Chapter 14 : Wedding Preparations (5)
The Duchess summoned Aracila.
The location was the same as before.
Aracila immediately informed Damian of the news.
After all, he was the one who had told her to notify him if any issues arose, so she was simply following through.
“I will go in your place. You should rest at home, my lady.”
“No. If we go together, it will better demonstrate how solid our relationship is.”
In truth, Damian had wanted to avoid direct confrontations between Aracila and the Vandermir family.
A lingering fear remained—that she might still abandon the marriage at any time.
However, watching her insistently accompany him to the coffeehouse, he found himself confused.
Was this just her combative nature at work, or was there another reason?
“Regardless of what the Duchess says, I will handle it. You should just observe.”
“Why do you keep telling me to just sit back and watch? If that’s what you want, you might as well bring a doll.”
“I’m saying this out of consideration for you.”
“I don’t need that kind of suffocating consideration.”
As the two lightly bickered, the Duchess arrived—fifteen minutes late.
Aracila was the first to spot her and greeted her with a bright smile.
“You’re here, Duchess?”
However, the Duchess’s gaze was fixed on the person beside Aracila.
Her expression twisted in disbelief upon seeing Damian seated there.
“Damian, why are you here?”
“You are late, madam. If you summon someone, you should be on time.”
Having her tardiness pointed out so bluntly, the Duchess’s cheeks flushed.
She quickly turned and glared at Aracila.
“Did you call Damian?”
“Yes. You never said I should come alone.”
“That was an unspoken agreement! How could you be so impatient as to run off and tattle…!”
The Duchess pressed her fingers to her forehead, exasperated.
She had come prepared to thoroughly put Aracila in her place today, yet things had gone off track from the very beginning.
With Damian present, she couldn’t freely intimidate Aracila.
“Both the young lady and I are busy people. Let this be the last time you summon us before the wedding.”
Damian made it clear that there would be no more meetings like this.
The Duchess’s lips quivered with frustration.
“Damian, you have a real talent for speaking to your mother in a way that stings.”
“Is that so? I find it ironic that I’m only acknowledged as a son in moments like these. That, too, stings for me.”
“You…!”
A tense silence fell as the two locked eyes in a silent battle.
Aracila, watching, had no intention of interfering.
“What was it that you wanted to discuss today?”
As the stare-down finally ended and their tea arrived, Aracila asked the question.
“Lady Hugo, come live with us in the ducal estate after the wedding.”
The Duchess didn’t ask—she declared it.
Aracila, who had just been about to pick up her teacup, froze in place.
Then, she firmly shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Duchess, but that won’t be possible. I work at the Mage Tower.”
The Mage Tower was in the capital.
If she moved to the duchy, she wouldn’t be able to commute.
And with the Vandermir estate being a three-day carriage ride from the capital, she would have no choice but to quit her job.
“What are you saying? Once you’re married, you must leave the Mage Tower.”
“I have no intention of doing that.”
“What did you just say?”
The Duchess’s eyes gleamed sharply, sensing an opportunity.
She gestured dramatically as she argued.
“Then who will support Damian? Who will manage the household? If this is your stance, I have no choice but to oppose this marriage!”
She spoke as if she had ever supported the marriage in the first place.
Both Aracila and Damian were equally dumbfounded by her audacity.
“I’m not marrying him to be his caretaker, madam.”
“And what exactly does that mean? Just what kind of upbringing did the Hugo family give you…?”
The Duchess clicked her tongue in disapproval.
Aracila, suddenly framed as someone with poor upbringing, couldn’t hold back her response.
“They taught me not to clean up after another family’s son. And they also taught me that if an elder talks nonsense, I should correct them—that it’s not being disrespectful.”
“Are you saying I’m talking nonsense?”
The Duchess, always keen when it came to picking up on insults, narrowed her eyes.
Aracila smiled sweetly.
“I never said that. But if that’s how you took it… well, whose fault would that be?”
“Lady Hugo!”
The Duchess raised her voice, barely restraining herself.
After a deep breath, she continued.
“Either you come to the ducal estate and learn from me, or you break off the engagement. Choose.”
“I’ll make that choice. Lady Hugo will live with me in the capital.”
Damian intervened, giving a firm answer on her behalf.
The Duchess scowled, turning her sharp gaze toward him.
“Damian, stay out of this. I’m speaking as the mistress of the Vandermir family to a soon-to-be member of our household.”
“And when have you ever treated me as part of the family? Unless you intend to train her as your successor, let’s put an end to this conversation.”
The Duchess bit her lip hard.
Of course, she had no intention of training Aracila as the future duchess.
That would mean acknowledging Damian’s claim to the title.
“I’m sorry, Duchess, but since my fiancé has spoken, I have no choice but to follow his wishes.”
Aracila laughed, covering her mouth with an exaggerated hand gesture.
Her upturned eyes gleamed mischievously.
“After all, isn’t the best way to support a husband simply to listen to him?”
“…!”
Beneath the table, the Duchess clenched her fists tightly.
There was a reason she had wanted to bring Aracila to the ducal estate.
There, she could use the Grand Duchess of Vandermir to pressure and intimidate her, ultimately forcing her to leave on her own.
