Arcane Innovator

"Oh, Why, you ask? I simply wanted to get to know my groom-to-be..."

With those words still echoing in my head, I reluctantly led Margarette inside the mansion and toward our finest guest's room, where Helga hurriedly prepared some delicious-looking refreshments with the help of our immensely stressed-out chef.

As we walked, I couldn't help but steal glances at Margarette's delicate features, which were further accentuated by her exquisite dress made out of the finest cloth. I had to admit that she truly looked like some princess from a fairytale.

We soon arrived at the guest's room, and I offered her a seat. Margarette sat down gracefully, her kind smile never leaving her face.

I sat opposite her while I studied her intensely, still wondering about her motive for coming here on such short notice.

With both of us seated, the maids then promptly served us tea. I quietly sipped on my cup as I continued to observe my presumed fiancee doing the same.

However, I couldn't help but take note of the meaningful look Margarette was giving me the whole time. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what she might mean by it, but then a realization dawned on me as I looked around the room.

With a wave of my hand, I ordered all the servants out. I noticed before that Margarette's own servants and knights all stayed outside the house and didn't follow us to the guest's room. I found it slightly weird at first, but I didn't give it too much meaning.

But now I finally understood that she probably wanted to talk in private. Soon, we found ourselves entirely alone for the very first time, and an awkward silence filled the room.

I shifted uncomfortably, wondering if I should start the conversation or not. I wasn't very good with the small talk, especially the kind nobles usually entertained themselves with, so I hesitated for a bit.

Margarette seemed to notice my current predicament, and a hint of amusement reflected in her eyes. I finally mustered my courage to break the uncomfortable silence, but then I paused as I suddenly realized. 'Wait, isn't this like a... date?'

I gulped nervously as this was utterly new territory for me, and I had no idea what was customary to do in such situations. I leaned back in my chair, wondering what I should do.

But before I had a chance to come up with a suitable way to start the conversation, my dilemma resolved itself as Margarette's smile disappeared from her face the moment she ensured we were alone.

She then leaned forward while saying in a low voice. "I don't know what tricks you pulled, but you can be certain that I will never marry a dirty peasant like you!"

I blinked a few times as I struggled to accept such harsh words coming from such a lovely mouth. Her eyes were suddenly cold and calculating, and her former grace was nowhere to be found.

Still, I couldn't help but smile as, by now, my former nervousness was all but gone. Seeing Margarette throw away her beautiful yet deceptive mask surely made things much easier and more straightforward.

She stared at me in confusion, probably expecting an entirely different reaction. "What are you smiling about?" She spat angrily.

I quickly broke from my stupor, straightening my posture as I cleared my throat. "Ehm... Nothing. Don't worry about it."

My eyes continued observing her, now with even more intrigue than before. At first, I was afraid she was some obedient, naive girl who would simply do her duty and marry me without a second thought, but now my previous worries were all but gone, and things have become laughably simple.

'If those are her true feelings, then I don't have to lift a finger, and she can take care of the whole betrothal business herself. And what's more... in the Count's eyes, I will be completely innocent of sabotaging this proposed union.' I thought pleasantly.

I struggled to maintain my composure and not break into a wide grin as I entertained all the possibilities this would open for me.

Margarette, on the other hand, took my silence as a sign of defeat, and a wicked smirk crept on her lips, which didn't suit her angelic face one bit.

"When my father returns, you will tell him that you are not worthy of my hand and break up the engagement." She said arrogantly.

"And why exactly should I do that? If you don't want to continue with the engagement, then say so yourself..." I countered, narrowing my eyes as I won't let her get her way.

She was slightly taken aback by the confidence in my voice but still tried to maintain the air of superiority. "Hmph! As if I lowered myself to doing something humiliating like that!"

Seeing that this led nowhere, I tried to reason with her. "Although I'm also not very pleased with this arrangement, I'm in no position to turn down this offer, so unless you speak with your father yourself, we will simply have to proceed with it..."

Margarette's face contorted. It looks like she wasn't at all used to people defying her, especially someone she considered a "dirty peasant." Still behind her arrogant facade, there were slight signs of fear in her eyes at the mention of her father.

It seems that the Count wouldn't look too kindly upon her throwing a tantrum like this, and seeing how she stubbornly insisted on me calling it off, it appears that her chances of persuading her father to cancel the engagement were nonexistent.

This made me slightly worried about the whole deal, as getting forcefully married was terrible enough, but being forcefully married to someone like Margarette would undoubtedly be nothing but a horrifying nightmare.

Of course, most of my peers would give anything to be able to marry such a beautiful and wealthy noble girl like her, but I was not like most. I'm not someone who would be enchanted by a pretty face, and when her real personality showed itself, I was glad I kept my cool about this affair the whole time.

However, before I could come up with another strategy to approach this issue, Margarette couldn't seem to bear this situation anymore, and she jumped to her feet and exclaimed, "We'll see about that!" before storming out of the room altogether.

I simply shook my head in exasperation, and with a sigh, I hurriedly decided to follow after her as until we can find a way to convince the Count to end this charade, we need to keep up appearances.

However, as I was walking out of the room in my pursuit of Margarette, I almost bumped into Helga, who was coming in from the kitchen while carrying a large plate with what seemed like a freshly made cake. I exhaled in relief as I managed to notice my sister at the very last moment coming to a sudden halt.

"Huh? Darian! What happened?" Helga blinked confusedly as she carefully balanced the cake on the top of her palms.

"Well... Lady Margarette apparently had somewhere else to be, so she couldn't stay too long." I quickly tried to come up with a suitable excuse.

My sister widened her eyes. "What! Lady Margarette already left? But she didn't even try the cake..."

She lowered her head with an apparent sadness in her eyes, so I quickly tried to cheer her up. "I'm sure she would have loved it! Still, it would be a shame to let such a great-looking cake go to waste, so why don't we invite Myra for a visit in the afternoon, and then we can all eat the cake together?"

I was well aware of Helga's sweet tooth, so the idea of eating the cake immediately brightened her face. "Oh, that sounds wonderful! Alright, then, I will take it back to the kitchen for now..." She said happily.

I nodded encouragingly, following her with my eyes for a moment as she hurried back to the kitchen before remembering what I wanted to do in the first place and quickly making my way outside so that I could give my farewells to Margarette.

Although she seemed to secretly despise me, she still waved her tiny hand at me from the window of her elaborate carriage while smiling pleasantly. I returned her a smile as she left through the main gate before I went back inside.

Still, despite this not being quite an enjoyable meeting, I felt pleased as I had learned not only about Margarette's true personality but also about her seemingly strained relationship with her noble father - both things that I could use to my advantage in the future.

Late in the afternoon, as the sun was starting to set and a warm breeze rustled the young leaves upon the many exotic trees in our garden, Myra arrived eager to be able to spend her time in our company.

With Helga's help, we set up a picnic on the lush grass, sitting down in a circle around a plain blanket Helga borrowed from one of our maids as we promptly stuffed ourselves full of an overly sweet yet delicious cake.

We laughed and shared stories until our bellies were so full we could hardly move. While looking at the darkness slowly descending, I smiled with satisfaction as, in the end, my hectic day ended quite greatly indeed.