Blind Date (2): Political Marriage
A political marriage is one arranged by the family head or guardian for their own benefit or purposes, regardless of the parties' own wishes.
In this game's medieval-inspired world, such arranged marriages were quite common among nobles.
Elisha Grain was one of its victims.
"Hmm..."
In the original story, the Grain family was a noble house on the brink of ruin.
To save it, the family head had hidden that fact and reluctantly chosen to use his own daughter.
"......"
That sacrificial lamb was Elisha.
According to the setting, the Stenman family had roots that might be rotten, but their prestige and the scale of their business were beyond reproach.
That was why they could maintain power for so long, even if they openly acted like tyrants—the sheer size of their industry.
And the Grain family had targeted exactly that.
No matter how infamous they were for being wicked and vicious, the Stenmans were undeniably a successful noble house.
This created an innocent victim in Arnold...
In any case, by formally entering a betrothal with the Stenman family—even if it was just for show—they could leverage that prestige to stave off their downfall. So the Grains had paired Elisha with Arnold.
"What to do."
But... to cut to the chase, Elisha never once loved Arnold in the story.
She had simply sacrificed herself at her family head's request to save the house. Aside from the superficial engagement, she never showed him any affection.
"Maybe if I make a good first impression, it'll be okay?"
Instead, she viewed him through tinted glasses as the son of a wicked noble from the start.
"If I end up earning her resentment, that could be trouble..."
Was it because of that?
"I'm a bit nervous."
A sense of tension began to build.
Various worries buzzed around my ears like flies.
"M-Master...!"
As I was heading back to my room after meeting Gregory Stenman, someone called out to me.
"Eily?"
"If it wouldn't be rude... could I ask what you discussed?"
Eily rushed over to me in a single stride, as if she'd been waiting.
"Was it... about the matchmaking?"
Her lips pursed tightly as she asked about my conversation with Gregory.
"Yeah, we decided to have a meeting with the Grain family next week."
I gave her the honest truth.
"Ahh... I see... so that's how it is...?"
Eily's face rapidly darkened.
"Th-then... c-congratulations...! Master...!!"
She offered her congratulations, but... "......ugh."
Her shoulders were trembling.
"H-ha... haha, for Master to have... a fiancée set... what joyous news...!"
She was clearly smiling, but it didn't look like a smile at all.
"As long as Master is happy...... Eily is... just thrilled...!"
Her words were celebratory, but the mood felt like a funeral dirge.
"Anyone would think the wedding date was already set."
Had I ever seen Eily this sad before?
"...Pardon?"
Honestly, I had no idea why she was so down or how to comfort her, but I needed to correct any weird misunderstandings first.
"Of course, it's a meeting assuming marriage... but from what I saw, it's just a typical political marriage."
There were a few things she was getting wrong.
For starters, Arnold was not fated to marry Elisha.
"And those kinds of political marriages do lead to formal engagements, but actual weddings are rare."
In the game, Arnold and Elisha stayed engaged throughout, but they never married.
"Often, once both sides get what they need, they break it off like they'd agreed from the start."
"I-is that so...?"
Of course, I only knew this because I knew the future. From Eily's perspective, it was a reasonable interpretation.
"That's the gist of it."
"Ahh... I see!"
But as soon as she heard me, Eily's face brightened up.
"So you're saying it might not lead to marriage and could end in a breakup? Hehe..."
Her gloomy expression cleared like clouds parting for the sun.
"Well... that's not wrong...?"
Great that she'd cheered up, but... why was she so happy about the idea of no marriage?
Though it was true Arnold couldn't end up with anyone, her joy at the breakup talk felt a bit suspicious...
"Then...! It means you could stay as my Master forever...!"
Did Eily want me to remain single?
"What are you talking about?"
"Ah, nothing!"
"...Hehe~"
I had no idea what was really going on in her head.
"...Today, huh?"
A week later.
"Hope it goes smoothly."
I was sitting alone in a guest room.
Sunlight streamed warmly through the window, illuminating antique furniture on display.
Various expensive paintings and ornaments hung to banish any emptiness.
It was the perfect room for receiving guests at home.
"Hmm..."
Today was the day of my arranged meeting with Elisha.
"A bit late?"
