At first, I made an effort to avoid the situation.
I visited my father again and tried my best to appeal to him, playing the role of a weak duke’s daughter. I don’t want to meet my fiancé, and tomorrow is too sudden. “I’m scared that I’ll hate him.” I said, my eyes almost tearing up, but it wasn’t acting.
“Anyway, you won’t know if you like someone until you meet them, right? I’m going with you, so it’s okay. You should go to sleep for now.”
Yeah. That’s the answer. As an adult.
So the next day, I rode a horse-drawn carriage to Duke Ranankura’s residence, where my fiancé lived.
It is said that this journey would take well over ten days if you were to actually go by horse-drawn carriage.
This is where the tower of teleportation comes into play. It is a fairly large-scale magical tower, and is indispensable for long-distance travel within the continent.
Fly from the only teleportation tower in the Lilia Duchy to the only teleportation tower in the Ranankura Duchy. That way, the ten-day journey would be reduced to just half a day.
It could have taken ten days.
I’d rather never reach my destination for the rest of my life.
That was my state of mind.
However, time passed ruthlessly, and I found myself stepping into enemy territory without much of a plan.
(I’m screwed…..)
As I sat on the soft chair in the drawing room, I already regretted it.
My father, who was sitting next to me, was concerned about my pale complexion and offered me a hot drink, but I couldn’t swallow it, so I politely declined.
My mistake was that from last night until this moment, I was so worried about so many things that I didn’t take a rest. I should have at least closed my eyes and remained quiet in the carriage, but I was trying to escape reality by just looking out the window.
If I couldn’t come up with a constructive idea anyway, I should have at least gotten a good night’s sleep and made sure I was in good health before coming here.
As I waited, reciting to myself ‘don’t regret it’, the sound of a knock echoed throughout the room.
I stand up in time with my father and greet the person entering the room.
The man who came in was a middle-aged gentleman with white hair, but with a brisk walk and good posture. Next is a boy with glossy black hair.
I intentionally lowered my gaze and erased my expression. It is the right thing to do for a lady who confronts someone before they have been introduced. It’s probably not like a child.
The gentleman exchanged a friendly greeting with my father and immediately turned to me.
“I would like to introduce you, Lord Ranankura. This is my daughter, Lycoris. Lycoris, His Excellency, the Duke of Ranankura.”
My father, who introduced me to the duke, and then the duke to me in a very simple way, immediately withdrew. Naturally, the gentleman and I met directly.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Lycoris Radiata.”
When I first looked at the other person’s face after lowering my head, I saw a very gentle smile on his face. His eyes are highly transparent, but have a color that makes them look like you are peering into the depths of a deep ocean, with a gentle smile.
Lord Ranankura is much older than my father, and must be close to fifty. The wrinkles on his face and hands show his age.
“Ah, nice to meet you. Although, I met you when you were a baby.”
He said this in a very friendly tone and lightly kissed the back of my hand. The way his gray mustache brushed my pale skin tickles.
When he raised the corners of his mouth, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes became even deeper. We both laughed and exchanged short greetings.
“I was surprised at how adorable she has grown. Her hair and eye color are similar to her mother’s, but the shape of her eyes is just like her father’s.”
He took turns comparing me to my mother and father, and my father replied, “That’s a good thing to say.” Looking a little embarrassed. As for me, I was surprised by the unfamiliar compliment of being called ‘adorable.’
“But you don’t look good. It seems like the long journey has made you tired. Is this your first time riding a carriage for a long time?”
His light blue eyes filled with worry and concern. Then, his big, warm palm on my shoulder and his gentle voice urged me to take a seat.
“No, it’s okay, I’d probably be more distracted if I stood or walked…”
I stammered my answer needlessly.
“I should have gone there after all. I’m sorry.”
“No! Um… It’s fun to go to a new place. The view of the ocean beyond the big city was very refreshing. I saw a circular windmill along the road, and it was very interesting as I had never seen it before… Ah, no, I’m very happy to have been invited today.”
I feel ashamed for being so ridiculously talkative towards someone I’ve just finished greeting. It’s rare for me to get anxious like this.