But if Damian acted as a shield and Aracila stubbornly clung to him as an excuse to stay put, there would be nothing the Duchess could do.
“So when he said he would protect her, it wasn’t just empty words.”
This would make it even harder to summon Aracila separately in the future.
The Duchess swallowed her seething anger.
She had lost this round, and there was no justification to keep pushing.
“Then, I’ll see you at the wedding. Let’s go, my lady.”
“Yes, Sir. Duchess, please stay in good health until then.”
The way she never failed to greet properly, even in moments where she could just leave, was the most infuriating thing of all.
If she was doing it to be polite, fine.
But if she was doing it to mock, it was even worse.
The Duchess trembled with rage, unable to stop the two from leaving.
Then, upon returning home, she erupted in fury before her husband and son.
As she dramatically exaggerated Aracila and Damian’s words and actions, venting her grievances, the Duke simply smoked his cigar.
“So, in conclusion, you failed to stop the marriage again today?”
“…I’m sorry, dear.”
His sharp question instantly deflated the Duchess’s confidence, and she glanced at him anxiously.
For all her bold claims that she could put an end to this marriage, she had achieved nothing.
If anything, she was only reinforcing their determination.
The Duke stubbed out his cigar and spoke.
“It seems we should stop with mere intimidation. After all, there are many reasons why a wedding might not happen, aren’t there?”
A marriage could fail for countless reasons besides voluntary cancellation.
A cruel smile played on the Duke’s lips.
“For instance, if the bride were to get injured in a major accident, the wedding would naturally be called off. And if such incidents happened repeatedly, they might start to reconsider the marriage altogether.”
Truthfully, even the Duke didn’t want to resort to this method unless absolutely necessary.
Targeting a noble lady from a prestigious family was risky.
But since the situation had come to this, he had no choice but to take matters into his own hands.
And for something with such high risk, the payoff was bound to be certain.
“Darling, you’re truly a brilliant man.”
“I know. And I’ll handle this myself. You just stay put.”
“Yes, of course!”
The Duchess nodded eagerly, gazing at her husband with admiration.
She felt no guilt whatsoever about harming someone else’s precious daughter—only trust in her husband’s abilities.
Wedding Preparations Continued Without a Hitch.
The wedding dress and formal attire were chosen, and invitations had been sent out.
After Damian’s warning, the Duchess no longer summoned Aracila.
As a result, peaceful days followed.
Now, all that remained was drafting the prenuptial agreement and filing the marriage registration.
“I’m heading out now.”
“Yes, Senior! Take care!”
Receiving farewells from her juniors, Aracila left the Mage Tower.
As the wedding approached, her meetings with Damian to discuss the contract’s details increased.
To her unaware colleagues, it seemed like she was an overworked woman who liked Damian so much that she was leaving work early to see him.
It was a misunderstanding she saw no need to correct.
Stepping outside toward the knights’ office, she suddenly spotted a carriage with the Crimson Hawk emblem.
“What? Why is that here?”
Just as confusion set in, a servant standing by the carriage approached and bowed politely.
“Good day, Lady Hugo. I was sent to escort you.”
Aracila narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the unfamiliar servant.
“Who sent you?”
“Sir Damian Vandermir.”
The servant answered without hesitation.
It was surprising—Damian had never sent a carriage or servant for her before.
“Sir Vandermir isn’t exactly the considerate or meticulous type.”
Moreover…
“I did tell him I’d be stopping by home first, so I’d be a bit late.”
Why would he suddenly send for her without warning?
Pondering for a moment, Aracila asked,
“Are you absolutely sure Sir Damian Vandermir sent you?”
“Yes, my lady. Please, step in.”
The servant opened the carriage door and extended a hand, urging her in.
Aracila subtly signaled her own carriage to leave.
Then, without taking the servant’s hand, she climbed in alone.
Before the door closed, she threw in one last question.
“Where am I being taken?”
“The estate, my lady.”
“I see.”
Aracila nodded briefly before shutting the carriage door.
The vehicle smoothly rolled forward.
Watching the scenery outside, she gauged their direction.
What should have been a route toward the estate was shifting toward less populated areas.
“Now that I think about it… wasn’t it odd that the Vandermir family quieted down after just one warning from Sir Vandermir?”
The ducal family was desperate to back the wretched elder son, who was destined to become a traitor.
If they truly wanted to stop Damian’s succession, they should have been throwing everything at preventing this wedding.
Yet, after a few rounds of verbal intimidation, they had stopped?
Even if she were in their position, she wouldn’t have let things slide so easily.
“Well then, let’s see what they’ve prepared for me.”
Tapping her fingers against the window frame, Aracila smirked.
Despite walking straight into a trap, she felt not even a shred of fear.
She might currently be focused on research, but she was a mage with exceptional talent in offensive magic.
She was more than capable of protecting herself.
Soon, the carriage came to a halt in a desolate clearing surrounded by trees.
Aracila pulled the curtain across the window, blocking the view from both sides.
This way, neither she nor the others outside could see each other.
She waited motionlessly.
As expected, the first move came from the other side.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Someone pounded on the carriage door like thunder.
Cool blue eyes calmly shifted toward the sound.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
