Chapter 79
Emerging from the mansion, Franz and Arian strolled leisurely in the vicinity.
“Are you not cold?”
Arian asked worriedly.
The weather in the North was certainly cold, as his breath plumed out every time he exhaled. However, thanks to drinking wine with Ballak just before, his body heat had risen, so he wasn’t particularly cold.
Rather, it was just right, as the cool air seemed to dispel a bit of his drunkenness.
“I’m fine. Are you not cold?”
Arian was wearing thin clothes with a large blanket draped over her shoulders.
So if anyone was cold, it would be her, not him in his thick clothes.
“I lived here until I went to the Magic Tower, you know…?”
“But you’ve been cooped up in the Magic Tower for over ten years.”
“So I actually do feel a bit cold. I really don’t know how I managed to live here.”
Arian said, playfully shrugging her shoulders.
At that, Franz let out a small laugh.
Laughing at such a trivial thing meant he was definitely drunk.
'Would it feel like this if I married Arian?'
A life where they laughed and rejoiced over trivial things didn’t seem too bad.
Arian had changed a lot from before, so he would surely be able to live without any major problems.
He wouldn’t have even had such thoughts normally, but it seemed the impact of this incident was quite significant.
Haa-.
Along with the pure white breath that escaped Franz’s lips, his thoughts scattered and disappeared.
It was meaningless to think about it now.
Ballak had said he would cancel the arranged marriage, and accordingly, there was no longer any need for him to take responsibility.
And it was time to convey that fact to her.
“Arian.”
Franz said, slowing his walking pace.
“Yes, please speak.”
“I had a talk with Duke Phrygia about your arranged marriage, you see?”
“Ah, yes…”
Arian’s voice sank lower.
She seemed worried that the result might not be good.
It was because Franz had deliberately created such an atmosphere.
Wanting to tease her, he had lowered his voice a bit and made his tone as serious as possible, so Arian naturally had no choice but to interpret it that way.
However, the words that soon came out of Franz’s mouth were the opposite of that serious atmosphere.
“Duke Phrygia said he would cancel the arranged marriage.”
“Pardon…?”
Arian’s eyes widened in shock.
The surprise was an absolute success.
Feeling proud of that, Franz continued speaking.
“You don’t have to go through with the arranged marriage. You can just meet a man you like and marry him.”
“Wait a minute. Then what about the family’s honor? We’ll definitely hear unpleasant things.”
“Duke Phrygia said he would take full responsibility. He said you are more important than the family.”
He was a truly incredible father who put his daughter before his family, a rarity in this era.
Of course, someone might call it truly selfish, but at the very least, Franz decided to support that choice.
Arian would surely be moved by Ballak’s choice as well.
Yes, she definitely should have been…
Yet the reaction of Arian, the person in question, was somewhat subtle.
“Why…?”
For some reason, dissatisfaction was evident in Arian’s voice.
Even though it was definitely something to be happy about.
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“That is true, but… I guess you could say I didn’t want it to happen like this…”
“Then how did you want it to happen?”
“Well, obviously…”
Arian trailed off and lowered her head.
Tilting his head in confusion, Franz suddenly realized why she had said such a thing.
She had said she hated the arranged marriage, but now that the family was actually making a sacrifice, she was feeling guilty.
Because, after all, it was her precious family and her precious house.
Anyway, even though she always grumbled, she had a soft heart.
Franz took off his coat and draped it over Arian’s shoulders as he spoke.
“It will be fine.”
“Of course it will be…”
Arian said that and let out a long sigh.
Judging by the length of her sigh, her guilt seemed quite immense.
Afterwards, the two walked in the vicinity a little more before returning to the mansion.
There was no particular conversation, but it wasn’t exactly an uncomfortable atmosphere either.
“Then, please get some sleep.”
Upon arriving at the room where Franz was staying, Arian bowed her head lightly in greeting.
Perhaps still bothered by what had just happened, her tone lacked energy.
“Yeah, sleep well and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, I’ll come to escort you in the morning.”
Having finished her greeting, Arian left the room and the door closed firmly.
Dragging his tired body straight to the bed, Franz lay down and fell into thought.
