From the opposite side of the window, the window of another building in the castle was visible. Inside it, long green hair seemed to pass by fleetingly.
‘Brother Arden?’
But it was so quick that I couldn’t be sure. I hadn’t seen Arden since the marriage declaration.
‘Well, I’ll meet him at dinner tonight anyway.’
Since the eldest son Rikael has returned, there will definitely be a family dinner in the evening. I planned to at least see his face then.
‘First…’
The order is to escape from this awkward situation. I looked up at Rikael and said.
“I’ll keep it a secret from Father that you tried to harm Caryl. Then, see you at dinner.”
“……”
Was it my imagination? Rikael’s eye corner seemed to twist subtly. A face like he was holding back something. But it quickly returned to expressionless. It looked as cold as ice, as if it had never shown emotion. He was truly an unreadable person.
Tired of waiting for a reply, I turned around. Even as I walked down the corridor for a while, the sound of his footsteps never rang out in the end.
*** *** *** *** ***
The day waned, and evening arrived before I knew it. I was being dressed by the hands of the attendants.
“Shirel.”
“Yes, my Lady!”
Among them, the girl called Shirel was my personal maid. She came from a Baron’s family and was well-educated.
“Style my hair to the side.”
“Yes, like this?”
Shirel was quick-witted and skilled at dressing hair. She parted my hair to the side just as I wanted.
“Hm.”
The woman reflected in the mirror was expressionless. Eyes red like rubies, red hair waved and draped to the side, a rose-like beauty’s face with snow-white skin.
“Is it not to your liking?”
One maid and four handmaids were the basic limbs of a noble lady. They were tense, fearing even the slightest mistake with me.
“No. I should go down now.”
I nodded and stood up from my seat. I had never been harsh with them until now. Yet they were so tense because they feared others, probably.
The castle’s butler monitored all who served. Since it was a family with many secrets, if one spoke carelessly, they were immediately replaced.
I headed to the dining room with such thoughts.
“Everyone’s already here.”
I entered with a smile on my expressionless face. In the dining room, Rikael and Arden were seated in order. Originally, Lacus should have joined too, but he couldn’t attend the dinner due to his recent role as the sewer manager. It was for the best.
Among them, I gave Arden an eye greeting. Our eyes clearly met, but he had a stiffened expression unlike before.
‘No helping it.’
His cherished sister marrying a beast. It must be hard for him to accept from his perspective. I didn’t speak to him. An awkward silence settled over the table. Perhaps I should have just kept my eyes down.
“Everyone’s gathered. Rikael returned earlier than expected.”
“You’ve come, Father.”
The subtle flow stopped only after Father arrived. As he sat at the head, food began to be served as if on cue. Fresh salads and stews and such light dishes came and went repeatedly. The dining room interior was so silent that even the sound of cutlery didn’t ring out.
“How did that go?”
It was when the main course was served. Father, who was cutting a steak soaked in blood, asked while looking at Rikael.
“I’m on my way back after seeing it adapt.”
Rikael answered straightforwardly. I knew what ‘that’ was in their conversation. To obtain a magical beast, Father created something equivalent. And he exchanged it with the imperial family to get Cartel.
Unicorn.
The unicorn was a chimera created by Father’s experiment. Basically in the form of a pure white horse, but with a horn protruding from its forehead and large wings on its back. It was like the mythical appearance, but there was no holiness or anything. It was just a variant with a horn and wings attached.
“Yes. I don’t know how many hundreds of magical beasts were used to make that. It can’t die easily.”
Father nodded in satisfaction. On the continent, magical beasts were treated as vicious things. And they became materials for the unicorn.
“They say it will be revealed on the Day of the Gods.”
The imperial family wanted to imprint on the empire’s people that they inherited the blood of the gods. The unicorn would be packaged as a gift from the gods and revealed to the world.
‘It’s ridiculous.’
The imperial family was rotten beyond even the Bennon family. As generations passed, the blood thinned, and reflexively, the power they enjoyed also diminished. The current imperial family was frantic to solidify their position.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“No.”
Father was quite affectionate toward Rikael. He seemed satisfied with the results he brought.
“I didn’t expect you to return this quickly, but well, it’s good.”
A thick hand patted Rikael’s shoulder.
Father was planning to leave the castle for a week starting tomorrow. Before being a Duke, he was a scholar of magic, one of the executives of the Magic Tower. Participation in the magic academy conference held regularly every year was mandatory. He said with a kindly smile.
“Rikael, I’ll assign you the butler. Take care of the household affairs while I’m away.”
Father’s butler not only managed the castle but also assisted with work. He was Father’s excellent hands and feet, and a watcher.
“Yes. Father.”
Rikael showed no change in expression even at the mention of attaching surveillance. In front of Father, he looked like a well-made doll. Father was very satisfied with his eldest son’s attitude. Eventually, his gaze turned to me.
“Floria. Your marriage will be mentioned after the academy ends.”
“I’m glad. Father.”
I smiled gracefully. It was a decision earlier than expected. Once the marriage is officially declared, annoying things like parties and such will decrease significantly.
“……”
“……”
Rikael’s knife, which was cutting the steak, stopped in mid-air. Arden’s hand, which was putting fruit in his mouth, did the same. It was behavior opposite to my bright expression.
‘…Arden is one thing, but why Rikael too?’
I couldn’t help but have doubts.
“I’ll hear about the progress later. Making it able to turn into a human is better the sooner the better.”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
My distracted mind returned to Father again. I didn’t forget to answer faithfully.
“Then I’ll get up first.”
Fortunately, he withdrew from his seat without any particular criticism. There was a lot of food left, but it wasn’t the atmosphere to eat more. I waited for Father to completely disappear and tried to escape from here.
“Get up. Floria, you follow me.”
“Yes?”
I, who was just thinking of slipping away, stiffened at Rikael’s words. I sought help from Arden, but he only sent encouraging glances.
“Yes, let’s go.”
Was it just my illusion? It felt like the two had conspired. I had no choice but to follow behind him.
The inside of the castle was like a maze. After leaving the dining room, we climbed stairs like a waistline and passed the corridor. Every time we walked, lanterns bloomed and lit up the darkness.
‘This is…’
The place Rikael brought me to was the Duke’s castle library. It was midnight, and at a time when no servants were wandering, the library was only silent.
‘What is it?’
The events in the cave during the day kept bothering me. Maybe it’s about Cartel. I waited tensely for him to speak.
“There’s a place you need to attend.”
“This is…”
I received the invitation with a flustered expression. On it, the family crest was stamped with a wax seal. Among my duties, attending social activities was included. If I just received an invitation for a tea party or such, entering other families was commonplace. I easily extracted necessary information while laughing and chatting among the women.
“I heard the lady of the Edbell family got a rare breed. Try to find out what it is.”
In high society, keeping rare breeds as pets was considered a trend. If the Bennon family paid attention to it, it must be a quite rare breed.
‘But it’s strange.’
It was too sudden an order. Calling me separately late at night to say attend a tea party.
“I’ve already sent the reply, so attend in three days.”
When exactly?
Rikael drove in the wedge without giving a chance to retort. His expression was as cold as a solid ice fortress, as if he would never yield.
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