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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Wedding Preparations (5)
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A summons arrived from the Duchess. It was the same location as before.
Aracilla immediately informed Demian of this news. He was the one who had asked her to tell him if any problems arose, so she dutifully complied.
"I will go in your place, Lady. Please rest at home."
"No, I don't want to. Going together will better show how firm our relationship is."
In truth, Demian didn't want Aracilla and the Vandermir Ducal Family to clash directly. The underlying anxiety that Aracilla could back out of the marriage at any time still lingered.
However, watching Aracilla stubbornly insist on coming to the coffeehouse with him, he felt a little confused.
Was her assertiveness due to a combative personality, or was there another reason?
"Whatever the Duchess says, I will handle it. Please just watch quietly, Lady."
"No, why do you keep telling me to stay quiet, starting from last time? If you want that, bring a doll instead."
"I'm saying this out of consideration for you, Lady."
"I don't need consideration that makes me want to scream."
The two were having a light verbal spar when the Duchess appeared, fifteen minutes later than the appointed time.
Aracilla, who spotted her first, smiled sweetly and greeted her.
"You've arrived, Duchess?"
However, the Duchess's gaze was fixed on Demian beside Aracilla. She looked dumbfounded that Demian, whom she hadn't summoned, was sitting there.
"Demian, why are you here?"
"You're late, Mother. If you call someone, you should be on time."
The Duchess's cheeks flushed as her tardiness was openly pointed out. She whipped her head around and glared at Aracilla.
"Did the Lady call Demian?"
"Yes, you didn't say I had to come alone."
"That's an implicit agreement! How could you run off and tell him without any patience...?"
The Duchess pressed her hand to her forehead, expressing her utter exasperation. She had come intending to give her a good dressing down today, but things had gone awry from the start.
With Demian Vandermir present, the Duchess couldn't intimidate Aracilla as she pleased.
"Since both the Lady and I are busy, let today be the last time you call us before the wedding."
Even in this situation, Demian clearly drew a line, ensuring there would be no more such meetings. The corners of the Duchess's mouth twitched.
"Demian, you really have a knack for saying hurtful things to your mother."
"Is that so? I, too, am hurt that I only seem to be your son when you feel slighted."
"You..."
A fierce staring contest ensued between the two. Aracilla sat idly by, watching the scene unfold. She had no intention of intervening.
"What did you call us for today?"
Once the staring contest finally ceased and the ordered tea arrived, Aracilla asked.
"Lady Hugo, come live with us in the Duchy."
The Duchess informed her unilaterally. Aracilla, who had been about to pick up her teacup, paused. She firmly shook her head.
"I apologize, Duchess, but I am currently employed at the Magic Tower, so that's impossible."
The Magic Tower was in the capital. If she moved to the Duchy, she wouldn't be able to commute and would naturally have to quit.
It took three days by carriage from the Duchy to the capital, after all.
"What are you talking about? Of course, you'll quit the Magic Tower when you get married."
"I have no intention of doing that."
"What did you say?"
The Duchess's eyes glinted sharply, sensing an opportunity. She challenged her with exaggerated gestures.
"Then who will support Demian? Who will manage the household? Lady, if this is the case, I will have no choice but to oppose the marriage again."
Aracilla was dumbfounded, watching the Duchess speak so shamelessly, as if she had ever approved of the marriage.
Demian, listening to her speak as if she were a mother with profound maternal love, felt the same way.
"I am not marrying to support the Duke, Madam."
"What nonsense is that? Just how did the Hugo Marquisate raise their daughter...?"
The Duchess clicked her tongue softly. Aracilla, who had instantly become someone with improper upbringing, didn't hold back her retort.
"They taught me not to clean up after other people's sons. Furthermore, they taught me that if an adult spouted nonsense, I should speak the truth, and that wasn't talking back."
"Are you saying I'm spouting nonsense?"
The Duchess, with her uncanny intuition, flared her eyes with fury. Aracilla smiled sweetly.
"I never said that, but if you feel that way... whose fault could that be?"
"Lady Hugo!"
The Duchess, who had shouted, barely managed to compose herself and spoke again.
"Choose: either come down to the Duchy and live with us to learn from me, or break off the engagement."
"I will choose. Lady Hugo will live with me in the capital."
Demian intervened, giving a firm answer on her behalf. The Duchess frowned and glared at him.
"Demian, stay out of this. This is me, as the mistress of the Vandermir Ducal Family, speaking to a new family member."
"Since when have you treated me like family so diligently? Unless you intend to educate her to become the next mistress of the house, stop this."
The Duchess bit her lip tightly. Of course, she had no intention of educating Aracilla to be the mistress.
That would be tantamount to acknowledging Demian's succession.
"I apologize, Madam. Since the Duke's wishes are thus, I have no choice but to follow them."
Aracilla said, covering her mouth with an exaggerated gesture and smiling. Her eyes curved into an annoyingly innocent arc.
"Isn't the best way to support one's husband simply to listen to him?"
"…!"
The Duchess clenched her fists tightly under the table. There was a reason she had tried to bring Aracilla to the Duchy.
She had planned to use the Grand Duchess, currently residing in the Duchy, to intimidate Aracilla, and together, they would frighten her into leaving.
