I Was Summoned To Be Sold as a Son-in-Law chapter 4

4 – The Preparation

Ever since she was young, Betty had never felt any particular emotion when she saw a man.

She felt nothing looking at the so-called young and pretty men gathered at the academy from numerous distinguished families.

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Her thoughts barely amounted to ‘what a handsome man’.

Surely they were all attractive.

Small and adorable figures, fair skin, delicate but pronounced features, shiny hair, and graceful manners.

She thought to herself objectively, ‘Surely women will like them’, but for some reason, she felt absolutely nothing.

There was no difference from watching other women nearby.

Therefore, Betty had both physical and psychological complexes.

Could it be that she was lesbian?

No, she hadn’t ever felt any special feelings towards women either, was she as*xual?

Could it be that she was a human being incapable of feeling love?

That’s how she lived her life, ridiculing herself.

Therefore, the shock she felt looking at the portrait now was all the greater.

“He’s a bit rough for a man. But, a man’s heart! How well he manages his property, that’s the quality of a noble husband!”

Despite the Duke’s earnest attempt to build up the man, Betty’s feelings were quite the opposite.

For the first time in her life, Betty was experiencing attraction towards the opposite s*x, looking at the portrait of her would-be husband, the young man from the Anderson family’s dukedom.

The complexion and features from what seemed like a faraway land.

Fierce, darkly haired eyes torn with savagery.

A rugged and broad facial outline.

Wide-set shoulders.

The more Betty observed these features, the more she felt a peculiar sensation coursing from her lower abdomen and up her spine.

This peculiar feeling was unfamiliar, but not at all unpleasant.

She wanted to keep feeling it and keep looking at him.

Especially those eyes, those fierce eyes looking down at her in disdain…

“Betty, listen to your mother now!”

Her thoughts, straying in a peculiar direction, were broken by her mother’s somewhat loud voice.

She kept speaking, but the engrossed Betty seemed not to hear her.

“Mother.”

In her life, Betty had never used such a serious tone.

“Why, why are you behaving like this?”

The Duke seemed startled by the sudden change in his daughter’s demeanor.

“You don’t need to commission a painter for my portrait. In fact, please do not.”

In her voice was a strong determination.

“Why, why are you changing your mind all of a sudden?”

That’s right. Betty’s mind had completely changed.

The thought frightened her: if she sent her portrait and lost the opportunity to personally meet this man.

Even if she were to be rejected in person, she would still want to meet him directly.

When she meets him…

What should she do when she meets him?

Getting rejected still scared her.

Especially if it were by this man… The thought alone sent chills down her spine.

So, what should she do?

Indeed, just make it less scary.

Betty’s rosy lips drew a line, and her moist eyes curved like a crescent moon.

That’s right. She would make him hers, no matter what it took.

Without realizing it, Betty wore a wily, provocative smile.

“Betty…”

The Duke could only gaze blankly at his daughter’s unfamiliar expression, one he’d never seen before.

The date for the arranged meeting, in response to the proposal of marriage from the Duke, had been decided.

There was a month and a half left until then.

During that time, I was practically made to learn the aristocratic etiquette of another world.

The basic history of the continent, the basics of magic and swordsmanship. All of this was good till here.

Since the history was of a fantasy world, it felt like reading a novel,

My body was sore from all the physical training, but the swordsmanship was fun.

I couldn’t really use the magic, but the theories were interesting.

The problem began after that.

Cooking, embroidery, flower arranging, playing musical instruments, aristocratic manners, way of speaking, sitting and standing posture, walking method, etc.

I was constantly forced to learn all things fit for an aristocratic lady.

Since this was a gender-reversed world, it was not a lady, but a young man who had to learn these things.

I was allowed to sleep for two hours, and recovery magic was cast on me every day.

Regardless of the fact that my physical exhaustion was relieved, my spirit was nearing its limit.

There was one week left until the date.

I had to endure this hell for another week…

And this hell is currently ongoing.

“Straighten your back! More! More!”

It was a teacher who taught everything about an aristocrat’s posture and attitude.

A slender middle-aged man with a stern face and sharp glasses to match.

“Ugh…”

I moan while trying to correct my posture.

I’ve been doing this for two hours already. Just standing for two hours makes my waist scream.

“It’s not your waist, it’s your back! Tense up your stomach!”

It felt like I was getting personal training at a gym.

“Don’t slouch! A young noble is always to be dignified!”

I clenched my stomach and buttocks as hard as I could to keep my body as straight as possible.

Only after I barely passed the standing posture test,

“Now, it’s time for greeting etiquette. Greet.”

I greeted as I had learned so far.

“Your movements are too harsh! Be softer!”

But earlier you told me to be assertive!

“Assertiveness should coexist with gentleness!”

Has this guy started reading my thoughts too…

“Now try again. Greeting.”

Thus, he drove me round until my body was utterly worn out.

After he left the room, I fell lazily onto the floor, soaked in sweat.

A moment later, the door opened and the real eldest son of the Anderson family, Eric, entered.

“Are you okay, brother?”

Seeing him, I straightened my posture and sat up.

“Well, I’m okay.”

