"Not going to… What?"
Belreck, who was taken aback with a face as if he had been hit, laughed as if he concluded that my words were a joke.
"Your skills for making me angry are improving. If it is a joke, it is not funny."
"It is not a joke."
"Deborah, don't spit out nonsense. Declaring that you are forsaking the duty of the noble ladies. Are you out of your mind, or are you really going to enter a monastery?"
"…"
When the monastery ending, which she wanted to avoid unconditionally, came out of his mouth, her heart pounded.
"Mind your manners. That means stop humiliating your family."
When the vassals approached Belreck, who was growling furiously, from behind, he clicked his tongue and stepped back.
"Let's talk again later."
"I have nothing to say."
I replied, with trembling hands.
"Even if you don't want to, you will. And as an older brother, I sincerely advise you to give up Philap Montez."
"…"
"Louis Gargell is good enough. He is from a rich family; you will appreciate it later."
Belreck gently pat my shoulder with a smile.
"Aren't you past the age to have only what you want?"
He said only what he wanted to say, and then, he moved away quickly.
'Monastery…'
I stood there for a while, absent-mindedly, pushing against the temples that were starting to throb.
***
After the discussion with Belreck, I was in a state of panic for a while.
No way, I have never imagined that Belreck Seymour would come forward and push with the marriage.
It was a serious situation because Belreck's voice and influence in the family could not even be compared to me, who is a princess.
'I'm going crazy.'
Deborah is 19 years old this year.
If she makes her debut this Fall, she will be old enough to marry; so if it goes on like this, she will marry Thompson Gargell…
"I'm doomed."
There was such a terrible setup hidden in the novel.
That is why Deborah harassed the heroine even more.
Deborah was drunk in her own pride, so there was no way some random Gargell from a count's family would catch her eye.
Even the Prince of the Montez family, whom she had her eyes on for a long time, is hanging on to a woman from an unknown family.
Every time she saw Mia, she couldn't help but get angry.
"Gosh!!"
I'm getting angry too.
I don't even want to go out with a bully like Kim Han Joon, but I can't believe I'm getting married to a pervert.
This was complete nonsense.
'It was going too smoothly somehow.'
Feeling frustrated and resentful, she hit the soft pillow like it was a sandbag.
She naively thought that she could avoid going to the monastery if she didn't do anything bad to the heroine, and like that she would be able to continue living her life.
"Wait a minute."
I, who had been lying face down with messy hair, jumped up and called the servant who had brought tea.
"Yes. Princess."
The maid put down the tray quickly and prostrated with a pale and terrified face.
"What happens when the daughter of a noble family doesn't want to go ahead with her arranged marriage? I suddenly got curious and I'm going crazy."
The maid's complexion became paler as I tore my hair apart. Naturally, the crazy guy is scarier than the bad guy.
"I-I'm sorry, but there is no such case…"
"Use your imagination."
"If you don't get married…"
The maid's subsequent words were despairing.
If you don't get married, you won't be able to take on the family name so, naturally, you will be deprived of your title, expelled from the aristocracy, and sent to the monastery.
'I'm going crazy. How is this different from the original ending?'
Was my fate supposed to be a monastery?
Now I know why Belreck was so dumbfounded at my announcement of nonmarriage.
'It really sounded like nonsense.'
Feeling confused, I pressed the maid again, in desperation.
"That's weird. Why has no one refused to marry? You can push someone you don't want in your family into a marriage."
It's where people live, and there can be no exceptions.
"Isn't there an exceptional case? I am curious. I cannot sleep if I am curious. Will you be responsible if I can't sleep?"
I questioned tenaciously, as I developed my logic.
I thought something would come out if I pressed her.
Thanks to the original novel, I knew how well-versed the maids were about the news in high society. The nobles' servants were no less than a nest of rumors.
It was one of their enjoyable hobbies, to gather during their breaks to talk about all kinds of high society gossip.
"Think about it until something comes to mind."
As she stared at her fiercely, not letting go until she answered, the maid, sweating profusely, worked her brain and hurriedly opened her mouth.
"Ah! There was a noble lady who fell in love with a commoner mercenary and eloped."
"And?"
"The problem was solved when she received the title of nobility. She was a 6-class sorceress. I heard that in the war, she made a big contribution with her husband, the leader of the mercenaries, and took over the territory of another country."
"You mean you can receive the title by distinguishing yourself in war?"
"Yes."
Ah~ I see.
