Chapter 9. After the Explanation

“I know! I know, but I’m telling you, it’s not like that!”

“Not like that?”

Ain narrowed his eyes, setting the nearly melted ice pack down with a thud, crossing his arms, and grumbling.

“Even I, a commoner, know that proposals among nobles are 100% pre-arranged performances.”

“I’m saying this wasn’t like that…”

Exhausted from explaining herself, Serenia let out a deep sigh before continuing.

“Yesterday’s proposal wasn’t pre-arranged or even announced in advance. It was 100% spontaneous. And I turned him down!”

The moment she mentioned rejecting the proposal, Ain’s sulking expression lightened slightly.

Seizing the opportunity, Serenia quickly added, “Besides, calling it a proposal is an insult. It wasn’t really a proposal—it was a humiliation.”

“Humiliation?”

Ain raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Seeing her chance, Serenia dove into the full story, sparing no details.

She told him about how Raskal had commanded her to marry him, her refusal, and his audacious demand for repayment with her body. She even confessed to slapping Raskal, though she nervously downplayed it.

“You slapped His Grace, the Duke?”

Noticing Ain’s stiffened expression, Serenia quickly corrected herself.

“Well… ‘slapped’ might be an exaggeration. It was more like… a light tap. Softer than a clap, really.”

She glanced at him anxiously before adding.

“So I don’t think His Grace will sue the Barishart family or seek major revenge. Probably…”

“Hmm.”

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Ain finally spoke.

“So you’re saying all of this was just His Grace’s whim—a scheme to mock and humiliate you at the banquet?”

“Yes! Exactly!” Serenia nodded vigorously.

Ain, however, tilted his head skeptically.

“If that’s the case, something doesn’t add up.”

“What… doesn’t?”

He handed her the ‘extra edition’ newspaper.

“The paper that printed this ‘extra edition’ today is called ‘Gossip in Shedron.’”

“Um… okay. And?”

“It’s a small, yellow press publication that covers everything from social scandals to entertainment gossip.”

Serenia’s face hardened slightly at his explanation.

A small, struggling tabloid.

Could such a publication really have produced and distributed an ‘extra edition’ overnight, enough to blanket the entire capital?

Impossible.

Which meant…

“They knew in advance?”

Impressed by her quick deduction, Ain nodded.

“In other words, His Grace didn’t propose to you on a whim. This wasn’t just some capricious act.”

“But how could he have known I’d be at the banquet?” Serenia trailed off mid-sentence, realization dawning on her face.

“The bank’s final notice…”

It wouldn’t have been difficult for Raskal to manipulate the timing of the bank’s ultimatum.

Which meant that everything had been part of his plan.

“But why?”

The unanswered question escaped her lips.

Ain, watching her confusion, replied calmly, “Isn’t it obvious? To marry you, my lady.”

“That can’t be…”

Serenia instinctively tried to deny it but fell silent, her mind racing through the events.

‘Come to think of it, he kept demanding an answer from me.’

If his intention had been solely to insult her, an answer wouldn’t have been necessary.

As absurd as it seemed, the pieces fit together perfectly.

If Raskal’s true goal was to make her his wife, then…

“But why?”

Why would he want to marry the daughter of the man responsible for his father’s death?

Unable to understand, Serenia muttered her doubts aloud.

Ain, catching her questioning gaze, responded with mock exasperation.

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

His blunt tone made Serenia flinch, and he continued, clearly displeased.

“You seem to keep forgetting, but I’m your fiancé.”

“…What?”

“Just hearing about another man making advances on my fiancée is enough to ruin my mood. Now you want me to figure out his motives, too? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

Serenia froze, realizing her mistake, then stammered.

“But… Raskal proposed to me before our engagement, so technically, he wasn’t hitting on ‘your fiancée’…”

Her rambling trailed off as she noticed Ain’s unamused expression.

“Ah. So I’m just ‘your fiancé,’ but he gets to be ‘Raskal,’ is that it?”

Under the weight of his accusatory gaze, Serenia lowered her eyes and muttered apologetically, “I’m sorry. That was a slip of the tongue. Please forget it. From now on, I’ll refer to His Grace as ‘him.’”

Despite her sincere apology, Ain still pouted, clearly unsatisfied.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, his expression twisted in frustration.

“Well, now that it’s come to this, I can’t just let it go.”

“…What?”

Meeting her uneasy gaze, he declared firmly, “Let’s delay the marriage registration until after December 8th.”

“What?!”

Serenia bit her lip, swallowing the words ‘But what about my three million krovats?!’ Unable to voice her protest, she fidgeted nervously.

‘What if he—that man—sends me a box of poison? If I don’t get the three million krovats before I die, how will I cover the hospital bills and the bank debts?’

Oblivious to her inner turmoil, Ain continued nonchalantly, “And during that week, let’s create some evidence.”

“Evidence?”

She looked at him, confused. Ain’s stern expression melted away into a radiant smile as he replied.

“Yes. Proof of our passionate love.”

“And what kind of proof is that? A couple’s ring?”

“No, something much more convincing.”

“More convincing…?”

Feeling a growing sense of dread, Serenia frowned warily. Ain, still smiling, said cheerfully.

“Let’s step outside for now, shall we?”

* * *

A short while later.

In a small forest near the Barishart estate, two figures peeked out from between low shrubs.

Having escaped through the secret underground passage of the mansion, the pair were now disguised using the wigs and clothes that had been stashed inside the box Ain had arrived in.

The men’s wig and hat were easy enough to understand.

But the women’s wig and dress left Serenia baffled. When she asked, his response was ridiculous.

“If there hadn’t been a secret escape route, I was planning to sneak out in disguise as a woman.”

Serenia imagined the tall Ain—easily a head taller than her—wearing a long-haired wig and a dress.

It would have looked absurd, she thought, but her imagination betrayed her. Thanks to his annoyingly good looks, the image in her mind felt surprisingly fitting and not out of place at all.

Feeling oddly defeated, Serenia scowled.

Meanwhile, Ain flagged down a carriage nearby.

After traveling for nearly thirty minutes, they arrived in front of a large building.

As Serenia clumsily accepted his escort and stepped out of the carriage, she froze when she saw the sign on the building.

<Neriad Hotel>

Shocked, she yanked her hand out of his grip and shouted, “What exactly are you trying to do?!”

“Excuse me?”

“You… you… pervert!”

Caught off guard by the sudden accusation, Ain responded with a bewildered expression.

“My lady, what on earth are you imagining?”

“…What?”

When Serenia stammered, Ain heaved a deep sigh, as if truly disheartened, and muttered under his breath.

“Although my profession might lend itself to such misunderstandings, I am not that kind of shameless person.”

“Then… why are we here…?”

“This hotel’s restaurant has a great view, excellent security, and most importantly, the owner has a wide network and knows plenty of good photographers.”

Finally, Serenia understood what he had meant by ‘convincing evidence.’

“Oh. So the evidence is… photographs?”

“Exactly. More specifically, ‘photographs taken over two years by a persistent journalist secretly following our dates.'”

At his explanation, Serenia tilted her head in confusion.

“Why go to the trouble of adding a backstory about being secretly followed?”

Ain gave her a playful wink and replied, “Because evidence provided by a third party is always more credible than something supplied by the subjects themselves.”

Ah, that made sense.

Serenia nodded without suspicion.

Seeing her reaction, Ain smiled meaningfully and led her into the hotel restaurant.