Enemies Meet in an Arranged Marriage

“Ugh…”

Kaon woke up with a groan, barely managing to suppress the urge to curse.

The ruthless sunlight streaming through the large glass window was bright enough to wake anyone from a sound sleep, and Kaon was no exception.

He tried to block the light with his hands, but his efforts were futile. Covering his face with the thin summer blanket didn’t help either, as it was thin enough for the light to still pour through.

Kaon tried to curl up on the bed a little more, but eventually, he gave up.

“It seems like she left the curtains open again.”

Irritated, Kaon turned to glare at the glass window, where the velvet curtains that were supposed to cover it were neatly tied in place. It was obvious who the culprit was.

“Try me, Alessia Ingelos!”

He gritted his teeth and thought about the owner of the bedroom across the hallway, the woman he was supposed to marry, provided that nothing drastic happened.

***

Kaon was determined to say something today. He could no longer ignore the fact that a certain someone kept opening the curtains on the days that he only had afternoon training. It only happened once a week, and having that extra time was precious to him. What could be more blissful than sleeping in without a care in the world?

Alessia Ingelos was the villain who had robbed him of that bliss for an entire month.

He had dismissed it as a mere coincidence once or twice, but it was clear to him now. Alessia Ingelos was doing it intentionally to disturb his precious sleep.

“Madeleine, you don’t have to take care of me all the time.”

Kaon, who was walking down the stairs, gritted his teeth as he heard a soft voice. The voice was sweet and gentle as if she was terribly sorry, but Kaon found it irritating and unbelievable.

“Come on, what are you saying, Lady Alessia? You always go out of your way for the Ferdinands. I’m always happy to provide you with any snacks whenever you need them. This is the least that I could do for you.”

“If someone sees this, they’ll think I’ve done something great, Madeleine. If you keep treating me like this, it’ll get to my head.”

Tsk.

Kaon suppressed a bitter laugh. To those who didn’t know better, they would think that modesty was second nature to her. Kaon knew it was all just an act and he was speechless, but the maid seemed impressed and continued with her compliments.

“You need to think more highly of yourself.” Madeleine urged Alessia, “You’ve been wandering around the forest all week. If that’s not a big deal, then what is? In the house of Ferdinand, we value diligence as the highest virtue, and you, my dear lady, are the most diligent person I know.”

“It’s encouraging to hear you say that. I’m just doing what I can. Thank you, Madeleine.”

“As a servant of the Ferdinands, I should be the one thanking you, because you have been a great help to… Er? Young Master, you’re up?”

Madeleine, who was immersed in her own world, suddenly noticed Kaon standing in the middle of the staircase and exclaimed. Alessia, who was standing with her back to Kaon, turned around slowly as if she had just noticed his presence. Her eyes froze for a moment before curving into a graceful smile.

“Hey, Kaon. You’re up early.”

“Indeed. The Young Master never comes down at this hour on days he only has afternoon training. Why did you wake up early?”

Kaon’s expression, which had begun to crumple at Alessia’s affectionate greeting, completely soured at Madeline’s addition. The maid’s thoughts were obvious. ‘What’s wrong with our lazy Young Master?’ It wasn’t exactly the nicest thing to say, but it wasn’t wrong either.

“A certain someone forced me to get up.” He deliberately gave a blunt response, hoping that Alessia’s conscience would bother her a little.

“Who would do that…”

“I think it’s because of me, Madeleine.” Alessia didn’t even bat an eye, “It seems like I woke him up by making a fuss about going out early in the morning. I was worried about a small tear in my clothes and was inspecting it a little too loudly…”

She muttered to herself in a desolate voice, her face twisted pitifully. Although it was barely loud enough to be heard, it still helped her look even more pitiful.

“My goodness, now that I’m thinking about it, you said something happened to you yesterday while you were inspecting the forest. That’s why your clothes got torn! I can only imagine how upsetting it must have been. I’ll have the clothes mended right away, Lady Alessia.”

“I was thinking of just throwing them away, but I feel bad about it. Is it alright with you?”

“Of course, Lady Alessia. Anytime.” Madeleine looked at Kaon with a stern expression as she spoke soothingly to console Alessia. The look in her eyes made him flinch. Even without speaking, Kaon understood what she wanted to say.

It was somewhere between the lines of ‘Come on, young master. Be more sensible. Lady Alessia went out of her way to come to the family’s household even after being engaged to an enemy, and you’re out here making a fuss about waking up a little earlier than usual?’

The disdainful look conveyed a meaning he didn’t want to know.

“I’m sorry, Kaon. I’ll be more careful next time.”

