Chapter 4

“KerSha, you fucking bastard…….”

Violle bit her lip and muttered under her breath, just quietly enough that Argon wouldn’t hear her. Seeing the dark expression on Violle’s face, Argon raised one eyebrow and asked,

“Violle, you don’t still have feelings for His Highness the Fourth Prince, do you?”

“Absolutely not!”

The Fourth Prince Argon was referring to was Terso Ortier, the protagonist of this world. Before Violle had transmigrated into this body, the original Violle had followed him around like a lost puppy. Do you have any idea how much effort she had put into fixing that mess?

And yet, after transmigrating, Violle had barely even seen Terso’s handsome face a few times. She certainly didn’t harbor any feelings for him. In fact, she didn’t even care whether he existed or not.

Only after Violle firmly denied it did Argon finally smile in satisfaction, looking relieved.

“Good, then. You went through such a difficult time because of His Highness. Do you have any idea how much it hurt me to watch you go through all that?”

“Father…….”

For a moment, Violle’s heart swelled with emotion.

Even if it had been unavoidable in order to distance her from Terso, watching his daughter fall apart practically overnight must have been agonizing for Argon as well.

Feeling guilty that she hadn’t considered his feelings enough, Violle felt a faint pang of remorse.

“Now it’s time for you to settle down too, Violle, and build a happy family that no one could envy. As it happens, the Duke of Kegreiner has invited us to dinner tomorrow evening. Keep that in mind and prepare yourself.”

“But, Father! I don’t want to get married! I’m going to stay by your side—no, I mean, protect your money until the day I die! How could you send me away like this? Your precious baby tulip!”

Desperate, Violle squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.

It might be called marriage, but wasn’t this basically the same as kicking her out of the marquisate?

And the Duke of Kegreiner, of all families!

Of course, Argon had warned her about this countless times before, but she had always assumed it was nothing more than a lie meant to scare her.

Her father loved her far too much to actually do something like that.

Violle lowered the corners of her lips miserably and looked up at Argon, blinking like a little puppy caught in the rain.

“My baby tulip is not a gambling addict who visits casinos and racetracks every single day.”

“But……!”

“Nor is she a thug who beats people up with the swordsmanship and martial arts I taught her to protect herself. And she doesn’t recklessly spend her father’s money like water.”

“Urgh.”

“She isn’t a good-for-nothing who spends every day lazing around without the slightest interest in marriage, employment, or taking over the family business, either. Shall I continue?”

Violle grew even more anxious at his firm tone.

Because there wasn’t a single thing Argon had said that was wrong.

There were even plenty of things he hadn’t mentioned yet.

Argon stared at Violle’s miserable expression before letting out a deep sigh.

“Of course, do you think I want to push you into marriage like this? All I want is for you to start acting like a proper adult. So, if you truly don’t want this marriage, I’ll consider breaking off the engagement.”

“Really?”

“However, if you refuse to marry, you’ll have to find a job. As it happens, there’s an opening in the Imperial Knights…….”

“AAAAAAAH! I’LL DO IT! I’LL GET MARRIED!”

The look of hope that had briefly lit up Violle’s face at the word break off instantly turned to horror.

The Imperial Knights?!

Wasn’t that the place infamous for having the strictest discipline and being the most grueling organization in the entire empire?

On top of that, it was practically a shortcut straight to hell—a shortcut that would bring her right next to Terso.

She would rather bite her tongue and die than get a job there.

At Violle’s declaration that she would marry, Argon immediately put on a gentle smile.

“Good. Tomorrow will be your first meeting with your fiancé, so make sure you prepare well. If you need anything, just ask.”

“Yes…….”

In the end, Violle could do nothing but trudge out of Argon’s study with heavy footsteps.

“Hmm…….”

The Rascal Marquisate.

In Kersha Rascal’s study, on a warm, sunny afternoon, Kersha was enjoying a peaceful day.

For once, instead of sitting at his desk, he was seated at a table, savoring the strong black tea his servant had brewed for him.

He was Violle’s older brother by only one birth and the second son of the House of Rascal. Among all the siblings, he was the one who looked most like Violle.

The only difference was that while Violle had sharp, fierce eyes that slanted upward, Kersha had gentle, puppy-like eyes.

The glasses resting on the tip of his nose caught the sunlight and glittered.

“Hey! Kersha!”

At the booming sound of Violle’s voice echoing all the way from the hallway, Kersha’s leisurely tea-time movements came to a halt.

He didn’t even need to look up or see her face to know from her voice alone that she was furious.

