‘That improvisation just now was nothing short of genius,’ Chloe thought to herself.
She had been momentarily insane.
Thinking she could take revenge on the Grand Duke, she had brought up a service inspection, but it was an overreach.
‘No matter how urgent it is, I can’t have people saying I married a crazy person.
I’ll act as if this never happened.’
As soon as she heard those hypothetical words in her head, she snapped out of it as if doused with cold water.
Outwardly, she waved her hand, feigning composure, but a colorful wave of panic washed over her, the undeniable thought that she was screwed.
But fortunately, Curtis asked again, demanding to know what on earth she meant.
‘Thinking there must be a plausible reason for everything is a bad habit of high-ranking people.
Sometimes, there are humans who just want to screw someone over.’
Of course, since she couldn’t blurt out, ‘Because I just wanted you to get screwed over big time,’ Chloe pulled out the family card.
It was a card played in haste, but since it was something she had been constantly contemplating, it was easy to add natural weight to her words and smooth-talk her way through.
The result was successful.
Curtis Sean Berk seemed quite persuaded by her.
‘Well, he won’t actually plant his head on the ground or anything…’
It was a pity, but since it seemed she could wring more money out of this, she decided to be satisfied.
Furthermore, securing her siblings’ safety was quite an encouraging development.
It was then.
“Fine.
I fully understand what Officer Amboise intends to say.”
With that, Curtis strode towards an empty space in his office.
That alone was enough to unsettle Chloe, but he followed up by biting the fingertips of his gloves and pulling them off with his teeth, looking straight at her.
‘…Surely not.’
“I will follow your words.”
“…Huh?”
“However.”
Curtis stacked the two removed gloves and tossed them onto the sofa.
The sound of the fine leather gloves hitting the sofa sounded strangely loud.
“After this, you will have to properly pay the price for receiving my submission, Officer.”
Emotionless purple eyes.
Goosebumps broke out all over her skin.
But it was too late.
There was no time for Chloe to stop him.
Curtis proceeded to kneel on the floor once again.
Since the day he was born, he had never knelt before another person.
Perhaps only when swearing the oath of loyalty during the King’s coronation.
Curtis knelt on one knee while keeping the other upright, assessing the office floor.
Placing one ungloved hand on the floor felt strangely unfamiliar.
Even though he had spent over a year in this office.
Had he ever sat on the floor in this room?
‘The floor is dirty.
I’ll have to punish the cleaning staff tomorrow morning.’
Trying to do something he’d never done before invited stray thoughts.
He lifted his head and asked his aide.
“How long should I do it?”
“Pardon?”
Perhaps having spaced out for a moment, his aide asked back with a flustered look.
He, too, let out a dry chuckle.
‘What would Noel say if he saw this?
Would he say he should have just offered up his own younger sister instead?’
Curtis asked again, his tone serious.
“The disciplinary action.
I asked how long I need to do it.”
“…Are you really doing it?”
“Did you think I’d fake it?”
Curtis looked up at her, resting his elbow on his raised knee.
Chloe’s pink eyes were shaking with bewilderment.
It was a look that said she never imagined he would actually try to kneel.
‘Is she soft-hearted, or did she think I would call off the contract?’
“You said it’s a contract. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Then I wish to pay the down payment properly.”
Chloe was too shocked to respond.
“I’ve never punished my subordinates indefinitely without a time limit.
So I’d appreciate it if you could at least tell me the duration.”
Chloe hesitated and rolled her eyes.
“Uh…”
Regardless, Curtis glanced at the grandfather clock on one side of the office.
The time pointed to two in the morning.
“Unfortunately, it will be a bit difficult to go over four hours.”
The guard change was at six in the morning.
Since Chloe was also Curtis’s aide, she seemed to understand immediately.
But instead of giving him a time, she let out a deep sigh.
“…Why are you trying to go to such lengths?”
Chloe rubbed her dry eyes with her fingers.
She seemed flustered that Curtis was approaching this so seriously and earnestly.
It wasn’t incomprehensible.
Quite a few people don’t realize that words and reality are different.
Seeing a Grand Duke actually trying to kneel before her must be a bit unnerving.
If anyone else had been there, they might have dryly observed that the two of them had gone a little mad from sleep deprivation and asked how things had spiraled this far.
However, there were only the two of them here right now.
That meant there was no one to advise them to snap out of it.
Thus, Curtis calmly urged her.
“Chloe Amboise.
Do you need time to think?
An opportunity like this won’t come often.”
Chloe Amboise looked slightly offended at his pitiful tone.
But that was brief.
She soon roughly rubbed her face with her hands and opened her mouth.
“No.”
“Then.”
“Stand up, Your Highness.”
At those words, Curtis raised one eyebrow.
But Chloe immediately removed her hands covering her face and spoke as if sighing.
“That is enough.”
“Warrant Officer Amboise.”
