IDIBC Chapter 16

Engagement

The Duke and Duchess said nothing. Their silence was an affirmation. If it hadn’t been for Ricardo and Rochester’s help, we would have been dead seven years ago. So I know I have no right to resent them.

But Rochester should have left me to die with my family too.

Instead of extracting only me and keeping me here.

Naturally, in this situation, there was no way for me—an anxiety factor for both the Emperor and the ducal family—to freely leave this ducal residence.

“Which also means I have no choice but to wait for news of when my family dies.”

Again, they remained silent. So I had no real options.

“Unless I stake my own life as collateral.”

“No.”

From the Duchess, who had been silent all along, came a firm answer this time.

“That would be a foolish choice. If you die, the Emperor would have nothing to regret.”

“Doesn’t my existence still have meaning to the Rochester family?”

“It does, but… if you take your own life, as long as the Saintess exists, things will simply proceed according to the oracle. It wouldn’t be a great loss to us either. The truth is, God… turns away from those who throw away their own lives. Regardless of what great abilities they may possess.”

Ah, damn it. A curse nearly escaped, and I had to bite my lip hard. To create such a horrible situation that makes one want to die, yet prevent them from dying—is that truly what it means to be God?

“Moreover, even if Ricardo takes pity on you and protects your family, how long would that last? The Schneiders are a very persistent bunch.”

The Duchess was right. If I staked my life and asked them to protect my family, perhaps Ricardo might protect them as he did seven years ago.

But Rochester’s star had risen, and my existence had been exposed. It meant the situation had changed dramatically. Could their safety really be fully secured that way?

Forgetting that the Duke and Duchess were present, I clutched my head as pitch-black despair washed over me.

“There is one way, though…”

“A way?”

“Yes, the only path to save your family.”

With the Duchess’s single sentence, a ray of light poured into the pitch-black darkness.

Having planted hope in me, she rose from her seat. She walked to the window and stopped in front of the landscape Ricardo had painted. With her standing in the painting, it finally seemed complete.

“In this Empire—no, in this world—the safest place to protect your family from Emperor Dermeier would be right here, in Rochester’s ducal residence.”

“I’m well aware of that.”

“And there’s only one way for another noble family to enter into my family.”

Did that mean my family could receive their protection within Rochester’s ducal residence? Inside this mansion that was larger than most estates?

“Please tell me that method.”

The faces of Jonathan, Sabrina, and Mrs. Fennel flashed through my mind. If only I could know how to save them, I felt I could kneel on the floor right now and lick the Duchess’s feet.

Had they been this precious to me? Those whom I’d always considered an incomplete, half-broken family.

“An engagement.”

Ah, an engagement.

“Pardon?”

“A union between Rochester and Fennel. That alone would be the only way to protect your family from Emperor Dermeier. Even an Emperor wouldn’t dare order the extinction of a family promised in engagement to Rochester.”

“Wouldn’t it be more effective to just hold a knife to my throat in front of the young duke?”

I heard the sound of someone stifling laughter in front of me. I glanced at the Duke, but he was drinking his tea with an expressionless face. I tilted my head and turned my gaze back to the Duchess. To gauge whether what she’d just said was sincere.

Immediately, an utterly serious face—one that seemed never to have told a lie in its life—turned toward me.

So now was it time to go lick Ricardo’s feet? Begging him to marry me?

“Then what happens to the Saintess? I understand she was destined from birth to be the young duke’s companion.”

Having this conversation while thinking of marriage to him felt somehow sinful, but I saw no other path.

“That’s true, but… we need to put out the urgent fire first.”

“……”

“After all, once the Saintess later becomes Ricardo’s companion, you’ll have no more use…”

She trailed off, pausing, and my blood ran dry.

“The Schneiders won’t be so desperate to exterminate the Fennel family as they are now.”

The Duchess’s words meant that once Ricardo married, the situation would improve somewhat compared to now. After he married the Saintess, I wouldn’t be such a bothersome existence.

