TPOTLPIM Chapter 30

For several weeks, Cecilia had been out of her mind busy taking charge of all the Serin household affairs. To be responsible for the servants' room and board and to support the Serin family's knights required money. Regrettably, income from weapon supply had been cut off, and since she didn't know how long this situation would drag on, she had no choice but to cut expenses while at the same time disposing of part of the real estate the family owned.

Sitting at her father's office desk, sketching designs for mobile cannons, she sighed and laid her head down on the desk. With her chin pressed firmly against the desk, she only lifted her head to meet the eyes of the faded blonde man's portrait hanging on the wall.

"Father, am I doing well?"

The design she was drawing now might also end up thrown in the trash. Would the Serin family be able to manufacture weapons again? She had heard news that the DeNeuve family was recently expanding their business beyond weapon distribution to manufacturing as well.

Perhaps even if her father returned, this situation might not be resolved. Maybe instead of selling real estate to feed their dependents, it would have been right to reduce the number of mouths to feed in the Serin household first.

Thinking about the Serin family's servants, knights, and workers sweating in the weapon manufacturing facility, Cecilia suddenly feared that she might be pushing the Serin family into an inescapable abyss.

One day, Marcel, captain of the Red Knights, brought an elderly man in tattered clothes to the Serin estate.

"Uncle Maksian!"

Seeing the man sitting with his head bowed like a criminal, trembling all over, Cecilia ran to him and knelt down to examine his face.

Maksian, a worker from the Serin family who had left with her father to find Tanir suppliers, had returned in just a few months with deeper wrinkles etched into his appearance.

His deeply sunken eyes with pupils that shook unfocused seemed like they didn't belong to a person of this world.

Only after bringing warm tea, covering him with a wool blanket, lighting the fireplace, and waiting for quite some time did a sense of peace seem to cross Maksian's complexion.

"Where did you find him?"

"We discovered him near the Forest of the Demon God. His mind was half gone. After questioning him for a long time, he said he worked for the Serin family. His speech was slurred, so we barely managed to find out even that. It was difficult to get any more information."

Marcel explained the whole story on behalf of Maksian, who sat there with his teeth chattering against each other. The Forest of the Demon God was a name that had been given to some nameless forest where demons began appearing starting ten years ago. It was told that at the center of the forest there was a castle where the Demon Lord lived—a strange phenomenon that had appeared for the first time in nine hundred years since the end of the mythical age.

At the mention of the Forest of the Demon God, Cecilia's eyes wavered momentarily before finding stability.

"Uncle needs time. Once he's settled a bit, he'll tell us everything. Dalein, let Uncle rest in a room."

Marcel looked at Cecilia with puzzled eyes. She had a different atmosphere from the young lady who had been nibbling cake at Reno Bakery just two months ago.

Cecilia sat facing Marcel across the reception room table. She needed to hear more details about the circumstances of finding Maksian.

"You must have heard about the Forest of the Demon God too, Young Lady. If you try to take the shortcut from Pland in the Tanir Mountains to the capital, you have to pass near the Forest of the Demon God. People who haven't seen the demons directly don't know how threatening the Forest of the Demon God is. I also saw them for the first time this time, but with those disgusting demons charging while shrieking bizarre sounds, unless you have considerable mental strength, you'd go crazy like that Maks fellow."

"It's not Maks, it's Maksian."

"Yes, Maksian."

"There's a possibility that Father's party was attacked by demons."

"That possibility is high."

Cecilia's hand holding the teacup trembled terribly. When she set the cup down on the saucer, the clattering sound rang out harshly.

"Father knows how to handle guns and swords. He would have been able to defend against the demons' attacks. What was it like when the knight order encountered the demons?"

"Judging by the speed at which the demons flew at us, if he had tried to defend with guns, he would have been caught just preparing to load. With swords, there would have been a chance of victory. It depends on the Count's skill."

"I felt this before too, but I like that Sir Marcel is honest. You don't give unnecessary hope."

Marcel looked at Cecilia's calm face, then shifted his gaze to her hands, which still hadn't stopped trembling. If it had been the image of the young lady he had seen before, she might have been sobbing and collapsed by now.

"Since you see me as honest, please believe this too. The Count will be safe."

A warm smile returned at those words.

"Sir Marcel's comfort is also straightforward."

