The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

Time flowed on, and winter arrived, bringing frost flowers clinging to bare branches.

That day, snow fell. It was also a day when the servants were especially busy.

Today was December 31st.

New Year's Eve, on the cusp of a new year.

"Wow, Dad! It's snowing."

"Do you like snow, Tina?"

"Yes!"

"I see..."

I gazed at the distant mountains, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Yes, there was a time when I, like Tina, would gaze wide-eyed at snow and icicles. I was once a child who loved how the world turned white, transforming the ordinary into something special.

In this life, I lived a cold, emotionless existence until a certain point, feeling no wonder at the world around me.

Anyway, setting aside personal stories, if I were to express my opinion... I hate snow. I really hate it.

The sight of snow trampled black by people's feet was unpleasant, and the feeling of moisture seeping into my shoes when stepping on thick snow was horrible. No matter how physically capable one might be, icy ground was still slippery.

If I had my way, I'd spread the miracle of snow removal across the entire empire.

Oblivious to my feelings, Tina gripped my hand tightly and tugged.

"Dad, Dad."

"Yes?"

"Let's go play outside. Please? I want to have a snowball fight!"

Come to think of it, has Tina never had a snowball fight before? But Tina should never have a snowball fight, now or in the future.

I explained the cold reality to Tina, as frigid as the snow-covered ground.

"...Tina."

"Yes?"

"You must not have snowball fights, at least until you're an adult."

"Huh, why...?"

Tina shot me a hurt look, but it couldn't be helped. For Tina, a snowball fight would be deadly.

To put it simply, a snowball Tina threw lightly would rival the speed of a professional athlete's throw. Even if it was just a snowball, if she compressed it and threw it with her full strength, it would be a major incident.

Finding it tedious to list all the reasons, I eventually explained vaguely:

"...Someone could get hurt. A snowball fight is still a fight, right? It could turn into a real fight, that's why."

"Uu... I understand."

"That's my good girl."

I ruffled Tina's hair to console her. But Tina, still struggling to accept it, puffed up her cheeks like a blowfish.

Right then, a lifeline for Tina appeared from the end of the corridor.

"My, did you want to have a snowball fight?"

"Grandfather!"

"Ho ho..."

Tina scampered over to the Duke, who wore a kindly smile. The Duke bent down to Tina's eye level and said:

"If you want to have a snowball fight, why don't you do it with this old man?"

"Wow! Really?"

Tina's face lit up for a moment before she asked in a suddenly small voice.

"But... will it be just the two of us?"

"Ho, it's supposed to be a 'game', how can only two of us have all the fun."

"Then who else will play with us?"

"There are plenty of people to play with. This old man's Sword King Unit exists for times like this, to have snowball fights."

"Ah!"

Crazy!

I internally cursed at the Duke's casual lunacy.

'Is that sorry purpose really the reason for the Empire's finest knights to exist?!'

Judging by the Duke's schemes I'd witnessed so far, it was troublingly plausible. Indeed, the Duke was already calmly leading Tina out of the mansion.

'...Huh?'

That's when I finally caught it.

As the Duke took Tina out, he suddenly turned his gaze this way, glancing at me with a look of mockery.

'How on earth did Tina manage to wrap the Duke around her finger...'

By this point, I was genuinely curious.

---

---

Cardi was walking with Tina along the snow-covered path.

Their destination: the training grounds.

By now, the Sword King Unit should be assembled and ready.

'This is training.'

A snowball fight is an excellent training method. It hones visual acuity as one dodges snowballs, builds endurance from running around, and develops practical reflexes.

So this isn't just about playing with his adorable granddaughter. Fundamentally, training is best when it naturally fosters interest rather than confining it to rigid structures. Isn't this the true meaning of education?

'How long has it been since this child came?'

Surely it was spring when Elphisia submitted the marriage papers to Court Count Arwel. The Imperial ball was held in spring as well. That mild season had already changed to one of biting winds.

"It's the end of the year."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. It's nothing."

Certainly, with children running about, the mansion's atmosphere had changed. If it used to be stiff and formal, now it felt softer.

Especially Elphisia - that child too seemed to have undergone a significant change in temperament from before. She had always been indifferent to worldly affairs, but who knew she was hiding such an abundance of emotions. Even as her father, he hadn't anticipated it at all.

'I suppose outside influence is outside influence after all.'

She seems to take after her mother. Or perhaps her husband made her that way. Either way, he believed it to be a positive change.

Therefore, it shouldn't be wrong to be a little kind to the child Elphisia cherishes.

'It reminds me of that time.'

It was when he impulsively asked Tina if she wanted to go to the Imperial ball.

Originally, he had no intention of showing his face at an event where the Pope would be present. Even if she said she wanted to go, he had planned to politely refuse.

Yet he ended up abandoning jis stubbornness, swayed by the words of an innocent child who knew nothing.

"Do you want to go?"

"Yes! I want to see Mom and Dad dancing too!"

"Then we can't."

"Why...?"

"Because I have no one to dance with."

