Chapter 165
“Everything in this world was given to me by Kalcion. Are you stupid?”
“I know. That was stupid.”
In this world, all he could think about was how Selina could be happy, and he couldn’t think of anything else.
He later realized that his calculations were wrong, but it was already too late. Even if he lost everything he had due to a wrong calculation, he didn’t seem to have many regrets, so Kalcion was able to laugh.
“If that’s the case, you should be greedy too.”
“I already have enough of what I want.”
“…Really?”
Selina widened her eyes.
“Are you really not greedy to marry me?”
“…Marry?”
Suddenly, there was an illusion of wind blowing inside the barracks.
“…I’d like to hear an explanation as to why you have such a serious and surprised face.”
The surprised expression, as if he had heard something more than he could have imagined, was beyond what was expected. She thought he would be embarrassed and said, ‘Actually…’ or he would smile brightly and say, ‘Really?’ and he would be happy.
She didn’t even think about this.
On the other hand, Kalcion was rather aggrieved by her expression as she pulled her eyebrows together.
“You said marriage is not something you should do.”
“…Ah?”
Did she ever say that?
As she was looking back on her vague memories, there was a moment that caught her.
The day she saw Princess Jerryel being beaten by Prince Larsen in front of Count Orlens’ mansion, Selina had been speaking passionately about marriage in the carriage. Then, she saw Juna on the road, and it was cut off…
‘You still remembered that?’
Although she talked excitedly to herself, she did not emphasize that it was something that was to remember. She knew that he listened to every word she said, but did he really need to listen to that?
Her brows slowly relaxed with embarrassment and gratitude.
“I think I clearly said at the time that there was no way there could be someone with the right looks, personality, financial resources, hobbies, and lifestyle habits.”
“..Ah—”
Kalcion became visibly disappointed and sullen.
“No, no. I’m not doing it to criticize Kalcion. If all the conditions are met, of course, we will get married, but will there be a miracle where all the conditions are met?”
Selina hastily explained further.
However, Kalcion’s darkened face did not brighten.
“About my appearance, so let’s call it a pass. I thought I could just match the financial resources, hobbies, and lifestyle habits, but the personality…”
“Personality? What’s wrong with Kalcion’s personality? I am very satisfied.”
Although he was naturally straightforward and blunt, she discovered that the other side of him was honest. While he was gentle in front of her, he was a hundred times more than a person stabbing a knife from behind.
“You said that, right? You say you can’t meet them unless they’re a person with a friendly personality. It’s especially important to speak nicely, though I said the exact opposite.”
“….”
This was why people need to be careful about what they say, especially in front of Kalcion, who boasted a genius memory when it came to Selina.
“It had nothing to do with Kalcion at that time. I was just telling us not to misunderstand each other.”
“But that doesn’t mean my personality is going anywhere. I thought it was a miracle that you loved me, but not that we would get married.”
He was truly a man without greed. The person who was greedy for Selina to the point of giving up on this world is actually not greedy for marriage.
It was rather incoherent.
“It is true that the innate personality does not change, but the current Cioni is friendly and speaks nicely.”
“…Am I like that?”
Kalcion looked suspicious. It seemed like he was thinking that maybe she was saying something she didn’t really mean just to comfort him.
“Whoo.”
Selina pecked his lips, pressed his lips against hers, and hugged his neck tightly. No matter how shameless she was, it was a little embarrassing to say these words to the face.
“In my life, I have never met a man who spoke as sweetly as our Cioni. You’re so sweet every time that it becomes burdensome.”
Deep inside, she hoped that he would moderate his excessive treatment.
“…Really?”
They said that if they liked it too much, they would lose confidence. Just as she wondered if Kalcion would ever agree to marry her, he felt the same way. Even these things didn’t have to be the same.
Selina was happy to see that and found it endearingly cute, so she hugged him tighter.
“Yes, that’s really enough. Did you intentionally overexert yourself because you were worried about what I said?”
