The Felles Archduchy Mansion is as grand and huge as they are reputable. Cloaked in a darker tone of color, yet still exuding an air of wealth and luxury without the need for excessive decorations. It was a testament to the owner’s taste.

Wilhelm and Iris exited the carriage, and Abraham walked behind them as a guard. Wilhelm could see a man standing in front of the mansion and he knew who he was.

‘Arthur De Felles.’

With black hair and purple eyes similar to Iris, he was Iris’s father and is currently the Strongest in the Empire. Even Abraham can’t compare to him.

Iris walked towards him and bowed to Arthur while grabbing the hems of her skirt.

“I have returned Father.” Her voice was unlike the one Wilhelm is used to. It was cold, like her in-game self. There was no trace of warmth in her voice, as she avoided eye contact with her father by bowing her head down.

“Good job….Were there any problems on the way?”

“There were no problems.”

“I see…” Arthur’s gaze lingered on Iris for a while, as he opened his lips but no words came out. Arthur then looked at Wilhelm and he bowed towards Wilhelm slightly.

“I greet the Crown Prince of the Empire. You have grown big since the last time I saw you.”

“Thank you, Archduke.”

“I heard you are here for engagement talks.”

Wilhelm flinched a bit but replied immediately.

“Yes, I am.”

Never in Moses’s life did he think he would have to greet a father-in-law so soon. He thought Iris would be snickering beside him, but when he looked at her, she just stood like a statue with a smile. That made Wilhelm’s face stoic.

“Alright then, please go in, Your Highness.”

Arthur didn't ask anything else and said that as he went inside. Iris walked side by side with Wilhelm, her posture straight and tense. Wilhelm looked at Iris with a side eye as he thought.

‘I thought someone with her personality would be close to her parents, but I guess not.’

Wilhelm was curious, but he didn’t think it was right to butt into other families’ affairs, though he might ask if given the chance. Abraham excused himself so he didn’t go inside the mansion. Perhaps he was trying to give time for the three of them.

The inside of the mansion truly shows the owner’s personality. No furniture stands out the moment you see it but the closer you look at each of them, you will notice that they are old expensive antiques that overcame the passage of time.

It’s different from the clearly extravagant royal palaces, where they deliberately show off their riches everywhere to show power, whereas the Archduke’s mansion needs you to take a second look to appreciate the value of the items. Somehow, Wilhelm liked this style of wealth better.

The walk with the Archduke is quite awkward, and long, especially with the Archduke and Iris just staying silent throughout the walk. Therefore, Wilhelm just admired the furniture inside the house, until they had arrived at the destination.

They now stood in an open space where sunlight filtered through, revealing a small patch of grass. In the center stood a white temple, housing a white tombstone.

“That is the Heinberg Felles Marriage Vow. Should it accept you as one of the chosen ones, I will take care of the engagement documents and officially engage you with my daughter immediately after that.”

Wilhelm nodded. Although he thought that it was too easy to get a father-in-law’s approval for his daughter, he didn't complain, in fact, he was grateful that he didn't need to go through the typical overprotective father trope.

“I shall wait here so you two go towards the Marriage Vow.”

“Sure.”

“Alright.”

Iris and Wilhelm simultaneously spoke as they started walking towards the temple-looking thing. There were golden letters in the white gravestone that weren’t visible from afar.

Only when the chosen ones come shall the Sun and Star combine to bring order back into the world.

“Sun and star?” Wilhelm tilted his head.

“It’s just a fancy way of saying Heinbergs and Felles family. Now let's just do this fast and go back.”

Iris’s posture remained flawless as she stood upright and walked with elegance, yet her words were back to the casual tone of voice Wilhelm was used to. Seeing the contrast between the two was funny but Wilhelm held back his laughter.

Wilhelm didn’t know how to ‘do’ this but when Iris put her hand on the gravestone, Wilhelm followed suit and then the gravestone shined. A bright light overcame both Wilhelm and Iris and both of them closed their eyes out of reflex. The next thing Wilhelm knew was that something warm permeated through Wilhelm’s body.

