Well...I tried.

We are now in front of the duke’s mansion. We were guided by the guards to this place, and after getting here, the duke welcomed me…as his dauther-in-law.

“When did I become your dauther-in-law?”(Shera)

“I received a letter from Feric, using the einolon birds, he said a Lein, using a pink coach, will arrive, and the lady inside it will be his fiancé. Our son finally found himself a girl, look at her honey, isn’t she adorable”(Duke)

Both the duke and his wife nodded while looking at me.

“…”(Shera)

“Don’t be shy, come inside.”(Duke)

I looked at my companions, for some reason Nero is irritated, so does Ciela, pooch didn’t really care.

“I knew that guy was up to something”(Nero)

Tsk, we can’t fight someone like the duke without any good reason, I need to solve this misunderstanding as soon as possible.

“Calm down, I’ll take care of it. Let’s go, I’ll talk with them.”(Shera)

I entered the mansion and the others followed. The mansion was elevated by 1.5 ft, and had 4 floors. The floor was made out of marbles and so is the ceiling. Each floor was 8.5ft tall, and had different paintings on the wall. As we walked, I noticed that every door I have seen have different carvings, like the door I am seeing now looks like a snake, while the one before that was a lion. I don’t really know if any of this decoration is good, or if the whole mansion looked good, I just have one tiny advice for them, they need more pink. If you paint the whole mansion with pink, it will definitely look good, no questions asked.

The duke guided us to a wide room, there is a table in the middle and 12 chairs around it, 1 at both ends, and 5 on each sides. Again, there are a lot of paintings around us, and a few vases that aren’t pink. There was a chandelier with a radius of one person…one human, on top of the table.

“Please, take a seat.” The duke made gestures to make us sit.

The duke and his wife used the seat at both ends, I was in the middle left, while Nero was in the middle right, and Ciela was sitting next to me. Pooch has a special sit, and that is on my lap.

“Is that your pet?”(Duke)

“Yes, I got him the desert near Hellion city.”(Shera)

I probably shouldn’t say I got him from mirage desert.

“Oh, what a cute little animal”(Duke)

This guy is surprisingly nice.

“Did you hear that pooch, he said you were cute”(Shera)

“…”Pooch stayed silent.

“Hahaha anyways, I want to know more about the woman, who made the ice prince fall in love.”(Duke)

“Ice prince?”(Shera)

I don’t remember seeing a prince that can use ice magic…not that I even know if a person can use magic.

“You didn’t know? Feric was called that because he never got close to anyone especially females. He would always ignore them no matter how they threw themselves to him, Even if a princess stripped in front of him, he wouldn’t bat an eye. I guess you are different though, I have never seen someone as beautiful as you…”(Duke)

“What was that honey?”(Wife)

“Of course except for my wife, she is also a beauty that surpasses others.”(Duke)

“I see, but we only met once. We only saw each other on my way here.”(Shera)

“That’s even better, he sent me a letter, even though he only met you once. He really must have fallen in love with you.”(Duke)

“You see…”(Shera)

I told them what Feric and I talked about, how he tried to buy me, everything that happened inside the coach.

“So, I don’t really know why he sent you that letter. He probably just wanted to get revenge, since he couldn’t get me…”(Shera)

“Is what you said true?”(Duke)

“Of course, I wouldn’t lie to a duke”(Shera)

The duke stood up and looked his wife, they both nodded at the same time and walked towards me. Nero glared at them while they were walking, and he was ready to jump any time, but I signaled him not to.

I didn’t want to fight with them…but I guess I have to. I readied my body so that if they are really gonna attack, then I will retaliate. The tension in the air vanished when the duke and his wife hugged me.

“Welcome to our family, Shera”(Duke)

“EH?”(Shera, Nero, Ciela & Pooch)

“We didn’t know he madly fell in love with you, to think he would be that aggressive. Although I would have to apologize for his actions, even if he didn’t know how to court a lady, that was still too much.”(Duke)

“Please forgive our son, and please think about it before rejecting.”(Wife)

“…I want to travel around the world first, before staying at one place. So I really can’t marry your son”(Shera)

“If that is all, then why don’t you travel with Feric. He also wanted to travel, and his first destination was mirage desert, before going out of the continent.”(Duke)

They aren’t gonna let me go…I have to think of another excuse.

“Isn’t he going towards the mirage desert now? He would probably need at least 1 year to return here.”(Shera)

“He already canceled his plans, and is currently headed back to this city. He will be here in a few days or a week, so please wait for him before you go.”(Duke)

Damn it, I need more excuses…

“I can’t let a group of people guard us every time, and it would take too much money to keep them alive.”(Shera)

“Feric is already strong, and all of his guards combined are only equal to one gold(low) rank adventurer. So you won’t have any problems. It’s just one more person.”(Duke)

This guy doesn’t run out of ideas…and it looks like Nero is about to explode…I need to handle it as quickly as possible.

“Then how about we make a bet, if he can clear it then I will let him join, if he can’t then we’ll leave without him.” I looked directly into the Duke’s eyes.

