Chapter 225 I Refuse
As Sophia tried to approach the young noble who seemed to be captured by the golem, Daniel stopped her.
"Lady Sophia, let me talk to him first. Please wait here."
The golems, becoming smarter, seemed to decide it was bad to group him with other spies and thieves. The restraints weren't too strict, and he was being watched by Unit 2 from a distance. However, it seemed Unit 2 didn't stop dancing.
'It's about time to fix that bug.'
"That person is the third son of the Marquis Celsius and the younger brother of Duke Arbal. His name is Lysander."
"Ah. So what business does he have here?"
"Lady Sophia, it's exactly as it looks."
"Well, it doesn't seem like he came to sell flowers. Unit 2, release him."
Unit 2 released Lysander's restraints and offered him a hand to help him stand up.
However, Lysander, completely weak in the knees, couldn't stand up by himself, so Sara called for Unit 28, a small golem that usually helps carry things in the main store. There's no special meaning to this number... or at least there shouldn't be, but for some reason, Sara always calls this one. By the way, it's not made of iron.
Unit 28 picked up Lysander in a princess carry and took him to the reception room of the main store. Meanwhile, the treatment of other guests continued as usual.
"Lord Celsius, are you injured at all?"
"I-I'm fine, but... what is that?"
"That is a security golem. It is on duty to restrain uninvited guests who visit outside of business hours. It shouldn't restrain anyone unless they take hostile actions..."
Sophia smiled brightly and pointed out that Lysander might have acted hostile towards the golem.
"Is that so? I was so surprised that I drew my sword. It's quicker than a knight like me."
'A knight? This skinny guy?'
It was a pretty questionable statement, but for now, Sophia let it slide.
Since it was still early and no one else was at work, Sophia made herbal tea herself and placed it in front of Lysander.
"The early morning in late autumn is chilly. Please warm yourself up with a hot drink first."
"Yeah."
Lysander wrapped his hands around the cup to warm his fingers and took a sip of the herbal tea.
"By the way, what brings you here at such an early hour? Did you come in the middle of the night?"
Looking closely, it seemed that Lysander was still in the outfit he wore to the evening party.
"Um... I'm sorry. I saw you at the opening ceremony last night and really wanted to talk to you."
"I'm not living here, so if you came in the middle of the night, no one would be here."
"That seems to be the case... I got a bit anxious. I thought someone else might get ahead of me..."
"So, specifically, what do you want to talk about?"
Lysander seemed to have calmed down and stood up straight, offering Sophia a bouquet of flowers.
"Please, I want you to be my wife."
"I refuse."
Sophia immediately turned him down. There was no point in waiting.
"Huh?"
But it seemed Lysander didn't expect to be rejected.
"An immediate answer. Do you already have someone else?"
"I'm not going to answer that question."
"However, there aren't many people with better conditions than me. My father is Marquis Celsius, my oldest brother is the Young Marquis, and my second brother is Duke Arbal. Our family has multiple titles, so after marriage, I would inherit one of those titles."
"Still, my answer won't change."
"Are you going to refuse even if I say I'll welcome you as my legitimate wife?"
"Honestly, if you say 'wife' and I'm not the legitimate wife, I would normally be angry..."
Lysander looked at Sophia with a confused expression.
"Are you angry because I visited you rudely in the early morning?"
"I was surprised, but I'm not angry. By the way, I'm also amazed that the bouquet you gave me was made of orchids from the Grandchester Castle vase, but I'm not angry."
"How did you know?"
"Because it's a flower arranged by our merchant guild."
Actually, it was arranged by Pochi. They had put a lot of effort into preparing the venue for the opening ceremony. To decorate with that many orchids in this season using only human effort, how big of a greenhouse would be needed?
Then, Sara heard Sedrick's voice near her ear.
"That man has debts from gambling. He's keeping it a secret from his family, so he probably wants to quietly cover it up by marrying a wealthy wife."
'Ah, I see.'
"There are many young ladies who wish to be my wife. Why not stop the pointless negotiations and just nod honestly?"
"Then please do reach out to those young ladies."
"Wha! How rude for a common merchant woman!"
"That's a truly wonderful honest opinion. I have no intention of marrying someone who looks down on me like that. Please leave."
"What did you say!"
Lysander tried to slam the orchid he was holding onto Sophia, but Daniel immediately drew his sword and pressed it against Lord Celsius's neck.
"What are you doing!"
