The Elder Sister Who Ran Away After Being Cheated by Her Fiancé and Younger Sister - Chapter 25

“After I leave the military, I have many things I want to do. Business is one of them, but I’ve been thinking about various other things too. I thought how wonderful and interesting it would be if I could do those things with you, Miss Estelle.”

Fretes looked directly at Estelle with complete seriousness, without any pretense or acting.

“You would surely complement my shortcomings. This isn’t something I’ve just started thinking about yesterday or today. It’s been nine? Ten years? since we left that town together. That should be enough time to make a judgment, shouldn’t it?”

And the scales must be balanced.

That’s what Fretes said.

That too was a Hollander merchant’s way of speaking.

It meant something like transactions must be fair.

“So, I’ve gathered various means to solve your problems, Miss Estelle. I’d like you to fully exercise your talents in my trading company in the future, or if you prefer, we could even establish a new trading company under your name. I think I have considerable assets. If it’s in the form of a loan, I can pull quite a bit from the main family. I plan to return to Hollander, but I can travel back and forth to Hanzelka, and we could even go overseas. If we get tired of city life, we could build a mountain cabin near a winery and make wine. What do you think?”

Even though he asked “What do you think?”

Estelle was troubled. Simply troubled.

Both Valken and Fretes say they’re nobles only in name, but…

This approach of weighing mutual benefits to decide on marriage – that’s probably a very aristocratic way of thinking.

As a solution, it’s exceptionally good. After all, it would be easy since she could leave everything to someone else. She didn’t want to waste any more time on those troublesome people.

If they were to die in the streets, she’d have to go back for their funerals. What a hassle.

She wanted them to live modestly without causing trouble to others, somewhere unrelated to Estelle.

This wish would be granted.

She didn’t dislike Fretes. Not only didn’t she dislike him, but she thought there were plenty of girls who would lightly admire him without going as far as Pavla.

But, but…

“Is something concerning you?”

“This is just for reference, but…”

“Yes?”

“Are you negative about things like love or romance?”

“Not at all! Romance aside, I think love is something necessary for people.”

Fretes looked surprised, as if to say he was offended.

Then immediately showed understanding. “Ah.” As expected, he was perceptive.

“I see. Though I’m not very conscious of it, even someone as low-ranking as me might have aristocratic ways of thinking.”

Nodding, Fretes continued.

“But Miss Estelle, even if people are naturally attracted to each other, humans are beings who can betray.”

You know that, right? his eyes asked, and Estelle was at a loss for words.

“Then wouldn’t it be more efficient to first properly present our conditions, make a contract, and then cultivate romance or love on top of that?”

When he confidently said they should decide in advance the permissibility and compensation for various situations – like when taking additional partners, having mistresses, divorcing, personal asset boundaries, handling of relatives, etc. – Estelle was troubled.

Was this the difference in sensibilities between nobles and commoners?

Estelle had the image of falling in love, wanting to be together, and marrying as a means to that end, but Fretes was saying he would marry someone whose conditions aligned, and then fall in love with (make effort to love) the person he married.

She could understand that and thought it was reasonable but something felt off. Estelle was perplexed.

Probably, she was still dreaming childish dreams.

About mutual attraction, falling in love, and coming together.

And this was a proposal, right? In a lodging house reception room, while she was in her everyday clothes she’d just woken up in (now that she thought of it!), like a business negotiation.

It was trivial, it was selfish, but she wished it could have been a little more dreamlike.

Estelle secretly sighed. At herself.

She never thought she was such a hesitant, indecisive person. It was exasperating.

If this were business, she would have already reached a conclusion. But somehow, she couldn’t take the plunge.

Fretes understood Estelle’s hesitation and was waiting for her until she felt convinced.

As she was going around in circles thinking about trivial matters, she suddenly remembered Valken.

—’If you’re ever troubled about a decision, remember this.’

That?! Now?!

Estelle raised her face and stared intently at Fretes. Fretes tilted his head slightly and looked back as if to say “What is it?”

Eeeh…

But it was something Valken said.

Probably Estelle was just tired of thinking.

Anything would do – throw the dice, knock over the stick – she needed that kind of momentum. That’s all she thought.

“Mr. Fretes, could you stand in front of this sofa here?”

“Yes? …Around here?”

Though looking puzzled, Fretes moved as told and stood in the position Estelle indicated.

“Yes. There. And then shift your weight this way a bit, yes that’s it. Now excuse me!”

“Hah?!”

In an instant, Estelle broke Fretes’ balance, swept his legs, pulled his arm, and threw him onto the sofa.

Thump – an unexpectedly loud sound echoed, and the cheap sofa groaned. Fretes wasn’t particularly large or heavy, but Estelle’s momentum seemed strong.

“Eh? …Eeeh?”

Suddenly thrown onto the sofa, Fretes lay on his back with a completely unprepared, “raw” expression, genuinely confused.

Looking down at him from above, Estelle felt her heart pounding.

Cute.

Yeah.

I can come to like Mr. Fretes. No, I will like him.

This must be what they call heart-pounding excitement. Definitely.

Even if it’s a misunderstanding or just my imagination, it’s fine.

As long as it doesn’t fade until I die.

Once my own feelings are decided, everything else can be handled, and I’ll handle it no matter what.

With her heart pounding thump-thump, her cheeks heating up, feeling embarrassed, Estelle covered her face with both hands.

From Fretes’ perspective, he had been suddenly thrown, and the person who threw him was now blushing – a situation difficult to comprehend immediately.

“Um…”

As Fretes was getting up, still not recovered from the shock, Estelle answered with a bright red face while apologizing for her strange behavior.

“Let’s work out the conditions.”