14 You're Only Fifteen!

Daisy was fairly certain Leo was only saying that because the girls that trailed after him annoyed him. Compliments on her looks meant nothing to her since she didn't actually look like this. Veronica May was the beautiful one not her.

"And here I thought they only wanted to annoy me because I'm one of the few people in town unattached with a decent head on her shoulders," she said dryly.

"I suppose that's true too," Leo replied with a shrug. "But are you really going to be able to fend them off forever? You might need a deterrent at some point. If you were engaged, you could put off the wedding indefinitely and keep people away in the meantime."

The idea was surprisingly brilliant. The old 'fake boyfriend' trick that was nearly foolproof for getting rid of creeps hitting on women back in her world. The problem was that everyone knew everyone else around here so no one would ever buy it.

"Where exactly am I supposed to find this fake fiancé?" Daisy asked in a voice dripping with skepticism.

"Right here since it was my idea," Leo replied matter-of-factly, nearly giving her a heart attack.

Once she got over her shock, she realized it was a fantastic idea. People already knew they spent a lot of time together and the Krinzels thought he was her cousin. Apparently, like in the distant past in her world, it was perfectly normal for cousins to get married.

She saw one problem with this. "But since you're around all the time, people would expect us to get married sooner rather than later."

Leo's expression grew rather uncomfortable and he shifted nervously. "About that…I'm actually going to be leaving after the grain harvest to join the Mirean Royal Army."

This time Daisy did drop her tomato. "You what?!"

"Come on, Daisy, we both know I couldn't have stayed here forever! Doing this will help me accomplish my goal to work my way up in the world and you'll have the added bonus of having an out-of-the-way fiancé with any wedding plans put off indefinitely."

As she picked up her fallen tomato, she thought about it. What he said made sense…and she truly hadn't expected him to stay this long…but she was really going to miss him. Who would she be able to talk to so naturally once he was gone?

"I'm going to miss you," Daisy admitted quietly.

"We will technically be betrothed. You can write me whenever you like. In fact, I encourage it." Leo faltered for a moment before looking up at her more seriously than she had come to expect from him over time. She was reminded of his younger self. "I'm going to miss you too. So write me every day, alright? Tell me which of the chickens are driving you mad by not laying eggs and how much butter you were able to churn all by yourself as if I was actually here."

She cracked a smile at his earnestness. She could make time to write at least a couple of paragraphs a day and then send the full letter once a week.

"I can do that. Why after the grain harvest though? That's more than eight months away."

"Because I don't want to leave you shorthanded then," Leo said as if it should be obvious. "But also because there are a few things I need to wrap up here before I go. You aren't trying to get rid of me early, are you?"

"Of course not! I was just curious why you set a deadline that far out. I do appreciate you staying to help because I definitely need you," Daisy told him firmly.

"I know you do."

They went back to picking tomatoes in silence and her head was reeling. Leaving! She couldn't believe after all this time together he would actually be leaving. Lonely as she might be without him, she hoped he was able to accomplish his dream. Her friend deserved that even if it meant she was abandoned for what seemed like the millionth time in her existence.

===

Everything changed when Rukelion found out that Veronica—no, Daisy—wasn't Mirean. He hadn't expected that at all. He knew she had run away from somewhere but figured she was a member of the Mirean nobility and was hiding out in the countryside far away from where any of them lived.

Since she hadn't even known what country she was in, she probably wouldn't care who was in charge of it. That gave him the first scrap of hope that they may be able to stay in touch when he left after all.

Then she had to go and say that she had his back no matter what. He could tell she was serious and in his mind she was practically giving him permission to go through with his revenge. That settled it for him. He was going to be selfish and keep Daisy in his life no matter what!

All this time Rukelion had been holding himself back trying not to get attached but most of his inhibitions melted away after that happened. There was nothing stopping him so why shouldn't he more fully enjoy his time with her?

He was able to loosen up and act more like he used to during his carefree days back at the castle from time to time. It was nice being able to laugh with her instead of having to hold himself back.

That brought him closer to the edge but he didn't realize how much danger he was in until he heard Daisy say that she would only marry for love. He proposed a fake engagement when he left for three reasons and all of them benefited him more than her.

First, he didn't want to come back from accomplishing his goal and find her already married. This would prevent anyone from approaching her too daringly.

Second, he would have certain perks as her fake fiancé. It wouldn't be suspicious at all to send money back to the farm to hire additional hands and help reduce her workload or send for her to come visit if the chance arose.

Third, and perhaps most important of all, was that it would give him time to figure out how to make her fall in love with him. She said she wouldn't marry unless it was for love and that was a foreign concept to him since all he had ever known of were political marriages.

His parents had come to care for each other over time but Daisy had different ideals. His theory that she ran away from a marriage she didn't want seemed all the more likely.

Rukelion had to take care of his revenge first but he would have all the time in the world to woo her  after that. He had some now too and should take advantage of it as best he could while he was still here.

Unfortunately, he still had training to do. He had worked tirelessly for the past two years to improve himself and could now beat most of the mercenaries in the camp but he wanted to be able to beat all of them without using magic before he set out.

Barry had pulled him aside a few days ago and told him they were moving out in less than two weeks. They had stayed in this area for too long and didn't have enough jobs to go around anymore so they needed to move their base camp.

"You can come with us," he offered. "You would be a real asset to our crew."

Rukelion shook his head. "Thank you but no. I have other plans and need to stay here for the time being."

"…this is about your girl, isn't it? You don't want anyone moving in on her so you're afraid to leave her behind."

Barry wasn't entirely wrong. He didn't want to leave Daisy behind but he couldn't go with the mercenaries partly because he knew she needed help with the harvests and partly because he would never be able to accomplish his goal of becoming respected by his enemies to the point of having a way in if he was running around as a mercenary.

They weren't exactly on the best terms with the royal family, which was why they operated out of backwater hamlets like this. He might have taken up the offer to get more experience if he didn't have Daisy to contend with but he couldn't as things were.

"I have to help her with the harvests," Rukelion said with a shrug. "We'll be engaged soon enough so that should offer a bit of protection before I leave. I plan to send for her once I've made a name for myself."

Barry raised an eyebrow. "Engaged? You're only fifteen!"

"I expect to be gone for a while. And it isn't like anyone else around here knows that, especially with how tall I am. I look older."

"I suppose that's true…still. Are you sure your girl will be alright waiting around for you that long though? She's a pretty thing and the affections of pretty girls can be bought easily."

Rukelion bristled at the insinuation that Daisy was so fickle. She might not be in love with him yet but she was a loyal person and he knew she cared about him. And that she didn't want to get married. He couldn't tell Barry that though because then he would know the engagement was fake.

"Don't talk about D—Veronica like that. She would never betray me. Never!"

"Alright, simmer down! I didn't mean any offense. Best of luck to you in your endeavors, romantic or otherwise, kid. We'll miss having you hang around here," Barry said with half a smile on his face.

"You aren't getting rid of me just yet. I still need to beat you, Garrin, Eagor, and Veric in a fight before you go," Rukelion said grimly.

That made the head mercenary laugh. "Good luck with that! I'll take you on any time."