady Aurelia?”

A hand gently rested on her shoulder.

Even without turning around, Aurelia could easily imagine Natalia's tense smile, and she was startled.

“I understand your feelings, but aren’t you a bit too hasty?”

“Eh, a, ah… I… I…”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.”

After a moment of silence, Yuris stopped Natalia and chuckled.

“This is quite a surprise. I never expected to be proposed to by a young lady at a party I was forced to attend by my uncle.”

“S, sorry! Let’s pretend that never happened…”

“I decline.”

Yuris said this with a refreshingly clear smile and gently took Aurelia’s trembling hands in his.

“Indeed, it was sudden and surprising… but I’m happy. I had a faint hope that I could get along well with you, Lady Aurelia. However, I thought it would be too much to propose to a man I’ve only just met, so I intended to keep it at conversation for today…”

“Ugh…”

“Don’t look so down. …I really am happy. But my pride is complaining, so please allow me to say it as well.”

With that, Yuris knelt down, still holding Aurelia’s hands, and gently kissed the back of her trembling hand.

—In her four previous lives, she had never been kissed on the back of her hand.

Aurelia shuddered, and Yuris smiled up at her.

“…Lady Aurelia Perle, will you agree to be engaged to me?”

“…Ah…”

Aurelia couldn’t help but look behind her.

Natalia, who had stopped her with a scary smile earlier, now watched the scene with a troubled expression but remained silent.

She must have been worried that Aurelia would be rejected and humiliated after declaring her feelings with all her courage… but now that Yuris had proposed, she had decided to “wait and see.”

Aurelia turned back to face Yuris, who was looking up at her with passionate blue eyes, and nodded.

“…Yes. I will discuss it with my father.”

“I am honored.”

Yuris’s smile was so bright that Aurelia couldn’t suppress the fluttering in her chest.

After that, they agreed to report to their parents and parted ways.

When Reinhardt returned from talking with his friends, he happily ate the pink cake Aurelia had left for him, but his expression turned serious when she told him, “I proposed to Lord Yuris Schneider.”

He immediately tried to go home to report to his parents, but when they arrived, a letter from the Schneider Duke had already been delivered, and his father was sprawled on the sofa in the living room.

(Lord Yuris’s uncle is very efficient…)

“Lia, Lia. I just heard from a messenger of the Schneider Duke that his nephew proposed to you… Is it true!?”

“No…”

“So, it’s not true! That’s good!”

“I was the one who proposed first.”

“…Ah, aaaaah!”

For a moment, her father sat up with a relieved expression, but then he sprawled back on the sofa.

Her mother, who was calmly tapping her husband’s back, was deep in thought, “Lord Yuris Schneider… I think he’s not a bad match for Lia. As a knight’s wife from a ducal family, it’s a suitable match. Besides, I haven’t heard any bad rumors about Lord Yuris Schneider.”

“Father, Mother, I talked to Lord Yuris and found his thoughts to be very admirable.”

Though her father was sprawled out, Aurelia spoke firmly.

“Lord Yuris also seemed to be struggling with the engagement, and we agreed on it. …But it’s not like I would have proposed to just anyone. I was drawn to Lord Yuris because he has his own thoughts and is very straightforward.”

“Lia…”

“That’s why I proposed, and Lord Yuris also agreed to the engagement.”

“…I understand.”

Her mother nodded and pulled her husband up.

“Since I said I would respect your autonomy, we will proceed positively with the Schneider Duke’s family.”

“…Thank you! What about Father…?”

“Well, the Schneider Duke is a prestigious family, and they have produced many excellent knights, so it should be fine…”

Her father, who had been moving around, eventually nodded.

“…I understand. But if that young man makes my dear Lia sad, the engagement will be immediately dissolved!”

“Father…”

“I won’t compromise on this, and if necessary, I will protest to the Schneider Duke himself.”

Seeing her father’s firm statement, Aurelia gently placed her hand on her chest.

(Maybe… in my previous lives, if I hadn’t died, Father would have protested in the same way.)

Raul’s betrayal was like a betrayal from behind.

But Father would have surely stood up to the Gerthner Count’s family until the end.

(I want to have a good life this time.)

“…I understand. Thank you, Father.”

Aurelia bowed deeply.

The talks between the heads of both families regarding Aurelia and Yuris’s engagement went surprisingly smoothly.

With their engagement decided, the talks with Raul were naturally rejected, which relieved Aurelia.

For about half a year after the engagement, they often had tea together, but soon Yuris joined the Royal Knights.

Unlike Aurelia, who was generally free, he began training as a knight, making it difficult to meet.

However, they maintained their relationship by writing letters regularly, and Aurelia also worked on improving her skills as a lady to ensure Yuris wouldn’t be tempted by others.

Two years later, at the age of fifteen, Yuris was given a special mission and had to leave the capital to work in a remote area.

Her parents and brother were puzzled by this, but since Yuris going to a remote area was the same in her second life, Aurelia accepted it without surprise.

The mission in the remote area was busy, and it took time to exchange letters with Aurelia, who was in the capital.

Still, they diligently wrote to each other and kept each other updated.

(Lord Yuris… From his letters, he seems very sincere.)

At sixteen, Aurelia thought this while reading a letter from Yuris that had just arrived that morning.

They had agreed to marry when Aurelia turned eighteen.

Four years had passed since they started their long-distance relationship, but from his letters, Yuris showed no signs of being a womanizer and was very kind and affectionate.

He seemed shy and didn’t use words like “I love you” or romantic phrases.

However, his letters were filled with sincere and caring words like, “I want to see your smile soon,” “When I see the cocoa provided, I think of your hair color,” and “I think of you before I go to sleep every night,” which stirred Aurelia’s heart and gave her sweet thrills.

Once, she mustered the courage to write, “I admire you.”

The reply took two months, and the content was as usual, which deflated her.

But on the back of the last page, something was written. When she flipped it over, it read, “I also admire you,” in very small letters.

The day she discovered this, she was so excited and happy that she couldn’t sleep, and she kept the maid busy.

The correspondence with Yuris was going well, and Natalia had married and retired last year. Her brother was also set to marry his future sister-in-law as planned next year.

(Still, our relationship might not always be smooth.)

After all, in her second life, Yuris had become famous for being a womanizer.

Even with her father’s warning to the Schneider Duke, “If you make my daughter cry…,” if Yuris returned with women on both arms, she would have to accept it.

Still.

(Lord Yuris. If I can live with you…)

Holding the letter from her fiancé to her chest, Aurelia prayed.