Please Repay Me with Marriage! - Chapter 17

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

Pay me back by marrying me!
Chapter 17
The moment Leonard arrived at the Blair Marquis Residence, he was shown into the reception room.
‘I never thought I’d be coming back to this mansion.’
And only a single day later, at that.
Just yesterday, he’d left thinking he would never set foot here again, and the thought made him feel a little foolish. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he lifted the coffee to his mouth.
The coffee that the Marquis Blair had imported from the Con-Isle-Tem Union and made fashionable was still a luxury reserved for the nobility.
Having never once visited a coffee house since arriving in the capital, Leonard found the drink endlessly unfamiliar. Yet the coffee the head maid had kindly served him with milk and sugar suited his palate far better than he’d expected.
‘Zenis should like this well enough.’
Maybe I’ll take her to a coffee house once I have the time.
That he now had the leisure to think such things eased the tension in Leonard’s shoulders.
Just as he found himself letting out a long breath, savoring the soft aroma coating the tip of his tongue, a knock sounded and Irene-ah stepped into the reception room at last.
“I’m sorry for keeping you. Have you been waiting long?”
“No… I only just arrived. The coffee you gave me hasn’t even gone cold yet.”
Leonard answered with a slightly dazed look. It was because, contrary to his expectations, Irene appeared fully dressed up from head to toe.
“If you have other plans, I can come back another time.”
So much so that the question slipped out before he could stop himself.
“Not at all. I cleared the whole day. I didn’t know when you might come, Sir Leonard.”
At her bright smile and her thanks for coming early, Leonard felt his ears burn helplessly, and he lowered his gaze.
He had no idea that she had risen before dawn and hurried through her preparations, all so that she would look lovely in his eyes.
“It isn’t that I’m pressed for time, but my heart is. May we get straight into the important matters?”
“Yes. That’s why I came.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
With a bright smile, Irene called for Damond, who had been waiting outside.
As if he had been informed in advance, he promptly set Reize Messer down on the table where the two of them sat facing each other.
He then placed a small case beside it and withdrew. It was a small accessory box holding two rings.
“Sir Leonard, you’d like your sword back, wouldn’t you?”
Irene leaned against the table with her arms crossed, wearing a confident smile, as if she were a blackmailer holding a very important hostage.
“To get it back, you’ll need to wear this ring on your left ring finger. The one set with a gem the color of my eyes.”
Only after she said so did his gaze finally drift to the gems set in the rings.
The pair of rings, differing in size, were set with sapphire-blue and amber-orange gems, mirroring the color of each of their eyes.
Once they put these rings on and walked about wearing them, the two of them would be engaged in every sense of the word.
“May I ask you something?”
“Yes, ask me anything at all.”
Her face, beaming and bright, sparkled with anticipation. Leonard gazed at it quietly.
‘She really is a strange woman.’
There truly was a great deal he wanted to ask her.
Whether she knew about the deal he had made with the Second Prince, and what she had been thinking when she bid five hundred million for him. Why, out of all the men there were, she was going to such lengths for him.
Leonard lumped all those questions together and put them to Irene.
“How long have you known about me?”
Irene answered at once, as though she had prepared for the question.
“Why, I’ve known of you for a long time. The one who claimed the Honor of Anuf has appeared only once in nearly a hundred years, after all.”
About three hundred and eighty years ago, not long after the Empire was founded.
A knight named Anuf, who had burst onto the Social Circle like a comet, won both the Spear Tournament held in spring and the Hunting Tournament held in autumn, one after the other.
The Emperor of the time, who had been deeply fond of the knight Anuf, lavishly praised his unmatched prowess and bestowed a decoration upon him.
From then on, whenever a young noble who had just debuted in the Social Circle won both the Spear Tournament and the Hunting Tournament in the same year, people began to praise him as having “claimed the Honor of Anuf.”
“I was too busy to take part in the Social Circle back then, but I never missed hearing about your exploits, Sir Leonard. So I’ve always wanted to meet you, whenever the chance came.”
“You heard about my exploits?”
Leonard wore a dubious expression.
Little wonder. Honor of Anuf or not, no matter what he did, he had only ever been mocked for his background.
“I heard you knocked Young Master Mathias flat with a single punch when he challenged you to a duel for no reason at all?”
“Ah, that.”
A long sigh escaped Leonard’s lips on its own.
Three years ago, Lloyd, who had graduated first in his class from the Military Academy, prided himself on having swordsmanship superior to anyone else’s.
So he went around boasting loudly everywhere that he would be the one to claim the Honor of Anuf… but—
He lost the Spear Tournament, then lost the Hunting Tournament too. Unable to bear it, he even threw down his gauntlet, only to be knocked off his feet by a single shabby punch, and he became a source of tremendous ridicule.
That was precisely why Lloyd was still itching to tear Leonard apart even now.
“Sir Leonard, you and Young Master Mathias don’t get along, do you?”
“To put it accurately, he is the one who dislikes me, and only in one direction.”
Leonard wore a weary expression. Honestly, he felt wronged.
