An Early Engagement - Chapter 4
For most noble children, marriages were arranged around the age of ten, or even as early as six or seven, and in some cases, like theirs, decided before they were even born. But Shirley couldn’t wrap her head around this tradition.
The idea of meeting as snot-nosed kids, promising to marry, and then tying the knot as adults—completely disregarding the individuals’ own choices—was baffling to her.
No wonder so many people end up having affairs.
“Your parents aren’t like that, though, are they?” Melissa replied indifferently.
“That’s what I find a bit surprising, too.”
Shirley hugged a cushion beside her as she spoke.
Shirley’s parents, the Duke and Duchess of Lafez, were a rather unusual case. The couple still shared a passionate love, often leaving their children behind several times a year to go on romantic getaways together.
How did they manage to become such a loving couple? That question had been occupying Shirley’s thoughts lately.
Moreover, her parents had also been engaged since childhood, just like her and Damian.
When her mother married the man she’d known since they were snot-nosed kids, was she really able to accept him as a man and as her husband without any hesitation?
Eventually, Shirley couldn’t hold back and asked her mother.
“Mom, when you look at Dad, don’t you ever feel like you’re not in love with him anymore?”
“Mom, is Dad’s face everything to you?”
When Shirley grumbled, the Duchess’s expression turned serious.
“What are you talking about? Of course, a man’s face is everything!”
After that, Shirley shook her head in exasperation as the Duchess went on and on, praising her husband’s looks.
Yes, Shirley’s father, the Duke of Lafez, was a handsome man who had made quite a few women swoon in his youth. Her mother had her hands full fending off the women who flocked to him.
“Look at your brother’s face. Isn’t he the masterpiece I created?”
Her mother had a point. Shirley’s older brother, Terban, took after their father and was known in social circles as a handsome man.
His black hair, dark eyes, and strong, masculine features gave off a stern impression at first glance, but the women of high society couldn’t help but melt at his occasional smiles.
However, precisely because of that, Shirley had developed an unnecessarily high standard for looks from a young age.
“A strong, rugged face like that is nice, but a delicate face like Damian’s is more to my taste,” her mother had once said.
“…Don’t tell me that’s why you arranged my engagement with Damian?”
The Duchess simply smiled in response.
“Mother, you don’t care about anything but Damian’s face, do you?”
“Damian’s face is more than enough, though.”
When Melissa said “more than enough,” it wasn’t a simple compliment. Melissa was notoriously harsh when evaluating men’s looks. For her to say “not bad” meant that Damian’s looks were enough to shake the empire.
But regardless of how highly Damian’s face was rated.
“It’s not about the face, though!”
Anyway, she couldn’t keep up with conversations that revolved entirely around looks. Why was it that the women around her were so obsessed with men’s faces?
“Then what’s the problem?”
Melissa stabbed a strawberry with her fork and asked.
“Ah, is it his body?”
“Melissa!”
Shirley shouted, her voice rising.
“B-b-body…? What are you talking about?”
Shirley crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head vigorously.
“If it’s not his face, then it’s his body. What else matters when it comes to marriage?”
“I’m a person, not an animal!”
“Same difference,” Melissa replied indifferently.
“When you become a couple, you’ll have to do this and that. Isn’t that what you’re worried about? Sharing a bed with the friend you used to build sandcastles with, waking up together… Oh, wait, you’ve already done that, haven’t you?”
It was true. Shirley nodded reluctantly at Melissa’s words. Because they were so close, it was common for them to play at each other’s houses, get tired, and end up tangled together in bed, fast asleep.
Sharing a bed wasn’t awkward. But becoming a couple meant more than just sleeping together, didn’t it?
Just thinking about the next step made Shirley’s face burn.
So, doing that… with Damian?
“Well, if you really can’t do it, then you can’t. You’ll just have to live like Baron and Baroness Drain.”
“No way!”
Shirley was horrified. The Drains were a famous show-window couple in high society.
Not long ago, at a ball held in the royal palace, they had each brought their own partners and greeted each other with, “Oh, it’s been a while,” in front of everyone at the ballroom.
But this wasn’t just limited to the Drains.
