The Duchess ordered her maid to investigate Arasila’s background. There’s no one in this world without some dust when shaken.

Moreover, with her dazzling appearance that could attract the eyes of many men, she must have had some problems with male relationships at least once in her life.

Filled with anticipation, she waited for the investigation results, only to receive a single sheet of paper. Even worse, the content written on it was different from what the Duchess wanted.

She had asked for information to paint her as a promiscuous woman, but why were there only accounts of her beating up men?

“Is this really all there is?”

“Yes, Duchess. Lady Hugo is originally a celibate, so she’s never dated other men, and being a loner in social circles, she’s never caused any problematic incidents.”

The Duchess sighed. The lack of incidents due to her unsociable nature was similar to Demian. How could they be so alike in the aspects she found annoying?

Moreover, even the incidents of beating men all had justifiable reasons, making it difficult to criticize.

“Is there really no man around her that could be linked to an inappropriate relationship?”

“The only male she’s close to is His Highness the Crown Prince…”

“Are you telling me to involve royalty?!”

The Duchess lashed out angrily. No matter how desperate, involving the Crown Prince could easily backfire.

As the maid shrank back and fell silent, she fell into thought.

‘Should I create a woman problem for Demian instead? No, that blockhead is the same when it comes to romantic issues. I need to make Arasila Hugo give up on marriage…’

Just then, a maid rushed in and called out to the Duchess.

“Duke Vandermir is here to see you!”

“What? Now?”

“Yes, he’s waiting outside.”

The Duchess glared at the mahogany door before nodding. The maid opened the door, and Demian entered with leisurely steps.

“What brings you to see me?”

“I came to seek advice regarding the marriage.”

“…Advice?”

The Duchess looked her stepson up and down with a look that suggested he might have gone mad. What could he be up to?

Demian approached with his hands behind his back and tossed an envelope onto the table. It was the list of wedding gifts given to Arasila. The Duchess frowned, looking back and forth between the document and him.

“What do you think is the wisest way to resolve issues between families when it comes to marriage?”

“Why are you asking me? If it’s about the gifts, I absolutely…”

“It would be to seek mediation from an elder who can convince everyone at once, wouldn’t it?”

Cutting off his stepmother’s words sharply, Demian looked down at her with cold eyes. The gifts were just the beginning; it was clear there would be countless unreasonable demands to follow.

Before Arasila could endure no more and flee from this contract marriage, Demian intended to take preemptive action.

“So I was thinking of visiting His Majesty the Emperor, the greatest elder in the empire. What do you think, Duchess?”

“You…!”

The Duchess stood up abruptly, pointing her finger. Nothing could be more embarrassing than having conflicts over excessive wedding gift demands become known to the imperial family.

Moreover, the Emperor was aware of the political marriage arrangement between the two families. Even if he were to intervene, it would be difficult to raise objections.

“As it happens, I’m scheduled to have an audience with His Majesty soon.”

“Are you threatening me now?”

“How could that be? I merely hope that you will exercise self-restraint before our family affairs are exposed to the outside, bringing us shame.”

Demian approached step by step and whispered, leaning towards the Duchess,

“Wouldn’t it be troublesome if rumors spread about you mistreating the bride of a second son you don’t even care for?”

“Huh…!”

“I’ve already halved the list of wedding gifts on my own. If you want more jewels or dresses, speak to Father about it.”

His red lips curled up slightly. The Duchess glared murderously at the face that resembled her husband’s, only more terribly so.

Slowly backing away, Demian wiped the smile off his face and spoke expressionlessly.

“The boy who could do nothing when you broke his precious toys is no longer here. Now, I will protect what’s mine by any means necessary.”

The Duchess staggered at the killing intent emanating from those golden eyes. Her legs trembled involuntarily. Demian looked at her indifferently, bowed slightly, and left.

Sitting on the sofa with the maid’s support, the Duchess gritted her teeth.

‘Don’t make me laugh, Demian Vandermir! Do you think I’ll yield just because you threaten me?!’

She sharply called out to the maid.

“Send a letter to Arasila Hugo right away!”

Frederick unfolded the letter that arrived with the gift. It was a sudden correspondence from Arasila after they hadn’t been in touch since the ball.

“To Frederick,

I don’t know why you’re angry, but get over it. I don’t want to cut ties with you right before my wedding, especially since I don’t have many friends.

If I did something wrong (honestly, I don’t think I did… it seems like you’re just sulking for no reason…), I’ll apologize.

Reply when you’re in a better mood.

− Arasila.”

Frederick chuckled at the letter that was so characteristically Arasila, but his mood sank when he saw the word ‘wedding’.

He rose with a gloomy face and went out to the garden. The servants followed at a distance, watching his mood carefully.

Warm sunlight and vibrant flowers adorned the path, but the atmosphere around the Crown Prince was gloomy beyond measure.

