Then, Master Van showed me the greatness of magic outside of the four elements.
The nobles have a strong attachment to the Four Elemental Magics, almost to the point of fanaticism. This undoubtedly had a hand in my becoming an outcast.
Itās the reason why I quit magic, starting from the day where my mother stopped looking at me in the eyes.
If I hadnāt quit practicing magic thenā¦Ā would I have become like Master Van?
With muddled thoughts in my head, I ended up having dinner with Lord Van.
āā¦Miss Arte, are these foods to your liking? If you would allow us, we could procure some more ingredients and make sweets.ā
āOh, uhā¦ no. Erm, I meanā¦ Iām already amazed at how good the meat, the salad, and the fruit areā¦ā
Although Iām getting a bit better at talking, my voice still comes out a little choppy. Iām ashamed to admit it, but strangely, I no unable to look at Lord Van with the same disdain as I had before.
Maybe he is a nice person like Panameraā¦ who knows when I will ever meet another like person like her again?
I decided to try a little harder to get to know him.
āWhat do you like, Miss Arte?ā
āAh, erm. I like pretty thingsā¦ā
āI see, pretty things, huh? Do you like small animals?ā
āNot just animals, I also like dolls and flowers. That is, if they donāt moveā¦ā
āDolls huh, Iāve never seen one of those before. If you have one, would you mind me taking a look at them?ā
Suddenly, Lord Van made a request in an adult-like tone. For some reason I didnāt feel uncomfortable, in fact, I felt a mature warmth in his voice.
āAh, yesā¦! Itās in the carriage right now, Iāll bring it out tomorrowā¦ā
āReally? Thank you, Miss Arte.ā
When I saw his gentle smile, I felt a warm, fluffy feeling in my chest. It was a strange feeling, like I was both happy and excited at the same time.
His smile reminded me of Panameraās, it was so calmingā¦
Suddenly, I felt blooding rushing to my face, making me hurriedly avert my eyes.
After this, Lord Van continued to initiate conversations with me. Little by little I got used to talking with him, and I began to become more involved.
I even found myself initiating conversations on my own. In no time at all, dinner ended.
Afterwards, I walked back to the inn, listening to Master Van converse with Panamera.
Soon, we reached our destination. It was a magnificent mansion in a style Iād never seen before.
I heard the rooms were made small to prepare for the number of people, but that was likely just Lord Van being humble.
When I looked up at the structure, some ugly feelings of jealously began to rise in me, but I calmed myself with a sigh.
In the meantime, Panamera had already gone into the inn.
Suddenly, I meet eyes with Lord Van.
Without thinking, my mouth opened and I began to talk.
āā¦..Erm about today, well, uhā¦ thank you! I would really like to, um, erm, well, well Iād like to thank you! Please keep in touch! Good night!ā
I quickly spat out those lines and ran off without waiting to hear a response.
How could I have been so rude? Master Van definitely thinks Iām a weird person now. Oh, I donāt even know where my room is. What should I do?
I began to walk in circles, my head spinning. As I walked down the corridor, half in tears, I saw some soldiers looking at me suspiciously.
When I finally reached my room, I found Panamera standing inside, dressed only in her underwear. Even to me, as a woman, her body looked extremely attractiveā¦ I guess men prefer women to be of this attractive build.
Panamera was drinking something from a beautiful wooden cup.
āOh, youāre finally here. Did you cross the line with him? If you did, please tell me now so I can sort things out with him later.ā
āI-I didnāt cro-cross any lines.ā
I couldnāt help but let out an unseemly screech.
Upset by my outburst, I hide my face with my hands, unable to look her in the face.
Then Panamera laughed with an amused look on her face.
āI was planning to leave tomorrow, but letās stay a few more days. I canāt take care of you forever, so Iāll give you a few gold coins as allowance every day. Or, do you want me to give you 100 gold coins upfront?ā
(T.L. Note: Wow that escalated really quickly.)
I nodded in response.
(T.L. Note: I have no clue which deal she went with.)
When we meet tomorrow, I want to try talking to him again. I hope that Lord Van will listen to me.
For the first time in a long time, I was looking forward to tomorrow.
(T.L. Note: Awww.)
I promptly washed myself and then got into bed. The bed was surprisingly comfortable and the blanket was lusciously soft.
[Panameraās POV]
The quality of the village was much higher than I had originally anticipated.
When I first saw the village from a distance, I was delighted to see it.
It was because the atmosphere of the village was completely different from the rumours. Its new walls made it clear that the village was leaps ahead of its neighbors in terms of its defensive capabilities.
I didnāt know what material was being used, but it looked abnormally sturdy. I suppose the Marquis acquired them using his connections.
Undoubtedly, the Marquis was laying the foundations for a great fortress to be made here.
The Count is wary of the Marquisā power and has sent me to blunt any possible aggressions by the Marquis by marrying off his daughter. Right now, time is of the essence.
Iām hoping that the Marquis sent his prized youngest son. If thatās the case, as long as Arte likes him, I will force the engagement through.
Although, personally, I would have rathered this not happen.
Although the Count is wary of the Marquisā momentum, the Marquis does not fear the Count in the slightest. Iām sure that he is planning to expand into the Countās territory.
That being the case, if Arte is married off, she would become simple political leverage and lose her freedom.
She would be forced into a living hell. At best, we could justify it as a sort of sacrificial peacekeeping measure to ensure the prosperity of the Countās house. But, if events follow my predictions, then it will likely be a meaningless sacrifice in the end.
āI donāt like it.ā
I let out a shout of anger as I looked at the robust-looking village walls.
I would rather fight on a bloody battlefield than flatter the Marquis like a dog. But I need to swallow my pride in order to gain recognition from the Count as a military commander so that I can get the opportunity to gain achievements and rise through the ranks.
It is something that needs to be done.
At least, thatās what I told myself as I walked through the villageās gates.
When I met Van in person, he looked like an unassuming boy with no ambition, and to be honest, I felt a little disappointed.
But the more I talked to him, the more incredible I found him to be. Although his language was child-like, his insights and responses showed incredible maturity.
His declarations and his shows of power made me very interested in him.
This boy definitely possesses the potential to surpass his father.
The world is always in a state of constant warfare. This boyās power is rare and valuableā¦ he will become the target of various countries if he is not careful.
By the time half a day had passed, I had completely changed my mind about Arteās engagement.
I must get Arte engaged to this boy, by any means. He seems to be a perfect match for Arte. Not only that, but the increase in status from marrying the Countās daughter will also be highly beneficial for him.
People would think that he was a promising person, warranting even the Count to marry his daughter to him. Then there would be rumors about his fiefdom, causing people to gather to his land.
And so, since Iām the one to broker a deal, I will take this opportunity to make a strong connection with this promising young man.
A new wind is coming, one that I havenāt felt for a long time.
Three, maybe two weeks from now, Iāll make him make a decision.
I quietly smiled as I watched Arte blush while talking about Van.
(T.L. Note: So three things(sorry). First, I am about to get hit by the college train so expect to see a lot less of me than you already do. Second, I am doing this as a hobby and have not made a cent off of it, and since I have been only translating this novel, itās gotten a little stale. Therefore, I was looking to try translating another novel for a few chapters and see if I like it. If you have recommendations, please submit them. Third, please God someone help me fix my crap TLāing by posting mistakes or suggestions for improvement in the comments. Thanks for listening to my TED talk.)