DIANE BENTINCK POV

The venue was finished by the afternoon. Everything was set up correctly before inspections were already done by me. To be honest, it seemed like a wedding would be held in the manor. There was already a lot of people from yesterday compared to today.

Hundreds of people were already outside, awaiting entry. They were exchanging greetings as they approached each other.

I was standing next to my brother, Justin, overlooking the carriages that arrived. Our property was fairly large so many carriages could be parked there. Only the higher ranking houses parked their carriages directly in front of the manor’s front door.

Those included: Luxembourg, Rosenberg, Capell, Sterling, etc...I didn’t know who else would be willing to attend. My father was a very influential noble in the kingdom so there ought to be a lot of them coming.

Taking into account the fact that the Red Hunt was ending soon, maybe they didn’t have time to worry about a party. They had to clear out monsters out of their territory.

I felt a tap on my shoulder while I was calculating the most effective way to use tonight as a chance to pull in potential backers for my stores.

“Finally settling down, eh? You’re already 15 which is a little late for marriage. How do you feel? Getting cold feet?”

My elder brother asked with a smile. I answered without reacting much to his teasing.

“I am honoured to be engaged to Sir Clyde. He is a prodigy in magic and one of the top students of his grade–“

“Tsk. That’s not the answer I was looking for. What do you really see in George’s kid?”

“I don’t know him personally so I am unable to answer your question.”

My brother sighed.

“Didn’t the two of you hang out on top of that hill? I remember seeing you two talk up there that time I came to visit.”

“That is indeed so. But...” I recalled our conversations. They weren't anything meaningful. “It was mostly what we want to do someday and other nonsense. What else would kids talk about? War and politics? Death and poverty? Stop being absurd. You’re a grown man yet you’re teasing a teenager like me.”

I saw the seriousness in his eyes as he spoke.

“Diane.”

“...?”

“I only want what’s best for you. I hope you’re not thinking that I’ll interfere. Clyde might be George’s kid but that doesn’t mean he’d be suitable as your husband.”

“Even if that is the case, we’ll need to search for someone better than him. Tell me; if we were to search anywhere else on the continent, could we find such a person?” I put my hands on my hips and looked at him with an unamused gaze.

“Maybe that foreigner, Bridgette. But I doubt me being engaged to a woman would be seen in a good light by the people who are part of the aristocracy. We need a heir with the blood of our family so it must be a man.”

The two of them seemed to be good friends. I heard that they spent a lot of time together. Every single day they hang out at the library and during breakd they go to the stores near the academy. I had seen them together before wehn I came to the capital to buy supplies but I kept my distance.

“Hahaha. I get your point but still...When tonight ends then it’s official. I want you to think about it.”

Justin swept back his dark blue hair and smirked. He used his tongue to get that last piece of meat out of his teeth.

“If you’d excuse me, I’m on my way to find a partner for life for myself.”

“Haa...You looked cool for a second there.”

He heartily laughed at my remark and walked off towards a group of young women that looked to be in their twenties.

‘Aren’t you like fifteen years older...?’

I looked up at the sky as I swirled the wine in my glass. The sky was as empty as the feeling in my heart. Only thoughts occupied my mind. It had been that way ever since I gained awareness as a child.

‘Even if I have objections, it’s too late to turn back now.’

Clyde hadn’t been a part of my life that much. I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t know him personally. Ever since, I had only watched him from a distance. Maybe I found him interesting or something even when he was doing nothing. All he ever did on that hill was watch our knights spar.

I would join him sometimes. The two of us would only silently watch the knights and soldiers. We didn’t have much conversation. If we ever did, then it was only short and brief. After that day young lady Arielle arrived in our territory, I never saw him again.

He was seven or eight if I remembered correctly. It was really that long ago, huh.

I rubbed my belly in thought.

‘We’ll have to consummate our marriage tonight as well.’

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I wasn’t particularly flustered or anything. It was the natural way of things in our kingdom. Consummation comes after the celebration. I had many friends that went through the same thing.

They said that it hurt when their fiancées did it on the first night. It was like their insides were being dragged out of their bodies by a foreign object. Although, they said that after a couple of times, it would get pleasurable.

They encouraged me to do it as well but I didn’t really care what we had to do. My first priority after our marriage was to bear him a child. I’ll raise that child to become the next head after his father steps down.

Clyde seemed like an easy person to move around as a piece. He looked like the type to be gullible. Realistically speaking, only his magic was impressive. My conversations with him were short but I could tell what kind of person he was. He wasn’t a leader that the vice president of a prestigious academy was expected to be. That was my own conjecture.

He was the kind that needed to be led.

‘Although I said that I’d be a wife that supports her husband, I can’t sit still if he decides to screw our family over. We only need a doll to shield us from the other noble houses.’

We had been around for hundreds of years. This was the first time that a commoner had married into the family. Many risks come along with allowing a commoner to marry into this household.

To be honest, I didn’t see the appeal in him. Why were so many of my friends swooning over him like harlots? He was handsome, sure, but it was the kind of handsomeness you could find anywhere. It wasn’t hard to find someone who was the same or even handsomer.

His intelligence wasn’t that impressive either. I could name many people that could compare to him. Myself included.

“....”

‘He’s still not here...’

