CHAPTER 80…………………………………………….
Masquerade Ball (7)
The attendant tucked away the bright smile he’d been wearing until just moments ago and lowered his voice to a slightly secretive whisper.
“Your counterpart is the viscount’s only daughter from House Lacroix. They’re a family with great wealth from trade.”
“…Lacroix?”
At that moment, a face flashed rapidly through Lowell’s mind.
“The world really is small…”
Temia’s friend—the woman who’d commissioned a love potion for the person she had a crush on, only to send an angry letter complaining it didn’t work. It had to be her: Kylie Lacroix.
Judging by how the family was supposedly desperate to secure a quick marriage, it seemed her parents had discovered her unrequited love. People that age tend to romanticize love. And from the viscount’s point of view, the object of her affection probably wasn’t anywhere near suitable for marriage—perhaps he feared a scandal.
But for someone in the know, this could actually be a great opportunity. Lowell’s lips curved into a crooked smile, pleased to find a breakthrough in what could’ve been the worst situation. If this was the result of all his trouble, then this business trip had paid off.
“It’s not disappointing news. This is more than enough. Send the payment for the request later.”
“Yes, I’ll have it delivered through Felix.”
Everything went smoothly afterward. Despite the incident being fairly large in scale, the cleanup wasn’t their responsibility, and they even got proper rest.
And now, after receiving the formal notice of his family’s political engagement arrangement, Lowell felt it was time to settle the issue.
“I’ll step out for a bit.”
Why did he come quietly? That’s not like him at all.
The members of House Trea greeted Lowell van Trea with eyes full of doubt. After all, even within the Trea family, he was still one of their own.
At his age, arranged engagements or marriages for the sake of the family’s honor were quite common among nobles, so they felt no guilt over sending a letter.
But they never imagined that the second son, who’d run off and neglected his duties, would come crawling back home just because of a letter. At most, they expected him to send a complaint or dispatch one of those useless summoned beasts to check the situation.
“Strange. I thought you wouldn’t respond and we’d have to send someone to fetch you.”
“Must’ve been urgent then. Not like we’re in the habit of exchanging warm messages, right?”
It was sarcasm—how they ignored him most of the time but suddenly acted like family when it suited them. The eldest son, Aaron Trea, scowled.
“I told you time and time again to fix that disrespectful tongue of yours!”
“I only bother being polite to those worth my respect.”
“You—! You little—!”
Aaron’s face flushed bright red as he jabbed a finger toward Lowell, gripping the armrest as if ready to leap up. The Trea count tapped his son’s hand, calming him.
“You return after so long, and that’s all you have to say? Truly, you never change.”
“You say that like it’s new. I’m busy, so let’s just get to the point.”
“At least have some tea while we talk.”
“Should I just leave, then?”
“…As mentioned in the letter, your engagement has been arranged. The viscount’s daughter from House Lacroix seems a good match. No notable flaws.”
“You sell my engagement like merchandise—guess you did the same to the other side?”
“Family alliances aren’t child’s play. In any case, it’s polite to meet your fiancée before the ceremony. Go.”
As if. What kind of ‘politeness’ is arranging an engagement like this?
He wanted to scoff outright, but provoking them served no purpose. Attending the engagement meeting was more beneficial for accomplishing his own goals. With that in mind, Lowell put on a bright smile.
“Fine. I’ll go and greet them. Very courteously.”
This meeting would be a good opportunity for both him and the girl.
Meanwhile, his agreeable response only deepened the family’s suspicion.
Even if he had been quietly contributing to the family’s finances, an engagement was still a matter that forced one’s life onto a certain path. With his personality, they expected him to flip the entire house upside down. They were even preparing to persuade him using the excuse of affection from raising him—but he agreed instantly, making them even more doubtful.
Still, they had no time to dwell on their suspicions. The count, though uneasy, took advantage of Lowell’s unusual cooperation and arranged the meeting with House Lacroix a few days later.
“It’s best to let the young people meet for this sort of matter.”
“Haha, of course. Then we have some things to discuss among ourselves…”
“Let’s move to the parlor, then.”
The representatives of each house moved off, hiding their true intentions behind smiles. Lowell was led to another room.