I felt slightly embarrassed at showing a 15-year-old my distraught condition.

“I will heal you. Don’t move. Cure Stamina!”

He cast a magical spell on me that had been ongoing for over a month.

Muscle soreness, fatigue, and so on are rapidly recovering.

It felt as if I’d taken a whole body massage concentrated into a few seconds.

“Whew… Thanks, Eric.”

“Then, take care, Brother.”

“Sure.”

Eric left the room as though there was nothing else to say.

“You’re still an unsociable kid.”

I, too, wasn’t great with socializing, but not to that level.

Even though he’s working hard for his family, he could say a few words of consolation now and then.

Come to think of it, he said he didn’t know anything about the outside world due to his family circumstances…

His younger sister, Christine, often visited his room to talk about the academy life and the outside world.

“In a way, he’s a pitiful guy.”

I might dream of being a rich hermit, but I think I’d hate to be completely shut in if it wasn’t my choice.

-Knock knock

Then the door is knocked on.

“Come in.”

Is it music class time now?

The one who entered was an old woman.

She was a piano teacher.

When she was young, she was a pianist of reckoning across the entire continent.

This class was also hell.

It wasn’t physically tiring, but mentally demanding.

Not because she scolded us, but for a different reason.

“Alright, did everyone complete the assignment I gave?”

I handed the old woman a sheet of paper painted with flowers ten times over.

“Yes, I completed everything.”

“You didn’t paint multiple in one go, right?”

I felt upset inside but hid it under my guise.

“Actually, I did more than ten times!”

“Hoho, well done, very well done.”

The colouring assignment wasn’t the hard part.

This damn old lady pretended to praise me, all the while patting my bottom.

She touched my body frequently from the first day, obviously with intentional touches.

“Please, anyone but Helkaz…!”

I prayed internally for the week to go by fast.

———————–

The longest month and a half in my life, second only to my senior sergeant years, finally passed.

The day finally came, and I’m now in a carriage moving to the facing place.

Inside the carriage, there was one lady’s maid to serve us and Mrs. Maria accompanying me.

Since the Duke can’t appear in public, his wife came in his place.

“Tom, it’s your first time at the royal road, isn’t it?”

Mrs. Maria asked me.

“Yes. This is my first time both here and in this world, hahahahah…”

“Oh dear, I apologize. I asked out of habit.”

Mrs. Maria covered her mouth and laughed.

I thought women would act like men in this world of reversed gender roles, but Maria was, in many respects, the embodiment of the noblewomen I came to know.

Is it peculiar of her, I wonder.

As our sparse conversation continued, I finally glimpsed the colossal city wall in the distance.

The view of the wide, shallow hill completely encircled by a towering stone wall was quite a sight to behold.

Atop the hill, a grand castle–what seemed to be a royal palace–in all of its splendor came into view.

“Wow…”

“It’s quite something, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it really is.”

I gave her my honest admiration.

It was even more majestic than my envisioned capital of fantasy.

Our carriage entered via a tollgate on the bridge, bypassing the waiting queue and entering without even an inspection at the city gate.

I’d never really thought about it, but as expected, there were perks to belonging to a noble family.

The moment we entered the main street, it was filled with a bustling crowd.

This was the first time since coming to this world that I encountered such a multitude.

As we moved along, I started noticing a peculiar commonality among the women I saw.

The same characteristic was found among women I’d met at the duke’s house.

‘Their breasts are small.’

Right, they have small breasts.

Damn it, despite being able to wield magic and handle a sword like some superhuman, why is it that only this aspect stays so realistic?

And they all seemed so slender, each looking as if they had a body fat percentage hardly over 10%.

I saw some muscular women here and there.

Is this the reality of a world where gender roles are reversed?

The gender-swap stories I have read were never this disappointing…

It was always filled with busty, beautiful, and strong women…

While silently shedding tears inwardly, we reached our destination.

We were at an upscale restaurant frequently used for facing opposition or important meetings from the main road.

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As soon as I alighted from the carriage, something barrelled towards me.

“Mother! Brother! You’re here!”

It was Christine, the eldest daughter of the Anderson family.

We’d gotten quite close, although she’d returned to the academy not long after I was summoned.

Clad in her academy uniform, she was unbearably cute.

“Yes, your presence is somewhat of a comfort to me.

I reached out and gently stroked her with a contented smile.

“Oh dear Chris, do you like your stepbrother more than your mother?”

“hehehehe”

Christine giggled and buried her face in my stomach.

“Shall we go in and wait then?”

Though we are of a count’s household, we rank lower than a duke’s household, so we had arrived first to wait.

The duke’s daughter was going to come with the duke right after her academy lessons ended.

We were guided to the room that had been reserved in advance.

I passed the time sipping tea and engaging in casual banter with Mrs. Anderson and her daughter for about an hour.

Finally, there was some activity outside.

“Duke Tyler and the young lady are arriving.”

The lady’s maid opened the room’s door and informed us.

The duke entered first.

The initial impression was that of a fabulous matured woman.

She had a smaller frame than Mrs. Maria, but there was something about her that made her look robust, with an overpowering aura flowing about her.

Then my fiance entered.