The Elven Duke Reluctantly Marries The Cursed Lady - Chapter 6
Hydrangea spent his days busily until a letter arrived at his workplace one day.
“Lord Laudense, I have received an urgent letter addressed to you.”
“Please open it and read it to me.”
“As you wish.”
His assistant Quince carefully opened the letter with a letter opener.
During the season of socializing, nobles gather at the capital and various troubles also arise.
All magic-related cases are assigned to the Magic Division, and Hydrangea makes decisions for the most serious ones.
In fact, there were already 50 cases last night alone.
Some cases were organized crimes such as the illegal sale of feystones, bogus fortune tellers that rob nobles of their money, while others even involved aphrodisiacs. Each case was more troublesome than the next.
“Your Excellency, this letter is…”
“What is it? Go ahead and read it. You are my assistant, are you not?”
“Y-yes. Well then…”
Hydrangea did not notice Quince’s nervous expression.
And so, the serious adjutant read the letter as ordered.
“…formalities aside, I would like to discuss your marriage to my sister Violette which you mentioned in your letter the other day—”
“!?”
Hydrangea quietly stood up and snatched the letter from Quince.
It was a letter from Violette’s brother, Count Northpole.
He never expected that such a personal letter would be delivered to his workplace.
The atmosphere became awkward because of it, so Hydrangea gave Quince an order.
“Quince, bring these documents to the office at once.”
“As you wish.”
Flustered, Quince accepted the documents and left Hydrangea’s office.
Taking a deep breath, Hydrangea returned to his seat.
The letter from Count Northpole mentioned that he was greatly honored about Violette’s marriage and that he also wanted to talk to him at least once. Perhaps he was worried about marrying off his sickly sister.
It’s not like I intend to make her the Lady of the House even if she marries into the family anyway.
In the first place, the Laudense Ducal family did not place any importance in socializing with other nobles since there was no need for them to establish familial connections and solidify their social status.
After all, the Laudense Ducal family already possessed a pedigree, fortune, and social standing.
And for this reason, the previous heads of the family often took humble and unassertive women as their wives.
Hydrangea’s father was the same and took a meek and frail woman as his wife.
It is said that she was a graceful woman who always walked three steps behind her husband, but she passed away soon after giving birth to Hydrangea.
If one traced the Laudense Ducal family history, they would find that most of the women who had married into the family died young. A lot of speculation indicated that their exposure to high amounts of mana shortened their lives which caused most nobles to badmouth the previous dukes behind their backs.
Of course, this also reaches the Laudense Duke’s ears, but they choose to ignore them instead. Unfortunately, such feelings of envy always accompany those who are abundantly blessed.
The brides of the Laudense Ducal House always die early.
This reputation does not stop parents from offering their own daughters as brides as marrying into the Ducal family is a chance that is too hard to pass up.
Such rumors might have also reached Count Northpole’s ears that’s why he is so cautious about the wedding.
However, the tales about the brides dying early due to high mana exposure is complete nonsense as the first head of the family had already foreseen such a situation and took measures against it.
The ring given to the brides contain a strong mana resistance spell so that the husband’s mana would not interfere with the woman’s body.
Since Count Northpole seems uneasy about it, I guess I’ll have to explain it to him by then.
Since Hydrangea was due to meet with the Count three days from now, he decided to look for some mana-resistant rings.
◇◇◇
Three days later, it was finally time for Hydrangea to meet with Count Northpole.
The sun had just set and the moon began to peek through the clouds in the night sky.
After finishing his work, Hydrangea used Transfer Magic to arrive at Count Northpole’s estate at the appointed time.
Count Northpole’s mansion was located at the edge of the central district where rows of mansions belonging to nobility lined the streets.
The mansion was of a more modest scale compared to the summer residences in Lilliphiltia.
The House of Count Northpole mainly earns their income by farming land on the northern part of the country but because of the barren land, it does not bring much wealth to the family.
The generational Comital House is in name only, and it could be presumed by looking at the flowers raised in their garden that the family is leading a very simple life.
A noble’s wealth could be measured just by looking at their garden, indeed.
A servant greeted Hydrangea at the entrance. An old, gray-haired butler took his cloak and led him to a room where Count Northpole was waiting for him.
The hallway was surprisingly dim, probably because not many lights were on. The wooden floor was not carpeted either, and the floorboards made a creaking sound with every step.
This house looks quite old.
Meanwhile, the walls were lined with portraits of women.
Are they the wives of the past generations? Hydrangea wondered as his eyes landed on the most recent portrait which showed a beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman.
“This way, please.”
The guest room he was shown to was quite chilly and the fireplace was unlit. Are they implying that I am not welcome? Hydrangea thought as he regretted taking off his cloak.
Count Northpole was a slender, gloomy, and mature-looking young man who had a striking resemblance to his father.
“Welcome, it’s nice to meet you…”
Count Northpole weakly held out his hand which Hydrangea firmly gripped.
The Count gave a strained laugh as he quickly withdrew his hand.
As soon as they sat down, he immediately began talking about marriage.
“T-then, about my sister’s marriage…”
Without preamble, he began to talk about the main topic even before tea was served. It was rude to do such a thing in polite company, but Hydrangea did not mind.
“You see, my sister Violette has special… circumstances.”
“It does not matter. I have already heard it from your father.”
“Oh, umm, is that so?”
Count Northpole had never heard about this arrangement with Hydrangea from his father Syran, so he was completely surprised to hear about the matter.
It seems like Count Northpole does not support this union with open arms.
“May I ask what afflicts Lady Violette?”
“W-well, it might be more believable if you see her for yourself.”
When the Count asked if he could invite his sister into the guest room, Hydrangea immediately agreed.