If I want to live my own way, I must go to war and take over the territory I want to rule.
Damn, that is easy to say.
I can't handle mana, let alone 6-class…
Drowning in a swamp of despair that became deeper, a fragment of memory related to titles suddenly came to her mind.
There was a family that Deborah despised for having no roots, and that was because the previous head of the family had bought the title of nobility from a bankrupt family.
'Even if you don't go to war, you can buy a title with money!'
What if I buy a title myself and make a family?
I won't have to marry a Thompson or something.
If I am the head of the family, who would dare to argue that I should get married?
"If you buy a title, you won't be bound by customs. Isn't that right?"
The maid hesitated to answer.
"Th-that's right, but even the price of the lowest baron title is astronomical."
No matter how expensive it was, it was a much more promising story than going to war.
"How much is it?"
"I don't know that. I'm really sorry."
Well, it is not common to buy a title, and she can't know the details.
"Get out. I'm sleepy."
I let the frightened maid out of the room. Then, I jumped out of the bed instantly.
'Let's first look into the situation of my possessions.'
***
"Wow…"
There are so many. What kind of dragon is that?
Seeing Deborah's numerous jewel boxes and the amount of jewelry inside them, she had no choice but to feel astonished.
Deborah owned as much jewelry and the dowry as most families.
How extravagant have you been? Thankfully.
Thanks to the pile of jewelry in my hands, I would be able to regain my stability, at least.
'There is also a lot of jewelry on the dress.'
It may be possible to buy a title by making a secret fund while milking the Seymour infrastructure as much as possible.
The problem is time.
'Wouldn't it be possible to delay marriage for two to three years, considering the age for marriage?'
On average, the noble ladies here married between the ages of nineteen and twenty-two.
It is fortunate that the age for marriage is 2 years later than when the country was founded, due to the increasing number of noble ladies completing advanced courses at the Academy.
'Fortunately, I am also attending the Academy.'
If you postpone the marriage and save money in the meantime to buy the title, in theory, there is no problem…
'No way, the head of the family won't change to Belreck before I buy the title, right?'
I shook my head right away.
Because Duke Seymour is the only 7-class wizard in the empire, he exerted great influence on the Wizardry Association.
Besides, the youngest, Enrique Seymour, is so young that he won't be able to hand over the position that quickly.
Still, there may be one variable. The wisest way was to save money as quickly as possible and buy a title.
'In the end, even here, money is everything.'
While she was figuring out how to accumulate gold coins, a knocking sound was heard.
The Duke was standing outside of the study, suddenly.
"You're here?"
I quickly put my notebook into the drawer and got up.
"Don't tell me you're studying… Did I interrupt you?"
The Duke looked at me with very strange eyes and spoke.
Deborah rarely used the study, so the reaction was not incomprehensible.
"It is alright. I will tell them to prepare tea and refreshments."
"Alright."
In the living room next to the study, I sat facing the Duke.
He was silent and I had nothing to say, so a heavy silence fell in the room.
'I'm suffocating.'
I wriggled my hands, put one lump of sugar in my tea, and spoke.
"I'll give you the letter when I go back."
At my words, the Duke let out a small sigh.
"I am not here to receive a letter today."
S-so, are you going to tell me to get married? I waited patiently for the next words.
"Deborah. the poem you recited. Can you read it again sometime?"
The Duke's words were completely unexpected.
"I will read it to you every time the white flowers are in full bloom and it snows in big snowflakes."
I hinted at my intention to stay in the Seymour house for a long time.
However, the Duke was just sipping his tea with indifferent eyes.
'Of course, it is not easy.'
I clicked my tongue inwardly and picked up a cookie.
"Anyway, he is a prolific poet so it must have been difficult to find the poem in the letter, but you managed to find it. The letter didn't even contain the title of the poem, it must have taken a while."
It did not take as long as the Duke probably thought.
In Korea, people practice their ability to grasp the main points of poems for the college entrance examinations…
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There is no way to explain this.
"I was lucky."
"Luck. I think you are trying to be careful with your manners recently, but excessive modesty is not good, Deborah. It's the same as just declining."
"…"
"I really mean it when I say that I want to give you what you want. I feel the sincerity behind your words that you want to be the connection between me and Marien. I'm not trying to test you, so feel free to say anything."
He was telling her to say what she wanted so earnestly, it felt foolish to keep refusing.
She has never asked for anything in her life, so she was nervous about it.
I wetted my dry lips once.
"In that case…"