Chapter 2: A Small Revenge Sworn at the Wedding Ceremony
ㅤ”Tempest. Would you like to go to the dungeon in Blood Territory?”
ㅤ”What!? Are you serious!?”
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ㅤThis is the conversation I had with my parents right before my wedding, when they told me a huge lie. Well, not exactly a lie. I did get to go to the Blood Territory dungeon, after all.
ㅤMy dream of becoming a 『Magician』 came true, and what I dreamed of in this life was to be an 『Adventurer』. The most liberating profession in this world. A world of perfect meritocracy, personal responsibility, and freedom from social status.
ㅤHowever, most nobles think it’s unthinkable for someone of their noble status to become an adventurer. Except for a few famous adventurers, they were considered a gathering of barbarians. A job that had nothing to do with those who had both money and status.
ㅤWhen I was a child, I would sneak out of the mansion and secretly hunt monsters, but when my imitation of an adventurer was discovered, I was scolded severely.
ㅤIt’s not like I particularly enjoy dangerous things. Being born a noble in this world is truly fortunate. I have a house to protect me from the elements, and I’ve never gone hungry.
ㅤBut no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t fit into noble society. At first, I tried so hard to fit in. When I was young, I learned all kinds of manners, always smiled and acted charming at parties, and aimed to be a graceful lady. I tried to be the perfect noble child. In fact, I was doing well in social circles at that time.
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ㅤThe problem with this is that pretending to be a noble wasn’t fun at all. It made life feel painful.
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ㅤ’That’s what they mean by suffocating, huh~’
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ㅤOf course, I was happy to be surrounded by beautiful things that everyone envied, like dresses and jewels.
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ㅤ”I can’t believe I literally became a sparkly girl!”
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ㅤThere were days when I couldn’t stop laughing at the difference from my previous life. Even now, I don’t particularly dislike sparkly things, but I needed something more. I wanted to live freely, even if it meant danger and struggling to make ends meet, rather than living a peaceful life in a safe and well-fed noble society, abiding by etiquette and manners.
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ㅤ”No, that’s a lie. I want to enjoy the life of a noble while living freely and carelessly!”
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ㅤYes…… that’s my true feeling.
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ㅤ”I have to enjoy life since I was reborn!”
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ㅤUnfortunately, I couldn’t enjoy life in my previous life. I cared about appearances, worked diligently as a cog in society, and prioritized work over my private life. In the end, my previous life ended with the feeling that I had 『things left undone』. Therefore, I have to put effort into this area in this life.
ㅤI don’t know what will happen in this life either. Even if I was born a noble, it doesn’t mean I can get everything I want. But I should at least try.
ㅤI did everything I could to prepare for it. Studying magic, the ecology of monsters, how to handle magic plants…… and persuading my parents.
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ㅤThat’s why, when my strict parents said they would take me to Blood Territory, famous for its adventurer town, I thought my wish had finally come true. I was elated that my daily passionate speeches had paid off.
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ㅤAnd yet…… and yet!
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ㅤ’I was tricked!!!’
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ㅤI was dressed in a pure white wedding dress and stood next to the groom. There are few witnesses. The stained glass in the auditorium on the grounds of the large mansion bathes the room in light, creating a nice atmosphere, but I, the bride, am rolling my eyes.
ㅤThe reason why I didn’t run away at this point is because I also had the feeling of 『public appearance』 ingrained in me by my parents in this life. Or maybe it was the special skill of 『reading the room』 cultivated in my previous life that was imprinted on my soul, stopping me in my tracks.
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ㅤ’I was naive! Why did I trust them so easily!?’
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ㅤIs this what they call confirmation bias……? It’s not like there weren’t any things that bothered me on the way to this town.
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ㅤ’When we left the territory, there were an unusually large number of people seeing us off, and there were also a lot of guards, carriages, and luggage being loaded…… I thought they were preparing thoroughly for going to the dungeon, but I never thought it was a dowry!’
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ㅤI only gathered convenient information, interpreted it favorably, and believed it. What a blunder!
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ㅤ’My idiot self thought we came to the Blood family mansion just to say hello! Fool!’
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ㅤBut you can’t expect to be dressed in a wedding dress without knowing why, right!?
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ㅤThe man who will become my Danna-sama is Wendel Blood. He is 19 years old. The young head of the Blood family. When I look up at him from the side through my veil, his beautiful silver hair shines in the faint light that passes through the stained glass. His downcast face is also handsome. I also caught a glimpse of his deep green eyes. But he seems to be the cold man as rumored. He didn’t even glance at me, his future wife, and didn’t say a word.
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ㅤ’Huhhh!?’
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ㅤIn the end, it stayed that way from beginning to end. At the dinner party after the wedding ceremony, he said one word to the guests present,
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ㅤ”With this, I am married. Thank you all for your trouble.”
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ㅤAfter that, he said he was tired and went back to his room. Of course, there was no conjugal duty that night.
