I am Being Chased by My Husband - Chapter 6

Johannes didn’t answer. Fagan’s disgruntled words followed.

“The temple guys are getting more and more brazen, and even if we catch the ‘blue ruby’, will Crown Prince Diego really appreciate it? …He’s too sharp these days. The same goes for the marriage proposal that came in so suddenly.”

Indeed, Diego’s marriage proposal was not for the benefit of Johannes. The reason he secretly pressured Johannes’ marriage was to openly keep the North in check.

The northern part of the empire didn’t turn around like this until the emperor was bedridden as it is now.

However, as Crown Prince Diego began to seize power, he began to regard the vast North as a thorn in its own culture and customs.

Not only did he raise taxes, but he also pressured the temple to send lower-ranking priests rather than higher-ranking priests.

Now the north was suffering because of the exponentially increased evil spirits from several years ago. Nevertheless, Diego seemed to feel the need to further pressure the North.

“Perhaps he was afraid that the duke might even declare the independence of the principality by marrying a princess from a nearby kingdom. The Emmenta Kingdom, which was established after the fall of Leto Kingdom, is favorable to us.”

Fagan said sarcastically.

“I think he wanted to block the marriage alliance with the Emmenta Kingdom and make an heir mixed with the blood of aristocrats in the metropolitan area to make it a little more compliant in the next generation.”

It was an accurate analysis, but Johannes’s face was only calm.

“Well, it’s none of my business to have such a cute hope. I just put complicated conditions because my situation is complicated.”

Johannes did not clearly reveal his true intentions to his closest aides. He would usually wrap his real intentions in such an even witty demeanor.

Everyone evaluated Johannes as a loyal and knowledgeable person who followed the orders of the temple. His cool impression, sculptural appearance, and consistent bluntness also contributed to his reputation.

However, in reality, he was very good at thinking strategically.

Rather than creating a controversy by refusing to get married when Diego offered him to marry, he devised a strategy to agree on the spot and then put on difficult conditions the next day.

“…Even talking about the impossible was a bit harsh.”

Johannes completely ignored Fagan’s heartfelt last words. Instead, he started looking for the next report on the ‘blue ruby’.

It was then.

“Hey there, Duke.”

A careful knock sounded in the room where Johannes was staying. Another of his lieutenants was Selena.

While it was Fagan’s job to hear and execute orders face-to-face with Johannes, Selena usually dealt with outsiders associated with Johannes.

“Selena? What’s going on?”

“That…”

Selena spoke in a tone of perplexity, blinking her eyes.

“…An aristocratic young lady came directly saying that she wanted to marry the duke.”

Johannes and Fagan frowned at those words. Because every word Selena said was strange.

Marriage between nobles begins by sending an invitation from one side to the mansion first. It was unbelievable that a noble young lady would come to visit in person.

Even now, the place where Johannes is staying was a luxury inn in the capital. It was a visit that completely ignored even the most basic procedures.

Selena’s words continued.

“She said her name was Heloise Renault, who came from Viscount Renault.”

At Selena’s extraordinary words, Johannes frowned and glanced at Fagan. It meant to go out and figure out the situation.

Fagan nodded his head clumsily and then left the room where Johannes was staying.

There was no such thing as a drawing room in an inn like this, and behind the troubled look of Selena, at the end of the hallway, a woman was standing smiling brightly.

“Excuse me… Miss Renault?”

“Yes. This is Heloise Renault.”

The woman’s hair, who introduced herself as Heloise, was shiny golden. It was a brilliant color that could not be seen in the north.

She didn’t say anything, but her eyes were half-moon shaped. The blue eyes looked so gentle.

She must have just turned 20 now, her slightly drooping eyes with her young, white face reminded them of a newborn puppy.

She was wearing a hazy blue dress that matched the color of her own eyes, and was quite classy at first glance.

Fagan thought in his head. No matter how much he tried to remember, there was no information about the Viscount of Renault.

First of all, it didn’t seem like the noble who stayed in the capital or in this area.

Because he always stayed near the capital in pursuit of the ‘blue ruby’, he knew the aristocrats in the vicinity.

‘First of all, it’s not a noble of the North… Is she from the West because she looks so skinny that she’ll collapse if she gets hit? Judging by her small body, it doesn’t look like she’s from the East. Has she been pushed here for some unavoidable political reason?’

