If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 33
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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“I’ve contacted the temple. They’ll schedule a date as soon as possible, and it shouldn’t take more than three months. We’ll need to complete all preparations during that time.”
“Do we really need to hurry like this? I still haven’t heard a convincing reason for me to proceed with this contract.”
“I need Kristin’s knights, and you need to reclaim the title from Countess Calvino as soon as possible.”
Agatha knew about Stella disposing of the family’s assets using the Duke’s seal, so it wasn’t entirely incorrect to say that she needed to recover the title as soon as possible.
However, Agatha wondered how Cain knew about this. After all, Stella’s misappropriation of the Duchy’s assets was a closely guarded secret known to only a select few within the Calvino family.
“What do you mean by needing knights? Didn’t the Knights already fall under your command?”
Her question held an unintended tone of accusation. Agatha realized she had shown more emotion than necessary, and she closed her mouth. By the time she did, Cain had already read the resentment in her eyes.
“Well, to be precise, what remains are just the outer shell of the Knights. I need the knights who served in the Kristin Order for a long time, those loyal knights who left the Order immediately when they couldn’t serve any other master but Kristin.”
“Why do you need them?”
“We need them to fully protect the northern border region. And the legitimacy needed to bring the Kristin Order knights back, can only be found through you as the last successor of the Duchy’s lineage. Does that clarify things?”
“So, you plan to use me to recover the knights who left the Kristin Order several years ago.”
“We are using each other. It’s mutual utilization. Out of necessity, for what we both need.”
A moment of silence followed, and then Cain snapped his fingers. Havel swiftly produced something and handed it to Agatha.
“This is…?”
“It’s a marriage approval document personally issued by the Emperor. We can’t entrust the date of the wedding to the Temple without this approval.”
Agatha knew well about Cain’s determination when he set his mind on something like this, as it had become a well-known fact through rumors. However, knowing about it and experiencing it were two different matters. Agatha secretly admired his swift handling of affairs.
Perhaps, just as he had said on the day of the proposal, he had been preparing for this for nine years. Everything seemed to be proceeding swiftly and flawlessly, as if it had all been waiting for her coming of age.
The unexpected revelation of their marriage during the Princess’s birthday celebration and the unsettling thoughts she had heard inside the carriage on the way back home during the celebration were now flooding back into her mind.
“Since the Emperor personally approved it, we don’t need to worry about anything.”
It was the matter with Alexandra, the Princess. With the Imperial Sun’s blessing, there was nothing to fear, no matter how formidable John Calvino might be. Stella’s opinion in this matter was also irrelevant.
As her thoughts shifted to Stella, the sinister face of John Calvino began to appear in her mind one after another. Agatha cleared her throat and spoke.
“The contract conditions I desire are two.”
As her expression grew more serious, Cain’s lips followed suit, stiffening naturally. With no other solution in sight and the gravity of the situation becoming apparent, Agatha finally reached out to the extended hand before her.
Making this decision seemed to lighten her heavy heart throughout. Perhaps it was because the guilt and resentment she had held for years, attributing all the misfortunes in her life to the thief of her father’s knighthood, had been relieved.
In hindsight, she might either pat herself on the back for making the best choice or beat herself up for a foolish one, but for now, Agatha had decided to focus her efforts on reclaiming her family.
“Please explain a clear method of how you can fully return the Duchy to me. Just because we are getting married doesn’t mean I can become the head of the Kristin family, and you must know that.”
If she had been a man, she could have inherited the family immediately upon coming of age without the need for marriage. Unfortunately, due to imperial law, women could not become family heads except in a few exceptional circumstances.
Those exceptional cases included instances where the current head publicly declared their intention to pass the family estate to their daughter through a will when there were no male heirs, or when they delegated all the family head’s authority to their wife upon marriage, or when the Emperor appointed a woman as the family head.
“When we marry, naturally, the Kristin seal will be transferred to me. I intend to pass it on to you after a certain period.”
The first method was already impossible, and the third method was out of the question, so he was proposing the second method, which would help her be the true owner of the Kristin Duchy.
“When you say a certain period,”
“Until the Kristin knights return, I will hold the seal.”
“….”
“Until the knights return’ does sound rather vague and uncertain. We can set the period to one year. After the wedding and one year from that point, I will immediately transfer the seal to you.”
One year. It’s not a bad condition at all. Compared to the time she had waited, one year didn’t seem too long. Besides, Agatha hadn’t received proper education during her stay at Calvino County. It seemed like a reasonable idea to spend a year preparing to become Duke Kristin rather than hastily inheriting the seal.
“Alright, please make sure to specify the duration in the contract. And one more thing: ensure that I never cross paths with Stella Calvino under any circumstances. There are no other conditions.”
“That’s something I was already planning to do, Agatha, and we are already in the process of it.”
Agatha was curious about the procedure Cain was referring to, but she decided not to ask. If Cain had protected her from Stella once before, he would likely continue to do so in the future.
Agatha nodded in agreement.
Havel pulled out a quill and neatly placed it on top of a parchment, then opened the inkwell.
The faint smell of ink wafted through the air.
Agatha, for the first time, thought that the smell wasn’t all that bad.