Although they didn’t seem to get along well, Nadir was Leticia’s older brother through and through. He could anticipate her every move.
Just as he’d predicted, she tried to escape, jumping down from the second-floor window.
She nailed her landing, impressively enough, but the shock must’ve gotten to her, since she groaned a bit, gripping her legs. Still, she soon recovered, picked up the suitcase she’d dropped, and started running.
“No you don’t,” I said, stepping on the hem of her dress before she could take off.
Leticia stumbled and fell face-first to the ground. That must’ve hurt! Still, I couldn’t withdraw my foot.
“If you run, I’ll be the one stuck with those princess lessons!” I said.
Having recognized me, Leticia desperately tried to break free and escape.
“I thought you sympathized with me earlier today!” she protested.
“I certainly did, but not to the point I would let you run away,” I explained.
“Wow! And here I thought we might’ve bonded the teeniest tiniest bit!”
“That’s not what this is about and you know it!”
She struggled to try and run away but couldn’t pull the hem free. Hmph! Do not underestimate the leg strength of a former commoner!
“They told me that if you go back, I’ll be free of these princess lessons,” I told her. “I won’t let you escape!”
That wasn’t exactly true, but who knows what her brother would’ve said if I’d let her run.
“Just look the other way!” she suggested.
“And why would I do that?!”
“You’ll be queen in my stead! Wouldn’t that be great?”
“I already said I’m over it!”
Her escape strategy seemed to have switched to cajolery, but I wasn’t going to fall for that. The crux of the matter was that the prince only had eyes for her, so her words held no weight at all.
“Leticia, would you stop making a racket in the middle of the night?” Nadir said, having finally deigned to grace us with his presence, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
What, had he been planning to leave dealing with her solely to me while he slept soundly? His face implied he’d been asleep! This man!
“Brother! Do something about Brie!” Leticia said.
“How many times must I tell you it’s Brianna?!” I snapped.
Nadir simply ignored his sister’s demands, and so, cornered, she turned to me and blurted out, “If you let me go, I’ll give you my brother’s hand in marriage!”
At those words, I froze, staring intently at Leticia’s face. “What was that?”
“He’s the heir to a duchy, twenty-two years old, brilliant, athletic, tall, and quite handsome! It would be no exaggeration to claim your future would be guaranteed! I mean, yes, his personality could use a little work, but if you can look past that, he’s a great catch! What do you say?!”
“Deal!”
I removed my foot. Leticia immediately stood up, wiping the beads of sweat that had formed on her brow during the struggle.
“Thank you!” she exclaimed. “I won’t forget you two! Brother, have a wonderful love life!”
“H-Hey!” Nadir protested. “Leticia!”
“To freedom!” she yelled, bolting away.
I watched her go before turning my gaze to Nadir, eliciting a shudder from him. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting this turn of events, and his expression turned to one of horror as I crept closer to him.
“Hey!” he snapped. “Calm down!”
“I am calm!” I replied. “Why, you could’ve just told me sooner that you’re not spoken for! You’re of suitable age, easy on the eyes, the heir to a duchy, and yes, your personality is quite awful, but I can put up with that much at least—all things considered, you’re a fantastic catch!”
My adoptive parents would be satisfied with this, I thought. It was multiple times better than becoming the side piece to a rich, fat, middle-aged man.
“I hadn’t considered you an option on the assumption that a higher-ranked noble like you must already be betrothed to someone, and also because of your terrible character, but knowing that you are available changes everything!”
“Don’t casually slip in insults!”
Ah. So he had noticed my repeated mentions of his unpleasant personality.
But, you see, that was purely fact, so I wasn’t going to back down on that point. Instead, I sidled up to him before abruptly throwing my arms around him and knocking him over in the process. I didn’t intend to actually do anything to him, of course—perish the thought—but I hoped if I could rough up our clothes a bit and get us seen by whoever was following us around—a subordinate of his, of the prince’s, anyone really—then Nadir would be unable to deny that something had happened. A marriage would be in the bag.
“Hey! This isn’t funny!” he protested.
“Good thing that it’s not a joke, then, hmm?” I said. “It’s simply the only way to make you take responsibility.”
“You can’t be seriously—”
Color drained from his cheeks as I touched his chest, but I couldn’t afford to care. Caring meant defeat.
“A shotgun marriage is my only option!”
“Get back! Stay away from me!”
Here we go!
I tried to take off his pants, but of course, he resisted. The belt around his waist made an unpleasant sound as we wrestled for it. I kept pulling, knowing it was in the bag if the belt broke, but he wasn’t having it.