Nine lowkey felt like strangling her father when she realized that her spouse had already been chosen for her. It must have shown on her face, because her father tried his best to appease her after the morning court ended.
"Nine, don't be angry. Unfortunately, as a Crown Prince you really do have to marry sooner rather than later. Deltan has been able to put it off for the time being by using excuses that he already has someone he loves, but he will eventually need to marry as well."
Nine felt her expression darken even more at the 'explanation'. Though she knew it was inevitable, she hadn't expected to end up having a spouse at the age of seventeen.
She glowered at her father. She would at least have liked to be informed before the morning court, where she wouldn't be caught off guard in front of all the officials. Luckily, her poker face worked just as well as it usually did, and no one seemed to be able to tell there was something off with her reaction.
Exactly how did he expect this to work? To begin with, there was no way she was able to sleep with whoever her 'wife' would end up being. Well, she supposed it didn't matter, since she had no intentions of falling in love again anyway.
"Look," Emperor Destan said, holding out a rather large booklet. "This is the person I chose."
Nine took the booklet uninterestedly, flipping it open. Her thoughts froze.
"Isn't she beautiful? I dare say she only loses out only in comparison to yourself. She seems to have a docile personality, and isn't headstrong, so it should work out."
The portrait within the booklet contained a painting of a young woman with extraordinary bearing. She had her silver hair plaited, following around her skull. Deep violet eyes were painted masterfully, looking like they were shining with life. Her looks were otherworldly, and her eyes shone with intellect. Her cold features were painted slightly red, as if blushing, and her expression was closed, as if trying to hide the fact that she was a maiden in love.
At one glance, Nine could instantly place that face. it was Nocturne. Her expression darkened even more. Her father could really pick them!
"Where is she from?" Nine asked, carefully hiding her glacial tone.
"Her name is Nocturne Asher, from the Great Empire of Ashtria. She was a relatively unknown princess up until two years ago, where she made her public debut. She's already garnered a lot of admirers who had their hearts broken once it was announced that she was to be engaged to you."
Nine let out a chilling laugh. That little brat didn't even hide his name…! Did he really think everyone was an idiot? She growled. She knew she should have stamped out all the infatuation inside of him instead of indulging him for so long, hoping it would go away on its own!
She took one last look at the portrait painted and had to admit that the painter really did deserve their reputation. The way he was portrayed would likely have appealed to any hot-blooded male out there. The only problem was that she was a female!
Nine massaged her temples as she felt the anger that had been dwindling rise again at his unreasonable actions. Did he honestly think he could have her this way? He had entirely skipped the whole courting process and married himself over instead!
At her thoughts, her visage rapidly became chilly.
"I've already prepared a list of items as gifts to be sent over as an engagement present. Is there anything you want to add?"
Nine was silent as she thought about it. "No," she answered curtly. She indeed wanted to give him something. A beating, that was. Honestly, what was he thinking!
Emperor Destan looked helplessly at his daughter, having failed all attempts at placating her. Looks like he would be spending a lot of money from now on… he inwardly wept at the depletion his wallet would go through.
With all that said and done with, Nine left to vent her anger.
It was already too late to cancel the wedding anyhow, and if she thought hard about it, at least Nocturne was someone she knew. After everything, he was still considered her childe in Vampire terms, and she couldn't stay angry at him forever.
They would eventually reach a consensus.
She had a feeling that Nocturne's actions were akin to him trying to reach for the stars. He probably got startled after hearing about how Deltan had to get married, which led to his thought process going in the direction of her own marriage. The him at that time was probably blinded by jealousy and anxiety, causing him to do all of this.
Nine felt her anger flare up again. Did he think everything would go according to his will like that? She felt the ice settle in her veins, feeling numb. He was acting this way without her consent, like it didn't exist at all.
The temperature around Nine rapidly plummeted, causing the few fans around her to wonder what had put their idol in such a bad mood. They quickly left, heading straight towards the Mage Tower to inform the rest.
In a bad mood, Nine returned to her residence, instructing Shade to start remodelling the room next to hers. It was next to hers, but in no way connected.
Nine laughed chillingly inside. Did he honestly think everything would go his way? Not if she had anything to say about it. Even if they had to be connected in name for marriage, it didn't mean that they had to have any relations so long as they appeared to get along in public.
She had no intentions of going along with his whims so easily, so it was fine if she bullied him a little. Or a lot.
Regardless, until her anger was vented, he could forget about her acting cordially or anything else! She would have to train him properly to ever THINK about defying her.
The anger she felt until now became deadly still, settling down like still water.
Seyton appeared in front of Nine, holding a box.
Nine took it, puzzled. Opening it, there were a bunch of little knickknacks and gifts that her fan club had collected for her. She couldn't help but let out a huff of amusement, feeling warmer inside.
They were really cute. They probably saw how unhappy she was previously, so they got together to give her this.
Her mood better than it had been since receiving news of her upcoming marriage, she gently kept the box into her interspatial ring.