The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

The excitement of the previous night's festivities faded as dawn broke.

Morning arrived with the cry of hungry birds. The day of the imperial ball had finally come.

The main banquet was set to begin at 6 PM. As per tradition, invited guests were expected to enter the palace by 4 PM to await the opening.

This might seem like plenty of time, but in reality, it wasn't. Stepping into their glittering world of vanity required meticulous preparation from morning onward.

... For Elphisia, at least.

'A baptismal name sure comes in handy at times like these.'

The bearer of a baptismal name never gets dirty. They always stay clean, and impurities fall away on their own.

To put it bluntly, even bathing was unnecessary for me. Since there was no chance of residual waste, skincare was the last thing on my mind.

So all I had to do was put on the Holy Knight Order's uniform in style.

"I've never seen the Director dressed up like this before."

"I still can't believe the Director used to be a holy knight."

The children had various reactions to seeing me in my pristine white uniform.

It was a bit early to be wearing the uniform, but there were reasons. Since Yulian was the only child attending the imperial ball, Tina and Glen rarely got to see me like this.

"But Director, since you can make a sword out of light, is that why you're not carrying one?" Glen asked.

The light sword from the illegal auction seemed to have left quite an impression.

"You think I'd do that? I carried a normal sword too. I couldn't use miracles every time I trained or sparred."

"Then what about now?"

"... It's a hassle? Besides, I can't exactly bring a sword to a banquet."

Glen's expression suggested his illusions had been shattered by my honest answer. From his perspective, he probably thought I'd be perfect at everything, being his savior and all.

"An orphanage director having a sword at home wouldn't be a good look, would it?"

"That's... true, Director..."

As Glen nodded in understanding, Tina's eyes sparkled beside him.

"But I want to see Dad training and sparring with a sword. It must be amazing, right?"

"Didn't the Director use a sword when fighting the dragon?"

"Nope, Dad just kept punching it over and over."

"As expected of our Director...! So you didn't even need a sword?"

"... Director, haven't you crossed the line of what's humanly possible, being able to fight 'that' with your bare hands?"

Come to think of it, I'd avoided telling the kids about slaying the dragon as much as possible. It wasn't exactly a pleasant memory for Tina, so I'd deliberately glossed over it. But now that Tina herself was bringing it up so cheerfully, it seems my worries were unfounded.

However, feeling embarrassed by the praise from these little ones, I tried to change the subject with a joke.

"The Director who's crossed the line is also unbeatable at word chain games. Yulian, you might still lose to me even after 10 years."

"H-How absurd! In 10 years, my vocabulary will be far superior... surely!"

"Fame."

"... Megaphone."

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"Neophyte."

"Ugh...!"

"And with that, it's 17 wins, 17 losses, 0 ties. Yulian, you're truly the weakest. That's just how the world works."

"I've never felt so inferior before..."

I patted Yulian's shoulder as he wallowed in self-pity. The brat found it even more humiliating and rubbed his face dry.

"Feeling less nervous now?"

"What nervousness..."

"You're returning home, aren't you nervous about that?"

"Well..."

Only then did Yulian realize he had forgotten his worries for a while due to this silly game. But perhaps too proud to admit that I had helped ease his tension, he just pouted silently.

"So... when did Yulian tell you two about his identity?"

It would have been understandable for the kids to feel it was unfair that only Yulian was going to the imperial ball, but they were surprisingly nonchalant about it. Surely, this reaction came because Yulian had already revealed his identity to them.

Tina and Glen spoke in unison.

"The day Dad slayed the dragon..."

"I found out during the party at the Border Count's house."

"We all confessed together anyway. Whether it's being the descendant of an extinct royal family or a half-dragon or whatever, it was hard for me to keep quiet alone."

As expected, the kids had formed their own secrets. It was reassuring to see that not only were they getting along well, but they had also established their own little group.

It was admirable how they accepted each other's differences too.

"I'm blessed. Somehow I've met such good kids... except for Yulian."

"Why am I the exception?!"

"Just felt like it today."

"There's no way... such an unfunny day exists..."

As we bantered like this, the other two children giggled softly.

Seeing the completely relaxed atmosphere, I gave Tina and Glen some parting words.

"Kids, make sure you play well while we're gone. Understood?"

"Have a safe trip, Dad."

"Yes, Director."

I waved to the two children who bowed their heads. After leaving the playroom, I headed to the room where Elphisia was in the midst of her preparations.

Having already finished my own preparations, I intended to wait leisurely. Of course, there was also a slight desire to see her getting ready.

