A few days before the talk of marriage reached the Damus County,
Ariel returned to the Ether Duchy for the first time in a while.
“Hello, Uncle.”
“Uh, hmm. Huh? Me? Are you talking to me? Ariel.”
“Do I have any other uncles?”
“Well, no… But you almost never talk to me first.”
“I do have some sense, you know.”
“R-Right…”
Rascal shrank back slightly at Ariel’s rather sharp tone.
To be honest, their relationship was far from good.
But that was inevitable.
Rascal was the leading candidate to become the next head of the family, while Ariel was the current duke’s only child.
Even if Ariel had no desire for the family head position, there was no way the two could get along well.
Even just exchanging greetings sparked all kinds of rumors and wild speculations. The dynamics simply made it unavoidable.
To outsiders, Rascal appeared to be a shameless man aiming for the family headship while oppressing the rightful heir.
It was frustrating for him, but he knew trying to explain himself would only backfire.
That’s why Rascal deliberately kept his distance from Ariel.
She always made me uneasy anyway.
And since he knew the Ariel from the past, he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. Ariel, who had grown up unloved, resembled a doll.
Not in appearance, but in her lifeless inanimate demeanor.
Because of that and other factors, the two maintained a certain distance.
Even though they lived in the same mansion, the total time they had ever spent talking probably didn’t even amount to an hour.
“So? What brings you to me today?”
Rascal felt burdened by Ariel’s unwavering gaze, but he didn’t look away.
If she was suddenly here to declare her intent to claim the duchy title, he wasn’t about to just sit back and accept it.
If that had been her intention from the beginning, maybe he could understand… but taking something back after giving it up? That wasn’t right.
And it had already been 18 years.
Eighteen long years spent running toward the position of the next family head.
If Ariel were to suddenly say she wanted the title now, it would mean war.
Regardless of what the two of them thought, those around them would never leave it alone.
“I know very well that you don’t like me, Uncle.”
“Huh?”
“I must be a thorn in your side.”
“I literally just said I don’t—”
“I’m sure at least some of the assassins who came after me were sent by you.”
“Why would I?! I don’t have to do anything. I’m already the next head of the family!”
“You just can’t stand the sight of me.”
“Did I ever do something wrong to you?”
Rascal couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Ariel’s sudden string of personal attacks.
He had genuinely worked himself to the bone for the sake of the duchy with a clear conscience.
Trying to keep Ariel in check? He didn’t do that. Doing so would only hurt his own image.
What kind of uncle looks good trying to suppress a niece who doesn’t even do anything?
And now, out of nowhere, that niece shows up and starts criticizing him.
He felt like he could cry.
“I’m sure you’re even now thinking of how to get rid of me.”
“Wh-Why are you doing this to me…? What did I ever do to deserve this…?”
Rascal was scared.
Why was she building up this much hostility?
Was she planning to strike him down right here?
Couldn’t they just talk this out?
“You probably want to sell me off in a political marriage to some remote countryside family.”
“Why would I take that kind of risk?”
Even if Tronius Ether was emotionally numb, Rascal had no desire to do anything that might provoke him.
Right now, Tronius might seem detached, but the Tronius Rascal remembered from the past would’ve erupted in fury.
If Tronius still had even a shred of human emotion left in him, Rascal would likely be killed by the man known as the strongest mage of the age.
“Right… for example…”
Those red eyes stared straight at him.
Looking into her unwavering gaze, Rascal suddenly wondered if maybe he had done something that could’ve been misunderstood.
Even if he never meant harm, maybe Ariel had seen something in a different light.
And if there was a misunderstanding, he had to correct it.
“Someone like Sir Johan Damus, the eldest son of the prestigious Damus County way out on the eastern frontier.”
“……?”
A strangely specific example.
Only then did Rascal realize something was off and took a proper look at Ariel.
Her expression was calm and her eyes were direct.
But… her cheeks were slightly flushed.
“Ah…!”
Realization dawned.
In that moment, Rascal’s understanding of Ariel Ether leveled up.
This niece he had once thought of as a lifeless doll was now unmistakably showing the emotions of someone her age.
She was beating around the bush, trying to cover up her embarrassment.
Then, what should he do as a proper adult in this situation?
“Ahem! Well, I don’t see why not!”
He should play along.
Rascal casually tossed out a comment, testing the waters. He could almost see Ariel’s ears perk up beneath her hat.
Yeah, she’s at that age now.
But who on earth is this person that managed to throw her into such emotional turmoil?
Even as he admired her youthful sincerity, Rascal couldn’t help but wonder.
There’s a limit to being reckless.
Still… maybe it means she’s starting to trust me…
Of course, there weren’t many people who could make this kind of decision.
Still, the fact that she chose him among those few filled Rascal with a strange sense of emotion.
But…
“The problem is, marriages between nobles aren’t as simple as they sound.”
There was, indeed, a problem.
Namely, the feelings of the other party.
Rascal found Ariel’s uncharacteristic behavior cute, but he couldn’t help but question her approach.
If she acted like this with him, who’s to say she wasn’t the same or worse with the one she liked?
And Rascal’s intuition was fairly accurate.
After all, people blinded by love often make mistakes.
Just look at his older brother, Tronius Ether who married a commoner despite the family’s strong opposition.
“No matter how small the territory may be, forcing the issue would reflect poorly on the honor of a ducal house.”
Does the other party even feel the same way?
Is the reason for a political marriage really just a matter of status between families?
Rascal layered his words with unspoken meaning.
“I’ve been prepared for this for a long time.”
Ariel left the subject out of her sentence.
But as the heir to the family, Rascal understood what she meant.
Maybe because they were family, not many words were needed.
