Eric's mind was spinning so fast because of his future fiancée's sudden and shocking love (?) confession. On the other hand, Annette, Eric's future fiancée, was staring at the young man with those hopeful, glistening eyes—the kind of eyes that could guilt-trip a saint and convince a panel of judges for a not guilty plea.

And worse, she looked as though she was on the verge of crying again.

But Eric was perfectly clear about what he wanted. Yes, he didn't want to hurt Annette (that was the last thing he wanted), but making her expect a love that he couldn't even give in the first place? That would be even worse for someone as kind as her.

This ridiculous engagement needs to end at all costs!

But first, he needed to think.

Think, Eric. THINK!

And then, he said.

"Annette, I-I..." Eric's brain was doing its best to come up with a random excuse, "The thing is, I can't marry you because I... I'm already..."

Annette leaned closer with her eyes wide with anticipation. "You're already what, Eric?"

And before his indecision could stop him, his mouth betrayed him completely and said...

"I'm already seeing someone!" he blurted out the words out of impulse. "In fact-uh-I'm gay!"

Eric was hoping that his little "I'm gay" confession (which is, of course, completely fabricated) would be his golden ticket out of this mess. In his mind, he was hoping it would turn the young lady off to him. Because definitely, a woman like Annette wouldn't want to marry a man who not only claimed to be gay but also "already seeing someone".

But unfortunately, reality decided to disagree with Eric's brilliant little plan.

"Oh..." Annette said softly. But then, for some reason, her expression brightened in an instant. "So that's it!"

Eric suddenly became confused.

Wait. What?

"I'm just a little surprised about you being gay and all, but..." Annette said, pausing only for a second before smiling brightly, "You know what? I'm perfectly fine with it!" She nodded thoughtfully, as if Eric's alleged sexuality was something that no one should question in the first place, and it was just simply an interesting trivia fact. "I mean, love comes in all forms, right?"

Eric blinked rapidly. "W–wait, what?"

Annette clasped her hands together with an unimaginable enthusiasm. Her eyes sparkled brightly, like those of a die-hard fangirl spotting her favorite BL couple in public. "So that means I just have to make you fall for me anyway!" Then, she declared proudly and said, "I can definitely compete with your male lover! What's important is that we still get married, and I'm the legal wife—that's totally fine by me!"

Eric nearly choked on air. "W–What?! No, no, that's not how this works!"

He could practically hear his last few brain cells screaming in unison: Why is this happening?!

Desperate to regain some control over the spiraling conversation, Eric raised his hands in surrender.

"Wait, Lady Annette—uh, Annette," he corrected himself quickly when she gave him that look again, "Let me get this straight. You still want to marry me... even though you know I'm gay and already like someone else?"

Annette didn't even hesitate to respond. "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, definitely! Look..." Annette suddenly leaned forward and held both of Eric's hands between hers, "Listen, baby—"

BABY?!

Eric's entire body went rigid the moment he heard Annette calling him baby. 

Did she just call me—WHAT?! WHAT THE FUCK!!!

But then Annette continued earnestly and said, "...the only thing that matters to me is that we get married. If you want someone else, then go ahead—I won't stop you. But first, let me prove myself to you that I'm more worthy than the man you are dating now. Is that okay?"

Eric's brain completely exploded.

WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THAT?!

Eric can't help but stare at her soon-to-be-fiancée. He was utterly speechless, and his mind was a jumble of panic and disbelief. That's where he realized he'd been wrong all along: appearances can be deceiving.

And Annette was living proof that someone could be beautiful on the outside...but absolutely insane on the inside. Now, Eric no longer wondered why Annette and his father got along so well, especially when it came to the topic of marriage. Clearly, insanity was doing all the work in this entire arrangement.

Eric sighed slowly. He rubbed his temples because he felt like he was about to have a migraine attack at any moment.

"Alright, let's...calm down for a bit, okay?"

Annette tilted her head innocently. "But...I am calm."

Lies! Eric almost wanted to scream it at her. No one who says 'listen, baby' in the middle of a marriage rejection is calm!

But then Eric decided to start all over again as he took a deep breath to gather what little dignity and sanity had left in him.

"Okay, listen. Maybe we could just...postpone this whole marriage talk for now."

"We'll postpone it, and then...?" Annette blinked at him, curious.

"And then," Eric said carefully, as if trying not to startle or trigger Annette in the wrong way, "...you might even start to realize that I'm not the man for you."

"But what if I use that time to make you fall for me instead?"

Eric stared at her, utterly defeated. "...No."

That was it. Eric's patience had officially reached its limit. And without another word, he stormed out of the garden, where he ran straight into Emil, who was approaching cheerfully with a tray of carrot cake.

"Wait? Master Er—"

"No! Don't talk to me!" Eric snapped, pointing dramatically like a man pushed far beyond reason. "And don't you dare follow me!" He started marching off, but then suddenly turned back, his frustration flaring one last time.

"And tell my father—" he shouted over his shoulder, "—that I will never agree to this marriage! Period!"

The poor head butler stood frozen with a tray of carrot cake still in his hand.

Emil sighed, looking from the disappearing Eric to Lady Annette, who was still-stunned by Eric's sudden walk-out in the middle of their conversation.

"Oh dear," he murmured with concern, "I guess the talk didn't go well,"