I, A Shut-in, Was Proposed to by a Tyrant

“Give it to me.”

[Oh my……. Why are you taking out your anger at me?]

“Give it to me while I’m still saying it nicely.”

This whole damn head-scratching situation started when the Grand Duke told me about the Queen.

“Give me my mother’s bell.”

I glared at the old lady.

The images of the Queen praying in the shrine were all fake, he said.

Grand Duke Noctis said that Omen and the Queen must be serving a different god.

“If we go on like this, we’ll never catch the Queen, and my life will be in danger.”

[Ah……. What’s the use of rushing into a battle without being prepared?]

Not the imperial goddess, not the guardian of Noctis.

A dark, powerful god.

I asked him what kind of god it was, but he couldn’t answer.

He hadn’t quite figured it out.

“You’re going to get killed by things you can’t handle. You’re not yet good enough.”

I was able to survive so far by reading the past and the future of others.

But this is a different story.

“Give me the bell. Now I need to know how to attack.”

It’s not enough to simply look into their plans then avoid them.

I can’t outwit them by just reading their plans.

“Whether it’s exorcism or beating the shit out of them, I need to know right now.”

[Tsk tsk……. It’s not something you can accomplish by being impatient!]

“Can’t you see the seriousness of this situation?”

[No matter how much you fly and crawl, you can’t do it.]

That’s what she thinks.

Even if she really is stronger than the gods they worship,

It doesn’t matter to her.

Because I’m not as powerful as she is.

I can’t afford to spend as much time and effort as she does.

I must move before she does.

“Enough, give me the bell.”

[Ah, your stubbornness is reminding me of someone else…….]

When you wake up, put it back where it was.

The old woman said that and disappeared like a puff of smoke.

“I’ll give it back to you right away…….”

I didn’t want to hold my mother’s bell in my hand.

Even though it was something I had chosen to live…….

“I’ll be back.”

I remember the last image of my mom walking away with her bell and the amulet.

I should have told her not to go then.

I should have asked her to stay and play with me.

“I’ll be late tonight, so make sure you eat dinner. Okay?”

I wonder if she didn’t realize the foreboding that even I felt.

Maybe she did, but she left anyway.

“What’s wrong with me…….”

I closed my eyes tightly as I thought of my mom, a thought that kept coming back to me the more I was with that old lady.

The breeze outside the window is cool and nice.

⁂

“Argh!”

“What are you so surprised about?”

How could I not be surprised?

The first thing I see when I open my eyes is the face of the Grand Duke sitting on the edge of my bed.

“Uh, when did you get up?”

He’d been out since the crack of dawn, but today, for some reason, his face is the first thing I see in the bedroom.

“Quite a while ago. You sleep a lot in the morning, I didn’t realize you were up so late.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that the hands were just about to strike 10.

I didn’t sleep that late.

What time does this guy get up?

“I must be a little tired. You didn’t go out today.”

“I was about to, but I was wondering what this is.”

He shook the bell in his hand with a loud clink.

It was the bell the old lady had given me in my sleep.

A memento of my mother, a pretty glass bead-like bell.

“Give it to me. It’s mine.”

“Whatever. It’s not mine, so it’s yours.”

He raises the corner of his mouth curiously and holds the bell out to me.

The sound of the clear bell echoes through the room.

“May I ask?”

“Oh, I need it to use my powers.”

I stare at the bell in my hand for the first time in a long time.

I hadn’t touched it since my mom died.

The bell had been stained with blood, but the old lady must have cleaned it, so it was clean again.

“No, not that one.”

“Well?”

“Why do you look at it and make that face?”

“…….”

The Grand Duke tilted his head, asking about my emotions, not the bell.

Seems like I’m not the only one who has a keen sense.

“It’s just, it’s kind of precious to me, so don’t ask more.”

Here, I’m Flotty of Bevenia.

I can’t tell him I have another mother.

As I clutched the bell tightly, the Grand Duke rose to leave.

“We have an invitation from the Queen.”

“Already?”

I had expected an invitation.

Just not this soon.

“She has a good excuse of welcoming a new family member.”

“The Queen moves faster than I thought.”

“We’d better be ready.”

I nodded, understanding what the Grand Duke was saying.

That’s what the bell was for.

Clink.

The bell shook with one more clear sound.

⁂

“Damn it!”

The Duke of Bevenia took the unmarked letter and fumed.

“What the hell is wrong?”

“It says Flotty’s alive…….”

“…Why is she alive?”

