"The North has its own set of customs that we follow," the Duke explained as he crossed his legs and smiled at Federico. He was acting as If he was enjoying the current tense atmosphere in the hall. In fact, the Duke and Rosalind were the only ones who looked like they were enjoying the banquet.
"We only practice monogamy and a marriage is grand and harmonious. A mistress of any kind is strictly forbidden and punishable by law. Aside from that, there are no other things that the bride needed to comply with. As long as the bride is alive and well then we shall proceed with the wedding," the Duke smiled at Rosalind and in response, she smiled back. The two of them sat across each other.
"How did you get out?" Dorothy whispered next to her. She pulled Rosalind's arm harshly.
"Sister I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Stop talking nonsense and answer me!" Dorothy said, grinding her teeth together to stop herself from screaming. "What did you do to them?"
"Older sister, it seems that you are still tired. Do you want me to accompany you in your quarters?" Rosalind asked sweetly.
"Rosalind"
"Smile, older sister," Rosalind responded, her voice low, just enough for Dorothy to hear. "Smile for everyone or they will think that you are not happy to see his Grace, the Duke."
"You" Dorothy looked surprised. It was as if she never expected this reaction from Rosalind. Did Dorothy expect her to continue acting like a fool after she tried to harm Rosalind? How silly.
"Lift the corner of your lips and pretend that you are happy for your dear little sister," Rosalind continued. "We don't really know what the Duke will do if he knew that you were not happy for me."
"You" Dorothy looked like she was about to explode, her face red from anger. "Did you really think that he will not kill you once you leave this place?" Dorothy said harshly. "The only reason why he did not want to marry me is that it would be harder to explain my death to father!"
"Is that so?"
Dorothy sneered. "Did you really think he chose you because he liked you?"
"Maybe he actually did"
"He doesn't," Dorothy's voice was too soft yet she could easily spot the malice in it. "He just wants to use you and kill you once you leave this place."
Rosalind faked a horrified expression. Seeing this, Dorothy smiled at her, however, before Dorothy could say a word, Rosalind spoke, "Do not worry, older sister. I am going to send you a letter the moment I arrived in the North."
Dorothy snorted and turned her head away. It looked like the woman was completely finished with their conversation.
"Since that is the case, we suggest that you sign the marriage documents here and have the ceremony in the North."
"Oh? I did not know that his Blessedness was willing to travel to that place to join the festivities."
"You are wrong, Your Grace," Federico said. "We are not intending to travel to the North, we decided to just celebrate the marriage here. As you know, Rosalind was born sick. She was always sickly and the warm weather does not suit her. I believe the cold of the North is the only thing that made her feel better. The moment she arrived, she immediately started getting sick again. She is as pale as paper and as weak as a baby animal. If we have a marriage ceremony in the Capital, she might even collapse just from the weather alone."
"Ah" The Duke nodded. "Then I agree."
"What?" Martin looked like he did not expect the Duke to agree with what he was saying.
"We shall hold the marriage to the Kingdom and sign the marriage documents here."
"You wanted to sign the documents here?" Martin Lux chimed in.
"Is something the matter, your Blessedness?"
"Ah no. I was just surprised. I always thought that Your Grace, are you perhaps aware that once she marries into another kingdom she would lose the identity she held when she was still a maiden?"
"I am," the Duke eyed Rosalind. "She will lose her status as someone from the Lux Family and will be removed from the ancestry."
"Then if you sign the documents here"
"I am well aware, Your Blessedness. The moment we sign the documents, she will become my responsibility, she will become my person."
My Person.
For some reason, the term made her heart warm. This wasn't the first time that he called her his person, but somehow, it somehow felt different.
"Then we shall sign it first thing tomorrow. Rosalind is not exactly feeling well and that was the reason why she was late. We will be sending her to her quarters very soon and will decline any further invitations from anyone else. I hope this condition does not bother the Duke too much?" Federico questioned. It was pretty obvious that he wanted to finish this banquet as soon as possible just to get rid of the Duke and Rosalind.
Right now, Federico was spouting lie after lie, but no one dared to speak against him. Everyone knew that Federico hated Rosalind and so instead of helping her, they just decided to enjoy the show.
The two continued talking about the details of the wedding, but it was pretty obvious that Federico had already lost interest in the conversation. While many of them already expected this, many thought that Federico deliberately did it to show the Duke the kind of status Rosalind had in this family.
He wanted to tell the Duke that Rosalind was not someone important. In the end, the formal proposal ended without any mishaps. Of course, Rosalind couldn't just leave the hall.
Victoria immediately pulled her away from the crowd.
"Why would you do that?" she asked.
"What?"
"I did not prepare anything for the Duke."
Rosalind snorted. "I guess you just have to..."
"You-"
"Are you saying that you are not going to give a gift, mother?" she asked, tilting her head and touching Victoria's arm.
"You evil thing!" Victoria hissed. "I will send it to your quarters tomorrow!"
....
5/5