In an office room within the grand Ravenshade mansion, a woman sat behind her desk.
Her long golden hair flowed down her back as her clear green eyes remained focused on the documents before her.
In that quiet room filled with books and ornaments, the woman worked through the documents on the table with a precision that felt almost abnormal.
This was Seraphina Ravenshade—the Duchess of House Ravenshade and Adrian's mother.
Seraphina continued working in silence for a long time, until a knock came from the office door, breaking the silence that had filled the room.
Seraphina raised her head as her green eyes briefly turned to the door. Then she spoke in a commanding tone.
"You may come in."
The door opened, and a man wearing a formal black suit stepped inside.
With his white hair combed back neatly and clean-shaven beard, the man appeared to be in his late forties. Yet his face contained barely any wrinkles that usually came with aging.
Closing the door, Winston, the butler of House Ravenshade, gave Seraphina a deep bow.
Without even waiting for him to lift his head, Seraphina asked in a perfunctory tone with her gaze still focused on the documents at her desk.
"What is it? If it's about the war, then I'm not in the mood to hear about it."
Winston, who seemed to have been just about to speak, closed his mouth as he stared at Seraphina silently. His gaze held several emotions, the most prominent being frustration and resignation.
He let out a barely audible sigh as he replied.
"My lady, you should not speak so lightly of it. The duke is on the front lines, battling—"
"Battling?" Seraphina cut him off. "I think you mean slaughtering. Battles are where both sides can lose. But you know as well as I do that only a few things can actually threaten his life. He is out on the battlefield without any care, while I have to deal with all the responsibilities of the house."
She lifted up the quill lying on her desk and began writing on the document. Noticing her uncaring attitude and sarcastic tone of her voice, Winston spoke in a slightly concerned tone.
"The duke is holding back The Starshaper. You should know how much of a threat that woman is. Does that still not concern you?"
Seraphina didn't react in any way, still focused on the paper in front of her as she continued writing. When she spoke, her tone was commanding.
"Winston, you still haven't answered me. Why are you here?"
Her tone made Winston lower his head slightly, perhaps in resignation, or perhaps in submission. He let go of their previous discussion as he replied.
"The investigation related to those rumors circulating within the noble society is finished."
"And the result?" Seraphina asked.
"The rumors…" Winston hesitated slightly. "They have been confirmed to be true. Not only that, the rumors seem to be downplaying the truth."
The quill in Seraphina's hand stopped. For the first time since Winston entered the office, she lifted her head and looked at him. Her expression contained disbelief and doubt as she looked at him with a questioning gaze.
"What is the actual number?"
"It is four," Winston replied. "And all of them are major ones."
Seraphina leaned back in her chair, looking at the ceiling with an expression of contemplation. Winston stood silently, waiting for her to process the new information.
The truth was simply that absurd. She likely needed to think about a lot of things due to this new revelation.
After a while, Seraphina asked while still leaning back in her chair.
"Winston, what do you think Ravenshade should do?"
Winston stared at her quietly, trying to infer what her intention was for asking him that question. He slowly opened his mouth hesitantly.
"My lady, this could result in major shifts in the future. All factions will move, even the imperial family wouldn't stay still. Ravenshade will have to act as well."
He took a step toward her.
"My lady, please do not take your usual wait-and-see approach this time."
As he finished speaking, he stepped back, waiting for her reply with a concerned expression.
Winston had spoken too much; he had overstepped. He was a mere subordinate; he had no right to tell his master what to do. Still, he had no regrets; the matter was just that important.
Seraphina stood up and walked towards the window behind her desk. Outside it, she could see Adrian swinging down a wooden sword as Joran gave him instructions from time to time.
Watching Adrian's tiny figure, which looked even smaller due to the distance, Seraphina replied.
"Do not worry, Winston. This time Ravenshade will move. I will act personally."
***
The room was silent, almost oppressively so. A faint tension hung in the air.
