Chapter 1: I Get My Engagement Annulled
I was summoned by my father.
Having been born as the eldest son of a Marquis for twelve years, I felt my heart race, thinking the time had finally come, as I walked through Ortenatris Castle, a place I knew like the back of my hand.
The thought of what lay ahead made my steps naturally lighter.
I passed the backyard with its fountain, proceeded along the west corridor, and dashed up the grand staircase from the spacious entrance with its large stained-glass windows.
After walking about a hundred meters along the second-floor corridor, I arrived at the office of my father, Marquis Ortenos.
I knocked and entered the room.
“Father, it’s Sharka. I have arrived.”
“You’ve come, Sharka. Take a seat on the sofa.”
“Yes, sir.”
Radnaark de Ortenos, thirty-five years old.
The middle-aged man sitting across the table from me sighed, looking a bit tired.
Judging from my father’s demeanor, I sensed that he was troubled by some problem.
“Sharka, you’ll be thirteen soon. As the eldest son of House Ortenos, though born of a concubine, you surely know that you cannot inherit the family title, correct?”
I thought it was going to be a sudden, heavy confession, but it wasn’t.
“Yes, I’ve heard it so many times I’m practically deaf. I’m always on edge, wondering if those foolish Nevilim will make a fuss if someone like me wanders around the castle.”
Despite being the eldest son of House Ortenos, it is a well-known fact that I cannot inherit the title of Marquis Ortenos.
But don’t think I harbor any hidden agendas. I made sure to emphasize that I have no connection with my mother’s family (the Nevilim).
“Never mind that. I doubt Baron Nevilim has such aspirations. Sharka, I would love to send you out to war like your grandfather to earn military merit, but it would be difficult to keep the Lanecki Earldom in check. If they even slightly suspect you might be elevated, they’ll immediately demand Elmia be returned to her family.”
The Lanecki Earldom is the most powerful noble family in the Ortenos region, and the family of my father’s legal wife.
If what my father says is true, then there’s no path for me to live as a warrior.
“I sympathize with your troubles, Father.”
“By the way, I was thinking of sending you out on your First Campaign soon. Do you have any preferences?”
“No, not really…”
I’ve spent my life up to this age without going to war, but when I see my grandfather being fawned over by young girls, I sometimes feel envious.
At this rate, I might end up as an unseemly weakling, which is generally unpopular in this era, so I need to do something about it. However, as my father said earlier, I can’t stand out too much due to the succession issue.
“Haaah, Sharka, is that really alright with you?”
“What do you mean, ‘is that alright with you’?”
“You were born as the eldest son of House Ortenos, even if only in name. Why don’t you have more ambition?”
Even if you ask me about ambition, seeing my father’s exhausted state, I don’t have the spirit or ambition to think, “I should be the next head of the family!”
But my father seems to find that incomprehensible.
“No, I’m fine. It’s only natural that Elmia-sama… I mean, Elmia, the daughter of the legal wife, has the right to inherit. So why should I have any ambition? I’ve lived comfortably for these twelve years thanks to House Ortenos. Why would I want to cause discord in an already chaotic household?”
“Honestly, if you were willing, I would consider letting you inherit the family title, even if it meant suppressing the Lanecki.”
For some reason, my father looked at me with a serious expression, placing mysterious expectations on me.
There are several things I can think of, but since my reputation outside the family is terrible, my father, who listens to the opinions of those around him, probably can’t make such a bold decision.
“There’s no need. Please don’t trouble yourself with such considerations.”
“I see…”
When I said those words of refusal, my father seemed a little disappointed.
But I don’t want to have a succession dispute with my family either.
Even though we’re a Marquis family, I know there are various entanglements. In the case of House Ortenos, we have a much more grotesque and messy background than other noble families.
It’s such a deep darkness that I can’t even think about reforming the system.
(I wish he’d get to the main point soon…)
I wanted to change the atmosphere a bit, so I cleared my throat.
“…By the way, Sharka, a good marriage proposal has arrived for you…”
Yes, yes, yes! That’s what I’m talking about!
A few months ago, my father told me that he was arranging a marriage proposal for me.
I’ve been so worried about the outcome that I haven’t been able to sleep at night.
When I was summoned by my father, I was convinced that it was about this marriage proposal.
“I’ve been waiting for this, Father.”
“…What’s wrong, Sharka? Why are you suddenly leaning forward?”
“Please tell me, is the other party someone I know?”
“No, it should be someone you don’t know.”
Someone I don’t know means there’s a high possibility she’s from outside the Ortenos region.
I am, after all, the eldest son of Marquis Ortenos, so he should have chosen a reliable girl for me.
If you think about it normally, he should have chosen a well-educated, venerable, and lovely daughter of a noble family. Yes, let’s believe that’s the case.
I wonder if I could at least see a portrait of her.
“So, Father, is she cute?”
“Hmm, so Sharka is curious about his potential fiancée. Well, it was all for naught, but I’ll let you see her portrait.”
When I asked my father with a serious expression, he showed me a painting.
(Hmm, lovely…)
The girl in the portrait is wearing a dazzling dress with a long skirt that female nobles rarely wear, and she’s sitting in a chair with makeup that makes her look like the first snow dyed with pale vermilion.
There was the figure of a maiden of my age, so beautiful that even flowers would be ashamed.
Her snow-white skin, red cheeks and lips, and long, pale blue hair undoubtedly identified her as a girl from House Rosham.
(This lovely girl is my fiancée… This is a winning life…!)
Her features are still young, but she’s startlingly beautiful, and she’ll grow into a considerable beauty in the future.
I plotted a Genji plan for the girl I hadn’t met yet, and my imagination ran wild.
“Father, let’s have a meeting right away. Of course, you’re not thinking of me becoming a live-in husband, so I’ll be establishing a branch family, right? Leave it to me! I, Sharka, will devote myself to the glorious restoration of Ortenos!”
With this engagement, I renewed my determination to further elevate House Ortenos…
“That’s the thing, it was called off right before.”
Mercilessly, my father’s returning blade tore my heart to shreds.