The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

"Didn't I ask a question?"

Duke Cardi Luminel wielded his overwhelming presence to its fullest effect.

"Who dared to utter the word 'commoner'?"

His aura, unleashed from its restraints, pressed upon everyone present, regardless of age or gender. It was truly befitting of one called the Empire's greatest warrior.

In a scene where not a single person dared to speak up, only one little girl innocently voiced her thoughts.

"Grandfather, can't you stop being scary? It makes me sad when you get angry..."

Her words betrayed her young age.

It was Tina's voice, perched atop the Duke's shoulders, her head bowed low to block his line of sight.

Even so, the atmosphere was tense. I thought I should rush over and whisk Tina away to safety. Just as I steeled my resolve—

...The Duke's face spread into a wide grin.

"Really? It doesn't look that way."

"Now, now, it's true. That's just how people get when they grow old."

"Oh, that's a relief then!"

The knife-edge tension in the air dissipated. I wondered what magic Tina had worked to make the Duke treat her so preciously.

I wasn't the only one curious. Someone with a friendly disposition took the initiative to ask.

"Pardon me, Your Grace. Might we know your relationship with these two children?"

"Ah, you were curious about that."

The Duke pointed to his shoulder.

"This child is my granddaughter."

Then, gesturing to Glen whose hand he held, he said:

"And this child is my successor."

"...Pardon?"

"What? Duke? Me?"

In an instant, the banquet hall stirred. Even Glen's shoulders jolted in surprise, as if this was news to him. Witnessing this reaction, Duke Cardi Luminel chuckled and corrected his statement.

"Hmm? There seems to be a misunderstanding. Not the successor to the dukedom, but as the Imperial Sword of Protection."

"Um... Duke? Since when have I been your successor?"

"From now on."

"Ah..."

Glen nodded, not quite grasping what was happening.

"I see..."

"That's right."

After forcibly making Glen accept this, the Duke walked towards us. He passed by me and Elphisia, who I thought were his destination, and approached the First Prince, who stood rigid with tension.

"Well."

"..."

"Say it again. Go on."

"Your Grace... First, please put the child down..."

"Put her down? How could you say such a thing?"

The First Prince, who had seemed fearless just moments ago, was now drenched in cold sweat.

In contrast, the Duke, with a cold smirk, casually called out to Tina.

"Child."

"Yes?"

"How does it feel to look down from such a high place?"

"It's really cool and fun!"

"I see."

The Duke pressed the First Prince, seemingly disregarding the authority of the imperial family.

"My commoner granddaughter says she enjoys the view of looking down on you, a prince... I'm not sure there's any need to put her down."

"Oops, that's not what I meant..."

The Duke's demeanor changed in an instant.

"Oh my, this old man's hearing has gone bad. I can't quite make out what people are saying anymore."

It was an utterly absurd statement. Even Elphisia, listening from the side, repeatedly rubbed her face as if she had seen something she shouldn't have.

There was no credibility in claiming his hearing had gone bad when he had clearly heard the First Prince's words through such thick doors.

"What if you can't hear well...?"

"Well, I think it might get better if someone blows into my ear."

"Oh! I got it. Hoo, hoo."

Tina, still perched on his shoulders, eagerly blew into the Duke's ear. And the Imperial Sword of Protection, the Empire's only duke, calmly enjoyed it.

The scene was quite a spectacle.

I think this was the first time I suspected Tina might have inherited some form of mind control magic from her dragon blood.

The Duke's face hardened into a smile again as he observed his surroundings.

"As the Empire's only ducal house, everyone must know my wife's background... It seems I've been severely underestimated."

"How could that be? My foolish son misspoke. Who could have known that the Duke, who has never once attended the Founding Day celebrations, would grace us with his presence?"

"Well, Your Majesty, it's difficult to bow while carrying my granddaughter."

The Duke offered a perfunctory bow. The Empress accepted it matter-of-factly, as if accustomed to such behavior.

"Though you are of the highest rank, nothing good can come from ignoring proper etiquette and barging in like this."

"Nothing bad will come of it either. Isn't that how it is for us ignorant fools who only know how to settle things with our fists?"

It was then that I realized the greatest weapon possessed by House Luminel.

That weapon was freedom.

Since their power wasn't built on business or marriage alliances, it was difficult for them to oppress others. But by the same token, they were free from the pressures of others, unburdened by calculated interests.

Not even the Empress of the Empire was an exception.

"You maintain your free-spirited family tradition, Duke. Well... I suppose that's why your son-in-law bellowed about going to the maze garden."

"What."

"Being free from scandal is also—"

"Is that true?"

"...Pardon?"

The Duke drew close to the Empress. It looked as if he might grab her shoulders and shake her violently if given permission.

"Can you take responsibility for what you just said?"

"Well, if anyone were to ask around..."

"Ha... Haha...!"

The Duke interrupted the Empress twice in succession.

