~Chapter 2~
Delfinaâs eyes turned to the marriage proposal letter on the Dukeâs desk.
It had the seal of the Grand Duke of Rohaim.
The Duke spoke again.
âDelfina, you know how much we have done for you.â
Delfina looked at him with an emotionless face.
âGo to the North. By order of His Majesty the Emperor, our family must form a marriage alliance with the Grand Duke.â
Everyone knew the relationship between the North and the Lycaeon family was bad.
âThe Emperor wants someone from our family sent to the North.â
The Duke smiled kindly as he said that. The Duchess added softly,
âDelfina, canât you go for your sisterâs sake?â
âFor EvelinaâŠ?â
âYes, Evelina is your precious sister. She canât handle the cold North. Youâre her older sister. If youâre worried about your engagement⊠Huat family has sent a letter to cancel it.â
âAh, I see.â
âThey said they can no longer keep the engagement.â
The Duchess spoke these cruel words with a gentle smile.
âStrangely, I donât feel anything.â
Maybe it was because she remembered her past life. She felt no sadness at all.
She no longer wanted her uncleâs approval.
Normally, she would have felt great sorrow and still forced herself to obey her uncle. But now, it felt like she had awoken from a spell.
Delfina just listened quietly.
âDo you think there will be another marriage offer for a lady who has been rejected?â
ââŠâŠâ
âThis is a good opportunity for you too. You can repay us for our kindness and get married.â
The Duke added,
âMy wife is right. You will not get a proper marriage now. Donât you see what a big chance this is? We are suggesting this for your sake.â
ââŠâŠâ
âBecause we are family.â
Everything they said was nonsense. She knew the North would never welcome her.
The Duke always told her no one would ever like her.
âThe carriage accident happened because of me.â
Her parents rushed home because Delfina was sick, and they died in the accident.
âThe Empress and Grand Duke of Rohaim also died in that accident.â
Since then, the relationship between House Lycaeon and House Rohaim became worse.
Delfina knew the North wouldnât welcome her, but she didnât mention it. They wouldnât care anyway.
âHmm. Are you so sad you canât answer, Delfina?â
âNo, Iâm just so happy.â
If she hadnât remembered her past life, she would have simply obeyed.
Since childhood, she was told to repay the Duke and Duchess who raised her after her parentsâ death, treat Evelina like a sister, and treat Dianco like a brother.
Maybe thatâs why she felt forced to obey them all her life.
âBut now, I donât want to do that anymore.â
She no longer believed their words.
But she didnât plan to refuse the marriage either.
As she obediently listened, a system window appeared in front of her.
<New Quest>
You, the neglected child of the family!
Your cousin stole your fiancĂ©, and now youâre being sent to the North.
Will you just endure this sad fate?
Go to the North and revive it.
Show your family your greatness and make them regret it.
Reward: A wish that can make anything come true.
Fail: Live as a miserable neglected child forever.
Seeing this, she thought there was no need to oppose them.
âItâs basically like having no choice anyway.â
Instead of staying with this family, following the quest seemed better.
âIf the wish is real, I can achieve the dream I couldnât in my past life.â
She still didnât know why she could see the system window, but she decided to act as usual until she left House Lycaeon.
It was better if the Duke saw her as a foolish girl desperate for love.
That way, he wouldnât see her as a threat.
Just like always.
With a sad smile, Delfina said,
âI will go to the North. If itâs for Evelina.â
Delfina sat in the carriage, looking at the sky.
After she accepted the quest, everything moved quickly.
Even without the quest, she would have been sent to the North. Her opinion was never needed.
âThey planned this thoroughly.â
She realised the Duke was always ready to kick her out.
Even before she agreed, knights from the Grand Duke had already come to pick her up.
And so, she was now in the carriage heading North. Outside, she could hear the Grand Dukeâs knights whispering.
âWhat is the Duke thinking?â
âSending her in such a shabby carriage⊠Is he mocking us?â
The knights looked tired.
They hadnât been treated well or given time to rest at House Lycaeon before leaving again.
Their faces were full of complaints. For Delfina, this wasnât good.
The carriage stopped.
The knights began preparing camp to rest before entering the North.
Alex frowned.
He smelled food.
Nearby, House Lycaeonâs knights and maids were cooking.
âHow hateful.â
The Grand Dukeâs people only had a few pieces of jerky left.
They planned to restock supplies at House Lycaeon before leaving, but the Duke rushed them out immediately.
So the Grand Dukeâs group had almost no food left.
Meanwhile, House Lycaeonâs people cooked rich meals and mocked them.
Even if relations were bad, this was rude.
âTheyâre showing off because theyâll return home tomorrow.â
Only a few maids would follow Delfina to the North. The rest would return home after today.
Maybe because it was their last day, they openly mocked the Grand Dukeâs people.
Alexâs eyes turned cold.
âTheyâre as petty as their master. Truly vile.â
He looked at his men.
They were swallowing saliva at the smell of stew.
He sighed deeply.
The road to Rohaim was long and harsh. They planned to stop at villages for supplies, but seeing his hungry men pained him.
âWe canât get food unless⊠she helps us.â
Without help from Lady Delfina, who stayed quietly inside the carriage, they could do nothing.
Donât worry Alex⊠Delphina has got you
Sheâs going to cook them some incredibly good food, better than what those asshats could provide anyway
Ugh I hope she made the servants pay too