Just before the proposal turned into a confrontation.
He said, “Miss, calm down!”
Audrey, who was nervously watching from behind, hastily intervened and restrained Arasilla.
“Let go, Audrey. I’m going to show that arrogant knight his place!”
“No, you can’t! Please restrain yourself!”
For the lady’s reputation and future, she was desperate. Damian raised an eyebrow at the slender maid hanging onto her waist.
Touching her master’s body without permission, her subtly friendly tone seemed closer to that of a lady rather than a typical maid.
“Don’t overstep your boundaries in your master’s affairs. Just leave it be.”
“Don’t you dare lecture her. Audrey is fine the way she is.”
Arasilla shot a sharp look at Damian, barely suppressing her temper, and sat down to glare at him.
“You’ll regret doing this to me.”
“Do not meddle in other people’s family matters and regret later, young lady. I do not need your assistance.”
Damian retorted sharply, stood up, and opened the door. It was a clear signal for her to leave.
Arasilla, with a cold laugh, approached him with firm steps. And looking straight into his eyes, she said,
“You will need me, Damian.”
Damian narrowed his eyes at the certainty reflected in her clear blue eyes. But they widened at her following words.
“You better understand that this marriage is confirmed to happen, Damian. Your grandfather agreed with the duke to inherit titles and estates to the grandson who marries Hugo’s granddaughter.”
“That’s absurd…”
“I’ve said what i have. The choice is yours.”
With a sharp glare, Arasilla swiftly left. Audrey followed behind, glancing back cautiously.
Damian, torn between completely believing her words or dismissing them, watched her retreating figure with a furrowed impression.
Arriving home, Arasilla was greeted by her older sister and younger brother.
“What brings both of you to greet me today?”
“Ad said he had something to show you.”
Iris gently nodded towards her younger brother. Arasilla looked at her brother, who seemed unusually excited.
“Sis! Look at this!”
Adrian approached his second sister, holding a bundle of papers.
“I’ve written down reasons why you shouldn’t get married!”
“Oh dear, our Adrian. Instead of studying all day, you’ve been playing around with this.”
Taking the paper handed by her brother, Arasilla sighed. Adrian flinched, avoiding eye contact.
“Let’s see what my brother has written instead of attending succession classes.”
She calmly read the content written in handwriting that tried hard to look mature.
“1. The person is ugly.”
Oh Adrian, objectively, he was quite handsome.
“2. The person is short.”
What a joke, I was tall enough to look up to.
“3. They’re weaker than you and can’t protect you.”
This one’s true. While Arasilla hadn’t directly confronted Damian, she firmly believed she could win.
He was a proud knight, and she, a proud mage.
“4. Your ideal type is a guy with a lot of aegyo, but he might not be able to be cute.”
This was a lie Arasilla made up to receive Adrian’s aegyo.
The reasons Adrian had written were absurd. But one reason, in particular, touched Arasilla a little.
“If you leave, I’ll miss you a lot. Maybe I’ll even cry.”
Adrian was Iris’s and Arasilla ‘s youngest brother, eleven years younger than Iris and ten years younger than Arasilla .
Knowing that while the elder sisters were out together, the younger brother had felt lonely at home, that made Arasilla ‘s heart ached.
“Adrian.”
Arasilla called her brother’s name in a soft voice.
“Yeah, Sis! You’re not going to get married, right?!”
“No, I will.”
The momentarily hopeful expression on Adrian’s face turned into disappointment, his shoulders slumping.
Arasilla affectionately ruffled her younger brother’s hair, tinted with violet hues, like hers.
“Getting married doesn’t mean I’m leaving you. I’ll always be your second sister, Ad.”
“Yeah, we’re the Hugo siblings till death. Even if you change your last name through marriage, our roots won’t change.”
Iris comforted her younger brother amidst the conversation. Adrian, alternating between looking at his sisters, fidgeted with his fingers.
“But Mom said if you get married, you’ll leave home.”
“Of course. When you get married, you have to live with your partner. You’ll have to do the same when you grow up.”
Adrian drooped his head upon hearing that marriage meant being separated from family.
“I don’t want to! Then I’ll never get married!”
“Well, maybe you won’t, but give it a try.”
The acceptance of Arasilla ‘s singlehood declaration by her parents stemmed from her not being the heir or the eldest.
Adrian was the heir to the Hugo estate, and Iris was the eldest.
Being the second-born, Arasilla was in a position where her desired path could be supported.
“Sis, does Arasilla have to marry too because of him? I hate him.”
“When have you ever seen him? And if it’s not him, I would have to marry someone you like even less.”
Arasilla gently pinched her younger brother’s soft cheek to avoid hurting him.
If Damian rejected the proposal, the only remaining option would be Oscar Van Demir, who had a bloody future ahead.