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ㅤ’No, no, no. What’s with that dissatisfied look? I didn’t want this marriage either? Why are you acting like the victim? I’m the one who wants to make that face!?’
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ㅤI blamed my parents, but my father ignored me.
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ㅤ”What do you think you’re doing!? This is a dirty trick!”
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ㅤI barked in the spacious room I was shown to.
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ㅤ”What? You said you didn’t want to get married, didn’t you?”
ㅤ”I just got married!?”
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ㅤYou were there, weren’t you!? You saw it, didn’t you!? I remember that satisfied look on your face!
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ㅤ”But it’s as if you haven’t, right?”
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ㅤWhat the Duke’s attendant told me earlier in a message was,
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ㅤ『It’s a political marriage. You can do whatever you like. We won’t interfere at all.』
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ㅤThat’s what he said.
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ㅤ”It’s the same since you can live freely.”
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ㅤMy mother’s face became a little scary. This is bad.
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ㅤ”What’s the big idea!? You’re 16 years old and you’re saying you don’t want to get married and so on……! It was a big mistake to think such selfishness would be tolerated! It’s not like you can become a Duchess just because you want to! You should be grateful, not complaining!”
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ㅤShe’s getting more and more heated.
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ㅤ”Besides! It turned out the way you wanted! How often do you find a Danna-sama who allows you to live freely!?”
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ㅤEven though their daughter was treated poorly, my parents seem to be grateful but not angry. Perhaps they think they were able to get rid of a troublesome burden early on. It’s disgraceful for a noble daughter to remain unmarried in her family home. That’s what they care about most.
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ㅤSo, I had no choice but to revise my life plan in the Duke’s mansion, which is much larger than my family home.
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ㅤ’There’s no point in being angry. Yeah. There’s no point…… Damn it!!!’
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ㅤ”I’ll make a name for myself as an adventurer and make him pay!!!”
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ㅤWell, wouldn’t you be pissed off? What’s with that guy!? What’s with my parents!?
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ㅤThe reason why the Duke suddenly married me seems to be because the King of this country had been bringing him various marriage proposals. And they were all daughters of nobles with connections to the King. They knew the benefits of this territory, which is rich in finances due to monster materials, and were desperate to somehow intervene in the territory management.
ㅤMy husband, Wendel, seems to have been very annoyed by the matchmaking. And then, I happened to be in the right place at the right time.
ㅤAs for my family, they can dispose of their bad debt quickly. Moreover, my family, the Witwish Marquis House, is a family respected by the royal family. My great-grandfather served as the tutor of the previous King, who has already retired, and my grandmother has a history of being an instructor of etiquette and manners for the current King and Queen, as well as other members of the royal family.
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ㅤ’It seems like people in this country are weak to titles like that, huh~’ Sensei
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ㅤPerhaps because 『teachers』 are treated as beings to be respected, they think it can’t be helped if it’s the daughter of the Witwish family. Since our family is also known for being earnest, it seems they overlooked the fact that we didn’t marry into the Blood family for personal gain.
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ㅤ’No, no! Isn’t getting married for the sake of appearances considered personal gain!?’
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ㅤApparently, I’m the only one who thinks so.
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ㅤThat’s why the Blood family wanted someone from the Witwish family. I was the best option, so it couldn’t be helped. Thus, our interests aligned, and it was decided that I, Tempest, would marry into this territory.
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ㅤ”The heir has already been decided, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
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ㅤThese were also the words spoken by the attendant. With a cold, condescending look.
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ㅤ’Like I care, you idiot!’
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ㅤI desperately held back from cursing like that. No, I endured it.
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ㅤ”Hooo…… Haaa……”
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ㅤI took a deep breath and somehow calmed my anger. There’s no point in thinking only bad things out of anger. It can’t be helped that I’m already married. I have to think about the future.
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ㅤAs my mother said, this marriage is close to the conditions I wanted. I have permission to do as I please. Above all, there’s a dungeon in the territory. It’s not within walking distance, but it’s within reach by carriage from the mansion.
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ㅤ”I can get a safe life and the profession of an adventurer!”
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ㅤThat’s right. It’s just as I wished!
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ㅤBesides, I’m looking forward to seeing the face of that cold-blooded husband when he finds out that the wife he married into the Blood Dukedom is an adventurer. Will his grumpy face become even grumpier, or will he be furious?
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ㅤ”Divorce!”
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ㅤIf he says that, then that’s lucky! All I have to do is make sure I can live as an adventurer by then. I hear that famous adventurers earn as much as big merchants.
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ㅤI’ve never heard of a wife married to a noble becoming an adventurer. For nobles, it’s a disgrace. It’s certain that they would say that the husband can’t even manage his own wife. And my family would be in an uproar as well.
ㅤIf they had treated me with a little more sincerity, I wouldn’t be a noble daughter who doesn’t understand the situation. I would even consider becoming an adventurer secretly, hiding my face and name. But I don’t care anymore! I’ll become an adventurer as myself!
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ㅤI’ll become an adventurer whose name is known throughout the country and embarrass that Danna-sama!