'It may look a little ugly.... With this, I saved both my pride and my engagement.'
I put the letter I finished writing into an envelope and melted the seal, smiling with satisfaction.
The person Yuri was aiming for and proposing to was not the Count of Vermont, but the dark old man whose identity had not yet been revealed.
Then, I didn't have to respond as the Count of Vermont, I could just accept the proposal as the dark old man.
Then, would it be an online relationship... or rather, a pen pal relationship?
Of course, we meet almost every day and face each other.
But that's only as the Count of Vermont.
So it was a perfect plan that would preserve my dignity, prestige, and reputation.
'If this gets tricky, Yuri, you can reveal my identity yourself.'
So how long do you plan on continuing this?
Until Yuri can't stand it anymore and reveals my identity. If it were up to me, I could have just waited until Yuri graduated and revealed her identity on her own.
In the end, Yuri knew my identity, but she deliberately didn't reveal it.
I also knew that I was caught, but I ended up pretending not to know.
If you ask me if I'm fighting childishly, I have nothing to say.
The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.
In any case, since it was a fight I had no choice but to win, there was no reason to give up.
'No. She's not a child anymore. She's grown up now that she's had her coming-of-age ceremony.'
Strictly speaking, I wasn't even fighting a child.
So there was no need to feel guilty about the fight.
I decided to do my best until the end.
"···?"
At that moment, squeak.
The office door slowly opened.
I looked up to see that Yulia was standing in front of the door with a slightly sullen expression.
"Don't just stand there. Come in first."
"Yeah···."
"So what's going on?"
"···."
When I motioned for her to come over, Julia carefully closed the door and sat down on the chair in front of the desk.
She usually runs over and sits on my lap.
She seems to be dissatisfied with something.
For some reason, I feel like I can tell what she's ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) dissatisfied with without me saying it···.
"Well···. It doesn't really have anything to do with me···. But I'm just curious so I'm asking.···."
"You can ask me anything."
"Are you going to get engaged to Yuri···?···?"
"···."
Julia hesitated, not making eye contact with me.
She muttered in a small voice like an ant crawling in.
As expected.
It was just as I expected.
"Well. I've been proposed to, but I'm still thinking about it a bit. What do you think I should do?"
"···!"
I decided to ask her because I was curious about her reaction. Since she hasn't sent a letter accepting the proposal yet, it's not like she's completely lying that she's thinking about it.
I rested my chin on the desk, looking at Julia who was flustered and stuttering.
"What should I do!? Well... You're not going to do what I say... You know."
"I guess your opinion might be reflected to some extent. If you don't have anything in particular that you want, then fine. Then I'll take care of it..."
"Now, wait! I was thinking about it... Don't rush me too much... You know."
Julia shrugged her shoulders and muttered in a small voice.
It's rare for Julia to show how upset she is.
She seems to be quite dissatisfied.
"Joe, that's good. Aslan really liked Yuri, right? He's been supporting her for a long time... You know."
"I like it. Just like I care about Charlotte and you." "Then, you're thinking about getting married, right? ··· Right?"
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
"I'm definitely thinking about getting married. However, since you, Julia, seem to be dissatisfied with this engagement, I think we should reconsider."
"Oh, no. It's not that I'm dissatisfied with it at all···"
Julia waves her hand in embarrassment and denies it.
He's a guy whose true intentions are always clear, whether in the past or present.
It's impossible for Julia to not like Yuri's proposal.
Yuri was the one who first proposed, having already had her coming-of-age ceremony this year.
'It seems that the weight of the marriage promise changes significantly around the coming-of-age ceremony···'
To me, it's only a one-year difference. In this world, a marriage promise before the coming-of-age ceremony is nothing more than a child's play that doesn't know anything.
An engagement after the coming-of-age ceremony seems to be a widely recognized and valid promise.
So from Julia's perspective, she wouldn't want Yuri to get ahead of her.
But she wouldn't want to make her best friend give up on her love either.
No matter which way the situation goes, she can't help but feel dissatisfied.