She wondered if marrying a man who might already be planning rebellion would ensure her safety.
Of course, if she marry him, she’ll stop any rebellion, even if that means killing him.
As Arasilla was thinking in worst case scenario , a loving hand rested on her shoulder.
“Arasilla , if you dislike it that much, you don’t have to marry. You have me.”
Iris smiled with maturity and thoughtfulness, as she always did. She was the one to step up in difficult situations and yield to her younger siblings in good times.
When Arasilla declared she wouldn’t marry and become a nun, Iris supported her without hesitation. And when Adrian ran away from succession classes, she gladly hid him in her room.
“I’ll always be here for you , so whenever you or Ad feels tired, they can come to me.”
As a sister, Arasilla couldn’t help but love and follow her in such moments.
“Fulfilling the family’s duties is originally the eldest’s responsibility. And if it comes to strategic marriages, I’ll handle it.”
Her mature voice resonated with the sense of responsibility she held as Hugo’s daughter.
Perhaps even Iris had married with such a sense of responsibility, only to be unjustly sacrificed in her husband’s rebellion.
The dry dreams of the past overlapped with the vibrant Iris before Arasilla ‘s eyes. She felt a surge of emotion.
She couldn’t leave her sister to die. No matter what happened, she had to marry Van Demir.
“So, don’t let yourself be bound by strategic marriages…”
“I don’t to marry him because of the strategic marriage .”
Arasilla denied it partly impulsively, aiming to alleviate Iris’s sense of responsibility regarding strategic marriages.
“Then?”
“I just… liked him.”
“Lies. You never like someone for no reason.”
Iris narrowed her eyes suspiciously, knowing her sister better than anyone. If Arasilla were that easy, their family wouldn’t have struggled.
“In truth, it’s because of the strategic marriage, right?”
“…No? Not at all? Actually, it’s because I liked damian’s face.”
Acknowledging it might lead Iris to accept a strategic marriage if she knew she is getting on a contract marriage, Arasilla vigorously shook her head.
Even though there were no secrets between them, she couldn’t honestly discuss precognition. So, she had to resort to such well-intentioned lies.
“But still, it doesn’t make sense. Ara, did you decide to marry just because of his appearance?”
Given Ara’s outstanding appearance, she had never shown interest in others’ looks.
Iris couldn’t easily dismiss her doubts.
“He had a good physique.”
“…”
“His voice was alright too.”
Arasilla added cheekily, covering Adrian’s ears. Iris’s eyes wavered slightly.
“Are those really the only superficial reasons…?”
“Of course. People are naturally vulnerable to visual attacks, sis.”
Arasilla spoke confidently, intending to drive her point home.
“Even though I have wealth, honor, and position, I still need to choose a man based solely on appearance?”
“No, even so, I don’t understand why …”
Iris touched her forehead, looking confused. She also knew that Damian Van Demir is famous for his good face.
But she never expected her sister to fall for that handsome knight.
“Wait, Arasilla … are you going to marry damian because of love?”
Arasilla pondered briefly. Would it be easier to convince her that her marriage is based on true feelings like love? With a quick decision, she slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t meet him before.”
“It’s changed. I did meet him.”
Just meeting once counts as meeting.right?
Arasilla flipped her words without hesitation.
‘Well, if he didn’t accepet my proposel ma, i will be a bit in trouble… … .’
Arasilla was confident he would eventually realize how necessary she was. Especially considering his last expression, which seemed to waver.
Soon, Damian Van Demir would also realize that they could only be each other’s best choice.
‘All I have to do is to wait.’
Thinking so, Arasilla held her sister’s and brother’s hands tightly as they entered the house.
***
Damian investigated the strategic marriage between the Van Demir Duke and the Hugo Viscount through his aide, Colin.
The results were shocking. “The mage’s words were indeed true…” As Arasilla had said,
the former Duke had left a will instructing that the property and title be passed on to his grandson who honored the strategic marriage sworn before the emperor.
While the current Duke, Damian’s father, held his older son as the successors to the title and estate , but having the will endorsed by the emperor changed the game.
No matter how powerful a duke was, they couldn’t defy the emperor’s decree, especially when it involved carrying out the succession rights. With the emperor standing behind the former duke and having the right to intervene in the family’s inheritance, the situation became even more binding
“What was grandfather thinking…”
While his grandfather was alive – the former duke – who was the only one in the VanDemir family who supported Damian.
He probably didn’t leave such a will with ill intent towards his grandson.
The crucial point was that Damian’s current family had thoroughly hidden this fact from him. Their intent was clear.
“If I marry and obtain grandfather’s will, the successor position will be mine.”
then Damian’s long-held desire for revenge could also be fulfilled.
In the darkness, Damian’s eyes glinted like a predator.
He took out paper and a pen from a drawer with the intention of writing a belated reply to Arasilla Hugo.
