Chapter 76
Arian’s father, Duke Phrygia, was conversing with Arian when someone approached Franz.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lise Phrygi-ah, the hostess of the family.”
She was the hostess of the family.
She was Ballak’s lawful wife and Arian’s mother.
“It is a pleasure. I am the Magic Tower master, Franz Gilbert.”
At her polite greeting, Franz also bowed politely.
“I have heard much about our daughter serving as the Magic Tower master’s secretary, but I am a little worried about whether she is doing well. She left my care when she was so immature, you see…”
“She is doing more than well enough, so you do not need to worry. She is one of the few people in the Magic Tower whom I can trust and entrust with work.”
“That is a relief, then.”
She chuckled softly.
['They look alike.']
Blood truly couldn’t be ignored. From her smiling expression to her worried look, her overall facial features were quite similar, to the point where he wondered if Arian would look like this as the years went by.
Just then, someone else approached Franz’s side.
This time, it wasn’t one person, but two.
“Hello. I am the second daughter of the duke’s house of Phrygia, Luri Phrygi-ah.”
“Hello. I am the third daughter, Lina Phrygi-ah.”
The second and third daughters.
Since Arian was the eldest, they were her younger sisters.
“Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
Franz politely accepted their greetings.
But it didn’t end there.
As if they had been waiting, they approached Franz one after another to greet him.
It wasn’t as if people from other families were mixed in; they were all from the duke’s house of Phrygia.
He knew that nobles usually had many children, but the duke’s house of Phrygia seemed to have an exceptionally large number.
Having exchanged greetings with no less than six of Arian’s younger sisters, Franz slowly began to realize the situation.
['A son wasn’t born.']
It varied by family, but usually, it was a man who inherited the position of the family head.
The duke’s house of Phrygia was probably the same. Since a son to pass the headship to wasn’t born, they had kept having children.
Sure enough, the last person to come greet Franz was a rather young-looking boy.
“Hello, Magic Tower master. I am Marcel Phrygi-ah.”
“Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
“I have something I am curious about. May I ask you a question?”
They had just met, so what could he be so curious about?
Did he perhaps have an interest in magic?
Franz thought so as he replied.
“Yes, please speak comfortably.”
“I am curious about what you rode here. It is fascinating that it moves even though it isn’t pulled by horses.”
Finally, finally, someone had taken an interest in the carriage.
It seemed that no matter how young, a boy was still a boy.
['I was almost disappointed.']
He had been anticipating, 'Won’t someone ask about the carriage?', but he had almost felt quite disappointed while passing by the six younger sisters when nothing was said.
Of course, it was fine now since Marcel had asked.
Anyway, since he had shown interest, it was only right to reward him accordingly.
“It is a newly developed carriage from the Magic Tower, but if you are curious, it is fine for you to take a ride.”
“R-really?”
Marcel’s eyes widened as he answered, but he soon began to gauge his mother’s reaction.
He was seeking permission, just in case it might be a nuisance.
At that, Lise smiled and spoke to Franz.
“If it is alright with the Magic Tower master, I would like to ask this favor of you.”
As soon as Lise’s permission was given, Marcel beamed a bright smile.
Even if he was the next family head, a kid was still a kid; it was an innocent smile fitting for his age.
“Shall we go, then?”
“Yes-!”
Franz walked past Arian, who was conversing with Ballak, and headed with Marcel toward the temporarily parked carriage.
“Wow…”
Marcel let out an exclamation of awe as he looked around the exterior of the carriage.
He looked like a child who had just discovered a wondrous contraption, a marvel beyond his wildest dreams.
“You may touch it.”
“Y-yes…!”
Even though Franz had readily given his permission, Marcel’s actions remained cautious.
Sometimes immature nobles would act however they pleased without knowing their place, but this seemed to be the result of a good upbringing.
Before long, Franz and Marcel got into the carriage.
When Franz pressed the button to activate its magical workings,
“Wow-!”
Seeing the lights turn on in the magic circuits, Marcel let out another exclamation.
Should I gift him one later?
Seeing him genuinely like it brought that thought to mind.
This must be why one feels compelled to bestow gifts upon a child.
Though he wasn’t a real uncle, of course.
But who could have known that Marcel was thinking of a relationship even closer than that of an uncle?
At the very least, Franz didn’t know.
It happened shortly after the carriage departed.
“Magic Tower master.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“May I ask when you plan to marry my older sister?”
…?
At Marcel’s words, Franz’s mind froze.
What on earth was he talking about?
It was so absurd that he couldn’t even fathom how to react.
