Roxana walked into the dining room carrying a sealed bottle of wine. The bottle of red wine looked luxurious, with gold ornaments that resembled a phoenix bird spreading its wings.
Behind Roxana, a black cat followed her into the dining room. However, no one noticed his presence as everyone was too busy staring at the luxurious wine bottle in Roxana's hand.
"Greetings, Father."
Roxana lifted the hem of her dress slightly to curtsy before The Duke of Oberon, Julius Oberon.
A smile graced Roxana's face, and she tried to lower her gaze so that Julius would think his daughter truly respected him and would not try to rebel against him.
"What took you so long to come here?"
Julius' voice echoed in the dining room, his tone neither angry nor annoyed but rather cold enough that Roxana was convinced her father was completely ignorant of her presence.
"I brought a gift for you, Father."
Roxana placed the luxurious-looking wine bottle onto the table, causing both of her parents to have confused looks on their faces, especially Camilla.
Camilla had previously seen Roxana's messy room, and she assumed her daughter was angry and wanted to reject the Grand Wizard's proposal out loud.
However, now she was being generous and polite, as if Camilla had not seen her bad behavior.
"Forgive my rude behavior before, Mother." Roxana bowed her back before Camila and said, "It was such a fool of me to act so carelessly earlier."
Camila, who has a lot of self-esteem, immediately felt high after hearing her daughter's apology. "You're supposed to be polite to your mother!"
Roxana smiled slightly. "That's right. Children should never argue with their parents."
Julius held the wine bottle, his eyes taking in the ornament of the phoenix bird that resembled the coat of arms of the Oberon family.
Each carving of the phoenix bird looked detailed, as if it could truly live and flap its wings.
"This wine looks expensive," said Julius.
Roxana took the bottle of wine and poured it into her father's glass. "I can't possibly give you a shabby gift, Father."
She also poured the wine into Camilla's glass. "Both of you are more suited to receiving luxurious things than cheap things."
Throughout her five lives, Julis and Camilla's lifestyle had never changed. They were always happy to squander money on luxury goods and ignored the welfare of the people in Oberon City.
Her mother never stopped buying diamonds and gems that could support a hundred families of commoners. Meanwhile, his father often held lavish parties to boast about his wealth and position to other nobles.
Their extravagant lifestyle was even worse after the black tower always sent them money monthly as a form of Izekiel's devotion to his wife's family.
Ironically, Roxana never touched their wealth. While living with her parents, the Duke of Oberon's entire property was continuously poured into Rosaline.
When she was married to Izekiel, she was always locked up in the black tower, and Izekiel strictly regulated all her clothes and food, so Roxana was never allowed to keep her own money.
"Where did you get the money to buy this?" asked Julius curiously because he knew he never gave Roxana much monthly money.
Roxana chuckled. "You don't need to know about that, Father. However, I assure you I did nothing bad to earn this beautiful gift."
Julius no longer asked about the origin of the wine bottle, perhaps because he didn't care much for Roxana or because the golden phoenix ornament was too mesmerizing to his eyes.
"Taste it, Father. I'm sure you'll like the flavor."
Julius shook his wine glass so that the aroma of the alcohol could be fully released. He could smell the strong scent of wine when he brought his nose close to the tip of the glass.
However, Julius could also detect a unique scent similar to spices and mint when he smelled it longer.
The scent made him feel intoxicated before he even tasted a single drop of wine and hypnotized Julius into downing the wine immediately.
Just like Julius, Camilla also felt the same way, so they simultaneously put the wine glasses to their lips.
"Is it tastes good, Father?" asked Roxana with a broad smile on her face.
Julius nodded, then looked at the wine with a severe gaze. "I've never drank wine this good. Where did you buy it?"
Roxana sat beside Julius and replied, "You'll meet the seller soon, and I'll introduce him to you."
Julius frowned, confused by Roxana's nonsensical words. He thought, why should he bother to meet the wine seller when he could just ask the servant to buy it for him?
