“Regina, do you have any idea how much it broke this foolish father’s heart when you learned to walk and chose to play with a broken dagger instead of a teddy bear…?”
“……”
“I’m already sorry that you were born on a battlefield. I can’t let you spend the rest of your life surrounded by the smell of blood, too. Even if it’s only from now on, I want you to live an ordinary life, just like everyone else. A safe and peaceful one. That’s all we wish for.”
His words were rough, but they came straight from the heart.
It was the desperate wish of a father who had spent his entire life on the battlefield and wanted his daughter to live a different life from his own.
I remained silent for a moment before letting out a small sigh and nodding.
“All right.”
“Hm?”
“If you and my brother want it that badly, I’ll get married. I’ll retire, too.”
“Oh! That’s the right decision, Regina!”
Father was so moved that he pulled me into a crushing embrace.
From that day onward, the Eisenbach estate became busy with Operation: Find a Groom.
Father and my brother searched everywhere and arranged one blind date after another for me.
But the results were disastrous.
“You want me to take care of the household? Good grief. Isn’t managing the household obviously a woman’s job? What kind of nonsense is this?”
The first man was horrified when I told him I would earn the money and wanted him to take care of the household.
“I’m curious about exactly how much you received in victory rewards… And whether we’ll be sharing our assets as a married couple.”
The second man was blatantly interested only in my wealth.
“W-Well, my ideal type is a woman who brings out my protective instincts…”
“I see. Then I suppose you’ll be carrying my luggage as well as your own.”
“……”
The third man went home in tears.
And so, one after another, ten, twenty blind dates ended in failure.
The men of the capital were simply too timid to handle my reputation as the “Black Grim Reaper.”
“Are we going to end up with our youngest daughter living alone for the rest of her life?”
Father held his head in his hands as he stared at the growing pile of Blind Date Failure Reports.
There were hardly any candidates left.
At this point, we could no longer afford to be picky.
Just then, my brother pulled out a single sheet of paper from the very bottom of the pile.
****
“Father, there is one last candidate we’ve received, but…”
“Let me see.”
Father practically snatched the document from his hand.
However, a moment later, his brows furrowed deeply.
“Don’t you think this one is a bit too much?”
“Right? I had to double-check my eyes when I saw it, too.”
Seeing their reactions, I asked,
“What is it? Is he some kind of troublemaker?”
“No, a troublemaker would actually be better. At least we could teach him some manners.”
My brother clicked his tongue and handed me the document.
“Apparently, he’s the second son of a rural viscount family, but he has absolutely nothing. No, that’s not quite right. He’s actually in the negative.”
“His debts are enormous. On top of that, he’s in poor health and has come to the capital to recuperate… We can’t possibly bring such a worthless man into the Eisenbach family as our son-in-law.”
Father shook his head and was about to crumple the document.
I quietly took it from his hand.
Sure enough, his qualifications were terrible.
But something else caught my attention.
‘Poor health.’
That meant he probably wouldn’t be frightened of me or try to overpower me with his strength.
And if he had a lot of debt, wouldn’t he be more obedient if I paid it off for him?
Most importantly… this was my last chance to put an end to this exhausting war of blind dates.
“Still, I’d like to meet him.”
“What? Regina, are you serious?”
“Yes. There are hardly any candidates left anyway. I can pay off his debts, and if he’s physically weak, I can protect him.”
I stood up and added,
“Then I’ll be going. I want to see what kind of man this so-called ‘worthless fellow’ really is.”
And so, I decided to go on a fateful blind date that would change my life and shake the very fate of the Empire.
****
Habits die hard.
When I opened my eyes, the sun had not yet risen. Only the faint blue light of dawn filled the sky outside my window.
I got out of bed and reached beneath my pillow.
When my hand failed to find the cold handle of a dagger, I finally remembered that I was no longer in a military tent on the battlefield, but in a mansion in the capital.
“……Sigh.”
I let out a short sigh and got up.
The softness of the fluffy down comforter and silk sheets still felt unfamiliar.
In fact, I almost thought a hard military cot would be better for my back.
I headed to the bathroom.
There were no maids in my room.
There were two reasons why I refused to have a maid.
First, I disliked having anyone touch my body.
Second, the maids were terrified of me.
When I first arrived in the capital, I had hired a maid like an ordinary lady.
However, while helping me get dressed, she caught sight of the scars on my back and was visibly horrified. She became so frightened of me that she could barely hide it.
After that day, I dismissed all the servants assigned to attend to me.
I preferred being alone.
I had already chosen my clothes for today the night before.
A white silk blouse, dark black trousers, and a pair of comfortable long leather boots.
For the first few blind dates, I had at least tried wearing something called a dress.
But I gradually realized that clothes didn’t really matter.
A man who was going to run away would run away no matter what I wore.
Once I realized that, I started wearing comfortable clothes instead.
‘Besides, if my date turns out to be rude, trousers are much easier to kick someone in than a skirt.’
With that practical thought in mind, I looked at myself in the mirror.
My short black hair, which I had cut during the war, had grown long enough to be considered a bob.
The contrast between my pale skin and jet-black hair made me look even more intimidating.
……Even I have to admit that I look a little scary.
When I went downstairs to the dining room, Father and my brother, who had been waiting for me, gave me enthusiastic thumbs-ups.
“That’s right! You look strong and confident! Don’t let anyone intimidate you. Go and show them what you’re made of!”
Father spoke passionately, holding his fork like a dagger.
“Any man who can’t handle our daughter isn’t qualified to begin with. Understand?”
“That’s right, Regina. If you meet him and find that he’s not worth your time, just walk away. There’s absolutely no need to force yourself into a relationship.”
My brother chimed in while habitually checking the blade of his dinner knife.
With their enthusiastic encouragement behind me, I left the mansion.
The meeting place was a famous café called Blanc, located in the heart of the capital.
I considered taking a carriage, but since I had plenty of time, I decided to walk.
I slowly made my way through the streets of the capital, looking around at my surroundings.
‘It’s really… unfamiliar.’
The capital was a fascinating place.
Instead of the stench of rotting corpses that used to sting my nose, the streets were filled with the smell of freshly baked bread and sweet perfume.
Instead of soldiers’ screams and the clashing of steel, I heard merchants calling out to customers and children laughing.
Instead of muddy roads, people walked along clean, paved sidewalks, all dressed in elegant clothes and moving about gracefully.
A young girl selling flowers ran around nearby, while couples strolled arm in arm, admiring the shop windows.
Not a single person seemed worried about death.
On the battlefield, even the smallest mistake could cost you your head.
But here, people could make mistakes and simply laugh them off.
Unable to blend into this peaceful scenery, I felt like a stranger or even a ghost wandering through a world that wasn’t mine.
‘So this is what they meant by living an ordinary life.’
A dull ache stirred in a corner of my chest.
I thought I was beginning to understand why Father and my brother wanted so desperately to pull me away from the battlefield, and why they were willing to force me into marriage if necessary.
If I lived among such peaceful surroundings, would the lingering smell of blood on my hands eventually fade away?
“Phew.”
I took a deep breath and steeled myself.
‘That’s right. Let’s do our best at today’s blind date. Maybe I, too… can become an ordinary person.’
Café Blanc was just as luxurious as its reputation suggested.
Even from the entrance, I could smell the rich aroma of high-quality coffee beans.
Following the staff’s directions, I entered the private room reserved for me at the far end of the first floor.
There were thick velvet curtains and a soft, comfortable sofa.
I sat down and went over my date’s personal information in my head one more time.
‘His name is Kai Brozel. The second son of the Viscount Brozel family.’
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