Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Clarisse, Your marriage partner has been decided.”

She had thought that it was unusual to be summoned to her fathers’ office, since he had never done so before, but after listening to what he said, Clarisse Farenheit blinked her violet eyes.

“My marriage partner ..?”

“Yes.”

Her father did not even make eye contact with Clarisse, as he explained the situation in a businesslike manner.

There had been a battle with a neighboring country on the border.

When the king had asked his vassal what he would like as a reward for his remarkable war achievements, he asked for marriage to the “Jewel of Farenheit” who was rumored to be the best in the kingdom, and the king granted the request on the condition that the vassal pledged eternal loyalty to the royal family.

The “Jewel of Farenheit” was the title given to Matilda, the eldest of the two daughters of Viscount Farenheit.

Matilda was beautiful from birth, her blue eyes charmed all who saw her, and her voice was as pretty as a bell and made all around her embarrass themselves by tripping over themselves when they saw her. After she came of age this had not changed, and she was constantly receiving offers of marriage from all the families around the kingdom. She was a daughter that her parents were proud of, and they felt happy just by looking at her.

Clarisse, on the other hand, had violet eyes and when compared to her elder sister, her appearance was average and there was nothing special about her. She was always seen as an insignificant presence in the Farenheit family. If you looked at her, you could see the intelligence in her eyes and her lady-like manners, but even that was overshadowed by Matilda’s beauty.

Her parents gave Matilda whatever she wanted and gave the leftovers to Clarisse.

The butler and other servants had no choice but to follow the parents’ attitude.

Clarisse was actually treated very kindly behind the scenes by those who felt sorry for her, but since they knew they couldn’t go against her parents, as they were their master, they only did it in the shadows.

Clarisse knew that her parents would probably arrange her marriage to some nobleman sooner or later, but she had never thought that she would be offered to a Frontier Margrave, whom she had never met, for the sake of her sister.

They had not the slightest intention of offering the lovely Matilda to a stranger  who was living far away near the border, although the Frontier Margrave undoubtedly had meant her sister.

However, the Frontier Margrave had not specified Matilda by name, so they weren’t disobeying the royal order.

“I have heard that your partner, Margrave Gutenberg, is a great man.”

Her mother, who was sitting next to her father, remarked, but Clarisse, who was fond of books and secretly read the newspapers, knew that the Margrave Gutenberg was rumored to be a cruel man with the appearance of a wolf and the temperament of a tiger. The nickname he was given was the Cannibal Margrave.

‘Neither father nor mother loved me… until the end…’

Clarisse, who hid her disappointment to the fullest extent, had no choice but to say yes.

After Clarisse returned to her room, her sister Matilda came in.

“What should I wear to the ball tonight?”

Clarisse looked at her sister, who looked like a beautiful porcelain doll.

“…A ball?”

Matilda saw the surprised look on Clarisse‘s face, and said in an apologetic tone .

“You may not have been invited. Just me…”

‘Again…’

Her sister always used to make sarcastic and mean remarks  like this, tormenting Clarisse constantly and in the past, she used to cry a lot because of that, but now she has gotten used to it since she knew that her sister was that kind of person, so she tried not to take it personally, but on days like today, when she was already feeling down, it was hard to bear.

“I’ve heard from our father that your marriage partner has been chosen.”

The voice of her lovely sister cornered Clarisse, although her voice was as soft as a ringing bell, her words were laced with poison.

“He said he couldn’t bear the thought of letting me go, so he will send you instead of me. I’m so happy for you, I think it’s a wonderful match for you. You get to become the wife of a Margrave. Well, it’s my hand-me-down though. Fufufu.”

Clarisse felt the pain of a sharp knife slicing through her chest. She stared at her sister who had a beautiful smile on her face as if she was pleased with making her suffer.

“I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about him, apparently he eats people, right? …I wonder if he took you to be a sacrifice.”

Matilda finally left after she was satisfied with her verbal tormenting of her, Clarisse hugged her cold body in an attempt to warm herself up.

“—My Lady.”

Mary, the kind maid who had been in the room before Matilda came in, called Clarisse’s name softly in a caring manner. Clarisse came back to her senses and tried to smile at her.

“What is it?”

“Would you like me to get you something warm to drink?”

After being treated so coldly by her family, those kind words almost brought tears to her eyes.

“Thank you. But that’s okay. Can you leave me alone for a while?”

“As you wish, My Lady.”

Mary left the room with a worried look on her face, and Clarisse sat quietly on the couch by the window until night fell. In the midst of the silence, Clarisse slowly made up her mind.

‘Yes, it will be fine.‘

The king of this country was reputed to be a wise king, and there’s no way that the Margrave that he valued was a man-eater.*

One thing that concerned her was whether the Margrave had met Matilda somewhere and had then taken a liking to her. Matilda has been to many more soirées than Clarisse, and with her good looks, there was a good chance that was what happened.

In that case, he might be furious once he realises that Clarisse was sent in her place. If that happened, the only thing she could do was to apologize so that he might forgive her, and she would have to bear the guilt of her family.

Once she had made up her mind, her previously frozen body finally began to move.

Early Fall・Clarisse Farenheit・Nineteen years old.