Chapter 127. Erica's First Love (1)

95% of noble marriages in the Tuscan Empire are political marriages without love and affection.

The interesting thing is that cherishing your wife (fiancée) greatly helps raise social reputation.

Maintaining a good relationship with Erica also has the effect of further strengthening the alliance with Duke Visconti, my biggest supporter.

'If there's discord in the family, it becomes politically very difficult.'

And if I become politically isolated, my business is over too.

There are 'one-bite hyenas' aiming at me tremendously, saying just one bite, just one bite of that money, and I won't be able to fend them off.

"The young lady will be here soon, Baron Rothschild."

Hearing those words, I straightened my clothes.

"Baron, thank you for coming to see me when you're busy."

"I came because I wanted to see Erica's face. And I prepared a gift too."

Hearing my words, Erica smiled without any pretense.

Born as a duke's young lady, she must have lived without worrying about money.

'There's no one in this world who dislikes gifts.'

"What kind of gift did you prepare?"

"Do you remember when we met last time, you asked me to make my own dish?"

"I remember, Baron."

If it weren't for those words, I might not have thought of introducing nouvelle cuisine to our empire starting with Restaurant Rothschild.

So if it weren't for Erica, nobles and I might have had to eat just visually pretty garbage plastered with spices every time at balls or banquets.

And continue to do so in the future, without even knowing it's wrong.

"After hearing that, I created a new cuisine, nouvelle cuisine. While pondering what kind of dish would be like me, it came to me naturally."

"Grandfather and Father said Baron Rothschild is a very cold and rational person, but you have such a romantic side too."

If a person lives too coldly, their humanity fades and they become like a machine.

Like human butcher Stalin, or rational psychopaths who could only count humans as numbers.

It's already dangerous that I'm going around setting fires in Ifriqiya and Nador, but my humanity disappears even more from here?

'All this is due to the Jews' slander!'

Along with this famous line, I could turn into a monster massacring hundreds of thousands of people for the abuse of my power.

The current me will surely become a monster if I don't guard against becoming one.

Well, there's that too, but actually the most important thing is.

Living in a hard and cold world is too difficult without love too.

'I don't know how I would have changed without Chloe and Chris.'

Erica looked into my eyes and smiled.

Resting both elbows on the desk and looking up at my face.

"When I asked you to make your own dish, honestly I didn't have big expectations. Since you said cooking was your hobby, I thought you'd make something simple like stew or bread."

Even I think this is a ridiculously big thing I've done.

Creating a new cuisine is something even first-class chefs who've devoted their lives to cooking struggle with.

Moreover, changing the paradigm of cuisine?

At that level, you'd have to be an amazing person who would leave their name in culinary history, no, world history...

Frankly speaking, it's not like I'm at a level where I could make a living with just cooking.

It's common sense to think like that.

"But I never dreamed you'd create foods that didn't exist in this world at all, saying it's a new cuisine, nouvelle cuisine."

"Erica, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have come up with this cuisine."

"Young masters from other noble families would say this at times like this. That they made the dish thinking only of me."

Certainly that's a more romantic thing to say.

I accomplished this great task just for you.

It's like something the protagonist in Arthurian literature would say, and it might seem good to say that when winning a woman's heart.

'Erica must have heard such exaggerated words tens of thousands of times at balls.'

As a duke's young lady, Erica must have been courted by numerous men.

But she probably has no dating experience at all.

Why? Because one wrong romance could deal a direct hit of -40% sales level, if not bankruptcy of the huge corporation that is the ducal family.

But it's stupid to use the same pattern on someone who's heard such cheesy words as easily as breathing.

It's making myself into just another generic man A.

Also, no matter where you go in this world, no one succeeds by just following exactly what everyone else does.

"Certainly it would be romantic to say that. But we're husband and wife. After we get married, we'll be together when sick, when in pain, when happy."

"That's right, we'll continue to be together in the future."

"I can rely on Erica, and conversely Erica can rely on me. But to do that, we shouldn't lie to each other, right?"

No matter how much spouses live together for life, there can't be no secrets at all between people.

A man can get time off from his wife using the excuse of 'a distant relative's funeral', then gather with friends on the weekend to play games all day at a PC room and have a beer.

Or he can save up pocket money diligently to buy a graphics card at a 'married man discount'.

'The moment you try to know everything, the relationship breaks down.'

So I pretend not to know when Chloe sometimes exercises with Chris to lose weight.

"That's right, spouses should always be able to trust each other, unlike other people."

It's an obvious statement everyone agrees with.

That fact probably doesn't resonate well with Erica, a noble and moreover a duke's young lady.

Political marriages are ultimately political alliances between families, and it's quite common for wives to backstab their husbands for the benefit of their maternal family.

"So I will never lie to you, Erica, unlike other people."

Erica looked at me intently as if interested.

Then she blushed like a ripe apple and turned her head.

"Baron Rothschild, you speak too directly. Last time when we first met, you said I was cute and pretty too."

"Do you dislike it?"

Hearing those words, Erica shook her head vigorously.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but her lips didn't open.

It must have worked properly.

"That's how noble life is. Sometimes for profit, sometimes because you can't stand seeing that guy do well, sometimes to survive, you deceive allies, friends, family. You always have to be on guard because you never know when that person will stab you in the back."

The reason I trained spies capable of modern espionage in secret from Duke Visconti and the Emperor after becoming baron.

And until I was viscount, I didn't have the right to be on stage, so I only did good things for the Emperor and Duke to gain the right to be on stage first.

Now I'm struggling to build my own forces separately, all of it.

'I must survive by any means necessary.'

"So nobles are always lonely beings. But I don't want to live like that. I'd like to have someone I can trust without doubt no matter what happens."

Saying that, I carefully took out the ring box I had brought.

Erica's gaze naturally fixed on the box.

"Even though our relationship was formed by the Duke's political strategy, even if it's not a relationship formed from true love."

I once saw an interesting passage while solving English for the college entrance exam.

In India, all marriages are arranged marriages, but the divorce rate is only half that of the US, and satisfaction with married life is higher.

Of course, India is a harsh country for women, so it's not very credible...

But the conclusion that even arranged marriages can become love if they try to make each other happy was impressive.

'I never thought I'd be in an arranged marriage like this now.'

"We can be happy if we cherish and care for each other. Like the prince and princess in fairy tales."

I gently pulled Erica's left hand and put the ring on her ring finger.

"Will you be my princess, Erica?"

Tears fell from Erica's eyes.

Even while crying, a smile bloomed on her lips.

"Yes, my prince."

Looking at the atmosphere, it feels like I should kiss her or something here.

If I did such a thing, His Highness the Viscount would laugh and say he'll 'reform' me into a 'man' by putting me in the knight order.

He'd probably put me in Baron Ducat's division's knight order, which would welcome me with tears if I said I was coming...

Having to run around on horseback every day wearing plate armor weighing over 20kg.

Just thinking about it makes me want to cry with joy.

'I'll pass on such torture. I don't want to die.'

And Erica gestured for me to withdraw quickly.

"It's late today, so please withdraw now."

I can't see the clock so I don't know, but the sun is still shining brightly.

She probably doesn't want to show me her embarrassed expression in front of me yet.

"Alright, I'll come again next time."