Let the Whales Fight, This Shrimp is Leaving! - Chapter 25

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 25
Counting back through time, it was six years ago.
The year I celebrated my sixteenth birthday, the first proposal letter arrived.
“Joaquin Perez has been relentlessly sending proposal letters from then until now.”
Naturally, I had always expressed a polite, indirect refusal.
Before coming of age, I used the excuse that I hadn’t yet had my coming-of-age ceremony, and after that, I declined under the pretext of the regency.
Yet Joaquin Perez proved persistent.
As time marched on, the corner I had to hide in grew narrower and narrower.
Since I was of marriageable age, public opinion began to whisper that it might be best for me to wed, if only for the stability of the Grand Duchy.
‘But this works out well. I finally have a use for it.’
I looked up at Deyan Boislav Nemanic, who still appeared deeply conflicted.
“You can guess why Joaquin Perez is proposing to me, can’t you?”
“He intends to swallow the Plene Grand Duchy with as little loss as possible, and then march upon Adorif.”
“I’m glad to see you aren’t an idiot, Sir. Exactly.”
I didn’t miss the opportunity to jab at him whenever a gap presented itself.
Instead of arguing back, Deyan merely pressed his lips into a thin line.
A hard angle formed along his jaw.
“It has been six years since he first demanded marriage. If he has been preparing for war since then, it means it is truly time for him to see this through to the end.”
Everything would be decided during this visit.
Whether we would be allowed a little more breathing room or not.
In truth, Joaquin Perez had provoked the Adorif Empire in a cunning manner, and despite always being on high alert regarding our surroundings, I hadn’t grasped that fact at all.
It was safe to interpret that as a sign of just how meticulously he had prepared.
‘To be frank, I don’t entirely like this option either, but there is no choice.’
Right now, this was the only way to definitely cloud Joaquin Perez’s judgment.
Of course, Deyan was already a card in my hand.
I despised the foolishness of failing to properly utilize a card I held far more than I disliked playing at some ridiculous game of romance.
“I will reject Joaquin Perez’s courtship this time as well. And…”
I am going to receive a marriage proposal from Deyan.
I pulled out the item I had brought along in advance.
It was a small velvet box.
When I handed it to Deyan, he glanced down at me with a bewildered expression.
“Open it.”
“…A ring?”
“To be precise, it’s my ring.”
“Yes. It appears so.”
Deyan stared quietly at the tiny ring before snapping the lid of the box shut.
Then, he carefully handed it back to me.
“Why are you showing this to me?”
“It’s my ring, but it’s also your ring, Sir.”
“It is far too small for me to wear. It wouldn’t even fit on my pinky finger.”
“Did you honestly think I gave it to you to wear around?”
Think, man, think.
My strength suddenly drained away because of Deyan’s hopelessly dim-witted response.
The funny thing was that his expression remained utterly grave.
Staring in exasperation at this seemingly slow-witted man, I broke it down into simpler terms so he could comprehend.
“You just need to use this ring to propose to me, Sir.”
“Pardon?”
“You know what a marriage proposal is, right? The thing where you drop to one knee and offer a ring.”
“I know at least that much.”
“You can arrange the bouquet on your own.”
“Hold on.”
Deyan interrupted my unilateral demands, cutting me off.
“Why must I propose to you, My Lady?”
“Because that paints the finest picture.”
“Pardon?”
“And it’s also the method that will infuriate him the most.”
If we were to place his arch-nemesis right in front of Joaquin Perez—who had spent a staggering six years unilaterally demanding my hand—what kind of reaction would we get?
What if that very nemesis even proposed to me?
And what if I gladly accepted that marriage proposal?
Deyan nodded with a deeply skeptical look.
“It certainly sounds infuriating.”
“Doesn’t it?”
Growing delighted just by the imagination, I beamed at him proudly.
“His arch-nemesis is you, after all.”
I had no idea what Deyan thought of him, but at the very least, Joaquin Perez was extremely wary of Deyan.
This became clear just by looking at the way he had lured Deyan out of Adorif.
He had gone out of his way to use a time-consuming method, waiting for the Adorif Empire to move, and had even moved his own precious feet to ambush Deyan personally.