However, Heloise looked too bright to say that she came here from getting caught up in some unknown family affairs.

Usually, people who meet the knights of the North for the first time get intimidated. It was a basic instinct that came from the difference in physique.

The northerners themselves had larger bones than other imperials. In addition, Selena and Fagan, Johannes’ lieutenants, were on the large side among them.

But even though Heloise’s height was only about the shoulders of Selena, she didn’t seem to feel intimidated at all. So she gave Fagan the feeling that she didn’t exist in reality.

Heloise continued her words with a grin, with her mellow blue eyes closed.

“Isn’t the Duke here?”

Fagan was a capable lieutenant, but in this circumstance, he stuttered.

“Sorry. I… As the Duke’s lieutenant, it’s still undecided… I’m not familiar with the Renault family… Well…”

Heloise smiled brightly once more, perhaps noticing his hesitation.

“Ah, you may not have heard of it. I’m from the South!”

It wasn’t unreasonable that Fagan didn’t know much about the South.

The southern part was a land of blessings where evil spirits did not roam. The southerners were particularly afraid of evil spirits, so they did not come to the capital very often.

From the point of view of those who are chasing the ‘blue ruby’, it was also a place that was completely out of interest. If so, it didn’t fit with the ‘marriage’ that Selena was talking about.

Although curious about this strange girl, she wasn’t the type of person to get involved with them anyway.

And Johannes didn’t have enough time to pay attention to such absurd things. Besides, he was not very sociable by nature, so he was the type of person who wouldn’t meet anyone except essential people.

Fagan, acquainted with his own lord, eventually decided to turn his strange visitor back.

“However, Miss Heloise, visiting without prior notice like this is against etiquette…”

Usually, when a lieutenant comes out and expresses a sign of difficulty, the nobles choose one of the two methods.

Running with anger and getting angry at where an adjutant is standing in front of them right now, or turning back gracefully, noticing that this is a rejection.

But, to his surprise, Heloise showed no response from either of those scenarios.

“I’m sorry about that. I understand.”

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Heloise lowered her head and apologized softly. She didn’t forget to raise the hem of her skirt. This was the hallway of the inn, and it was an elegant gesture as if she had come to a ball.

It was an overly stereotyped posture, as if she had been practicing for a long time, and Fagan felt like he was watching a well-planned play. She was polite and impeccable, but her behavior was completely out of line with the situation. Heloise smiled and added.

“But I was in a hurry, so I couldn’t help it.”

“Come on, wait a minute. Miss Heloise? Excuse me…”

Fagan and Selena, who did not know that nobles could lower their heads to the lieutenants so easily, were startled and stiffened.

“I’m here to propose.”

Fagan swallowed. Selena had a face that looked puzzled.

She said that… Doing this…

“You are proposing?”

“Yes. Now I hear that the Duke is looking for a wife who is not from the North.”

It’s not that he was really looking for someone, and he was struggling to not find anyone…

Before Fagan even picked his words.

“Then, aren’t those the same conditions for me?”

As if there were no logical flaws, Heloise’s face even showed confidence.

Fagan answered her slowly, as he pondered how he could make sure he didn’t offend this noble lady.

“Um, Miss Heloise… I don’t know what the culture of the South is like, but in the North, the age difference in the case of an arranged marriage is no more than five years.”

“Is that so? I am twenty-four though.”

“…Twenty-four?”

“Yes. Am I a little short? It’s a pity, but I’m not taller.”

‘Damn it.’

It was a moment when Fagan’s expectations that she was too young were completely shattered.

She was from the south anyway, so she didn’t know the northern traditions, but she was too honest. Eventually, Fagan sighed inwardly and started stuttering again without a second thought.

“Well, even so, Miss Heloise. In marriage… Well… It needs procedures…”

“But the Duke and I have never had a proper meeting.”

That’s the problem, Heloise said casually.

Unlike Fagan, who had begun to feel embarrassed, Heloise was very polite and well-mannered.

“If we see each other even once, shouldn’t we be able to discuss the procedure and the next thing?”

“That, though…”

“And I heard that the Duke is a person who prefers to save time rather than follow procedures. That’s why I told you my business right away.”

It was something absurd, but it was also true.