'I’ve safely resolved one thing for now, but…'
Sadly, there was one more problem.
It was deciphering the code left behind by that cultist bastard.
He had originally planned to resolve it right away today, but because he was busy with Arian’s situation, he hadn’t been able to pay attention to it.
Well, wouldn’t it be fine?
It wasn’t like today was the only time he had.
He could just slowly look into it tomorrow.
Franz closed his eyes with a relaxed mind.
Completely unaware that someone outside the room was burning with anxiety.
Meanwhile, Arian, who had left Franz and exited the room, was letting out a long sigh as she walked down the corridor.
'I thought it was all over…'
If she had just waited like this, she could have married Franz without any issues.
She didn’t feel comfortable because it felt like she was taking advantage of Franz’s consideration, but she planned to apologize for that later. For now, getting married was the priority.
But everything had gone awry. It was because her father cherished her so much that he canceled the arranged marriage.
Of course, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was a situation where she couldn’t thank Franz enough for his efforts, or her father enough for his love, so she could only call it a regrettable turn of events.
The only problem was that the regret was far too great.
'Still, it’s not all bad.'
Hadn’t Franz himself offered to marry her?
That meant he didn’t think of her as a bad marriage partner.
If he had thought poorly of it, he wouldn’t have even accepted such a condition.
So she couldn’t stay depressed forever.
Even if it was a shame, she had to forget what had already passed and plan for what was next.
Since she had gone through the trouble of bringing him to her family home, if she made the most of this opportunity, marriage might not be that far off.
Marriage with Franz.
A happy life with beautiful children.
Just thinking about it brought a natural smile to her lips.
That night, Arian had the dream she had so desperately wished for.
It was a dream of going to bed with Franz in a good mood.
* * *
Was it because his sleeping environment had changed?
Waking up earlier than usual, Franz finished getting ready first and waited for Arian.
How much time had passed like that?
“Magic Tower Lord, excuse me.”
A voice and a knock sounded, and then the door opened as Arian entered the room.
“You were awake…?”
Arian’s face flushed with embarrassment.
She had probably thought he was sleeping.
Indeed, that was why she had opened the door without asking for permission.
“Yeah, I woke up a bit early.”
“Were you uncomfortable by any chance?”
“No, it was fine. I think it’s just because I’m sleeping in a new place.”
“If you’re tired, would you like to sleep a little more?”
“No, I should get up.”
He wanted to relax a bit since he had finally escaped the Magic Tower, but sadly, he couldn’t. He had to be mindful since he was indebted to another family.
Afterwards, Franz had a simple breakfast with the people of the Ducal House of Phrygia.
The bustling breakfast table was quite awkward, but it wasn’t bad. Listening to the conversations going back and forth meant he wasn’t bored, either.
If there was a problem, it was only that Ballak’s expression wasn’t good.
His dark complexion and the way he picked at his food made it seem like he was paying a heavy price for drinking too much.
It was when they were walking down the corridor after finishing their meal.
Suddenly, Arian clapped her hands (Clap-) and spoke.
“Ah, right. Come to think of it, we had something to ask Grandfather, didn’t we?”
She was talking about the code left by the Cultist.
When he had told her about the code, Arian said her grandfather might know.
“I’m going to ask him now. Would you like to come with me if you’d like…?”
“Sure, let’s go.”
Franz readily accepted.
Since it was his problem in the first place, he couldn’t just leave it entirely to her.
Hearing it directly would be more certain, too.
Franz followed Arian out of the mansion.
And after they had walked for a bit, there was a small building located away from the mansion.
“My grandfather and grandmothers are over there. They live separately because they don’t like the hustle and bustle.”
“I see.”
He had wondered why he hadn’t seen them even once, but they had been living separately all along.
With that thought, Franz walked with Arian and, not long after, met the previous head of the Ducal House of Phrygia.
“My eldest granddaughter is here!”
He had a large build and a fierce appearance that rivaled the current head.
His hair had turned pure white, making him look even more like a nomad of the North, the man appeared before Franz and Arian.
“Grandfather-!”
…That appearance was a family trait.
He couldn’t even imagine what kind of changes the youngest, Marcel, would undergo in the future.