He was already feeling upset, and Alessia’s insincere apology didn’t help him feel better. She didn’t even have to say sorry, so Alessia’s gentle tone of voice made her look even more mature, making Kaon appear more like a child in comparison.

Kaon was furious, but he held it in. If he stood up here and said, “I woke up because you left the curtains open on purpose!” he would surely become the greatest jerk in history who went out throwing tantrums and blaming other people.

There was no need to make things worse by adding another bad impression.

But with a sly movement, Alessia turned her head just enough to hide it from Madeleine. Then, she mischievously stuck out her tongue. He snapped.

“Hey!”

“Young Master!” a startled Madeleine reprimanded him.

Kaon had to watch the winner smugly shrugging her shoulders.

***

Kaon struck the wooden doll with terrifying force. The sword traveled in a neat circular trajectory, striking the dummy’s head, arms, legs, and waist.

‘That woman is so annoying. What the hell is wrong with her?’

In his seventeen years of living, this was the first time that Kaon had met such a woman. There is a limit to how different a person can act based on their appearance, but Alessia was almost like a double-faced person. No, not even close, maybe she had a split personality?

Kaon didn’t know much about mental illnesses, but he believed they could not be controlled voluntarily. If that wasn’t the case, then what could it be?

If it wasn’t a mental illness, then it was just her nature. But that meant Alessia’s nature was to be deceitful!

There was no other way to describe it. What else can you call a girl who smiles like an angel when she’s with other people, but acts like a jerk in front of him?

‘Why is she so confident?’

Alessia Ingelos was a fraud. A fraud who was fooling the entire Ferdinand family. She wasn’t even a real mage, she was just pretending to protect the Ferdinand estate!

Unfortunately, Kaon couldn’t just throw Alessia in jail. The only other person who knew she was fake was him, and he was not exactly in the position to reveal that fact either.

In the end, Kaon only felt frustrated. He yelled out of anger, and almost at the same time, he heard a voice calling his name.

“Young Master?”

“What?”

“I’ve called you about eleven times now, but…” It was his aide, Joseph, who looked tired. He pushed up his glasses and spoke with a weak voice.

Eleven times?

Kaon stopped dead in his tracks. He’d been so focused on his training that he hadn’t heard the words. Either way, figuring out Alesia’s intentions would not be helpful in his life.

“Why did you call me?”

“There are several pieces of thread flying all over the training grounds. Unless you want to give the poor servants more work, would you mind moving somewhere else?”

“What…” Kaon frowned, belatedly realizing his surroundings. As Joseph said, threads were flying in the air like dust. The ropes of the dummy, which had been severely beaten, were so loose that they broke and the threads scattered in all directions.

It was no easy feat to hit the exact target with precision and even more so when hitting the same spot repeatedly, so Joseph was a little surprised, but he did not let it show. He knew the young master well enough to know that no matter how much he praised him or admired his skill, he would dismiss it as mere luck.

Instead, he decided to find out why Kaon was so focused on his training.

“Did you get scolded by Leo?”

“Why do you think I got scolded by my sister? Do you think I’m the kind of person who gets scolded even when I’m not doing anything?”

One of the strong suspects was eliminated. Joseph naturally moved on to the next candidate.

“You argued with Lady Alessia, didn’t you?”

“Argue? She’s the one who started it!” Kaon reacted fiercely. That was the correct answer. Joseph nodded his head approvingly.

So that’s why the young master was angry. He had another fight with Lady Alessia. It wasn’t the first or second time, and usually, Kaon was more of a loudmouth than anything else, so it wasn’t a big deal.

Joseph was about to let it go, but he was too curious now, so he asked again.

“Weren’t you two on good terms at first? Of course, she came from a different background, but I remember you agreeing that she’s very pretty and kind.”

“Kind? Her? Alessia Ingelos? Ha!” Kaon strongly disagreed. If she fit the standards for that word, then practically everyone in the world was qualified too.

“But think about it, Young Master. The day Lady Alessia first came to the mansion.”

“That time…” Kaon paused, speechless for a moment. Joseph didn’t miss the opportunity and raised his hands as if to say, “See?”

“Ah, whatever. There’s no point in talking about it. It’s all in the past.”

Kaon remained silent for a moment before sheathing his wooden sword and walking away.

So, to tell the truth, Joseph was right. The two of them weren’t exactly on bad terms from the beginning. On the contrary, it was much closer to good than expected.

‘It was like that at first.’

There was a reason why their relationship had deteriorated to this point. To talk about that reason, we need to go back half a year—or perhaps, even a year ago.

 

 

 

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