Please Marry My Son

CHAPTER 8

8. Create a contract

Oct. 28, 2022.

Alicia looked at Eric with a bit of surprise as she picked up her pen nonchalantly, quickly gathering her thoughts.

She’d seen him before, and he was usually embarrassed, awkward, or smiling smugly, so this was a strange sight.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“What? No, it’s nothing, shall we get started?”

Alicia quickly hid her expression and picked up her pen to fill out the contract.

***]

“Confidentiality is the most important thing after all, right?”

“Yes, and since this is my first engagement, I’m not sure exactly what my duties and responsibilities are, so let’s be comprehensive.”

“Okay. Is there anything else you’d like to include?”

Eric thought for a moment, then glanced over at Alicia, who was busy filling out the contract in front of him.

Alicia could meet and marry any man she wanted, and she shouldn’t let a contract get in the way of a great opportunity.

“Wouldn’t it be troublesome if you genuinely fell for someone during the term of the contract?”

Alicia’s eyes widened at the unexpected remark.

“Oh, are you referring to someone specific? Then why this contract?”

“It’s not about me. There’s no such person, there won’t be, and there never will be.”

Alicia found his unexpectedly firm tone amusing, and she ended up chuckling instead.

“Then why do you ask such a question?”

“It’s not about me-”

“…Why?”

“Why would the Viscount say such a thing?”

He simply meant that he doesn’t desire marriage at the moment, but perhaps in the future, when the time is right, he could meet a better woman and live well.

They looked at each other puzzled for a moment.

***]

[Agreement]

Eric Russell Gloucester (“G”) and Alicia Lancaster (“L”) do hereby covenant in good faith to perform the obligations set forth in this Agreement.

1.The parties are engaged to be married in accordance with this Agreement and will perform in good faith all words and acts generally recognized in this relationship.

2. In maintaining the engagement relationship, “G” may request “L” to perform all internal and external activities required by the Duke and Duchess, and “L” shall fulfill them in good faith.

3.”G” shall pay monetary consideration and equivalent consideration to “L”, and the method of payment shall be determined by “L”.

4.”L” shall be responsible for the advisory and operational work of “G”‘s villa, and may require separate compensation for this.

5.The parties shall prohibit all references to this agreement and shall not divulge any secrets.

6.The term of the contract shall be determined by mutual agreement, but unless otherwise agreed, it shall be until the return of Ms. L’s father.

[Special]

1. No kissing is allowed. However, this excludes kissing that is customarily permitted to maintain or prove an engaged relationship, such as escorting or waltzing.

2.If during the contract period, both parties have a sincere object, neither party shall object to the mid-term termination of this contract.

3.If this Agreement is terminated by mutual consent, no additional or extended agreements will be entered into.

4) There shall be no further contact or communication after the termination of this Agreement.

5.If changes to this Agreement are necessary, they shall be mutually agreed upon.

*** Β

“Welcome.”

“Hi.”

Eric greeted Alicia, more casually than before.

It was their first visit since the last time they’d signed the contract and officially announced their engagement to both families.

As they were escorted into the Count’s mansion, users lined up to greet them.

“Welcome, madam.”

Alicia and Eric froze in surprise, halting in their tracks.

“Butler, isn’t the title a bit premature?”

“Oh, is it? I just thought it might be better to get used to it quickly. If you don’t like it, I can stop.”

After a moment’s hesitation, he spoke up.

“Ma’am.”

“I don’t think so.”

Eric’s bruise made the butler hesitate again, then he finally spoke, sounding very disappointed.

“Then you are still unmarried, my dear. I’ll call you miss.”

“I am Beth, your maid. You are most welcome, ma’am, no, miss.”

“Thank you, Beth, and all of you.”

The maid standing next to her greeted her, and Alicia smiled sweetly, making eye contact with everyone.

“You’ll be managing the mansion’s affairs from now on, so I hope you’ll do well.”

“Yes. I understand, and I will do my best to assist you.”

“Shall we go in then?”

Eric led Alicia inside.

***]

Just the two of them. Eric smiled apologetically at Alicia, who exhaled as if the tension had been released.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d do that.”

“It’s not as easy as I thought.”

“Yeah, well, sit down.”

Eric took the seat across from Alicia.

“I think we need to work out the details so that we don’t raise any suspicions.”

“I guess so. We have a lot to align.”

Both of them were generally diligent when it came to work, and they were prepared to do their best to fulfill the contract. And they intended to do so as perfectly as possible.

“Eric.”

“Yes?”

“Is it alright if I call you Eric? It just feels more natural.”

“That would be fine. Uh, sure. Alicia.”

“Are you sure? It feels really awkward right now.”

“Is it awkward enough to laugh about?”

“A little? Um, then try to think back to when you used to call your significant other.”

“I’ve never had that experience.”

“Oh.”

“Are you naturally calling me that because you’re recalling past experiences?”

“It’s not that difficult for me thanks to my friends.””Oh, friends.”

Eric reluctantly nodded.

“It’ll get better over time, right? Let’s take it slow, us.”

“Let’s do that.”

“How should we handle the handover?”

