Chapter 001
“Engagement On Behalf Of My Sister”
“Marry in your sister’s place, Nereis.”
Count Tophana stroked his beard as he spoke, causing Nereis to jump in surprise.
“But Father…! I’ve just become an adult!”
“Hmph. We’re in the middle of a war! In times like these, marrying quickly is the best option.”
Count Tophana clicked his tongue in disapproval, clearly dissatisfied with his second daughter.
“It’s a duke we’re talking about—a duke! Do you think matches like this come around easily? You should be grateful.”
“But, Father…”
If we’re supposed to marry quickly, then my sister should do it too…
The words welled up in Nereis’s throat, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them.
“I’ve already signed the engagement papers. In your name.”
Nereis saw her name at the bottom of the document that her father gestured toward with a nod.
“F-Father, you can’t do this! You promised to let me go to the academy!”
“Enough! An academy, in the middle of a war? The only reason I allowed that was because I thought it might benefit the family business. Tch.”
Annoyed, Count Tophana drained the glass of wine he was holding in one gulp.
“Ahem, the family business is struggling more and more. This engagement has to happen.”
Count Tophana gave a quick nod to the butler, urging him on.
The butler, nervously aware of the Count’s presence, carefully slipped the engagement papers into an envelope.
“Use the teleportation device to send it. It’s expensive, but it’ll be faster.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The butler quickly left the Count’s office.
After draining another glass of liquor, the Count turned to Nereis and gave her an order.
“Pack your things. You’ll be leaving tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Ugh, how frustrating! Didn’t you hear me just now? The engagement papers will arrive at the Duke’s estate tonight, thanks to the teleportation device. The engagement will be official by then.”
“This can’t be happening…”
“The Duke is away because of the war, so you need to get to his estate as soon as possible to take care of things. Hmph, we can’t afford to use a teleportation circle, so you’ll have to go by carriage.”
“Father, please…”
“The Duke was kind enough not to ask for a dowry. In fact, he even agreed to send us business support funds. You, who have been a burden to this family, are finally being of use.”
Count Tophana nodded toward a servant standing in the corner of the office.
“Help her pack quickly. She needs to leave at the crack of dawn.”
His gaze was cold as ice.
Nereis, who had never experienced her father’s love, couldn’t bear that cold look. She wanted to resist, but she was too afraid of that gaze.
In the end, Nereis fled from the Count’s office, practically chased out.
“What is happening…?”
No one paid any attention to her as she walked down the hallway, on the verge of tears. That’s what she was in Count Tophana’s household—someone insignificant and easily overlooked.
‘I thought I’d be able to go to the academy…’
There was no way out of this sudden engagement.
If she refused and ran away, the entire Tophana family would face ruin for breaking their promise after signing the engagement papers.
And that included Nereis Tophana herself.
‘Duke Ian Dayfried…’
Her fiancé was the infamous Duke Dayfried.
He had never shown his face in society, and rumors had recently spread that he had fallen out of favor with the king and was at risk of losing his head.
‘He’s not even known to the capital’s nobility…’
Before she knew it, she was standing in front of her bedroom. Nereis stood there blankly, staring inside.
The maids were busily clearing out the room, packing her things as if her opinion didn’t matter, leaving a suitcase sitting by the door.
‘I really wanted to study magic at the academy…’
Her gaze fell on the small desk in the corner of the room. The magic books she had read countless times and the notes she had made while researching magical formulas had all been neatly packed away.
Tears welled up in her sky-blue eyes.
She felt wrong that she hadn’t even been able to properly fight back in such a desperate situation. But there was nothing she could do. Her father had never once listened to her.
Nereis had been scolded by her parents for reasons she never understood since she was a child.
She had wanted their love, but it had never been hers to have.
As dawn was breaking, Nereis stood quietly, taking in the view of the Tophana estate.
She was dressed in a simple sky-blue outfit with minimal decoration, just some lace on the neckline and sleeves. It was quite plain for a count’s daughter.
Just then, Countess Tophana and Katrin appeared, both dressed in far more elaborate and luxurious loungewear.
‘I didn’t expect a farewell, anyway.’
It felt more like a formality than genuine kindness, so she didn’t feel grateful at all.
This was probably the last time she’d see them. Whatever happened, she had no intention of returning here.