A tall yet lean man sat on a chair, his slightly long brown hair tied neatly behind his back as his bronze-colored eyes remained focused on her. The man was her father.
Evangeline sat on the cushioned chair across from her father, her small hands resting neatly on her lap.
But her gaze was distant, her eyes unfocused as she looked in her father's direction.
Her reaction was understandable. After all, the words she had heard from her father were just that hard for her to believe or accept.
"Papa… could you repeat that? I don't think I heard you correctly," she asked in a low voice.
Her father's expression stiffened slightly. He opened his mouth, but no words came out, so he closed it again. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.
"Evangel, you are going to get engaged. Oh… do you perhaps not know what an engagement is?"
She could feel the hesitation and guilt mixed in her father's voice. But still, she couldn't just accept what he was telling her.
"No! I don't wanna! Why Papa? Why do I have to get engaged?" she began flailing her arms around in an attempt to throw a tantrum.
She even stood up from her chair and sat on the ground as she continued waving her arms in protest. Observing her react so strongly, the guilt on her father's face deepened. Even her mother watched from behind her with a concerned expression.
After hesitating slightly, her father lifted her up into his arms and began patting her head as he spoke in a gentle tone.
"Evangel, I don't understand why you hate it so much, but please try to understand your father. It is for your own good. It will change your future in ways you couldn't imagine."
She calmed down slightly, looking at her father's face as he continued patting her head. Then she spoke in a barely audible voice.
"But I still don't want to…"
Of course, she didn't want this. She had decided that she would live this life the way she wanted. And she was certain that an engagement would hinder what she wanted to do.
More than that, she didn't want an engagement that was… formal and arranged. She wanted to choose her partner when she grew up.
'I guess this is how the protagonist of that novel must have felt when she was told she would be married to that cruel crown prince.'
Of course, she knew that this wasn't Earth, and the standards and logic of that place didn't apply in this world. In this world, it was normal for noble children to be engaged during their childhood, at least that was what she had heard from her mother.
Besides, engagements like this were more political transactions than anything else. That was not to say that her family was about to sell her off; they were too caring for that to be the case.
Her father's gaze remained fixed on her. Perhaps he had sensed her reluctance, but he let out a quiet sigh as he spoke kindly.
"I see… If you really hate it that much, then you don't have to. I will cancel it."
Hearing his words, she panicked slightly.
In her mind, her imagination spiraled.
Her father went to the mansion of the noble family where she was supposed to be engaged. Lowering his head, he told them that he would cancel the engagement.
The smiles around the room slowly faded, and tension rose in the room. Evangeline could even hear the nobles' voices as they replied coldly.
'So… you are breaking the agreement you made with us? How dare you humiliate us like this!'
'You will pay for going back on your word,' a noble lady said, hiding half her face with a folding fan.
After that, the nobles used their power, and the Florevelle family fell to ruin. Evangeline could even imagine the run-down view of this mansion after a few years.
Her palms grew sweaty as her imagination spiraled to that point.
'No! I can't let that happen! I have to stop that from happening, no matter what. Even if I have to sacrifice myself to those nobles.'
She hesitated slightly before she spoke in a hurried tone.
"No—Papa, you don't have to. I'm okay… I don't hate it that much."
Seeing her sudden change in attitude, her father tilted his head in confusion. It was as if he couldn't understand the situation anymore. He muttered in a barely audible voice.
"My mother was right… children are impossible to understand."
Then he spoke to her.
"So… you are okay with the engagement?"
Evangeline only nodded her tiny head.
A smile spread across her father's face as he sighed. His expression slowly relaxed as the guilt and reluctance present before faded.
"When Arlen was your age, he would cry over just about anything. I wonder if it's because you take after your mother, but you are unusually mature for your age."
He slowly put her down, then left the room with light steps. Watching him leave, Evangeline thought.
'Where did it all go wrong?'
But of course, she knew the answer to that question. It had all started on that day.