Chapter 112

The morning of the engagement day had arrived. The weather was beautifully clear. Though it had been nice lately, I’d still worried about sudden rain clouds—needlessly, it seemed.

The engagement venue was bustling with people.

The union between the Viscountcy of Roha and the Duchy of Grey. Truthfully, those genuinely here to celebrate the engagement were probably limited to Sasha’s friends, but even so, everyone dearest to me in my small world had gathered here. There was no reason not to be happy.

In a makeshift tent, I changed clothes with Michelle’s help. I thought I’d folded my dress neatly enough, but as soon as she entered the room, Michelle started ironing it, saying, “Why is it so wrinkled?” Now, as always, she was meticulously doing my hair and makeup.

“Michelle.”

“Yes, my lady?”

“How old were you when you joined our household?”

Michelle, carefully curling my hair, tilted her head as if wondering why I was asking, then searched her memory. Her hands, however, never paused.

“Let’s see… I was either twelve, or maybe fourteen.”

“You were so young.”

“I was. That’s how I became your personal maid.”

It must’ve been difficult even for an adult to care for a sickly child, but Michelle had always stood by me like a dependable older sister.

“Thank you for everything.”

“Oh my, are you going to leave me behind when you go to the Duke’s house? Why the sudden sentiment?”

Michelle joked as she pinned up my hair.

“Hmm? After you marry Andre, are you still going to work at our house?”

She’d surely have a lot to do as the wife of a merchant guild leader. Michelle, who had been joking just a moment ago, was now so flustered by my question that her hand slipped, and the sharp end of the hairpin pricked my scalp.

“Ouch!”

“Oh no! I’m so sorry, my Lady! Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“Wait—Andre? What are you talking about?”

Clearly not expecting that I knew anything about her and Andre, Michelle tried to deny it. It was rare to see her this flustered, and I smiled playfully as I looked at her.

“Hm? Nothing’s happened yet?”

“W-What do you mean?”

“He was asking me the other day what your favorite color is. It’s red, right? Like rubies? He said he’s going to get a ring with that.”

While Michelle had no idea I knew about their relationship, Andre had come to me several times for advice after his feelings were found out. Neither of us had much experience in love, but I was the only woman he could talk to about it.

“He said you seemed a little upset during the engagement preparations, so he was going to propose soon. But he hasn’t yet? Ugh, what’s Andre doing? If it were me, I’d have confessed ages ago.”

“C-Confessed…?”

“That’s it. After the engagement, I’m going to give Andre a good talking-to. Why hasn’t he cleared things up yet? Or better yet—should I introduce you to someone better? Honestly, how can I trust such a slowpoke with my Michelle?”

I narrowed my eyes slightly and observed her. Michelle, who almost never got flustered, was now red as a beet.

“Hm? Don’t worry, Michelle. I’ll say something to him. Just leave it to me.”

“Please don’t, my Lady.”

“Why not?”

“Because… I already received it.”

Princess Florin, who had finished her hair and makeup and was sitting nearby, widened her eyes in surprise.

“You did? A confession? Really?”

“Yes. So… that’s…”

“From that Andre person? The man with the ponytail? Oh, I wish I had met him! But when? Hm? Michelle, when did he confess?”

Having spent almost a whole month together, Princess Florin had grown close with Michelle too. She now peppered her with questions like a friend gossiping.

Despite her flustered state, Michelle perfectly applied the pearl-powder blush to both of my cheeks.

“Well… about three days ago.”

“Three days ago? Oh my goodness.”

Andre had asked me about Michelle’s favorite color that very morning.

“It has to be one of two things: either he prepared rings in every color, or he asked me again just to cross-check.”

Otherwise, there’s no way he could’ve gotten the ring so quickly. Andre, that sly fox.

The engagement ceremony didn’t start until well after Michelle had fled from our barrage of questions once my makeup was finished. With so many guests, it took a long time before everything was ready.

We hadn’t even had breakfast when we arrived at the venue, so by the time our stomachs began growling, Michelle came running to the tent to call us.