“I’m not saying you should marry right away. An engagement alone would give Rochester sufficient justification to protect the Fennels.”

“You mean to keep both me and the Saintess in your hands.”

She shook her head and chuckled softly. It seemed like both an angel’s smile and a devil’s.

“You’re misunderstanding something, Lady Fennel.”

Her voice was chillingly cold, hard to believe it belonged to someone who had seemed so gentle until now. I swallowed involuntarily at the sudden sense of overwhelming pressure.

“You’re already in Rochester’s hands. This isn’t about choosing that.”

“Ah…”

Her words were an undeniable fact. For whatever reason, the Duchess was now showing me mercy. To give my family a chance to live, even if temporarily.

What is pride in the face of absolute power? Once my thoughts were organized, my decision came quickly. When I make up my mind, I don’t hesitate.

Living safely for even one more day—that was my goal.

At age ten, after dying from cold and hunger and coming back to life, I learned it bone-deep.

Death leaves nothing behind. It wasn’t the kind of fear that fades after experiencing it once. Death always meant darkness, ruins, and literally the end.

“Then, Your Grace, and Your Grace the Duchess.”

I briefly made eye contact with the Duke. His eyes sparkled. As if he found this situation quite interesting.

“Do you both consent to me being engaged to the young duke, even if temporarily?”

“Lady Fennel.”

“Please call me Lienne, Mother.”

I heard the Duke clearing his throat again.

“Dear.”

The Duchess, who had sternly addressed her husband, slowly walked from the window to where I sat.

Like a man proposing marriage and awaiting acceptance, my heart was pounding. Or was it the feeling of someone with their neck on the guillotine? Either way, her next words could mean my family’s death or survival.

“The truth is, I have no choice in the matter, Lienne.”

My prospective mother-in-law called my name quite affectionately.

“A Rochester who has completed their awakening can no longer truly be called someone’s child.”

“……”

“So there’s no need to seek my consent or permission.”

The Duchess, who had approached close by, gently brushed my cheek with her soft hand. The warmth from her hand was warmer than my face, and my gaze naturally followed.

“Because soon Ricardo will become Rochester itself.”

****

I thought about asking the head butler to arrange a meeting with Ricardo, but changed my mind. Though we were on the same floor, meeting him was never easy. If I requested a meeting, it would be tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, and that was only possible if he was staying at the ducal castle.

Knowing my family’s lives hung by a thread, sleep naturally wouldn’t come.

I paced around my room, ears perked, waiting for him to return. After some time passed, there was a slight commotion at the window I’d left slightly open.

‘He’s back.’

Sharpening my hearing, I could even hear the servants bustling about with short steps. After the disturbance outside settled, I waited a bit longer.

For a woman—a noble lady at that—to visit a man’s bedroom in the middle of the night was unthinkable. If anyone saw, it would lead to an irreversible scandal.

Of course, a scandal might actually benefit me right now, but even so, my face wasn’t thick enough to openly seek him out.

When all the footsteps had quieted and the same silence as before returned, I mustered my courage and left my room.

Knock knock, as I tapped on the door and softly began, “Um…” Ricardo’s response came from inside.

“Come in.”

Though he probably said it without thinking it was me, I’d received permission anyway, so I flung the door open. It was a good thing I’d thought ahead—the room was dark. But the curtains were wide open, and moonlight was pouring through them.

And he stood beneath that light. With one shoulder bare.

“Gasp…”

An involuntary gasp escaped me. Perhaps because the voice wasn’t who he’d expected, Ricardo slowly turned around.

When our eyes met, thump-thump—my shameless heart, with neither timing nor pride, pounded violently.

Naturally, he showed no mercy. Staring piercingly into my eyes, Ricardo twisted his shoulder to remove the shirt hanging on just one side. Then both shoulders and the well-defined muscles beneath revealed themselves in the moonlight.

I reflexively closed my eyes.