Shadowless Night

“Isn’t arranged marriage common?”

“Speaking of the aristocratic world…then yes.”

Senior Knights Kairo and Pardict were doing push-ups side by side. Rosaline sat on Pardict’s back, balancing herself, as her feet rested on Kairo’s back. One, down. One, up. It was fun to have her body up and down.

“Is Sir Kairo married?”

“Not yet, but I have a fiancee. It’s an arranged relationship, but… Well, we get along well.”

“What about Parpar?”

“I have three children.”

“Arranged marriage?”

“Oh, look at this face.”

Hmm. An arranged marriage, for sure. It was not a face that could be dated. After his 50th push-up, Kairo stopped with his arms outstretched and smiled.

“He’s famous within the Knights of the White Night for success in dating and marriage.”

Rosaline gasped and covered her mouth.

“Many clung to him and chased him around. How hard it must have been for his wife…”

Pardict jumped up and attacked Kairo. Rosaline, who was sitting on top of the two of them, was thrown out. She rolled back and sat comfortably, like someone who rolled to sit there from the beginning. Rosaline watched the fight between the two men under the shade of a tree.

Raymond, who had just stepped into the training ground, approached her, ignoring the two tossing and turning.

“Rosaline, sitting on the floor will dirty your clothes.”

He nagged as soon as he saw her Rosaline took a handkerchief from her pocket and sat on it. Raymond nodded in satisfaction. After watching the fight between the two men for a long time, his eyes ached. Raymond’s expression as he leaned against the tree, crossed his arms, and glanced down, was meaningful. It felt like he had something to say…

Should I ask Raymond while he’s here? As Rosaline thought about it, Raymond couldn’t stand it and spoke first. “By any chance! Do you have anything to say to me, Rosaline!? Something like minor trouble or… Mm. You have something like that, right? Like about your future…or…”

Rosaline confided in Raymond as if she had been waiting. Knowing what Haqab was like in the eyes of the Knights of the White Night, she spoke a little roundaboutly.

An arranged marriage is common in the aristocratic world. If the conditions are met, you will get married. Therefore, is it better to do it if it fits your purpose and conditions? Would it be too immature to say that I don’t want an arranged marriage because of personal feelings that have nothing to do with the purpose? Everyone does it, so there’s no need to think too hard about it, right? Something like that.

Raymond awkwardly raised the corner of his mouth and tried to make a friendly face. His cheek muscles were trembling.

“Rosaline, what are you talking about? In today’s world, arranged marriage is old-fashioned.”

“But there’s still a lot of it these days.”

“Of course. As a means to increase the family’s power or to ally without love. Just by conditions! But, Rosaline, marriage is sacred!”

Raymond’s eyes lit up.

“Marriage is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where different people meet and promise to walk the same path in the future. How can you simply get married based on conditions? I don’t want that. That’s being sold. Not marriage!”

“Yes, yes. Isn’t love everything?”

Pardict, who had finished the fight, defended Raymond, and Kairo grumbled behind him.

“Don’t look down on people who marry for convenience just because you marry for love.”

Raymond quickly led Kairo behind a large tree in the distance. It felt like he would say something secret, so Pardict strained his ears to strengthen his hearing, but he didn’t hear any small talk. They seemed to be talking by hand signal.

Kairo, who had returned with Raymond, said with a stern face, “An arranged marriage is rubbish, Sir Rosaline. Don’t even say those horrible words in front of me again. It gives me goosebumps.”

“…”

Something seemed different than before.

“Why, isn’t it like treating people like objects? The guys who suggest that are equally crap. Just like my father.”

“Uh, that’s a bit… You’re talking too much, Sir Kairo… Anyway, that’s what Sir Kairo said. Rosaline, what did I say again!?”

“… Don’t sit on the floor?”

“No- I mean, well…that’s right, too.”

Raymond squeezed her shoulders. Rosaline remembered last night when she held Hessa by the shoulders and admonished him. In her friend Raymond, she saw the face of Sir Raymond, a high-ranking knight whom she had admired.

