Chapter 33

“We father and son are really in love with you.”

“……”

The dad and son were dashing at the same time.

At an unexpected 1+1, I thought blankly.

‘He must be crazy rich.’(TL/N: the author inserted a pun! ‘부자’ can mean either ‘rich’ or ‘father and son’ depending on the context.)

Even so, I couldn’t believe he was thinking of proposing to me to be his daughter-in-law!

The aspiring father-in-law in front of me gazed at me and smiled. Truly, that dimpled smile was beautiful.

After a moment’s silence, I opened my mouth.

“…I thank you for thinking well of me, but I’m a little embarrassed.”

“Ah, it must be so.”

He scratched the back of the head as if he was a little embarrassed too and said shyly.

“The moment I saw you, my eyes went white and my heart was pounding, so I proposed to you.”

…Please do not make such misleading remarks.

Like falling in love with your daughter-in-law.

“Who is your son?”

Although I was proposed to as a daughter-in-law, there was no information about both the person who might become my husband and my prospective father-in-law.

Then the handsome dimpled man blushed sharply and said,

“Oh my, what was I thinking? Come to think of it, I didn’t even introduce myself, yet I want you to become my daughter-in-law! How crazy must it have seemed.”

‘Do you really think self-introduction is the problem, sir?’

“Let me introduce myself first.”

The man put his hand on his chest and smiled softly.

“My name is Bizet Winston. Usually called Marquis Winston.”

‘He’s a Marquis.’

I didn’t notice he was such a high-ranking nobleman because there was something pure in his behavior.

“My son’s name is Kyle. It’s Kyle Winston.”

Kyle Winston, the name gave me the image of a very strong man.

“My son is very noble and polite.”

Wow. Cool.

“He is an intellectual who loves books, but he’s also quite rough. He is a man with a beastly side?”

‘Is he a person with contrasting charms?’

I pondered to myself as I drew an image of Kyle.

‘Still, his son must be a little old.’

In this country, one had to be at least 17 years old to think about marriage.

Well, of course, Heinrich and Sislin were also thinking of getting married, but those kids were a little… What should I say? They’re both a little crazy.

I was roughly drawing an image of the person named ‘Kyle’ in my head.

‘He is about 185 cm tall. He is very wild like a beast, yet dignified—’

“Oh! Kyle is ten years old this year.”

…He’s a dignified cutie.

“He’s much younger than I thought!”

I was so surprised that I frankly spit it out, and I thought to myself.

‘Besides Sislin and Heinrich, another crazy kid just appeared!’

I looked at Bizet with trembling eyes. Father, you have an unconventional view of education to deliver a proposal to a ten-year-old.

I had little intention of agreeing from the beginning, but since it was like this, of course, it would be a refusal.

“So, Marquis…”

“Oh and! I didn’t tell you what he looks like.”

Bizet softened his green eyes and smiled innocently with his Indian dimpled face.

Then pointed his finger at his own face.

“When my son is all grown up, he will look like this. He looks very similar to me.”

“……!”

Suddenly, it seemed that becoming his daughter-in-law wouldn’t be a bad thing.

‘Isn’t it basically cheating to say that the potential husband is an ‘innocent handsome’ guy?’

I almost said I’d be his daughter-in-law, but luckily, the strong bakery owner genes calmed me down.

Besides, I was a little too young to become a daughter-in-law. Twelve was a pretty decent age, but still not old enough to have a father-in-law already.

‘Ten years old is not the age to have a wife.’

I was sure he would like it a little now, but he would get bored of it in a few years. Ten years old was the age at which one would go ‘this is good today, but tomorrow’s is better’.

“I’m sorry, Marquis Winston.”

As I watched him hand out the candy flowers, I politely said,

“I have no intention of choosing a marriage partner already.”

I thought he would be disappointed, even just a little, but he was a much stronger man than I thought.

“Of course. I also thought it would be difficult for Annette to make a decision right away.”

Bizet smiled and tapped my nose.

“So, let’s start with ‘reservation’ as a future daughter-in-law.”

What? Reservation?(TL/N: ‘찜’ typically means ‘steamed’, but as a slang, ‘찜’ or the verb form ‘찜하다’ means ‘it’s mine now, so don’t touch it’. ‘Dibs’ might be a better way of expressing it, but I thought ‘reservation’ will suit the marquis more.)

He said with a burning will in his gentle eyes.

“I will definitely make you my daughter-in-law.”

“……?!”

‘Does this worldview mean that even my father-in-law is an obsessive maniac?’

He placed the candy flower in my arms, and, still on one knee, held my hand carefully and preciously.

“Of course, I don’t intend to be burdensome. But we will wait for your choice.”

“If its ‘we’… ”

Bizet raised his index finger and gave a refreshing answer.

“Oh, my son has already declared that he will not marry anyone but you.”

“……?!”

For a ten-year-old, it was too extreme!

My God, Kyle seemed to be the most extreme kid out of all the ten-year-olds.

