Nathan unconsciously pressed a hand to his forehead. The Duke smiled in satisfaction and patted him on the shoulder.
“Your mother’s appointment as Duchess should be finalized today as well. That’s really wonderful.”
“…….”
Just as the Duke had predicted, that day, the appointment of his biological mother, the late Countess Alisa Podier, as Duchess of Valencia was officially decided.
Nathan was officially recognized as the Young Duke, and he was also scheduled to inherit the dukedom two weeks later.
On top of that, it had become widely known that Nathan Valencia had awakened an incredibly powerful ability, one that could even be compared to that of the first Duke of Valencia.
The Emperor was overjoyed and prepared a special imperial ball for the night of the succession ceremony. It would be a grand evening ball attended even by envoys from various countries.
And with the heir’s qualifications proven, talk of Nathan Valencia’s marriage had also begun to slowly circulate.
Early in the morning.
After finishing his training, Nathan was sitting across from the Duke of Valencia in the dining room when his brow furrowed.
“Marriage, you say?”
“Yes. Is there a young lady you fancy? Anyone will do. I’ll prepare for the engagement ceremony right away.”
“…….”
Patiently setting down his utensils, he took a sip of cold water. The Duke’s voice continued from across the table.
“Actually, I do like Lady Rachel, but she doesn’t seem to have any desire to become more involved with our family, so—”
“Cough.”
He nearly spat out the water.
After barely recovering, Nathan raised his gaze. The Duke smiled pleasantly.
“But then I heard a rumor that you seem to be interested in the young lady. If you want, I can—”
“No. I think you’ve misunderstood.”
As if there was any way he could be interested in that woman.
The Duke tilted his head.
“I heard you even went to pick her up on the morning of the execution. Come to think of it, you arrived together, so what happened to the young lady? Why did you come alone?”
“……Anyway, I have no intention of getting involved with that young lady any further. Unless you mean it in a negative sense.”
The Duke’s eyes instantly sharpened.
“Why? Did something happen?”
“…….”
Nathan hesitated for a moment. If he told the Duke everything now, would he be able to uncover what that young lady was hiding?
‘……Of course not.’
All that had been revealed was that she had possessed the truth and nearly all the evidence without leaving any trace of an investigation.
And there was only the testimony of an academy classmate who claimed that she had never once mentioned the physician’s warning to anyone.
His intuition clearly told him that a much greater secret was hidden beneath all this. But with merely this.
He did not want whatever Rachel Ingrave was hiding to be buried.
Nathan picked up his utensils, cut into his steak, and answered.
“I’ll handle it myself. Don’t worry and just watch.”
“Hmm, all right. In any case, you’ll soon become the Duke.”
Scrape—
“…….”
The knife scraped against the plate, but only for a moment. Swallowing a sigh, Nathan quietly lowered his gaze and spoke.
“Yes. I’ll become the Duke, so even if you’re going to retire, stay in the capital a little longer before you leave.”
“Why? Are you disappointed that I’m going to my territory?”
“…….”
He said nothing.
But the Duke smiled as though he had already received his answer. The relationship between father and son, which had subtly begun changing since the execution, now seemed to have shed much of its lingering resentment.
The perceptive Duke had probably noticed that he had changed somewhat.
That was probably why he was joking around with him, too.
Hadn’t he even casually patted his back at the sealing site earlier?
“…….”
Nathan was wearing a slightly awkward expression and was about to swallow another sigh when the new butler respectfully entered and presented a letter to the Duke.
The Duke, Nathan’s biological father, raised one eyebrow as he looked at the name written on the letter.
“Who is it?”
“Ingrave.”
“…….”
For an instant, Nathan’s head snapped up. The Duke continued indifferently.
“It’s the Marquis of Ingrave. He says he wishes to request an audience today. Will you join me?”
“……I will.”
Although Rachel Ingrave’s suspicions did not seem to have much to do with the Ingrave family.
Still, he could not simply ignore it. After all, she was an Ingrave now.
