* * *
A fierce anger flickered across a face that rarely betrayed emotion.
Along with it came an overwhelming pressure radiating from Duke Pantheon, causing the two people present to collapse to their knees.
The Duke hastily reined in his energy, but his expression remained hardened.
“…Ha.”
With a small sigh, Duke Pantheon turned his gaze to one spot—the letter in the aide’s hand.
Realizing quickly, the aide tried to hide the letter behind his back.
“Ah, this isn’t what you think. I meant to report this to you first, it’s just a pro—”
The moment he uttered the word “proposal,” even just the first syllable, the Duke’s eyes turned piercingly sharp.
The aide quickly changed his words.
“That is… the envoy from House Luavis has it. He’s currently waiting outside.”
“An envoy?”
A bitter, sarcastic laugh escaped from Duke Pantheon.
“They’ve lost their minds—completely.”
Sending an envoy with a marriage proposal meant they were demanding a response—one way or another.
And of course, their answer would be a refusal, which would only stir up rumors.
That Luavis had reached out first, and Pantheon had rejected them coldly, or something along those lines.
“…Let’s go see them, for now.”
He wanted nothing more than to throw them out immediately, but considering they’d gone as far as sending an envoy, he couldn’t quite do that.
“Dear.”
The Duchess, seemingly having received the same news, approached.
The two exchanged glances and began to walk.
∗ ∗ ∗
The shocking news spread to the capital’s high society in no time.
Words may have no legs, but they travel fast—and this time, it felt almost intentional.
“They say House Luavis sent a marriage proposal to House Pantheon? Good heavens… I didn’t think those two families got along at all.”
“Could it be that House Luavis was the one to reach out first?”
House Luavis and House Pantheon.
They were the only two ducal houses in the Empire, which naturally gave rise to an image of rivalry.
There had never been any public displays of tension between them, but the reputation persisted.
Especially in recent years, that image had solidified—and that was largely due to Duke Luavis’s attitude.
“Hm, well… Honestly, isn’t it common knowledge that Duke Luavis is overly wary of Duke Pantheon? And now a marriage proposal to a commoner-born adopted son? I’d rather believe the youngest son of Luavis acted on his own.”
“That does sound more likely. They say the youngest has changed, but maybe not for the better. Causing such a major scandal…”
Of course, there were also those looking at the situation through a more pragmatic lens.
“Realistically, could two ducal houses even form a marriage alliance? There’s no way the Imperial family would just sit by and watch…”
“Exactly. The Pantheon Ducal House must be in quite a dilemma too.”
Various opinions and conversations circulated, but most people couldn’t take their eyes off this fascinating incident.
Even after the news spread that the Pantheon family had politely declined the proposal, interest remained. It had been an expected outcome, after all.
What the nobles truly wanted to know was: Why on earth did Karon Luavis send a marriage proposal to Shane Pantheon?
And more than that—was Duke Luavis himself involved or did he permit it?
Their curiosity was resolved sooner than expected.
“Did you hear? That proposal—apparently the youngest son of the Luavis family sent it without the Duke’s knowledge! Word is, he fell in love at first sight! With that adopted child!”
Meanwhile, the Pantheon Ducal House remained calm, like the eye of a storm.
The absurd proposal had been rejected, but the events that followed proved to be more troublesome.
In high society, it was widely known that Karon Luavis had acted recklessly after falling in love at first sight.
Yet, Duke Luavis—the one who should have taken responsibility for the situation—made no contact whatsoever with the Pantheon family.
If the rumors were true, he should have issued a formal statement and at least offered a smooth-tongued apology.
This wasn’t just a simple matter of marriage between rival noble houses—it was deeply political.
From the Emperor’s perspective, it was a situation ripe for misunderstanding.
Of course, the Emperor’s actual response was far from hostile.
But that didn’t change the fact that the Luavis family had failed to do what was necessary.
[Looks like Duke Luavis got one over on you this time.]
At the sound of the Emperor’s voice from the communicator, Duke Pantheon furrowed his brows.
“This is strange. This… couldn’t possibly have come from Duke Luavis himself.”