When evening came, Teros visited the Serin estate. His neat face was filled with signs of fatigue.

"Good work, Marcel. I'll guard this place now, so go ahead."

"Have dinner before you go! Sir Marcel."

"Huh? Cecilia, this fellow will be missing the food made by Hasblue's chef. He's been away from home for several days. Right, Marcel?"

When Teros patted Marcel's shoulder, Marcel reluctantly nodded and left for Hasblue. He had caught the unspoken pressure not to interfere with their dinner for two.

Having dinner alone with Teros across the long dining table, Cecilia was reminded of some time from the past.

"It's been a long time since we ate together. Before... when I accidentally got your clothes dirty, we had breakfast together here, right?"

When she brought out the memory like flipping through an old diary, Teros also smiled faintly.

"Back then, I unreasonably insisted that Cecilia take responsibility for me."

"Even when we first had dinner at Hasblue, you pestered me to marry you. Oh my, how scary it was then."

Cecilia spoke in a subtly teasing tone while watching Teros's expression. When a look of bewilderment crossed his face, she strangely felt happy and wanted to tease him more.

"You even cried because you didn't want to marry me."

"Oh, I thought you didn't know. You saw that?"

At the dining table in Hasblue mansion, she had secretly wiped away tears that fell onto the back of her hand without Teros knowing. She thought he hadn't seen it, but he had known all along.

"You really have bad taste. You saw me crying but still tried to force the marriage?"

Cecilia wasn't particularly displeased by that fact now, but wanting to tease him, she placed both hands on her waist in protest.

Teros, his face flushed red, spoke in a stiff voice as if making an excuse.

"Back then, if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have been able to see you at all. It was hard for me too, holding back from wanting to wipe away your tears."

Seeing him flustered and confused, Cecilia couldn't hide her laughter any longer. Clear laughter without malice scattered over the dining table. Teros, who had been bewildered for a moment, also let out a chuckle.

"I never knew Cecilia had such bad taste."

He seemed thirsty as he picked up the wine glass beside him and moistened his throat.

"Cecilia, do you still dislike marrying me?"

The atmosphere in the dining room changed at his suddenly serious voice. Since they had been joking with each other, Cecilia had thought his words were an extension of the joking and had been laughing, but soon had no choice but to stop.

There wasn't a trace of laughter on Teros's face as she looked at him. Rather, he was slightly frowning, unable to hide his anxious heart. Yet his dark blue eyes were gazing straight at her as if not wanting to miss a single expression.

In the suddenly heavy atmosphere, Cecilia's head naturally dropped.

"Why are you suddenly saying such things... We agreed to talk about that after the love potion's effectiveness ends."

Cecilia didn't see Teros's Adam's apple bob at her words.

Teros took out a small box wrapped in velvet from his inner pocket and placed it on the dining table.

"Please accept it."

The moment she saw the small but significant box, Cecilia momentarily wondered if she should dare to open it.

Opening the box with trembling hands, she saw a ring set with a pure white diamond.

"Originally, I was going to give you something better. I had looked into a blue sapphire necklace that resembled your eyes, but I ended up using that item for something else. I thought the pure white color would suit you well too, so that's why I got this one. I got it in a rush, but next time I'll give you something better."

Teros's voice was trembling slightly. His manner of speaking was also unusually hasty, unlike his usual self.

Cecilia struggled to gauge what this ring meant. Could she think of it simply as a gift to a lover? No, hadn't he just talked about marriage? Was he suggesting they marry later?

Seeing her face confused by various thoughts arising simultaneously, Teros smiled bitterly.

"I know what you're anxious about, but there's no choice now, Cecilia."

Cecilia's mind was filled with confusion. Was the pressure to marry starting again? In a slightly more gentlemanly and gentle way than before.

"I had an audience with His Imperial Majesty today. Waiting for that man Maksian to speak would take too long."

Cecilia waited for Teros's next words, unable to steady her wavering eyes.

"I told him about the possibility that Count Serin had been kidnapped to the Forest of the Demon God and said I would take the Red Knights to go rescue him."

Going on an expedition to the Forest of the Demon God could cause damage to other territories of the empire as well, so the Emperor's permission was necessary. The Braeden Empire had decided to leave alone the demons and Demon Lord who had made their nests in their own territory instead of driving them out. As long as they didn't attack first, they wouldn't step outside their territory, and if you recklessly stirred them up, it could lead to unforeseen calamities.

