NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7 - Sweet deal
“I will write a letter of recommendation for my younger brother to attend the Royal Academy of Magic, a school for nobles. The Marquis’s family will cover all the tuition fees and related educational expenses.”
“Ah, haa!”
Brigid’s younger brother was currently attending a school with plans to join the military. In order to enter the prestigious Royal Academy of Magic, one needed not only to pass an entrance exam but also to undergo a home investigation and an interview. The Grimbursty family, being a single-parent household and impoverished, was at a disadvantage. They couldn’t even afford the entrance fee. Consequently, her younger brother had given up on taking the entrance exam for the middle school section of the Royal Academy of Magic.
He had settled for enrolling in a regular school, but if things continued this way, he would graduate and join the military.
However, receiving a letter of recommendation from the House of Marquis Frozvitnir, known as the God of War, could make it possible for him to transfer to the Royal Academy of Magic. When Brigid thought about her younger brother’s future, it held a value that couldn’t be measured in money.
Furthermore, the Royal Academy of Magic required expenses for everything from entrance exam fees to tuition and uniforms. Brigid didn’t want her younger brother to feel miserable about it, especially since they were barely scraping by themselves.
Brigid wavered.
“If you become a Marchioness, your younger brother can enroll as the sibling of a Marchioness rather than the son of a fallen Viscount. He can also make a name for himself in society…”
“Ah, no, please, stop… I… I can’t take any more…”
“No, you must.”
“What more… What are you trying to do?”
Tears welled up in Brigid’s eyes, threatening to spill over. The scales were tipping between her loyalty to Nisha and her family.
Unbeknownst to Brigid, her struggle to hold back her tears was arousing Diarmid’s sadistic tendencies.
“I’ll arrange for a royal doctor to see to your mother.”
“No, that’s not necessary!”
“What if I offered you this or this? We can provide the finest medical care and the best nursing.”
“Aaaaaaah! No, I can’t… I won’t submit to a man like this…”
Tears streamed down Brigid’s cheeks. The cause of her mother’s illness remained unknown. Brigid couldn’t afford many doctors and resorted to over-the-counter medication. They could only buy herbs they had gathered from the garden or the forest.
(If I go through with this fake marriage… maybe I can afford proper medical care for Mother… But, but… Nisha-kyun…)
“I can’t take it anymore… I can’t bear this any longer… Oh, Mother…”
Brigid’s head drooped. Diarmid smiled with satisfaction at the sight of her tears. His butler and knights were taken aback by Diarmid’s smile for the first time; it was unsettling.
Diarmid approached Brigid and gently lifted her chin. Tears rolled down her flushed cheeks, her lips trembled, and her large black eyes were wet with tears. She looked beautiful even when crying. But she seemed to want to hide her tear-streaked face, turning her head away, a strand of messy golden hair sticking to the nape of her neck.
(She really is different from other women. Why do I feel an indescribable warmth when I touch her?)
Diarmid’s heart raced faster than ever before, and he sighed. He gently wiped away the tears with his fingertips, leaving stains on her gloves.
It was like a painting, and the knights watched in awe.
“There’s something about you that’s unlike other women…”
“…?”
Brigid tilted her head, not understanding the meaning behind his words. The knight and the butler were shocked and confused, muttering to themselves, “Is that really His Excellency’s voice?” “It’s not some illusion, is it?” “I can’t believe it.”
Diarmid disregarded the murmurs of the bystanders and whispered softly into Brigid’s ear.
“Marry me. Become Nisha’s stepmother. How about a fake marriage until Nisha enters the Royal Academy?”
With those words, Brigid was finally defeated.
“Aaaaaaaa! I can’t believe I get to be your favorite stepmother! Please! Marry me!!”
At Brigid’s exclamation, the knights instinctively released their grip on her, covering their ears.
Diarmid and the butler did the same.
“Now, let’s draw up a contract! Did you all hear what I just said? Make sure to include it in the contract!”
Brigid turned her palm up and looked at the butler with joy.
“…Master, the conditions are quite different from what I had planned…”
The butler glanced at Diarmid.
“Alright. Just do what I said earlier. There’s nothing more to discuss.”
When Diarmid responded calmly, the butler nodded silently.
“By the way, Your Excellency, what about Nisha-kun?”
Brigid suddenly realized something.
“Could it be… you’re using me to make a deal with Nisha-kun? If that’s the case, I won’t go through with the marriage!!”
Diarmid grew impatient when Brigid accused him of such suspicions. He was surprised at how worried he was about that.
“No!! I’m Nisha’s uncle. He’s the child of my brother, who had a wandering spirit.”
“Huh? Huh? Nisha-kun’s uncle? I apologize for doubting you!”
(That means Nisha-kyun wasn’t a stray, but a wolf!? In that case, a commoner’s coming-of-age ritual would never tame his wild nature!)
Brigid was taken aback.
“Six years ago, my brother passed away, and I took care of his affairs. I learned about Nisha’s existence while cleaning up his belongings. I had been searching for him for a long time but couldn’t find him. Then, I happened to come across him at a
mini-concert in an orphanage. That’s when I decided to bring him in.”
(Nisha’s rightful guardian was found at an orphanage’s mini-concert, which wasn’t in the original story.)
Brigid breathed a sigh of
relief. She felt that she had changed Nisha’s fate.
“That’s wonderful.”
Diarmid nodded in agreement.