1 year has passed, I turned 16 just last month, on December 15 20XX. It's January 5 now. The date system here is the same as the one we have in my world before, I remember the creators of the game saying that this way, it will be easier for the players.
Nothing much happened. I just did what I feel like doing such as reading books in the library, secretly practicing magic, and knowing more about this world.
And today, I sit in front of the Duke and Duchess. We're at the Dukes's workplace, they're both sitting in front of me and at the table in front us, there was a letter. This is actually the first time I'm seeing the Duke in person after 1 year and yet, there were no greetings that happened, no touching reunion or anything like that. He just looked at me as if I'm an outsider.
When in fact, I'm his daughter. I almost gritted my teeth.
"Read it." The Duke said – ordered.
I silently obeyed. I reached for the letter and opened it. After reading the contents of it, I returned it to the table.
It has finally arrived.
The engagement proposal.
"What do you say?" The Duke asked, but to me, that sounds more like a suggestion, as if he's saying that 'you'll accept right?'.
"Am I allowed to reject it?" I asked and he frowned. Before he could say anything, the Duchess stood up and slammed both of her hands on the table.
"You're going to reject it?!" She exclaimed, "It's an engagement proposal from the Crown Prince himself, don't you understand what that means?!"
"Oceana, calm down." The Duke said. He pulled her down to sit again then looked at me as if analyzing my whole being.
"Why would you reject it? It's a great opportunity to strengthen our bond with the royal family. And it's the Crown Prince, that means that once he became King, you'll be the Queen." He calmly said, however, he was looking at me seriously as if he's reading every movement I make and every word I speak.
"We're not sure yet that Prince Deor will really become the King, and I would like to focus more on other things." I calmly answered.
"What are you saying? Prince Deor is the Crown Prince! Do you want to be executed for treason?!" The Duchess angrily shouted. On the other hand, the Duke remained calm.
"Why do you think that it's not sure yet that Prince Deor will become the next King?" He asked.
"That's because there are also people who want the Second Prince to become King, right now, there are 2 different factions. One supports Prince Deor, while the other supports Prince Anakin." Although the Second Prince is a known playboy, that doesn't have to do with his skill with sword and knowledge when it comes to ruling.
Of course, Deor is also wise. Although he isn't that skilled when it comes to swordsmanship, he definitely has the advantage when it comes to magic. In the game, he had 2 magic attributes which are Lightning and Earth. Like Anakin, he's also knowledgable when it comes to ruling.
"Then when you say you want to focus on other things, what exactly do you want to focus on?" He asked.
Somehow, this conversation reminded me of an interrogation although I've never been interrogated before.
"Magic." I closed my eyes when the Duchess slapped me.
I held myself back from sighing and showing any expression. I wonder how many times she had slapped me in total excluding the time when I wasn't on Aksia's body yet? It really stings.
"Didn't we prohibited you from using magic?! You dare say that you'll reject the engagement proposal and learn magic? Is this how you repay us?!" I almost scoffed. 'Repay'? Am I forgetting something that I should remember? Did they do anything for me? Do they do anything for Aksia at all?
"Oceana." The Duke calmly, but firmly said. The Duchess looked at him and was about to speak when he glared at her. In the end, she had no choice but to sit back and glared at me.
She's probably thinking about how my attitude towards them changed drastically. This is the first time Aksia has said 'No' to them, the first time she refused and didn't obediently obey them. I'm sure both the Duke and Duchess already notice that I'm not acting the same as before.
It's just sad. They ignored their child her whole life, and now, they only notice the change when I stopped being an obedient child.
It almost made me laugh.
"We did indeed prohibit you from using magic, but we're planning on sending you to study at Royal Academy once you turned 18." The Duke said. I guess they will still be sending me even if I reject the engagement proposal. I'm slightly relieved. I thought I had to do everything I can to convince them to send me to the Royal Academy.
I only have one reason why I want to attend the Academy; magic.
And besides, that's better than staying in this house with the Duke and Duchess.
"Then please let me reject the proposal. You do not need to worry, I will make sure to do my best at the Academy to make some useful connections." As long as I can be useful to them, it should be fine. Since I gave the Duke a proper reason why I didn't want to accept the engagement, he would need to think about it first before making a decision – whether I should actually marry the Crown Prince or see if supporting the Second Prince is better.
"Alright, I'll allow it. You can leave now." He nodded. The Duchess can't say anything since the Duke might get angry at her so she just glared at me.
Without bidding them goodbye, I quickly left the room. On my way back to my bedroom, my shoulders visibly relaxed.
Aksia Euridice, how did you endure living your whole life like this?
I sighed.
After 1 whole year, I had no problem living in this world now. But even when I just got reincarnated, the way how I adapted quickly to my new environment and everything else is quite startling.
Well, adapting for survival is one of the traits humans have I guess.