However, Lord Ranankura was rather happy, smiling and even answered my questions about the shape of the windmill and explained it to me.
As I listened to his story, nodding, I was surprised form the bottom of my heart.
This person with a friendly smile is actually the Prime Minister of our country.
This country is a monarchy, and there are five ducal families under the royal family. Among them, both the Ranankura Duke family and my Lilia Duke family are families that often produce prime ministers.
Because of his position and, above all, my preconceived notions of being the father of a yandere man, I never expected such a good person to appear. I think that was really rude. I will reflect.
I couldn’t help but be happy when the Prime Minister smiled at me and said, “You have a wonderful talent for having a thirst for knowledge.”
Honestly, I was excited.
I was so excited that I instantly forgot about the yandere standing next to him… or rather, my fiancé.
My father, standing behind me, cleared his throat, and that’s when I finally remembered the purpose of this visit.
I looked at the boy standing diagonally behind the Prime Minister.
“I’m sorry about that. Lycoris, let me introduce you to my son.”
Ten-year-old Wolfgang Eisenhut, guided by the Prime Minister’s large hand, took a step forward, gave a basic greeting of “Please take care of me,” and lowered his eyes slightly.
I could barely reply, “Me too,” and the conversation stopped there.
The two adults seemed to be irritated by the atmosphere in the room, which suddenly became quiet.
“It must be hard to talk if we’re here.”
“Lycoris, why don’t you ask the young lord to show you around the garden?”
It seems like he had suddenly decided to throw the two ten-year-old children out into the garden, thinking, ‘The rest is up to the two young people…’
To put it bluntly, this is a poor plan that cannot be expected of those who hold positions that support the country.
The correct answer would be for the two adults to first introduce the topic, lighten the mood, bring one or two common topics, and then leave the two of them alone.
However, when I think about it, I feel that most of the people who take on such roles at arranged parties in dramas are women. Even if a man is good at his job, he may not be good at things like this.
The reason why I couldn’t help but analyze it was because I was upset myself.
The boy who was with me along the path leading to the garden was a beautiful young man with a slender physique.
It’s surprising, or maybe it’s inevitable at this age, but he’s quite a bit shorter than me at the same age.
His black hair and bright blue-purple eyes are impressive.
His cheeks are rounded and boyish, but he still has a very intelligent face. The way he walks with his back straight and his center of gravity shifting smoothly is probably the result of a lifestyle where he was conscious of attracting attention even at a young age.
Characters in games usually have an image color, but in his case it is black. He almost always wears dark clothes in the game. Even now, he wears expensive-looking clothes that are black with silver thread embroidery.
The handsome boy said this to me when we arrived at the garden, where the arch of roses obscured the view.
“Are you aware that you have been chosen to be my fiancee?”
It was so sudden that I was slow to react, but I managed to nod my head in response.
Then, the handsome boy suddenly glared at me with his striking blue-purple eyes.
“Hmm. I don’t like it. I can see the face to a certain extent, but the overall impression seems gloomy to begin with, which I don’t like. The figure is also too big. —-But the family background is balanced. I’ll make a compromise. Engagement. Don’t misunderstand your position as my fiancee and think you’re going to have a say in my actions.”
Ah… yeah.
That’s the kind of character he was.
While thinking this in the back of my mind, my heart was actually filled with relief.
Apparently, what I feared the most didn’t happen.
I mean, that the moment I meet Wolfgang Eisenhut, my whole contents will change.
Maybe some unknown movement of my heart happens, and I end up falling in love with the other person to the point where I can’t even control it. Even if I know that what lies ahead is destruction, would I feel blinded by passion? That was the most terrifying thing.
Yeah. That’s good. This is—— “No.”
Because I’m not a masochist.
I want to punch this cocky little shit in the head.
However, if I include my previous life, I’m already an adult, and my life experiences get in the way, so I can’t do that.
I tried to look down at the blue-purple eyes that were below me and just snort a laugh.
“If your figure is small, what you say will also be small.”
Ah, my mouth slipped.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