He had experienced it before, when he was in his dream, the same warm feeling from back then. When the bright light disappeared, there was a mark on Wilhelm’s hand. It was an intricate golden line forming a symbol of two golden-colored swords in an X position.

Wilhelm’s mouth gaped open while Iris chuckled.

“Told you we were the chosen one right?”

“No, that’s not what I'm surprised about.”

“Then what?”

Wilhelm didn’t respond to Iris and examined the back of his hand. The true usage of the mark on Iris and his hand is not simply a mark to show you are the chosen one but is also a Key to the Treasures of the Three Heroes. Those Treasures contain various treasures that are a must for them, and in the game, the only Door that couldn’t be opened is the Sword Supreme’s.

‘It was because of this!’

Wilhelm’s heart pounded as he resisted the urge to smile, his hand trembling slightly as he hid his mouth using it. He wanted to laugh out loud and was so excited that it felt like he could charge in towards the Treasure Room right now but he was still far from strong for it.

“I don’t know what you’re happy about, but let’s go back. My father is looking at us like he had seen a ghost or something.”

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Wilhelm looked to the side and saw Arthur looking at him with widened eyes and a slightly gaping mouth, but when he noticed both of them staring, he quickly coughed and returned to his stoic expression while walking towards them.

“Seems like you two have finished.”

“Yes, father,” Iris said with a smile, while Wilhelm just nodded.

“Well then, ‌as i said before. I shall have the documents written out and sent to the officials, but before that. May I talk with you, Your Highness?”

“Yes, that is fine with me.”

‘Talking with a father-in-law…Let’s just close my eyes and hope for the best.’

“Then Iris, you may go back to your room”

“Sure, father.” Iris bowed while pinching the hems of her skirt before she left.

Arthur looked at Iris, walking away with wistful eyes before he turned towards Wilhelm.

“Prince, what do you think about my daughter?”

“Uh, she is pretty, smart and competent?”

Wilhelm didn’t know what else to say.

“Pretty, well, she does have my genes.”

“...Ahahaha.”

“”...””

‘Fuck.’

The mood turned awkward. Wilhelm didn’t know whether Arthur was joking or not. His words sounded like he was joking but his tone didn’t change at all.

“Ahem, sorry. I guess it wasn’t funny.”

“Well, no.”

“Anyway, as you said, my daughter is extremely competent and terrifyingly strong for her age. yet, she still has a lot of immaturity despite all that talent.”

Arthur made eye contact with Wilhelm and bowed his head.

“Please, take care of my daughter. Although she has some flaws, she is a good child.”

Wilhelm looked at Arthur bowing his head. Though Wilhelm can’t say for certain since it was their first meeting, Wilhelm felt like Arthur cared a lot about Iris. That’s why he doesn’t understand. Even he who is a stranger could feel some kind of distance between Iris and her father. Wilhelm wanted to help with Iris’s family problems, but at the same time, he was hesitant.

‘Wouldn't that make me a busybody?’

Wilhelm scratched his head. He can’t help but get a bit sensitive towards family relations. Because he also took it for granted before. Though it's not like he had a bad relationship with his family, he just regretted not spending more time with them before they died.

Wilhelm decided to think about it later and bowed his head towards Arthur.

“I may not be perfect, but I promise to support her with all I have.”

“Thank you.” Arthur smiled slightly and stopped bowing his head.

“Then, let’s go. I shall need to have a chat with Count Brixxane so I shall host a small engagement party. I hope you will be there as well.”

“Sure.”

Wilhelm thought about who Count Brixxane was, and though he didn’t appear much in the game, he knew him a lot from Wilhelm’s memories. Count Brixxane is the current leader of Wilhelm’s faction, and his mother Alicia Brixxane was also from that family before she became Alicia Heinberg.

‘I guess they are going to be talking about politics and the future actions of the faction.’

People would see the engagement between Wilhelm and Iris as the Felles Archduchy joining the faction of Crown Prince Wilhelm. That would be extremely bad for the other princes because although the Felles family is usually neutral, if they were to decide to support a specific prince, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the prince has already won and will become the next emperor.

