The moment the words left my mouth, the entire room changed.

It suddenly felt incredibly difficult to breathe.

'What's going on?'

Confused, I looked around. Evelyn was looking at me with wide eyes and open mouth. Leon was sitting with his eyes closed and hands pressed against his chest.

He looked like a corpse ready for burial.

'The hell is wrong with him?'

The Family Head was looking at me with the usual expression he always wo-No, though subtle, I could see subtle shifts in his expression.

He almost looked uncomfortable.

When I turned to Evelyn's father, I noticed that he wasn't looking at me but rather the white- haired man.

'Right, he must be the delegate from Central.'

I hadn't paid much attention to him since he didn't have much of a presence. He was quite handsome and looked to be in his twenties.

It was only now that I was taking a closer look at him that I noticed a weird change in his expression.

... Is he high ranking within Central?'

In all honesty, I didn't know too much about Central.

A lot of their information was rather sealed. Only key members knew the ins and outs of the place.

All I knew was that they were the organization in charge of putting the Megrail family in check.

But still...

There was something off about the situation.

Why...?

"Keum."

With a subtle cough, the Family Head gathered my attention once again.

"Julien."

His tone was somewhat soft.

Softer than I had ever heard him use before. It felt a little off-putting and made me realize just how wrong the situation was.

'Just what in-'

"Are you sure you want to be engaged with Miss Rosemberg? Do you understand the massive difference between the two of you? Not only in age but in power?"

"I do..."

I nodded hesitantly.

For some reason, it felt as though I was burying my own grave.

A thought occurred to me as I turned my head to face the white-haired man. All of a sudden, I was reminded of one key and crucial piece of information about Central.

About its current Head...

'Ah.'

My heart sank.

It couldn't be, right?

The Family Head extended his hand in the white-haired man's direction.

"Let me introduce you to Orson Rosemberg. The current Head of Central, and the adoptive father of the person you wish to be engaged with."

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

Only tears.

....There were a lot of things that I wanted to do at this very moment, but couldn't. In the end,

the only choice I had was to seal my emotions.

Locks appeared in my mind as my mind cooled.

"I see."

Finally, I was able to get the words out as I stared at the man before me.

'So he's Delilah's father.'

I lowered my head to greet him.

"It's my pleasure to meet you."

My words were met with a strange silence.

When I lifted my head, a pair of deep eyes stared back at me. I felt my world slowly start to

crumble apart as I started to get sucked into his eyes.

However, strangely enough, I was able to remain calm.

.....I had experienced something similar before.

'Right, from Delilah...'

What I was currently experiencing was a milder version of what she had used against me.

"Oh?"

A change occurred to Orson's face as he looked at me. He seemed surprised by the fact that I

was able to resist his gaze.

"....Not bad."

He even threw a compliment at me.

I was a little taken aback by this but thanked him nonetheless.

"Thank you."

"Mhm."

He nodded faintly before leaning back on the chair.

"You're just like your father. You hardly show any changes to your expression in spite of the

situation that you're in."

No, not quite...

I had to seal my emotions to achieve this.

I had already died inside.

"....It runs in the family."

"Well, my adoptive daughter isn't so different. She also hardly shows much of a change in her

emotions. But her situation is a little bit different than yours."

"Right..."

I knew all about her situation.

...I even knew about what had happened to her in the past.

Rattle~

The chains locking my emotions rattled.

This situation was really outside my scope of predictions.

I knew that Delilah's father was the head of Central. That much was something that pretty

much the entire world knew.

It was just that... I really didn't expect her father of all people to come and recruit from Central. It was not something I could've ever predicted considering how high his standing

was.

...And chances were, he would've never have shown up here had the situation been normal.

However, when I thought about it, the situation was not normal.

Leon and I existed.

The reason why he showed up here was because of the two of us.

'If that's the case then I don't need to be too worried.'

He was also probably aware of the fact that I had done it in order to dodge the entire

engagement with Evelyn.

I relaxed once my thoughts paused there.

"Delilah is quite beautiful if I may say so myself. I can understand why you would wish to be engaged with her. Unfortunately, I'm not s this engagement is possible. I'm not the type of parent that would engage my child without their consent. If you wish to get engaged with my daughter, you'd need her consent and given her situation..."

He stopped there, his meaning was clear.

'Delilah isn't capable of feeling emotions so give up. She'll never give you her consent.'

"...I understand."

I nodded faintly and secretly sighed in relief.

'I can still live.'

