Santana’s request for Estelle to become his fiancée
In response, Estelle cautiously asked, feeling that there was something more to it.
“Fiancée… what exactly does that mean? Anyway, I’m here to finalize a contract. In the end, the choice will be yours, so I’d like to know why you’re making such a demand of me.”
Of course, there wouldn’t be any sweet talk about how he originally liked her hidden in there.
If he was asking with a hint of intimidation, it was likely that other conditions were attached.
Keeping this in mind, Estelle waited for Santana’s answer, and he slowly nodded as he replied.
“Of course. If it were a simple engagement, there would be no need for such troublesome matters. What I’m asking of you is to form a Contract Engagement.”
“When you say ‘contract’… do you mean you want me to just pretend to be your fiancée on the surface?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Officially, this was a denied story, but Estelle already knew something about Contract Engagements or marriages.
The act of a couple pretending to be engaged or married with a specific purpose, often done discreetly in a strict noble society for personal convenience or political reasons, was indeed openly practiced in the noble society of the Sacred Empire.
“I understand that the main purpose of your visit here was to gather information as mentioned earlier. Also, your engagement has only been for the benefit of your younger brother’s territory, the Rhapsody Region; you have no desire for the ‘troublesome marriage’ itself, do you?”
“…! W-Well…”
Santana could see right through her thoughts during her stay here, and a deep embarrassment began to show on Estelle’s face.
Seeing her like that, Santana couldn’t help but smile with a hint of pleasure and continued speaking.
“If you become my contract fiancée, you’ll be able to obtain what you want. Just the title of Bohemia’s heir’s prospective partner will effectively cut off the breathing room of the Rhapsody nobles who are watching for an opportunity. Additionally, it will serve as a solid defense against the Emperor, who has been eyeing this region to subjugate it.”
Santana pinpointed the advantages Estelle was considering. She swallowed dryly and asked him in a cautious voice.
“…So, what is it that you gain from this process?”
From her standpoint, there was no reason to refuse such terms.
However, since this was a Contract Engagement, there must also be advantages for him to gain from this.
In response to her question, Santana spoke with a quiet smile on his face.
“Same as you: enjoying the benefits without engaging in an unwanted marriage. I, too, have no desire to enter a marriage I don’t want.”
“…I see…”
In response to Santana’s words, Estelle, who had been thinking similarly all along, could only nod slowly.
They would form a fiancée relationship, which would serve as an “alliance” between Bohemia and the Rhapsody regions.
However, in reality, they would maintain a simple engagement status without entering into marriage, living their lives as strangers as they had until now.
With Estelle already being under scrutiny regarding her “information gathering,” there was no room for her to reject the proposal, nor any valid reason to do so.
‘Even if I refuse, I will only suffer losses… if I accept, there will definitely be immediate benefits. So my choices are limited…’
Seeing Estelle showing signs of agreement, Santana cautiously asked.
“Then, I would like to hear your answer. What do you choose, Lady Estelle?”
“… Yes. Alright. I will do it. Mr. Santana…”
For someone like her, it would have been a heartfelt acceptance under normal circumstances, yet now, there was a slight hesitation in her response.
Upon hearing her answer, a deep smile began to form on Santana’s face.
Joy… and for some reason, it seemed to carry a hint of relief.
*
After her meeting with Santana, Estelle left his room.
Although it was painful to have her information gathering found out, the fact that she had achieved the best-case scenario she wanted was something worth celebrating for Estelle.
However…
At this moment, her mind was hardly on the benefits she and the Rhapsody Region would gain.
What she was thinking about was the man she had met just moments ago, less than an hour ago…
The man named Santana Andreas.
‘How did he read my inner thoughts so accurately… without even having seen my face?’
Despite being strangers, Santana saw right through her, and Estelle felt a deeper sense of bewilderment settling over her face.
And as she pondered, Santana had accurately grasped the advantages she was weighing.
Estelle swallowed hard, captivated by her thoughts as she finally spoke.
“…I…I don’t know… where this is going…”
While reflecting on the unexpected tendencies haunting her thoughts, the slightly bemused woman continued her pondering.
*
‘Just as planned…’
After Estelle left, a deep smile filled my face.
The deal based on the information from the original work had ended successfully, which brought me a sense of relief that I could finally extinguish the urgent fires.
‘After all, in the original work she had no interest in men other than her younger brother. As I expected.’
In the original work, Estelle was a character who lived solely to support her younger brother and ended her life single.
Even though there were political marriage talks along the way, eventually she brushed off all proposals and focused solely on politics, passing away without children.
Since she frequently asserted that she had no interest in men, I figured she would accept this deal, and she actually did.
‘So now there’s no need to fret about a political marriage. What’s left is to slowly finish the groundwork after Cazerose returns.’
Since this was a Contract Engagement, it could be canceled at any time if necessary, so I just needed to set up the facade, tidy things up, and announce the marriage with Cazerose once the dust settled.
Feeling relieved that I had narrowly passed through this difficult phase, I began to sip tea that Polena had served me.
In that moment, for some reason, I felt a hint of pride as a master while observing her slightly flushed and content expression.
