Chapter 161

Clarisse didn’t waste much time and went straight to the conclusion. 

 

“I decided to struggle to survive.”

 

She expected they would be surprised if she said it like this and it seems that was indeed the case.

 

Both Noah and Valentine were silent for a while, staring blankly at Clarisse’s face.

 

“I’m sorry I only answered that I would die no matter what.”

 

Clarisse bowed her head slightly, pretending to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, because she felt a little uncomfortable with the way they stared at her without even blinking.     

 

“I realized that such words can hurt those around me. So, I feel it’s quite shameless to make such a request, but…” 

 

Clarisse awkwardly swept her hand over her knee before barely raising her head again. 

 

Both of them had been staring at Clarisse, so their eyes met quickly.

 

“Please…help me.”

 

“Of course, I’ll help Girl.”

 

Noah, who had been taking a step closer to answer, stopped in his tracks when Clarisse turned to look at him.

 

It must have been because of that.

 

｢…I like you, Clarisse. With all my heart.｣

 

Those were truly joyful words, and even now, it was a moment that sparkled like a jewel in Clarisse’s heart.

 

Moreover, since she had yelled and gotten angry about his ‘experiment,’ there was a possibility that he might have lost interest in her, thinking she was a person with a bad temper. 

 

In any case, Clarisse just smiled brightly.

 

“You guys.”

 

Meanwhile, Valentine, with his eyes narrowed, looked at them one after another. His expression seemed to indicate that something was wrong.

 

“…What happened?”

 

The sharp question that hit the mark made Clarisse flinch, and she quickly tried to deny it to Valentine. Or at least, that was her intention.

 

“It’s nothing!”

 

Somehow, Noah reacted faster and there was no time to talk.

 

“Hng…” 

 

Valentine continued to look at them one after another, touching his chin with his long fingers.

 

Somehow, he seemed unable to easily dispel his suspicions.

 

“If nothing happened, then I’m relieved. But if I got rejected before I even proposed, wouldn’t that be a little disappointing?”

 

“What?”

 

Noah asked, doubting his ears, and Clarisse coincidentally felt the same way.

 

A proposal? Who to whom?

 

“So.” 

 

Valentine pointed his finger at himself and immediately turned the tip towards Clarisse. 

 

“I to you.”

 

Startled, Clarisse stared blankly at the tip of the finger before finally raising her head to check Valentine’s expression. 

 

She wondered if he was joking. 

 

The heavy word ‘proposal’ wasn’t something that could be casually thrown out in this light atmosphere.

 

“Why are you so surprised? Shouldn’t you have considered it as one of the options once you decided to live?” 

 

“Ah.”

 

“A political marriage is a way to completely integrate the royal family of a fallen country into the ruling country. I thought it was very common sense.” 

 

That was what he meant. Clarisse felt a little relieved.

 

If he really meant that, she would have been really troubled because she didn’t know how to react…

 

“Of course I’m serious.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Strong-willed Miss Clarisse.” 

 

He made light teasing remarks as usual, but somehow he knelt down on one knee in front of Clarisse like a real prince.

 

‘Of course, the prince is a real prince, but…!’

 

He removed the green gemstone brooch pinned under his collar—an elegant and antique piece he had used since he was very young. 

 

He took Clarisse’s hand and placed it on her palm. 

 

For a moment, she could hear the jewel’s voice saying something. 

 

“I’m not proposing to you because I want to give you a choice, Clarisse.” 

 

He raised his gaze while completely holding the hand of Clarisse where the brooch was placed. 

 

“But… you can think that way.”

 

“Ah.” 

 

Only after facing each other so closely did she realize. 

 

She realized that his fingertips, which were touching her, were trembling with tension, and his lips, searching for the next words, were truly cautious. 

 

“Your sincerity has already overflowed for me. It’s more than enough without needing to bring any more from you.” 

 

With intense focus in his eyes, he stared at Clarisse for a while, then let his gaze drop and muttered somewhat dejectedly.

 

“Damn it, it was a year ago that I declared that I wouldn’t court you.”

 

Adding such words was likely an act of kindness to ease the heart of Clarisse, who had become completely frozen.

 

“Uh… uh, thank you.”

 

“Of course you should be grateful.” 

 

He was as arrogant as usual, but he seemed a little embarrassed and lightly touched his cheek with his fingertips. 

