"WHAT!!"
"Du-Duke Dietrichson, please, calm your anger."
In an office filled with scattered documents and books, the young man shakily ended his sentence just as a domineering fist crashed down onto the oak desk.
BANG!
"How do you expect me to remain calm when the King ordered me to wed some Count's daughter! One that was previously engaged to his son, the Crown Prince, mere week's ago?"
'Hah! He's practically telling me to take his son's leftovers, the bastard! He couldn't even be bothered to have the chamberlain come and give the decree!'
Blood-red eyes glared at the trembling attendant. While he knew the man in front of him wasn't at fault, he couldn't help his deadly aura from seeping out.
'E-eek!! This is it! He's actually going to kill me!!'
The attendant was on the verge of passing out and at that moment when it seemed like the Duke was going to kill him…
"Ahem!"
From the corner of the office room, where it seemed like the light couldn't reach, a blatantly obnoxious fake cough broke the tension, pulling the attention of the two men.
"My lord, I do believe that is enough, I'm afraid our guest will make a mess of himself and faint should you continue with your tantrum."
It was when the attendant heard the male voice did he take notice of his surroundings. A tall, frail-looking man in a well-fitted butler's uniform stood behind him. His silk bleach blond hair was longer than needed, hence it was tied neatly into a low ponytail. While his eyes were sharp and fox-like, they were hidden behind a pair of glasses. The eerie smile he wore made the attendant's hairs stand on end.
"So what, Kale? You want me just to accept this ridiculous arrangement?"
The Duke's anger, which had subsided, began to flare as he snarled at the butler.
"No, of course not, my Lord. However, if I were to express my opinion…"
Kale stopped as if daring to ask that he may continue. Duke Dietrichson picked up on his subtle smirk, he knew full well how cheeky this sly servant was.
Kale has served the Dietrichson family since before the current Duke was born and yet he looks like he hasn't passed the age of 25. Because his mother and father have died, no one in the Duke's estate knows where he came from or how he started working here, but he does his job faithfully and never complains, thus earning the trust of the current Duke. This also allowed Kale to get away with being cheeky occasionally, such as now.
'Even if you act like this, there's a thin line between cheekiness and brazenness, Kale. You of all people should know this…however…'
"Ho? Do tell, Kale. What are your thoughts?"
Kale continued to show his smile, however, his squinted eyes exposed his mischievous nature. Quickly, he cleared his throat making it seem like it was a trick of the light.
"Visiting Count Bennerita and speaking with her Ladyship will surely show them your Highness' 'sincerity' towards the proposal"
"Ah!"
Struck with enlightenment, the Duke fell into deep thought, it was so simple, how could he have forgotten it? Unsure what the butler meant, the attendant stood dumbfounded staring at the Duke until a hand lightly squeezed his shoulder.
"Ugh?"
"I suggest you use this time to make your escape."
The eerie smile Kale gave made his statement seem like a threat rather than advice thus causing the attendant to want to leave even more.
"Ah-ahem, yes well, I shall take my leave then!"
Passing the royal decree onto Kale, the attendant dashes towards the office doors. Kale felt a little bad that the attendant had to suffer under the presence of his lord, but that feeling was fleeting as he turned his full attention toward the duke.
"Yes, why haven't I thought of this before!? Though I hate those ridiculous rumors surrounding me, if I can use them in the right way, this will benefit me greatly!"
"Sigh, LysNoir, must you be so against this proposal? I understand you have no intention of marrying so low, however, the Bennerita family has garnered the favor of the royal family. With their heroic reputation, this could be a good opportunity for you…also, the estate desperately needs a Duchess."
As Kale spoke the last part, he wiped an invisible tear emphasizing the sorrow behind his words. This did nothing to LysNoir, as he only had one thought in mind.
"Get the carriage ready, Kale. I'm going to visit Count Bennerita and see my so-called Fiancé. One look at me and I'm sure an annulment will be the next thing they ask for."
Kale can only sigh. While there were rumors about how bloodthirsty and monstrous Duke LysNoir Dietrichson is, in reality, they couldn't be further from the truth. LysNoir was a well-built man with dark tan skin, showing his dedication to his training under the blazing sun. He wore pitch-black hair and ruby-red eyes with pride as they were symbols of the Dietrichson lineage. He boasted blessings of darkness and fire far more potent than even the first Dietrichson ancestor.
'LysNoir Dietrichson, if only you could see that not everything needs to be a battle.'
Kale simply sighed and left to get the carriage ready after placing the royal decree on the desk. As light flowed in from the window, highlighting the leather paper, Kale couldn't help but think, a new blessing may be bestowed onto the Dukedom soon enough.
————————————————————————————————————————————
"Whoa there!"
Clop, clop "Neigh!"
Before the Great Continental War, the Bennerita family mainly stayed in the southern part of the Ativen Kingdom. Afterwards, King Viserse bestowed a large mansion in the capital as part of their dowry. Outside their massive mansion, mere meters away from two steel doors, a large black carriage rattled to a stop. The doors were inscribed with a gold insignia portraying a lion with swords on either side. This was the crest of Duke Dietrichson, anyone who saw this would immediately move away, both out of fear and respect. Usually, this is the case, however, as soon as the Duke stepped out of his carriage…
"Hurry Sunny!! You'll never catch me if you're this slow! Kahahaha! Oh?"
Running in such an undignified manner, wearing no shoes and an overly flowy pale blue gown, was a young looking girl. Her messily tied hair hid under a beautifully crafted flower crown made from blue lilies. As she came to a stop right in front of LysNoir, he couldn't help but be enchanted by her wide, almost goofy smile. He stood frozen, afraid to make a move and scare off this strange beauty. That was until she drew closer to him and looked at her arms.
"Wow, Mister, you have really pretty eyes! Red is my favorite color! Take this red crown, I think it will make you look more pretty!"
Her voice held no sarcasm that he was accustomed to. It was then that LysNoir noticed this woman had multiple flower crowns hanging from her arms. There were so many, all in different colors and types of flowers, they basically covered up her forearms. Before he could ask why she had so many, she had already picked out a flower crown made of red lilies and was reaching her hardest to place them on his head. Seeing her struggle with such innocent vigor, he knelt down to her level. LysNoir never cared about his height, but at that moment, he wished he was a foot shorter, if only to make it easier for her to reach his head. It was a moment after that another voice was heard, breaking his train of thought and drawing the flower crown fairy's attention.
"Hah wai…Mah…Lah…hah…Lilah…hah"
Struggling to breath, came another young girl, dressed more appropriately in a maids uniform also wearing a flower crown made of sunflowers. It seemed to compliment her sandy blonde hair and light green eyes, her sun kissed skin glowed under the cover of her sweat. With cheeks flushed red, she could barely make out her words as she ran and stumbled her way towards the flower crown fairy. In her arms, she held even more flower crowns and a pair of flat pale blue shoes that seemed to match the other lady's gown.
"Come on, Sunny! We still have more flower crowns to give! Let's go to the kitchen staff next! Bye-bye Mister!"
"Wah…hah…nah…meh hah…"
And just as quickly as she came, the beauty with the crowns ran away again. LysNoir wanted to grab her, to hold her in his arms and never let her go. He had to stop himself as he realized what he wanted to do made no sense to him. The girl was gone along with the maid, which was surprising given how slow she was to catch up.
'This is ridiculous, I only just met her, but I want nothing more than to keep her by my side. What is wrong with me?'
"Oh my! What a daring girl! I wonder who she is?"
Kale chuckled, it was that statement that brought LysNoir back from his thoughts, his face flushing in embarrassment as it hit him.
'Shit, I forgot to ask for her name!'