It was a kind of childish spite. He just wanted to see the disappointed face of a child whose emotions change so rapidly.

At the time, he didn't know.

This child, without a drop of his blood, had emotions more unpredictable than he could have imagined.

The girl before him hung her head and said nothing. So he thought she was hiding her sulky face.

That's when it happened.

Drip, drop.

Pearly droplets left tracks on her clothes as they fell from Tina's blue eyes. Even then, he thought she was upset because he had forbidden her from attending the Imperial ball.

But when the child next spoke with a voice choked with tears, he was secretly startled.

"Hic, I feel so sorry for Grandmother..."

"What?"

"No, I feel sorry for Grandfather too. Grandfather must have wanted to dance with Grandmother so, so much... but now you can't see her anymore."

"...Everyone dies. My wife just died a bit earlier than most."

"But you must miss her. Surely Grandmother misses you too, but what if you can't meet each other... How can you be the only one like this? I, I want to see Mom and Dad every single day...!"

Honestly, Tina was rambling so much it was questionable what she was even saying. The real problem erupted next.

"Waaaaahhhhh...!!!"

Tina burst into loud sobs.

Cardi couldn't understand why Tina was crying at this moment, nor could he fathom what was sad enough to bring her to tears. He wondered just how far a child's empathy could extend.

But why?

This child, with her face contorted unattractively as she poured out tears, wasn't dislikable despite being troublesome.

Rather, he felt drawn to her.

Though he didn't understand why, this child was clearly crying for his sake.

Until now, apart from Elena, no one who wasn't family had ever cried for him. Excluding his late wife - who he could never see again - not a single person had existed. At least not until this child shed tears.

Above all, it was remarkable how she sympathized with Elena's feelings, who she had never met.

"What does my wife, who you've never even met, have to do with you?"

"But... but... she's my grandmother..."

"Huh."

"Dad says he's not my real dad, but he's my real dad. Mom's the same. She says real family doesn't care about that stuff. So Grandmother is Grandmother and Grandfather is Grandfather... Hic, hic..."

Cardi was deeply shocked.

Though his values differed from the typical nobility, at his core he was undeniably conservative. Family naturally referred to blood relations, and anything else was entirely fake.

But by this point, he had to reconsider his outdated values.

Had there ever been a time when those blood relations had expressed their feelings for him wholeheartedly, without ulterior motives?

In the end, only complete strangers had cried for him, just as Elena and Tina had done.

So Cardi muttered without thinking:

"Your father has done well raising you."

After blurting it out, it seemed only natural. After all, her father Harte was from the temple, and had grown up in the same place as Elena.

No, wait. If Elena had raised this child alone, the kid might have ended up a bit rough around the edges.

Swept along by this train of thought.

Cardi, in an attempt to somehow stop Tina's tears, ended up offering kindness he didn't really mean.

"......Stop crying. Only children with bright smiles are allowed at the ball."

"Huh...?"

"You'll need to stop those tears if you want to go to the Imperial Palace."

"Ah..."

Tina needed a moment to process whether Cardi's words were genuine. But when Cardi turned his head with a smirk and stood up, Tina broke into a radiant smile.

"Okay!"

It was truly a lovely smile.

Cardi chuckled as he reminisced about that time. Tina tilted her head, trying to gauge his mood.

Cardi ruffled Tina's hair roughly.

"It's nothing. Nothing at all."

As the year drew to a close, he found himself missing his granddaughter in dragon form.

---

[raei: uhm this was in the author's afterword. A little insight into the Duke's thoughts?

Unexpectedly, it was Cardi's true feelings

.

.

.

"I find myself newly envious. To think the baptismal name holder is so close to the Count. What a joyous occasion indeed."

"...!"

Court Count Arwel was not one to miss the hidden meaning in Duke Luminel's admiration.

"With all due respect, please do not think of drawing him into politics!"

"Draw him in? Ahahah, there seems to be a misunderstanding."

Duke Luminel smiled gently.

"I merely wish to share a friendship with such a precious talent. Of course, that includes you as well."

Court Count Arwel's mind raced. He analyzed the Duke's ambiguous attitude, weighing his capability and intentions.

[I find myself newly envious (true), I merely wish to share a friendship with such a precious talent (true)]

.

.

.

"A pleasure to meet you, son-in-law. I am Cardi Luminel. Seeing my daughter bring home such a fine young man makes me miss my late wife."

How she would have loved to see Elphisia married like this.

And how well she would have treated her future son-in-law.

The Duke poured out such pleasantries while wiping away tears.

'...Those aren't fake tears. If he can produce genuine tears through pure acting, he's an incredibly skilled.'

I swallowed my tension with effort.

He was someone barely described in the original work, and someone who outmatched me in social experience.

Wariness was inevitable.

At last, he offered me a seat.

"Please, sit down. It's long been my dream to sit face-to-face like this and talk with my daughter's man. People might think I dream of grand things...

But in reality, they're all wrong."

"Haha... I see."

(He really misses his wife. He really doesn't dream of grand things.)]

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