Knock knock.

No sooner had I knocked than permission to enter came from inside. So I opened the door without hesitation.

The moment I stepped inside, a strong wind blew as the open window allowed air to circulate. Elphisia's long hair danced with the wind.

As the door closed, her hair settled, shimmering with a static gleam. As always, there wasn't a single aspect of her that wasn't inhumanly beautiful.

Her expensive dress, which I had never seen since our first meeting, was the same. Elphisia had an innate radiance that captivated the human eye.

"It... suits you."

That was all I could manage to say upon seeing her.

Instead of a voluminous skirt, she wore a slim design that revealed her figure. It gave the impression of being slender like a rose stem. Moreover, it looked lighter and more mobile than the usual heavy dresses.

Of course, its color was red.

The color that suits Elphisia best of all.

Nevertheless, I made a clumsy comment.

"... It's really pretty, except for the bit of exposure."

Elphisia made a sound as if she was suddenly short of breath.

"Is that all you have to say after all this?"

"Yeah..."

The neckline was plunging enough to reveal cleavage, which was provocative, and one side of the skirt had a thin slit. If someone were to decide to lift it, a major wardrobe malfunction could happen.

Aware of my concern, Elphisia twirled a strand of her hair.

"Are you worried perhaps? That other men might steal glances?"

"No, I'm worried about myself."

"... What did you say?"

Elphisia's mood cooled, dropping like icicles. But even while considering her feelings, I couldn't help but honestly confess the truth.

"You know, Elphisia... if you dress too seductively, I might end up sinning. How could I harbor lewd thoughts about you? I shouldn't... but when we're pressed close dancing, inevitably..."

"W-Wait a moment. Harte, would you please look around?!"

"Huh?"

I scanned the surroundings as Elphisia requested. Only then did I notice the maids around Elphisia, touching up her makeup and fixing her hair.

"S-So when we're pressed close dancing... that is... um..."

I had outright revealed that our marriage was a contract. My head wasn't working properly due to the shock.

That must have been why. The reason I gave up control of my speech and blurted out whatever came to mind.

"When we're pressed close dancing... I might fall too deeply in love with you... I'll keep thinking about our second and third child, and want to push away everyone else's eyes because I love you so much. Jealousy is ugly, but I won't be able to help it. Surely..."

"..."

"Surely..."

"..."

"... That's what I mean..."

"..."

This is bad.

It's thoroughly, utterly bad.

Trying to cover up somehow, my words seem to have flown off to space. Maybe I'll be accused of making up excuses belatedly.

That worry was short-lived.

The faces of the maids preparing Elphisia turned red.

"My goodness... Your husband has such adorable thoughts, my Lady!"

"You're so loved!"

"Wow... Is he a unicorn? To be so pure and sincere. I think holy knights might become my ideal type from today."

Oh, is that so?

It seems to have worked unexpectedly well. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief. I was just happy to have somehow escaped the suspicion of a contract marriage.

On the other hand, Elphisia kept her mouth shut without a word of praise.

"Elphisia...?"

At my call, she twitched her cheek.

To me, that expression looked like she might be smiling, or maybe angry.

There wasn't enough information to infer her emotions.

As I fretted, Elphisia spoke in a low voice.

"You there."

"Yes, my Lady."

"Bring another design similar to this one. With the chest... properly covered."

I wanted to applaud her wise decision. Though I couldn't actually do it to save face...

"Elphisia...!"

Still, while we're changing it, it would be nice if we could address the side slit in the skirt too...

Could she have read my inner thoughts with mind reading?

Elphisia glanced this way and delivered a sharp retort.

"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of giving up the side slit."

"Why...? Aren't you cold?"

"Ha, cold my frozen a--"

"Ugh."

Well, even I could see that was a flimsy excuse. I had no right to interfere in what Elphisia wore, so my excuses were bound to be weak...

Meanwhile, she smiled slightly at my dejected look.

"Are you curious why I'm being so stubborn?"

"... Just a tiny bit, yeah."

"Hmm, I suppose there's no reason not to tell you."

She said,

"I find the leg line visible through the side slit attractive."

... That's what she said.

I lost my composure at her directness.

Regardless, Elphisia primly turned her gaze back to the vanity.

Leaving one last comment.

"You should know that better than anyone."

---

[raei: oh, btw, the word chain game is played by using the last syllable of the previous word and using it as the first syllable of the next word.

Of course, the same words don't work in English as they do in Korean.]