An Arranged Marriage with an Enemy

Kaon stiffened.
She was a mage, and the only reason why Ferdinand needed one was to inspect the monster-infested forest and eliminate the threatening ones.

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‘She’s going there with that fragile body?’

Obviously, that was the deal, but he was still worried that she might pass out from fear.

He heard the door open.
Even though he wasn’t doing anything wrong, he immediately closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

It seemed that she was ready to go out even though it was barely morning.

‘Wait, where is she going?’

Alessia didn’t know anything about the layout of the estate yet.
Kaon was supposed to give her the tour only in the evening, so it was safe to say that she knew little to nothing about Ferdinand.

Was she simply curious? Even so, normal people didn’t wander around alone at such early hours.

‘Oh, but she’s a mage.’

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Their inquisitiveness was unparalleled, so it made sense that she would be willing to wake up early to sate her curiosity.

Kaon decided to let it go for now and no longer worry.

***

But that wasn’t as easy as he had thought it would be.
He had been an overthinker since childhood.
Letting go and not worrying never worked for him.
His thoughts popped out one after the other.

‘What if she gets lost? Or runs into anyone?’

With only a few hours left until field training, Kaon twisted underneath his blanket to try to get in a bit more sleep.

‘What if Alessia gets in trouble?’

He knew he was thinking too much, but he might just be her only ally in Ferdinand at the moment.
He felt responsible.

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Kaon went straight to the stairs first.
Alessia didn’t seem careless enough for her to enter unfamiliar rooms, so she must have gone down and out.

However, contrary to expectations, she didn’t look to have left the mansion yet.

“What do you mean? I don’t think so.”

Her voice came from the first floor.
To be exact, from the entrance hall.

Kaon was startled by the exasperation he heard.

It was just about the time that the employees started preparing for the day’s work.
Then… Did something happen with one of them?

Of course, there was no way for a proper fight to take place as the difference in social status was too large.
Even if she was from an enemy family, Alessia was still the princess of a duchy.

In the end, though, it would be detrimental to her.
An altercation would only be an opportunity for the hostile forces to unite.

Kaon hurriedly approached the railing.

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“What’s the big deal? It really isn’t.”

He could now see who the other person was.
Madeleine… And her tone was very uncharacteristically blunt.

“You’ve been taking care of the Ferdinand estate for forty years, that seems like a big deal.”

“Don’t mention it.
There’s nothing special about this for people like us.”

The conversation was a bit strange.
Kaon decided to wait and listen before he intervened.

“You have no idea how surprised I was when I first arrived here.
I heard it was an old mansion, but it doesn’t look that way at all.
The maids must have worked so hard.”

So, if his hearing wasn’t defective, Alessia was praising Madeleine, and she didn’t give in even though the other person was being cold.

“What do you mean? Worked hard? I just did what I’ve always done.”

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“It’s been said that one can tell the state of the management of a mansion just by looking at the front door.”

“I don’t know about that, but I guess the entrance does determine the impression of a house, so that might be where that idea came from.”

“Well then, the impression of this place is that you are in control and have taken care of everything.”

Madeleine’s walls began to crumble at the gentle praise.
“Oh, you’re exaggerating.
Of course, I’m the one who manages the mansion, but there are people who would be disappointed if they heard me say that… Oh, I don’t know.”

“I think I do,” she said, then whispered, “Actually, the Ingelos estate is not this clean.”

And the game was over.

“Really, if you insist that much, it’s not a good look to deny it too much.
Ah, you’ve made this old lady embarrassed!” Madeleine giggled like she usually did, her mood vastly improved like thin ice warmed by a spring day.
She even asked what kind of food Alessia liked.

Kaon, who had been gripping the handrail, about to descend, slowly retreated.

It suddenly occurred to him that his fiancée’s life in Ferdinand might go in a different direction than expected.