The Meeting

Helena delivered her message and quickly left. Franche spoke first. "If the Duke is calling for me himself..."

"It must be about the marriage," I replied.

"Most likely." Her face was clouded with worry. How could she wriggle her way out of this? "Do you have any good ideas?"

"I am thinking."

Franche bit her thumbnail—a habit she fell back on whenever she was anxious or troubled.

"The Duke must find this absurd. I told him I wanted to start a business, and now suddenly I'm getting married..."

Well, she wasn't wrong. Which was why it would be better to be completely honest this time. From what I had observed so far, the Duke was merely indifferent to Franche; he didn't hate or despise her.

"Let's take a direct, honest approach this time."

"Direct and honest?"

"Yes. Tell him that the Young Duke forced this marriage upon you."

"Will that be alright? I feel like it will cause a clash of opinions."

"It will. But there is no other way. Besides, the meeting has already been decided, so you won't be able to cancel it."

Perhaps because he was the heir to the ducal house, Eden worked incredibly fast. By now, he had likely already sent a carrier pigeon to the Freiden Marquisate. In the end, even with the Duke's intervention, a meeting with Asil Freiden was unavoidable. Still, it wouldn't actually result in marriage.

"I just hope things don't get out of hand..."

Franche continued to bite her thumbnail. I gently reached out and pulled her hand down.

"You should refrain from doing that."

"Ah, I did it without realizing."

Her thumbnail was bitten so raw that it was starting to bleed. Looking at the state of it, this was a habit she had long before I arrived.

"In any case, things won't get too out of hand. The Duke's current stance is to let you try your business to the end."

A clash of opinions between the two was guaranteed. I didn't know how Eden would present things to the Duke, but considering the Duke's behavior so far, he would likely support Franche.

"Go meet the Duke first. Nothing bad will happen."

"Alright. I'll be back."

Franche headed to the Duke's office. The Head Butler opened the door immediately, as if he had been waiting.

The Duke was sitting on the sofa, tea already prepared as he waited for her.

"Sit."

"Yes."

Once Franche took her seat, the Duke got straight to the point.

"I heard from Eden. You have decided to proceed with a marriage."

"Yes, that is correct."

"Did you not say you wanted to start a business?"

"Well..."

Franche squeezed her eyes shut, doing her best to look aggrieved. After a brief pause, she spoke.

"It seems the Young Duke did not approve of me starting a business. He brought a list of candidates before and told me to proceed with a marriage, but I let it slide quietly back then."

The Duke simply said, "And?"

Franche continued. "When he heard I was starting a business this time, he rushed over in a rage, telling me to stop doing useless things and choose a marriage partner. So, I accepted for the time being, but..."

Franche could read the displeasure on the Duke's face. He clearly didn't like Eden taking matters into his own hands. Sensing an opportunity, Franche pressed on.

"I plan to make sure this marriage falls through completely so that nothing like this ever happens again."

"Falls through? How do you plan to do that?"

The Duke's eyebrow twitched. This was proof that Franche had successfully piqued his curiosity. Things were going well.

"I have a plan. But there is one thing I would like to ask of you, if I may dare make a request."

Nodding, the Duke replied, "Go on, what is it?"

"If the marriage falls through, the Young Duke might try to hold me responsible. I would appreciate it if you could help me smooth things over when that happens."

This was a rare opportunity granted by the Duke. Franche knew that if she couldn't prove her capability now, it would be the end of her. She had to exploit the situation to the fullest. Fortunately, the Duke gave a positive response.

"Very well. It is not a difficult task, so I shall handle that much for you."

"Thank you."

"By the way, how is the business going?"

"It is going well. I will show you the results in a month."

The Duke let out a soft hum of interest, showing anticipation once again. "Results, is it? Well, if it goes well and breaks Frida's monopoly, that would be the ultimate achievement."

Franche offered a bright smile. "I will do my best to meet your expectations. My goal is to stop Frida's monopoly."

Satisfied, the Duke's eyebrows rose. "Yes, I like your goal. If the results please me, I will provide full support, so work hard."

"Thank you."

With this, Eden wouldn't be able to say a word even if she ruined the marriage. It would also put an end to any future marriage proposals. Having secured the Duke's trust, Franche stood up, her business concluded.

"Then I shall take my leave."

"Yes, go on."

The door opened, and Franche departed.

Left alone, the Duke rang the bell to summon the Head Butler waiting outside.

"What is your command, Your Grace?"

"Bring Eden Descartes to me."

"Yes, right away."

The butler summoned Eden, who soon entered the office.

"I heard you called for me."

"Eden."

"Yes."

"Why did you force a marriage partner on Franche?"

Eden's eyebrow twitched. Normally, the Duke wouldn't care about such things. But lately—from approving her business to interfering now—the Duke had been shielding Franche.

"It is something Franche has wanted for a long time, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I judged that having her stay in this ducal house would benefit no one. That is why I sought a marriage partner as soon as her engagement was broken."

The Duke frowned. "I am asking why you decided this on your own without my permission."

"I wanted to stop her before she did something strange with her business. It goes against the prestige of the Descartes Ducal House."

The Duke let out a heavy sigh, trying to suppress his anger.

"I was the one who gave Franche her opportunity. Who are you to mention the prestige of Descartes and block her? Do you think I cannot handle that much?"