I had been waiting for an hour outside now. Everyone was already inside the banquet hall.

“Hello, miss Diane.” A voice called me from behind. I looked over my shoulder and saw a rather familiar but unpleasant face.

“Duchess Kenia.”

From behind, I could see her father and mother approach.

“Your Grace. Lady Sadith.”

I bowed respectively.

“What a fantastic sight, isn’t it? You’ve done quite well on your own. I heard from Mason that you did most of the planning on your own.” The duke looked around with a smile. There were many people helping themselves in the food section while chatting with others. All of them were wearing fancy clothes. It was as expected of nobles and the rich merchants.

I nodded respectively.

“Thank you for the compliment. I did my very best to make the venue pleasant to the eyes.”

I did most of the planning myself. My mother was the one that told me that it was expected of a wife to be hardworking and quick in organizing special events. It wouldn’t be my last since many more were to come.

“Where’s Clyde? I can’t see him anywhere...” Lady Kenia asked as she glanced behind me. There were still people coming in through the gates. I couldn’t see a light brown haired boy anywhere.

“He had other arrangements yesterday so I haven’t seen him.”

“Other arrangements?” Lady Sadith cocked her head.

“He went up there.” I pointed straight at the eerie mountain right behind the royal palace.

It was there that the main family of the Minerva household built their castle.

Duke Henry frowned.

“He never told me that he’ll go up there....”

“Yes. He didn’t tell me either. I had to probe the truth out of his mother.”

“W-Wait! He went to the Minerva household!?” Kenia reacted exaggeratedly for some reason. She appeared to be agitated over what she just heard.

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you stop him!?”

“Calm down, Kenia.” Duke Henry looked confused as to why she was reacting like this. Even Sadith looked surprised at her daughter’s behaviour.

I answered her question a few moments later.

“That...was out of my control. He left the academy early morning at the start of this week...No one was able to contact him since.”

“Has he made contact yet?” Duke Henry asked.

I shook my head. “He has neither responded to telepathic messages nor attempted to call us.”

“Dear me. What if something happened to the boy? Arielle will be so sad.” Sadith said with fake tears in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, honey. If it’s him then he can make it out. You know he’s a strong kid despite being so young.”

“If it’s alright to ask, where had duke Henry and lady Sadith been?” They had said that they would go on vacation since the next head had already been chosen. Kenia had been given all of the work that was previously duke Henry’s duty to complete.

“Ah, that? We heard of disturbances in the surrounding villages in my land. Many villagers disappeared over night. The residences were empty when I sent my knights to scout.”

“Empty villages? Have you found the cause yet?”

“Sadly no; by now, five villages had been mysteriously abandoned. This had taken a toll on our overall profit we receive yearly from their crops. But I can’t focus on money right now. If this reaches my city and Harz village then the residents will feel in danger. Both Mason and my people will be thrown into disarray.”

‘It’s odd how it happened right after the Red Hunt began.’

“Hmm...”

Whoever caused this must’ve used the fact that so many people will focus on monster hunting as a smokescreen. Even veteran adventurers would leave the villages they resided in to join in. Of course, this was merely my assumption.

There could be another reason.

“I put in a request to borrow Elsa but I’m still awaiting approval from the Knight Order.”

“Why not ask sir George? He has the vice captain role and I’m sure he’d agree.” I offered a solution. My father was the one that placed him under Captain Elsa. The two were both in the knight order so there shouldn’t be that big of a gap in skills or years of being active as knight. Rather, I was sure that sir George was more experienced. He could probably find out what happened.

“Hmm...He is indeed one of the strongest knights in the kingdom...” Duke Henry closed his eyes in thought. “Alright. But I can’t ask that tonight. His boy is more important tonight.”

“Excellent. That’s one problem solved.” Sadith said with a relieved sigh.

“Oh. It seems Mason is starting.” Duke Henry looked through the window at the man stepping onto the podium.

“Ah...” I massaged my forehead.

‘He’s not here yet...’

“Why not enter with us, Diane?” Sadith said with a smile and put her hands on both my shoulders. “Don’t worry about little Clyde. He’ll be here. He has to be.”

“....Alright.”

The four of us headed through the opened door leading to the banquet hall. Forget about me, it seemed Kenia was more worried about Clyde. She kept glancing back and forth.

We finally reached the inside of the hall. I heard my father’s voice on the stage.

–Thank you for coming today, everyone. Before the main event begins, I’d like everyone to familiarize yourselves with each other. Not many of us know each other after all. In this time and age, connections are more important than wealth.

“Says the guy who’s richer than me!” Duke Rosenberg shouted with a hearty laugh.

Everyone laughed.

-Hahaha. Indeed. Anyway, I would like to announce my successor tonight. Many of you know of this but some are still curious over who this might be. Tonight we celebrate an Age of Coming X Engagement party. It’s a big event but still worth it—

The door to the party hall was suddenly opened. My father who was still talking on the podium stopped at that moment.

I turned my head and almost gasped. It was the same for many others in the banquet hall.

The one that entered through those doors was the main star of the night. Clyde.

He was walking with the help of a cane. I could see him limping a bit on his left leg.

I could see my father smiling on the stage. He tapped the mic and cleared his throat.

—"As everyone can see, this is my new son! Clyde Astley Bentinck. The main event can now begin!”