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Meanwhile, a little earlier that day in the Zupiart suburb located in Pira city. It was the residence of Earl Mason Bentinck, located in one of the many noble districts in the rich areas.

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ELEANOR ASTLEY POV

As I walked through the manor, I saw servants rushing in and out of the estate in an attempt to finish before tomorrow. Marcus ordered for the party to be held in his residence in the capital. His mansion near Harz village was too small to hold the event.

“Have all the preparations been finished for tomorrow?”

When the servants were busy sweeping the floors of the venue, I asked nervously. It had been the nth time today that I had asked that question.

“Yes, ma’am. We were done this morning already. Pardon my asking, but why is the young master not here yet?”

I was certain that all of them were looking forward to seeing what the next head of the Bentinck household looked like. As they were servants managing the manor in the capital, they didn’t go out much. They had heard that Clyde attended the academy but that was it. They hadn’t seen his face before.

“H-He is busy at the moment so he might be here tomorrow at the latest.”

“Awww…”

“That’s a shame.”

The workers sighed in disappointment but continued with their duties. Everything had to be sorted out by tomorrow. They couldn’t slack off and had to show their hard work to the future earl.

‘He won’t be late, right?’

I had already sent a messenger to tell him that the venues had been changed to the capital city. The engagement party plus the ceremony would be held together. There was a long list of people that would show up tomorrow night. The party would last two days since it was such a big event.

Henry and Sadith had already come back from their trip and will attend. Kenia would be with them. Eric was too busy with managing his territory in the south near the border so he wouldn’t be here. Kimberly…Well, they hadn’t heard from her in a long time.

It was obviously suspicious why she disappeared without an explanation. Many had said that she was caught up in the Divide as well. But that was strange, she disappeared a while after the Divide even happened.

For the record, Arielle didn’t leave just to pursue power. She also wanted to look for her mother during her trip in the Eastern region of the continent. By far, she hadn’t let us know anything yet. That could mean that her mother was still missing.

“You’re worrying too much, El.”

An old woman’s voice came from Eleanor’s side. It was Solphia. She left the managing of the village up to one of her daughters. She wouldn’t miss Clyde’s big day, after all.

“I know. I know that but…” The fact that I knew why Clyde was still not here yet was why I was anxious.

What if he lost?

That worry took up a large part of my mind. I could lose my little boy.

“Have some faith in the kid. His parents worrying about him is an insult to him, you know? He became stronger for all of you.”

“Us?”

I had a confused expression on my face.

“Yes. He wants all of you to be proud to have him as your family. Why else did you think he studies so diligently? It was because he didn’t want to disappoint any of you. You made it possible for him to be in such a prestigious academy. There’s lots of competition yet he still manages to hold on.”

“…”

“Have faith in him. Clyde is far different than his old self. He’s not like any other kid his age. I could tell from looking at his eyes alone.”

“Wait. Different? In what way?” I cocked my head. He was only a bit mature and taller than the last time I saw him. What changed?

Solphia shook her head.

“Good grief. It seems your senses has dulled over the years of working in that little magic store.” She held up one finger. “First of all, he has managed to improve his mana usage which many has found difficult. By many, I mean even the elite mages.”

My eyes widened.

“He did...?”

“Yes. I couldn’t sense any mana being emitted from his body. He managed to do something not many senior mages can achieve. Even Rezar had to study for years to control his mana flow. This is a problem everyone has since birth.”

By gaining control of his mana flow, he could reduce his mana from escaping out of his core into the atmosphere. This made him able to cast spells and use them at their maximum potential.

It was no secret that the power of a spell depended on how much control you had over your mana flow.

“He may even be able to increase his magic attack power. This is something I haven’t seen in a long time it was a good decision that I gave my magic book to Clyde. He might be able to utilize all the spells that she couldn’t cast. That included those spells in the last few pages of the book.” Solphia suddenly mumbled something to herself.

She cleared her throat and continued speaking.

“Second; he has matured which is a good thing even though he’s still so young. Not many can say that they experienced change so early in their life.”

“…”

‘Change…’

It reminded me of something. It was the days of my and George’s youth. We were still kids but we chose to leave the Holy Kingdom to build our own home. Through countless mistakes and hardships, we were able to become the people we were today.

This only happened a few years before Clyde was born. By then, we were past twenty years old already.

It just goes to show how much better our own child is than us. He never gave up when he searched for a way to become a mage again.