“Go and live well,” her mother said in a cold, indifferent tone. It didn’t hurt anymore.
Her father was too hungover to get out of bed after drinking too much the night before. That didn’t hurt either; it just made Nereis feel more detached.
“Goodbye, Nereis. I’ll miss you,” Katrin said with a sweet smile, her red hair fluttering in the wind.
Nereis found her sister’s hypocrisy repulsive.
“Mother, Sister, take care. Thank you for everything,” Nereis said calmly, bidding them farewell.
The chilly autumn wind whipped through her gray hair as if trying to hold her back, urging her to go to the capital academy instead. But that was just wishful thinking.
Having decided not to run away and to accept the engagement with the Duke, Nereis didn’t look back as she got into the distant carriage.
Not even once.
***
It took a full week to travel from the Tophana estate in the capital to the northern territory of Dayfried.
“Sigh…”
Nereis was suffering terribly from motion sickness. She took deep breaths to steady herself before finally lifting her head.
They had stopped the carriage for a break. The air was much cooler here than in the capital, and the fresh breeze seemed to soothe her queasiness. It was an unfamiliar but welcome sensation.
“Oh dear, are you alright, Miss?” the coachman, Thomas, asked, his face full of concern. He was the only one at the Tophana estate who had ever been kind to her.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t look well… The Count should have let you use a teleportation circle at least once during the trip. This wouldn’t have happened if he had.”
Thomas was right. Nereis hadn’t looked this pale yesterday. Now, her already fair complexion had taken on a bluish tint from the nausea.
“Thank you for worrying, Thomas.”
Nereis forced a smile and took a deep breath as she looked at the distant sight of the duke’s castle.
‘I need to pull myself together.’
The motion sickness had left her feeling sick and with a pounding headache. On top of that, her whole body ached from the long carriage ride. She knew she wasn’t in good shape, considering she usually spent her time reading in the library, but she hadn’t realized it would be this bad.
‘Well, I guess I wouldn’t know since I’ve never been outside the capital.’
Unlike Katrin, who had gone on many trips with their parents, Nereis had always stayed home, reading.
By the time she was nine, she had already realized that going on trips with them only meant being compared to Katrin the whole time.
‘I have to change, even if it’s just now.’
Nereis valued her life too.
It didn’t matter if the people connected to her by blood didn’t acknowledge her. She just hoped they wouldn’t get in her way.
Even though her sister Katrin, who was three years older, hadn’t married yet, Nereis figured at least she wouldn’t be sold off in a political marriage. That was enough to make her feel content.
When she finally got permission to enroll in the academy, something she thought was impossible, she was beyond happy.
But maybe she was being too naive.
In the end, here she was, basically being sold off in an engagement to Duke Dayfried.
According to her father, the Duke didn’t just forgo a dowry—he even gave them a huge business grant.
A grant… No, calling it a “payment” would be more accurate. So yeah, she was definitely being sold off.
‘But that doesn’t mean I’m just going to sit back and take it.’
She didn’t know much about Ian Dayfried, but after the grueling journey in that carriage, she had at least learned something.
Despite the war going on in the west of the continent, the northern territories she passed through seemed peaceful and well-managed.
This showed that even in the lord’s absence, the people trusted and followed him.
‘The Duke must be a good person if the people in his land seem so content.’
It wasn’t exactly a warm and friendly atmosphere, but Nereis liked the calm and quiet nature of the northern people.
Maybe that’s why, despite feeling nauseous, she could still think positively.
‘Don’t be anxious. There’s always a solution and always hope. Even if I become a duchess, I’ll handle it. I can do this.’
It still didn’t feel real, but she had to face reality. And finding a way out of tough situations was something Nereis was good at.
‘Sure, that’s mostly when it comes to solving math and magic problems, but it’s not like real life is all that different!’
As she was trying to keep herself motivated, they finally arrived at the Duke’s castle.
With newfound determination, Nereis stepped out of the carriage.
But her mind went completely blank when she saw an unexpected person standing in front of her.
“Well, well, finally here, Nereis?”
Red hair, blue eyes.
A deep blue dress glittering with tiny jewels that sparkled with every movement.
A woman draped in an expensive white fur cape, flaunting her wealth, despite the weather not being that cold.
It was Katrin Tophana who approached Nereis with a smile as bright as a flower.
