Chapter 25
“. . .Yes, I see.”
In the awkward atmosphere after Emmanuella left, Callan strained his voice to try and reset the situation.
Then, he glanced at Lilyria beside him, and the gazes of the two, which had been avoiding each other until now, met with a click.
Lilyria let out a sigh, wearing a smile that lacked strength as if she had resigned herself. Callan, noticing that it was clearly different from the constant rejection before, immediately moved in front of her and knelt down on one knee.
He gently took her small, but not unreliable like that of a lady, left hand in his own, looked up as if praying, and spoke.
“I’ve said it many times before, but let me say it again. . .Lilyria-san, will you marry me. . .?”
“Before accepting that proposal. . ., may I ask you a few things just to make sure?”
Before accepting.
Accepting, but with conditions!
Upon this realization, Callan felt like jumping for joy, but he immediately regained his composure, sensing that this was a crucial moment, and nodded with a serious expression.
“Anything.”
In response to Callan’s serious answer befitting a knight, Lilyria sighed.
“Well then, first of all, this is my appearance. I have been despised by my biological father and disliked by my stepmother. Doesn’t it bother you? When it comes to marriage, you have to consider things like family and descendants, right? A human with little magical power mixing into the lineage?”
Lilyria indicated her ice-blue eyes while adjusting her bangs, showing that the only thing she can control with magic is a fist-sized amount of water.
The problem is not just her appearance.
Does he truly understand?
To confirm that, Lilyria asked with utmost seriousness, and Callan answered quite readily.
“It’s not a problem at all. My family has always valued swords more than magic, and although I seem to have a lot of magical power, I’m not good at magic because my mind can’t keep up. There’s no problem even if the magical power is low. The basic belief of the Gladiolus family is that when dealing with groups or large demon beasts, it’s faster and more reliable to cut or strike in personal combat.”
“Well, isn’t the Gladiolus family too barbaric?”
When Lilyria interjected with a slightly teasing tone, Callan laughed as if genuinely amused.
“Haha, that’s true. Even when facing large demon beasts, my relatives, who are all barbaric, step forward and want to directly clash swords, saying they’ll protect the magicians. Lilyria-san, as the epitome of that barbarism, is my father’s favorite disciple, so everyone related to me welcomes you with open arms.”
“. . .Well, I can’t deny that it feels that way. But, in reality, when it comes to marrying and connecting two families, considering practicality and external factors, someone like a refined Ojou-san who was loved and raised by her family would. . ..”
“Are you saying that such a refined Ojou-san would fit in with our barbaric family?”
When Callan asked with a smirk, Lilyria let out a sigh.
“I don’t think so, no. But if we were to marry and live in the same house, we would see each other almost every day, quite frequently. It’s unpleasant if that person is ugly. . .”
“It won’t be. I roughly know what your parents said to you, but I’m different from them.”
“. . .”
Lilyria’s words faltered as she strongly denied Callan, who had a gluttonous expression.
Looking straight up at the silent Lilyria with a serious expression, Callan asserted.
“As people age, their appearance naturally deteriorates. It’s impossible to pledge eternal love with only a wavering feeling. It’s disheartening to be seen as proposing with half-hearted determination. Besides, I believe that Lilyria-san, who continues to diligently polish her own fist without hiding her true colors or not bowing down to her lack of magical power, is more beautiful than anyone else.”
“When you say ‘more beautiful than anyone else,’ it makes me feel a bit awkward. . .”
Blushing and looking down while mumbling, perhaps to hide her embarrassment, Lilyria retorted, and Callan tilted his head.
“What do you mean. . .Ah, Miss Emmanuella, right?”
“Yes, because Emmanuella-sama is the most beautiful person in this world. And it seems that Emmanuella-sama doesn’t mind, but it would be more appropriate to address her as ‘Mrs.’ instead of ‘Miss.’ Especially in front of Danna-sama.”
It must be a way to hide embarrassment.
Callan smiled faintly at Lilyria, who deliberately muttered complaints in a low voice. He then tightened his expression and bowed his head.
“I apologize once again. I just wanted to say that Lilyria-san appears exceptionally beautiful to me, not based on the general public’s evaluation.”
“You have a peculiar sense of aesthetics, although not as much as Emmanuella-sama.”
Lilyria said with a proud expression, her face turning red up to her neck.
Callan gazed at the adorable Lilyria with an irresistible feeling and spoke, remembering something that had crossed his mind.