 

“I’ll answer the prince.”

 

“When it’s certain that you’ll survive.”

 

“Huh? Do you know when!”

 

“Are you stupid? Do you think I want to marry you right away… and that I’m proposing to you? This is just an option.”

 

The way the sentence breaks off feels a bit odd, but Clarisse nodded anyway. Valentine, saying “Alright,” shook off the dust and got up from his seat. 

 

“Well, then.”

 

“How long are you going to keep talking about my proposal? Was it that good? Well, I guess so. I would be thrilled if a handsome man like me suddenly asked me to marry him.” 

 

“No, that’s not it.”

 

Clarisse continued the story she had originally planned to tell, with a slightly sad expression on her face.

 

“The Duke has been waiting at the entrance.”

 

“….!”

 

Valentine turned around with a pale face.

 

They found a pitch-black man standing tall in the doorway that they had left wide open.

 

Valentine had not interacted with Maximilian often until now, but it was the first time he had seen such a terrifying expression.

 

He must have watched the whole time he proposed to Clarisse.

 

‘A, are you angry…?’

 

Valentine carefully guessed his feelings. It seemed like that when he thought about the feelings of fathers who often don’t know what to do because they love their daughters.

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

Noah, who was standing next to him, sighed deeply and patted Valentine on the back.

 

“The Duke is very flustered.”

 

Is that a flustered face?

 

Isn’t that an expression that makes him want to throw Valentine out the window?

 

“No, but.”

 

Valentine finally realized something important and turned around to look at Noah.

 

“…How do you know that?”

 

At the question, Noah simply shrugged his shoulders, but his eyes behind the mask seemed to say, “If you ask any more, I’ll throw you out the window.”

 

* * *

 

The four of them sat together on the sofa.

 

Clarisse and Maximilian sat next to each other, and Noah and Valentine sat across from them.

 

Whether it was a coincidence or not, Valentine ended up sitting right across from Maximilian, and the constant, dark gazes that were burdensome to the point of making his face sting.

 

Meanwhile, Clarisse couldn’t face Noah properly, so she turned her body slightly towards Maximilian and sat down.  

 

It was an awkward situation, but thanks to that, they were able to quickly get to the point without wasting time.

 

“I decided that I wanted to survive so that I could be with the people I love.”

 

Clarisse slightly bowed her head towards the Duke. Last night, she had heard of the escape plan that the Duke and Duchess had set up.

 

“That’s why I asked you both to help me find a way to stay in Saphers if possible.” 

 

“Right now, His Highness Lysander’s eyes are on Sheridan. It’s not a good time to go far away. I wish we could find another way.”

 

“I’m sorry, Duke.” 

 

Clarisse felt very bad by the idea of not following the plan that the Duke and Duchess had set up for her.

 

“No. I was just thinking of it as a last resort. More than anything, I was worried about dragging Marchioness Curno into our affairs.” 

 

She personally exchanged letters with the old nobles of Grezekaia. She was asking for Clarisse’s safety. 

 

If it became known that Clarisse had gone far away and that she had helped her, she would be accused of being a traitor. 

 

“The simplest way would be for His Majesty to grant you a pardon. I’ve already asked several times, but…”

 

Maximilian sighed and shook his head slowly.

 

Valentine quickly revealed his plan.

 

“My brother said that he would grant me anything I wish for the day I lift the golem.”

 

“Unfortunately, that ‘anything’ probably won’t include Clarisse’s pardon, Prince.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

Valentine asked in surprise, and Maximilian rubbed his forehead in pain.

 

“He wants Clarisse’s death… It’s just revenge against me.”

 

“Revenge…?”

 

Clarisse asked, and carefully grabbed his arm because he looked so distressed. With deep comfort.

 

“Yes. I pretended not to know the royal family’s great secret and ran away to Sheridan.”

 

No one responded to his calmly flowing story.

 

“I could guess that Lysander, who was weak-hearted… would be very distressed by that secret.”

 

Maximilian knew why his brother was pretending to be a madman. It must be because he couldn’t even breathe properly if he didn’t do that.

 

“What secret is that?”

 

Even when Noah asked, the Duke stared at Valentine instead of him.

 

It looked as if he was trying to gauge whether he was mentally prepared.

 

“Duke, no.”

 

Valentine smiled slightly crookedly.

 

“You think I’m a fool, big brother.”