Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty-Eight: Meeting the Family 4
“Karen, would you like to take a walk with me?”
“I’d be delighted.”
“Hmm?”
Even after dinner, Karen still sounded tense, and Julius tilted his head slightly at her reply before narrowing his eyes in a gentle smile.
“Tonight’s sky-blue dress suits you very well. You said I would think you beautiful no matter what… and while that may certainly be true to some extent, I think sky blue is the color that suits you best of all. I truly feel you’re beautiful, Karen.”
“I-I see. I had a feeling that might be the case.”
Previously, Julius had chosen sky-blue fabric for Karen’s dress. The light blue dress prepared for Sieg’s recovery celebration party. It was still carefully stored in her closet. At that time, even when told it suited her, she thought it was a type of flattery or perhaps teasing, but if that wasn’t the case, when had Julius started thinking of Karen that way?
Karen looked up at Julius walking beside her with a strange feeling. Julius escorted Karen to the garden while occasionally smiling bashfully as he received Karen’s passionate gaze. The night garden was lit up. Magical tool lamps decorated with glass flower petal ornaments illuminated the garden fantastically. Julius seemed to know the garden had been beautifully decorated in advance and was trying to guide Karen somewhere, so she silently followed.
They arrived at a gazebo that became hidden from the building by trees as obstacles, surrounded by nothing but flowers in full bloom, overlooking a shining pond with floating luminous flowers. There were even out-of-season flowers. They were probably made to bloom with magic.
Seeing flowers of all four seasons blooming wildly together outside a dungeon felt even more fantastical, and Karen narrowed her eyes at the surreal scene.
“It’s beautiful.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
Julius spoke as if relieved. When she thought it might be Alise’s arrangement, it seemed this garden was prepared by Julius.
Karen walked around the gazebo, trying to engrave everything visible from it into her memory. Seeing Julius following along after her, she laughed.
“Ahaha…!”
After laughing aloud, Karen released the tension from her shoulders.
“Alright.”
She psyched herself up lightly, then turned back to Julius with a smile.
And she knelt before him.
“Karen? What’s wrong?”
“Please become engaged to me, Mr. Julius.”
On one knee, Karen took a small box from the pocket hidden in her dress’s slit and opened it. Julius widened his golden eyes and looked back and forth between Karen and the content of the offered box. Inside the box was a ring that shone with a golden brilliance.
“This ring is a token of my promise of marriage to you, Mr. Julius. We can’t marry yet, but it’s a form of vow that we will definitely marry someday.”
It was no wonder Julius was bewildered. This world didn’t have the custom of exchanging rings for marriage. But for Karen, it was one of the dreams she’d wanted to fulfill someday from her previous life.
“If you’ll get engaged to me, please accept this ring.”
He must have understood that this ring was a special gift from Karen. Julius grasped both the ring box and Karen’s hand, then pulled up Karen, who had been on one knee.
With his golden eyes sparkling, Julius said:
“Of course I’ll accept it, Karen.”
“Then please let me put it on the ring finger of your left hand.”
When Karen held out her hand, Julius honestly surrendered his left hand.
Taking the amber-colored ring shining gold from the small box, Karen gently slipped the ring onto Julius’s left ring finger.
“Wow, it’s perfect! As expected of Mr. Urgo!”
“Karen, this ring—could it possibly be… orichalcum?”
“I splurged.”
Karen puffed out her chest. It had cost far more than the so-called three months’ salary, but the expense had been worth it for a ring that would last a lifetime.
It was an item she’d had custom-made at Urgo’s magical tool shop, spending almost all the money she’d received as compensation from the dungeon investigation, and naturally, it was also a magical tool.
“It’s also a magical tool that stores magical power. If you ever want to avoid magical intoxication, Mr. Julius, please store magical power in this orichalcum ring. Oh, but when I’m by your side, feel free to get drunk without restraint, okay?”
Grinning, Karen took out another small box.
“There’s another matching ring, so please put this one on my left ring finger, Mr. Julius!”
