After-Story Chapter 37: Proposal (Part 2)
The scene shifts back to the moment Cian proposed to Carla, with time having flowed in between.
“I swear on this name: I will absolutely… absolutely make Carla happy! So please, will you be my consort!”
I, Cian of Friedonia, King of Friedonia, proposed directly, looking straight into the eyes of Carla, who was still dressed in her attendant’s uniform. Carla Vargas. She was the woman I had admired constantly since I was a small child. Being a long-lived half-dragon race, Carla’s appearance had hardly changed from my earliest memories. She was as beautiful as ever.
I know this might sound arrogant, but I have beautiful mothers and sisters (and the terrifying fact is that even many of my grandmothers are beautiful), so I believe I have quite a discerning eye for beauty. Even setting aside the bias of love, I still thought Carla was a beautiful woman who could stand toe-to-toe with my family.
In my childhood, she was like another mother who loved us, along with Mother Liscia and the others. As I grew up, she became like an older sister who watched over us (Father’s children). It was natural that when I reached adolescence, I fell in love with Carla.
Compared to her, the daughters of nobles who flirted with me during my time at the Royal Academy simply faded into the background. The only one who could rival her would be my fiancée, Sharan. Although our engagement was arranged by our parents, Sharan is graceful, kind-hearted, and even consulted with me about my feelings for Carla. I believe I can show Sharan love that is second to none, either.
…Well, if I were to neglect Sharan, Kazuha, who is even more fond of Sharan than I am, would probably storm into the office and raise hell.
“Y-Your Majesty Cian.”
Carla’s cheeks were flushed at my proposal, and she shifted her gaze nervously, looking bewildered.
“W-Well… I was once someone who raised a rebellion against the previous King, you see…”
“That crime has long since been erased by your achievements. The Vargas family has been reinstated, hasn’t it?”
“But I have a quite large scar on my chest…”
“That’s the wound you got protecting Father, isn’t it? I know, and I don’t care.”
“And look, it would be quite a large age gap marriage.”
“If you start talking about things like that, Father wouldn’t have been able to marry Mother Aisha or Mother Naden. My appearance has finally matured enough to look natural standing next to you, Carla, so please, won’t you become my wife?”
When I held out my hand, Carla blinked rapidly and looked at my hand.
“That’s… quite… aggressive of you. The former King, your father, was quite reserved—I believe he was so shy that even when Mother Liscia and the others welcomed him, he still hesitated to make a move.”
“Ah, well. That’s why my mothers told me specifically not to follow his example, and to be actively assertive toward the woman I want. They told me to emulate my Uncle Julius and Uncle Hakuya.”
“Liscia! What are you teaching your son?!”
“Please, accept these feelings of mine.”
Without withdrawing my outstretched hand, I told Carla the honest words straight from my heart. Carla made sounds like “Ah” and “Uh,” opening her mouth to say something but failing, reaching out to take my hand only to pull back… she repeated this cycle several times. After that moment of internal conflict passed…
“If you’ll excuse me… I-I!“
“I?”
“I-I need to take this back to consider it first!”
Carla spun on her heel and dashed away, pitter-pattering down the hall. For a Chief Attendant who usually instructed the attendant apprentices, Marin and Maron, by saying, “It’s inappropriate to run carelessly in the castle,” she ran with the speed of a fleeing rabbit, disregarding all decorum.
As I stood there, dumbfounded and left behind…
“Oh, dear. She rejected you, didn’t she?”
“How pitiful, Brother.”
“Well, cheer up, big bro.”
I was greeted by three distinct voices: one amused, one sympathetic, and one slightly wry. I turned and glared flatly at the three people who had called out.
“Were you spying on me? Kazuha, Enju, Leon.”
The ones who appeared were my siblings (including my half-siblings, though there’s practically no distinction made in our family). It seemed they had been secretly watching my once-in-a-lifetime proposal. Kazuha was even holding a cute, winged girl of about three or four years old to her chest. The little girl looked up at Kazuha with a confused expression.
“Aww, big bwother. Did she weject you?”
“She sure did, Sayu. Cian got rejected.”
“I did not get rejected! Stop teaching Sayu lies!”
Sayu, or Sayuri Haan Souma, was a Winged Human girl born to Father and Mother Yuriga. Mother Yuriga, who had been a star magical soccer player, gave birth to Father’s child at the age of twenty-five, just as she was transitioning her focus from power plays to technical skill. Mother Yuriga is still an active magical soccer player, raising both Suiga, who was adopted earlier, and Sayu as siblings.
I crossed my arms and told my younger siblings:
“Carla said she needed to take it back to consider it. She didn’t reject me. Mother Liscia even told me, ‘Carla is weak to persistence, so just be aggressive about it.'”
“Hmph… well, you’ve insisted on ‘marrwying Carla’ since you were little, so go ahead and give it your best shot. But if you make my sweet Sharan cry over this, I won’t forgive you.”
Saying that, Kazuha made a shadowboxing motion with the hand that wasn’t holding Sayu. My twin sister still had a quick temper, didn’t she?
“Kazuha, you should worry about yourself more than me. Brother Ichiha and Sister Tomoe were complaining that they’re swamped with requests for matchmaking since you refuse to decide on a fiancé.”
“Lalala, I can’t heaaar you!”
“Can’t he-nyah-ear you!♪”
As Kazuha covered one ear, pretending not to hear, Sayu, apparently amused, imitated her and covered her own ear, pretending not to hear, either. Seeing Sayu’s gesture, both Leon and Enju were utterly smitten—“Man, Sayu is an angel, ain’t she?” and “Yes. She truly is adorable.”—and now it seemed no one cared that my proposal was on hold. …Well, Sayu is an angel, so I get it.
(I guess… I’ll just have to patiently wait for her answer.)
“Carla is stubborn, so settle in for the long haul. Don’t rush her.”
…That, too, was advice from Mother Liscia. I decided to heed my mother’s teachings and approach this matter slowly and patiently.
