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Chapter 3
“Come in.”
As Violette was about to return to her room, a light knock sounded.
“What brings you here so early in the morning?”
Assuming it was just a maid coming to tidy the bed, Violette tilted her head slightly when she saw Hurain instead. On top of that, his expression looked anxious.
“It’s not morning… it’s afternoon— no, that’s not what matters. The Marquis is looking for you, miss. He told me to escort you to his office as soon as you woke up…”
“Huh? Father?”
At those words, Violette felt every hair on her body stand on end and all sleep drain from her.
Her father had called for her first thing in the morning. And to his office, at that.
He definitely had something to say to her — and it was clearly not going to be good.
Worse still, until recently she’d been under house arrest. And she still clearly remembered the severe warning her father, Argon Raskal, had given her last time.
“This is really the last time! If you cause trouble one more time, I’ll really kick you out of the family!”
Remembering his roar, Violette bit her lip and cautiously asked Hurain,
“…Did I do something that deserves a scolding?”
“You, miss? Well… sneaking into the casino behind the Marquis’ back as soon as your house arrest was lifted? Drinking yourself half to death every single day while he was away? Gah— could it be that he found out about you breaking the garden fountain before? Or maybe—”
“AAAAAH!”
No matter how she thought about it, the feeling was awful.
But she couldn’t just ignore her father’s summons. They said it was better to be hit first than later.
In the end, Violette dressed herself as neatly and properly as she could and, with trembling steps, headed toward Argon’s office.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she carefully knocked.
“Come in.”
“Hehe, Daddy… you called for me?”
Violette acted cute, even speaking in a childish, sweet tone as she fawned over him.
Of course, thanks to yesterday’s drinking, her head was still throbbing, and the smell of alcohol lingered around her body.
But from the outside, she looked like a perfectly lovely daughter.
“My youngest. Did you sleep well?”
Contrary to all her worries, Argon greeted her with a gentle smile.
The unexpected warmth instantly eased Violette’s tension.
Resting his chin on his interlaced fingers, Argon looked at his daughter with soft, smiling eyes.
“I hear you had quite a good time yesterday. They say you won quite a lot of money.”
“Me? M-me? Haha, what are you talking about? I don’t even go anywhere near casinos anymore—”
“It’s fine. I know you went to the racetrack yesterday. You don’t need to lie.”
She had no idea where the information had leaked from. Violette awkwardly smiled and avoided Argon’s gaze.
“Come to think of it… you’re not a child anymore. It’s not like I can control every little thing you do, is it?”
“Really?”
Her eyes sparkled at those completely unexpected words.
Watching her, Argon’s eyebrow twitched slightly, but he calmly nodded and continued.
“Of course. There isn’t much time left before you leave our family anyway. Until then, you can do whatever you want to your heart’s content.”
“…What?”
Her eyes narrowed in confusion.
Leave the family? It was the first time she’d ever heard such a thing.
“…Why would I leave the family? Are you really trying to throw me out…?”
She frowned, clearly flustered.
But Argon, completely unfazed, smiled leisurely.
“Your wedding isn’t very far off, you know.”
“…What?”
Violette’s body froze in place.
Her mind started buzzing wildly.
Marriage? Wedding? When had she ever gotten a fiancé without knowing?
It was so unbelievable that she just blinked blankly.
“…Marriage? Me? With who?”
She stammered as she asked.
But Argon casually shrugged and answered as if it were obvious.
“Of course, with your fiancé — the young Duke of Kegrainner. You don’t seriously tell me you forgot who you’re engaged to? You must have drunk quite heavily yesterday.”
Violette stared at her father with a blank, stunned expression.
What was he talking about?
As of yesterday, she was a perfectly single woman.
Just the other day, she’d gotten into a huge fight at the racetrack with a guy who’d been trying to ask her out.
Shaking off her thoughts, she firmly shook her head.
“No. I did drink, but I think you’re misunderstanding something… and Kegrainner’s youngest duke? I don’t even know what that man looks like!”