“The young lady is waiting inside. Call if you need anything.”
As expected, the room contained Kylie, dark circles under her eyes, looking exhausted.
Anyone can tell she’s been through hell.
As he quietly observed her, she noticed his gaze and her eyes went wide.
“Magician…?! Why are you here?”
“Well, I’m Lowell van Trea. Nice to see you again. We’ve met, remember?”
“W–wait. You… you’re my engagement partner?! No, more importantly, why would a noble be in a place like—”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re short on time, so let’s get straight to the point.”
What is with this guy? What is he even trying to say?
Was he seriously planning to go through with the engagement? Even if he said yes right now, there was nothing Kylie could do to stop it.
But she still had one card to rely on: Temia.
So she glared suspiciously at him, but Lowell didn’t care. Instead, he sat back on the sofa in a relaxed, arrogant posture, crossing his legs.
“Just to check—do you actually want to go through with this engagement?”
“Are you asking whether it’s possible, or whether I want to?”
“The latter.”
“Of course not! As you know, I already have someone I like! And more importantly, you—!”
You’re my friend’s man. That’s basically cheating! How did things get this messed up?!
Kylie shut her mouth before she could reveal her friend’s secret. Of course, that was also a misunderstanding, but there was no one here to correct it. Lowell didn’t blame her for trailing off.
He continued calmly.
“I get the gist. The viscount found out about your crush, right? So both sides got desperate and decided to push this through.”
“…Yes. But this—this isn’t right! I’m not accepting an engagement like this! And you don’t want this either, right?! What good comes from us being tied together?!”
“I agree. Glad we’re on the same page.”
As soon as she finished, Lowell pulled out a sheet of paper and set it on the table.
What now…?
Before she could ask, he spoke.
“Let’s sign a contract. About the engagement.”
“A… contract?”
Kylie narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the outrageous proposal. He simply pushed the paper toward her again.
“Read it. If there’s anything to adjust, tell me.”
“You know, people must tell you all the time you’re weird?! An engagement isn’t some workshop transaction! How does Temia even tolerate you?!”
“Yes, I hear that a lot. And I have zero intention of acting like this in front of Temia, so leave her out of it.”
“You’d better not. Otherwise, I’d drag you out myself.”
“That won’t be necessary. Anyway, back to the point. No matter what, I plan to break this engagement. So read the paper.”
Faced with the rude man already looking bored, Kylie fell silent and looked down at the document.
“Contract
- Kylie Lacroix and Lowell van Trea will enter into an engagement by mutual agreement.
- They will agree on a duration for this contractual engagement and do their best to comply with each other’s requests within that period.
- Once the agreed period ends, the engagement will absolutely be annulled. Lowell van Trea will accept full responsibility for the breakup and will compensate the other party accordingly.”
Kylie read the short document again and again. It was only three brief clauses.
That’s really… it?
She checked for tiny hidden text, flipped it over for secret notes—nothing.
Her hands trembled slightly. She folded them on her lap and stared hard at the magician.
“I’ve checked it. But… is this really all?”
“Yes. Something wrong?”
No, but…
Kylie bit the inside of her cheek to steady herself. There was nothing here for her to refuse. In fact, it was too good. That was the problem.
He’s taking all the blame? I know he seems close to Temia, but that has nothing to do with me. Why would he go this far for me?
It was suspicious—too much like a favor falling from the sky.
But it was also far too valuable an opportunity to pass up.
She knew how badly a noblewoman’s honor could be damaged by a broken political engagement. It was why people usually took their time analyzing a potential spouse—but that wasn’t the case here.
And society would never spare her feelings. Just a single annulment would drown her in rumors and gossip.
Yet Lowell was offering to shoulder all of that.
All the arrows of scandal aimed at him, not her.
Even if he didn’t care what others thought, being a target of public scorn was a different matter—especially when it could damage his family’s reputation. Even someone with a crush couldn’t recklessly destroy everything.
Is he really doing this with no ulterior motives?
After a long moment of thought, Kylie chose to be honest. Since he’d laid out his cards, she should do the same.
“I want to hear the reason you’re giving me such an opportunity. This offer benefits only me—so much that it’s suspicious.”