As the door was violently thrown open, his servant, who could already predict what was about to happen, slowly took several steps backward.

“R-Run away…….”

“Where do you think you’re going?! Are you seriously insane?”

Kersha belatedly tried to get up, but Violle had already reached him and pressed down on his shoulder, forcing him back into his seat.

“H-How can you call your older brother ‘hey’ and ‘you’ like that? How could you say something so rude?”

“What are you talking about? I’m currently holding myself back from punching you just because you’re my brother.”

At her murderous tone, Kersha shrank back in fear.

Kersha had spent his entire life shut up inside the house, reading books without ever holding a sword even once. He was genuinely terrified whenever his younger sister, Violle, got angry.

“Engagement? Marriage? You fucking scam artist! You said it was a bet! ‘Moving up in status! Turning your life around!’ Why would you lie to your only little sister like that?! Do you actually want to die?”

Violle grabbed him by the collar and violently shook him, her face twisted with rage.

By the time the glasses perched on Kersha’s nose had begun slowly sliding down, he hurriedly defended himself.

“I never lied!”

“What?”

“I-It was a bet…… It’s just that you’re betting your life instead of money. And if you marry the Young Duke of Narsia, you’ll eventually become a duchess. What greater life turnaround could there be than that? Besides, you can only marry one person, so it’s first come, first served…….”

“You little—!”

“Eek!”

Violle was so furious that she nearly slammed her fist down on her brother’s head, but stopped herself at the last second.

Annoyingly enough, there wasn’t a single thing wrong with Kersha’s logic.

In the end, Violle could only violently mess up her own hair and shout in frustration.

“Ugh! I swear, I’m never drinking again!”

Ultimately, the whole situation was her own fault for getting completely drunk in the first place.

“Ha…… Did Father make you do this? Who knows about it?”

Violle let out a deep sigh and slumped down into the chair opposite him as though she had given up on everything.

Without even asking Kersha’s permission, she snatched the teacup sitting in front of him and took a sip.

After hesitating for a moment, Kersha answered in his slow, unhurried manner.

“Well, the people from the House of Kegreiner, me, Father, Big Sister, Rolan, Shinya, Terry, Daisy, Rosa. And…….”

His fingers continued folding down one by one without showing any sign of stopping.

Violle, flabbergasted, ran a hand through her hair and asked,

“Wait, hold on. At this point, doesn’t everyone in this house know except me and Hurein?”

“And Hurein…….”

“You little shit!”

The moment Hurein’s name left his mouth, Violle slammed both hands down on the table.

Even Hurein, whom she had trusted, had been in league with her father!

“Even so, how could you do something like this while leaving the actual person involved completely out of it? Does this make any sense?! You could’ve at least given me some warning beforehand!”

“But you were obviously going to react like this. Why bother? You rejected every marriage proposal you received before, too. You said you didn’t need anyone unless it was His Highness the Prince. And after you developed a taste for casinos, even those completely stopped coming…….”

Kersha briefly glanced at Violle’s expression before hurriedly adding,

“Actually, Father has sent out more than thirty marriage proposals recently. But the House of Kegreiner was the only one that accepted. So Father said he absolutely couldn’t let this opportunity slip away…….”

At those words, Violle’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“What? What is this, submitting résumés? Who sends out thirty marriage proposals?! Anyone would think I was desperate to get married! And the House of Kegreiner was the only one that accepted? Ah, this is so humiliating!”

“Honestly, I’m even more surprised that the Duke’s family accepted. We really thought they’d say no, but Father figured he might as well try just in case. When we heard they accepted, you have no idea how shocked we were! What could the Young Duke of Kegreiner possibly be lacking that he’d get engaged to someone like you? O-Of course, I obviously think you’re far too good for Violle.”

Kersha had been rambling on without thinking when he noticed Violle staring at him with murderous eyes.

Only then did he hastily change what he was saying.

But Violle genuinely couldn’t understand.

She stroked her chin and muttered,

“What’s wrong with me? I’m pretty, I’m rich, I’m excellent with a sword, I’m smart, I’m charming, and I’m talented.”

“Mm-hmm. And you enjoy gambling, love drinking, get into fights at the drop of a hat, have a terrible personality, and speak like a thug. I have absolutely no idea why young noblemen wouldn’t want to marry someone like you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. But I’m seriously popular, you know? If I went to a ball right now, there’d be a line of men waiting to take me on a date!”

“Maybe they want to date you, but they don’t want to marry you.”

“Damn it…….”