The audience was scheduled for the afternoon.
Until then, Nathan diligently received his heir’s education. The knights from the Red Falcon Mercenary Corps whom he had brought with him were likewise continuing to learn etiquette and the qualities expected of a knight.
But what he had to learn as the future Duke was far more diverse and complicated.
The history of the Empire, the history of the ducal family, aristocratic speech, the characteristics of each family, geography, etiquette, the current trends in the court and social circles, major policies, the political situations of other countries, and so on.
‘……There’s no end to this.’
That education would probably continue for at least half a year.
Nathan sometimes had to suppress the urge to run out of the mansion. Just then, a knock sounded.
“Young Master, the Marquis and Marchioness of Ingrave have arrived.”
“I’m coming.”
Immediately putting down his quill, he stood up. Randall, a minor noble and vassal of Valencia who had served as his instructor, politely bowed.
“It would look proper if you placed the quill into the inkwell while holding it with your thumb, index finger, and middle finger, Young Master. Then, please go. When you return, we’ll resume from page 51.”
“……Fine.”
Nathan carefully picked up the quill again with his thumb, index finger, and middle finger and placed it into the inkwell, then ran a hand through his own hair in frustration.
Suppressing his mounting desire to escape, he finally arrived at the drawing room, where the Marquis and
Marchioness of Ingrave, whom he had seen once before, were just meeting with the Duke.
“Oh, Young Master Valencia. It’s been a while. Congratulations on safely completing the sealing ceremony.”
“Congratulations, Young Master.”
Nathan lightly nodded and sat down on the sofa beside the Duke.
“Yes. Please, have a seat.”
The Duke sat in the seat of honor, while Nathan sat opposite the Marquis and Marchioness of Ingrave.
Refreshments soon arrived. After making small talk about business and briefly discussing the social circles, the Marquis cleared his throat.
“Ahem. The reason we have come all the way here today is because we heard that Young Master Valencia is looking for a bride.”
“…….”
Nathan glanced at the Marquis for an instant.
Then, without a word, he touched his teacup.
He is currently nineteen years old.
Considering that, excluding the fake ones, every heir of Valencia had married by the age of eighteen at the latest, he was already quite late.
Now that the sealing ceremony was over, talk of his marriage had gradually begun even within Valencia, so it would not be strange for proposals to come from outside either.
But who would have thought Ingrave would be the first.
It truly seemed that Rachel Ingrave and the Marquis and Marchioness of Ingrave thought differently from one another.
‘That’s what makes it even more suspicious.’
Normally, nobles tended to share the same intentions as their families.
The Duke rested his chin on his hand and spoke with an indifferent expression.
“That has nothing to do with Ingrave, does it? This is a Valencia matter.”
“I know, I know, but I believe there is something you have forgotten.”
The Marquis continued with a smile as picturesque as a painting.
“Our daughter has done something for Valencia, has she not? And conveniently, there are only two years between their ages, seventeen and nineteen. Considering that an engagement was originally being arranged between Valencia and Ingrave, I thought perhaps it would not be a bad idea for Young Master Nathan Valencia to carry on that engagement anew.”
After Rachel had distinguished herself, the Marquis, who no longer hesitated to voice his opinions even before the Duke of Valencia, now asked Nathan directly.
“What do you think, Young Master? You did come to escort our daughter once before, did you not—”
Screech—
At the sharp sound of porcelain, the Marquis immediately fell silent.
Nathan released the hand he had been gripping tightly before the teacup could break, crossed his legs, and rested his chin on his hand.
“I did. I thought it might be nice to watch the execution together. After all, it was an incident she resolved.”
“……Ahahaha.”
The Marquis let out an awkward laugh, flustered by Nathan’s openly unfriendly attitude. His lowered, reddish gaze swept over the Marquis and Marchioness in turn.
He had thought so ever since the first time they met.
They were definitely different from Rachel Ingrave, even in their atmosphere alone. An indifferent look appeared on Nathan’s face.
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