The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

The bedroom in the ducal mansion.

We found ourselves caught in an awkward atmosphere, bolstered by Echo\'s encouragement. The embarrassing embrace had long since loosened, and our eyes wandered aimlessly.

"Ahem!"

Elphisia cleared her throat, as if trying to dispel the tension.

She spoke with a flushed face.

"So... Harte."

"Yes?"

"Are you really going to keep using formal speech...?"

"I... well..."

Truthfully, I wasn\'t sure which direction I wanted to take.

The compulsion to be formal with Elphisia clashed violently with memories of our comfortable casual speech. That\'s why even my habitual formal speech came out as semi-formal.

"What would you prefer, Elphisia...?"

"I want you to treat me like you used to."

"Which \'used to\' are we talking about...?"

"... After the regression."

"Ah, I see..."

It seemed Elphisia wanted me to speak casually to her.

If that\'s what she wanted, I had no reason to hesitate. After all, I\'d always wanted to accommodate the wishes of those dear to me, both then and now.

"Alright... Elphisia."

"Mm... That\'s better."

"If you disliked formal speech, you could\'ve told me before."

"Which \'before\' are we talking about?"

"...Before the regression."

Honestly, I felt embarrassed every time I recalled memories from before the regression. It might as well have been considered an embarrassing history best left forgotten.

\'Certainly, if I didn\'t have memories of my past life, I would\'ve grown up that way...\'

I\'d always acted like putty in her hands, and Elphisia had liked it. It was truly a life without shame or pride. The problem was that I still didn\'t dislike it even now.

I wanted to treat Elphisia with honeyed actions right away, but the shame arising from my past life memories held me back.

\'More than shame, it\'s just... embarrassing...\'

It\'s legendary how I\'d used such words and actions so naturally. Though I was reluctant to admit it myself, I was truly a walking flirt. No wonder Elphisia had been flustered.

"Anyway... I get it, Elphisia. Let\'s speak casually to each other, though it might be difficult."

"It\'s not difficult for me at all."

"True. It\'s only difficult for me."

"Now you can experience how difficult it was for me."

"Elphisia? How did I make things difficult for you?"

"... You still don\'t know?"

Elphisia showed signs of shock. I shrank back, intimidated by her astonished gaze.

"W-What did I do...?"

"You have the nerve to ask?!"

Next, Elphisia unleashed a long-held grudge like a machine gun.

"Do you know how baffled I was? We\'d barely met, and you were practically strangers, yet you kept spouting sickeningly sweet phrases that even established couples wouldn\'t use. Your eyes dripped grape juice. Anyone would think you\'d been in love with me for ages. And I bet you did the same thing with Saint Ibria...

Do you know how confused I was whenever I saw you?"

"E-Elphisia...?!"

"The pre-regression you was truly a sinner. It\'s a crime to come on to just anyone like that. I still have nightmares of you saying and doing such things to Ibria. Thanks to that, I was incredibly self-conscious!"

"I-I\'m sorry about that."

Elphisia suddenly unleashed an enormous amount of complaints. I felt dizzy under the pressure of her tremendous momentum.

As I lowered my gaze to the bedding, Elphisia\'s eyes flashed.

"But you have more to say after that, right?"

"Y-You\'re right... But people should be treated equally, and... being kind makes others feel good..."

"Sure. Of course. That\'s so like you, Harte..."

She then heaved a deep sigh.

"Hah, whatever. It\'s not like I accepted it without knowing..."

"Ahaha..."

We continued to chat at length, making up for lost time.

The longer we talked, the more I realized I had been asleep for a year. My stories were limited, while Elphisia shared various topics she had kept close to her heart.

I was content just looking at Elphisia, but following conversations about things I didn\'t know was a different matter. I felt sorry for not being able to give heartfelt responses.

However, even Elphisia\'s stamina wasn\'t infinite, and our seemingly endless chatter was eventually interrupted.

I seized the opportunity to steer the conversation in a new direction.

"Hey, Elphisia."

"Yes, what is it?"

"I want to talk about Glen."

"Ugh."

Guilt immediately clouded Elphisia\'s face, which had shown glimpses of happiness. While seeing her like this wasn\'t pleasant for me either, I had to address the issue.

"What if we tell Glen the truth?"

"... You mean about his real parents, right?"

"That\'s right."

Glen\'s real father was the Demon King. And I suspected the only person who could be his mother was Letitia Baskhill, the sole survivor of Baskhill.

"It\'ll be quite a shock for him."

"I know there are truths better left unknown."

"... Ah."

Elphisia\'s head dropped at my words. At that moment, I realized my blunder and quickly corrected myself.

"W-Wait! Elphisia! I mean... I want to know everything about your life, no matter what kind of life you\'ve lived... That is... um..."

"..."

"No matter what kind of life you lived in the past, I like you. More than anyone else in the world."

As soon as I finished speaking, Elphisia\'s cheeks flushed bright red. At the same time, I felt my own face burning like a hot plate.

