The Villainess Proposed a Contractual Marriage

Chapter 56: At the Crossroads of Two Paths

Time's relentless march had forced our hand before we realized it.

One week remained until the hunting festival began.

If we left the Duke's mansion in the capital now, we'd arrive at the duchy right on schedule. So we were packing light and heading for the entrance.

"Dad! Mom! I'm all ready!"

Tina rushed down the stairs towards Elphisia and me, who were already waiting at the entrance. She spread her arms wide, clearly intending to hug us, but a large obstacle appeared between Tina and us.

"Oh my, you must have missed your grandfather terribly."

It was the Duke.

He swooped in with unnecessarily grand flourish and scooped up Tina, who had her arms outstretched.

"Oh, um... Grandfather?"

"Yes, my dear. No matter how much you missed me, you shouldn't run down the stairs like that."

"... Yes! I missed you, hehe..."

"Well, in that case, I suppose it can't be helped. You know, the banister is actually polished so clean to be used as a slide. Next time, make good use of it."

Ridiculous. As if that could be true. I wished he wouldn't misrepresent the maids' hard work for such purposes. But Tina's response was remarkably concise.

"Aha! As expected of Grandfather."

Tina's adaptability was truly astounding.

Whether it was quick-wittedness or innate innocence... she always chose responses that perfectly pleased the Duke.

Perhaps it was both.

Either way, Tina gaining the favor of the family head was a good sign. If she could maintain this cordial relationship going forward, nothing could be better.

"I just finished getting ready too."

The next child coming down the stairs was Glen. With a sword sized perfectly for his build, Glen had the air of a young knight about him.

Glen approached us, bypassing the Duke who was endlessly doting on Tina. He was slightly more oriented towards Elphisia than me.

"Thank you, Vice Director. I heard it was you who gifted me these clothes and the sword I'm wearing now."

"... Harte?"

Elphisia shot me a glare as she heard Glen's gratitude. Understandably so, since while I had delivered the gifts, it was Elphisia who had prepared them.

... And I was the traitor who had broken Elphisia's request to keep the source of the gifts a secret.

Elphisia's fiery gaze was a price I rightfully had to pay.

So... since I was already going to endure this gaze, it wouldn't make much difference if it got a tiny bit more intense, right?

"Elphisia picked them out with great care. Not only are the clothes excellent quality, but the sword could rightfully be called a masterpiece."

"Wha-what are you saying?! I just picked them up somewhere. This much is nothing!"

Elphisia vehemently denied it, but Glen wasn't so obtuse as to not understand the value of the items given to him.

"I had a feeling. A sword this light and sturdy must be made of different materials. I'll cherish it always, Vice Director."

"Kuh..."

Faced with Glen's honest gratitude, my dear wife swallowed a gasp, her cheeks tinged with a subtle blush.

While she casually handed over Tina's gifts, why was she so intent on hiding her generosity towards Glen?

Her intentions were truly puzzling.

'He'll probably need to replace both clothes and sword soon, given how fast he's growing...'

Though she anticipated their short-term use, she spared no expense or effort. Elphisia was a woman whose outer and inner selves differed in a unique way.

"Hmph, I merely prepared it in advance to prevent baseless rumors about the Duke neglecting his dependents... Don't misunderstand."

"Well, that's unexpected. I never knew my daughter cared so deeply about her father's reputation."

"... It's a consideration at the family level, Father."

"My, my, I wonder who you take after with that impeccable way of speaking."

Tina tilted her head at the Duke, who himself spoke with impeccable form.

"Oh? Is that so? I think I know who she takes after."

"Ack, age must be making my mind rigid. My granddaughter is indeed clever. Even the Third Prince couldn't keep up. Hoho..."

"I hadn't realized it before, but after hearing Grandfather's words, I think she might resemble Yulian..."

Naturally, Elphisia immediately protested.

"Who says I resemble that child?!"

"Whoa, whoa, she's still a child, Elphisia."

"Ugh...!"

Though I was trying to calm her down, Tina's perceptiveness was indeed impressive. To even see through Elphisia's resemblance to Yulian.

'But excluding Yulian... who did Tina think Elphisia resembled?'

Surely not the Duke.

I shook my head, realizing the absurdity of that speculation.

'Well... this isn't bad. This scene.'

An atmosphere that was chaotic yet harmonious at the same time.

It felt like looking at a picture I wished would continue forever.

I silently prayed to the Sovereign God, hoping this feeling would last eternally.

---

---

Before heading to the Luminel duchy, the carriage stopped at the temple. We needed to pick up Echo.

Though she had renounced her claim to the Peter viscounty, her noble birth remained unchanged. If she was to someday reveal the truth and properly debut in high society, it was only right that she become thoroughly familiar with their way of life.