Eden remained silent, his face expressionless. He stood firm, as if convinced his choice was entirely correct.

"Do not interfere in Franche's affairs from now on. Tell Line the same. Whatever happens to Franche's business, it is my responsibility and my concern. I will not tolerate any more overstepping."

At the Duke's words, Eden's expression wavered. He flared up in an instant.

"...Why are you suddenly shielding her now? You never managed Franche, so I have been the one doing it all this time. The allowance you allocated, the parties she attended, her daily life—everything. Why are you suddenly interfering now?"

Eden found it absurd. The Duke had neglected Franche for years, treating her like a non-existent daughter, only to suddenly care for her and grant her opportunities now.

"You never showed a shred of interest in Franche. But you changed from the moment she turned eighteen. What is the reason?"

It was a simple question. If he was going to be nice, he should have done it sooner, or managed her himself. Eden felt a deep sense of dissonance at the Duke's hypocritical behavior.

"It is simply my choice. My decision. It is none of your concern."

"...Is that so?"

So he wasn't going to tell him. Eden let out a long sigh, turned around, and left one last remark as he opened the door.

"...At least show some consistency."

"Eden."

"Yes."

"Are you going to overstep your bounds like Line as well?"

The sheer weight of the Duke's voice made Eden flinch. Deep green eyes stared intently at him. It was a chilling gaze.

"...No. I apologize."

"Leave."

With a heavy thud, the door closed. Eden walked out of the office, lost in thought.

I don't understand.

Something had been off ever since her allowance was allocated. A man who had absolutely no interest in his daughter had suddenly become lenient only toward Franche.

Is it related to Mother?

The Duke had loved his late wife, Aileen Descartes, so deeply that he had eyes for no one else. But after she died, he changed completely. He treated his sons, Eden and Line, with brutal severity, while completely ignoring Franche's existence.

But in the year Franche turned eighteen, everything changed.

One possibility crossed Eden's mind.

...Perhaps seeing Franche grow into an adult reminds him of Mother.

With a wave of inexplicable displeasure, Eden returned to his office.

Some time later, Franche returned, and I asked her, "How did it go?"

"It seems things will go well. We don't need to worry needlessly."

It seemed her conversation with the Duke had gone smoothly. Then again, the Young Duke had acted far too recklessly, completely ignoring the Duke's authority.

"Now all that's left is to call off the marriage and keep expanding the business."

"Yes, I can't believe things are going so smoothly. Life is truly unpredictable."

Was that really something a mere twenty-year-old should say? Well, at least she was smiling brightly. She did have a pitiful past, after all.

"Since everything is sorted out, let's focus on studying magic."

"Magic study?"

"Yes. The business is currently waiting on the dresses to be made."

"True. Once the marriage matter is bypassed, I'll have a whole month to study magic."

All that was left was the imperial party in a month. I hoped nothing big would happen, but Franche's fate rarely went as planned. She had been attacked just going to the Eldas party, after all. Assassins would likely come again.

If we get attacked again, I can uncover the mastermind.

I brushed aside my stray thoughts and spoke to Franche. "Let's head to Kazar's house."

Having successfully made our exit, we went straight to Kazar's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠house. When I knocked, the door opened immediately, and Kazar stepped out. She looked quite disheveled, likely deep in her research.

"Come on in."

We stepped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠inside, but...

The place was an absolute disaster. It was in even worse shape than the run-down house we had seen in the Seirel Barony. Tools were scattered everywhere, and open books littered the floor. It seemed she didn't bother washing dishes either, as there wasn't a single clean utensil in sight. Franche couldn't hide her horror at the scene.

"Why is your house like this?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, why is it so messy?"

Kazar laughed awkwardly, scratching her head. "I invented a fascinating new magic recently. I was so focused on it that I couldn't pay attention to anything else."

"Can't you clean with magic?"

"I could, but even that is too much of a hassle..."

This was serious. Franche looked deeply disturbed.

"Kazar, teach the Lady magic. I will do the cleaning instead."

"Oh, really? Thank you! Come, Lady, let's go learn magic!"

Excited, Kazar grabbed Franche's hand and led her out to the yard. What was this? I felt like I had somehow fallen into a trap.

"..."

Well, I would have just been watching anyway, so it didn't matter. As I tidied up Kazar's room, I watched them through the window. Though I couldn't hear them, their expressions and the atmosphere spoke volumes. Both Kazar and Franche were having fun.

Watching them, a smile naturally crept onto my face. Is this what it feels like to have a daughter?

But at that very moment...

"Ah."

As the voice echoed in my mind, a splitting headache struck me, as if my skull were being crushed.

"Ugh...!"

This time, it was on a completely different level. Usually, it was just a fleeting sensation, but now it persisted. The pain was far more intense.

I clutched my head and fell to my knees, unable to keep my senses.

"This is too much..."

About five minutes passed before the headache finally subsided.

"Whew."

Did the pain get worse as my immersion increased? If so, I would have no choice but to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leave Franche's side sooner than planned.

"This is a major problem."

She wasn't ready to be independent yet, and our plans had only just begun. This was highly problematic.

I'll just have to control it somehow.

I took a deep breath and resumed cleaning.

Franche and Kazar continued their magic lessons while I watched over them. Time marched on in this fashion...

And finally, the day of the meeting with Asil Freiden arrived.