“My lady, it’s time for your entrance.”

Michelle held up the hem of my dress. I felt like a walking broom sweeping the floor, but I stepped out carefully, one foot at a time.

Behind me walked Princess Florin, holding a flower basket brimming with petals.

To the sound of the orchestra playing outdoors, we walked across the red carpet. It wasn’t a wedding, but the engagement ceremony followed a nearly identical structure. At the end of the aisle, Armin was waiting, looking at me.

“Vivian, look at the Young Lord Grey’s face.”

Princess Florin whispered behind me. I glanced up slightly. Armin looked completely dazed.

“He must be stunned because you’re too beautiful.”

Feigning ignorance, I lowered my head toward the bouquet. My ears felt hot.

Lewyn and Abyss served as the officiants. Honestly, I didn’t hear a word of what they said. As we stood together on the platform and greeted the gathered guests, I heard Armin’s voice.

“You’re beautiful.”

Embarrassed, I didn’t respond. Then Armin spoke again.

“So beautiful it’s honestly shocking.”

With that, he lightly bumped his hand against the back of mine. We couldn’t exactly hold hands in front of all the guests, so that subtle touch made my face flush even more.

After the introductions and greetings of both families, we moved on to the engagement vows. We each read from a red booklet, the vow pages inserted side by side.

Most engagement vows were filled with dull, clichéd promises about marriage. People probably expected ours to be the same—but Armin’s reading made their eyes widen in surprise.

“In the name of the House of Grey, I make the following vows. First, in joy or sorrow, in all matters concerning me, the first to hear of it will always be Vivian Roha. Second, I will not question right or wrong, but always listen to and respect Vivian’s words. Third, I will not give attention to others or cause Vivian to feel uneasy. Fourth, I will confess my love to her at least once every day.”

From the very first vow, the mood began to heat up, and the young ladies hastily fanned their faces to hide their expressions. But at the fourth vow, someone let out an actual squeal.

“I can’t believe Lord Armin is making vows like that!”

“Oh my goodness! I’m so jealous!”

And yet, Armin’s vows weren’t over. His eyes, full of gentle affection, remained fixed on me as he read the final vow.

“And lastly, the fifth, just as in the beginning, I vow to love Vivian Roha forever without change, and to feel butterflies every time our eyes meet.”

Excuse me, Young Lord—smiling while saying something like that is cheating.

I should’ve read mine first. The hopeful looks in everyone’s eyes made me feel pressured. Life was much easier when I could just live quietly in the shadows. Being in the spotlight is nothing but exhausting.

“Ahem.”

My throat felt tight, so I cleared it a few times.

“In the name of House Roha, I make the following vows. First, I will only ever make scabbard straps for Armin. Second… I will not act like I enjoy romance novels while reading them in front of Armin. Third, even if he’s bad at card games, I won’t tease him. Fourth, I will avoid doing things that make Armin worry.”

Unlike when Armin recited his vows, my part drew laughter from the crowd, as if they were watching a comedy skit.

“Fifth, at balls, I will not read books and will always stay by Armin’s side. Sixth, even when I’m angry, I’ll think twice and consider whether I should get angry or not, becoming a wise fiancée. And finally, um… I will always love Armin first, before anyone else.”

As I finished my vows, I caught a glimpse of my father leaning on my mother’s shoulder.

The only person who truly understood what I was saying was Armin—things like scabbard straps, card games, romance novels… They were stories no one else could decipher.

A quiet chuckle drifted through the air, but I pretended not to hear it and finished my vows with composure.

After that, we exchanged thin silver rings. As Armin gently slid the slender, sparkling ring onto my left ring finger, he earnestly told me not to lose it.

“Do you think I’m a kid? You better not lose yours,” I retorted quietly, pointing out he might misplace it during sword practice.

That’s when he brought up a long-forgotten ring incident.

“You already forgot the one that fell into the drain?”

“That was ages ago! Come on!”

We both laughed quietly as we said it.