An Unexpected Proposal - Chapter 8

TL: Kay (kkrivulet)

It would have been better to finish it then.

Cabellenus glanced at Alicia who was walking along the garden’s promenade and gently smoothed his wrinkled forehead with his index finger.

He just thought her eyes were the problem, but they were not.

Now he could not forget the expression from a few days ago.

“It’s ridiculous.”

Cabellenus exhaled a dejected breath.

Since that day, he had been spending the night in the Oval Office, not in his bedroom.

On the surface, he used his work as an excuse, but in fact, it was awkward to run into Alicia.

Additionally, Cabellenus was well aware that in these cases, not much good would happen.

The intuition of a man who had spent half his life on the battlefield was as sensitive as a beast.

“My Lord, may I come in for a moment?”

As Cabellenus stared absentmindedly at the garden, there was a sharp knock on the door.

It was his aide, Gazeff.

“What’s the matter?”

“His Imperial Majesty is calling for you.”

Gazeff smiled awkwardly and presented the communications mirror. His Lord was not too pleased to hear from the Emperor.

“Come in.”

Cabellenus beckoned for Gazeff with a short sigh.

It was not very pleasant to talk to the Emperor, but it had to be done once anyway.

「Oh my. Oh my. It’s so difficult to see the face of the famous Grand Duke of the North.」

As soon as the communication was established, the Emperor, who appeared in the mirror, groaned.

At first glance, the Emperor’s appearance was reminiscent of Cabellenus, and it made it clear that the two were blood relatives.

“Why did you contact me?”

「I thought I’d get a report by now, but I haven’t heard from you at all.」

“I was going to contact you soon.”

「If that’s the case, I should have waited a little longer. I was wondering how much this brusque little brother would bother me, but it’s different. You always never contact me first.」

“I’ve written the report in good faith.”

「What’s a mere report? The first thing to do is to check your face to see if my only blood relative is unscathed.」

Gerpenus laughed so hard that his teeth were exposed as he pushed his face closer to the mirror.

“I thought you just didn’t want to check it.”

「I can’t tell you right away because you’re going to cut short this call.」

“Then I’ll hang up right now.”

「Wait! Wait!」

Gerpenus shook his hand urgently over the communications mirror. He just wanted to play a little prank, but his cold-hearted brother did not know how to play along.

“Just get to the point. Unlike you, I’m very busy.”

「I call you ‘brother’ comfortably, so please call me ‘brother’ too.」

“Can I hang up, please?”

「Cabellenus, you cold-hearted brother. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen your brother, but you’re so cold. You don’t have any cuteness at all.」

Gerpenus clicked his tongue and leaned against the throne. He tried to increase the time of communication through small talk, but it was not good enough for his insensitive brother.

“I just want to get to the point.”

「I heard you kept the Princess of Neinstein alive.」

“…….”

「I was wondering if it’s true!」

While Gerpenus’s voice rose higher, the smooth forehead of Cabellenus became deeply wrinkled.

「I thought you had no interest in women. You looked at me like I was worse than a stone when I introduced you to one, but you let her into your bedroom! If Father had heard, he would have jumped out of the coffin.」

‘I thought it was true when I heard the rumour.‘

Gerpenus raised the corners of his mouth and smiled mischievously.

“It’s none of your business.”

「If I don’t care, who will? Tell me something. What kind of woman is she?」

Cabellenus wrinkled his eyes with a frown, revealing his distaste without filtering it, but Gerpenus’s twinkling eyes were already full of interest.

“I told you it’s none of your business.”

「I told you to clean up all of Neinstein’s blood.」

Gerpenus frowned begrudgingly.

“…….”

Cabellenus’s jaw muscles twitched.

「It’s rare for anyone to disobey my orders and survive, but how can I point a sword at my dear brother?」

“You called to say this?”

「This wicked brother always has to use authority to make you listen. If you feel wronged, you can become the Emperor. Should I hand over the throne even now? I’d give you the throne as long as you want it.」

Gerpenus said it like a joke, but there was a sincerity in it.

Cabellenus tried to turn a blind eye to the fact and held a hand against his forehead.

“She’s an ordinary woman.”

No matter how good a woman was, he did not know if he could describe a woman who only wanted to die as ‘normal’.

Cabellenus gazed out the window and leaned back against it.

Alicia was still spending time sitting still on the garden bench.

Thanks to the cloudless weather, her reddish-brown hair looked even more dreary and shabby.

On second thought, there was indeed nothing special about her.

「An ordinary woman seduced my brother?」

“I was not seduced.”

「Then did you seduce her? Was she the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen? A terrible beauty? Pretty?」

“The Emperor of a country shouldn’t say such vulgar things.”

「Strict. Well, yeah. All right, that’s not what’s important right now.」

Gerpenus smiled contently and touched his chin.

“I told you, it’s none of your business. Nothing happened, and nothing will happen.”

「That’s something to wait and see.」

“There’s nothing to see.”

「Shall we make a bet then? Whether you’ll fall for the Princess of Neinstein or not?」

“I’m not free enough to make a bet.”

Cabellenus shook his head firmly.

「Come on, come on. Let’s give it a try. Don’t you think it’s going to be fun? For your information, I bet you’ll fall for the Princess of Neinstein.」

“I don’t want to.”

「Why? Because you think you’re going to lose?」

Gerpenus’s eyes narrowed. He was an Emperor, even though he pretended to be nice and generous.

If Cabellenus was a hunting dog, Gerpenus was a hunter who handled the dog. It was impossible to miss such a golden opportunity.

“I don’t want to do anything useless.”

「Even if you win this bet, you won’t have to come back to the palace?」

“…….”

「One year. No. I’ll be especially kind and allow you to have 10 years without coming back.」

Cabellenus’s eyebrows wriggled faintly.

The words from just before were actually a little tempting.

「Just as you said, it’s possible that nothing will happen. It’s not a bad opportunity for you either, so why don’t you give entertainment to your older brother who is tired of playing with the imperial family?」

Gerpenus softly whispered.

He was the only one who was not afraid of Cabellenus.

“Stop talking nonsense and get to work. If you have nothing more to say, I’ll leave.”

Gerpenus was a man who would do whatever he could once his mind was set on something. Even if Cabellenus played along with him without a loss, there were only more troublesome things.

‘And most of all…….’

Cabellenus turned his head back to the window and stopped thinking.

Alicia was getting up from the garden bench. Maybe the walk was over.

At that moment, a ray of sunshine shone through the clouds.

“…….”

‘Oh, our eyes met.’ 

A thought ran through Cabellenus’s mind.

It was just an illusion.

Cabellenus was the only one who thought their eyes met.

Although he knew the truth, Cabellenus could not take his eyes off Alicia.

Alicia’s red hair, which had always been regarded as shabby as rusted iron, momentarily made him think it seemed like an intense glow reflected in the sunlight.

It was for a short moment, but he could not erase the idea from his mind.

Naturally, her eyes flashed in his mind too. Cabellenus wondered what colour her eyes would have shone at that moment.

「Oh, don’t tell me you claim that nothing’s going to happen, but you’re not actually sure? That’s why you don’t have the confidence to win.」

“……Okay, let’s do it.”

Cabellenus, who finally came to his senses at the mischievous voice of Gerpenus, muttered with his teeth clenched.

When he closed his eyes again and opened them, Alicia’s hair was still as shabby as rusted iron.

But it was strange.

He could not bear the feeling of his stomach churning even as he faced reality.

He did not want to admit it.