A few days ago…
The rubber plantations had a steady flow of merchants and visitors, but an arrival of the Rochefort Army?! What could they possibly want here?!
"BOSS!" All of Lucian's men that were loading the new batch for the shipment, yelled in unison, barging inside the workshop, "T-the Rochefort A-army... They're coming for us!"
The workshop fell quiet as all the men inside stared at their boss.
Lucian's hands stopped in the middle of a task. His eyes narrowed as he glanced out of the window, at the horizon. Rows of armour were approaching them in the distance, "Stay inside and don't cause trouble."
"B-but, BOSS! You can't go there by yourself! What if they arrest you?" one of the men said. The others were glancing at each other nervously. Shouldn't they run? They were pirates disguised as fishermen and sailors, criminals in hiding. They had no issue breaking the law, but a direct confrontation with the Rochefort Army was not something they could afford to have.
"They can try." Lucian said, cleaning his hands on the apron before he removed it and hung it back on the wall. He exited the workshop, closing the door behind himself, and started walking towards the incoming army.
The closer he got to them, the more he realized they were not here to cause trouble. They were dressed for ceremonial purposes, not battle.
When the two groups faced each other, the commander spoke first, "We are looking for a man named Lucian Arclight on the order of the Duke of Rochefort."
"I'm him," Lucian said while his men gathered in a small crowd at the door and windows, peeking out and trying to see what was happening.
The commander gave the simply clothed man a once-over, "Identities can be faked. Do you have proof of your identity?"
Lucian's lip curled up on the side, "No, but you can check with the local authorities. I am known here."
"We will," the man said, turning around and giving the signal to his men. After half an hour of waiting, the commander approached Lucian again, "By the decree of the Duke of Rochefort, you will be offered Lady Celine's hand in marriage in return for her crimes against you. You are to accompany us to the capital."
Lucian almost choked on the air, "I'm... what?"
"The Duke wants to compensate you for his daughter's actions. He is offering her as your bride," the man repeated, "Are you refusing?"
"What if I did?" Lucian asked.
The commander touched the hilt of his sword, "Refusal will be considered a personal insult to the Duke."
"She almost killed me." Twice. The first time was five years ago, the second time was after she tried to crush his injuries after he shot himself.
"..." the commander went silent for a moment, "It's a reward, not a punishment. She is a Lady of the highest status and comes with an enormous dowry."
"I'm not short on money." Lucian said as they looked around the vast land that belonged to him.
"Even so..." The commander cleared his throat, "We are not leaving without you. We are to escort you to the capital, where the official announcement will be made at the court. You are required to agree to the marriage and sign the papers in front of the Duke and the King," he said, holding out a letter.
Lucian took it from his hands and unfolded the parchment. His eyes scanned the paper before he folded it back. The might of the Rochefort House was being thrown at him, and he could feel the weight of its power pressing down on his shoulders.
How could a nouveau riche like him stand a chance against generational wealth and power that was as old as the Kingdom itself?
Even after all these years, he could barely do anything about the situation he was placed in. Lucian returned to the workshop, gnashing his teeth as the commander followed after him, making sure he didn't try to escape, 'She finally did it, huh? She finally had enough and used her father's power to force me into marriage.'
"Don't worry about your reputation, Lord Arclight. Your image will be preserved," the commander said while Lucian packed his things, "The story will be spun as if you made a deal with the Duke to gain a powerful connection through marriage. The Duke is showing you some face, so we implore you to take this opportunity and cooperate."
Lucian laughed bitterly, "Is that so..." How generous of the Duke. But even if the man was the ruler of the entire world, Lucian was not going to let his daughter have it her way.
'Stop beating,' he cursed at his heart that picked up its pace from the moment the announcement was made, 'She's not getting her way. Not that easy.'
A part of him wanted to tell the Duke to keep his daughter away from him, but the other part wanted to keep her close. He thought about making a public spectacle of her by rejecting her, but would that even affect her? At this point, she was laughing at his revenge in the face, knowing that nothing he had come up with so far could compare to what she had done to herself in her pursuit of him.
'Stop beating you damned thing! You're not happy! You're not happy!' He kept telling his heart, but it was as if his organ had a mind of its own. It didn't choose to be inside his chest. If given a choice, it would rather be outside and next to Celine.
"Will Lady Celine attend the court as well?" Lucian asked.
"The Lady is currently recovering from a grave injury and will not be able to attend the court in person," the commander said.
Lucian stopped in his tracks, "Injury? What injury?"
The commander coughed into his fist awkwardly, "She... uh... tried to end her life after she found out the Duke will be announcing the engagement. She said she doesn't wish to marry you and would rather choose death over that. She jumped out of the window."
Lucian coughed up his lungs at the revelation, then laughed, his voice slowly dying down until he had to hold his head to calm down. That woman. That woman!
"What's wrong, sir?" The commander asked, "Are you... happy that you get to have your revenge on her by marrying her against her will?"
Lucian waved his hand, his mouth twitching, "How could I be happy about something like that? Young women should be protected, not forced to commit suicide to escape their fate. If she had succeeded, the weight of her death would be on my hands."
The commander sighed in relief, "You are a reasonable man. The Duke will be glad to hear it."
Reasonable man? More like a man who was being played by a woman like a fiddle. She complained that he didn't confess to her, but look at her, using the biggest event in her life to prove her hatred towards him.
For whatever reason, she still depended on the public opinion of her being madly in love with the Crown Prince.
What did reputation mean in the face of life itself? Was she protecting herself by doing so?
Lucian laughed again. 'So this was it, huh? She is doing it for herself and not me... Good. Good.'
He felt strangely satisfied with that conclusion unlike the previous ones. Selfish people like her were not meant to sacrifice something for others.
With light steps, he boarded the carriage and set off. 'Selfishness is a trait we both share,' he thought to himself, 'I'm glad that, despite everything, you're still the same old Celine.'
Love could make even the most selfish of souls to put others before themselves, and that scared Lucian. He didn't want to put others before himself, and he certainly didn't want her to do that either.
'Let's keep being the worst versions of ourselves, shall we?' he thought as he leaned against the back of the seat, 'For a long, long time...Until we change for the better, not because society demands it, but because we want to be the best version of ourselves for our sake and ours alone.'
'I wanted to blackmail the Duke into offering her to me as compensation, but she beat me to it again,' he smiled, 'My dear, you are as rotten as a person can be. But don't worry, I'll match your foulness, so you don't feel lonely in your misery...'