Kalcion paused.
“No, it’s not overexerting… I just did it because I felt like it…”
“Ah… From now on, you have to express yourself more comfortably. Don’t feel pressured. I think it will be okay.”
She didn’t know if her sincere retelling out of fear of him being hurt would work. Despite the fact that it was a bit burdensome, what could she do when he said it was because he loved her so much? It was not difficult to endure shame.
Selina was already rationalizing.
“But… Like Jerryel said, what would you do if we spent our whole life without getting married and suddenly I got married to someone else?”
Even though it was unlikely to happen, she suddenly became curious and asked. Kalcion thought carefully for a moment and then answered honestly.
“If your love for me had cooled, I would have let you go.”
“Hey.”
“Forcing yourself to hold on to me when you no longer love me would make you unhappy.”
“Yes, but… Other than that, since I am the King, I would have to get married out of obligation or an arranged marriage. It’s quite possible.”
“Aha. It can never happen, that.”
Kalcion flashed a cruel smile like when he was facing the enemy. She recalled he had a similar expression towards Larsen.
“Can I just sit by and watch you marry someone else without love?”
“….”
“People can die in many different ways. They could take a wrong step on the stairs and fall to their death, they could die when food gets stuck in their throat while eating, or they could die while taking a walk and hit their head on a rock. They could be killed by an assailant on the street, or a war could suddenly break out, and they could die while going out to fight. It’s very common.”
Winter has arrived in the barracks. It was very cold like someone held a grudge.
Kalcion was truly someone who would do that. This was the same person who had already started a war because of her.
“Aha… ha. Ha.”
Frozen, Selina forced herself to laugh, like the sound her knees made when stretching in the dead of winter.
“It would be nice to live like this for the rest of our lives if neither of us married anyone else, but it makes no sense to marry someone else and have a relationship with me.”
He smiled brightly.
She no longer had to question his intentions. It was as if their marriage had already been decided.
“Then, let’s just get mar.”
“Wait.”
He urgently covered her mouth.
Selina blinked with her mouth closed, and it was only a beat later that she realized that she had almost proposed without taking the atmosphere into consideration. Then, he sighed and took a deep breath.
“…Really? here?”
“…No?”
Kalcion, who didn’t look nervous even when running into battle, froze now.
“Actually, I imagined a lot about proposing… It’s not that I didn’t have a plan, no, I made a lot of plans. No, that’s not it.”
He must have been so nervous that his sentences kept stopping. The words he managed to get out while moistening his lips with his tongue were incoherent.
She was also nervous and held her breath as she waited for his next words.
“I thought I had to make this a marriage proposal that could never happen again in the world… In an arranged marriage, the amount of gifts was used, but it seemed like that would not be enough. Because ours is not an arranged marriage.”
“A shamrock ring is fine, too!”
Selina, anxious as she waited, eventually screamed. There were important moments in her life. Even if it was the same action or the same words, it could only be done ‘then.’
Now was that moment.
She became impatient because she didn’t want to miss it.
“I’m not getting married just to show off to others… No, not really.”
No matter how urgent she was, she couldn’t say anything wrong. She quickly corrected herself and moved on.
“I also think that if Cioni and I are living alone in this world, it would be a good idea to get married or something! Still, there are many people in the world other than us, so I’m trying to show them.”
Kalcion’s gibberish also spread to her. She didn’t even know what she was talking about and just spilled it out of her mouth.
“But since marriage is for the two of us, not for those people, the conclusion is that there is no need to be so grandiose in the eyes of others, we just need to be satisfied… like that.”
He looked at her blankly, then suddenly came to his senses.
He felt the same way as her.
It has to be this moment.
“…Wait.”
She wondered if this were how a player who thought it would be their next turn in about a hundred times felt when they were told to go for the next turn right away. Kalcion took a deep breath and nodded his head.
“Good. Let’s go.”
Selina stood up with a solemn face.