Everyone Realized the Saint Was a Fake, but She Still Thought She Was Fooling Them - Final Chapter

Meanwhile, at the Gruber Ducal Residence—

Lianna had been thoroughly scolded by her father, Duke Gruber, for suddenly barging into the royal palace’s banquet. However, since the issue of the fake saintess had been resolved, she was now enjoying some peaceful days.

She was lounging on a sofa, chatting idly with Mesha, when suddenly, her father entered the room with a perplexed expression. Lianna was startled.

“What’s wrong?”

“Lianna, a marriage proposal has come in…”

Duke Gruber looked as if he couldn’t believe it himself.

“Oh, Father! You mean Wallace, right?”

When Lianna confirmed this, her father’s expression became even more complicated.

“Yes. And one more.”

“Huh? Wallace and… someone else?”

Lianna looked puzzled. She had no idea who it could be.

“Who is it?”

“Lord Ernst.”

“Lord Ernst!?”

Lianna couldn’t help but shout.

Duke Gruber nodded, understanding her surprise.

“He broke off his engagement with Lady Yelena. So, what will you do?”

“Uh… well…”

Lianna hesitated. She was already engaged to Wallace, so she really only had one option. But Lord Ernst…?

Her father looked at her gently.

“You should be honest with yourself. Even I noticed that you’ve been watching Lord Ernst. You like him, don’t you?”

“Ahh! Even you noticed, Father!?”

Lianna blushed deeply. Duke Gruber shrugged.

“I think everyone has noticed.”

Lianna stiffened.

Wallace and Bartlett’s warnings weren’t wrong! If the central nobles all knew about her feelings for Ernst, then she definitely shouldn’t have carelessly involved herself with him!

Wait—no, that wasn’t the issue right now.

“B-but actually, the engagement has already been decided…”

Lianna mumbled, trying to explain to her father.

“Decided?”

Just as her father asked that, Wallace entered the room in a hurry.

“Lianna! Is it true that Ernst proposed to you?”

“Ah, Wallace…!”

Lianna panicked at Wallace’s sudden appearance.

Was he angry about Ernst? She didn’t want to make Wallace upset.

The butler who had guided Wallace in stood awkwardly by the door, looking apologetic.

Duke Gruber turned to Wallace with a reproachful expression.

“Wallace, I know you’re childhood friends, but you shouldn’t barge in when we’re having such a delicate discussion.”

Only now noticing Duke Gruber, Wallace quickly straightened his posture.

“Ah! Sorry, Father!”

“I’m not your father yet.”

“Ah, then… Duke Gruber! Lianna and I are engaged. So please forget about Ernst.”

Lianna interjected.

“Wallace, how did you even find out about Lord Ernst’s proposal?”

“He sent me a letter!”

Wallace showed her a finely written letter on high-quality paper.

The contents were as follows:

‘I have broken off my engagement with Yelena. Until now, I had been reluctant to accept Lucilda, but at the same time, I felt sorry for Lianna, who was also abandoned by the Crown Prince. Since her engagement was broken, she has had no new romantic prospects. Now that I am free, I have decided to take Lianna as my wife. This way, everything will be settled. You are her childhood friend, so I am informing you first. I hope for your blessing.’

“Settle everything!?” Wallace was practically tearing the letter apart in anger.

“Wait, wait, Wallace! You’re overreacting. Lord Ernst probably doesn’t know about our engagement.”

Lianna tried to calm him down, but Wallace grabbed her hands anxiously.

“That’s true, but… Lianna, you’re not considering choosing Ernst, are you? We made a promise! Sure, we haven’t signed the official engagement papers yet, but—”

At that moment, Ernst burst into the room, out of breath.

“Lianna, is it true that you’re engaged to Wallace!?”

Seeing Duke Gruber, he quickly corrected his posture and greeted him.

“Ah, Duke Gruber, I didn’t realize you were here. My apologies.”

Duke Gruber sighed.

“Lord Ernst, I apologize, but there seems to be a mix-up. Lianna’s childhood friend, Wallace, has also proposed to her.”

He was visibly overwhelmed by the chaos.

“I see. Wallace sent me an urgent message saying he was engaged to Lianna, so I rushed over. But if he only proposed… that means they aren’t officially engaged yet, correct?”

Ernst asked, and Wallace glared at him.

“But we already discussed it! It’s settled! You can’t just come in and take her now!”

“Is that true, Lianna?”

Ernst turned to her for confirmation.

“Ah, well… yes, sort of.”

Lianna nodded hesitantly, and Ernst’s expression darkened.

“I see. So I was too late… But Wallace, if you truly wanted to be engaged to Lianna, why didn’t you propose right after the Crown Prince broke off the engagement? Why did you wait two years?”

“What? Ernst?”

Wallace looked confused, and Ernst continued.

“Was it because Lianna liked me? Did that make you hesitate?”

“Lord Ernst! What are you saying!? You knew!?”

Lianna turned bright red.

Ernst smiled gently.

“Of course. You were always watching me. I couldn’t respond because I had a fiancée. But I suspected Yelena was unfaithful. Once I broke off my engagement, I intended to propose to you.”

“W-wait! You noticed!?”

Lianna covered her face in embarrassment, while Ernst gave her an amused look.

“Of course. It was obvious. You had such strong feelings for me. Honestly, it was hard to control myself.”

Ernst slowly approached Lianna, bending down to look into her face with affectionate eyes. Lianna’s heart raced.