Our final stop was the Imperial Palace.

It was to escort Yulian, who had made the Luminel ducal house the centerpiece of the hunting festival.

Squeezing so many people into one carriage would be a tight fit. So we split into two carriages, with the children and adults riding separately.

Thus, in our current carriage, only I, Elphisia, and the Duke were comfortably seated.

"..."

"..."

"..."

A suffocating silence persisted.

If it were just Elphisia and I, we might have chatted away the journey, but with my father-in-law present, finding common ground for conversation proved extremely difficult.

I was just wondering if I should try to break the ice with some divine power tricks when the Duke spoke up just as we were leaving the capital.

"... Aren't you worried about leaving the children alone?"

"Echo is still fragile, but Yulian and Glen are reliable. Despite their age..."

"Are you ignoring my granddaughter now?"

"Before that, she's our daughter... Anyway, she's more innocent than those two, isn't she?"

"She's adorable. Truly adorable... I wish she'd transform into a dragon again."

For the first time, a topic I could empathize with emerged.

It seemed Tina, being a half-dragon, was having trouble getting the hang of polymorph practice. I'd been considering asking the Divine Dragon Erehite for dragon lessons instead.

"Anyway... I didn't bring this up just to brag about my granddaughter..."

No, I was curious who in the world would think to brag about their granddaughter to her father. If anything, the reverse might make sense.

The Duke then threw out a rather weighty topic.

"Son-in-law."

"Yes, Duke."

"Have you considered reorganizing the family by becoming an adopted son-in-law?"

Our current relationship was quite ambiguous. And that discomfort stemmed not from me becoming an adopted son-in-law, but from Elphisia marrying into my family.

Having married a commoner, she kept the Luminel name, and despite being married, she was usually called a princess rather than a duchess. Even this was a compromise; the title of princess was ambiguous in itself.

Above all, the greatest discrepancy arose from...

"I want to make my granddaughter a noble. But under the current circumstances, that's not feasible."

The name imbued with the Duke's wish - Tina's existence.

The disparity of being suited for noble society yet having commoner status was something Tina would become increasingly aware of as she grew.

"Glen isn't a problem. As long as we hide his Baskhill lineage, he's certain to receive a title. I've had plans for that for a long time. But Tina is different."

"..."

"If she properly awakens her dragon powers and receives training similar to Glen's, she could earn a title through military achievements. However, I no longer want to see that child face violence."

"... I agree on that point."

In the original story, Tina was strong, having been driven by dragon instincts for a long time. She had to grow up that way due to her environment. But now that a comfortable environment had been created, I didn't want to force Tina to walk a rocky path.

The Duke's words were a hundred percent correct on this point.

"That said, this could be resolved if you became an adopted son-in-law. You and Tina would bear the Luminel name. My daughter would become a young duchess, and my granddaughter could become the empire's one and only ducal princess."

"Father. Let's postpone that discussion. It's not urgent right now."

"As long as I'm involved in the hunting festival, it's not such a distant future. It's harsh, but my granddaughter is destined to choose one of two paths. Either feeling alienated, separated from the three childhood friends she's grown up with... or stepping into the same world as them. She must inevitably choose one."

"Indeed... that's true."

For now, being a young child, she likely wouldn't dwell on such complicated matters. She'd play and frolic to her heart's content, free from calculations.

But... as long as Tina wasn't a noble, a limit would surely come someday.

When she came of age, she wouldn't even be able to set foot in social gatherings, despite the Duke's insistence. Because she'd gradually be forgotten without even having her debutante ball.

Perhaps she might even become the subject of gossip and disparagement for some.

Imagining such a future sent a chill creeping through my entire body.

"Harte."

Perhaps my eyes had momentarily clouded over.

Elphisia's hand overlapped mine. Her body heat quickly seeped in, seeming to restore warmth to my chilled blood.

'Adopted son-in-law, huh...'

Thinking about it normally, there was no reason not to do it. But the uniqueness of being a baptismal name holder imposed restrictions on taking another's family name.

Because my name had already been bestowed by the Sovereign God.

The baptismal name was the only surname I could have.

Therefore, I could only answer with a somewhat stiff voice.

"When we return from the hunting festival... I'll meet with His Holiness and negotiate."

Tina was my daughter. Even if we weren't connected by blood.

If so, she was as much an object of my protection as the temple's regulations.

I steeled my resolve.

I might have to make a decision that could incur the Pope's displeasure.

"..."

Squeeze.

Elphisia's grip tightened.

I drew courage from this inexplicable action.

Yes, we were family.

For the sake of the meaning I'd found in life...

I could probably do anything.

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