The following web novel series is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A Tipsy Marriage Proposal for the Emperor

Chapter 1

“It’s not my fault that he’s stupid!”

I slammed the glass I had been holding on the table with a loud noise. It didn’t attract much attention because of the noisy surroundings, but I could feel a few people glancing at me. I normally would’ve kept my voice down, but it didn’t matter right now.

In a situation where you had just gotten dumped by your fiancé after ten years for being smart and supposedly showing off about it, there was no way you’d notice other people looking at you.

As I took another sip of the cold ale in my glass, I felt the coolness enter my stomach through my esophagus. However, the heat bubbling up inside me did not cool down easily.

“Is it normal for a guy in his thirties to be confused about whether the sun rises in the east or the west?”

If he had broken up with me because I was really wrong, I wouldn’t have felt so aggrieved.

But the one thing I had said to his date request of watching the scenery at the Anderre Hill at sunrise was, “Isn’t that an attraction to see the sunset?” That was all I had said!

“The Anderre Hill is to the west of the imperial palace. And to the east of it is the largest imperial city on the continent. So how can you see the sunrise from there? Does he have the ability to change the direction of the sunrise?”

The more I thought about it, the more bitter I felt. I pushed the glass aside, which was already empty. I then rolled the lower part of my pink wig, which had been haphazardly fixed in place, and tied the hair back.

I had borrowed the wig from my maid to hide my face, but it turned out to be a nuisance in this dark and noisy pub.

“Even the emperor couldn’t do that! Right?”

“I see.”

That answer came from the man who had been silently handing me snacks from the opposite side. I had thought he was mute because he hadn’t said anything for a long time, but it turned out that he wasn’t.

Even though his hood was pulled down so low that I couldn’t see his expression, he was clearly a kind person. After all, he had been listening to my complaints for a long time.

Now that I thought about it, how long had this person been sitting in front of me?

As I chewed the cheese-seasoned jerky that the man had given me, the savory and salty taste melted on my tongue. It was the perfect snack to have with a drink, so my glum mood instantly perked up.

Then again, why did it matter who this person was? Any person that gave you food was bound to be a good person.

As I looked at him with blurry eyes due to becoming more and more inebriated, the man whose eyes met mine handed me a new glass that the server had brought for me.

I had ordered it without thinking as I was simply going in order of what was on the menu. Unlike the traditional drinks I had been drinking so far, this one was a pretty-colored cocktail mixed with brandy. It even had a cherry on top of it to be cute.

“Mmm, I chose wrong. On a day like this, I should be drinking a Barres, not a pretty drink like this.”

“Barres? Are you talking about that strong mixed drink?”

“Oh, you know about it! Not a lot of people do since it’s an alcoholic drink that the elderly drink. I used to secretly mix it with my classmates in the back garden after we would submit our assignments! Ah, when I think about that, I miss it! I want to go back to the academy.”

I suddenly missed the academy that I had just gotten my diploma from. I even missed Professor Hatton’s 128-page book on academy rules and regulations, which I had been glad that I would never have to see again.

There were no fools at the academy who didn’t know in which direction the sun rose! And there was definitely no pressure to get married quickly and continue a family line.

As the only daughter, it had been expected that I would marry a man I had only seen a few times as soon as I had returned to the capital. But that man, who was ugly, old, and stupid, dumped me because the sun rose from the east!

After ten years of making excuses like, ‘I want to focus more on my studies before I get married,’ and even completing a doctoral program, I had no more excuses left.

As soon as my parents had found out that the engagement had been broken off, it was the annoying start of them pushing this and that family’s son on me to meet a new prospective marriage partner. The thought of having to dress up and smile while listening to stupid things was horrible.

Perhaps if they had a handsome face, I could just let their words go into one ear and out the next while I just stared at them.

“Ah, I really don’t want to meet prospective marriage partners. I hate marriage and hate stupid men even more!”

“So you’re planning to find another fiancé?”

“I hate ugly ones too! As well as old ones!”

The thoughts I had been holding in poured out of my mouth uncontrollably because I was getting tipsy.

Because of that, the gazes of those around me were a bit prickly, but when the man across from me looked around, the gazes paused and quickly returned to their original places.

Now that quite some time had passed since we had met, I was finally curious about the other person’s face. When I leaned forward slightly, I saw the jawline and lips hidden by his hood. He didn’t talk much and had a low voice, so I had thought that he was a bit older, but he was giving off a younger vibe.

Maybe around my age or a little older?

“Are you all... You look a little tip... Hello?”