Could I say the same thing about the past me?

No. I gave up countless times. If George wasn’t there then I’d have given myself up to destiny and I would’ve died somewhere.

Ah, I see.

He was so much like his father.

‘Gosh. My face is getting all hot just remembering how George was during his youth.’

It was like I was seeing George in Clyde. Brave, tenacious, kind and strong.

“…..”

I felt my cheeks loosen and my mouth curl up into a smile.

“It seems you get it. Now stop worrying so much.” Solphia chuckled and patted my shoulder. “He’ll be fine. He’ll make it back by tomorrow and officially become lord Bentinck.”

“It feels like it was just yesterday that I held him in my arms as a baby.”

Now he was going to become the son-in-law of a noble and the future head. I was glad that he lived a better childhood than us.

“Let’s continue watching over the boy.” Solphia patted my shoulder again before walking off.

As if to replace her, Diane came towards me. She did a bow as she pinched her dress.

“I apologize for arriving this late, mother.”

I smiled a little awkwardly. It was strange being called mother by someone other than my own children.

“It’s fine. I was able to make sure that nothing went wrong.”

It was actually perfect.

“I see. I was worried for nothing.”

“Where have you been?”

The two of us walked towards the door leading to the garden. There was a greenhouse located among the countless flowers.

We sat down on the nearest table. A nearby maid hurriedly brought over a tea set and placed it down. I waved her off with a smile.

“I was invited by the residents of our land. They have given me a lot of gifts.”

Diane pointed towards the carriage over the fence to the fountain. I saw a bunch of servants carrying lots of boxes out of a carriage. The boxes were in different colours and sizes.

“Looks expensive. The people went all out. Well, they like you after all.”

Diane had been quite popular amongst the villagers and our neighbours. A lot of the young boys were heartbroken when they heard that Diane would marry Clyde.

A man had to be married by age 15 otherwise he’d be seen in a bad light by the rest of the villagers.

‘Poor kids.’

“Like me?” Diane scoffed as if it was ridiculous. “They are trying to curry favour with me by bribing me with those things that they gifted me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Clyde is well known around the surrounding territories. Isn’t it obvious that they would try to get close to me, the daughter of their fief lord through him? The idiots might be thinking that I’ll lower the taxes or something.”

“……”

“Ah, I apologize. I was letting out my thoughts a bit there.”

“A bit…?”

“Ahem. I wanted to get your thoughts on a few things before we proceed.”

Diane suddenly changed the subject with a poker face. She looked a little flustered at letting her thoughts slip out.

I shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Sure. What is it?”

Diane leaned in close.

“I was hoping to find out how the two of us, you know…”

“…? Oh!” I only got what she meant after a few seconds. “You’re not experienced in that?”

“Of course not. I’m still pure.”

“But still. It’s a little too late to ask something this important. It’s a day before you have to consummate.”

Girls of nobility would usually do their sex education along with their normal studies. They start doing that at age ten.

Their fathers would sometimes give them the option to get lovers. That way they can learn sex practically.

‘Now that I realize that Clyde is like his father, is it the same for in bed…?’

I was starting to get worried. George was like an untameable beast. Some days he was gentle and other days he would push me down and seal all paths of escape. I could only take a breather after we were done.

“I didn’t have enough time for those kinds of things. I had my shop to worry about, my duties as the daughter of an earl and my lessons as a wife.”

“Normally, sex would be included in the lessons as a wife. Who taught you all these things? I never heard of this from Edith…”

Edith was originally her tutor since her mother was visiting her family in a city far from this kingdom.

“My mother is the one in charge of overseeing my education now.”

Diane said with nonchalance and sipped the tea.

“Your mother? Did she deliberately exclude those kinds of lessons?”

“Well, yes. She said ‘A boy wants a fresh flower that he will be able to pick before anyone else’. I followed this advice and stayed pure.”

I sighed. She was an intelligent girl but she was still a kid. It would normally look bad for a girl who couldn’t even pleasure her husband. I had undertaken my lessons when I was 12 years old. I wasn’t tied down by things like status so it didn’t matter how I learned it.

Diane took out a notepad and looked at me seriously.

“Please instruct me, mother.”

“Well…” I crossed my arms. “Clyde has already done it with Arielle so he’s not that experienced in sex yet. What you need to remember is to always look him in the eyes while the two of you do it–“

Thus, the lesson on How to be a good wife began.