“Sure, I am sure our son can do anything. But please promise me you won’t runaway if he clears it.”(Duke)

“I promise”(Shera)

Since he needed a guard, he is probably not that strong. So he is probably around silver(mid) to silver(high).

“If he can reach at least gold(mid) then I will let him join”(Shera)

“T…that’s” The duke looked dejected.

Good, based on his expression, it would be impossible.

When Nero understood what was happening, he calmed down.

“Can’t you lower it a bit, like silver(high)?”(Duke)

Yes, I win, I am a genius. Look at his despaired face ahahahahahahaha

“No, traveling the world is dangerous. He has to be at least that strong to join us.”I was slightly grinning.

Yeah, it was just an excuse at first, but if he is weak he will die.

“There is still a chance, even if it’s just 1%. He might suddenly get stronger.”(Duke)

This guy doesn’t give up…there are no miracles in the world, if there was, I would probably be living a decent life on earth.

“…Just in case he gets stronger we need to make sure you won’t run away. So please sign a contract, if he really can’t do It, then we will give up. Please, our son finally found someone he liked, at least give us this much.”(Duke)

Even if I sign a thousand contracts, if he can’t become stronger it is useless. Well, since it’s not gonna happen, there is no need to fear signing a contract.

A nodded at his plea, and the duke called a few people, who created a contract inside the room. He signed the lower left part, and I would sign the right. I couldn’t read so I let pooch read them out loud, and nothing fishy seems to be written.

Good, with this everything is settled. I don’t know why you liked me, mr. ice prince, but our story is over.

The duke and his wife were still shocked at pooch, who read the contract. After snapping back to reality, I could hear them clap.

“With this, Feric is now a part of your party.”(Duke)

“Huh?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? Feric is already a gold(high) adventurer.”(Duke)

…………YOU TRICKED ME!

“T..that’s, you didn’t tell me”(Shera)

“Of course, you obviously didn’t want him so I had to act a bit. It is for our son’s future after all.”(Duke)

I’ll just let him join, and kill him somewhere. I can even make it look like we lost him while traveling.

“Just as the contract says, if he somehow gets killed, or get lost while traveling with you. Shera Nillin would become the enemy of the continent.”(Duke)

DAMN IT! SHOULD I JUST BURN THIS WHOLE CONTINENT? No, I don’t have my manipulation ability on this body…

I tried to destroy the contract, but it floated, and 10 layers of transparent bubble covered it.

“If you try to destroy the contract again, even if Feric is still alive, you will be the enemy of the continent. So please take care of our son, Lady Shera Osdwin.”(Duke)

Nero tried to kill the duke, but I stopped him.

“No, it’s ok. It was a bet, and I lost.”(Shera)

“…tsk”(Nero)

“Hahaha don’t be sad, I promise you will live a peaceful life after your travel.”(Duke)

“Wait…there wasn’t anything in the contract that mentions marriage”(Shera)

“Don’t worry, there isn’t. But after traveling with my son, I am sure you will fall in love with him.”(Duke)

As if, that’s never gonna happen, especially now that I am angry.

___

We were given 2 rooms at the 3rd floor, one room for Ciela and I, and one for Nero. Nero wore an irritated expression from downstairs, until we got to the 3rd floor. I was still stressed about what happened, let’s think of possible things we could do.

Ok, the best solution is to accept Feric on our party…THAT’S NOT IT! Why does he have to show up, why do I have to be a part of this? There are still other continents, so maybe I’ll just go there, and leave Feric. I could also I could threaten the duke, and make the whole continent my enemy….STILL NOT A SOLUTION! Tsk…so dukes are the politicians of this world, they are fishy, the act to manipulate you, they are corrupted, what else?

I thought I could peacefully learn magic on this city…

I couldn’t sleep, so I went downstairs. I walked around, and randomly got to the garden. I calmly looked at the flowers, and entered the garden.

This garden is quite huge, and this relaxing feeling of fresh wind carrying the scent from the flowers. I continued walking until I saw small grassy plain enclosed by trees and flowers. I sat on the grass, and tilted my head upwards to look at the sky.

If I can’t shake him off, might as well get used to him. Not like I have to marry him, and having a gold(high) class adventurer isn’t bad. It’s just like the time Nero & Ciela joined my party, at first I didn’t really like the idea of extra baggage, but it’s not that bad. I enjoyed my time with them, especially Nero’s cooking, and that night with Ciela…ok let’’s forget about that.

I kinda felt comfortable on the grass, so I closed my eyes, and lied down. As came close to falling asleep, I felt someone moving closer.

To come here at the exact time I was about to fall asleep, this is probably planned. For now I’ll act like I am sleeping, and wait for the right moment.

One person moved closer towards me, he stood in front of my head. I am still not completely sure if he is an enemy, so I continued acting. The man spoke, and I identified who the person is.

“Shera’s sleeping face is cute”(Nero)

It’s Nero…oh well, I guess I can continue sleeping. Not like he would do anything other than to stare at me…

As I tried to sleep, I could feel Nero sit beside me.