An embarrassing statement came out habitually. I was realizing anew how dangerous the pre-regression me had been in many ways.

"Ugh... That\'s not the point...!!! I just thought we should at least respect Glen\'s right to know."

It was uncertain how Glen would react.

He might recoil at the ideology instilled in him as a human, or experience confusion about his self-identity.

But if Glen accepted reality, it might open a new path for us.

"Of course, this is assuming Glen takes the news about his birth parents well... but I think it might lead to a peaceful resolution of the entrenched situation between humans and demons."

Humans and demons were experiencing a conflict that had recently reached its peak. The assassination of the Empire\'s emperor during the hunting festival would have been unnatural in the past.

However, despite the intense confrontation, there had been no large-scale clash.

Just as I had been unconscious for a full year, the demon\'s high priest was likely in a similar state.

Or perhaps they felt tense after I subdued the Demon King in one move using only martial arts.

Either way, they were just biding their time.

It was a peace destined to shatter someday.

"Elphisia. You know I\'m quite stupid, right?"

"I know. You must be stupid to choose the woman who killed you again."

Elphisia chuckled. I too drew a gentle curve with the corners of my mouth.

"Can\'t be helped. Since I\'m a fool, I desperately need smart Elphisia. So... will you think about this with me?"

"You really are hopeless, aren\'t you?"

Elphisia said.

"I\'ll stick with you and think about it until you want to run away."

Whispering a rather provocative declaration.

---

---

Yulian had been having a terribly difficult time over the past year.

That was because the Emperor had been assassinated, and the First Prince Rupehit was a traitor.

Therefore, the only remaining royalty were the Second Prince Rayners and the Third Prince Yulian.

The sudden loss of the head of state had resulted in Rayners taking on the role of acting emperor. However, since Rayners\' education was much shorter than that of the much younger Yulian, it was actually Yulian who made decisions on important matters.

Having risen to a position of handling the empire\'s affairs at such a young age, the pressure and fatigue were beyond words.

Enough for Harte to notice subtle changes...

"Yulian, your... skin has become incredibly rough when I look closely. You\'re still just a kid."

"Director, you\'re just unnaturally smooth."

"Well, when you sleep soundly for a year, your skin is bound to glow."

"That\'s not a funny joke."

Indeed, Yulian\'s face was truly haggard. So much so that an unfunny joke couldn\'t restore his complexion...

But then the boy suddenly called for Tina.

"Tina. Please do that..."

"Oh, that? Alright."

Tina understood even when he used pronouns instead of nouns.

Accepting the request, Tina placed her hand on Yulian\'s forehead and drew out the unique energy of dragons.

"... Huh."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. As soon as Tina\'s touch landed, Yulian\'s complexion rapidly regained its color.

\'This kid Yulian... he\'s using the Bloody Dragon\'s ability like a health supplement?\'

Certainly, looking at it this way, it was quite a useful ability. Considering the impact blood had on our bodies, it should excel in non-combat aspects as well.

The Bloody Dragon we faced before probably didn\'t know about this application. Why? Because he never had any purpose other than exercising violence.

It was a moment that made me appreciate our kind-hearted daughter anew.

However, I couldn\'t remain lost in contemplation forever.

I clapped my hands to change the atmosphere and spoke up.

"Now then, kids. Can you lend me your ears for a moment?"

"Yes, Dad. What should we play?"

Tina thrust her sparkling sky-blue eyes at me. I grimaced at the burdensome invitation. Having just woken up after a year, I felt bad about refusing...

"Umm! Tina. I\'m sorry, but let\'s postpone the playing for now... Could everyone except Glen leave for a moment?"

"Director? Are you saying only I should stay?"

Glen asked, puzzled.

"You heard right."

"Did I do something wrong...?"

"No way. In terms of conduct, you\'re the most exemplary."

Just as I finished speaking, Yulian cut in.

"Director, that\'s not quite right. No matter how I look at it, I\'m the most exemplary."

"You\'re disqualified for not using formal speech."

"This is absurd...!!!"

What absurdity.

With my past life\'s memories engraved in me, formal speech was a serious matter.

Seemingly fed up with me, Yulian grumbled until the very end as he left. Meanwhile, Tina pushed out her lips with eyes overflowing with lingering attachment, and Echo seemed worried about Glen.

Finally, the playroom where the children had left became quiet.

Perhaps it felt even more so because of Glen\'s naturally quiet nature.

I slowly addressed the tense Glen.

"To be honest, I\'d like to tell you to relax... but I can\'t. I\'m planning to have a very serious conversation."

"Did I really do something wrong?"

"Of course not. How could you? If anyone did wrong, it would be us to you."

"T-That can\'t be true. You and the Vice Director have been so good to me..."

Elphisia fidgeted with her fingers at Glen\'s innocent sentiment. It seemed her sense of guilt had manifested in physical movement.

I too could not be free from that guilt.

"Glen."

"Yes?"

That\'s why I had to tell Glen.

"Your mother is alive."

Even if it meant enduring the child\'s sharp criticism.