On the contrary, knowing that fact.
She wanted to tease him even more.
"Yuri seemed to really like the dark old man···."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Whenever she had a chance, she would praise and brag about him almost as if she was praising God.···"
This is the first time I've heard this?
She couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth.
"That's why I want to cheer Yuri on···. But I wanted to get engaged first. I don't want Aslan to be robbed of his first time every time···"
Julia, who couldn't meet my eyes and slowly blushed.
After hesitating for a long time, it seems she finally decided to be honest.
"So, I'll wait a year... and then get engaged to me first, and then get engaged to Yuri. . . "
"I don't think that's necessary."
"What...?"
"Yuri proposed to the Dark Man, not me."
"But Aslan is the Dark Man. . . "
"Not until I reveal it myself. So even if I get engaged to Yuri, if I do it as the Dark Man, Count Aslan Vermont is not engaged to anyone yet."
"Oh? Huh? Huh?"
[The evil spirit, 'Kali' praises your genius!]
Julia, who seemed a little embarrassed as she showed off her flawless logic, kept tilting her head.
Although it's a bit awkward, let me add a supplementary explanation. Currently, it has not been revealed that Aslan Vermont and the Dark Man are the same person, so they are no different from individual people.
So if the Dark Man gets engaged to Yuri, Yuri will become the Dark Man's first fiancé.
If Yulia gets engaged to Aslan Vermont, Yulia will become Aslan Vermont's first fiancé.
What if Aslan Vermont and the Dark Man are later revealed to be the same person?
Even so, the fact that Yulia and Yuri each got engaged first will not change.
You don't understand what this means?
That's perfectly normal.
There is no human in this world who understands quantum engagement.
"Then···. It might be okay to get engaged to Yuri···. Yes."
"That's your opinion. Okay. I'll make sure to reflect it."
"T-But you have to do it as the Dark Man!···Yes!"
"I understand."
In the end, he succeeded in getting the answer he wanted.
Yulia also seemed satisfied, her expression much more relieved than when she came in.
As I watched Yulia let out a sigh of relief, I felt like joking.
"Then it's a reservation! Aslan is the first to get engaged to me! ··· Yeah!"
"A reservation···. That's good. But I don't think I heard what I should have heard before that?"
"Huh? What do you mean by a reservation? ··· Yeah?"
"When Yuri proposed to the dark old man, she said she loved him. I think I need to hear from you to make the reservation."
"What, what!?"
[The evil spirit, 'Kali', strongly agrees with your opinion, saying that's right.]
Yulia's face instantly turns red like a carrot, and she is startled. She was so shaken up that she couldn't speak, her mouth was open and her lips were trembling, but no sound came out.
"Hey, asking me to marry you is the same as saying that! ··· I see!"
"It's definitely different. Arranged marriages without love are common. If I don't hear you say you love me, I guess I have no choice but to assume you want an arranged marriage."
"Why is that!? You don't have to say it to know! ··· I see!"
"Well. I don't know unless you say it out loud."
"Ugh, ugh···!"
I knew that Julia really liked me even without her saying it out loud.
When I tried to ignore her, Julia looked very embarrassed.
"Is it not enough to say that I like you? ··· I see?"
"As you know, there is a clear difference between liking and loving." "Ugh! Got it! Got it! Then close your eyes! Stick your head out here! ···Yo!"
Julia, who mustered up her courage, stood up with tears in her eyes.
No matter what, it was still a little embarrassing to look me in the eye and talk.
I closed my eyes as I was told and slightly lowered my head, but Julia grabbed my cheek and pulled it down a little more.
I wondered what she was trying to do.
"Ugh!"
"···!?"
Sigh.
A soft touch touched my lips, and a cute sound echoed.
.
When I opened my eyes in surprise, Julia had run away in an instant, opened the office door, and was leaving.
"I love you···."
"···."
[The evil spirit, 'Kali' almost faints from ecstasy!]
Julia glanced at me and said, and then with a squeak, thud.
The door closed.