The Grand Duke’s Little Lady - Chapter 109
Matthias, who had left the mansion empty for a few days, returned.
As usual whenever he returned from an outing, this time too, he came bearing a handful of gifts for Ariel.
“Ariel.”
Seeing Ariel waiting for him, Matthias called out her name affectionately in a cool tone.
Ariel shyly smiled and greeted him.
“Welcome back, Matthias.”
His large hand gently covered Ariel’s small head as he caressed it.
Then Matthias shot a sharp glance at Dalton, who was standing behind Ariel.
Returning, he had already heard the news of the letter from the Marquis.
But by the time his gaze returned to Ariel, it softened.
“What’s behind me are the gifts.”
Gifts?
Ariel, who hadn’t paid attention to anyone but Matthias, peeked behind.
Several servants were standing with piles of gift boxes, each carrying a handful. There were so many that she couldn’t possibly carry them all.
Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise, then she sighed heavily.
“You don’t have to bring so many…”
Receiving gifts like this every time was embarrassing, but it also felt nice that Matthias was thinking of her.
Having heard her small voice, Matthias lightly flicked Ariel’s cheek.
“If you don’t like many, maybe bigger ones would be better from now on.”
Oh, that’s not what I meant!
Ariel raised her head feeling a bit betrayed.
Really, he knows it’s not what I meant…!
Matthias, who had been silently staring at her, opened his mouth.
“Ariel, come to think of it, I have one more thing for you.”
Huh? More?
While she hadn’t even unwrapped all the gifts piled up, what more could he possibly give…?
As Ariel blinked in confusion, Matthias pulled out a small scroll tied with a ribbon from his embrace.
Accepting it unexpectedly, Ariel felt a sense of relief at the small size of the scroll.
“It’s not that big after all.”
What could it be? Since it’s a scroll, could it be writing? Or a poem?
“Untie it.”
Matthias permitted in a gentle voice.
Ariel, feeling reassured, untied the ribbon and unfolded the scroll…
And then she was stunned.
On the small piece of paper were short words accompanied by the large stamp of the emperor.
“Sir Matthias, what is this…?”
Matthias, his long black hair loosely tied back, replied in a mysterious tone.
“It’s the territory of Southern Rodenberg.”
And he smirked subtly.
“You’re going to be a lord.”
“…”
Ariel was speechless for a moment.
If it’s Southern Rodenberg, isn’t it the land known as the empire’s granary?
She had heard that all the fine produce coming to the capital was from Rodenberg…
So the income from the estate must be immense…
Wait. Wasn’t that land also owned by the Lacartel family?
‘And I’m a lord?!’
Ariel stared at her name and the emperor’s stamp alternately on the deed, her breath caught.
He even brought the seal already. There’s no way to refuse this, is there?
Her head was spinning.
Matthias looked down at her with a satisfied expression and said,
“You’re fourteen now, so being a lord isn’t too much.”
Oh, because I’m fourteen, Im a lord…
She couldn’t fathom how they came to such a conclusion.
The minds of Lacartel men truly surpassed common sense.
‘I wonder what will happen next year…’
Though she always felt this way, the wealth and power of Lacartel seemed beyond imagination.
Ariel began to genuinely fear the increasing number of her own years each passing year.
* * *
A guest arrived for Ariel.
“Ariel, we’re here!”
Diana and Cecile were still Ariel’s closest friends.
Since they were not yet married, they could freely visit the grand ducal palace.
Most of their peers were either engaged or already in the process of marriage after an engagement.
But Diana and Cecile were a little different.
Rumors spread in society that the two girls were studying estate management and practicing swordsmanship.
Naturally, suitors didn’t come knocking at their doors.
‘Why is Lady Monica interested in estate management? Her husband will be a duke anyway. Does she want to meddle in her husband’s affairs?’
‘She’s also a candidate for crown princess. Even if she quietly cultivates her manners, time will be insufficient.’
“Is Lady Monica only interested in the Count of Heitz? Their sons are all excellent, but their eldest daughter is trouble. A girl practicing swordsmanship.”
Diana’s parents, who deeply loved their daughter, decided to wait for Diana to find a suitable groom.
After all, apart from the crown prince, there were no unmarried noblemen suitable for a lady.
Cecile’s family situation was even worse.
Despite being from a prestigious martial family, the Count Heitz and his wife and brothers were very embarrassed by Cecile.
They hurriedly hid Cecile and brought her younger sister Beril, claiming her as their daughter and sister when they attended social events.
While her brothers proudly took the knight’s exam with the name of the prestigious sowrdsman ship family, Cecile, despite being talented, couldn’t take the exam, no matter how skilled she was with a sword.
Yet, because Cecile refused to give up her dream of becoming a knight, the Count’s family regarded her almost as a disgrace.
Diana and Cecile didn’t envy the marriages of their peers.
After all, noble marriages were alliances between families.
The two girls were willing to marry books and swords, persecuting men who suppressed their talents.
Ariel often invited her friends to the grand ducal palace to socialize.
As they talked, she felt her world expanding.
Diana and Cecile felt the same way.
Diana, the daughter of a prestigious duke, but unable to become a duchess.
