Please Marry My Son

Part 2

***

“Was I a bit rude?”

Alicia sighed inside the carriage on her way back.

It would have been better if he had been rude first. Then, she would feel less guilty.

Unlike the men who had approached Alicia before, he remained polite even after she hinted at refusal. He even attempted a courteous farewell and didn’t linger awkwardly, cleanly withdrawing.

Compared to that rude man at the salon last time, he was much… Hmm? Oh.

 “Ah, the security agent from before.”

It finally clicked in her mind. 

“No wonder he looked familiar. I wonder if he recognized me too?”

Come to think of it, Eric seemed to hesitate when our eyes first met.

“Could he have pretended not to recognize me?” 

He helped me in a difficult moment and didn’t show any sign of recognition, then swiftly dismissed me in just 15 minutes. Quite refreshing.

 “Oh no, what should I do?”

She realized she should have apologized for almost slamming the door in his face and thanked him for his help, but she missed the chance. Very refreshing indeed.

Feeling increasingly embarrassed about her actions, Alicia buried her face in her hands.

***

Inside the reception room, Eric, who had been sitting alone, stood up and left. The duke and duchess were waiting outside. 

“He’s already gone.”

“Yes. Then I’ll take my leave as well.”

She had intended to just pass by, but her parents’ gaze bothered her.

It was as if they were saying, ‘It serves you right. Ultimately, you’re the one who’s affected.’ It seemed to imply something along those lines.

Trying to ignore it and leave, the Duchess of Gloucester opened her mouth.

“Did you break your record too?”

“The last time, it was about 15 minutes, right?”

“Oh, then you did break it. It ended in less than 15 minutes.”

“… …”

“I knew you would. Honestly, I thought the young lady was quite nice.”

“You’re right. I also thought it was a bit too much.”

“That’s how it goes with these setups. If I like someone, they don’t, and vice versa.”

“So I guess that’s what they mean by fate.”

“I’m not sure if fate applies to you.”

The Duke of Gloucester patted Eric’s back. 

Though it seemed like an attempt at comfort, Eric remained silent.

“It’s all your own doing, anyway. Well, it worked out. This was the last one, and now you’ll just live alone for the rest of your life, as you wished.”

The Duchess’s words were biting.

When the duke told her to stop and lightly pushed her, she rolled her eyes and asked why.

“Why? Did I say something wrong?”

“My lady, even if he’s a damn insensitive idiot, saying it so bluntly might hurt him. Probably.”

“Hurt him? Why would he?”

In truth, he didn’t look quite all right.

Despite his efforts to conceal it, Eric could tell his parents could see through him, and their evident surprise was somewhat refreshing. But to be honest, it was all futile.

“Yeah, let’s hear what you have to say. What’s bothering you?”

“My lady, please don’t be so blunt.”

“Just stay quiet for a moment. There must be reasons for those things you’ve always complained about, right? What did he say?” 

“Well, if we must talk about it, there were some areas where we agreed.”

Like not wanting to get married, or not liking to waste time, or wanting to end tedious gatherings quickly.

“What? Agreed? Then it’s not a match?”

The duchess cut in abruptly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, isn’t that contrary, my lady? You said your thoughts aligned.”

“No, Father. That’s not what I meant.”

“Then you should have spoken up sooner. You almost disappointed us for nothing. Anyway, I suppose annoying your parents is your specialty, isn’t it? You always manage to spoil even good news.” 

“Calm down, my lady. The outcome is positive, isn’t it? What’s the point of nagging?” 

“Is that so?”

“Just let me say something.”

“Oh, come on, that’s enough, dear. What more could you possibly have to say with that expression on your face?”

“Look at him squirm. I never thought I’d see you like this.”

‘How can you interpret my expression like that? I’m not squirming, I’m flabbergasted. I’m incredulous.’

“It would have been nice if he stayed a bit longer, my lady. I didn’t even get a chance to exchange a few words with him.” 

“Must be something urgent. He seemed so busy when I saw him earlier. Probably had something urgent came up, considering he made this meeting in a hurry. There must be something he couldn’t postpone.”

“I suppose so. He seemed very polite earlier, but there must be a reason he left so suddenly.”

 In the end, Eric remained silent.

Already feeling overwhelmed, there was no point in saying anything further. If he had come this far, his parents wouldn’t listen to anything he said anyway.

Realizing that he needed to clear up the misunderstanding and plan for the future, Eric began to contemplate his escape strategy.

 “So, when will we meet again?”

“Meet again? Why?”

“What do you mean? We need to keep meeting to develop feelings, don’t we?”

“But why would we need to go that far?”

 “What’s wrong with you now?”

“Why? Are you feeling embarrassed? Well, it’s your first time experiencing something like this, so it’s understandable.”

‘Why do you assume I’m feeling embarrassed? Doesn’t it seem obvious that I’m flabbergasted and incredulous?’

He muttered inwardly, but as expected, the Duke and Duchess paid no attention to their son’s darkened complexion.

“But we’d rather not intervene. If we do, you’ll seem too dependent on us, won’t you?”

“I see you’re really worried. You were surrounded by noble, chivalrous men at the military academy, weren’t you?”

‘Oh, past self, you have truly dug your own grave.’

He had to admit it. This was entirely his fault.

He had made a mistake by momentarily forgetting his parents’ patterns and speaking without thinking.

“I guess that’s when I’ll really get it.”

“Yeah, Allen. Today seems to be the day.”

At that moment, the voice of the Duchess of Gloucester brought him back to his senses.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You used to stay a little longer when we asked, but now you’re just lingering. Hurry up. We have a lot to prepare, you know.”

“Uh… I’ll go.”

The usual summoning by his parents might have been welcome, but now it was far from it.

In the end, Eric was forcibly pushed into the carriage by his parents, and he could only stare blankly as they waved their hands and smiled cheerfully.

It was only after they were well away from the Gloucester Manor that Eric suddenly remembered the last words his parents had said.

“Huh? Wait a minute. Preparation? What preparation?”

And once again, the identity of that preparation plunged Eric into panic.