5 – Contradictory dreams
As soon as the duke and his daughter entered, Mrs. Maria and Christine rose from their seats.
Even a little child knows the manners of nobility so well.
I also stood up and looked at my future spouse.
‘Huh?’
I barely stopped myself from blurting out ‘what’ in surprise.
I can’t help but be surprised.
I was worried about how nasty the Count must be, and even prepared myself for it.
‘What? She seems alright.’
I could only think that because, she was exactly a copy of her mother, the duchess.
I had a feeling that if you turned back the duchess to a girl, she would look exactly like this.
A firm body without any unnecessary flab.
Though it was a bit sad that she had deemed her chest and hips unnecessary, let’s move on from that for now…
A perfectly cut bob of fiery red, sharp, discerning eyes, a composed facial expression.
Suddenly, he was reminded of that fearsome girl from his school days, who was famous for her fighting and athletic prowess.
As a bit of a loner myself, I couldn’t even dare to exchange glances with her freely…
Straight and righteous like a well-sharpened blade was her posture.
Most likely she was athletic at a professional level.
According to rumors, she was a fencing prodigy that comes once in a hundred years…
Suddenly an image of my future married to her sprung to mind.
Silent, trapped in a future…
Regardless of my personal preferences, she was by no means a woman to be scorned for her looks.
Rather, she was quite beautiful.
If only she was born in Korea, she would undoubtedly be on the top echelons of the school’s caste system.
Hm? But why hasn’t there been any greeting?
It’s been a few seconds since the Duke and Princess have entered the room.
The appropriate moment for a greeting has already passed.
We should definitely be the ones to initiate the greeting, shouldn’t we?
With puzzled eyes, I looked at Maria, who was standing beside me.
Her eyes were fixed on the Duke and Princess, her face deep in thought.
Thankfully, Maria seemed to notice my gaze after a while and bowed her head with a start.
“My, my apologies, Your Highness. I was momentarily entranced by her beauty. Hoho…”
Her statement seemed rather flustered but then,
Is it finally starting now?
“I pay my respects. I am Maria Anderson, attending as the representative of the Anderson Household.”
Madam Maria gracefully bowed.
Following what I was taught, I introduced myself.
“Nice to meet you. I am the prospective groom and the eldest son of the Anderson family, Thomas Anderson. Nice to meet you.”
I executed the dignified yet elegant greeting I had learned over a month.
“Nice to meet you. I am Christina Anderson, the eldest daughter of the Anderson family.”
So, her full name is Christina. I guess she has two nicknames then, huh…
“I am Muriel Tyler, the head of the Tyler Ducal House.”
“I am Beatrice Tyler, the eldest daughter of the Tyler Ducal House.”
The movements of the two women, mother and daughter, as they greeted everyone in turn were eerily alike, almost as if they were clones of each other.
Presumably, considering their military family background, their graceful movements had been honed since childhood.
“Once again, I beg your understanding for not being able to personally greet you due to certain family circumstances,” started the lady Maria, humbly bowing her head.
“No, not at all. Our second daughter also hasn’t managed to attend, everyone has their circumstances.”
The Duke lightly raised his hand and expressed his understanding.
Finally, the greetings were over and everyone took their seats.
Then,
-Thunk.
The teacup in front of the young lady Beatrice wobbled as if something had brushed against it and then fell over.
“Ah!”
With a startled expression, she hurriedly set the teacup upright again.
“Cough…!”
From two sides, the sound of a suppressed cough rang out.
It was the Duke and Maria. The expected from the Duke, but why Maria?
“I will clear this.”
The maid, who had been standing like a piece of furniture next to the room’s door, began to clear the cup and wipe the table.
Had the young lady accidentally knocked it while sitting? Hmm… no matter how much of a genius fencer she is, this setting must make her nervous.
With these thoughts, I watched as the young lady’s face gradually turned red.
———————————————–
Maria Anderson was born into a viscount’s family, distant relatives of the Anderson Duke.
Since childhood, her magical talents were extraordinary.
In the academy, she always maintained the first position in magic classes.
Because of this, she had been promised as a future bride to the Anderson family main branch.
The Anderson family had a tradition of keeping their dragon lineage as pure as possible, thus always selecting their daughters-in-law from those with high magical aptitude.
Whenever possible, they chose from distant relatives.