“I hate the fact that another man wants to marry you”(Nero)

Yes yes, I hate it too, so shut up and let me sleep.

“And he will even travel with us…if only I could kill him”(Nero)

That is quite a dangerous statement, but since I also thought of killing them…I guess it’s fine?

“Sigh…I thought I could stay passive, and wait for you to fall in love with me.”(Nero)

Nope not gonna happen, and why are you talking to me? I am supposed to be asleep.

Nero went out of the garden.

Finally, now I could sleep.

A few moments later, Nero came back.

…WHY ARE YOU BACK? JUST GO TO SLEEP!

After a while, I could feel a piece of cloth cover my body.

A blanket?...

“Night Shera” Nero went back to his room.

After Nero was gone, when I was sure none would hear me, I felt like I had to say something.

“T…thanks”(Shera)

He is not that irritating after all. Now that you think about it, he is the one doing most of the work on our journey. I guess I should treat him nicely from now on…I mean we are on the same party, not that I am doing it for other reasons. I am just a bit guilty that he is doing most of the work, so it is only natural to treat him nicely.

After convincing myself, I fell asleep.

___

“Shera wake up”(Nero)

It’s still early, I want to sleep longer.

“Shera…Feric is here”(Nero)

I quickly stood up and shouted.

“WHAT?”(Shera)

“Finally awake, anyways, here” Nero gave me a comb.

“…It’s still early.”(Shera)

“The duke told me to wake you up, breakfast is almost ready.”(Nero)

“He didn’t bully you because of your wing right?” I looked at him with a worried expression.

“Don’t worry about it, it looks like he is acting carefully in front of me, since you are his daughter-in-law”(Nero)

“Che, I’ll never marry into their family” I started fixing my hair with the comb.

“Pft…you can’t escape, mrs. Osdwin.”(Nero)

“That’s not funny…” I finished combing my hair and returned it to him.

“Ah, a part of your hair is still messy” Nero came closer and started fixing my hair.

Why does this always happen, he always sees something wrong with my hair…

“Done” After fixing my hair, he smiled at me. Of course I smiled back.

“Thanks, now that you think about it, you are always helping me…do you want to buy something on the city? I’ll buy anything you want, just for today.”(Shera)

“Why did you suddenly feel like treating me? I mean, I was doing the same thing for the past months…”(Nero)

“I don’t know, I just felt like doing it now”(Shera)

I don’t know…I just feel a bit guilty for making you do everything. Driving, fending off the monsters, cooking, everything.

He looked directly into my eyes and smiled, this time I could feel that he is really happy from what I said. Although I think he should be happy after I treated him…weird.

“It’s ok, no need to buy anything for me. Just traveling with you is enough”(Nero)

“Don’t be humble, just tell me if you want something.”(Shera)

“The thing I want, its something I shouldn’t force you to give me…instead, it is something I have to work hard for.”(Nero)

What’s that? Sounds expensive…maybe we could work together, and save money for it.

“…just tell me”(Shera)

“Besides, you are already helping us a lot by letting us travel with you. If you really want to give me something, then promise me that we will still travel together.”(Nero)

“Isn’t that obvious, you have to travel with me until you find a place that could accept you. This place is still not what you are looking for, so of course we will still travel together.”(Shera)

“Hahahaha so you still remembered that.”(Nero)

I will always remember the pain of a friend, just like how I remember the pain of all my allies when we fought the world.

“Of course, I will remember the trouble of my friends”(Shera)

“A…I see, a friend”(Nero)

He suddenly made a sad face, not just that. It even felt like he was hiding a deeper feeling in his heart. Is being my friend really that bad?

“Why do you look depressed?”(Shera)

“N…no it’s fine, I just remembered something about my past. I didn’t have any friends, and now I finally found one.”(Nero)

As I though, he is the same as me, being alone, and rejected by everyone. Aside from my allies, I didn’t really have a real friend. But that is all in the past, there is something I can do now, something exciting, something new, something worth living for.

“The past is already over, don’t let it affect your future. Besides if you act like that now, it would look like you hate me.”(Shera)

“I could never hate you, even if the world sees you as an enemy, I will still be with you…cause I lo…cause I am your friend.”(Nero)

“Thanks, anyways, shouldn’t we go to the dining hall by now?”(Shera)

“Ah, I forgot”(Nero)

“So even people like you could forget something. Pft…hahahaha”(Shera)

To think such a responsible person could forget something…hahahahahaha

“So you could also laugh like that” Nero looked at me with a gentle smile.

As I walked out of the garden, I heard Nero mutter something to himself, I didn’t understand it though.

“Even if I am just a friend now, it won’t stay the same in the future”(Nero)

___

After that, we stayed at the mansion for a few days. The duke and his wife weren’t that bad, only their pushy nature is irritating. If it wasn’t for their son, I would probably like them…I used the opportunity and learned how to write. The couple hired different tutors for me, and I easily learned the basics.

Right now, I could read what is written on the my adventurer’s plate, and I could also write simply sentences. Anyways, my peaceful days continued until Feric returned to the city, 6 days after I entered the mansion.