The man’s words were a bit muffled. That last cocktail must’ve had a higher alcohol content than expected, so the noise in the loud bar had turned into a buzzing sound. And my body, which had been moving more exaggeratedly than usual, slowly started to collapse onto the table.

With the lowered field of vision, I could see his sharp, high-bridged nose and slightly downturned pupils above his jawline. He had amber-colored eyes.

Even though his hood cast a shadow, his amber eyes were clearly visible. I had thought that amber eyes would be cold and scary, but when I actually saw them, they weren’t. They made him look more... handsome.

While I didn’t know which family’s son he was, he was really handsome. I thought he was more good-looking than Yeudel, the person who had been deemed the most handsome male student at the academy. If I were to marry, even if he wasn’t as handsome as Yeudel, I hoped that my husband-to-be would be both smart and good-looking.

In my depressed mood, I leaned my head on the table and muttered, “I don’t like carps.”

“What?”

“No, he’s more like an octopus than a carp. He’s only thirty, but his hair is already starting to fall out.”

“What are you saying all of a sudden...?”

He had swollen lips, beady eyes, and a wide nose. And as his head was bald like a carp, his brain was like a carp’s as well.

Thinking about my ex-fiancé, my stomach started to hurt again after having felt okay. Ugh, way to ruin the taste of alcohol. I sat up again and downed the drink. Then, I raised the empty glass high and shouted as if making a pledge.

“Okay, then! This time I’ll find someone handsome!”

I had come here to drink because my engagement had been broken off for a ridiculous reason, but the current situation I was in was better than marrying a bastard like him.

I needed to find a new person who was handsome. I wasn’t asking for too much. Ah, but I also wished he was a bit kind. And listened to me well. And could enjoy a drink with me every once in a while.

“Are you all right?”

I had been lost in thought, so it must’ve startled the man across from me when the person who had been talking loudly suddenly had become quiet. I saw him approach me and shake me gently. When I looked at him up close, he seemed more handsome than before.

And he was also kind.

“Hey you!”

I grabbed the hand of the man who was shaking me. The man’s brow furrowed slightly at the sudden contact, but that wasn’t what was important right now.

“Are you married?”

“What?”

“Or are you engaged? Or do you have someone you love?”

“I don’t.”

My face felt hot at the man’s satisfactory answer.

“Then marry me.”

“What?”

“Let’s get married!”

The man, who had been expressionless until now, looked a little taken aback this time and looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. When he held my gaze without saying a word, let alone responding to my proposal, I impatiently opened my mouth again.

At the thought of getting rejected twice today, my tone wasn’t very pleasant.

“Ah why? Do you not want to marry me?”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what’s the problem?!”

“Do you... not care about things like status or family background?”

Status? Is he maybe a commoner?

I had come to this pub at my friend Lorraine’s recommendation. As it was a place where nobles disguised themselves to enjoy a drink, I had naturally thought that this man was a noble. Since there was no one with amber eyes among high-ranking nobles, I had thought his father must be a baron or a viscount or lower.

However, this pub didn’t have a sign that read, ‘Our establishment’s prices are much higher than other places, so only nobles are accepted.’ So there was a possibility that wealthy merchants or commoners would come here as well.

“Are you a commoner?”

The man simply didn’t answer.

I thought it was strange that he was so handsome and kind but didn’t have a fiancée, but if it turned out that he was a commoner... Well, it made sense since commoners got married late and didn’t get engaged first before getting married.

As the man had an unreadable expression on his face and was silent, I took that as a sign that he was depressed over his low status. So I hit his back hard twice.

“It’s okay! Because I have a title!”

Anyways, as I was the only daughter, all I needed to do was get married quickly and bear an heir. So what if he was a commoner? I preferred to think of it as bringing home a handsome and kind son-in-law. My parents would of course be against it, but they might approve when they saw this man’s face. After all, it was best for grandchildren to have pretty faces.

“My parents may oppose it at first, but they’ll understand that it’s better than having a grandson or granddaughter who looks like a carp.”

As if he thought my resolve wasn’t believable, the man’s face became even more unreadable.

“So just trust...”

The moment I firmly held the man’s hand in both of my hands with a determination to win, I felt my vision get shaky.

“Uh...?”

I was already feeling hazy, so when I had suddenly gotten up to move to slap the man’s back, the effect of all that alcohol I had consumed suddenly hit my body all at once. Having drunk more than twice my limit, my body began to sway and lost its balance.

“Hey, get it together!”

Before losing consciousness, I thought about how the chest of the man who was supporting my falling body was firmer than I expected.