3 – Mother and Daughter
In a spacious room, filled with high-quality furniture made of darkened wood.
A woman with fiery red hair is pacing about.
Dressed in a handsome military uniform, she was a mature woman of stunning beauty with a fit, muscular body that accentuated her curves.
Not even a scar that ran across her face could mar her beautiful features.
She was Commander Taylor, who led the Royal Army.
The Duchess paced around the room, having already read the letter in her hand three times.
Despite having memorized its content, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the written characters on the paper.
“Hmm…”
She was overwhelmed with a desire to abruptly mount her horse and leave the room.
The reason was the content of the letter.
“Bloody Anderson, of all people…”
The letter was sent from Count Anderson, requesting an arranged marriage for his daughter, Beatrice.
‘That’ Anderson.
Yes, that mysterious and terrifying family of dragon-hybrids.
The national secret family, who absolutely do not send their sons outside and move their daughters undercover of other identities.
They were offering their son’s hand in marriage.
And it was not an ordinary thing.
In short,
Recently, they had successfully summoned one with black hair.
He is of a definite marrying age and is amiable towards them.
They offered him as a son-in-law and asked for her help.
The latter request for aid was courteously worded, preserving some dignity, but it’s clear they wished to have a duchy tied to their family lineage for sustenance.
The Duchess was fully confident that her family could serve as a strong support.
At least until a prospective sorcerer could appear from the count’s family.
It might seem arrogant or rude to propose such a marriage deal to a ducal house, an affair that, by nature, is supposed to be a joyous occasion for both families.
However, the duke deemed it sufficiently advantageous for his own family as well.
It would allow him to alleviate his headache regarding his daughter’s marriage and the subsequent succession issue.
Moreover, the letter he received stated that they were free to publicly announce their familial connection through marriage.
This was a significant benefit.
A bloodline mixing the kingdom’s top knight family with the secret dragon lineage of the kingdom?
There was no doubt that such recognition would benefit the political foundation of the Tyler Ducal House.
Of course, the actual groom-to-be was a summoned human without any real dragon lineage, but that was an irrelevant detail.
In politics, image and justification were most important, giving rise to countless deceits and bluffs.
The Duke of Tyler struggled to suppress the corners of his mouth that were steadily starting to turn upward.
Recently, he had even considered forcing a common man he’d randomly picked up on his daughter.
And amidst all this, a marriage proposal of this caliber!
The Duke wanted to saddle up right away and personally dash off to deliver his response.
“It’s not the time for this. Is anyone out there?” The Duke called out.
“Yes, my lord. You called?” A sharp-eyed maid entered the office after opening the door.
“I am going to start drafting a response to the Anderson family now. Prepare to send it off immediately. Make sure it’s expedited.”
“Yes! I’ll prepare an expedited courier immediately!”
Being of a military family, swift and thorough action were fundamental.
“Oh, and on your way out, find someone to bring Betty to my office.”
“Yes, I’ll summon Miss Beatrice to the office.”
After the maid exited, the Duke sat at his desk and held his pen.
The colour of the Duke’s face was the brightest it had been as he began to write his reply.
—————————————-
Beatrice Tyler was seventeen years old.
She was a senior at the Royal Academy, she would graduate next year.
Typically, by this time, noble young women usually have a man slated to be their fiancé, and it was the time for them to decide their own path.
However, Beatrice, or Betty, neither had a man nor had chosen a career path.
After she graduated from the Academy, like her mother, she would continue her studies at the Royal University’s Knight Department and, when she graduated from the university, she would be appointed as an officer.
After passing the state exam, she swiftly climbed the ranks thanks to her abilities and the influence of her family, ultimately expecting to become a general.
Her life was on a predetermined track, but Betty didn’t have major complaints about it.
At least she loved the sword.
While wielding it, she could forget everything else.
So now, she was practicing with her sword in the family dojo again.
Wiping the sweat off her forehead, Betty decided to briefly pause and take a break.
“Phew… there’s barely two weeks left now.”
In about two weeks, summer vacation would end and she would have to return to the academy.
She felt gloomy thinking about it.
“I really hate it…”
She hated eating alone in the cafeteria, always aware of the eyes of others.
She hated having to attend classes alone, without any friends.
Betty thought all of this was due to her appearance.
“If only I inherited my mother’s beauty…”
Her mother was slim with muscular charm, not an ounce of unnecessary fat to her body. Her face was regal and womanly.
But Betty had inherited nothing except for her mother’s red hair.
Betty resentfully glanced down at her chest.
It was so large that she couldn’t see her toes.
“Only gaining weight in unnecessary places…”
In the heat of the moment, she squeezed her chest, but only felt an unnecessary sensation, so she stopped.
Her body untempered, unnecessary fat accumulated in her chest and rear.
It made her look sluggish, and she couldn’t feel any femininity or smartness in her appearance.
