Pressure Interview

The meal ended and I returned to the mansion. Somehow, it ended up being a proposal in front of Luna’s family, and as soon as I returned to the mansion, I had to have a one-on-one interview with Luna’s father in the family head’s room.

Compared to the mansion, which felt elaborately and beautifully designed, the family head’s room was full of books, documents, and all sorts of items. However, rather than being messy, it felt like a place where space was used practically.

The most noticeable thing in the room was a small desk and a leather chair placed in front of it. It looked quite old, as if it had been used for a long time, but thanks to good maintenance, it had a vintage feel.

Next to it was another desk for organizing documents, and on top of it, a messy pile of documents looked precariously close to collapsing. I could see a heavy trophy placed on top of the documents to prevent them from falling.

The design looked familiar, so I took a closer look and saw that it was a triathlon winner’s trophy. The name ‘Louisville Grace’ was engraved at the bottom. It seemed to be a trophy that Luna’s eldest brother had received for participating in a triathlon.

Luna’s father thanked the maid who brought tea and dessert and smiled. As the maid bowed and turned away, Luna’s father offered me tea.

“It’s a tea that’s enjoyed in the East. Please, make yourself comfortable.”

We took a sip of tea without a word. After quietly putting down my teacup, I subtly pulled up my chair.

Luna’s father, Ruinen Grace, was a handsome middle-aged man with a 멋진/meotjin (wonderful) beard and neatly slicked-back hair.

Even though he was old, his eyes were still lively, and like the reputation of being one of the three great noble families of the East, his presence was extraordinary. The hand resting on the desk was full of scars and protruding veins, as if to show that he was not just a noble who only knew how to twirl a pen.

Looking closely, I could see that his skin color was different in places, and there were also burn scars. Is this what a veteran looks like? Unlike his sharp eyes that observed the other person, Ruinen asked in a gentle voice.

“I heard you met Luna at the Academy and started dating?”

“Yes. We happened to run into each other several times.”

“I see…”

After pondering the next question for a moment, Ruinen scratched his beard and asked.

“So?”

“Yes?”

“Are you thinking of marrying my daughter?”

As if trying to see through my inner thoughts, he put strength into his eyes, and I nodded with an unhidden smile.

“That’s what I’m thinking.”

A small sigh escaped from Ruinen’s lips at my immediate answer.

“…It sounds like you’re going to go ahead even if I oppose it.”

“We’ve already promised. To be together with Luna for life.”

Ruinen frowned, sighed, and glared at me with fierce eyes.

“Let me be honest like a man. I don’t care at all that your status is that of a commoner. That problem can be solved by becoming a son-in-law of the Grace family. But I don’t know if you’re the person who will be with Luna for life. Because I don’t know much about you.”

Ruinen, after drinking his tea, exuded a heavy presence and said.

“I won’t forget that you healed my daughter’s body, and I’m really grateful. If you want, I can give you enough money to live comfortably for three generations. But I’m not going to easily agree to Luna’s marriage just because of that. I’m Luna’s father, after all. Simply put, I need to be convinced that you’re the most suitable person for Luna.”

There must be many people who want to get on the good side of a great noble from the East. They are a family that governs a large city. Naturally, there would have been various attempts to get involved in any way possible. The most common method among them would be marriage.

Even if Luna’s body was not well, there would have been several stories about marriage. With the Grace name value, there would be many people who would think it’s worth putting up with the spouse’s physical discomfort. Not the person themselves, but the parents might have thought so.

It is a characteristic of nobles to increase the power of their family by using their children. It is a world where there are more marriages between families than love marriages. Like in the case of Lacar and Elena.

I understand Ruinen’s position as well. It would not be easy to send his daughter to a commoner who has nothing. Especially in a situation where he is confident that he can find a man with better conditions than me.

But even if I understood his position, I had no intention of backing down at all. I want Luna. I strongly want everything about her to be mine. And I’m a selfish bastard who can do anything to get what I want.

Like Luna had suggested to me before, it was possible to abandon the family and run away, and it was also okay to live together in a place where people’s feet don’t reach, away from the eyes of others. To be honest, I didn’t care at all what Luna’s family said about the marriage. All that matters to me is Luna’s happiness.

If Luna’s parents opposed the marriage, I was sure that Luna would follow me. But if that happened, Luna would definitely live with guilt towards her parents. Because Luna cares a lot about her family.

That’s why I decided to persuade Luna’s parents no matter what. Because I only want Luna, who is by my side, to be happy.

I smiled at Ruinen, who was staring at me.

“If you’re talking about the person who is most suitable for Luna, it can only be me.”

I started with those words. As expected, Ruinen asked with an interesting look in his eyes.

