X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the Server“Balian? What’s wrong with you today? You seem so listless.”
“I’m fine, Marquis.”
“Had a quarrel?”
“No.”
Hearing her father call for Barian, Aurora’s guilty conscience made her jump. She instinctively tried to leap up, her powerful legs pushing against the table leg, nearly overturning the table with a clatter.
“Ahaha.”
Aurora laughed awkwardly to cover her embarrassment.
She casually cut a small piece of foie gras and offered it to Vapgis.
“Here, Vapgis, this is delicious. Have some more.”
Vapgis, who had been eating heartily, looked up in confusion.
Her plate was piled high with various desserts, meat, and fish. In her left hand, a forkful of steak; in her right, a spoon of soup; and her mouth was ringed with breadcrumbs.
She glanced left and right, momentarily unsure which to put down.
“Open up.”
Aurora shoved the fork with foie gras straight into Vapgis’s mouth, nearly choking her.
As expected, this drew Marquis Ed’s attention.
“Miss Vapgis is Aurora’s roommate. Thanks to you, she passed the exam. I appreciate your care for her.”
“Yes, she’s very hardworking. Nineteen years old and still no intention of marrying.”
“Oh, indeed.”
“Mm, mm, mm.”
Suddenly singled out, Vapgis was startled.
This was a genuine border marquis—one of only eleven in the entire Kingdom of Fran, a super-magnate, and the most trusted Chancellor—the King’s Hand.
Without even tasting the food, she quickly swallowed, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and replied fearfully:
“Marquis, I only did a little work.”
“Don’t be modest. I know my daughter’s character all too well. You’re a capable person. I heard from Aurora that you’re not yet engaged? Our family has several fine young men; you should get to know them.”
“Marquis, I…”
Vapgis was at a loss for words, embarrassed.
How did this turn into matchmaking? Was this appropriate?
Was this how important people communicated?
Of course not—this was all Aurora’s scheme.
The general marriageable age for noblewomen in the Kingdom of Fran was sixteen, though some with particular preferences might be earlier or later. But in any case, they should marry before eighteen.
So, mentioning that Vapgis was unmarried would surely make Father Ed pry further.
Aurora was secretly gloating when Marquis Ed suddenly changed the subject back to her:
“I know you don’t like hearing this, but I still have to say something about you and Balian.”
‘Oh no, here comes the old man’s nagging again.’
Marquis Ed recounted how he had pursued Aurora’s mother back in the day, then spoke of his ‘heroic deeds’ of having five children with her almost non-stop from ages eighteen to twenty-four.
Then he talked about how bearing superior offspring was the goddess’s doctrine, a family’s duty, the meaning of life, and the value of existence, blah blah blah.
Regarding the so-called Platonic love and childfree ideas popular among some youths, the head of the Olivia family, Ed, commented:
“Afraid of this and that? Try it and you’ll know it’s great!”
Aurora’s mouth twitched, shocked by her father’s outrageous remark.
‘Really, for an elder male relative to say this to his daughter…’
“It’s your mother’s idea!”
Marquis Ed, as if reading her thoughts, added:
“Balian is a good lad. Not only do your mother and I think highly of him, but the Church also believes he will amount to something, so they selected him as a candidate for Brave.”
“Listen, I’m not one of those capital nobles who are good for nothing but writing poems and reading crests. I don’t care much about so-called ancient bloodlines. We border people value ability.”
“You’ve grown up with Balian. I think you’re a good match, which is why I didn’t arrange a marriage for you.”
“I didn’t push for marriage before or bring it up, because Balian hadn’t completed his training yet. He needed to temper his will and couldn’t live too comfortably.”
“But you? Have you gone wild? Have you taken a fancy to some pretty boy and want to kick Balian to the curb?”
Aurora was speechless.
If you ignored a lot of details, it did seem that way.
But the core issue was that Aurora refused to marry.
All her efforts were to avoid being tied to a man, not to get a better one.
If Balian were a useless noble, she might even consider assassinating him and happily becoming a widow. But a Brave candidate?
She couldn’t beat that Balian.
She had to isolate him!
“No, it’s not like that. Ah, Father, you know me. I believe that as a warrior, even a female, should be as strict with herself as a male. I must achieve something before getting married.”
“Balian gets up at five every morning. Why don’t I see you follow suit?”
“Because mages are different from warriors—we don’t need to train physical strength.”
Aurora said confidently.
“Hah, it’s because mages aren’t as awesome as warriors. Enough, let’s drop you.”
Marquis Ed casually silenced his daughter, who was about to retort.
“Balian, tell me. What stupid thing did my daughter do to make you so upset?”
“Marquis, it’s really nothing. Miss just told me to go home by myself while she and Miss Vapgis rested in the dorm.”
Aurora thought, ‘How does Vapgis come into this?’
Vapgis thought, ‘How do I come into this?’
He didn’t mention her kicking, hitting, or scolding him—just this?
He was clearly jealous!
“You mean you’ve helped Aurora a lot, but she can’t even meet your basic demands, right?”
Aurora thought, ‘Dude, is that a basic demand? He wants to f*ck me! I’ll give you money, just don’t f*ck me, okay? That’s so perverted!’
“Miss has already given me a lot. I can’t ask for more, Marquis.”
“You’ve been hanging around priests too long; you’ve learned their officialese. The Olivia family’s creed is fairness and justice. What’s yours is yours. Aurora, did you hear that?”
“Fine… but I have other things to do? Father, there are cultists and illegal potions in the city.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. There’s a lot you don’t know.”
“Someone’s got my back? Be careful not to get burned.”
“His Majesty has already arranged everything. Don’t meddle. And right now, we’re talking about you and Balian!”
His father’s persistence made Aurora frown.
She had always kept the cultist matter in mind.
She had planned to interrogate the black market merchants she had captured immediately after passing the exam.
Now this…
Yes, her father was busy, and she could always find a way to break the house arrest. But what if those merchants died in a few days?
A medieval kingdom’s dungeon was no friendly place.
What to do?
Just then, Balian spoke:
“Marquis, since Miss wants to go out, why don’t I accompany her?”
Aurora thought, ‘What does he mean? A date?’
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore How to Avoid Regression. Start reading now!
Read : How to Avoid Regression
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