When I Infiltrated the Enemy Nation as a Slave, the Yandere Beauties There Started a Civil War Over Me - Chapter 15: The Marriage Proposal

Chapter 15: The Marriage Proposal

“Lord Owen is waiting for you in this guest room. May I open the door for you?”

The servant guided us to the guest room and then asked Celestine for confirmation.

“Yes, please,” Celestine replied in her graceful voice.

After getting her approval, the servant knocked on the door and said, “Excuse me,” before slowly opening it. When we stepped inside, a large man was sitting on the sofa.

“Well, well, Lady Celestine, thank you for coming… And is this the one you mentioned earlier?”

Owen glanced at me with a curious look, and Celestine nodded in response.

“Yes, he’s not officially my fiancé yet, but as I mentioned before, he is one of the candidates.”

“Oh? Very well. Please, both of you, have a seat on the sofa.”

“Thank you.”

As instructed, the two of us sat down on the sofa across from Owen. 

Soon after, the servant poured tea into the cups placed before us and then left the room.

Owen, now staring at me, rested his hand on his chin and spoke.

“I see, your looks are certainly well-kept… However, what’s most important for us nobles is not just appearance, but also character, intellect, and the ability to protect our people through martial skills. Especially when standing beside someone of Lady Celestine’s stature.”

Celestine had mentioned that if I could show I was superior to him, Owen would have nothing to say and would back off. It seems she was right about his personality.

There are parts of his thinking that I can agree with, but he’s missing the most crucial element in a relationship between a man and a woman.

—Love.

Disregarding Celestine’s feelings and looking only at titles and abilities for an engagement means he’s overlooking the essence of a marriage. 

It’s understandable, considering he was born into a noble family, but that doesn’t make it right.

“Yes, I agree.”

But for now, it’s easier to just go along with his way of thinking.

“Good to hear… So, we can agree that whoever is more capable should be the one to marry Lady Celestine?”

“Of course.”

As I answered, Owen raised the corners of his mouth in a smile.

“In that case, let’s have a contest—covering table manners, depth of knowledge, and martial skills. The winner will become Lady Celestine’s fiancé and eventual partner. How does that sound?”

…Even though I’ve only been introduced as a fiancé candidate, now he’s suggesting that the winner of this contest should be the one to become her fiancé?

It’s clear that Owen is holding back, knowing that I’m here as a temporary candidate for the duchess, but it’s easy to imagine that he’s as pushy as Celestine had mentioned.

That being said, there’s no need to accept such an unreasonable challenge. Worst case, if I lose, he’ll just replace me as the fiancé candidate—

“Yes, I agree to those terms.”

“…?”

I was baffled by her response.

What is she thinking…? 

Even if I win this contest, my role in this engagement is temporary, so I won’t actually become her fiancé. But if I lose, Owen would genuinely become her fiancé.

Why take such a risk…? I glanced into Celestine’s eyes, but her clear purple gaze didn’t show any hint of worry or hesitation. It seemed she didn’t even feel like this was a risk at all.

Is this how much she trusts in my abilities?

If so, with our contract in place, I must do everything I can to live up to that trust.

“Then, let me guide you to the dining room of the Owen household… The meal is already prepared.”

“Understood.”

So, we headed to the dining room, where two small meat dishes were laid out, more like light snacks than full meals.

“Since this is merely to assess our table manners, I hope you’ll forgive the small portions.”

“Of course… But how will the winner of the table manners contest be decided?”

“We will observe each other.”

“And if neither of us finds any faults?”

“In that case, the match will be a draw.”

“……”

Table manners are something that nobles and royals usually master perfectly, so this kind of contest would almost always end in a draw between those of noble or royal status.

I wasn’t sure what the point of this contest was, but I took my seat as directed by Owen.

We immediately picked up our knives and forks. 

I was about to eat normally—so I thought—when, as I began to cut the meat with my knife, I noticed something felt off.

“…Excuse me, but could I have this dish replaced?”

“Why is that? Could it be that you lack confidence in your table manners?”

“No… This meat, while it appears to be cooked on the outside, with some char, is completely raw in the center. If I eat this, I’ll be disqualified from the next contest due to food poisoning. I doubt you’d want the outcome of this competition to be decided in such a way.”

I calmly pointed this out, and Owen, sweating, replied:

“Y-Yes! Of course! My apologies. I had no idea the meat wasn’t properly cooked. I’ll be sure to give the chef a stern talking-to. Ha, ha…”

“…”

It seems the whole point of this meaningless table manners contest was to get me to eat poorly prepared food, make me sick, and force me out of the competition, allowing him to become Celestine’s fiancé.

…There’s no way I, a prince of Sandrotheim Kingdom, could lose to such a man.

After that, of course, neither of us made any mistakes in table manners, and the contest ended in a draw.

Next was the contest of intellect. Owen called for a servant and immediately began explaining the rules of the next challenge.

“Next, we’ll have a contest of intellect… From here, the servants of the Owen household and Lady Celestine will each present a total of ten questions alternately. The person who answers the most questions correctly will win. It’s a simple challenge.”

…This contest is less likely to end in a draw compared to the last one, but since Owen is the one who proposed it, he could have prepared for it in advance.

However, since Celestine will be giving half of the questions, Owen can only rig up to five of them. It’s a predictable contest, but I’ll still focus fully on it.

“Well then, let’s start with a question from Lady Celestine.”

“Understood… Then, let’s begin with a question about a neighboring country—”

The contest continued until the ninth question. The score was five correct answers for me and four for Owen, with the final question coming from one of Owen’s servants.

This result came about because Celestine was considerate enough to avoid asking questions related to the Elenorde Empire, knowing that I wasn’t well-versed in its internal affairs.

On the other hand, all the questions posed by the servants were about the Elenorde Empire, which I couldn’t answer due to my lack of knowledge about it.

As expected from the start, this contest would end in a draw. However, I still decided to listen to the servant’s final question.

“Now, here is the final question… Within the Elenorde Empire, there is a faction that opposes the war with the Sandrotheim Kingdom. Can you name that faction?”

“…!?”

A faction within the Elenorde Empire opposing the war with Sandrotheim…!? 

What does that mean? Why would anyone in the Elenorde Empire be against the war with my kingdom?

Of course, I had no idea what the answer could be, so I waited for Owen to respond, and soon enough, he provided the answer.

“The church.”

—The church…!?

The same church that holds so much power in the Elenorde Empire that even a marquis like Vadling is powerless against them… Cecifelia had mentioned that there are individuals with unique abilities and a special position within the church. And they’re the ones opposing the war between the Elenorde Empire and Sandrotheim?

“…”

At this point, I couldn’t care less that the contest of intellect ended in a draw. I was stunned by this new information, and my mind momentarily went blank.