But if Demian shielded her like this, and if Aracilla didn't budge, using Demian as an excuse, the Duchess had no recourse.
'It seems his promise to protect her wasn't just empty words.'
This would make it difficult to call Aracilla out separately in the future. The Duchess forcibly swallowed the rising anger. There was no longer any justification to argue further.
"Then, I shall see you at the wedding. Let's go, Lady."
"Yes, Duke. Duchess, please stay healthy until then."
Her consistently polite greetings were especially galling. It was as if she was mocking her; she didn't forget to greet her even when it was perfectly fine to just leave.
The Duchess couldn't stop the two departing figures and trembled with rage.
And when she returned home, she flew into a rage in front of her husband and son.
As the Duke listened to his wife exaggerate Aracilla and Demian's words and lament her sorrow, he smoked a cigar.
"So, in conclusion, you still couldn't stop their marriage today?"
"...I'm sorry, dear."
The Duchess, completely subdued by the sharp question, glanced nervously at her husband.
Despite her grand promises that she could stop it, she had achieved nothing so far. Instead, she had only solidified their resolve. The Duke snuffed out his cigar and spoke.
"It seems we should stop trying to scare them with mere words. After all, there are many reasons why a wedding might not happen, aren't there?"
Besides a voluntary cancellation, the world was full of reasons why a wedding might not take place. A cruel smile spread across the Duke's lips.
"For example, if a major accident occurs, like the bride getting hurt, the wedding would naturally be canceled, wouldn't it? If such a situation repeats, they'll feel uneasy and eventually oppose the marriage altogether."
In truth, this was a method the Duke had wanted to avoid until the very last moment. After all, meddling with the daughter of a prestigious family was dangerous.
However, as circumstances were not ideal, he had to bring it up himself. And the greater the risk, the more certain the effect would be.
"Darling, you are truly a smart man."
"I know. And I'll handle this, so you just stay out of it."
"Yes, I understand!"
The Duchess looked at the Duke with adoring eyes and nodded.
There was no guilt whatsoever about harming another family's precious daughter, only a heart full of trust in her husband.
***
Wedding preparations proceeded without a hitch. The wedding dress and formal attire were chosen, and invitations were sent out to everyone.
After Demian's warning, the Duchess no longer summoned Aracilla. Thanks to this, extremely peaceful days continued.
Now, all that remained was to draft the prenuptial agreement and register the marriage.
"Guys, I'm heading out."
"Yes, Senior! Have a safe trip."
Aracilla left the Magic Tower, receiving greetings from her juniors. As the wedding approached, the frequency of meeting Demian to discuss the terms of the prenuptial agreement increased.
Her juniors, unaware of the details, thought she, a workaholic, liked Demian enough to leave early to see him, which was a harmless misunderstanding she let stand.
As Aracilla stepped outside to go to the Knight Commander's office, their meeting place for today, a carriage bearing the Red Hawk flag caught her eye.
'What? Why is that here?'
Her bewilderment lasted only a moment before a servant standing in front of the carriage approached and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Lady Hugo. I have received a message to escort you, so I have come."
Aracilla narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the unfamiliar servant from head to toe.
"Who told you to escort me?"
"Sir Vandermir."
The servant answered without hesitation. Aracilla was a little surprised, as Demian had never sent a carriage and people specifically for her before.
'Sir Vandermir isn't usually that considerate or meticulous.'
Moreover,
'I clearly told him I'd be a little late because I was stopping by home.'
It was somewhat incomprehensible that he had suddenly sent someone without a word. Aracilla pondered for a moment, then asked.
"Did Sir Demian Vandermir really send you for me?"
"Yes, Lady. Please, board quickly."
The servant opened the door and extended a hand as if urging her. Aracilla signaled her own carriage, waiting a short distance away, to leave.
And without taking the servant's hand, she boarded the carriage alone, posing one last question.
"Where did he tell you to take me?"
"To the mansion."
'I see.' Aracilla nodded briefly and closed the carriage door. The carriage then smoothly began to move.
She roughly figured out where they were going by the scenery outside the window. The carriage, which had seemed to be entering the bustling downtown area, was now heading towards a less populated area.
'Thinking about it, wasn't it strange that they'd gone quiet just because of Sir Vandermir's warning?'
The Duke's Family was desperate to push their damned eldest son, who would later become a traitor, weren't they? To prevent Demian's succession, they should be obstructing this marriage with all their might.
Yet, they'd only met a few times, pressured her verbally, and then stopped. Aracilla wouldn't have done that if she were in the Vandermir Ducal Family's position.
'Well, let's see what they've prepared.'
Aracilla tapped the window frame, and the corners of her mouth curved into a wide, confident smile. Even though she had walked straight into a trap, she wasn't afraid in the slightest.
Currently, she had no specific missions and was focused only on research, but in truth, she was a mage with exceptional talent in offensive magic.
She had more than enough power to protect herself.
Soon, the carriage stopped in a shabby clearing surrounded by trees. Aracilla drew the curtains, covering the windows. This way, she couldn't see her opponent, but her opponent couldn't see her either.
She waited motionless in that state, and as expected, a reaction came from outside first.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
Someone pounded on the carriage door like thunder. Her blue eyes calmly turned towards the door.