“I plan to handle the viscount’s duties myself. As for the estate affairs, we’ll take it step by step.”

“Sounds good.”

“Just a heads up, given my parents’ tendencies, it won’t take more than a few days for news of our engagement to spread. Prepare yourself mentally. It might be quite a hassle.”

“I don’t really engage in social activities, so I’ll be fine.”

“That’s exactly why I’m worried. You’re not accustomed to it.”

“I see.”

“I wish my mother would take it easy,” Alicia remarked.

“Is that the ‘startling momentum’ Eric mentioned last time?” she added, teasingly.

Eric chuckled and nodded in response.

“We’ll probably look back on this later and think it wasn’t such a big deal,” he said. “Why did we even come this far?”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Alicia agreed.

“I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve, but I’ll tell you about them when we get there, though I can’t guarantee they’ll work.”

“Yes, I’ll ask for your help,” Alicia said after hesitating for a moment, feeling that the atmosphere had lightened considerably compared to before.

“Um, by the way, do you… go to that VIP salon in the city often?” she asked.

“I used to,” Eric replied simply, recalling the place he frequented for appearances.

But now, there was no need to go there anymore.

“Why do you ask? Perhaps—”

Alicia cautiously inquired, wondering if Eric had seen her there countless times or had heard stories about her behaving rudely towards potential suitors.

“Yes, you’re right. I used to go there often because I oversee salon affairs as well. But there’s no need for you to recognize me,” Eric replied.

“No, there’s really no need to recognize me.”

“Well, I should have told you sooner, but things got so out of hand that I didn’t get the chance.”

“That’s okay, I don’t mind that at all. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, but I still should have thanked you properly.”

“Thank you for what?”

“What?”

They stared at each other, realizing that the focus of the conversation was strangely off.

Alicia was the first to look away.

“You don’t remember this guy at all. I mean, how do you not recognize him?

I thought I recognized him. I thought he was a good person who didn’t mind helping me.

Of course, not recognizing someone doesn’t mean they’re not a good person, but Alicia was disappointed.

“Do you usually just help random people?”

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Eric is a knight, so helping people is natural and nothing special, so maybe he doesn’t remember.

Still, Alicia shook her head quickly, feeling rather odd for being so pointed.

“?”

“Seriously, what do we do now?”

The smirk on Alicia’s face bothered Eric, but he figured there must be a reason for the deliberate change of subject, so he didn’t ask further.

“I’ll show you around the mansion first, so you can familiarize yourself with it.”

“Yes.”

“Actually, there’s not much to see, but shall we go?”

Alicia stood up, following Eric.

***]

“The people here are so friendly.”

“Yeah, they are.”

“?”

During my tour of the mansion, the workers I met were incredibly friendly and hospitable.

And even Eric, the owner of the mansion, was something I had never seen before.

“It’s nothing, how do you like the mansion?”

“Good, I think, Eric.”

I looked at her, wondering what she meant, and Alicia smiled.

“Neat and warm.”

Well-groomed and warm were two words Eric had never heard in his life.

“Maybe it’s the warmth of the sun today. This mansion gets a lot of light.”

“Is that what it is?”

“Something like that.”

Seeing Eric awkwardly avoiding eye contact out of embarrassment, Alicia couldn’t help but laugh.

However, she stopped abruptly near the end of the hallway.

“Is this the library?” she asked.

“Yes, although it’s small,” Eric replied.

“May I take a look?”

“Feel free.”

As Alicia stepped into the library, she paused when she heard the maids whispering to each other, prompting her to stop in her tracks.

“She laughed, the Viscount laughed! It’s the first time I’ve seen him laugh since I started working here.”

“Me too, me too. I was so shocked when he suddenly announced the engagement, but I guess there’s something there after all.”

“Really? It didn’t seem like they were in love or anything, right? What’s up with that? Did he fall head over heels at first sight or something? Just felt destiny at the first meeting or something?”

“Yeah, I mean, remember last time? She came back carrying all those gifts like crazy. It’s only their second meeting.”

I didn’t mean to hear it, I didn’t want to hear it, but I heard it all.

“No, that’s not all I said. Besides, I didn’t laugh, I just didn’t have anything to laugh about.

In frustration, Eric tried to deny it, but then gave up.

“I’m sure everyone was wondering what was going on,” he says, “because you’ve been blowing it every time, and then all of a sudden you get engaged.

He told himself that this was something he had to deal with, and that he was glad Alicia hadn’t heard.

“Eric?”

Alicia stuck her head out, looking for Eric, who hadn’t come in.

“Oh, I’m coming.”

Deciding it was better not to hear any more, Eric hurried into the study.

***]

He followed silently behind Alicia as she moved from bookcase to bookcase, scanning the titles with interest.

His mouth opened occasionally as if he had something to say, but he shut it, flinching whenever Alicia moved.

After doing this a few times, Alicia seemed to notice and turned to Eric.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Well, there’s something we need to discuss.”

“What is it?”

Eric ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed, and averted his gaze for a moment, then locked eyes with Alicia again.

“The ring, do you need it or not?”