At the sound of his voice calling her name, as if asking if she was serious, Chloe looked at him and sighed once more.
“I value my life, too.”
“Do you think I’d retaliate once I’m done?”
It was a comment thrown out without much thought.
‘You told me to do this.
It was a fairly reasonable statement, so I intended to follow it, but why are you telling me to stop?’ It meant about that much.
But at those words, Chloe rolled her eyes slightly to avoid his gaze.
“…A little?”
A vein popped slightly on Curtis’s forehead.
“Hearing such words makes me think I absolutely must kneel.”
“Your Highness?”
Chloe looked at him, slightly flustered.
Curtis stood up from his spot and approached Chloe again.
The composition was a bit different from before.
The woman was sitting, staring up at him blankly, and Curtis was looking down at her sitting on the sofa.
Why was it?
That natural composition strangely didn’t feel welcome.
“I don’t know what you take me for, but I like your words, Warrant Officer.”
“What…”
“Most people would find it hard to remain cool-headed in today’s situation, but you are quick to regain your senses—enough to calculate your own profit and loss.”
Chloe frowned slightly.
Curtis smirked and put his hand into his jacket pocket.
“It’s not an insult.
I absolutely do not wish for you to sacrifice unilaterally in this transaction.”
“What do you mean?”
“My mother always taught me not to take another’s sacrifice for granted.”
Queen Mildred always taught him, her son, that one should never take it for granted when someone sacrifices for them.
Of course, it wasn’t to discuss the virtues of a ruler.
“Because that sacrifice will surely force the ruler to pay a far greater price later on.”
“What are you do—”
Curtis, speaking calmly, knelt before her once again.
And he reopened the ring box he had taken from his pocket. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“Chloe Amboise.
I propose to you again.”
“Hah…”
Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and touched her forehead.
Her expression spoke volumes of her disbelief.
Curtis, kneeling on one knee before her, felt somewhat amused by that expression.
He was also a man well past the typical age for marriage.
It would be a lie to say he had never imagined the scene of proposing to someone.
Those images were quite varied: sometimes touching, sometimes beautiful, or sometimes a scene of political strife, rampant with negotiation and interests.
But among them, there wasn’t a single image of a woman clutching her forehead as if receiving his proposal was a headache.
“I am also of royal blood.
Since I’ve knelt, I should use it productively.”
Chloe was dumbfounded.
‘Use it productively?’ It’s not as if his knee was a tool to be put to “productive” use.
Regardless, the Grand Duke shamelessly thrust the ring at her while kneeling.
And what he said next was a spectacle.
“You won’t be able to be the master of my soul, but please become its temporary owner.”
“It’s not like picking up some stray dog… temporary owner, you say…”
“Do you dislike it?”
Chloe rubbed her forehead over and over.
However, the answer was set without needing to worry.
“Damn it, alright.”
‘Damn it’ was quite a radical answer for a woman receiving a proposal.’
Curtis smirked and took out the ‘Flame of Divinity’ from the ring box.
It was named for its resemblance to a brilliantly shining purple flame.
True to its name, the amethyst sparkled even under the lamp of dawn.
“My mother’s life changed after wearing this ring.
I swear it won’t be bad for you, either, Warrant Officer.”
“My mother told me to be careful of people who say things like, ‘I will change your life,’ because they are scammers.”
“Your mother gave good advice.”
“Are you planning to scam me?”
“Have you ever seen a scammer who announces he’s going to scam you?”
Was it because they were conscious of the act of proposing?
Trivial jokes were exchanged.
Surprisingly, the ring fit perfectly.
As he slid it onto her finger, Curtis immediately observed her expression.
Chloe stared at the fourth finger of her left hand, her face contorted in disgust, as if she had just bitten into something foul.
And why, he wondered, did that look of profound displeasure so naturally lift his spirits?
“Good,” he declared.
“Warrant Officer, we are now engaged.”
“Yes,” she affirmed.
“Then there is work to be done immediately.”
Chloe tore her gaze from the ring, her face crumpling.
It was astonishing how much ‘more’ it could contort.
“This isn’t something as pleasant as cutting an engagement cake, is it?”
“Of course not,” he replied.
When Curtis detailed the tasks he had assigned her, Chloe sank into a deeper gloom.
She had foolishly hoped for some sleep.
Sleep, she scoffed.
It looked as if she would be pulling another all-nighter.
“Isn’t it a violation of military law to burden your fiancée with such onerous duties immediately after proposing?”
“Officer Amboise, did you know?”
“What?” she asked.
“Now that we are engaged, I am no longer obliged to pay you overtime, even if I work you through the night.”
“Can the engagement be annulled?” she asked at once.
An impossible hope, she knew.
“Extra!
Extra!”
“Grand Duke Curtis Sean Berk is getting married!”
The entire kingdom was thrown into an uproar.
At the diplomatic banquet with Glintland, Grand Duke Berk had announced his impending marriage.