“Why?”

“Because I’m not trying to get support from the Grace family. I’m not trying to marry Luna to get the Grace name. Since you spoke honestly like a man first, I’ll be honest too. If it becomes an obstacle to the marriage, I will give up the Grace name without any regrets.”

“…You’d abandon Grace? Do you know what that means?”

He seemed to think that a commoner who doesn’t have a name wouldn’t know what it means. I smiled to show my composure and answered.

“I know it well enough. But I’m confident that I can be happy with Luna even without the support of the Grace family. I never intended to receive support from the family from the beginning.”

At those words, Ruinen scoffed as if he had heard someone saying something without knowing the ways of the world.

“Ha! Anyone can say that with words. But when you actually experience poverty and cold, you regret it. Do you think it’s happiness to eat bread together in a dilapidated house? Have you ever thought about how miserable it would be not to be able to give your loved one warm food?”

Ruinen frowned and added in a low voice.

“Poverty makes people tired. Not the body, but the mind. Cold and hunger eat away at what you call love. Luna’s body is not well, but she has never experienced poverty. She has always lived among the finest things. But if she doesn’t receive support from the Grace family, she will definitely get tired of your poverty. Poor food, lack of money…. Then even the marriage that seemed like it would last forever will come to an end.”

“You speak as if you’ve experienced poverty yourself.”

Our gazes met in the air. Ruinen, who had been a noble since birth, seemed momentarily speechless at the remark that he knew so much about poverty.

Ruinen turned his head, took a slight breath, rubbed his forehead, and finally opened his mouth.

“…Are you trying to brag about poverty to me?”

“No, but I need to brag about myself a little.”

Before Ruinen could say anything, I leaned back in my chair and crossed my legs.

A confident attitude is important in this kind of pressure interview.

“As you may have heard from Luna, I’m the runner-up in the first year of Transcendence Academy and the top student in the combat department. If you’re the top student in the combat department, even if you’re a commoner, you have enough qualifications to join the Imperial Knights. Even more so if you’re the runner-up in the grade, it’s almost certain.”

Just entering Transcendence Academy was as good as a guarantee that you had talent. If you were the runner-up in the grade there, you would be incredibly popular in the job market.

But Ruinen burst out laughing.

“Is that your answer? You’re saying you’re going to join the Imperial Knights, so don’t worry about money? The Imperial Knights’ annual salary is less than what Luna spends in a month during vacation.”

Judging from her usual spending habits, Luna is definitely not the type to overspend. She even tried to save on date expenses by going to places with good value for money.

Looking at the old desk and chair in the family head’s room, Ruinen was not the type to splurge either. He just didn’t spare money for his daughter, who had a physical disability.

Because Luna’s disability must have felt like their fault.

Certainly, Ruinen was not someone who could be easily persuaded, as his appearance suggested. I shrugged my shoulders and confidently placed my hand on the desk.

“That’s just an example of my abilities. I didn’t intend to be satisfied with joining the Imperial Knights either.”

As I said that, I quickly thought of things I could brag about in my head. Where, what do I have that I can show off as a prospective son-in-law….

Modest’s shared fate? I couldn’t say that out loud. Rotten’s disciple? He’d ask who Rotten is. It’s not something to brag about. A famous lily in the capital? I can never reveal that either.

If I exclude the runner-up in the first year of the Academy and the top student in the combat department, which I’ve already bragged about, there’s nothing else to show off….

No, was I only this much? There’s no way the author who created this world is only this much!

As I denied that and carefully considered again, the Spear of Destruction and the Spear of Shadow are of no help at all right now. Spatial magic? He’s definitely going to give me a look that says, ‘So what?’

Knowledge of magic engineering…? He’d laugh and ask if I’m planning to open a magic engineering workshop.

After careful consideration, the result finally came out.

…There was nothing else to brag about!

As I subtly uncrossed my legs and lowered my arm from the desk, avoiding his gaze, Ruinen seemed to have noticed something and said with a glint in his eyes.

“Surely, that’s not the end, is it? You confidently said that you don’t need the support of the Grace family! Let me tell you in advance, I will never! I have no intention of marrying my daughter to a guy who only bluffs and has no plans!”

…Should I reveal that Roel is my brother? No, wouldn’t that be too pathetic?

That I took Luna’s virginity – let’s never say that.

As my back was getting wet with cold sweat, someone knocked.

Ttokttok― (Knock knock)

Ruinen answered the maid’s voice coming from behind the door.

“I have a prior engagement, so tell them to wait a moment.”

“Um, that’s… the Crown Princess-nim has come to visit.”

Ruinen and I tilted our heads at the same time.

Why is Bella here?