"Oh…"
The moment she came into sight, Francis's mind blanked.
Her wavy brown hair cascading down her back, her beautiful auburn-colored irises that were filled with nervousness, and her delightfully petite stature. Everything about her was beautiful and adorable.
'Wait a minute, I can't seriously be fawning over a child!'
Francis forced the blush that was creeping up his neck away and immediately took in a deep breath before letting it out.
When the Barnet family entered through the doors, he immediately pinpointed his fiancé and the protagonist's friend. It wasn't all that difficult.
Trailing behind her two older sisters, Penelope glanced around the room nervously as she attempted to appear confident. Her two older sisters had no issues in holding their heads high but that was to be expected since they were outgoing by nature.
In Penelope's eyes, she wasn't as charming nor as beautiful as her two sisters. Seeing how everyone's eyes in the room were drawn to the two girls, Penelope felt her self-esteem shrink further. Of course, there was no way people would look at her.
She was completely oblivious to how one particular boy's eyes were stuck on her alone.
"Francis."
Lord Taron called over his son that was standing next to Benjamin Norton.
"Please excuse me," Francis politely said to Benjamin before walking over to his father. The latter stared at him with wide eyes.
"Wait a minute, he's the youngest son of Lord Taron?! The one born without a mana core?!"
"Are you only realizing that now? Tch, are you daft or something?"
Benjamin's face contorted to an annoyed expression upon hearing his brother's voice.
Bernard appeared next to Benjamin and snorted, "I knew you weren't smart."
"Shut up brother! How was I supposed to know he was 'that' Taron?!" Benjamin turned red in the face from anger. His brother always knew how to rile him up.
"I thought it was pretty obvious," shrugged Bernard. "You've seen Arthur Taron, the eldest Taron at the Temple a couple of years ago. He's like a year or two older than me. The second Taron, Vincent, is my age from what I've heard so that obviously leaves the youngest Taron as him."
"Do you often see them at the academy?" asked Benjamin. "I heard that Arthur Taron is a genius."
"Genius? Heh, I suppose he is considered that," replied the older Norton sibling. "He excels in both academics and magic."
Benjamin nibbled on a cookie before asking, "What about Vincent Taron?"
Bernard snorted, "Ha! Him? He's just a moron. We're in separate grades so I don't interact with him at the academy but everyone knows that he's a slacker with a trash personality. Plus he's hopeless in academics and his magic prowess is worthless."
"Really?"
"Mhm."
While the two brothers were busy discussing the Taron children, Francis had made his way over to his father who was greeting Baron Barnet and his family.
"Ah Francis, come here," Lord Taron motioned with a 'warm' smile.
Francis's eye twitched before he stiffly smiled back and stood next to his father before turning to face the Barnet family.
"Give your greetings," Lord Taron said quietly.
Francis nodded and bowed his head politely.
"I greet the Baron and Baronness," he said calmly. Then he turned to the three daughters of the Barnet family. His eyes focused on the youngest Barnet daughter as he said, "It is an honor to meet the beautiful daughters of Barnet."
"Oh my, what a gentleman," Baronness Barnet said with a grin. "You've raised your son well Lord Taron."
Francis said nothing but could sense his father stiffening slightly next to him.
"Yes…I have," Lord Taron replied.
Baron Barnet ushered his youngest daughter to the front and said;
"This is my youngest daughter, Penelope. Say your greetings now."
The small girl momentarily froze in fear before quickly curtsying and saying in a soft nervous voice, "I-It's a pleasure to meet you, L-Lord Taron."
Francis felt sorry for her. It was obvious she was forcing herself to be confident in front of his father and him.
Glancing up at his father's intimidating appearance, he clicked his tongue.
'Must he always be like that? Even in front of a child…'
"Now that the greetings are over with, why don't we get started?" Baron Barnet urged.
"Yes. That would be best," Lord Taron said. "Francis, escort your fiancé to your assigned seats."
"Yes, father."
The two older Barent daughters had disappeared somewhere after Penelope had finished her greetings so it was just Francis and her that walked together to the main table.
Penelope fiddled with her dress unable to make eye contact with her supposed fiancé. When she saw him for the first time, her heart rate had sped up and her face had turned a bright red.
He was so handsome!
Just like the Prince in her stories!
But what was she supposed to say to him?
"U-Um, I-I…" She couldn't form a word without stuttering.
"It's lovely to meet you, Penelope."
Francis noticed her struggle to start a conversation so he initiated one first. After leading her to the table, the two took a seat.
"I-It's wonderful to meet you too…um-"
"You can call me Francis. I don't mind," the boy said.
"Oh. Francis," Penelope muttered with a blush.
'Ah, she's so adorable,' thought Francis. He resisted the urge to pinch her cheeks.
After that, it was another round of silence between the two.
Unable to face the awkwardness, Francis opened his mouth to say something but was promptly cut off by his father's voice.
"Attention…Your attention please!"
The room went silent as everyone turned to face the head of the Taron household.
'Nevermind. I'll talk to her later,' thought Francis with a sigh.
****
A few days prior to the engagement celebration banquet…
In one of the dorm rooms of the Kingdom's national academy, Arthur Taron sat by the window holding an envelope in his hand.
"What's that you're holding?"
Coming inside the room, his roommate noticed the item in his hand and the curious expression on Arthur's face.
"A letter for my father," Arthur said. Brushing a strand of his black hair back, he hummed, "My baby brother's engagement banquet."
"Hehh. The one that was sent to live away because he had no mana core?"
"..."
Arthur glared at his friend who froze and sucked in his lips.
"You should learn to control that mouth of yours Glenn."
"R-Right. Sorry. My bad," Glenn coughed awkwardly.
"But you're not wrong. My youngest brother was indeed sent to live away from us," Arthur sighed and leaned back into his seat. Suddenly, his lips tipped up into a smirk, "I look forward to seeing how much he's grown."
As he was smirking to himself, Glenn was shivering by the door.
'Urgh, that expression again. I feel bad for the youngest Taron child,' Glenn thought.
****
A/N: Turn around, look at what you see, yeah-eh
In her face, the mirror of your dreams, who-oh
Make believe I'm everywhere, hidden in the lines
Written on the pages is the answer to a neverending story,
Neverending story-eeh