“By the way, Emmanuella, I mean, Mrs. Emmanuella seems to be concerned about the shape of her eyes and the length of her eyelashes. It has been said that Lilyria-san’s eyelashes are so long that they could hold small branches. Indeed, when I look at your large eyes and the eyelashes that frame them, they are truly beautiful. . .”
“That peculiar sense of aesthetics must have been influenced by my master. . .I’m sorry for that.”
Lilyria, who bowed her head without blushing this time, looked genuinely apologetic. Callan’s smile deepened in response.
“Although I was completely rejected by the person in question, Mrs. Emmanuella and I are childhood friends, after all. Naturally, it has an impact,”
“I couldn’t see through Emmanuella-sama’s facade, or rather, I didn’t get close enough to see her true sloppy side.”
Lilyria said that with a sour expression, and Callan tilted his head.
“I’m sorry if I said something unpleasant. Ah, I see, it’s jealousy,”
Lilyria stiffened for a moment, then immediately regained her composure and coldly declared,
“I’m not jealous.”
“You are. It’s okay. Actually, Lilyria-san understands Mrs. Emmanuella much better. As you said, I didn’t even notice her facade,”
“Is that so?”
“Hmm?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Lilyria averted her gaze with her usual expressionless face, and Callan sighed.
“Well, anyway, I have no intention of getting in the way of the relationship between Lilyria-san and Mrs. Emmanuella. Your loyalty is your greatest virtue, and I understand that Mrs. Emmanuella is a wonderful master worthy of a lifetime of service,”
“Isn’t it usually unpleasant to have a partner who prioritizes something outside of the family when building a household? Even if I were to marry, Emmanuella-sama would always be my one and only,”
When Lilyria threw out this question, which was one of the things she wanted to confirm, Callan laughed it off.
“I love you because you’re like that, and there’s no one in our family who would dislike it. If someone in our family died for loyalty, their funeral would be a grand celebration,”
The Gladiolus family, who value loyalty above all else, have not received territories or inheritable titles due to their desire to remain in the position of a retainer. However, most of the family members have been granted a one-generation knight title through their military achievements.
Callan, too, has already obtained a knight title during his time at the academy.
The family, filled with knights, is so loyal that it makes one believe what he said is not a lie.
“I do think that would be the case for the Gladiolus family, but at the same time, I also wonder if it’s okay for the Gladiolus family to be like that. . .”
When Lilyria said this with a deep sigh, Callan returned a bitter smile.
“There’s nothing we can do about it. Starting with my father, everyone in our family is like that. Those who can’t adapt to it won’t marry into our family, and those who don’t like it will leave early. That’s how it goes, and as a result, everyone in the Gladiolus family is considered barbaric,”
“I wonder if it’s really okay for me to fit into that. . .”
“Everyone in our family would welcome the exceptional warrior Lilyria-san,”
With a refreshing smile, Callan made a firm assertion, and Lilyria relaxed her shoulders.
“Well, let’s leave it at that then. By the way, there’s one more thing I want to confirm. Even though I may look older, I’m actually quite a bit older than you, you know? I’ll become a respectable old lady in no time,”
“If it’s Miss Lilyria, you’ll definitely become a cute old lady. And by then, my hair will probably be white too. The age difference isn’t 100 or 200 years, after all,”
Callan replied with a smile devoid of ill intentions, and Lilyria returned a weak smile.
“Haha, Emmanuella-sama said something similar,”
“Oh, it seems that the Margrave couple also have a slight age difference. In noble arranged marriages, there can be a difference of nearly 20 years. Compared to that, our four-year age gap is within the margin of error. Especially since Lilyria-san looks more youthful than me,”
“You’re really foolish. There’s no way it’s within the margin of error,”
Lilyria, who continued to speak harsh words, nevertheless had an unusually gentle smile on her face.
Encouraged by her relaxed smile, Callan chuckled.
“Lilyria-san said I’m cute because I’m foolish, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Foolish children are cute. I can’t help but think that,”
“Well, that’s good to hear. So, there was one more thing I wanted to ask. Are there any more worries?”
“No, I understand now that I don’t need to think that I don’t fit into such a foolish person or a barbaric family,”
“Then, Lilyria-san, once again. . will you marry me?”
Through letters, through face-to-face meetings, Callan has repeatedly asked Lilyria this question.
“. . After Emmanuella-sama’s wedding, I would be delighted to,”
In response to the first affirmative answer, the earnest knight broke into a wide grin.
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