Prologue
– This Contract Marriage is First-Come, First-Served.
Today was the day the Grand Duke of Remdragon opened his castle for the first time in a hundred years.
“Who’s that?”
“Is that a beggar?”
The presence of that child can only be described with one word, ‘shocking’.
“Why is a child like that in a place like this?”
As expected, the banquet was nothing short of mystical.
Chandeliers adorned with real diamonds and silver crystals.
Ancient murals painted with golden pigments stretched endlessly across the walls and a jewel-covered carpet laid out on a long staircase.
The problem was that in the middle of that magnificent banquet hall, a girl with silvery white hair limped and toddled into the room.
“Huh….”
She looked around, her tiny head turning from side to side.
Her chubby, pale cheeks, soft like freshly baked bread, puffed up as she let out a small sigh.
At best, she looked around four or five years old.
Her appearance was a complete mess—Her hair was disheveled.
Her baby dress, originally made from plain fabric, was now tattered and torn into shreds.
Besides, one foot was bare, with a small toe wiggling, as if she’d lost her shoes somewhere.
In a way… it was pitiful.
Like a stray cat that has lost its way and has wandered into the crowd.
“How did she get in here?”
“Of all places, she walked into the terrifying Dragon Duke’s banquet? Could she be a beggar who snuck in because of the food?”
“But that hair color is unique.”
The noblewomen, who usually dominated the banquet, were now pressed against the walls.
Instead, the center of the hall was filled with girls wearing bright rainbow-colored dresses, aged between five and ten.
It made sense—today’s banquet was being held to select a fiancée for the five-year-old young master of the Grand Duke’s family.
“Look over there. I guess they’re finally going to kick that kid out!”
“Will they hit her in front of everyone?”
At that time, Elton, the butler of the Grand Duke’s family who was in charge of the banquet, approached the girl.
“Young lady, are you a guest of our Grand Duke’s family?”
People perked up their ears.
At that moment, the girl pulled out a piece of paper from her small pocket.
“Here….”
“A registration paper? Then….you came here knowing that this banquet is to select the Young Master’s fiancée?”
“Uh…,yes.”
The child blinked her clever-looking eyes and answered cautiously.
Elton took the registration paper and read it.
“Ah, the youngest princess of the Allegro royal family.”
“…..”
“Your name is… Sephiel.”
Then he nodded politely toward the child.
“Since you received a registration paper, it means you passed the bloodline verification at the entrance. That’s enough.”
The conditions for attending that banquet:
A girl between the ages of five and ten from one of the three ruling families—excluding the Grand Duke’s family.
Sephiel was a young lady who met that condition.
“You are permitted to attend the banquet.”
Elton’s words echoed in the hall.
–Thump thump.
The white-haired girl, Sephiel, suppressed the urge to collapse in relief at those words.
‘Thank goodness I got a chance.’
At this very moment, Sephiel had barely escaped from hell.
‘I have to do well here. This is my chance to change my life.’
It’s still too early to feel relieved.
The moment Elton finished speaking, the crowd stirred with disbelief.
“What? They’re really letting her stay?”
But there was no more time to argue.
At that moment, a bell sound began to ring in the hall:
—ding, ding, ding.
“The selection is about to begin!”
Someone shouted.
—Swish.
A large curtain fell over the grand staircase leading down from the second floor into the ballroom.
A large stand was placed underneath, and in an instant, a translucent curtain came down.
“The Young Master of the Grand Duke of Remdragon, Young Master Erga de Remdragon.”
And then there was a small sound as if a door was opening behind the curtain.
But that was all. The young master did not show himself beyond the curtain.
“What? He’s not even showing his face?”
While the murmuring crowd grew restless, Elton continued speaking, unfazed.
“Ladies who wish to become the Young Master’s fiancée, please step forward and declare what you can offer to the Grand Duke’s family in marriage.”
Only one chance. A single opportunity to present themselves to the young master.
That rule had already been stated in the invitations.
A marriage with the wealthy Grand Duke’s family, a family of dragon blood.
No one wanted to miss that opportunity.
Tension filled the faces of the young ladies.
—Thud, thud, thud.
The beggar girl, Sephiel, quickly moved her small feet and stood in line faster than anyone else.
Some of the older noble ladies looked at her sharply.
“I guess she doesn’t have a mother.”
“My father said that smelly kids should be kicked out by the servants! Let’s teach her a lesson later!”
But Sephiel only flinched, lowered her head, and stood silently.
Meanwhile, the noble girls began to court, just as they had been taught
“My family owns a gold mine.”
“I am a close relative of Grand Duke Fuller.”
“My family has produced generations of Sword Masters. I can bring many excellent knights.”
But there was never a single answer from behind the curtain.
Instead, butler Elton shook his head mercilessly and shouted.
“Failed, next!”
Before she knew it, it was Sephiel’s turn.
Sephiel walked towards the curtain and bowed down.
And then, as if she had made up her mind, she spoke in a solemn tone, her small lips puckering.
“When we grvow up, ywou can divowce me anwytime.” (when we grow up, you can divorce me anytime.)
Her words were barely audible.
“What did she say?”
Those standing behind the girl also couldn’t hear her words.
But, that was the moment. The young master’s voice rang out beyond the curtain.
“Pass.”
It was a clear and firm voice—too mature for a five-year-old.
A voice that sounds like a young voice just before puberty.
–Clap!
Elton clapped his hands loudly.
“The fiancé of the young master of the Grand Duke’s Remdragon family has been decided.”
“What?!”
People started to murmur.
“The name of the person who will become the young master’s fiance is…”
People looked at each other breathlessly.
‘Really? This is how his fiance was chosen?’
‘Isn’t it crazy?’
But Elton’s mouth didn’t stop.
“Princess Sephiel de Allegro!”
It was a time when applause should have erupted, but the ballroom remained silent.
“With this, the ancient vow between the Grand Duke’s family and the three ruling families of the kingdom—the ‘Marriage Pact’—shall be fulfilled.”
And the one chosen to fulfill it—Sephiel.
Her small lips curled into a sly grin.
‘Yeah, my plan was a huge success.’
If one were to describe what baby Sephiel was feeling at that moment—
‘This honey spot is mine now.’
That was it.
* * *
