I Give Up on the BL Novel's Male Leads - Chapter 55
Moreover, it was overwhelming that everyone was talking at once.
She had already sent rejection cards to Damon, Willai, and Edwin, which would appear in front of them through a scheduled spell as soon as they reached their rooms. Alisha had received one too.
They would probably look for new partners over the weekend.
Thinking this, Illein was about to step out of the carriage when Melias offered her a hand in a gentlemanly manner, despite her using the man appearance.
“Doesn’t it seem odd to you that I look like this?”
“What’s odd about it?”
“Well, I’m in my male form right now.”
“Ah!”
Melias then walked beside her.
“To be honest, it’s hard to tell the difference when you’re Lady Illenas. Your hair is just longer. Though your neck ….and shoulders do look a bit different.”
Illein smiled broadly at his comment and they entered the manor.
“Oh my, Illein, you’re here?”
“Mother?”
Just as Illein was surprised to see her mother, so was Melias.
“Father. It’s rare to see you at home at this hour.”
Marquis Wignum was also there, conversing with Illein’s mother.
“We’ve been waiting since we knew you two were coming. Come join us.”
Illein tried to reassure herself that it was nothing serious, because Marquis Wignum was smiling. Even so she was feeling uneasy about her mother. Why would she be there?
They all proceeded to the drawing room.
In the manor, only the Marquis, who was a widower, was there.
As the room filled with the fragrant aroma of black tea, Marquis WIgnum dismissed all the servants and remarked,
“Our Melias is quite the stiff one, isn’t he?”
“Um, no, I… I don’t really know.”
Marquis Wignum laughed heartily. He was a man known for his robust and muscular stature fitting of a Margrave.
“Yes, that’s right. I was much like him when my wife was alive.”
He said looking at Melias, who was expressionless, then turned to Illein,
“It seems too distant to wait until after graduation to get engaged. How about getting engaged now and plan the wedding to coincide with your academy graduation?”
“Excuse me?”
With the Marquis’s words, Illein’s mother spoke.
“It seems appropriate to leave the academy and to marry now, Marquis.”
Illein was taken aback by her mother’s presumptuousness.
However, Illein didn’t want to comply silently and was about to express her thoughts when she was interrupted.
“That seems premature, Baroness Thierry.”
“What? But didn’t the young Marquis express his fondness for our Illein?”
Illein felt embarrassed by her mother’s boldness, despite her using the male appearance.
“Father, wasn’t this matter supposed to be entirely up to me?”
“What noble leaves all decisions about marriage to themselves? Since the Baroness is here, why not draft the engagement contract now?”
Illein looked at Melias in confusion, seeking his reaction.
Melias sighed before responding.
“Father, are you trying to acquire a subordinate or a daughter-in-law?”
“The marriage would settle the debts of the Thierry family, and we would handle the dowry.”
“Why go to such lengths? Is it really just for the dam?”
“Yes.”
Illein felt deflated by Marquis Wignum’s confirmation.
She noticed that the two father and son were very similar in appearance, yet it seemed Melias was more reasonable.
Just like how Melias seemed to consider her. However, it seemed that the two have distinct personalities.
“I do not wish to proceed this way.”
“But I heard you agreed to attend the dance party together.”
“Yes, I wanted that as an opportunity to get to know each other.”
Illein boldly stated, Marquis Wignum momentarily widened his eyes in surprise before he chuckled.
“Why do you need time?”
“I want to graduate from the academy and work as a civil servant for the imperial court.”
The Marquis properly adjusted his chair, seemingly in a gesture of respect.
“May I ask why you want to become an imperial civil servant?”
Trying to avoid her mother’s gaze, Illein replied.
“If I give up the academy to marry now, can I truly live as Illein? Or will I just end up living as the wife of Marquis Wignum?”
Illein knew that despite her desperate pleas, she would still appear an oddity to the nobles of this world.
“Everyone desires the life that has been prescribed to them. Becoming the Marchioness would ensure you live more prosperous than most, and you would avoid the unfortunate incidents that just happened. Even so, you hesitate?”
The Marquis’s reference to the ‘unfortunate incidents’ meant the trouble with Willai.
“Illein is young! She doesn’t fully understand yet!”
Baroness Thierry quickly interjected. The Marquis sighed wearily.
“Baroness, I am addressing Lady Illein about this matter. Please, let her speak.”
“But…”
“Do you not like it because it is unfamiliar?”