I Supported My Fiancé for 10 Years After He Said, 'Let's Get Married When I Succeed,' but When He Finally Did, He Dumped Me. By the Way, I'm a Witch and Turning 30 Next Year!! - Episode 44

People will probably whisper behind my back that my engagement to Ie, the second son of the Duke of Claiburg, is a marriage between different social classes. But then again, it’s not just about what others think—His Majesty the Holy King would never allow it in the first place.

High-ranking nobles cannot marry without the Holy King’s permission.

Since I would be working with Ie on this investigation, there would be times when we’d be alone together. If people started gossiping about it, like they did with Raymer, it would be irritating. In that sense, being engaged might actually be a convenient status to have.

Besides, Ie himself seemed genuinely happy. Even if it’s only temporary, I should at least play my role as his fiancée properly.

That was what I thought—until a few days later when Ie showed up with something unbelievable.

“Rei! I got permission for our marriage from His Majesty the Holy King!”

“What?! Really?!”

“Yes!”

Ie was beaming as he handed me the certificate.

Sure enough, it had the Holy King’s signature and sacred seal stamped on it.

“H-how did you get permission? I mean, there’s a big difference in our social status, I’m a witch, and… I’m not exactly young.”

“I’m not young either.”

“R-right… By the way, how old are you, Ie?”

When he used to dress so worn out, I had assumed he was somewhere around his forties.

“I’m thirty-one.”

“Oh, I see.”

Now that Ie looks much younger, I had briefly wondered if he might actually be in his mid-twenties. Hearing that he was older than me was a relief.

“Do you know my age?”

“I don’t, but no matter how old you are, Rei, you’re still Rei. I’ve never cared about that, not even once.”

“T-thank you…”

I debated whether to keep my age a mystery, but since I had already asked him, it only felt fair to answer.

“I’m twenty-nine.”

“I see.”

“Did you think I was older than expected?”

“Not at all. Age is just a number. What matters is how a person thinks and lives their life.”

He answered so naturally that I felt silly for even worrying about it.

But still, I couldn’t believe we actually got permission from the Holy King.

“As the second son, my marriage isn’t considered that important.”

His first marriage had happened because his former wife, Alissa’s family, had pushed for it, offering substantial benefits in return.

“At the time, I had no major accomplishments to my name, so I didn’t have the authority to refuse outright…”

Eleven years ago, he had been fighting wyverns and other monsters across the land, but apparently, that still wasn’t enough for his family to acknowledge him.

“The previous Holy King told me that if there was someone I truly wanted to marry, he would reject any arranged proposals. But… the person I wanted to marry turned me down.”

That person was me.

I felt genuinely guilty from the bottom of my heart.

Ie’s parents had already passed away, and for a long time, the Holy King had taken on the role of a father figure to him.

As for his much older brother, they were so distant that they only met a handful of times each year.

“But it’s fine. Like I said before, if we had married back then, I would have ended up suppressing who you truly are.”

“My true self?”

“Yes. You’re bright, strong, and kind. You can’t turn your back on people in need. Watching you at the pharmacy, chatting so warmly with your regular customers, made me realize over and over again that forcing you into marriage would have been wrong.”

Realizing that a lack of power was what kept his life from going the way he wanted, Ie had devoted himself to hard work, building up achievements until he reached where he was now.

For someone like him to say that the person he wanted to marry was me… it was honestly overwhelming.

And yet, it seemed that not everyone around him supported the idea.

“My brother is the only one who opposes our marriage.”

“Ie, your brother is…?”

If I remember correctly, the man who had an affair with Alyssa—the father of the child Ie was paying support for—was none other than Cardinal Claiburg of the Holy Church.

I had seen him once at a grand church ceremony.

He had left an impression as a strict-looking man.

“There’s no need to worry. My brother can’t overturn a decision made by the Holy King.”

Then, Ie suddenly made a request I hadn’t expected.

“Rei, would you meet with my brother?”