Wallace quickly moved between them.

“Hey! What are you doing, Ernst!? I told you, Lianna and I are engaged!”

“But there’s no official document yet, right?”

“We promised! Lianna, tell him! Wait—why are you spacing out!?”

Wallace shook her shoulders lightly.

Turning to Duke Gruber, Wallace pleaded.

“Duke Gruber! Ernst just broke off his engagement—it’s a scandal! I’m a clean choice. Lianna has already suffered enough disgrace from the Crown Prince! I will protect her!”

“T-That’s true! I don’t want any more scandals. In that sense, Wallace is at least an elite representative of the country, trusted enough to be sent to a neighboring nation. He and Lianna know each other well, so of course, I have no complaints.”

Duke Gruber gave a small nod, as if convinced by Wallace’s argument.

“Right, Father?!”

Wallace let out a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Ernst bowed deeply with a serious expression.

“Duke Gruber, please give me a chance as well. It’s true that I just broke off my engagement with Yelena. The fact that she had a lover and I failed to act sooner is partly my fault—I acknowledge that. But I have completely severed ties with Yelena. I am now free. Lianna has feelings for me. Please judge whether I can make her happy. Give me some time!”

“Come on, Ernst, I told you—Lianna and I are engaged!”

Wallace protested loudly, but Ernst raised a hand to stop him.

“I understand that. But you don’t intend to marry Lianna while she still loves someone else, do you? It would be meaningless unless she truly chooses you. If she genuinely picks you, I will step aside without hesitation.”

“Wait a minute, Ernst… Are you seriously in love with Lianna?”

Sweat trickled down Wallace’s forehead as his expression hardened.

What Ernst was saying was true. Wallace had used a manipulative agreement to secure his engagement with Lianna. It had been weighing on him. So the idea that she should choose freely—it was absolutely right.

“H-Hmm.”

Duke Gruber cleared his throat and took a step back, as if overwhelmed by the intense emotions of the two young men.

“I’ll leave that decision to Lianna. Honestly, after the Crown Prince broke off her engagement, our family’s reputation was already damaged. If someone can make Lianna happy, that’s all that matters to me. So, well… You two settle it among yourselves.”

With that, Duke Gruber left the room as if escaping.

The three left behind awkwardly looked at each other.

“Umm…”

Lianna hesitantly opened her mouth.

She had no idea what to say. Her face flushed red as she looked down.

Lianna had loved Ernst.

But even though her engagement to Wallace started as a mere agreement, after spending time with him, he had begun to take up space in her heart.

She hadn’t completely let go of her feelings for Ernst, but she had already made up her mind—she was going to marry Wallace. That was the truth.

All she needed was a little more certainty in her newly awakened feelings. Just a little more confidence in her decision, so she wouldn’t have any regrets.

But answering here and now…

No, she had to say something… or else Wallace would be hurt…

Lianna slowly raised her face and, in a small voice, began to speak.

“I… I choose Wallace—”

But at the same time, Wallace—seeing how difficult it was for her to answer and unable to bear the tension of making her choose in front of Ernst—spoke up first.

“Lianna, you don’t have to answer right now.”

It was Wallace’s way of being considerate.

Ernst’s eyes widened.

“I’m sorry, I let my emotions take over. I had intended to ask for Lianna’s hand in marriage, but I now understand that things are different from before. Normally, interfering in an engagement wouldn’t be allowed, but since no official contract has been signed, I thought I still had a chance. However… It seems your feelings have already changed toward Wallace… No, I won’t say anything unnecessary. Take your time and make your decision, Lianna.”

Then, Wallace suddenly changed his tone.

“Let’s stop this conversation for now. This isn’t something the three of us should be discussing together—it’s just putting Lianna in a tough spot. We have more important things to deal with. Like getting Bartlett and Celeste together. Lianna, how about you visit Celeste’s pet dog and casually bring up some rumors about Bartlett?”

Relieved that she wasn’t being forced to choose in front of everyone, Lianna’s tense expression softened.

Seeing her relax, Wallace felt slightly relieved but didn’t show it. Instead, he glanced over at Ernst.

“Hey, Ernst, you help too. You could be a useful tool for this.”

Ernst, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic, looked puzzled but agreed, appreciating the lighter atmosphere.

“Getting Bartlett and Lady Celeste together? What about their feelings for each other?”

“Don’t worry, they probably like each other already.”

Wallace continued, keeping the conversation flowing.

“Bartlett and Celeste are both really important friends of mine. When Celeste got engaged to that guy Brode, I immediately investigated him. I had gotten good at that kind of thing while working in the neighboring country. It turned out his social circle was suspicious. I knew I had to come back no matter what. It took forever to get permission to return, though.”

“So you had a reason for coming back after all. I had been wondering who you really were. It just so happened that you helped me out, but still.”

Ernst gave him a probing look.

“Haha.”

Wallace laughed.

“I just think Bartlett is the right match for Celeste. And as for me, I wanted a fiancée, so coming back worked out perfectly. Though, it seems my fiancée has a secret she absolutely doesn’t want me to find out. Lianna’s information network is impressive… I wonder what it is.”

Toward the end, Wallace’s words turned into a mutter.

Wallace cast a glance at Lianna, his eyes filled not just with love, but something deeper. He let out a small sigh.

Well, whatever it is, I’m ready to accept it all, Wallace thought.

The name Lianna had almost spoken.

This was just the beginning for them, Wallace believed with hope in his heart.

(The End)