Julius, with a bewildered expression as if bewitched by a fox, put a ring on Karen’s left ring finger in the same way.
During the time the ring was being put on, only Karen was grinning with completely relaxed cheeks.
“Ehehe. Now you are mine, Mr. Julius.”
“Does the ring have that meaning? Is it a commoner custom?”
“Nope. This is my personal charm! Hehehehe.”
While spilling unstoppable laughter, Karen gazed at her own left ring finger with dreamy eyes. Receiving the brilliance of the lamps brightly illuminating the garden, Karen’s ring also sparkled.
Watching Karen bounce around the garden as if trying to gather all its light onto her ring finger, Julius also raised his left hand and narrowed his eyes at the sparkle gathering on his ring.
“…Thor, what are you doing?”
“I’m innocent. But he’s got a face like a girl, so I feel like I did something bad anyway, and I’m accepting the rope to show my sincerity.”
When she visited Helfried’s office, Thor, tied up with a rope for some reason, said something incomprehensible.
From context, the person who "has a face like a girl" was probably Sieg. In the brief time she’d taken her eyes off them, he seemed to have become friendly enough with Sieg to fool around.
“Karen, please persuade Thor. It pains me so much to have a guest in this state.”
Thor seemed to be imprisoned of his own will, tied up with a serious expression. Helfried was holding his head at the sight.
“Thor, don’t trouble Lord Helfried.”
“Okaaay.”
At Karen’s single word, Thor easily loosened the rope.
Toward Helfried, who hung his head dejectedly at Thor being so obedient to his sister, Karen called out with a tense expression.
“More importantly, Lord Helfried! Do you have time now?”
“It’s rare for you to have business with me.”
Helfried raised his face, widened his eyes slightly, and said:
“What is it regarding?”
“Could you please permit the engagement between Mr. Julius and me!?”
“Karen!?”
At Karen, who had bowed her head, Julius showed an expression of shock more than Helfried.
“I don’t mind.”
“B-Brother?”
Julius also widened his eyes at Helfried, who had given permission so readily.
“What are you surprised about? As head of the Ehlertt Earldom, I had hoped for your relationship from the beginning. Karen is an excellent alchemist, after all.”
“We were just talking about that ourselves—the future of both families and all that.”
“Though I must admit I couldn’t focus on the discussion at all.”
Helfried and Thor had apparently been talking about something, as Julius and Karen’s respective relatives.
“Whether Karen marries in or Julius marries out, the House of Ehlertt has no objection.”
“Either way’s fine with me. I’ll go with whatever you want, Sis.”
“That’s hard to decide! But whichever path we choose, a wonderful future awaits, that’s for sure!”
While Helfried, Thor, and Karen proceeded with the discussion smoothly, Julius had been dizzy, but eventually said quietly:
“I want to become Karen’s husband.”
“Mr. Julius?”
“…I want to become yours, Karen.”
At Julius, who gripped his ring finger’s ring as he spoke, Karen showed a gentle smile and narrowed her eyes.
“Then someday, please become my husband.”
“Why not take him as your husband tomorrow?”
Helfried said lightly with a straight face. Karen struck a pose decisively.
“My path in alchemy begins here! If I marry Mr. Julius now, my brain would turn completely mush!”
“Yeah. If Sis gets married, she’ll probably be in no state for alchemy for a while.”
“The ‘brain melting’ thing, is it?”
Thor and Helfried both showed sympathetic smiles.
No matter what they said, this was the one line Karen refused to cross, and she stubbornly folded her arms.
From beside her, Julius leaned in to peer at Karen’s face.
“I’d marry you right now if I could, Karen.”
“Ungh…! Sweet temptation…!”
While Karen writhed, Julius added, almost bursting into laughter:
“—I want to reach the place you’re striving for together with you. So I’ll endure for now.”
“I’ll endure too…!”
Seeing Karen speak, half-crying, Julius couldn’t hold back and laughed aloud.
Helfried also burst out laughing, and Thor started laughing while holding his stomach.
Having been thoroughly laughed at, Karen sulked, saying she’d go cry to Sara before bed.
