Chapter 57: Chapter 54: Night of the Chimera’s Cry – Contract (4)

The contract is insubstantial.

Aurora Grannis Di Epheria. 

Grannis was the middle name passed down to the female descendants of the Duke Vankreift family before their destruction. Di Epheria is the name given to those of the main Imperial Family.

And that meant Aurora can only be the daughter of Helena Grannis Vankreift and Karyuel Cassian Di Epheria.

As the contract itself acknowledged Aurora's full name as true, it meant that the other set conditions held little to no meaning and can not bind them...but, that is only if he admitted it.

However, Lucius had no intention of admitting it when even the contract itself wasn't aware of it. So, as long as the contract itself didn't acknowledge the confirmation of her identity or she herself does not realize it, the other conditions must be upheld. 

While it's true Aurora was the first to introduce the idea of a contract, it was a convenient excuse for him to truly confirm her identity and to keep her tied to him.

Especially now that he knows she could very well be the one to break the Rizar's curse, there's no way he'd let her go. As the last descendant of the Black Witch, he'll do anything to keep her by his side.

Even if it means deceiving her.

A rustling sound came from the couch.

Aurora kept moving, struggling to once again flee from the Duke's grasp. But the more she moved, the tighter he held on while grimacing at the same time. If only she saw what kind of expression he had, she wouldn't have the courage to continue.

"You shouldn't move so much." Lucius nearly growled, with the tone of his voice hoarse, as though he was trying to endure something.

She immediately stopped when she felt something hard press against her behind. T-that...don't tell her he....'T-this man...how can he be thinking about such an indecent thing at this time?!'

Her face couldn't help but flush from embarrassment.

Aurora reluctantly gave in and continued to obediently sit in his lap as he changed the subject. She tried her best to ignore the thing pressing against her as she focused on their conversation.

“With the contract completed, we need to discuss when our engagement will be revealed. When is your 16th birthday?”

Aurora blinked her eyes. She wondered why he was asking her about that…she had a bad feeling again… “It is in three weeks from today.”

The Duke put his hand on his chin. “That should barely be enough time.”

“For what?”

Lucius glanced at her. “Starting today, you’re my distant cousin. You come from a poor aristocrat family with the lowest Noble title, Baron. There was an engagement agreement between the two of us set up by our parents, but after everyone thought you and your parents died in a house fire, the agreement was canceled. That is, until I found you alive, struggling to survive on your own. I took you in and decided to go through with the engagement between our parents after falling in love with you at first sight.”

“…W-what a well thought out story…hahaha…” Aurora laughed strangely. 

Fell in love at first sight?

Such an unbelievable thing for one of the four Dukes called as the 'Monster of the North', who'd dare to believe it?

“Your Gra…Uhh, Lucius, will that fool the others? It may become a pleasant story of romance to tell amongst the commoners, but those of the Noble families will no doubt try and unravel the truth.”

“Of course, there will be some who refuse to accept my explanation. They will dig for your identity, but it will be useless. There will be nothing to find." Lucius paused.

In the beginning, he didn't care if they accepted it or not. He'd get rid of those who tried to stop him from taking what is his.

"What I said earlier isn't a complete lie. I used to have a distant cousin who died in a fire with her parents a few years ago. They were burnt to a crisp until not even their bones were left behind."

Lucius explained how the Rizar bloodline in them was too thin to activate the curse. But due to their fear against the main Family, they kept their distance as much as possible from him and his Father. He also pointed out that there were other family members on his Father's side that were still alive, but how there was no need to meet them. As for his Mother's side...he didn't bring it up at all.

"Even if the engagement itself is a lie, as long as the details are vague, no one will be able to figure if what I’m saying is the truth or not.”

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“What if they send someone to ask the villagers?”

“The village is long gone.”

Aurora blinked her eyes. “Don’t tell me you…” She didn’t dare finish her question.

“?? The erosion spread there a year after their death. What did you think it was?”

Oh. “Ahem. Is that so? Nothing, nothing.”

“……” Lucius could guess what she was thinking. “We will officially announce our engagement during your 16th birthday banquet. It will be held at the largest banquet hall in the Dukedom, the Snow Ice Hall.”

“A birthday banquet? I don’t want or need one.”

Lucius paused. “It’s your Coming of Age ceremony and our engagement ceremony. It’s an important event.”

“Isn’t it fine to have a simple ceremony with only a few witnesses?”

The Duke realized that Aurora didn't care for anything much regarding fashion and high society. He wondered if it was because she blamed herself for the curse placed on his family.

If Aurora realized what he was thinking, she would have said he was exaggerating. She just didn't care for all those social rules nobles followed. She didn't want to return to the life of that spoiled, naive Princess who just smiled at everyone and tried her best to endure bursting out in anger. Aurora didn't want her Father to further be insulted for marrying a Witch and having a daughter who awakened as a Witch.

That's why when someone mocked her, she'd put on her mask and smile back.

She tired of it.

“No. You will have one.”

Aurora’s brows scrunched into a frown. “Why?

“I understand your distaste towards aristocrats, but if you are to be my Wife, there are some things you will not be able to escape from. While we are engaged, we will go through the normal procedures of that of a Duke household.”

Aurora stayed silent as she contemplated this. She sat unmoving in Lucius’ lap. He couldn’t see her expression as she sat facing forward.

Finally, she nodded her head in agreement.

“Good. About your Sigil, I received notice from Gaius yesterday that he’s finished preparing the necessary materials. He’ll arrive today.”

It was at that moment a knock sounded at the door. "Your Grace, your guest has arrived," Halon said from the other side.

"Let him in."

The blacksmith she met from before opened the door. He was wearing proper, formal attire this time. He wore brown pants with a long-sleeved white suit shirt and an open brown vest.

His tall and muscular build didn’t take away from his charm, but rather complemented his outfit. With his spiky hair tied back in place, his rough appearance from before was nowhere to be found. Even his wild hair was tied back into place. The man that stood before her was one that excluded a charming aura on another level.

Lucius, with his arms wrapped around Aurora, greeted the blacksmith. “Gaius, you’re la- “

When Gaius saw what could only be described as unbelievable, his expression turned dark. He stepped back and slowly closed the door in his face without coming in, cutting the Duke off from the rest of his sentence.

Gaius turned to Halon who stood to the side with a polite smile on his face.

“Excuse me, I seemed to have lost my way and entered the wrong mansion…”

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