CH 3

That night, Krua Alors took the VIP room of Argenta mansion.

“Have you checked?”

Diello, who entered the room silently, asked.

The woman in front of him bowed her head. She was dressed as a maid, but it could be seen from her swift movement that she had been trained.

“Yes. Your Excellency’s name on her back was elaborately engraved. Like what she said, the name was blurry and will likely disappear over time.”

Thud.

Diello Argenta, who was handling the paperwork, put down his quill pen quietly. All of Argenta’s informants who came inside one after another also gave the same answer.

“As I looked into it, it seems that the informant in Alors family also expressed that the family was too quiet even though Krua Alors awakened as a Ferro.”

Even though Alors and Argenta’s families were at odds, it was clear that if Krua had awakened as the real Ferro, there would have been an uproar since she was their daughter. At that moment, he suddenly recalled the events when he met her.

“Duke Diello Argenta.”

That was how she called him.

Krua Alors, who had deep purple hair, called him like that.

She was different from what he had expected. Even though there was a rumor that she was someone moody who would act spontaneously, when he saw her eyes, he could see the light in them as if she was looking forward to the future.

“Was she acting?”

He kept tapping his table before eventually sitting down.

The Duke of Alors was someone who saw everything, including his relatives, as a chess piece. So, it was a wise choice for Krua Alors to have a card hidden from him.

He thought of Krua, who proudly offered a deal with him.

Several times throughout the conversation, Krua Alors stretched out her hands as if he was trying to reassure him. It was like she was trying to reassure a frightened small animal without knowing who the small animal actually was.

“A deal with the enemy…”

He looked at the Duke of Alors’ letter, which Krua Alors had brought.

The marriage conditions written along with arrogant words despite sending a fake Ferro were absurd.

[ First of all, 20% of the income from major mines and fertile land in Argenta territory should be paid to the Duke of Alors as expenses for maintaining the dignity of Krua, the Duchess of Argenta. ]

He didn’t understand why the Duchess’ expenses for maintaining her dignity should go to Duke Alors.

[ Please put a hundred more Alors’ knights on Tila Hill between Argenta and Alors, where monsters have flocked recently. ]

Tila Hill was a strategic place between the two families.

If a war broke out between the families, the family that occupied that place would have an overwhelming advantage. In addition, Tila Hill was now owned by the Argenta family, yet the Duke of Alors wanted him to hand over the land.

[ And once a month, can you be considerate so that Krua can stop by to visit me? ]

The reason why he asked such a thing was written below, and it was absurd.

[ I couldn’t say that the relationship between Argenta and Alors was good, so it hurts to send my beautiful daughter away so suddenly. ]

“A beautiful daughter…”

That was what he wrote, but he sent his daughter like that to the enemy camp as if he was abandoning her. Diello, who was reading the threatening letter, recited the sentence and laughed. It was a cold smile, completely different from the warm smile he had earlier when he faced Krua Alors.

As he pulled the rope to call a maid, the maid who had already left quietly came in again. She entered the room quietly, unlike ordinary people.

“Vielle.”

“Yes.”

Diello gestured to the maid, who had her head down.

“Take care of the person who will become the Duchess. And…”

He sealed the letter by stamping the family’s seal on the reply to the Duke of Alors.

“Do what the Alors want.”

Duke Alors had given him an interesting bride. He laughed silently, thinking about that.

As he thought so, he laughed silently.

* * *

The preparations for the extravagant wedding soon began. As long as Duke Argenta had found his Ferro, there was no reason to delay it, so the progress was quick.

The cost of the wedding was 50% Argenta and 50% Alors.

It was a seemingly equal deal, but the reality was different. Unlike the one-time cost of the wedding, the benefits given to Alors were huge under the pretext of this marriage. Of course, it was only a temporary expenditure.

‘Diello will get it again when his powers awaken anyway.’

Although the importance of Ferro was great, the Argenta regarded it as a brief loan from Alors.

But even so, it was natural that Argenta’s servants did not immediately like Alors. In addition, many unnecessary disputes broke out, perhaps because the Argenta family wasn’t quite welcoming to strangers.

“We’d like to place an order for your wedding dress in advance. After you choose four of these designs, I’ll tell them to produce it.”

Perhaps because of the rumors about the benefits Alors got from this marriage, Argenta’s servant did not treat her well. Naturally, Krua had no intention of bowing down to such people. She was the Duchess here anyway, so shouldn’t she be comfortable?

“That’s all?”

She answered without even looking at the design of the dresses.

The maid was stunned.

“Pardon?”

“Usually, we need to change clothes at least five times when we get married.”

She gazed straight at the maid.

“But, does it make sense that there are only four dresses? Are you telling me to wear the same dress two times? At an extravagant wedding where all the families who know Alors and Argenta come? In addition…”

She pointed outside.

“How could you know what the weather will be like that day and yet only prepare four dresses? There should at least be a spare.”

The weather in Argenta was famous for being unstable.

It would be sunny in the morning without any clouds, but the rain could suddenly pour down. Thanks to this, Krua Alors could be in trouble for only preparing four dresses.

“…I understand.”

“And prepare at least three necklaces, shoes, and earrings that fit my dresses.”

It would barely make a dent in her budget anyway, right?