"If you can get her consent then I don't see a problem with you getting engaged with her. But

that's easier said than done. Many have already tried. Princes from the four Empires, and

high-ranked successors. You're one of many."

That...

I wasn't surprised in all honesty.

Delilah's looks were alien. She was... the embodiment of perfection. It would be weird if

someone didn't get infatuated by her looks.

"Well, then."

All of a sudden, Orson clapped his hands and stood up. Wearing a smile, he looked around the

room before extending his hand to shake the Family Head's.

"I figure this is time for me to leave. It was a pleasure meeting you, and welcome to Central. I

look forward to working with you in the future."

He then turned his head to face Evelyn and Leon.

...He cast them a quick glance before nodding his head. Shortly after, he left alongside

Viscount Verlice.

Clank!

The room fell silent shortly after his departure.

As that happened, several eyes fell on me. I massaged my face and kept my expression firm.

Sitting down on one of the sofas, I picked up a teacup and took a sip of it.

"...Good tea."

"It's empty."

***

Clank-

Leaving the Evenus Estate, Orson didn't once look back. Throughout the entire time, he had a

faint smile on his face.

He thought back to the interaction with the Evenus Household firstborn and felt the urge to

laugh.

'...How cute.'

Orson could see right through the entire situation.

It was clear that neither the Verlice family firstborn nor the Evenus family firstborn wanted to

be engaged, which resulted in such an absurd situation.

"Haha."

The more Orson thought about it, the funnier he found the situation.

All of a sudden, he felt the urge to call his adoptive daughter. The moment he stepped into the

carriage, he did so.

Click-

-Yes?

Delilah appeared right above the communication device.

Her deep black eyes stared right through the projection as her brows furrowed slightly.

-... Is something the matter, father?

"Hmm, I just came back from a work trip. I wouldn't normally call you in such situations, but

as your father, I do have to relay to you what happened."

Delilah frowned but didn't answer.

That was when Orson went straight to the point.

"I've been asked for your hand in marr-"

-Reject it.

There was no hesitation in Delilah's voice as she said such words.

Orson fully expected her to reply like that and wasn't mad about the fact that she had cut him

off.

"I already have."

-Oh, good.

Delilah nodded faintly. Then, suddenly lowering her head, she went out of frame for several

seconds before coming back.

Orson frowned immediately.

"Are you eating chocolate?"

-Uh?

Delilah's eyes widened.

She looked shocked.

How does he know?! She shook her head.

-Mnwo.

But she couldn't fool anyone. Her lips were covered in chocolate. Not only that, but her mouth

was also full.

Orson helplessly closed his eyes.

Her addiction was one of her biggest flaws.

He had tried many times to help her in the past, but it was all useless. He had even gone as far

as banning all places from selling to her, and yet... she still found ways to eat chocolate.

It was a problem that constantly left him with headaches.

'Whatever, I'm in a good mood today.'

"In any case, I only called you to tell you about the request. The offer wasn't even serious to

begin with. It was just a ruse by the two parties to stop their parents from engaging them

together." -Ah.

Delilah didn't appear all that interested.

She just nodded along with his words.

"But I do have to say, the two do make quite a good match. One is the daughter of the Verlice

family while the other is the firstborn of the Evenus fa- "

Thump!

A low thump echoed from the communication device. When Orson turned his head, he saw

Delilah looking at him with a blank look.

"...What happened?"

-Uh? Ah..

Delilah quickly snapped out of it and picked up whatever she dropped. It was chocolate.

-...I dropped this. "Righ-" Orson suddenly froze.

'Did she just drop her chocolate and then show it to me...?'

For as long as Orson had known Delilah, he had never seen her drop her chocolate bar. She

treated it as though it was her own baby.

No, not just that...

Ever since the ban, she had always hidden the bar away from him. Even when it was obvious

that she was eating one, she always kept it out of his sight and pretended like she didn't have

it.

'What is...'

-The... engagement. He asked?

"Ah, uh.. Yes."

Orson nodded faintly, unable to understand what was going on.

-Oh.

Thump!

A low thumping sound echoed once more.

Orson looked at the projection with a dazed expression.

"You dropped the chocolate?"

-Yes.

He waited for her to pick it up.

...She never did.

Orson scratched his head.

'Is she sick...?'

But even when sick she...

-You rejected the engagement?

"...Yes."

-Okay.

Delilah nodded.

Then...

Click!

The call ended.

Orson sat in silence shortly after, staring at the empty space before him with a blank look. He

replayed the scene from before over and over again. However, the more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

In the end, he just stopped thinking.

He...

...felt that this was the best decision for his mental health.