‘No matter how I think about it, I can’t understand. Even after mulling it over hundreds of times, I can’t accept it.’

Frederick furrowed his brow as if in pain. When on earth did Arasila have a secret romance with a knight and decide to marry?

Even considering her tendency to be uninterested in others and keep her feelings to herself, it was hard to understand how there had been absolutely no signs.

‘Even Paula didn’t know.’

He recalled the conversation he had with Paula yesterday. When he asked if she knew about Arasila’s marriage beforehand, she had replied:

‘I didn’t know Arasila was seeing Duke Vandermir either. She only told me after the marriage was decided, you know? When I asked, she said she fell for his face. That’s an unusual reason for her, isn’t it? It’s strange that they’re getting married when it doesn’t seem like they’ve been together for long.’

This really made no sense. Besides the Hugo family, the closest people to Arasila were Paula and himself.

Yet neither of them knew?

Moreover, Frederick had always been on high alert for men around Arasila. He mercilessly drove away those who dared to set their sights on her without knowing their place.

How did Demian Vandermir manage to evade that radar and date Arasila?

‘Something’s off. There must be something going on.’

His instincts, honed from watching over Arasila for a full seven years, were screaming.

As Frederick walked with furrowed brows, he happened to turn his head and spotted a man coming from the direction of the audience chamber.

Shimmering silver hair, sharp yet delicate features, eyes shining brighter than pure gold, and a uniform emblazoned with the red hawk emblem.

It was Demian Vandermir.

Frederick stared at Demian as he walked straight with his broad shoulders squared, then called his servant in a low voice.

“Jackson, investigate everything about Duke Demian Vandermir from head to toe. Assign someone separately to report on Arasila’s movements.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

If Demian Vandermir turned out to be a dangerous man for Arasila, it was only right that he step in to drive him away.

Frederick firmly believed that he had earned that right and duty after standing by Arasila’s side as a friend for years.

It was Philip, the current Archmage, who scouted Arasila for the Magic Tower. He was the man who had held the position of Archmage for the longest period in history.

He had recognized Arasila’s talent when he gave a special lecture at the Academy while she was in her second year, and quickly took her on as his disciple.

He taught her magic while working her to the bone, and now he stood as Arasila’s strongest ally within the Magic Tower.

“Ho ho ho. At first, I thought you had gone senile, Arasila. And I’m the one at the age for senility.”

Philip stroked his beard as he enjoyed a private tea time with his favorite disciple.

The two were having tea in the Archmage’s room at the top floor of the Magic Tower.

“It feels like just yesterday when you boldly barged into my research lab and demanded I hand over the Archmage position because you weren’t going to get married. And now, marriage? Ho ho ho.”

Due to the unspoken rule that married female mages couldn’t continue working in the Magic Tower, let alone become Archmage, the teenage Arasila had said those words to her master.

Thinking that his laughter always sounded peculiar, Arasila shrugged and replied.

“It’s not a serious marriage. We agreed to marry because we each have something we want, and we’ll divorce once we achieve it.”

This was a fact she kept secret from everyone else, but she was being honest with her master for the sake of the Archmage position.

She couldn’t risk being excluded from the competition for the next Archmage because of this contract marriage.

“Ho ho, what could you possibly want from that knight?”

The Archmage’s eyes gleamed sharply from within his narrowed eye-slits. Arasila didn’t answer and just sipped her tea.

“Did you know people are already calling you the reincarnation of Lexy Litterson?”

“Which bastards? I guess they’re having a field day running their mouths behind my back when they can’t say a word to my face?”

That was true. Everyone knew Arasila’s personality, so they were too scared to act up in front of her and instead whispered behind her back.

“Ho ho ho. Arasila, if what you can gain from that man isn’t more valuable than your future, wouldn’t it be better to give up?”

“It is more valuable than my future.”

Her sister’s life was irreplaceable.

Even if it meant giving up an easy path to becoming Archmage and taking a long detour, Arasila had no intention of giving up on this marriage.

“I’ll divorce as soon as Duke Vandermir inherits the title. There’s no chance of having children in the meantime. He’ll also try to get the duke title as quickly as possible, so it won’t take long.”

“What if your heart changes and you want to continue the marriage?”

“With that annoying knight?”

Arasila scoffed. No matter how handsome and charming, she had no interest in a man like Demian Vandermir.

“I’m too precious for that.”

“Ho ho, don’t be so sure. The human heart is a powerful thing that even magic can’t control.”

“Work is more important to me than love. I have no intention of ruining my future over such trivial emotions.”

Philip smiled contentedly at her resolute answer.

“Ho ho, that’s my disciple.”

Though he was growing increasingly frail, he could still hold on. He had time to choose his successor slowly.

He wanted to pass on this position to his most capable disciple.

There would be no problem as long as Arasila Hugo really did divorce.

‘As long as Arasila doesn’t truly fall in love like the others.’

However, having lost disciples to love several times before, Philip couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy.