The Villain Who Will Kill Me Is Too Handsome, It's Troublesome - Chapter 113

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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 113.
“Seeing Your Majesty’s state today, I suppose I should have pressed harder.”
Kirien was regretting it.
He should have proposed the moment the Marriage Ban was lifted, but he’d held off for Sernia’s and Bleo’s sake, and now he was at the back of the line.
On top of that, the Emperor was insufferably smug simply because he had proposed first.
And now even the Southern Kingdom was getting involved.
If he’d known, he should have at least started the exchange of marriage proposals and replies, even if it wasn’t an engagement yet.
Was it the tension of the moment, or something else? His snow-white aura gave a restless twitch, as if it wanted to dance.
“Not like that, you can’t.”
Artiela spoke up in a rush.
That needed to be saved.
Bertia’s snow-white aura was the very thing needed to confirm whether he was truly Kirien or not.
Kirien, mistaking that for a refusal, slowly moved his lips.
“Do you… not want me?”
He forced the words out, then drew in a breath and acted like a man who had forgotten how to breathe.
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
Artiela looked down at herself.
It was because of the knight’s uniform she wore—not a ceremonial one, but a practical uniform, close to training attire, and it just didn’t look the part.
If it were up to her, she’d have wanted to be proposed to while wearing the finest uniform she had.
“Then why…”
Kirien lowered his head timidly.
But before long, he seemed to have made up his mind, and lifted his head again.
“I’ve already done it.”
Artiela’s eyes went wide.
Excuse me? When? I haven’t been proposed to separately at all, have I?
As she blinked, not knowing how to respond, Kirien cleared his throat and spoke again.
“Mother and Sir Bleo both advised me to take a firm stance rather than wait…”
Is that the end of the proposal?
“I’ve sent marriage proposals to the Solties Count Family and to Edelion.”
“O-oh, really?”
“I was pushed to third place in the order they were sent, but…”
Kirien tightened his grip on the hand he was still holding.
“Still, I hope the replies I receive first are mine.”
Kirien’s snow-white aura flickered around his face for the first time in a while.
Artiela waved her hand to settle the aura. They say you shouldn’t waste it, yet here he was, spending aura on attacking my face.
Still, a proposal like this wasn’t bad.
It was filled with Kirien’s sincere feelings.
“Looks like you’ve forgotten something.”
So Artiela playfully flicked his nose.
“The very first marriage proposal written—that was from the Duke, you know.”
Not last place, but first.
“And even the head of the Lufel Duchy approved it.”
And it was Bertia, in Bailey’s form, who had pushed it forward so eagerly.
“So don’t go sulking over the order.”
I can’t stand to see my man lose heart.
No matter how impressive the other suitors are. Artiela said with a bright smile.
“But still, I want my proposal to be done properly, you know?”
What is this.
Who ever heard of a proposal that’s just paperwork?
At Artiela’s disappointed face, Kirien raised his eyebrows. Then he fumbled in his pocket and pulled something out.
“Actually…”
He had already prepared it.
When we went to the Duchy Territory this time.
He had seen how much Artiela liked the territory, and so he had brought out a family heirloom.
Something far more precious than a ring.
What he drew out was a very thick pouch. When he lifted it, a heavy jingling sound rang out.
“These are the keys to the Duke’s Castle. You can go anywhere you like, Ati.”
Pfft. Artiela burst out laughing.
“I want to give you everything I have.”
Kirien, too, couldn’t help but smile shyly.
It was grander than any prince from a fairy tale. Giving something more precious than a ring.
But Artiela accepted it without hesitation.
Then she pulled out a bundle of keys. She slipped her hand through the large iron ring that held them, and made sure to jingle them in front of Kirien, just so he would see.
She was dropping hints all over the place.
“Propose to me properly later. When you’re wearing your uniform looking sharp.”
At Artiela’s request, Kirien broke into a wide smile and nodded.
“Wow, Sir Knight! You got proposed to!”
“Hey, the Sir Knight is getting married!”
The children who came for playtime swarmed in, and their shrieks echoed across the Training Grounds loud enough to shake the rafters.
Because of that racket, the Holy Knights who had gone off to pack came rushing back.
“What? Our Captain got proposed to!”
The priests passing by were buzzing just as much.
“You missed the best moment.”
“Not yet. It’s still far from that.”
This is the trouble with the Holy Temple.
People live such placid lives that they go into a frenzy over every little event like this.
Artiela rolled her eyes and whispered quietly to Kirien.
“If you’re going to propose for real, do it where there’s no one around.”
Kirien nodded quietly.
* * *
That evening, the Holy Knight Order came face to face with the Imperial Army.
“I didn’t realize Sir Purcell was here as well.”
Purcell, who had led the Imperial Army over, bowed his head quietly before Artiela.
“I pay my respects to the Commander-in-Chief.”
Commander-in-Chief.
A title that didn’t suit the Holy Knight Order’s Captain had been pinned on her.
“Our respects. We look forward to working with you.”
The Imperial Army bowed in unison as well.
They already looked half-cowed. It was fear of the war that did it.
Most of them had already been caught up in the succession struggle within Pieter’s court and had weathered its small and large clashes. But that had been nearly a fight against fellow humans.
“Can we actually fight monsters?”
“I heard the Southern Kingdom’s army is made up entirely of Dark Mages.”
“I’ve heard some knights sold their souls to demons to gain their power.”
Even knights who wielded Aura found monsters a frightening foe.
Maybe in Sir Bertia’s day it had been different, but now monsters appeared far less often, and the Holy Knights and priests alone were more than enough to handle them. That was exactly why the Imperial Army had never needed to take the field.
“Apart from the elite forces guarding His Majesty the Emperor, the Imperial Army we’ve gathered will enter the city tomorrow.”
“Understood. But will Sir Purcell be marching out with them as well?”
That would be a problem.
“No. I’ve only come to guide them here.”
“Ah, I see.”
That makes sense.
When Artiela nodded, Purcell issued orders to the Imperial Army on her behalf.
“From today on, she is the Commander-in-Chief who will lead you. Anyone who defies her will be punished under Military Law at once, so govern yourselves accordingly.”
“Yes, understood.”
Once he had fully handed over the Imperial Army he had commanded, Purcell left the spot.
Artiela looked over the knights who remained.
Some were knights she had met a few times at the Imperial Palace. Others were the faces she had seen in front of Edelion, and a few more were people she had never laid eyes on before.
Their reaction was plain to see.
Ardent devotion.
“They all look at you with such admiration, Ati.”
Kirien picked up on it right away too.
Their gazes were hard to ignore even if one tried to pretend otherwise. Sparkling, eager eyes, wanting to learn.
There seemed to be a hope mixed in as well, that Artiela would be the one to protect them.
‘Ugh, that’s a lot of pressure.’
Things will be easier this way, sure, but…
‘Now I’m worried it’s all going too smoothly.’
If they so openly show that they’ve lost the rank contest right away like this, the Emperor might call off the war even as he’s about to start it…
“Still, an army is an army.”
Artiela looked over the Holy Knight Order with the idea of stirring up a bit of friction, and then let her worries go.
Because they were the kind of faces that would stir up trouble all on their own.
“We’ll split the formations based on ability.”
At Artiela’s declaration, the Holy Knight Order broke into a devilish grin.
* * *
Not even a full day had passed since the two orders began their joint training when Pieter arrived at the training grounds set up on the outskirts of the Imperial Palace.
“Is the training going well, Ati?”
“Your Majesty, Sir Artiela stands here not as your friend’s younger sister but as the Commander-in-Chief of the army that guards the Empire. I would ask that you address her by her title.”
Before Artiela could say a word, Kirien stepped forward.
Pieter’s eyes narrowed, as they naturally would.
“Fine, then, but…”
Pieter shot Kirien a sidelong glare, his look bordering on contempt.
The Emperor must have heard by now. That Kirien had sent a marriage proposal.
Unable to hide his open hostility, he looked at Artiela and shook his head, feigning deep disappointment.
“I misjudged the Holy Knight Commander of Edelion.”
His gaze settled squarely on the cloak draped over Kirien’s shoulder.
On the insignia that revealed Kirien’s current rank, that is.
“How on earth did someone who never even received proper knightly training become Deputy Commander?”
His eyes were the eyes of a man who simply could not comprehend it.
But Artiela held her ground with dignity.
Forgive me, but how could this be any fairer?

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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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