The strongest sword of the enemy nation, the one the Emperor of the Adorif Empire trusted most.
‘He must have calculated that breaking that sword would guarantee an easy victory.’
To someone like him, the Plene Grand Duchy was nothing more than an insect, so he wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
Completely unaware that I, crushed beneath his feet, was nurturing venom deep within.
I paused, giving Deyan ample time to process my scheme, before continuing.
“Conveniently, our age difference is appropriate, and we have a perfect reason to fall for each other.”
An unidentified man discovered bleeding in the forest.
The man lost his memories, and judging by his attire and appearance, it is suspected he was carrying out some secret mission.
It was only natural for me to personally oversee and manage a suspicious, unidentified individual, and my public image…
“Since I am a beautiful, innocent, and kind-hearted person, wouldn’t it be entirely natural for me to be unable to treat an amnesiac patient harshly?”
“Beautiful, and what did you say came after that?”
Deyan questioned, but I cleanly ignored him.
“A frail-hearted Lady who takes pity on a wounded man. And a mysterious, unidentified man who, despite losing his memories, knows how to show proper courtesy to his savior.”
When an adult man and woman of similar age constantly bump into each other under one roof, locking eyes and sharing conversations, feelings are bound to bloom.
…Isn’t that the kind of story you can find anywhere?
“I fell in love without even knowing who you were.”
I poked his shoulder with my index finger.
“And you fell in love at first sight with me, the one who nursed you back to health with utmost devotion despite your lost memories.”
The gap between Deyan’s parted lips slowly widened.
“We shared our hearts, and later on, your family finally tracked you down.”
If his mouth opened any wider, it felt as though his jaw might drop off entirely.
Since a passable appearance was also a crucial element of this farce, I kindly reached out and pushed his chin back up.
Deyan shuddered all over like a man waking from a hypnotic trance.
As if that weren’t enough, he even stumbled backward, retreating a few steps.
I took a long stride forward, narrowing the distance between us once more.
When he recoiled again, I took another step.
When he fled further backward this time, I took two steps.
It looked exactly as though I were hunting down a fleeing Deyan.
“Do you mean to provoke Joaquin Perez with such a farce? Sincerely?”
“Yes.”
I cheerfully carried on with the narrative.
I truly felt like the author of a highly romantic love story.
‘Perhaps I actually have a talent for this?’
Deyan stared at me in sheer disbelief as I beamed brightly.
“You, who had still not recovered your memories, returned to your family, and though I decided to let go of my feelings upon learning your true identity…”
Deyan was finally backed completely against the wall.
Looking up at him with a smiling face, I drove the final nail in.
The man, unable to abandon his intense love, ultimately!
“…Decides to return to the woman’s side. Utilizing absolutely everything in his possession.”
To pull this off, there was one thing that had to happen first.
The Emperor of the Adorif Empire had to catch wind of our passionate, heartbreaking love story.
Only then would he think ‘splendid’ and try to push forward a state marriage between Deyan and me.
As for the Emperor’s willingness to support this, I could already guess it well enough just from the fact that this man had gone out of his way to escort me at the last banquet.
“Naturally, I will hesitate out of concern for diplomatic troubles.”
Then Joaquin Perez will be burning with anxiety.
Even if I try to act calmly through the reason of ‘national matters,’ there is no telling what a person’s raw emotions might drive them to do.
Sometimes, this mysterious emotion called love can turn a human being into an absolute fool.
Fortunately, Joaquin was precisely the type of creature who believed in the power of irrationality.
“They won’t be able to use this as a justification for war. It wouldn’t be justifiable.”
Who could possibly find fault with a woman of marriageable age scouting out a prospective husband?
No matter how unhinged Joaquin Perez might be, this carried far too much risk of public backlash.
That man is cruel, but he is not brave enough to endure unnecessary condemnation and risk. He is a coward by nature.
“If the Plene Grand Duchy sways between the two nations, the Agavni United States will have no choice but to watch closely as well.”
They will certainly try to test the waters.
It was a strategy that could simultaneously drag out those bastards holed up in their viper’s nest.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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