Duke Luavis was the type to endlessly eliminate his competition.
That’s why underhanded tactics—like proposing false cooperation only to stab someone in the back—were not even in his nature.
And no one knew that better than Duke Pantheon, who had experienced him both directly and indirectly.
Just a few months ago, at the Royal Academy’s academic conference, he couldn’t even conceal his hostility toward Duke Pantheon.
Not to mention, Duke Luavis had a deeply ingrained sense of superiority.
Someone like that would never choose Shane Pantheon, an adopted child, as the partner for Karon Luavis—especially over his eldest son, the previously presumed heir.
No, even putting all that aside—there was no clear benefit for Duke Luavis in this situation.
He was not the kind of man to act unless he had something tangible to gain.
[Hmm, then maybe… maybe the young Lord Luavis really did fall into first love and just lost his mind.]
The Emperor’s words made Duke Pantheon’s eyes grow heavier with concern.
“…Your Majesty.”
[Ahaha. I’m joking, just joking. When you call me like that, it sends chills down my spine.]
Well then, wouldn’t it be best not to do anything to deserve that?
That was what Duke Pantheon thought, but he couldn’t say it out loud.
After all, it was the Emperor.
[Well, since you all rejected it, this matter is as good as settled. Of course… it did stir up a different kind of trouble.]
The Emperor was right.
After the proposal incident, an unexpected fact had begun to spread—curiously enough, all three of them—the Young Duke of Pantheon, the Crown Prince, and the youngest son of Duke Luavis—were currently without fiancés.
“…Our family has always been on the late side with such things.”
[Yes, that’s true for the Pantheon family. The problem is my son. Haa, I’m already dealing with enough headaches over his engagement. Even after going through all the trouble to set things up, the Crown Prince keeps rejecting every match.]
“Your Majesty, that child is…”
[A commoner. An adopted one, at that.]
“……”
[But is that really the truth?]
At the Emperor’s question, Duke Pantheon closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again.
“I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
[Haha. Well, I suppose you’re not the right person to be having this conversation with, anyway.]
Duke Pantheon barely held back the words bubbling up inside him.
He reminded himself once again that feigning ignorance was the only option he had right now.
“I really don’t understand what kind of misunderstanding you’re under. That child is Shane Pantheon.”
[Ah, seems I’ve gone a bit too far today. At any rate, I hope everything returns to its rightful place soon.]
Leaving those cryptic words behind, the Emperor ended the communication.
The light on the communication orb went out.
Duke Pantheon stared coldly at it, as if glaring at the Emperor himself, then ran a dry hand down his face.
‘What a slippery snake.’
Leaving his office, the Duke made his way to the room where everyone was gathered.
As the door opened, three people—those he loved more than anything—turned to look at him in unison.
‘I just want to live quietly with the ones I love.’
Why does that have to be so difficult?
He knew it was inevitable, something that came with living as Duke Pantheon.
And yet, the bitter feeling in his chest wouldn’t go away.
It wasn’t enough to simply protect.
To avoid losing something, you had to take it first—or destroy it.
‘Judaite Luavis…’
Duke Pantheon muttered the name of Duke Luavis under his breath like he was chewing on it.
As he sat down, his eyes fell on Sean, who sat there like a criminal, and a sharp ache pierced his chest.
‘I haven’t done a single thing right.’
He had failed to uncover the truth behind the accident that killed his friend and his wife.
He had failed to protect Sean.
It was all because of his own shortcomings.
If Allen and Daisy were still alive, they surely would have done better than him…
As his thoughts spiraled into a dark place, someone placed a hand gently over the back of his own.
When he followed the touch, his gaze met a pair of warm but resolute emerald eyes.
Only then did Duke Pantheon come back to himself and nod.
“This was just a small incident. I don’t want you to dwell on it too much.”
“Yes. I’ll try not to.”
Sean answered with a smile, but it was clear he was trying too hard.
Just as the Duke was about to say something more, Raizen spoke first.
“I have something to say.”
“Go ahead.”
Raizen glanced at Sean for a moment, then spoke clearly.
“I intend to get engaged. To Sean… Kreveta.”
* * *