Rascal’s insight was spot on.
However, if there was one issue…
Sir Johan likes me.
Ariel’s blind conviction was the problem.
She was already convinced that was the case.
She recalled a conversation from before.
– Sir Johan. I… I might be getting married soon. A political marriage.
It will be with you.
– To be honest, I’ve always prepared myself for the possibility of a political marriage.
I decided to go this route because it seemed like I was a burden to my family.
– Still… lately… I started to wonder, just a little… what it might be like to marry for love.
Our relationship may fade into the form of a political marriage, but I still believe it will be okay.
– What about you, Sir Johan?
What do you think?
-…I would probably accept it, as long as it wasn’t too unreasonable.
– I see.
Then it was a mutual agreement, right?
Ariel smiled.
It was a smile that seemed mature, somehow.
At the time, Johan couldn’t have imagined such a thought.
She would be happy.
***
Having received what was essentially a request from Ariel, Rascal reported it first to the head of the family, Tronius Ether.
If he went ahead with it on his own, he really could end up being the bastard uncle who tries to keep his young niece in check.
“Brother, this is how things have turned out.”
“……”
“It seems to be what she wants. May I proceed with it?”
Tronius Ether stared at him with an emotionless expression.
Unable to tell whether that look meant displeasure or approval, Rascal had no choice but to try and read the inscrutable man’s true thoughts.
“So be it.”
“Yes, Brother.”
In the end, Tronius nodded without the slightest change in his expression.
Whether that meant “Go ahead and try if you dare” or “You have my permission” remained unclear.
Looking at how much Tronius had changed, Rascal felt both troubled and afraid.
“Phew… I’m getting old. Really old.”
After Tronius, Rascal had to explain everything one by one to the elders and the mansion’s servants.
Informing the elders was a given, but telling the servants was his own choice.
He knew all too well that the root of every rumor started with them.
And so, everyone except Ariel, the one most directly involved, came to know the situation.
Rascal went out of his way to preserve his dignity.
Of course, the servants who heard his explanations only thought he was pathetic for going into so much detail.
“Phew, this should be enough to satisfy them, right? Well, she’s still my niece, so I should at least show this much sincerity.”
With that mindset, Rascal put a tremendous price on this marriage.
He offered bridal gifts equivalent to five years’ worth of taxes from the Damus County.
“Ha, perfect. With this, there’s no way they can blame me.”
It was undoubtedly an offer they couldn’t refuse.
***
It really was an offer they couldn’t refuse.
“What happens if we turn this down? Will they just pretend it never happened?”
“Do you really need to ask? It wouldn’t be the proposal that disappears….it would be our entire house.”
There was no room to negotiate.
They hadn’t even asked for bridal gifts. It was the other side who offered them.
Had it been a demand, they could’ve found an excuse to refuse.
Saying they didn’t have the funds, for example, might’ve slightly damaged the Damus House’s dignity, but it would’ve been manageable.
But refusing a gift? That was a different story.
How could they possibly say no to that?
The other party was the Ether Duchy.
To reject this would be to drag the duke’s prestige through the mud. And if that happened, the Damus family would become sworn enemies with the Ether family.
Oh, good heavens! It was truly a devilishly clever move.
– Johan, did you know? Ariel actually has a surprisingly persistent side to her.
That was something Lobelia had once said.
First of all, in my defense, I never took her advice lightly.
Even as I kept my distance from Ariel, I was always wary, expecting that she might cling to me.
But what do you know?
The moment I put up a wall, she hit me with a political marriage proposal.
Is this really something you can avoid just by being careful?
And honestly, you can’t even call that persistent.
It’s aggressive.
Even a child throwing a tantrum to get what they want would probably be more restrained than the approach Ariel took.
“Well, what can you do? Just go through with the marriage.”
“Easy for you to say when it’s not about you, isn’t it?”
“Not about me? If it concerns our family, it concerns all of us. Just grit your teeth and get married. Let’s be real. Your awful personality already ruled out marrying for love.”
“What’s so wrong with me?”
“Do you really want me to list it? You’re my kid…. how could I say things like that out loud?”
What, is he about to start swearing at me or something?
“Dad, are you seriously trying to marry me off just so you can live the good life?”
“Hey now, how could you say that? We’re doing this because we truly care about you.”
Well… yeah, that’s probably true.
Father always poured everything he had into the family.
He was the kind of man who, when I complained about the stress from terrorist threats, told me to go draw attention away from the actual targets.
The consistency was almost impressive.
“Dear! Look at this. I’ve never seen a gem this big in my life! Is this really mine? Shouldn’t we sell it to help out?”
That was Mother’s excited voice, coming from behind the mirror.
It had been a while since I heard it.
“Ahem! Hm, hm. Honey, we’re having an important conversation right now. Let’s talk later.”
“Oh my, look at me. Alright, alright. I just thought it was fine since you already took the watch with you.”
Through the mirror, I saw Father quickly pulling down his sleeve.
“Father.”
“Ahem! Hmm, hmm. Johan, it’s not what it looks like.”
“Right now…!”
“Ah! Time for a meeting with the retainers. Johan, let’s talk later. You’ll have to come up to the capital soon over this matter anyway, right? Let’s talk then, okay?”
“If you don’t come up within the week, you’ll find out exactly what I’m capable of. Father.”
“Calm down.”
I made a threat.
If I really lost it here, I’d show him what I could do.
And Father knew. He knew I wasn’t just short-tempered for no reason.
“I’m perfectly calm right now. I’m calmly calculating just how much chaos I can cause.”
“…I’ll pack my things today.”
Unbelievable.
Who would’ve thought something out of a romance fantasy novel would happen to me…
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