As she stared at the maid, the maid bowed her head as if she was a little embarrassed and then retreated without a word.

She didn’t want to be treated as weak.

If such trouble came again, it seemed necessary to discipline the servants.

* * *

While a separate building was built only for the wedding ceremony, a banquet would be held to announce the marriage of the two families to the high society.

It was, of course, Diello Argenta and her, who would be hosting the banquet today.

The problem was that they were known to have a sweet marriage in high society. The fact about Ferro and the family head’s abilities was a secret that only the three families and the imperial family knew about.

“At today’s banquet, Miss Krua Alors will shine the most.”

The maid who was touching her dress uttered.

“It’s been a long time since a marriage between the three dukes’ families.”

The maid, who introduced herself as Vielle, treated her kindly. Of course, she was well aware that it was just a facade.

“I know.”

She replied, glancing at Vielle.

She was the maid of Argenta and the head of the ‘cleaning department.’ However, cleaners weren’t just people who swept and wiped the floor. They were meant to do the real ‘cleaning up.’

It meant that they were people who would deal with things that got in the way of the Argenta family.

In the original, the girl vowed to devote her life to Argenta, so she was a person who wouldn’t hesitate to put blood on her hands. Even though she was smiling so kindly in front of her now, it meant she was a completely different person from what she seemed like now.

Even if she read the original story halfway through, Krua knew of that fact.

Even if Diello Argenta could not make a decision easily due to his nice personality, anyone who harmed the Argenta family could not avoid Vielle’s sword. In the original story, it was this Vielle who almost killed Krua Alors after she was found to be a fake Ferro. However, she couldn’t do that because the Duke of Alors killed her first.

“Vielle.”

Even though the original Krua was afraid of Vielle, she was in a different situation.

Did Vielle already know that she was a fake Ferro? Her deal with Diello Argenta was a secret, but Vielle might know because of her position.

Still, the way to find out was simple.

“Yes, Miss Krua Alors?”

Since she was not married yet, she didn’t call her Madame. Krua glanced up at the thorough maid before opening her mouth.

“Did Diello Argenta order you to serve me?”

If he had ordered Vielle directly, it would mean that he had already shared the plan with her. Diello also knew what kind of work Vielle did. So, if she had to hide the fact that she was a fake Ferro, he wouldn’t have put a quick-witted woman to her.

“Of course,” answered Vielle immediately.

“Even after the wedding ceremony from today’s banquet, he ordered me to use my heart and soul to work to support you.”

As she continued with a faint smile, she nodded slightly at Krua’s words. Her words meant that Diello really intended to protect her when he gave Vielle to her.

“Then, I’ll be in your care in the future.”

In addition, it also meant that she knew who she was.

Vielle bowed her head.

“I look forward to your kind cooperation, Miss Krua Alors.”

She said it softly, but she knew that Vielle was still wary of her. After all, it was her job to be wary of outsiders until the very end.

“….”

Even though Krua had no intention of deceiving Argenta, she couldn’t help being nervous again.

While she was greeting, she glanced over the window in her room. Beyond the white walls and windows, she could see the shining sea. The view was good, although she knew that the inside of the sea was not as beautiful as it looked.

“That’s the endless sea, right?”

What she referred to was that sea.

The sea, which was much farther than it looked, was where the Duke of Argenta had been preventing monster invasions for generations. It was Argenta’s fire that constantly prevented monsters from swimming out of the sea or sticking their heads out between the mudflats.

“Yes, that’s right. It must be your first time seeing it.”

Vielle gazed at her and smiled lightly.

“Compared to Alor’s endless forest, what do you think?”

‘…Endless forest.’

It was where Alors prevented the monsters from coming in. Just as Argenta prevented monsters in the endless sea, the three Dukes surrounding this empire were defending different places.

The Cartiel family probably defended the desert with its wind.

It was said that this was an arrangement that had been made with the Imperial Family since ancient times since they had the power to deal with each element. There was also a rumor that the reason why each family had to defend these areas was the Imperial Family’s trick to prevent them from going wild.

Since they had powerful abilities, they could focus on beating the monsters instead of going wild.

“It’s beautiful.”

Krua said it sincerely with all her heart.

She actually didn’t see the forest Alors defended, and she liked the view. In particular, the sea beyond this white building was very great.

“I heard that Alors gets tired of water, but I guess that’s not it.”

Vielle grinned softly as she shrugged her shoulders.

“If I have the ability to control water, why would I be tired of it?”

While she thought it was hard at first, the ability seemed like it adjusted itself to her so she could control it easily. Especially when she first used her powers in front of Diello, since then, this ability has felt more familiar.

It allowed the water in the glass in front of her to move as she wanted.

Crash!

“….”

It was clear that she was better at handling water than the original Krua. She was just going to try to control a few small drops of water, but the whole water in the glass was shaking. It seemed that controlling water was much more natural than she thought.

Thinking that, Krua tried to move the water in the glass into a dolphin shape.

Splash!

Suddenly, a small dolphin that jumped lightly on the surface of the water disappeared back into the water as if it was alive.

The whole process was strangely as easy as breathing.

* * *

The banquet would begin soon.

With the wedding announcement between Diello Argenta and Krua Alors, the high society was in turmoil.