Chapter 6
Chapter 006.
An ordinary-looking carriage stopped in front of a magnificent mansion.
As Orion Miller entered, Beihan Rune, who had been watching the knights training, raised his hand in greeting.
With dark skin and light silver hair, his exotic appearance marked him as the vice-captain of the Blue Knights, which Orion oversaw.
Orion scanned the knights in training with a cursory glance, then passed Beihan and headed for his office.
Beihan smiled at Orion's usual cold expression.
"Afternoon training is voluntary, so take it easy and rest."
"...Voluntary?"
The knights asked with bewildered faces.
"Our captain is in a pretty good mood right now. You can relax."
Despite Beihan's words, they all tilted their heads.
Orion's expression was as cold as ever.
Despite their incredulous looks, they all agreed with Beihan's words.
As close friends, he rarely failed to gauge Orion's mood.
"The captain is in a good mood?"
"Yeah."
"What good thing could have happened while riding around in that bizarre carriage?"
One of the knights shook his head.
Recently, Orion's eccentric behavior had become more frequent.
A few days ago, he had acquired a magnificent thoroughbred horse from the Imperial Palace, only to use it for a carriage.
Moreover, it wasn't the official carriage used by Duke Miller, but an outing carriage used by family members.
He painted the perfectly good carriage black and even invited a Magic User from the Magic Tower to install a device to stabilize the ride inside.
It was a bizarre carriage that cost a fortune but looked unremarkable.
"Maybe someone liked that carriage, or he believes someone did."
"What crazy person..."
The knight wisely swallowed his words without finishing the sentence.
Beihan patted the knight's shoulder a couple of times and then crossed the training ground towards his friend's office.
After knocking, he entered the office and, sure enough, Orion Miller was slumped in his chair, grinning to himself.
Beihan leaned against the door and chuckled.
"Did she like it?"
"Quite a bit. She couldn't take her eyes off the carriage until she left. She seemed impressed."
"Really?"
"It was worth the trouble of getting the horse after begging for it."
Beihan sat on the sofa in the office and observed his friend's condition.
Orion Miller, with a smile on his face, was breathtakingly beautiful.
If he were to wear that expression at a ball full of followers and young ladies, they would all be speechless.
Orion Miller, famous for not showing his emotions, was so delighted by just a few words.
It was something that would shock anyone who usually admired him.
Orion said triumphantly.
"We're already close. We've even decided to drop the formalities."
"Oh?"
Beihan chuckled at the joy permeating Orion's words.
He didn't know exactly what was going on, but it couldn't be bad that his friend was in a good mood.
However, he doubted whether the rumored sister really regarded Orion as fondly as he claimed.
'The girl who asked for such a carriage, huh.'
Orion broke Beihan's reverie.
"If you hadn't given me advice like needing to bring flowers and treat her as well as possible to make a good impression on the first day, we would have become friends sooner."
"Those are things that ordinary young ladies of her age would like."
"My sister is different."
Beihan crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Orion.
'He's already saying 'my sister'.'
Orion was already completely smitten with his new family member.
Well, it was understandable.
The Hastings Dukedom, which had long been associated with the Imperial family, was a leader of the noble faction.
In contrast, the Bolton Dukedom was a leader of the royal faction, having sworn allegiance to the royal family.
And finally, the Miller Dukedom had maintained strict neutrality.
They had to maintain a certain distance from both the noble and royal factions.
Due to the closed nature of the family, Orion Miller had always been isolated.
Moreover, since the current Duke had lost his wife and had not taken a new one for a long time, Orion, as an only child, had no one to share his loneliness with.
'So he must be excited to have a sister.'
Although Orion's wariness itself had become flimsy, he was not an easygoing person, having lived as the heir to the Dukedom for a long time.
He became a little curious about the sister who made him so eager.
"I'll be able to see her face at the wedding, right?"
"What?"
"Your sister. I want to see her."
"Why do you want to see my sister?"
The smile vanished from Orion's face, replaced by a cold expression.
Soon after, Beihan was kicked out of the office.
He laughed in disbelief as he crossed the hallway.
Just after a few words.
'He's quite serious about this.'
He was even more curious because he was already so protective.
What kind of person was Madam Tetiana's daughter, shrouded in mystery?
Everyone knew about Madam Titi, but no one knew about her only daughter.
Even Madam's longtime acquaintances would scratch their heads when asked about her daughter.
'A child with no presence, raised under a mother who likes to be so conspicuous.'
Beihan rubbed his chin at the increasingly interesting situation.