Cecile, the daughter of a renowned swords master family, but unable to become a knight.
Ariel, with exceptional magical talent but with a past of being exploited.
The three of them were friends who deeply understood each other.
Today, the three girls gathered in the grand ducal palace’s reception room and chattered away.
The topic of the day was the upcoming grand imperial ball.
Diana murmured sadly, “I don’t know how much my father expects from me. No matter how many times I say I’m not interested in the Crown Prince…”
Suddenly, she slammed her fan onto the table.
“As a lady, I don’t see the Crown Prince as a future lord or husband!”
It seemed Diana’s parents subtly hoped she would become the Crown Princess.
Ariel comforted the angered Diana.
Diana was a remarkable girl, proud and deeply loving of Lady Monica.
Despite the high status of being a crown princess, being the heir to a duchy was more important to her.
Comforting Diana with Ariel, Cecile spoke up.
“Diana, don’t worry. I heard even the princesses are coming this time. There will be plenty of other noble ladies.”
Diana nodded. “Still, I’m glad I’m going to the ball with you guys.”
“Yeah, Diana.”
All the young nobles of society were invited to this year’s grand imperial ball.
Both Cecile and Ariel were attending, the former as a guest and the latter as the grand duchess.
‘If I really wanted to skip, I could, but I have to maintain Lucian’s dignity.’
Ariel hadn’t shown much enthusiasm for social events before, but she always attended the necessary events for the Lacartel family.
This was one of those occasions.
The upcoming palace ball was for Prince Dietrich, but all the 18-year-old noble youths were invited this year as well.
Naturally, Lucian was also invited, and Ariel would attend with him.
“Madame Hellen must be thrilled.”
Hellen, in charge of Ariel’s attire, was ecstatic upon hearing the news and sent a dress design every day.
It seemed very difficult to choose among them because they were all so beautiful.
“I’m not interested in the ball, but it’s nice to see Lucian.”
Ariel murmured to herself and resolved to drink milk again tonight while thinking about how tall Lucian must have grown.
The three girls enjoyed delicious white chocolate cake and tea, chatting about just having fun together at the ball before parting ways.
Unaware of what huge events would unfold at the upcoming royal ball.
* * *
Since her birthday four years ago, Ariel had often discussed Lacartel with Bruno.
The Archmage Bruno had deep knowledge befitting his reputation.
Naturally, he knew a lot about the existence of dragons.
He said he learned about them after coming to Lacartel.
Ariel, using wind magic to make pink flower petals dance in the air, asked, “You know, Bruno. But doesn’t the bloodline of Lacartel dilute over time?”
Her question was reasonable.
Even though the original Dark Dragon, Lakiel, was a pure dragon, his descendants born afterward were hybrids of human and dragon.
Initially, their dragon blood might have been strong, but over thousands of years of descent, their blood should have diluted, becoming lighter.
Bruno chuckled and clasped his hands together.
“You’re right, Ariel. That’s usually the case with hybrids. But dragon blood is different.”
“In what way?”
Bruno pondered how to explain and then conjured two water droplets in the air. One was clear, the other a very deep black.
“Dragon blood is a perfect dominant trait. No matter what race it’s mixed with—elves or humans, for instance—the offspring’s blood becomes pure dragon blood. It always leans towards the dominant side.”
With that said, Bruno mixed the two droplets in the air. Though the clear and black droplets were evenly mixed, the resulting droplet was completely black.
Looking at the black droplet, Ariel gained a better understanding of Lacartel, where dragon blood was inherited.
Bruno always explained things visually, making it easy to understand.
“Genetically, the traits from the mother’s side don’t show at all. The weaker traits don’t follow.”
“…”
So no matter what race the mother is or what appearance she has, she will never pass on her traits.
Images of Lucian and Matthias came to her mind—Lucian’s jet-black hair, deep blue eyes, and breathtakingly beautiful features. Though they resembled each other so clearly that no one doubted their blood relation, there was no trace of the former Grand Duchess in Lucian’s appearance.
Bruno concluded with the answer to Ariel’s initial question.
“So, even through generations, dragon blood doesn’t dilute.”
Ariel fell into thought.
If Bruno’s words were true, then Lucian’s baby would only resemble Lucian.
A sentence popped into her mind.
‘It would be beautiful.’
It would undoubtedly be incredibly beautiful and adorable.
A baby with beauty that could overthrow nations.
Of course, if their personality also matched, she couldn’t just call them cute…
Ariel smiled softly at the thought of a baby resembling Lucian.
Then she asked Bruno another question.
“Bruno, have you ever heard Lucian say the word ‘ego’ before? I heard it from him once. Do you know what it means?”
Bruno looked somewhat surprised at Ariel.
Then he coughed lightly and spoke as if to excuse himself.
“I didn’t know His Grace had spoken to you about such things. Really…”
Ariel laughed and said in his place, “It’s careless of him. It’s amazing he hasn’t been caught all this time.”
Bruno, nodding, continued to explain “ego.”
“It encompasses the identity, history, sense of belonging, and instincts of a dragon. It’s passed down from parent to child.”
Ariel grinned in understanding.