However, before Julius could voice his thoughts, he already heard Roxana speak again.
Roxana rested her chin on her hands and smiled sweetly as she spoke, "Father, I want to discuss something with you."
Julius placed the wine glass on the table and replied, "About what?"
"About the wedding with Izek."
BRAK!
"How dare you to address His Holiness with such a dishonorable nickname!" shouted Julius.
Roxana's eyes narrowed as she heard Julius' defense of Izekiel. If just the name made her father angry, how could Julius believe Roxana's words when she said Izekiel was just a demon wearing an angelic mask?
"I don't want to get married to him," said Roxana to the point.
Julius' facial expression instantly darkened. He stood up from his chair and pointed his index finger at Roxana. Veins bulged in his neck as he prepared to shout.
"Roxana Oberon! Do you want to be responsible if others gossip about this family?!"
"Your ability that can't match Rosaline alone has made me lose face when I attend noble events, let alone if you reject His Holiness' proposal!"
Roxana tried to maintain her smile and composure as she replied, "Did His Holiness originally want to propose to Rosaline? Why does he want to marry me now?"
Even until this moment, Roxana still felt that Iezekiel's request made no sense. Instead of marrying Roxana, who would not give him any benefits, it would be better if he proposed to Rosaline.
However, she finally got a painful answer from the Duke of Oberon.
"Rosaline is a talented wizard, and she might be able to become the Twelve Holy Wizards of the Black Tower in the future. Therefore, she should not marry now."
Julius then gave Roxana a sharp look. "While you have nothing to lose. You have no talent and no influence on the Oberon family, which is why Iā"
Roxana cut Julius off, "That's why you want me to replace my sister."
"Yes, instead of Rosaline, I think you are more suitable to marry His Holiness. After all, what do you have to lose by marrying His Holiness? Your reputation will be better, and our family will also get a high dowry."
Roxana clenched her hands tightly under the table, her smile fading, and she felt her temper about to explode. However, Roxana felt there was no point in exchanging anger with her father.
Julius would never listen to Roxana, even if she screamed.
At that moment, Roxana realized that until the end, Julius would never change.
He would still give Roxana to Iezekiel in order to defend the honor of the Oberon Family and protect Rosaline from marriage.
"Father, I still don't want to get married to him."
Although Julius had behaved badly, Roxana tried to give him one more chance. If Julius didn't use that chance properly, Roxana would close her heart to his family.
"Roxana! How dare you object to your Father's order?!" Camilla finally opened her mouth because she was annoyed with Roxana's behavior.
Julius looked deeply into Roxana's blue eyes, then emphasized, "Roxana, you must remember this, even though you are my daughter, you still cannot refuse the orders of the Duke of Oberon!"
Roxana sighed heavily after hearing her parents' words. Roxana slowly returned her smile and ended up laughing out loud.
She laughed so hard that the sound echoed in the dining hall. The servants and soldiers in the dining hall looked at Roxana with astonished gazes, and they thought the Lady had lost her mind.
Julius frowned. He was about to shout at Roxana to ask her to stop laughing. However, Roxana had already stopped laughing.
"Father, thank you for not changing at all." Roxana lowered her head, a faint smile still printed on her face as she stared at the teacup on the table.
"What are you talking about?!" Julis shouted in annoyance as he thought his daughter's behavior was bizarre.
Roxana took a quick sip of the jasmine tea, savoring every drop as it savored her tongue and made her heart grow fonder.
"I'm grateful you are still as vile as ever." Roxana stood up from her chair and said, "That attitude of yours makes me no longer have the guilt of snatching your title."
Roxana then turned her gaze toward Julius. "Father, I have never asked you for anything since I was a child. However, I have decided to ask you for one thing this time."
The Duke of Oberon kicked the table vigorously because he found Roxana's behavior too strange and insolent.
"What do you want?!"
The smile on Roxana's face gradually faded, replaced by a cold expression capable of surpassing an iceberg.
"Please, die."