“What is it this time?”I asked myself.

Their gazes could riddle me with holes. Are they intrigued by me? By what I have shown? I don’t think it is that intriguing, after all, my senior asked me to hold back. Will their reaction be the same if I have gone all out instead? No, their reaction would probably be different. Although I have unintentionally mocked my enemy by not giving my all, it can’t be helped. I can’t needlessly kill someone, especially when that person is a noble.

While observing the group of people sitting behind me, one of them decided to walk towards me. The sound of the shoes made me realize that it is most likely a woman. Men’s shoes make a different sound, it is a lot subtle than the one currently walking towards me. It is indeed a woman, a woman wearing heels.

I don’t know her reason for coming to my direction, so I have to be prepared for everything. She may actually be the sister of one of the nobles I took down earlier. She stopped right beside me and the outline of her figure immediately disappeared in my head. I slowly turned towards her direction, and asked.

“What business do you have with me?”

“I’m Demi, second daughter of House Huru. I saw how you handled my elder brother earlier. You’re impressive even for someone with a handicap. I like you. Why don’t we get married?” she told me.

Huh? What did she just say? I fell silent for a moment. I don’t really know how to respond to that. This is the first time someone told me that. Just how much did the world change? Is this how easily one can find a marriage partner?

While thinking about it, I turned my head towards the group she is. My insides feel twisted for a moment as I consider the idea in my head. ‘Don’t tell me they have the same intentions as her?’ The only way to find out the truth, I need to ask her instead of answering her question.

“Tell me, is that the same reason why you and your acquaintances are here?” I asked her, trying to keep my calm.

Although my face retains a calm and collected expression because of the things I inherited in my family, I can still get flustered and feel other emotions. It's just that I don’t show it on my face.

“Yes. We all came here with that intention in mind but unfortunately for them, I’m not letting an opportunity slip away. So, what do you say? You may not see me, but I am actually very beautiful. You will be a subject of jealousy if you have a pretty and capable wife like me.” she said.

Wow, she’s very confident in herself, huh? Though I don’t dislike a person with so much confidence, I don’t like the idea of having to marry someone you just met and barely even know.

“I sincerely apologize. But I don’t find sudden proposals appealing. And marrying me because of the mere reason that I’ve shown a certain level of skill is not very convincing.” I told her.

Yes. I think marriage should be up to both parties. Forced marriage will only break the hearts of those who are involved. I have seen the darkness in that, after all, my parents were one of the products of forced marriage.

“Is it because we barely know each other? If that’s the case, then why don’t we get to know each other more from now on?” She told me as she sat on the empty chair next to mine.

“......”

She’s persistent. What is driving her to go such lengths? I blatantly told her no, but she still persists? I do not understand women at all, no, I don’t understand women in general. I had a few interactions with one during my travels and even in my life as a noble in the past, and I still find them hard to understand.

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“I apologize. I must have worded it wrongly. I’m currently not interested in marriage. I firmly believe that it will come at a perfect time and right now, I don’t think that it is ‘that’ time yet.” I told her.

I said what I wanted to say. There is no point in staying here any longer. Although my rest was cut short, I needed to leave, anyway. I bowed my head and left my seat.

“If you’ll excuse me. I have places I need to be. It’s nice meeting you, Demi of House Huru. I will take my leave first.”

“What a shame, I thought we can close the distance between us once we start to get to know each other. Well, there is still next time so make sure to give me that chance, okay? By the way, I did not get your name.” She stood and grabbed my wrist before I could move far away.

Huh? Does that mean she said those words without knowing who I am before coming here? Was I assuming they already knew me? What a blunder!

“I’m sorry. I assumed that you already knew my identity before coming here, hence I did not introduce myself.” I bowed my head out of embarrassment, “I’m Jakob Reavers, pleased to make your acquaintance. Please allow me to apologize for not introducing myself earlier.”

I felt her gentle hands as she grabbed mine as if she’s trying to tell me that it wasn’t that big of a deal.

“Don’t worry about it. To be honest, I already knew about your name. I just wanted to hear it from you, that’s all.”

“........”

So she knew about my name all along and just wanted to confirm it? Women, I don’t really understand them, not one bit.

“Oh…. Okay. Then please excuse me.” I told her and left.

What the hell was that? It’s the first time a woman grabbed my hand and I panicked, and left in a hurry. Before leaving the city hall, I can feel the gazes of the others from her group focused on me. Things are calm right now, but it seems like it will not stay that way for long. I can feel the storm brewing.

A few days after the test, I spent most of my time training like I usually do. I knew it was only a matter of time before they made their move, and I was right. I woke up from the sound of the busy corridor. The panicking footsteps walking back and forth nonstop became my alarm clock. I wasn’t like this all the time so I figured something was going on outside. I wore my usual clothes used for training and headed out of my room. And as I did, I noticed someone standing beside the door.

“Did the noise wake you up? It’s still too early for your training.”

It was my senior. He sometimes comes over to my room but this is the first time he came to my room early in the morning.

“Is there something wrong, senior?” I asked.

“Well, not really. It’s just that we have far too many guests today and it's taken me quite aback. It’s a first for a non-celebration day so I’m not used to this at all.” He said as if murmuring to himself.

So it was them, huh? I already told Demi that I am not interested in marriage, so I was hoping that she would at least spread the word. Did she not do it?

“Last time, I made it clear to one of them that I am not really interested right now. And besides, there are far more important things they should worry about, right?”

The damages of the last big incident still remains and I heard that things are just slowly returning to normal, but that doesn’t mean this city will return to how it used to be. Now that a threat like that appeared, countless measures are needed to prevent anything like that from happening ever again. And seeing them have a time for this makes me think that they are somewhat confident that they are able to tackle an incident of this size in the future. Complacency will be their downfall.

“I know. Maybe they heard from their parents about what we discussed the other day. That's why they’re here despite that fact.”

My senior sounded troubled for some reason. Maybe it is indeed the reason why they are gathered here despite that. I have already told my senior about my take so there is a high possibility that he shared it with the other House heads as well. They agreed to those things and gave their children a leeway to do what they want.

“They must have agreed to what I shared with you, senior?”

“That’s most likely what happened. I didn’t get a single word of disagreement that day so I’m sure they won’t openly disagree with me and keep it to themselves. But I did not expect them to accept it so easily. Maybe they saw the wisdom in your words, and by backing your words gave it an immense amount of credibility. Well, your words make sense to begin with, so it might not have been hard to believe at all.”

Even my senior trust me so much. If they trust his word, that means they trust him enough, right?

Now that it all makes sense, I guess I have no choice but to endure it.