Then he rushed towards us, his face beaming with joy as he exclaimed:

"Well done, my daughter! And son-in-law! If things continue like this, I couldn't ask for more."

"..."

"..."

Elphisia and I were simultaneously dumbfounded.

Yes, I admit it. I had understood it wrong.

The supreme weapon of House Luminel wasn't freedom, but the Duke's 'genuine madness'.

"Now that we've heard the good news, I'll go exchange pleasantries with His Majesty and His Holiness. How fortunate, how fortunate indeed..."

"No, wait, Duke? You need to leave Tina and Glen..."

"Surely, my soundly sleeping wife will be satisfied too... Haha..."

The Duke ignored others' words until the very end. As a bonus, Glen, who seemed to be almost dragged along, kept looking back at us until the last moment.

Tina was... well, as long as she was cheerful, that should be fine.

"...This can't be happening. Elphisia, I'm sorry for speaking ill of him, but... I think father-in-law has really lost it."

"No need to apologize at all. Even I can see that he's already half out of his mind."

Yulian, who had been listening to our conversation, chimed in.

"The Duke is one thing, but I think Tina, who has adapted to such a person, is no less remarkable."

I wonder what on earth happened while we were held up at the Imperial Palace...

It's as if the world is lying to me.

"Her emotional education is already ruined."

"...I'll take responsibility and somehow get her back later."

"Thanks, Elphisia."

Elphisia averted her eyes coyly at my sincere gratitude.

"No need for thanks. Anyway, after going through so much, I'm tired. Now that the war of words seems to have ended in a draw..."

"Shall we go to the lounge and talk?"

"You were quite sensible this time, dear."

"That's good news. Yulian, what will you do?"

Yulian glanced at the Second Prince behind him and decided his course.

"I'm going to talk with my second brother. Let's meet again when the ball is over."

"Sure, family should come first after all."

I empathized and encouraged Yulian, but his expression suggested he found it somewhat disagreeable.

Then he gave me an unexpected emotional moment.

"There's an error in the Director's words."

"An error? What error?"

"..."

Yulian clicked his tongue softly inside his mouth. Then, as if being forced to say something he didn't want to, he twisted his lips into a crooked frown.

Finally, he said:

"By that logic, there's no reason why your family shouldn't come first."

"Yulian, you...?"

"...We're family too. Both my brother and you, Director."

"Ahaha."

"Let me tell you this! You were the one who first said we should be family... so don't misunderstand or think of teasing me!"

I hadn't really done anything, but Yulian was huffing as if he had vented his frustrations.

This side of him must have been unexpected for Elphisia too, as she opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Elphisia."

"...Yes."

"You two really are alike."

At my single remark, both of them bristled at once.

"We're not alike at all!"

"We're absolutely not alike!"

Sure, sure.

Is this what they call in-group aversion? Perhaps the two of them are as incompatible as they are similar. Maybe that's why they couldn't mix in the original story.

I suddenly had such a premonition.

Right after.

An unexpected event unfolded without warning.

"Harte?!"

"Director!"

Putting everything else aside, I rushed across to the other side and flung open the terrace doors. The couple enjoying the night air and their secret rendezvous on the terrace jumped in surprise and distanced themselves from each other.

Even knowing it was rude and wrong, I had no time to care.

Instead of apologizing, I put my foot on the terrace railing. I was preparing to leap out at any moment.

But I never ended up leaving the ballroom.

"H-Hey...! What are you doing?!"

"..."

The path leading to the Imperial Palace.

In a corner of the capital where the lights of the Founding Day festival were fading.

There was definitely something unsettling there.

---

---

On the outskirts of the capital.

Two mysterious figures with their hoods pulled low hid in the shadows of a wall.

"Is 'that' the being you were so wary of?"

The man asks, putting away his telescope.

"..."

A silent nod.

The other figure affirmed wordlessly. The one who had asked the question then exhaled a long breath.

"It clearly feels a step removed from providence. It shouldn't be a distance visible to the naked eye, and yet..."

"...We're leaving."

The commander gently caressed his own Adam's apple.

Though it should have become a non-existent memory by now, the phantom pain of his throat being slit had tormented him for a long time.

"Is assassination... out of the question?"

"It's not realistic."

Faced with his superior's curt refusal, he quickly set aside his disappointment. Then, showing utmost respect, he followed him.

"I will obey the Demon King's will."

Though they managed to maintain their composure, they barely swallowed their gasps when their target of surveillance burst out onto the terrace.

Especially the King of the Demon Realm, experiencing phantom pain, felt his insides churn.

'That man's face... I can't forget it.'

In a distant future from now.

Or perhaps at some point that hasn't occurred yet.

The Demon Realm will have half its territory fall... due to the anger of a single person.

"As soon as we arrive, inform the High Priest."

The prophecy of the Demon God was correct.

The structure of this world has already been twisted once.

"The hands of the human world's clock... have been rewound in reverse."