Having grown up the way he had, he never learned how to hold back his strength. Had he drawn a real blade in a duel, he’d have likely killed his opponent, so he settled things with his fists instead. Even then, he hadn’t held back enough and had knocked the man unconscious.
Lloyd looked so mortified that Leonard decided to be candid and told him this part as well.
But that only shattered what was left of Lloyd’s pride. From then on, he trailed after Leonard wherever he went, making his life miserable.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that half the reason Leonard left the social circle after just a year was thanks to Lloyd.
And later, it was because he had grown so sick of it.
It was because he had seriously started thinking about simply killing the man.
“That’s why Sir Leonard dislikes him too, you know. Did you not know that? Young Master Mathias proposed to me last year.”
“That… that good-for-nothing actually proposed to you, my lady?”
“Yes. And not through a formal marriage proposal arranged by Count Mathias, either. He just walked into the lounge while I was resting in the middle of a banquet and blurted it out, just like that.”
A chill crept into the curve of Irene’s smile.
“What was it he said… that he would help me focus on my social obligations?”
“Did he mean he would swallow up all of your lordship’s businesses?”
“As if he only wanted the businesses? He wanted me to become his Marchioness. And he’d hand over the marquis title to himself.”
Leonard doubted his own ears.
“Is that even possible? A spouse can’t inherit the other’s title, can they?”
“Not after the marriage, no. But the Imperial Law is a curious thing. Before the wedding, one can actually transfer their own title to the other.”
Once someone has been entered in the register as a spouse, they can no longer inherit the other’s title. But if they haven’t yet become a spouse, they can inherit the other’s title.
Hearing that this was the only way to inherit a spouse’s title, Leonard quietly convinced himself.
‘So the Countess truly had no other option.’
That was precisely why Leonard found himself sitting in this very seat.
“If Sir Leonard wears this ring, Young Master Mathias will be quite sick with envy, you know. What do you think? Doesn’t it tempt you?”
“It does tempt me, I’ll admit. But I can’t decide on a marriage just because I’d like to see that son of a… that man seethe with rage.”
“And besides that-”
“Marquis Blair.”
Leonard cut her off with an air of complete indifference, and a flicker of impatience passed across Irene’s face.
Why was that? She surely had plenty of means to threaten him. She had no need to offer terms this gently.
Leonard found himself curious about why Irene was being so lenient with him.
“What will you do if I say I don’t need this sword and run off with the money?”
“Don’t need it? But this is a Family Heirloom of the House of Elpias.”
“Yes, it is a Family Heirloom of the House of Elpias. It isn’t my treasure.”
Even the Marquis Blair apparently hadn’t known that much. Leonard pressed each word with deliberate weight.
“Though I inherited the Count Title out of circumstances beyond my control, the title isn’t mine. Zenis Elpias is the rightful heir. Once that child comes of age, I intend to return the title and go back to being a mercenary.”
Leonard studied Irene’s face relentlessly, watching her eyes widen, and continued speaking.
“Even so, you still want me as your husband?”
As Leonard waited for her answer, his chest stirred with something he couldn’t tell apart, whether anticipation or unease.
She was sure to be disappointed. Leonard imagined her face going cold.
But reality was nothing like his imagination. Far from cooling, Irene’s face flushed and bloomed brightly, like a flower in full blossom.
“Then, once you return the title to your younger sibling, you’ll become Leonard Blair for me, won’t you?”
“…Pardon?”
“When is your younger sibling’s birthday? Will you return the title that very day? Or a few days later?”
“No, my lady.”
“Oh, don’t tell me you’re worried you won’t be able to take mercenary jobs? It doesn’t matter. Only pitiful men with no ability but plenty of pride try to stop their wives from working outside the home. Though I do hope you won’t take on anything too dangerous.”
Leonard was momentarily stunned by words he never expected.
Irene kept smiling brightly, oblivious to the turmoil inside him. That smile left him feeling strangely restless.
“This isn’t something to laugh off. If a man like me becomes your husband, my lady, you’ll be mocked wherever you go for having taken a lowly mercenary as your spouse.”
“Who would dare? Haven’t you seen today’s newspaper yet? If anyone speaks ill of my husband, I’ll be the one to give them a proper scolding, you know.”
She spoke in a playful tone, but Leonard knew it wasn’t a joke. He had read the paper.
“And this is something I’ve wanted to say for a while, but mocking someone’s origins is a petty thing to do. It only means there’s nothing else to ridicule. So if anyone says anything, just think, ‘Ah, they’re picking at trifles because I’m simply too outstanding.'”
“My lady.”
Shh. As if she didn’t want to hear another word, Irene pressed her index finger to her own lips. Looking at Leonard, she curved her eyes into soft crescents.
“As I said earlier, I’ve known you for a very long time, and I marked you as my future husband back then. Do you know why I’m making this offer only now?”
“Why is that?”
“I wanted to be able to say it proudly, just like I am now. If anyone mocks you, come to me and tell me. I’ll find some way to make that person regret it.”
Her eyes and her voice both overflowed with confidence. Leonard’s chest fluttered before he could stop it.
All his life, he had only ever heard that he could rely on no one but himself, or he had lived protecting others for pay.
It was the first time. Someone had said they would protect him.

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