“Political marriages are all like that. I didn’t even see your mother’s face before marrying her, but we ended up falling in love, didn’t we? Otherwise, how do you think we had four children? Hahahaha!”
“I don’t want to marry some stranger! What if he’s a weirdo?!”
“Don’t worry. I met the young duke — Lord Narsia — a few times up close long ago. Contrary to the rumors, he was an incredible beauty. And you’re beautiful too, Violette. You’ll look very well together.”
“…What?”
At the name “Narsia,” Violette frowned.
It sounded oddly familiar.
As she dug through her memories, her face slowly began to stiffen.
Narsia Kegrainner.
He was a character who would later become Tereso’s close friend and greatly help him ascend the throne.
At the name “Tereso,” Violette felt her entire body go stiff and her mind go completely blank.
After all the effort she’d made to avoid getting tangled up with him, she was now engaged to the man who would become his best friend?
Her skin prickled with goosebumps.
“Hah, so this is how you’re trying to approach me now? Even selling yourself through your husband? I won’t have a body left from your obsession.”
Thinking back on Tereso’s horrible personality in the original story, he sounded exactly like someone who’d say that.
“Father arranged this without even asking for my opinion. No matter what, you can’t push through an engagement like this without my consent. The temple wouldn’t even recognize—”
“You had no intention? What are you talking about? Didn’t you personally stamp your seal and accept this marriage with the young Duke of Kegrainner? You even pressed your thumbprint and signed it. There’s no more perfect proof of your will than that.”
As if he’d been waiting for this moment, Argon handed her a sheet of paper.
The moment Violette took it, her face turned ghostly pale.
“…W-what is this…?”
Narsia Kegrainner, eldest son of the Duke of Kegrainner,
accepts the marriage proposal of Violette Raskal,
second daughter of the Marquis of Raskal.
As of this day, the two shall maintain an engagement,
and promise to formally wed in 50 days, becoming husband and wife.
This pledge has been notarized by the Temple and therefore holds legal authority.
Narsia Kegrainner (seal) Violette Raskal (seal)
The paper Argon handed her looked like an official contract, quickly and neatly laying out their engagement and marriage.
But what shocked Violette the most was the bold, unmistakable seal at the bottom — her own.
Just like Argon had said, there was also a clear thumbprint in red ink, and even her sloppy signature.
There was no escaping it.
And next to Narsia Kegrainner’s name was a clean, formal seal as well.
“…Lies. When did I ever—?”
While staring at her messy signature, one memory suddenly surfaced in Violette’s mind.
Wasn’t it… last week?
The day Argon had been away from the estate.
With no one to nag her, she’d drunk an entire bottle of the finest imperial liquor her father treasured.
But that liquor had been far stronger than she’d expected, and before long she’d gotten completely drunk — her mood rising tenfold.
As she’d staggered back to her room in high spirits, her older brother, Kersha Raskal, had come in holding something.
“…That time, Kersha definitely—”
She furrowed her brow and tried hard to recall what had happened back then.
He’d burst into her room in a complete frenzy.
“Violette! This is huge! Do you want to bet on this?”
“Huh? Bet? What game? What is it?”
“It’s a contract with the Kegrainner Ducal House…! I managed to get a special chance. If you succeed with this bet, it’s almost like you’ll turn your life around! You can even rise in status, you know? And only one person can sign up since it’s first come, first served! Interested?”
“What?! There’s no way I, Violette, would miss an opportunity like that! How much do I bet? Huh?!”
“Ah, I’ll take care of that. Don’t worry, just stamp your seal first. Yeah, right there. And put your thumbprint there too. Mm-hm, your signature would be great too. Good, good. You did well! Let’s go for a total life reversal!”
“Let’s gooo! Ugh, wait… I think I’m gonna throw up…”
The moment Violette finished signing, she’d run to the bathroom, and Kersha had quickly left the room with the paper.
After that, she’d thrown up and fallen into a deep sleep — completely forgetting the incident.
She lived half her life drunk, so her memories were often fragmented.
But still… forgetting something this important?
Even she found it ridiculous.