‘I can’t believe he’s already declared his entire life at that age. Then you should have stopped him, Father!’

But Bizet continued speaking with a soft smile like castella.

“So I gladly told him to go ahead.”

“……”

From the innocent smile of my father-in-law, I felt a gentle madness.

‘I think I know what his son looks like.’

But just because a 10-year-old made such a decision didn’t mean I was very bothered.

Like I said before, it was the age where fickleness was boiling over and the things one likes change quickly.

But there was something strange about it.

“Did your son know me beforehand?”

It was a bit strange to decide on marriage just by looking at the profile.

Then Bizet said with a smile.

“He already knows Annette.”

I knew it. But how does he know me?

‘It’s Kyle…’

It was a name I had never heard of. I had never heard of it.

“May I ask how your son got to know me, Marquis?”

I was really curious about this. Unbeknownst to me, he fell in love with me (though it’s a bit embarrassing to say this) and he wanted to get married.

“That…”

Bizet’s pale green eyes became taciturn, and he swung his hand towards me.

“I’ll come closer to your ears for a moment.”

“Sure.”

Badump, badump, badump.

I perked my ears with a little nervousness. Then a friendly voice whispered in my ear.

“That’s a secret!”

‘…You’re surprisingly good at catching people, Father. I am even more curious now.’

Now Bizet looked at me and asked carefully.

“If you have any questions, how about meeting my son and asking him directly?”

“Did your son attend the banquet?”

“But of course. After hearing the news that Annette was coming to the imperial banquet, he had trouble sleeping for a few days. Just like the day before a picnic!”

“Fufu.”

It was kind of cute and adorable, so I wanted to meet that little boy.

“I’m going to the banquet hall to find Kyle, would Annette like to rest for a while?”

Bizet seemed to know exactly why I came out into the garden.

At his thoughtful suggestion, I lowered my eyes and smiled.

“Yes, Marquis.”

***

‘The Marquis of Winston. I think I learned it in class. It’s a family that exterminates demonic beasts with magic bullets.’

In the Forest, as a liberal arts subject, we learned the history of major noble families. The same was true for ‘The Marquis of Winston’.

It was hard to imagine that innocent father-in-law just shooting magic bullets at monsters or beasts, but anyway, it was a venerable family that appeared in the founding tale.

If I was associated with such a family, a peaceful bakery life could be difficult.

It was the moment when I realized that I had entered a deep part of the garden unknowingly while walking in thought.

I heard ‘that sound’.

“……?”

It was a small whisper, but because of the speaker’s hoarse voice, the content could be heard well.

“I did my best. I’ve looked for all sorts of ways. But I couldn’t find a way in the end.”

‘The voice and content are somewhat secretive. They don’t want anyone to hear.’

Instinctively, I hid behind a tree and looked for the voice.

There was a man kneeling there. It was an old man with gray hair, dressed in a neat white priest’s robe.

‘Is he a priest?’

Also, looking at the black collar worn around his neck, he was a ‘high priest’.

Another voice came in reply to the high priest’s words.

“Is that all that High Priest Arthur has to say to me?”

‘This voice!’

It was a voice I knew. It was a voice I heard recently. No, it was a voice I just heard.

‘The Prince, it’s Gerard’s voice.’

As I turned my head slightly, the face of the man standing in front of the high priest was revealed.

Long silver-gray hair and red eyes that were as beautiful as a gift.

“The terrible thing I am suffering from is not a disease, but rather, a ‘curse’.”

‘What? The prince is ill, no, he is cursed?’

It was only then that I realized the reason they were talking secretly in such a deep part of the garden.

He was the perfect prince in every way, but he was cursed so badly; he really wouldn’t want to let anyone know.

“So it was you, Arthur, who said that healing should be done with divine power, not with medicinal herbs.”

“I deeply apologize, Prince. We tried our best in the Great Temple, but we couldn’t find a way to break the curse.”

“…It’s impossible even for the Great Temple?”

A shadow fell over Gerard’s face.

The glare in his red eyes was a total 180 degrees change from when he handed jelly to a child at the party.

I felt chills, because it looked like the eyes of a killer that would slice the heart of his opponent without a blink of an eye.

As if submitting to those red eyes, the high priest put his forehead to the ground and shouted.

“I’m sorry, Prince! However, you don’t have to worry about that because it was carried out in secret as you ordered. I put the magic of oblivion on the priests who participated in this.”

“……”

“And I’m not going to tell anyone about this either!”

It was an oath to keep Gerard’s secret.

The high priest raised his head and spoke as obedient as a dog.

Listening to that earnest vow with a bored face, Gerard narrowed his red eyes.

“How old are you this year?”

“…Yes?”

At the unexpected question, High Priest Arthur seemed a bit perplexed, then smiled quickly and said,

“Yes, Prince. I will soon be seventy. In two days, my grandson’s wedding will be held.”

“You have lived long enough.”

Gerard’s blade cut the high priest’s head off at once.