“Rosaline Esther. You tend to be passive compared to the power you have. Are you trying to put your purpose in the other person’s hands because you’re afraid you won’t be able to achieve it? Why is such a smart guy like you acting so stupid? What do you think is the reason we have swords?”

“… To protect?”

“I almost cried because you were a model knight. That’s correct, too. But a sword is originally a weapon, Rosaline. It cuts and stabs its enemies. A weapon to fight and win. You must swing it if you are a knight qualified to wield that weapon. Fight and win to get what you want. Don’t be afraid. What could be more humiliating to a knight than admitting defeat without wielding their sword? You’re a strong kid.”

Rosaline’s question was simply related to ‘arranged marriage’, and she had never said that she was the object. There was such a fatal error in what Raymond said, but she seemed not to have realized it. She was just thinking about something. Raymond and Kairo sighed quietly.

Pardict was still doing push-ups. I knew it. The deputy is such a mouthful. Raymond kicked him at the sound of a small whisper. The three men started arguing again, and Rosaline watched them for a while before leaving the training ground.

Beyond the blue sky, a reddish aura was circulating. Knight Commander Starz, Vice Commander Nathan, Senior Knight Shuten, Lesser Knight Bastian, Claude, Nestor, and the gardener and chef. Because she met many people and shared her story, she learned a lot of information.

The origins of arranged marriages and the evils of such marriages. There were numerous failure cases. And she thought of Haqab’s oath and Raymon and Chloe’s love story.

Advice from people who knew more about relationships and arranged marriages than Rosaline was of great help to her. Rosaline unbuttoned her buttons. The jewelry that had confused her emerged from under her clothes. She looked at it and immediately dragged it. There was a clicking sound as she fiddled with her hand. Seeing other people pass by before her, she slipped the necklace into her pocket and moved on.

As she walked, she saw Ricardis’ office before she knew it. She hesitated for a moment at the door. Even when being henpecked because of arranged marriage and Haqab all day, she couldn’t get him out of her head.

[Good morning, Rosaline.]

It was clear that the imaginary Ricardis was on the other side of the door. Her heart, which had barely calmed down, began to pound. Rosaline held the cold doorknob until her body temperature warmed it.

Afterward, she took a deep breath, knocked on the door, and entered.

‘… Huh?’

What is this? Am I hallucinating again?

Was it because the sunset light penetrated the white curtains and the dark office was decorated with flowers? Was it because the flames rising from the beautiful candlestick danced as soon as the door was opened? Or was it because the man dressed in all kinds of accessories in such a decorated space looked neater today? Rosaline stared at the man for a few seconds, unable to move.

Ricardis, leaning lazily on the sofa and reading papers, raised his head. Their eyes met.

“Rosaline.”

The man’s eyes twinkled as he smiled. Rosaline’s heart started beating fast. Oh no… Why are you…s-so shining today? She was confused. Ricardis was shining more than usual. From head to toe, balm, all kinds of jewelry, and makeup. Ricardis, who had gone through the touch of his skillful maids, was truly…

‘Fairy?’

He was like the king of fairies. It was a face that made it hard to believe he was in the same reality. The clothes that covered Ricardis’ strong body were more exposed than usual, and even the fabric looked thin. He leaned over slightly, revealing his chest and abs. The texture of the sharp, tight muscles looked elastic.

Rosaline’s eyes drifted to Ricardis’s bare feet, which were not wearing boots or shoes. She never imagined that the human foot could be such a beautiful organ. The large, long toes, straight and pretty bones, and even the veins across it were pretty. The line from the outer ankle bone to the leg was clear and beautiful. Rosaline stared at his slightly pink ankle bones.

“Rosaline? Is there a problem?”

Rosaline, who had been dazed like a man whose soul had escaped, noticed that there was no one else in the room. There were no escort knights, not even Isserion. Ricardis continued as she looked around the room decorated with flowers and candles giving off a strange atmosphere, “Ah, everyone has urgent business today…so I’m…alone.”