Surely this was their daughter, who should have died at the hands of Grand Duke Noctis.

Never, had he ever thought of her as his daughter.

The Duke’s face contorted murderously as he crumpled the letter into a tight ball.

“That little rat!”

“Calm down, she doesn’t know anything anyway, what can she do?”

“That’s not the point.”

The letter was from the Queen who looked after Bevenia.

Duke Bevenia, I hope you are doing well, it must be hard living on the outskirts. I have heard that your daughter, Flotty Bevenia, has married Grand Duke Denver Noctis. It must have been my fault for trusting you, and today I am going to the temple to cleanse myself of that sin. May you continue to live in peace.

“What a bastard……!”

Misfortune upon misfortune.

It’s the worst of all bad luck.

How in the world did Flotty survive to marry the Grand Duke?

She should have been decapitated!

“She’s the reason the Queen turned around.”

“…W, what did you say? What are we going to do if the Queen turns around?”

“Of course she would, since she’s been stuck with the Grand Duke. Ha, stupid bitch.”

To avoid detection, they hid in a location that wasn’t even marked on the map.

No fluffy, luxurious blankets, no daily hot meals.

Just nothing.

There was nothing but the cold wind whipping through the trees.

“Why did I come all the way out here!”

Damn it, damn it.

Ever since Flotty was born, nothing had worked out.

She’d been so unlucky that a passing priest had called her a cursed child.

He ripped out his tongue, but he never forgot the shame of that day.

“Father, what do you mean? Flotty is alive?”

Gerard, who had been enjoying a leisurely nap upstairs, yawned and looked startled.

“That bitch is going to get us all killed.”

“……Oh my God.”

“What the hell happened?”

Gerard asked nervously, storming over and snatching the letter away.

As if he wasn’t annoyed enough to be down from his glamorous monastic life.

“Flotty is… married to Grand Duke Noctis?”

Gerard’s pupils widened in disbelief.

How dare she, with such skill.

“May you continue to live in peace.”

A chill runs down his spine at the memory of the Queen’s smiling face.

A woman who smiled as kindly as anyone, but whose heart was dark as black.

How many men had died at her hands.

“Ah, Father……. What do we do now?”

“Keep your mouth shut, Gerard. I’m in trouble myself!”

The Duke of Bevenia sighed bitterly.

He didn’t want to get his hands dirty with his own blood, so he left her alive.

Now they must find their own way to live.

The Queen will cut their throats if she must.

“I need to roll my head after a long time.”

A sinister grin spread across the Duke’s face.

⁂

The maids, who had been bustling around since the morning, were able to finish their work quickly.

“Wow……. Feels like I’m the main character.”

I muttered to myself in front of the mirror as the maids left.

The dress was the same color as the dark night sky, with tiny white diamonds scattered across it.

My hand that held the bell wore gloves the same color as my dress.

My hair was tousled and my shoulders and neckline were exposed by the open front.

“My lady, His Grace the Grand Duke is here.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I saw the Grand Duke, who had entered just in time, I realized.

I was definitely not the main character.

His jet-black hair swept neatly back, his navy blue uniform flattering his pale skin, he was jaw-droppingly perfect.

“If you’re done, let’s go.”

“It’s …….”

I almost made a stupid sound.

I pulled myself together and took the Grand Duke’s outstretched hand.

“You tied your hair up today.”

“Leah did it for me. I like it, do you?”

I asked, because he always said something every time I tied my hair.

How it’s not his cup of tea.

“…….”

He paused for a moment before answering.

I glanced up and saw that his ears were red.

“Are you sick? Your ears are red.”

If they’re going to meet with enemies to fight and he’s not feeling well, we’ll be in trouble.

I’m not going to play dirty inside the palace.

I ask worriedly, and the Grand Duke turns his head to the other side.

“Let’s go. It’s time.”

With a puzzled look on my face, I casually fold my arms to his.

As I walked out of the bedroom, it was just a part of the act I had to perform.

It was only a matter of moments before the ever-present Grand Duke pulled his arm away in horrified surprise.

“W, what is it?”

“…….”

He stopped me dead in my tracks and looked even more surprised than I was.

I could see the panic in his wide eyes.

“Does that mean I don’t have to act today?”

I thought we were supposed to be more natural today.

I look at the stiffened Grand Duke.

“What’s wrong with you today?”

I barely manage to keep my face from crumpling.

The Grand Duke brushes past me without a word and walks on ahead.

“……Has he finally lost his mind?”

He shouldn’t he like that on such an important day.