“Xiali, what should we do now!” Anis grabbed Xiali’s arm and shook it hard.
“What do you mean, what should we do?” Xiali calmly ate her bread and sipped the vegetable soup Filia had cooked.
“You’re about to get married, aren’t you at all worried?”
“What is there to worry about? It’s not me who’s getting into an arranged marriage.”
“But don’t you like my sister? Didn’t you want to marry her?”
“You still haven’t caught on. I was just teasing… playing around with your sister.”
“Even so… now that you’ve said it out loud, you have to take responsibility!”
“Re… responsibility for what?”
“Ugh! Xiali, you’re so mean…” Anis bit her lip.
“Actually, there’s nothing to worry about. This is just a nominal arranged marriage,” Xiali waved her hand. “The other party is the eldest daughter of the Stein family. Once she marries in, she’ll never have to worry about food or drink for the rest of her life.”
“It’s not that simple…”
“Besides, given your sister’s personality, do you think she’s going to lose out?” Xiali smiled. “I’m more worried about what your sister will do to that arranged marriage partner after the wedding.”
“My sister’s not that bad!” Anis muttered. “Although she usually keeps me under strict control, she’s actually very gentle. She even gave me a handwoven scarf on my birthday…”
“Cough! Can you two keep in mind that the person you’re talking about is sitting right here?” Filia interrupted, tapping the bowl edge with her spoon to stop Anis from revealing any more.
“Well, I’m quite interested. Tell me more,” Xiali leaned in slightly, catching the murderous glare from Filia out of the corner of her eye.
“Actually, every year during the festival my sister would… no! This isn’t the time to talk about that. Don’t you care at all about the arranged marriage?”
Anis glanced at Xiali, then at Filia.
Both were eating their late-night meal at a leisurely pace.
“Ugh… Both my sister and Xiali are such bad people!”
Anis stormed upstairs, her eyes red from frustration.
“Your sister means well; she’s just a little dense,” Xiali smiled helplessly.
Arranged marriages in noble families don’t necessarily mean anything will happen between the two parties.
On the surface, they maintain the marriage relationship, but behind the scenes, each goes their own way. This is very common in big families.
“She’ll understand when she’s older.”
“You two aren’t that far apart in age anyway…”
“An arranged marriage isn’t a big deal. You just have to give up your first time, endure one night, and it’s over,” Filia said calmly as she sipped her vegetable soup.
“Miss Filia, your hand holding the spoon is shaking… What do you mean by ‘give up your first time’?” Xiali’s teasing smile froze.
“Isn’t that what arranged marriages are? Virgin girls give each other their first time, and in the entanglement of affection, the magic between different bloodlines merges.”
“Huh? Arranged marriage is just inviting people for a banquet, then everyone goes home separately at night!”
“What kind of arranged marriage are you talking about…”
“What you’re saying is the real problem!” Xiali stood up in a flash. “If something that ridiculous is going to happen, you still agreed to it?”
“You’re just a child like Anis. What’s there to make a fuss about over something like this?”
“It would be more convincing if your hand would stop trembling when you say that.”
“…The family head places great importance on this arranged marriage. The outcome is no longer in my hands. At least I’ve fought to the best of my ability to secure rights that will let my sister have a better future,” Filia’s calm voice carried a hint of sorrow.
“To live in the Holy City?”
“More precisely, to return to the Carfse family.”
“You were disowned by the Carfse family?”
“Not officially, but after my mother passed, we were sent to this small city and had to become adventurers just to survive. That’s no different from being disowned,” Filia pressed her lips together.
“…” Whether in the game or here, this was the first time Xiali had seen Filia show such an expression.
“I can tolerate this life where every commission could be life-threatening, but I can’t let Anis be like me… You’ve seen how she reacts when she encounters monsters.”
“Indeed…” Xiali began to understand Filia.
If Anis went on missions alone, she’d probably be eaten by monsters within days!
Seeing it this way, Filia’s actions were less ‘sister obsessed’ and more like ‘big sister acting as mother.’
“You were right earlier. The other party is the eldest daughter of the Carfse family. What room do I have to complain?” Filia gave a self-deprecating smile.
“…There’s one thing I still don’t understand.” Xiali furrowed her brow. “With your magical talent, you’re an extremely rare genius in the Carfse family.
To exile such a prodigy and squeeze value out of an arranged marriage.
Is the head of the Carfse family really sane?”
“The world is full of geniuses. For the Carfse family, both Anis and I lack one very important thing.”
“What is that?”
“The blessing of the Goddess of the Night.” Filia stepped close to Xiali, closed her eyes, and took a step forward, pressing her forehead against hers.
In an instant, the surroundings were engulfed in darkness.
“This is…” Xiali felt a strange sense of familiarity in this environment.
“The spiritual world—you should have experienced it during your baptism,” Filia whispered. “This is the only mark the Goddess of the Night left on me.”
Behind Filia, a faint blood-red glow appeared.
The color was so faint Xiali almost missed it.
No trace of a crescent moon shape could be seen.
“The reason the four great noble families of the Engelia Empire are noble is because every member is born with more or less the Goddess’s blessing.”
“The blessings Anis and I received are this weak, so no matter what we do…” Filia opened her eyes but stopped mid-sentence, her pupils contracting sharply.
“What’s wrong?”
“What’s that behind you!” Filia suddenly held her breath.
A blood-red crescent moon hung in Xiali’s spiritual world.
The light of the crescent seemed to form a figure that held Xiali in an embrace.
But in the blink of an eye, the blood-red crescent disappeared.
“Is there something behind me?” Xiali glanced back.
There was nothing but pitch darkness.
“…Maybe it’s just my imagination from stress,” Filia shook her head, thinking she must have misseen it.
If that scene had been real… Haha, that wouldn’t even count as the Goddess of the Night’s blessing. It would be the Goddess herself protecting her child in her arms like a mother.
“In any case, you now understand my situation.”
Filia stood up. “Tomorrow night, the city lord will announce my arranged marriage at the Stein family estate. You have to stop Anis from coming and causing trouble.”
“Okay, okay, I got it,” Xiali nodded.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.