If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 8
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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“You probably haven’t forgotten. The oath I made to you at Duke’s funeral.”
The Duke’s funeral.
Yes, now that Agatha thought about it, Cain had said something like that. What was it exactly? He had said he would protect her.
A forgotten memory.
When Agatha couldn’t help but chuckle at her own dullness, a momentary trace of displeasure flickered across Cain’s face as he watched her. Perhaps he had misunderstood Agatha’s laughter as mockery.
However, he quickly erased any unnecessary emotions and raised the corners of his lips gently. He was a knight adept at concealing his emotions.
Agatha looked at Cain’s feigned smile and countered his words.
“Surely, you’re not saying that the joke from nine years ago was a genuine proposal.”
“Of course not, Lady. I have never uttered words that were not in my heart in all my life.”
Was that man capable of such subtleties? If those words were real, then Cain had proposed to her when he was just fifteen and she was a mere ten-year-old kid.
“I’ve worked tirelessly to become someone worthy of you, Lady. But it seems I’m still lacking.”
No way.
Nine years ago, maybe, but the current Cain was a man who wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that every woman in the empire had placed in her heart at least once.
This wasn’t just because of his striking looks but also because of his exceptional talents, which had earned him the Emperor’s favor through his own efforts.
He had been granted vast lands that could rival the entire northern region, and he even led a knightly order more renowned than the Imperial Guards. In the current circumstances, Cain wielded more influence than even the Crown Prince.
Thinking about the courtiers who used to flatter him, claiming that his face was more perfect than a carved statue, Agatha almost burst into laughter again.
“You’re quite good at making jokes, Sir.”
“I tend to be good at it in front of the person I want to.”
“Still, it was rude to play a joke that went as far as marriage.”
“The proposal wasn’t a joke, Lady.”
“What did you say?”
“Why are you so surprised, Lady?”
It was unbelievable. This man genuinely proposed to her?
Despite the outward appearance of perfection, there was a reason why Agatha found herself uncomfortable receiving this man’s proposal.
“You couldn’t possibly love me, Sir.”
This was because he was already engaged to the Emperor’s only daughter, Princess Alexandra. The encounter of a knight showered with the Emperor’s favor and the precious daughter of the Emperor herself, it was indeed a romantic and ideal relationship, as the Count’s entire household had chatted about it.
Although their engagement had not been officially announced, there was no one in the capital who was unaware of the relationship between the two. The Emperor had even stamped his approval on it as a future son-in-law of the Empire.
To think that a lady from a fallen house would dare to be involved with the Emperor’s prospective son-in-law was absurd. So, it was no wonder that Agatha found herself surprised by the unexpected situation of the exceedingly handsome war hero proposing to her.
As she contemplated this, she heard Cain’s snarky comment.
“I didn’t know the Lady was a romantic waiting for love and a proposal.”
The composure he had shown at the moment of the proposal had already vanished. Agatha had always thought that politeness didn’t quite suit this man, so his change in demeanor didn’t surprise her much.
A clearly insincere and formal smile usually tended to make the other person uncomfortable. The emotionless smile had faded away, revealing his cold demeanor, which was actually more like Cain.
“I may not be a romantic, but isn’t marriage quite an important matter in one’s life, even if you don’t necessarily seek a love-driven destiny?”
Her words weren’t driven by a desire for romantic love, but rather a response to Cain’s mockery. However, despite the evident mockery, Agatha’s confident retort seemed to catch him off guard. He fell into thought, apparently searching for words to explain himself.
As he pondered, Agatha, who was silently observing his tightly sealed lips, suddenly recalled the first time she had met him. On that day, he had worn the same intimidating expression, lips pressed firmly together.
“In that case, would you accept my proposal?”
“…What?”
“I meant to say, if I were to tell you that I love you, would you marry me?”
What kind of situation was this? That man could tell lies without even blinking an eye.
“…I didn’t know you were so adept at lying,” Agatha remarked, thinking that if she hadn’t known who he was, she might have been fooled by the Ice Knight.