It was 2 p.m. now.
"......"
I'd been sitting alone in the parlor for quite a while.
She was due any minute according to the appointed time...
Partly because of my nerves, I'd arrived too early, but impatience was starting to set in.
Knock knock knock—
But just as that thought crossed my mind—
Creak...
A light knock, and the door slowly opened.
"...!"
The person who appeared from beyond was...
"Greetings, Lord Stenman. A pleasure to meet you."
A woman so stunningly beautiful that "peerless beauty" felt like an understatement.
"Allow me to greet you properly once more. I am Elisha Grain, eldest daughter of the Grain family... and the one who will stand by Lord Stenman's side from here on."
Her etiquette was flawless, without a single misstep.
"P-pleased to meet you, Miss Grain... I'm glad to meet you here today."
All the lines I'd prepared beforehand sounded like childish babble compared to her refined speech.
"Yes, likewise... And please, feel free to call me Elisha."
Elisha sat across from me with the graceful gait of a swan.
"Pardon me for a moment."
Even just taking her seat exuded nobility.
"......"
"......"
However.
"......"
"......"
Our conversation ended right there...
"Ahem..."
The air between us grew oppressively solemn in an instant. I'd never imagined a matchmaking meeting could feel this rigid.
"......"
After that, only heavy silence and awkwardness filled the room.
"......"
"........."
The current situation was far more hopeless than I'd imagined.
At least in typical marriage meetings, even without words, there was some tender unspoken vibe.
"Mm..."
This felt more like... the intense pressure of a job interview.
"......"
I was the same, but... Elisha hadn't said a word since her introduction.
....
As the silence dragged on, I took a sip of tea to soothe my frustration.
"Ahem..."
But unlike the red tea's leaves tickling my nose with their aroma, the oppressive atmosphere made me detect no scent at all.
Tick-tock—tick-tock—
For a while, only the dignified chime of the mantel clock echoed in the silent space.
"Elisha? That is—"
Finally, unable to endure the quiet, I spoke to her first.
"Lord Stenman?"
Elisha cut me off with an oddly cold voice.
"Yeah?"
Her tone finally made me sense something off.
Thinking about it, the whole atmosphere felt wrong.
This was supposed to be a matchmaking meeting, yet it lacked that fresh, budding romance.
This stillness wasn't the poignant quiet between fiancés—it was outright hostile silence.
It felt less like a date and more like a tense business deal.
"To be frank."
As if to prove it.
"You don't need to butter me up."
Her next words made me doubt my ears.
"Pardon...?"
"Hah, no need to fawn like that. The reason we're here is purely formal, right?"
Her earlier haughtiness vanished, replaced by those sharp eyes—her signature trait—piercing right through me.
"Both family heads just need each other's names. They set this up, but we don't need love or anything in our relationship."
She drew a hard line, her previously polite speech turning as cold as slander toward an enemy.
"What? Wait a—"
Stunned by her sudden iciness, I reached for her, but—
Slap—
Before I could touch her, a sharp sting rejected my hand.
"Don't touch me."
She swatted my hand away harshly, glaring with disgust and loathing, as if I were filth, grinding her teeth in contempt.
"You think I don't know who you are? You're the one soaked in desire, driving countless people into suffering."
Spitting out her view of Arnold Stenman, she moved to leave.
"Blinded by greed, always scheming how to torment others more—I don't want to be close to scum like you."
Without even attempting real conversation, she judged me at a glance and headed for the door.
"Just so you know... even if we're officially engaged, remember it's only a political marriage."
She gripped the doorknob, her final glare as sharp as ever.
"I have no intention of thinking well of a infamous villain like you... or giving you my heart."
That was Elisha's last word.
Click—
The door opened, and I silently watched her elegant retreating figure as she left the room.
"Hmph..."
She snorted dismissively and exited coldly.
Click...
"......"
The door closed slowly, the lock clicking.
I scratched my head in an indescribable awkwardness.
"Hah..."
Just like in the game, Elisha had hated Arnold from the start...
Just when could I shake off this villain label?
"......"
So from now on, I'd have to deal with Elisha treating me like an enemy as my fiancée?
"Ugh—"
I'd braced for it, but my head was already throbbing.