Chapter 04 – My Marchioness

After greeting the marquis, his brother and sister-in-law walked with her to where the banquet is. It’s no secret that the House Calypso aren’t naturally born of nobility but was granted a land by the King due to their contribution to the previous wars so it’s understandable that not of all the people there see them fit attending the banquet.

Yet the three of them, walked with their head held high. His brother Arthur is intimidating enough that she’s sure that no one would talk behind their backs. If it’s just the two of them, they won’t really mind being bad mouthed by the others but not when Rosalind is around. Rosalind is after all a daughter of the duke. She’s a loving and soft-hearted woman that a slight of disrespect towards her is enough for her brother to set this mansion ablaze if ever. And if that happens, she will be there throwing the fuel.

The nature of the banquet is to separate the males from the females but his brother doesn’t want to be apart from his wife so to not grab unwanted attention, she told them that she would be in the terrace.

While ascending the stairs, a waiter happens to walked near her so she stopped momentarily and grabbed a champagne from the tray he’s holding before continuing.

Once she’s out, she let out a deep breath and drank the liquor in one straight gulp. She suddenly regrets buying a sleeveless dress now that she feels cold because of the wind. She could’ve at least asked Anita to prepare a shawl for her.

Banquets aren’t really her thing but here she is. And until that moment, she still can’t stop thinking as to why Lord Wales made sure she would be attending. She doesn’t want to entertain the sick feeling setting at the pit of her stomach.

“I’ve been told that you’re here,” she looked back at the voice and walking her way the devil himself.

“It’s been a while, my lord. Have you been well?”

Instead of answering, Lord Wales kneeled down in one knee and asked for her hand. She awkwardly reached out to him and silently cursed their tradition.

His cold lips at the back of her palm were enough to make the hairs at the back of her neck prickle. Not because she feels disgusted but she’s not just used to being treated as a lady especially that she’s a knight. A Dawn Conqueror Knight to be exact.

Lord Wales also looks dashing himself. From what the other knights told her, the young lord is quite famous with the ladies because of his charms and of course, being a marquis’ son.

“I’ve been through hell while waiting for you,” he then proceeded to caressed her cheek with one of his hands. If the situation is different, she could’ve swatted his hand away already but she’s too afraid that it would ignite the lord’s anger.

It’s not that she’s specifically terrified of being hit or punished for disrespecting the marquis’ son. It’s just that she knows that it would tarnish the image of their house if she is to act carelessly. She may be a knight but she is also a sister of the lord who’s social standing at the society right now is still ambiguous.

“Well, I don’t know why the lord is waiting for me. Is there are a reason to that?” she asked, trying her best to be polite.

Lord Wales smiled at her as if amused by her innocence. “My lady.. it’s been three years but you haven’t changed a bit.

Didn’t I make myself clear the last time we met?”

She narrowed her eyes remembering the last time they crossed paths. A lot has happened during her time at the borders that it seems like her life before that is long gone already.

And then it finally hit her. Their conversation at the palace’s garden.

“You.. you said that you will marry me?” she almost vomited the words. It came out like asking a question but she’s more than sure that it’s what the lord told her before when they met during the farewell banquet the king gave them before the expedition.

“I’m glad that you haven’t forgotten, my lady. And I apologize for calling you, my lady. I hope you don’t mind not addressing you as ‘sir’ since right now you are standing in front of me as a lady and not as a knight.”

Truth be told, she doesn’t even care about it. What bothers her more is that the marquis’ son still remembers that promise of marrying her even though she did not give him an answer. Anyway, it’s not as if she’s expecting to come back from the war unscathed and breathing. And one more thing, she never imagined being his or anyone’s wife at all.

“I feel honored that you would like to marry someone like me but I’m afraid that I am not the perfect bride for you, my lord. I am not even from a family of nobility and I am not destined to become a lady of a house. My heart and soul have always been with the knighthood,” she said fearlessly hoping that the lord won’t take it negatively.

If she is still the same person as before, she would probably have accepted this proposal already but the time is different now. She has long accepted that she won’t be getting married or have a family of her own. She swore to herself that she would spend her life as a Dawn Conqueror Knight, bringing honor to their house and ultimately protecting the kingdom from its enemies.

“Years from now, I will inherit my father’s title and you will be my marchioness. I know that it may look l difficult but I’ll see to it that you will be studying proper etiquette and all the things you need to learn before that day comes.” The lord said in a hard tone as if he has already planned everything.

“But –”

“My father will be talking about this with the commander. We are going to offer a dowry enough that he won’t resist especially that I know, the lord is working on a lot of infrastructures for Versailles.”