I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

38 – Marriage Scam (1)

[Master.]

‘Huh?’

Tuon’s dining etiquette was strict, but after roughly learning how to use the utensils, he urged Armed to focus on the etiquette and not forget the people, saying it was a greater discourtesy.

And until now, he had remained silent, suddenly sending a telepathic message.

[It’s time to step in.]

‘Are you talking about that guy, Mazhar Gabi?’

Tuon’s sword vibrated subtly. It must be a sign of affirmation. Mazhar Gabi, who had suddenly barged in, was once again spouting strange, greasy words. Armed’s expression was deteriorating in real-time.

But didn’t Armed just chase Mazhar Gabi away herself? If she can handle it herself, is it right for a guest to overstep?

“I am a guest here, and it would be rude to step forward without the host’s invitation.”

[Trust me. A knight is meant to step forward when good people are in danger.]

Kriel had a moment of doubt. Was Aramed really in ‘danger’?

But as far as he knew, Aramed was a good person, and he was indeed in a somewhat difficult situation. He stood up.

“First, let me ask. Who is that person you secretly invited? Although we are not formally engaged, it is not right for a grown man and woman to meet in secret, away from the eyes of others.”

Aramed’s expression grew colder. He considered pulling out his staff and smashing it. But that would completely cut off the support from the Gavi family. He wanted to introduce a proper fiancé to prevent that fool from doing more foolish things.

At that moment, Kriel suddenly intervened.

“Sorry for the late introduction, Prince Mazar Gavi. I am Kriel, a wandering knight.”

“Wandering knight?”

Mazar’s expression was filled with doubt. It was common for wizards to call knights for protection, but a wizard of Aramed’s stature had no need for that.

First, his own skill. If a monster approached, it would be dangerous, but Aramed had the ability to crush most monsters before they even got close.

Second, his position. Hiring and negotiating wages for protection was a task for subordinates. Someone of the position of the eldest daughter of an earl or the head of a society would have subordinates to handle such contracts.

Moreover, the fact that the person called was not a formal knight of an order but a ‘wandering knight’ was also a problem. Most of them were just ruffians with swords.

However, since he had been introduced, it was proper etiquette to return the greeting.

“Nice to meet you, Kriel. As you know, I am Mazar, the third son of the Gavi family. What were you doing having a meal with my betrothed?”

Hmm. Kriel adjusted his evaluation of Mazar upwards. Despite being addressed informally in such a situation, he maintained his composure.

It might be an act to appear foolishly infatuated with Aramed. After being expelled, he had found a way to come back in such a short time.

“It seems there is some misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“Prince Mazar, the person you claim to be your betrothed─”

Kriel reached out his left hand and pulled Aramed, who was beside him, by the shoulder. Aramed, with a surprised expression, but without resistance, fell into Kriel’s arms.

“Aramed is already engaged to me.”

Aramed awkwardly, hesitantly, extended her arm and wrapped it around Kriel’s neck. Unlike Kriel’s natural posture, it was quite awkward.

However, with her face flushed, the hesitation seemed more like the shyness of lovers rather than the awkwardness of a fake engagement.

Kriel admired Aramed’s appropriate response and looked at Mazar.

“…Huh?”

Mazar’s expression twisted. It was closer to bewilderment than anger. Mazar Gavi’s intellect was not outstanding among his siblings, but he was considered quite intelligent.

This meant he had the intelligence to understand the situation he was pressing and the measures Aramed might take.

He spoke with a firm, expressionless face.

“Is this how you want to play it, Miss Ket? The only choice that can solve your society’s material prosperity is our Gavi merchant group.”

“The purpose of the society is not money, but the pursuit of intellect, isn’t it, Prince Gabi?”

Mazhar turned his head towards Kriel. Unexpectedly, his eyes showed the cold calculation of a merchant rather than any personal feelings. It was as if he was appraising Kriel’s worth.

“You are Kriel, aren’t you?”

Mazhar chose his words carefully. All he knew about the man was his name and his profession as a wandering knight, which was hardly a profession at all. Given the general characteristics of knights, he would likely value honor.

‘Just by looking at him, he seems more like a dark knight leading an army of the abyss rather than just a knight…’

He couldn’t rely on such uncertain intuition to make a judgment. Mazhar continued with what he originally intended to say.

“Do you believe you can make Lady Ket happy?”

It was an unexpected question.

“If I say this, you might accuse me of being shameless, but I have a lot of money. You might say, what kind of wealth does a mere third son have? It’s my father’s money, not mine.”

Though he was belittling himself with his words, his posture was confident. Kriel assessed that Mazhar’s foolishness was likely an act.

“That is the case now. But if Lady Ket and I were to marry, and if we could elevate our family to the nobility by bloodline, my father would appoint me as his successor. As the head of the Gabi merchant guild, I could provide Lady Ket with ample support.”

Mazhar’s vision of the future was clear. His words conveyed his confidence that it would benefit both himself and Lady Armet.

“I can support Lady Ket’s lifelong research without any lack. What about you?”

Kriel pondered. He had thought Mazhar was just another thoughtless third-generation chaebol often seen in novels or dramas, but he was much more cunning.

Think, Kriel. Think!

A perfect sophistry to shatter his sound argument…

“I do not mean to belittle my profession as a wandering knight, but Lady Ket’s research would require a lot of money. Can you support her research?”

Kriel suddenly realized his identity. He was a ‘knight.’

The word ‘romance’ itself originated from medieval chivalric literature, didn’t it? If Mazhar were to shout, ‘Love? Don’t make me laugh. How much? How much do you need?’ Kriel would just smile and answer.

I pity you for not knowing the greatness of love.

“Then let me ask you this, Prince Gabi. Can you love Armet?”

*

It felt like the breath was knocked out of them. Both Armet and Mazhar found it hard to follow Kriel’s sudden words.

Mazhar, displaying the composure of a merchant, answered.

“Why wouldn’t a political marriage allow love to blossom? With her abilities, of course, I can love her.”

“I did not decide to get engaged to Armet because of her abilities or background.”

Kriel responded immediately. He then recited the backstory he had prepared, ensuring it wasn’t a lie and didn’t violate his knightly code.

“When I first met Armet, it was on the battlefield. Her magical abilities were nothing compared to now, and I didn’t even know she was the daughter of Count Ket.”

Here, a brief pause. The important point was that everything he had said so far was true. When they first met, he had only thought she was a mage in a mercenary group.

“But when I decided to get engaged, none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that Armet wanted it.”

The decision to get engaged was made about three minutes ago. It was the moment when Tuon subtly urged me to step forward. The only thing that mattered was to temporarily get Armed out of a difficult situation, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Prince Gabi. Can you swear here by the six providences? That even if Armed Ket was just Armed and not Armed Ket, you would still act the same way.”

Armed, who was not a noble, was meaningless to Mazar Gabi. Mazar couldn’t easily answer.

*

“I can do it.”

Here’s the living point. ‘Acting the same way’ applies differently between Mazar and me. For Mazar, ‘getting married’ is the action, but for me, ‘becoming a fake engagement partner for Ket’ is the action.

For Mazar, who aimed for the position from the beginning, it wasn’t easy to affirm, but for me, who was just fulfilling Ket’s request, it was something I could swear to several times.

Somewhere, I seemed to hear a horned horse head saying, ‘Ugh, is this chivalry?’ but I didn’t care.

If stepping up for a friend’s trouble isn’t chivalry, then what is?

Admiring my own drama and novel mix, I wanted to put the final punctuation on the conversation.