"That's my line. Trying to hit a woman with a flower is not something a knight should do. I'm getting tired of overlooking Lord Celsius's bad manners. I will report this right now and let your family know about the debts you've made from gambling!"
Lysander, frozen in a position with the flower raised, gulped. Daniel was still pointing his sword at him, so he couldn't change his stance.
"Why are you doing this?"
"That's not important. You just need to choose one. Ah, if you don't answer, I can do both, and that's fine, right?"
"W-Wait. Both options are bad. I promise I won't do this again, so please help me. First, lower the sword!"
Sophia signaled to Daniel to lower his sword. However, a tense atmosphere filled the room, and even Lysander, a knight, could feel it.
"Um... I'm sorry for getting so worked up."
"Why would you propose to a commoner woman merchant you just met?"
"Well, um, it's because you're very beautiful... and, um..."
"You think I might have money too?"
Lysander nodded vigorously.
"If you offer me the merchant guild, you could become the wife of a noble with a title. It's not a bad deal, is it?"
"I find it completely unappealing."
"Why not?"
'This is why aristocratic superiority is such a hassle.'
"I'm not sure what kind of title you will inherit, but even if I become a lady, it won't change where I come from. There will probably always be kind people in high society who remind me that I'm from a common background. What is so appealing about that position?"
"However, your public status is noble, and in formal settings, even those people will bow to you."
"I won't be happy if someone I don't know bows to me."
Lysander looked at her as if she were a stubborn child.
"If you marry and inherit a title, you'll also inherit land. You'll get money, and you can live a luxurious life like a noble, right?"
"I don't know how much land Lord Celsius will inherit, but I find joy in running my own merchant guild and earning money. I don't want to be a noble lady. As Lord Celsius said earlier, I am just a common merchant woman. I want to continue living a life that suits me."
The curtsy that Sophia showed was very elegant, not something you would expect from a common merchant.
In the first place, Sara doesn't know how much land Lysander will inherit from his family, but it's hard to believe it would be more than the annual income of the Sophia Merchant Guild.
"If you understand, please leave. For the sake of the Marquis Celsius family and the Duke Arbal family, I will let this go this time and not report you. But there won't be a second chance. Next time, please come during business hours."
Sophia called for number 28 and physically sent Lord Celsius out of the premises. It was almost time for the employees to arrive, and if he valued his noble status, he would likely leave without complaint.
"Hey Daniel, it seems like those worthless nobles are going to keep bothering us for a while, right?"
"Yeah, it looks that way. For now, I think we'll be busy dealing with the bugs attracted to Lady Sophia's beauty and wealth."
"I'm sorry for the trouble."
"Don't worry about it. Helping Lady Sophia is my pleasure."
"Thank you."
From that day on, many noblemen started courting Sophia without any breaks. However, considering that most of their proposals were for her to be their mistress, it might mean that Lysander was somewhat sincere in wanting to welcome her as his legitimate wife. Not that he was interested at all.
Meanwhile, Marquis Celsius was furious when he found out that his youngest son had gotten into debt from gambling. After scolding his son harshly, he placed him under house arrest. Naturally, he was forced to withdraw from the hunting tournament without question. At the same time, Duke Arbal identified the noble youths who had led his brother into gambling and decided to transfer them to a local knight order as soon as he learned they were knights. They probably wouldn't be able to return to the royal capital for several years.
Gambling is not illegal in Avalon. If it's just a simple exchange of money, it's treated like a noble's hobby, and card games are always set up in noble salons. However, since there are quite a few who get addicted and ruin themselves, the royal family has been struggling with gambling issues.
In this kind of situation, it's not good for rumors to spread that a relative of Duke Arbal, who is very close to the royal family, has gotten into debt from gambling and tried to assault a female merchant. The Duke and the lady of Arbal, along with Marquis Celsius, highly appreciated the merchant guild leader of the Sophia Merchant Guild for reporting this matter without making it public and only informing them about Lysander's behavior through a letter. However, at the same time, they became more cautious about the mysterious nature of the Sophia Merchant Guild.
"I think I'll meet with the merchant guild leader of the Sophia Merchant Guild. Women might understand each other better. I don't feel good about having our weaknesses in their hands."
"Please do. I'm sorry for the trouble my foolish brother has caused you as well, Victoria."
"When you're young, you'll make mistakes like that. I hope he learns from this and doesn't repeat it."
"I hope so too, but Lysander was spoiled by Mother..."
Duke Arbal let out a deep sigh.
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