‘The Emperor, huh.’

For some, it was the end goal of their dreams, yet, for Wilhelm, it was merely a stepping stone. What he wanted was something far greater than that.

‘The Epilogue. Could I really reach it in this life?’ Wilhelm looked at his hands as he clenched his fist before opening it again. He shook his head. It was no use to think of things like that. He needed to reach it if he didn’t want to die.

Wilhelm began making plans for the future.

‘The First Prince would only be able to send poisons and that will be rendered useless by the [Anti Poison Physique] as for the assassins, well, I don’t need to worry about it as long as Abraham is there.’

Considering their personalities there also probably wouldn’t be many assassination attempts though there will still be some, the First Prince would just sneakily throw in a couple of poisons here and there, as for the Second Prince who is working with the Thalion Cultists…Well, Wilhelm had several plans against him already.

‘I guess there is no need to stress about it too much. I just need to get the [Anti Poison Physique].’

The Physique that made him immune to poison is a great help for fighting the Thalion Cultists, especially so for a certain Apostle. It is also useful since some enemies use poisons, though they are quite rare.

‘Let’s think about it all later.’

For now, he needs to go to Iris. There is something he needs to ask her for to ensure his survival.

***

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

Wilhelm opened the door to Iris's room. Iris is currently reading a book in her chair. As the moonlight shone through the window, Wilhelm saw Iris wearing a black negligee designed for sleep, revealing attractive things that are normally hidden. Wilhelm, as a man, found it inevitable to be entranced by her beauty for a moment, even though he thought he was quite used to it. However, he tried to be a gentleman and looked away.

Iris saw that and her eyes shone like a predator encountering a prey as she spoke with a flirtatious tone of voice.

“Came here for some nighttime action?”

“Watch your words. Someone might hear and misunderstand.”

“Gosh, no one is going to hear…Even if they do, it would be fine…Let them hear.”

‘....The fuck? What’s with her choice of words?’ Wilhelm looked at Iris and saw that she had a massive grin on her face.

‘Shit.’

“Wait, I didn’t come here to play around.”

“Oh, I’m serious too~, that’s why I'm wearing this,” Iris said as she deliberately stretched out her body, slowly, as if giving him a chance to look, emphasizing her beautiful curves. Wilhelm’s eyes twitched as he tried to calm down, both his rising fury and another part of his body.

“Speaking of your attire, you should change it. Isn’t it unbecoming of a lady to expose themselves like that to a man? People would think you are vulgar.”

“It’s fine to expose myself to my fiance. After all, isn’t he the one who will eventually see all part of me?”

‘This bitch wants to see this to the bitter end.’

Wilhelm took a deep breath as he looked around her room. The bookshelves filled with an excessive number of romance novel-like titles caught his eye.

“Looks like you like romance novels a lot.” Wilhelm tried to change the subject, but it was of no use.

“Curious about my tastes? I could tell you a lot more than just…Romance novels.”

“...”

Wilhelm’s fist clenched tight and as he was considering whether to enact gender equality, Iris laughed out loud dispelling the weird atmosphere from before.

“Hahaha! Sorry, I'm so sorry…I will stop now, so please don’t be so angry.”

“You were too excessive, I was trying to talk about a serious topic.” Wilhelm frowned as he looked at Iris.

“Sorry, sorry, really. It’s just, teasing you is just so fun, sorry, alright, phew.” Iris took a deep breath to try to calm down her laughter.

“Alright, so why did you come here? I won’t try to joke around anymore, I promise you.” Iris said as she tried to hold back her smile to try to have a serious expression. Somehow, seeing that pissed Wilhelm a bit.

‘Does she know? I’m not the type to take it lying down.’

Wilhelm made an ingenious plan in his mind as he said.

“I came for a favor.”

“A favor? What favor?” Iris tilted her head.

“I want you to investigate a place.”

“I don’t mind but why all of a sudden?”

Wilhelm spoke, his head hung low as if someone had just received a notice for a terminal illness.

“Because…That place will be the death of me.”

Iris’s book dropped down onto the floor.