"A marriage proposal ...?"
Amelia asked back.
The word was too foreign to Amelia.
"Yes. Amelia, you are aware that my family is seeking a promotion to the rank of Duke, are you not?"
"I am aware of that..."
Dukedom is one of the most sought-after titles in aristocratic society.
A family's nobility can only be raised by military achievements or marrying into a family of higher rank.
So, this marriage is a means to the latter, I would think...
「Even so, why so suddenly...?」
It must be known that Amelia's current position is very delicate.
Originally, Amelia's origins were to be kept secret.
It would be very bad for Cedric's reputation if news got out that he had committed adultery as a newlywed and got her pregnant.
At the time, there was even talk of Amelia, still a baby, being secretly abandoned in the mountains, but Sophie took it upon herself to prevent this.
Cedric, who had once physically touched Sophie's body, gave up from her pleading, and decided to hide their existence by pushing them both away from society.
However, rumors are something that can slip through the cracks even if you keep a lid on them.
Rumors had spread from a servant Cedric fired, and Amelia became a known figure.
Needless to say, the Hagulo family name was damaged as a result, and even the title of duke, which had been given based on the achievements of his predecessor, was revoked.
All that could be done was to isolate Amelia from aristocratic society as much as possible and to spread bad news about her, so that Erin, the child of a legitimate wife, could stand tall.
She is a 'unfriendly girl who doesn't talk much despite being the daughter of the count', 'selfish and unapproachable', 'a child of the poor and uneducated', 'can't even write properly', and 'doesn't attend social gatherings because she doesn't want to show her ugly face.'
The adults (mainly Cedric) wanted to make things ugly, and there was nothing the young Amelia could do about it.
In no time at all, these ugly rumors became distorted and unfounded.
In addition, when Amelia had her debutante at the age of 16, she was seen to have an appearance so poor and skinny that it was hard to believe that she was the count's daughter. Whispers between the socialite daughters spread saying, 'she looks like a poor woman, but she's not.'
'Ugly Filthy Lady', 'Bastard Child', 'Plague of the Hagulo Family', and so on and so forth.
Naturally, this was the result of a scheme to make Amelia's appearance look as ugly as possible for her debutante by not feeding her to the extreme, not buying her dresses, and not putting makeup on her.
Thanks to this, the rumors of Amelia spread amongst the people and formed a foil for her sister, allowing Erin to become the flower of the Hagulo family.
Because of this history, Amelia was incredulous when she was told of the marriage.
Cedric continued speaking, regardless of Amelia's inability to speak back.
"The other party... is the Duke of Logan."
"His grace Logan."
The mention of his name made the air feel heavier.
A moment later, Liece and Erin blurt out as if they couldn't take it anymore.
"The Duke of Logan is...! The Tyrannical Duke!"
"Yes, Mother! Ruthless and cruel! An irascible, cruel, violent duke! Rumor has it that even the most determined of daughters would succumb within three days!"
"Just as well! This is a good opportunity for your sister to get over her cowardice!"
Amelia's expression did not change at the information conveyed by the two, who were laughing so hard they were on the verge of tears.
When they gave her a specific name, she finally came back to reality. Amelia was struggling to keep the joy that was blasting from the bottom of her heart from showing on her face.
「Finally... I can finally get out of this hell...!」
It was truly a bolt out of the blue.
Amelia's fist quivered in happiness.
The expression on Liece and Erin's faces became brighter as they interpreted her response as one of regret.
"That's all I have to say, Amelia. Tomorrow the carriage will come to pick you up. In the meantime, you should finish packing."
"Tomorrow, you say?"
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, no."
She had no complaints with this turn of events.
「More than that, it's...!!」
In Amelia's head, she could almost hear a bugle corps playing a blessed tone.