1.Prologue
Jared Murphy was trying to overcome his stomachache as he subtly laughed. The reason for this situation was because of the beauty seated across him.
Her name was Olivia Alway.
(TLN: Changed the original “Olivier Alway” to “Olivia Alway” for translator convenience.)
She was the daughter of a duke, and at the same time, Jared’s fiancé.
Her silky blonde hair was let down until her waist with no reserve, and her blue dress highlighted her slim figure. She had the beauty to keep men’s eyes onto her.
With her supple lips and eyebrows, her delicate nose, and sapphire blue eyes further enhanced her beauty.
Normally it was not precedent that Jared, the eldest son of his house, would be pulled into an arranged marriage. Furthermore, he already planned that in two years time, exactly when he turns eighteen, he would take up his mother’s surname and be done with being a noble. Now being forced into an arranged marriage, this was a huge set-back for him.
“Jared has not only the aptitude in magic, but he has already proven himself by slaying countless magical beasts. You must be proud of him Baron Daun”
“People may ridicule my grandson, but I take pride in his achievements as they were my own”
In response to Duke Always’s compliment, the host, Baron Daun happily responded back.
An hour had already passed since their first meeting, but it was only the Duke and the Baron who were conversing with each other. Jared responded when he was complimented, but Olivia kept her mouth shut throughout the hour.
The Duke surely didn’t like how his daughter was acting. He was trying to shower Jared with compliments to cover up for it, meanwhile his grandfather was busy keeping up with the Duke’s conversation. He knew that it was just going around in a vicious cycle.
Ignoring the adult’s conversation, Olivia was spacing out. No, it could not be said that she was spacing out. Her eyes were focused on Jared.
The reason for his stomachache was her stare. She may be contemplating the arranged marriage between the Duke’s eldest daughter and a Baron’ eldest son.
To be honest, marriage in nobility was much regulated. It is not like marriage based on real love didn’t exist, but it was just rare. It wasn’t strange for some random nobleman’s daughter to be married off to a person from a distant land.
In marriage between nobles, feelings aren’t accounted for. The marriage is often arranged when both bride and groom are still young, and in some cases like Jared, it can be as sudden as this.
He was supposed to enjoy his commoner life two years from now, but instead, he got summoned into this meeting for their arranged marriage. Furthermore his partner was the “Olivia” Alway.
Being part of the noble circle, Jared always heard rumors surrounding her.
“She is always causing a tantrum”
“She has no respect for authority”
“Her personality is bad, and once she made an enemy of you, you are dead”
“Because of her malicious tongue, many scandalous rumors are coming up”
“She like to play around with men”
“She dislikes men and plays around with women”
Those were some of the countless rumors that surrounded her, but if they were true, she wasn’t someone he wanted to get associated with.
Jared heared that he wasn’t her first fiancé who got an arranged marriage. Some of her previous fiancés even cried and begged in front of their parents to break off their arrangement.
He may have been chosen as her fiancé and she was certainly beautiful on the outside, but what he was wary of was her personality.
Olivia finally spoke out to Jared, as he was still trying to put up a smile to the Duke’s compliments.
“Hey, is it true that you won’t be able to take over the house as the family head?”
“O-Olivia-! What are saying?! Stop being rude to our hosts!]
“Oh, I was merely concerned for my future husband… Is something the matter?”
“No, but… there is a thing called precedence to the flow of the conversation…”
“That may be the case but… I don’t like going with the flow”
“I was already waiting for close to an hour. I think you had enough chatter between you and the Baron. So? Are you going to inherit your Family’s name or not? Which is it?”
Her grandfather abruptly tried to cover up for his daughter’s question.
“It is unfortunate, but I will not inherit my family’s name. I already had planned that in two years time, I would be free from nobility and become a commoner.”
“Is that so? I’m not obsessed with my status as a noble, but can you really make out a living? From my investigations, I know you have piled up a lot from hunting magical beasts, but will that be enough? Will you be able to provide for me?”
It was a surprise that Olivia offered to abandon her nobility, he was counting how much he saved up from his hunts. Living as a commoner with a normal lifestyle, it was enough to sustain him for a couple of years.
If he manages to land a trade with his powers as a magician, providing basic necessities would be fairly easy.
“Olivia-sama, it is unfortunate that he will not inherit the family name, but we were thinking of adopting him into the Duke’s family. You don’t have to fear of becoming a commoner.”
The host, Jared’s grandfather quickly followed up Olivia’s question with the proposal. Jared didn’t even know that this was agreed upon, but Olivia took no heed to his grandfather’s words.
“Oh, so that’s how it is? But I don’t really mind being a commoner. As long as my partner is capable of providing and protecting me, then I am content. Baron Daun’s son is good at hunting magical beasts, but what about when faced against humans?”
Her eyesight once more fell unto Jared. Jared responded in a nervous voice,
“Facing against humans you say? It is not the job of a magician, but of a knight. I do not like going up against humans, but I have participated in some manhunts before.”
“Can you… Kill a person?”
“I certainly can”
Jared gave out a flat honest answer.
Olivia nodded several times after confirming with her thoughts.
“I know that you’re a proficient from my investigations, but I want actual proof. If you plan on marrying me… Then you need to become a court magician.”
“What?”
“O-Olivia! You can’t just forcefully compel someone to become something they’re not!”
“Will you please shut your mouth? This a conversation between Jared Murphy-sama and me.”
“There’s no way I could keep quite! You always bother you fiancé with absurd conditions! If you don’t like it then say so! No, I should have known that my idea won’t get through you but this is absurd! Grow up and act your age!”
“Don’t lecture me about my age!”
Olivia was now arguing with her grandfather. The Baron on the other hand, was at a loss of words. Jared felt like he was tangled up in this tiny dispute between grandfather and daughter. Jared remembered something among the fuss.
He had listened to all sorts of bad rumors about her, but one thing was rue. Her current age was twenty six years old. In other words, she was ten years older than Jared.
It may be rude, but an unmarried woman in her mid-twenties is labeled “left-overs”
“Listen here Jared Murphy, if you’re serious about marrying me, then become a court magician in two years. That’s my first condition.”
“If there is a first condition, then there must be another one?”
“Of course, after I approve of you as my fiancé, you will go and live with my mother. If I may interject, my mother lives in a separate household. There are no maid with her. You can think of it as living the life of a commoner.”
“I don’t mind that”
“And, do you have a lover or some girl you are interested in?”
“None”
“Then that’s fine. As Baron Daun had said, you can marry into our family and live in a side room with us, but only if you earned my approval. Is that clear?”
“Umm…”
“Is that clear?!”
“Clear!”
Jared responded in a huge, yet surprised voice. Olivia nodded in satisfaction. The Duke raised his face to the ceiling, resigning himself.
“Very well. Until we meet again”
After those parting words, Olivia stood up, and followed by her grandfather, bowed and exited the room.
Jared and his grandfather were left speechless.
He may be eldest son who couldn’t inherit his family’s name, but he was officially the fiancé of the Duke’s daughter. According to rumor, that daughter had a bad personality on top of being ten years older than him.