Chapter 1.2

Sir Slanted Eyes glanced over at her then shifted his eyes back to his comrades. And then looked back at Alice with a twisted grin on his face.

“Looks like you’re ready to get your cherry popped, huh? You know what that feels like? I don’t think the daughter of a noble marquess would know that… Or you might’ve already done it with some other fella,” he sneered.

“I don’t know much about what goes on in the bedroom, but it’d be a tremendous benefit to have a title handed over to you, wouldn’t it?” asked Alice calmly.

Sir Slanted Eyes blinked frantically trying to get over his shock of seeing her so calm. He had expected her to cry, to beg, to plead in fear. Not this. Alice let out an exaggerated sigh.

“You don’t know, do you?” began Alice, “The title is passed down through the bloodline. If my brothers die, I get the title. It doesn’t matter who gets married to me. I become the Marchioness of Wishburn, and my husband is the husband of a marchioness. And if I die? Then it gets passed over to a relative. Not to you, no matter what you do.”

“That’s only if you die without having children. If you have a child, then it gets passed on to him or her. And the money is all mine.”

Alice frowned, slightly tilted her head to the side, and said to him, looking him straight in the eyes, “Why must you make it such a nuisance? It will take close to a year to have a baby. I want the title. The power that comes with the title, that’s what I’m after. If it’s money that you want, you can just become my husband and take as much as you want, right? Then don’t we make the perfect couple?”

Sir Slanted Eyes, who was ugly no matter what, stared at Alice with a suspicious face like a sneaky little rat, “You’re just a little brat who grew up with no complaints in the marquess’ mansion, so why do you want the title? I heard you’re waiting for your coming-of-age party to be held in the capital soon.”

Alice snorted at his remark.

“Everyone in the empire knows exactly who the coming-of-age party is for. By the way, do you even know what coming-of-age means? It’s just like a market that sells cows and horses,” she said,  “Proper-aged females stand in a row, waiting to be sold to the most suitable customer. I want more than that. I want the title of Marchioness of Wishburn. To sum it up, the power which everyone can see and fear. But I have two brothers. No matter what, there was no possibility of me getting the title… until now.”

Sir Slanted Eyes was still glaring at her with suspicion.

Alice slightly lifted the hem of her skirt and walked toward him, to where Aaron was splayed out. Sir Slanted Eyes steadily eased back, and Aaron’s dark, green eyes stared up at his sister with hesitation smeared on his face. She kicked her brother’s leg with her shoe. He let out a low groan, and Alice flinched. Sir Slanted Eyes didn’t seem to notice that she had carefully kicked her brother’s uninjured leg and the back of his calf, which would be less damaging.

“In this place, I’m nothing but a pretty doll. No one ever listens to what I have to say. But if I’m the only one left, then that won’t happen anymore. If I get even the title…”Alice triumphantly spread her arms and grinned.

“I want the title. You want the money. When my parents come back, I can tell them that my brothers were killed by robbers who snuck into the castle, and I managed to save myself with your help,” she said, “If I do that, then it won’t be weird I would want to marry you. How about it? It’s such a simple, clean way; or would you use such an uncertain and troublesome way of frightening me for a few days and getting me pregnant? That might not even work, you know.”

Sir Slanted Eyes made a worried face, like a brainless child who lacked determination. Alice placed one hand on her slender waist and slowly dragged a finger up just below her breasts.

“Well, you can have your way however you want,” she shrugged her shoulders, nonchalantly. “I don’t know if it’s your preference to frighten a woman, make her struggle and scream as you take her. What do you think it’s like to f*ck a willing virgin?” She twirled around slightly and pulled up one side of her hip. Sir Slanted Eyes stared at her like he was possessed.

That was doable. Her face looked smaller than normal because her hair was up, and her neckline and chest were exposed due to the deep plunging blouse, making her breasts more voluptuous. Even if she hadn’t worn a corset, she’d still look taller thanks to her slim waist and high heels under the skirt.

Of course, she had known herself to be beautiful over all these years but hadn’t given a thought to it. What use was it anyway? But she saw the importance of it now. A beautiful girl could do a lot. She could indeed trick men into foolishness. The evidence of it was right in front of her now. Her beauty would help her and her brother’s lives.

Sir Slanted Eyes’ vision came back into focus, and his face flushed over his protruding cheekbones. He must have made up his mind as his breathing sped up and he licked his lips. The tension was gone from his body, and the appearance of Alice speaking with her arms waving clearly showed that he thought the whole situation was over.

“I didn’t know you were so fiery. Does your daddy know that you’re such a vixen? How would he react if his only daughter got rid of his two sons in the blink of an eye? He even bragged about you being blessed by the goddess of beauty.”

Alice shrugged her shoulders after lowering her hand. “It can’t be mistaken. Alright, well how about tying the knot with a kiss? I have to test you to see if you’re worthy of the title.”

Sir Slanted Eyes chuckled, but it ended up sounding like an overly-horny pig. “I really question your virginity. But if it’s for the title of the marquess… I’ll try to live with that”

Alice tried not to roll her eyes. So generous of you, you filthy slimeball, she thought. But she didn’t know what to do any further though. She looked at the two soldiers and shooed them away with a wave of her hand.

“Turn around. This is the first kiss between the future marchioness and her husband,” she said, “I want some privacy and don’t want anyone drooling.”