"Did His Majesty grant permission?"

To her urgent question, Teros silently shook his head.

"He looked at me with suspicious eyes, wondering why someone with no connection to the Serin family would defend the Count and want to rescue him. There's also a lot of public opinion that the Forest of the Demon God shouldn't be touched."

"Suspicion! Teros is also a victim of the explosion incident."

"When he kept questioning my relationship with the Serin family... I said I was engaged to marry Cecilia."

Teros's head kept dropping lower and lower. His face couldn't be seen, but his ears could be seen turning bright red.

Cecilia was surprised not only by what Teros said but even more by his embarrassed reaction.

"I could have made up a better excuse, but I was stupid."

Cecilia felt like she should comfort the self-reproaching man and moved to sit beside him. She placed her hand on his firm shoulder and embraced him.

Teros took the small hand placed on his shoulder, kissed the back of her hand, and stood facing her.

"Cecilia."

The bright eyes she hadn't seen in a long time gazed at her.

"To prove our loyalty to the Emperor, we must marry. That was the condition the Emperor presented in exchange for the Forest of the Demon God expedition."

The Emperor favored Teros, but resentment remained toward him for not prioritizing the Emperor's protection during the explosion. The unreasonable order was nothing more than obstinacy to confirm his control over a capable military officer.

But it wasn't complete obstinacy. To set up justification against the ministers who opposed the expedition, the status of family was more convincing than that of fiancé. For the Emperor to permit Teros's expedition, fitting justification was needed.

Bring a marriage certificate according to church law. This was the task Teros had to accomplish to maintain the Emperor's favor while going on an expedition to the Forest of the Demon God.

Cecilia was so surprised that she almost pushed away the man holding her hand.

"Marriage? So, when..."

"Before the expedition, we'll hold a simple wedding ceremony at a monastery where quick marriages are possible. When I return, we'll hold a grander and proper ceremony."

"I can't make such a decision when Father isn't even here."

"I know I'm unreliable in various ways and this is sudden. I'm sorry for making it like a stolen marriage. There's no other way I can do it."

Cecilia's body trembled with tension. Tears filled her eyes and she finally began to sob. Once the tears started, an uncontrollable greater weeping followed.

These weren't tears shed from disliking marriage. She felt miserable about her own situation of being caught up in suddenly rushing circumstances and unable to budge, and the tears she had been holding back to keep from crumbling since her father's disappearance had all burst out at once.

During Count Serin's absence, Cecilia had taken on all the important decisions of the family. She had been afraid and lacked confidence but tried not to show it. But now an important life decision was presented right in front of her. Not a choice, but something she had to accept.

Seeing her cry, Teros panicked and froze in place. He wanted to embrace her but couldn't easily reach out. He was anxious because he didn't fully understand what those tears meant.

While Teros hesitated, Cecilia, who needed comfort, was the first to burrow into his embrace.

Only then did he show signs of relief and carefully stroke her hair.

"Cecilia, do you dislike marrying me that much? You're crying even more than when I first proposed."

"It's not that I dislike it. I feel so sorry to you. Hic... sniff..."

She sobbed with her shoulders shaking. Would it be okay to receive so much kindness from Teros? Wouldn't he regret this moment after awakening from the love potion?

"I'm fine. My wish came true. I wanted to marry you from the beginning."

"You'll regret it."

"Even if I regret it, it's fine."

Teros was more afraid that Cecilia would regret it, but he couldn't reveal this feeling. If he showed even a little of such sentiment, she might get scared and run away.

He waited until Cecilia calmed down somewhat and tidied up her disheveled face, then took the ring from the box sitting forlornly on the table and slipped it onto her finger.

Seeing the diamond he had given her sparkling on her slender finger, a strange satisfaction welled up.

"It may not be worthy of you, but I'll try to be a good husband."

"You're already more than I deserve."

Cecilia wiped the tears remaining on her cheek and smiled. She didn't know why laughter was now bursting out after crying for so long.

Teros pulled her waist to him and kissed her soft lips. It was the moment when marriage, which had been the issue that had pushed and pulled the two of them for so long, was achieved.