Chapter 4
Thankfully, Felix didn’t seem to care about my father’s strange behavior and followed me without saying anything.
The room had a square table in the center with four sofas placed around it, one on each side. There wasn’t really a “head seat.”
“Brother.”
“…Yeah?”
“Can I sit next to Father?”
“What?”
When I nodded toward the seat beside our father, Kyle widened his eyes like he couldn’t believe what he just heard.
From his tone and expression, it was clear that he understood me perfectly—he just didn’t like what I said.
Still, I didn’t care and asked again.
“I mean, can I sit next to Father so that the Duke can sit next to me?”
“What the…?”
Kyle’s face twisted in frustration.
“Ahem! Flora, don’t say such strange things and just sit down. Are you planning to keep the Duke standing forever?”
My father stepped in too.
I gave them both an annoyed smile inside. These two were getting in the way of my plan to get closer to Felix before the wedding.
Seriously, do they want us to live in the same house and still not talk to each other?
‘We’re getting married in a few months anyway. Why are they so overprotective?’
It was ridiculous how the Diatri men still treated me like a little girl.
To be exact, they only acted like this when it came to my marriage with Felix—as if I were still eight years old.
They kept saying I was too young to marry—even though noble children in this empire usually got engaged before adulthood—and that Felix and I were too different to make a good couple.
That last part was especially absurd. Too different to get married? Then should I marry someone who’s exactly like me?
‘Besides, this marriage can’t be undone anyway.’
They clearly didn’t like the idea, but I just couldn’t understand it.
What’s wrong with Felix?
Compared to all the arrogant noble boys in the capital, he was a million—no, ten million—times better.
Even if I took off my “favorite character” glasses, Felix was still an amazing groom.
First, let’s talk about looks. He was perfect.
He had shiny silver hair like moonlight on a lake at night, a smooth forehead, sharp nose, pretty lips, gentle yet cool eyes, and deep blue pupils.
‘He really is the most handsome man in the world.’
Second, his personality.
Felix had all the traits I loved in a man.
He spoke respectfully even to me, just a marquis’s daughter, and he stayed calm even with my ridiculous father and brother acting like that.
Well… maybe he just ignored their nonsense.
Also, he was kind to me today. Maybe it was because we’re engaged, but still.
And lastly, his status and wealth.
Sure, I came from the rich Diatri family, but the Pechedor Duchy had been a Grand Duchy a few generations ago. That meant they were one of the richest and most powerful noble families.
And he was the only Duke in the whole empire. His rank needed no further explanation.
So honestly, why were people still complaining?
I knew some of the rumors about him, but they weren’t even true.
“If you don’t want to move, fine. I’ll just sit over there.”
I glared at Kyle and Father and walked over to one of the empty sofas.
Felix quietly followed me, like he was fine with my plan to get closer.
“…”
“…Flora.”
The two Diatri men looked at us like they had just witnessed the end of the world.
“Ahem! Now that the Duke and Lady Flora have arrived, shall we begin the main discussion?”
It was Dante who broke the silence.
When I looked at him, he had already shifted into full-on work mode. The awkward look he had earlier was completely gone.
“What’s the main discussion?”
I asked, amused by seeing this serious side of Dante that I had only read about before.
He cleared his throat and said,
“The wedding of the Duke and Lady Flora Diatri.”
Ah, the wedding.
Even though I’d thought and heard about it many times, hearing it said out loud felt strangely new.
Marriage. A formal relationship between husband and wife.
It was a word that had nothing to do with my previously ordinary life in a chaotic world.
‘And now I’m experiencing marriage just because I possessed someone’s body…’
And not just anyone—my husband-to-be was perfect.
I glanced at Felix, who sat up straight next to me, and had to hold back a smile.
Even if this was just a temporary one-year marriage, I felt determined again to make him happy during that time.
And when the time came to divorce, I planned to take full responsibility so that Felix wouldn’t be blamed at all.
“The wedding date is in August, right? Like in the contract?”
“Yes. We’ll have to decide which day in August. The first things to choose are the date, location, and size of the ceremony. And of course, the opinions of the Duke and Lady Flora will be the top priority.”
After Dante finished speaking, I looked at my father, who looked very annoyed. He sighed deeply and nodded.
It meant he agreed with Dante.
Before I had left the room earlier, Father had said some things—but not everything he said was wrong.
Usually, noble weddings took at least six months to plan, and sometimes up to one or two years.
‘These nobles are basically like rich CEOs.’
They act like being born into money gives them special rights… well, never mind.
Whether it was a marriage of love or convenience, noble marriages were really about uniting two families.
Everything from the size of the wedding to the design of the invitation and even the type of napkins used by the guests—those all reflected the family’s power and wealth.
That’s why nobles took weddings very seriously.
The higher their status, the more extreme it got.
Image and reputation were everything to them.
So looking at how this society worked, I knew our wedding would be nothing short of extravagant.
“When can we have it at the earliest?”
“…If we prepare quickly, early August is possible.”
Early August?
That would be really fast, considering we hadn’t started anything yet.
“But if we have more time, the quality would be better, right?”
“Well… yes.”
Dante nodded slowly, though he seemed a bit frustrated.
He was a capable man, so not being able to prepare a perfect wedding in just four months probably hurt his pride.
Planning a wedding between a Duke and a Marquis’s daughter in just four months… yeah, that was no easy task.
“Hm…”
After thinking for a while, I said I’d like more time to decide, and both Dante and Father’s assistant nodded.
Then the discussion continued—for over an hour.
As I listened to my father speak seriously, all his earlier grumpiness gone, Edward came over.
He was the butler in charge of the marquis’s estate in the capital.
“Young Lady, I’ll bring you a fresh cup of tea.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
He smiled kindly with wrinkled eyes, gracefully clearing my half-finished cold tea and replacing it with a warm, fresh one.
He then checked everyone else’s cups and replaced them too.
He moved so smoothly and quietly that it didn’t interrupt the meeting at all. After finishing his work, he gave me a slight bow and left the room.
I took a sip of the new tea and focused back on the conversation.
“How many guests should we invite?”
“If we invite too many, it might seem flashy and cheap. Let’s carefully select noble families to invite.”
“Excellent decision.”
The conversation went on.
“And the ceremony itself…”
“A wedding at the Grand Temple was last year’s trend…”
I shared my thoughts here and there, but some of the topics were too complicated or dull to bother understanding.
Still, every time I glanced at Felix beside me—calm and serious as he participated in the discussion—the meeting suddenly felt like the most interesting thing in the world.
‘…Wow. I’ve seen lots of good-looking people before, but they never made me feel anything special.’
I’d just think, “Oh, they look nice.”
Some even flirted with me, which only annoyed me.
But with Felix? My heart reacted only to him.
And honestly, even objectively, he was way more handsome than any of them.
“Then, shall we send all the final details by letter later?”
“That sounds best.”
Finally, after almost two hours, the meeting seemed to be coming to an end.