Even if she had a sturdy waist, that would be better.
But Betty’s waist was not much different from other women’s.
On top of that, the academy uniform, which consisted of a long shirt topped with a belt, accentuated her complexes.
“If only I didn’t have magic overflux…”
The magic overflux was a so-called “hero’s malady,” which even the heroes of continental foundation had to suffer through.
It earned her the praise of being a prodigy, but no matter what, Betty just wished the overflow could be cured.
No matter how hard she trained, her muscles didn’t bulge.
The overflowing magic naturally aided the movement of her body.
Even though she exposed her skin to the blazing sun, she could hardly get a nice copper tone, let alone escape her pale complexion.
The overflowing magic automatically protected her, even from the ultraviolet rays.
Yet, she still couldn’t control that surge of power.
There was no telling when she could manage to control it.
She could only blame her unmanageable state.
She firmly believed that all her body complexes were due to her magic surplus disorder.
As for her face…
“No, no!”
Betty shook her head vehemently, scattering the thoughts that were trying to surface.
The defects that couldn’t be covered even by excuses were torture itself.
“Sigh.. Shall we start over?”
Betty ended her break and raised her sword above her head again.
Indeed, she got more stray thoughts when she was not swinging her sword.
The moment she was about to bring down her sword, the door of the practice field clumsily opened.
“Lady Betty! The Lord seeks your presence!”
A family servant burst in with the announcement.
It was said in a tone that seemed rather urgent.
Betty stylishly spun her sword and sheathed it.
“Go away.”
Though she tried to adopt a stern expression and voice,
Her big droopy innocent eyes and soft-looking cheeks could only give off the impression of a puppy being angry.
Her voice had the awkwardness of a pubescent child trying to mimic an adult.
—————————-
The Duke, having safely handed over the reply about the marriage proposal to the servant, welcomed his daughter’s visit.
“Hello, mother.”
As his daughter, displaying the manners of a knight, bowed her head with her left hand on the hilt of the sword, the Duke couldn’t help feeling affectionate.
His daughter, who resembled her late husband.
In his own eyes, she was just a lovely and adorable child, but it appears that the world did not see her that way.
He could only feel sorry.
For not being able to give birth to someone who resembled him,
He felt sorry once again.
For not being able to forgive those who had dishonored his daughter.
Because of his rashness back then, his daughter was rather doomed to a more isolated fate.
Seeing his daughter who had gone through so much heartache, the Duke couldn’t help but feel his eyes moisten as he relayed the news.
“You’ve done well, Betty. There is good news for you today.”
Betty wore a puzzled expression.
Seeing her face, which resembled a puppy waiting for a treat, made the duke’s lips curl up.
“You have a marriage proposal. And from the Anderson family at that!”
“……”
At first, Betty’s eyes widened in surprise, but soon her expression turned into one of dejection.
This had been a completely unexpected reaction for the Duke.
“Why is that? Are you not pleased?”
“I’ll… I’ll be rejected again.”
The Duke felt saddened by his daughter’s words.
Though Betty had been rejected many times before, she could never get used to it.
The more rejections and denials one receives, the more it hurts and torments them.
“This time it’s certain! They sent a marriage proposal first! And those Andersons wouldn’t dare taint their honor!”
The Duke tried to encourage his daughter in an exaggerated voice.
And to a certain extent, that was true.
The Anderson family, known for their mystique and fearful image, wouldn’t dare take such a risk.
“Then please send my portrait to the Count’s house. And please wait for his response.”
But Betty still couldn’t shake off her doubts.
She didn’t want any more pain.
Now, she wants certainty.
“Of, of course! I understand your concerns! I’ll hire the best painter by tomorrow!”
The Duke seemed to be evading his daughter’s request, scrambling for a solution.
Naturally, he had no intention of casually sending a portrait.
If the Andersons revoke their proposal upon seeing the portrait, it would merely be another ordinary day in aristocratic life!
That must absolutely not happen! The Duke needs to manipulate the situation somehow to ensure that a meeting occurs!
Inside the Duke’s head, a scenario was unfolding, imagining Pavalma, who was delivering his daughter’s portrait, falling victim to an unidentified bandit.
“Um… mother, did you by chance not send any portraits?”
The Duke, who had been contemplating the scenario for a while, came back to his senses at his daughter’s question.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I must have forgotten. Here it is.”
With that, the Duke handed over two portraits that had been sent with the betrothal letter, to his daughter.
So, our daughter is not entirely uninterested in men after all
The Duke thought to himself with a pleased smile, but Betty, upon receiving and looking at the portraits, froze in her tracks.
Her eyes widened more than usual, and her mouth slightly agape, she stood still, stunned.
“Betty? What’s the matter? Don’t you like it?”
Even though he spoke to her, there was no response from his petrified daughter.