He had a feeling that a storm was brewing in the tranquil Dukedom.
From dawn, when the wedding was scheduled to take place, I turned my room upside down looking for the elusive Communication device.
I was sure I had brought it home, but I couldn't remember where I had put it.
Dana, who was helping me search, sighed and shook her head.
"I told you it didn't seem like something you could just throw away."
"I didn't think they'd contact me."
"Well, they'd contact you through the Communication device, what else would they do?"
"What business would someone like that have contacting me? I thought they just gave it as a formality."
The item I thought I would never find was discovered in an unexpected place.
The small bead, the size of a fingertip, had popped out of the dress decoration and rolled across the floor, where it was crushed under the foot of a maid who was helping.
The sound of hundreds of gold coins flying away was cheerful.
"Nothing's going right."
After starting the auspicious day like that, I had bad luck all day long.
The fragrance I put in the bathtub was defective and caused a rash, so I had to change my dress, which made me run out of time and miss my meal, so I was hungry.
"But, Miss."
"Yeah?"
"Are you really not going to call Jen?"
Dana glanced at me cautiously and asked carefully.
"Uh" O.
Jen had never attended Mom's weddings before.
She didn't want to come, and even if she did, it wouldn't make for a good picture.
I would be busy with the ceremony anyway, so there was no reason to call her.
"But this time is a little different, isn't it?"
"Different?"
"The other party is the Miller Dukedom, after all. It's a wedding of high-ranking nobles, so there will definitely be a lot of high-ranking people..."
"They're not attending to see me or Mom."
They're coming to save Duke Miller's face.
"Wouldn't she be sad?"
"I doubt it."
I smiled lightly.
Even I, her daughter, wanted to leave as soon as the ceremony was over, so why would Jen want to come?
"It would be a relief if she didn't cause an accident."
In fact, Jen still had a lot of bad prejudices about Mom's remarriage partner and his son.
After a few more phone calls, Orion had become a 'perverted nobleman with a lot of money and unnecessarily bad brains'.
'I really didn't say anything.'
Seeing the increasing number of modifiers every time I talked to her, it was better for Jen and Orion not to meet.
Dana seemed to have something more to say, but she closed her mouth and focused on the preparations.
She tied my curly hair up and let the rest hang down, then pinned it with a pin I had received as a gift a long time ago.
The light sky-blue flower pin harmonized well with the light purple dress.
"It would be nice if you dressed up like this more often."
I smiled at Dana, who seemed disappointed, and slowly stood up.
My mind was complicated.
"Lady Merian."
"Thank you for attending."
A noblewoman gave me a faint smile.
Her elegant movements, honed over a long time, were as natural as flowing water, even in high heels and an uncomfortable dress.
'Is this why nobles are nobles?'
I could definitely tell that she was a different kind of person from the people I had seen so far.
"The scale is amazing, your Mom."
Reinia, who was sitting next to me, whispered.
The bright yellow dress suited Reinia's cute features perfectly.
Her dark brown eyes and light brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, harmonizing with the dress.
She usually avoided such dresses because she hated being told she looked younger than her age, but it was an undeniable fact that it suited her well.
"By the way, Jen seems to have misunderstood something?"
"Huh?"
"She's grinding her teeth, saying your new brother is a pervert. Who is your mother remarrying?"
I sighed at Reinia's words.
I was in trouble because the modifiers kept changing every time I tried to explain.
"What does it matter to me who Mom is remarrying? As it has been until now, I'll just be me, and Mom will be Mom."
"It seems like it matters."
Reinia muttered.
"Isn't that blonde beauty your brother, the Vice Duke?"
"Blonde beauty..."
If I had to say, it was a fitting word.
Appearance may vary slightly depending on individual tastes, but no one could deny that Orion was a beauty straight out of a painting.
"He's staring at you a lot."
"Ah, that."
A sad sigh escaped my lips.
"I have something I need to repay him for."
"What?"
Reinia's voice grew a little louder.
The expensive Communication device I had forgotten about flashed before my eyes again, so I asked my best friend.
"Do you have any money?"
Reinia raised one corner of her mouth and lifted her chin.
"I have nothing but money."
Indeed, she was a noble who had become rich through the mining business and bought a title.
I leaned gently on her shoulder as she confidently boasted of her wealth.
"You're reliable."
"There's nothing that can't be done with money. Don't worry. I'll overwhelm your future brother with my wealth. Let's take the lead from the start."
"No. Don't do that."
He's the Vice Duke of the Empire.
What are you trying to do?
I just need to pay for the Communication device.