If there were none, they would select from other noble families, even going as far to scout commoners, as long as the woman possessed high magical talent.
This was also in line with the kingdom’s total agreement.
It was necessary to manage and safely maintain a lineage of sorcerers who had awakened to the dragon blood in them -a veritable weapon of mass destruction- at a national level.
Therefore, not just within the family, she became Mrs. Anderson by the will of the kingdom.
Maria, who was that outstanding.
Even at her advanced age, her abilities were still robust, quickly discerning the deception right before her eyes.
‘Why is that child using transformation magic??’
The moment Beatrice Taylor opened the door and stepped into the room, Maria noticed it.
That His Royal Highness was casting illusion magic upon himself.
Although there was polymorph magic that physically changed the body, it was known that currently, only her grandmother-in-law, Albert Anderson, could use it.
A high-level magic only usable by those who have awakened dragon blood.
So it was clear that the magic that the child was wearing was a low-grade illusion magic.
‘Come to think of it…’
Being focused on the fact that magic was cast, she had not taken a detailed look at her,
But upon closer inspection, she looked much different than the rumored figure.
‘Why in the world…?’
She couldn’t help questioning it.
Appearing at the standoff using illusion magic regardless of having low self-esteem about one’s appearance is unheard of.
And even if she were to succeed in the standoff that way, she would inevitably be exposed.
She thought of the physical characteristic of hers she had heard.
‘A wide hip and big chest to the point of deforming’
The illusory magic, which was merely an eye trick, would be immediately exposed once physical contact took place.
Why would she resort to such a shallow move?
Maria had no choice but to ponder over it.
‘Is she…stupid?’
No, no. The Duke couldn’t be unaware that his daughter has changed her appearance.
That would mean the Duke is stupid, which can’t be.
The Duke is a superhuman at not only martial arts but also strategy and tactics.
‘How should I react..’
Then she felt a sharp gaze from beside her.
With a slight turn of the head, her son, Thomas, was looking at her with a perplexed expression.
Only then did she snap back to reality.
‘Oh, no…’
She had dared to behave rudely before the Duke.
“I-I-I’m sorry, Your Grace. I was simply lost in the beauty of Your Grace…Ha, hahahaha…”
She uttered her insincere apologies as she looked at the Duke, who seemed to be displaying a bitter understanding.
‘Does he know that I’ve discovered his secret?’
Likely so. She was operating under the assumption that Maria would uncover their plot.
‘So…’
He must have thought she was in on it too!
Only then could Maria decide her course of action.
Regardless, this marriage had to take place.
Tyler needed a son-in-law, and Anderson needed a heir. That was the common goal of both families.
Then, she would keep her secret to the end.
At least until the sacred contract of marriage ensnared them both!
She switched her expression to a natural smile and gave her respects.
Eventually, all the formal greetings from both families came to an end and the five took their seats.
Then,
-Thud.
Princess Beatrice’s teacup, laid before her, wobbled off its position as she sat down, as if bumped by something.
A chill ran down Maria’s spine.
‘Did it hit her bosom…?’
There was a considerable distance between the modestly enhanced bosom with illusion magic and the teacup placed in front of it, a void in between.
Yet, it had collided.
‘Just how much did she reduce?!’
“Hrrmm…!”
An involuntary cough escaped her throat.
An instinctive way to cover up the situation.
The Duke in front of her seemed to have had the same reaction.
Sneaking a glance at Thomas, she noticed he had an expression of suspicion.
‘I need to start the conversation somehow…!’
“I’ll clean it up.”
As she wracked her brain to think of a topic unrelated to the bosom, her butler interjected, clearing the cup and breaking the awkward atmosphere.
‘Nice, Carol!’
Praised the butler Carol to herself.
But the problem lied ahead.
Now, as she quickly finishes her tea, the formal discussions and light exchanges of information between both families would be completed in a short time.
Soon, only the two protagonists of the arranged meeting remain while everyone else would exit.
Just now, after seeing the lady’s mistake, Maria couldn’t help but worry.
‘Why is she so clumsy, even though she has so many skills!’
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Even now, the lady was peeking at Thomas, blushing.
She even brought her hand to her chest and twisted her body awkwardly.
‘Hand! Hand, floating in the air! She doesn’t even care anymore!’
It was hard to resist the urge to grab the lady’s hand and pull it down.
The future was nothing but worrisome.