“What do you mean by that…”
“I know it is rude to say this, but because sister Arian hasn’t married, the other sisters are delaying their marriages as well. It is old-fashioned, but a custom is a custom. This party was actually held to find a husband for sister Arian.”
He understood what was being said, at least.
That the other younger sisters couldn’t get married because of Arian.
To even think about his older sisters' marriages, he was truly a kind younger brother.
If he had a younger brother like this, he felt he could cherish him endlessly.
But apart from that, he couldn’t erase the thought that this was definitely a misunderstanding.
Because.
['I’m not Arian’s marriage partner, though?']
He wasn’t even courting Arian, let alone marrying her.
Hearing the word marriage out of nowhere was simply baffling.
Seueup-.
But since Marcel had said all that, it felt a bit awkward to just flatly deny it.
A savior who could finally rescue his sisters had appeared, but if it turned out that he wasn’t a savior and was just some guy who came to enjoy the party, it would be a bit much.
He knew all too well that it wasn’t true, but he was reluctant to reveal the truth.
But even so, marriage wasn’t something to be easily glossed over, so Franz opened his mouth.
“It seems you are misunderstanding something, young master.”
“A misunderstanding…?”
“Yes, Arian and I are not in that kind of relationship.”
“Ah…?”
A look of fluster spread across Marcel’s face.
“I apologize for my great rudeness. I didn’t know that and…”
“It is fine. I am only sorry that I could not be of help.”
Strictly speaking, it was purely a misunderstanding, but the human heart wasn’t so cold.
It would be more comfortable to just take the lives of demons instead.
“If it isn’t the Magic Tower master either, then sister Arian will really have to go through with an arranged marriage now…”
Marcel said in a regretful tone.
His heart was probably aching at the fact that his older sister would marry someone she didn’t want to.
In a more enlightened age, one might think of it as a truly archaic story, but arranged marriages were a common occurrence here.
For nobles, marriage was bound to be used as a political tool rather than for love between a man and a woman.
Even if the partner was an unwanted one, if the family wanted it, they had no choice but to be joined together.
['I feel sorry for no reason…']
Somehow, it felt as if Arian was being forced into an arranged marriage because of him.
“Could you not use your influence a little, young master?”
“I am aware that I am the next family head, but I think that would be difficult.”
Right, he knew.
He had just said it even though he knew.
['Honestly, I’d rather Arian didn’t end up like that.']
It was another family’s business, but wasn’t Arian the secretary who followed him, after all?
He wanted her to live a happy life if possible, as comfortably and joyfully as she deserved after her suffering in the Magic Tower.
Besides, it would be troublesome if she suddenly vacated her position for an arranged marriage or whatever.
She needed to do a handover for at least a year, no, two years. It would be a disaster if she just left.
Continuing his thoughts like that, Franz let out a sigh.
To be worrying about someone else’s marriage when he didn’t even have enough time to think about his own - what kind of situation was this…
Anyway, he couldn’t just leave it like this.
“I will try to do something about it.”
“Pardon…? You mean…?”
“Wouldn’t it be good to at least try?”
She had said her type was a cool, handsome man of the same age who was good at magic, so if he looked around inside the Magic Tower, it would work out somehow.
Though he would have to talk to Arian first.
In the end, the carriage ride with Marcel concluded without any major gains.
He should have asked about the duke’s house of Phrygia’s trident, but his head had been so full of Arian’s arranged marriage that he ended up missing the chance.
“Thank you. The new carriage is a truly wonderful item.”
“I hope it was a good experience for you.”
Marcel got out of the carriage and bowed his head in greeting.
As expected, the kid was a polite and amiable kid who was quite to his liking, the more he observed him.
Afterward, when he returned from parking the carriage in a suitable spot, Arian approached him.
“Magic Tower master, I will guide you to your room.”
“Did the others go in first?”
“Yes, when I said I would guide you, they left it to me and went in first. We will gather again later for the meal, so do not worry.”
He hadn’t particularly been worried, though.
Well, it didn’t matter either way.
Arian stepped into the interior of the mansion, and Franz followed behind Arian, leaving the darkening sky behind him.
The room he soon arrived at with Arian was quite luxurious.
Befitting the title of a ducal house, it didn’t fall behind even when compared to the Magic Tower master’s office.
“You can just think, “This is my room,” and stay comfortably. If there is anything inconvenient, you can call any of the servants and tell them. Then, when the meal is ready in a little while…”
“Arian, wait a moment.”
Franz caught hold of Arian as she tried to leave the room.
It was time to bring up the story he had heard from Marcel.