The Villainous Son Loves His Mother - Chapter 14

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Recently, Duke Sarion’s House extended an invitation to a tea party. The stated purpose was something vague about the engagement between our two families.
When I asked my mother about it, I learned that I apparently had a fiancée. To my astonishment, it turned out to be Sarionmes.

“I never knew anything about this.”

I said to my mother, my dissatisfaction plain in my voice.

“Hein, I feel the same way you do. But Duke Sarion’s people claim that your father, Lord Damian, hmm… Damian—made an agreement with them.”

“An agreement?”

“Yes, it seems that if the children of both houses turned out to be a boy and a girl, they would be pledged in marriage. They explained that upon reaching the age to enter the Academy, the engagement would become official. However, I was never informed of this by Damian. I know it sounds like I’m complaining, and that’s unseemly, but that man never treated me as a wife. He managed everything about the house, and my only role was to give birth to you, Hein. Of course, I don’t regret that now… but at the time, it was painful to be seen as nothing more than a vessel for a child. Ah, I’ve gone off on a tangent.”

The more I heard, the angrier I became at Damian.
Still, is this truly how engagements between ducal houses work?
If such an arrangement existed, shouldn’t I have been informed?
When I asked Mother, she agreed with me.

“As far as I know, such a situation is unheard of. Marriages between Duchal Houses are heavily influenced by political considerations. To disregard those… By the way, Hein, do you have any interactions with Lady Esmeralda at the academy? Even if neither of us knew, Duke Sarion’s House must have been aware of the circumstances. I would expect them to initiate some kind of negotiation.”

I tried to recall my interactions with the Sariones, but—

“…No, I haven’t. She did call out to me the other day, saying she wanted to talk. I turned her down at the time, but perhaps it was about this marriage proposal. Still, I don’t see the point in being informed about it now. Besides, I can’t think of any reason why Duke Aster’s House and Duke Sarion’s House would want to form a marital alliance.”

When I finished speaking, Mother tilted her head slightly, as if deep in thought.

“This is merely my personal opinion, but while both houses share the responsibility of protecting the Imperial Capital, Kainesfried, our relationship has never been particularly harmonious. In fact, past heads of Duke Aster’s House, including Damian, seemed to place little importance on relations with other noble families. To put it bluntly, they openly looked down on them. As the current acting head of Duke Aster’s House, my primary task is to improve these relationships. While Duke Aster’s House is undoubtedly prestigious, its lack of landed territory also presents certain vulnerabilities… But I digress. Given the recent shift in Duke Aster’s House’s behavior, wouldn’t it be natural for other houses to adjust their approach accordingly?”

If Mother said so, it must be true.
But—

“I understand the situation, Mother, but I don’t want to marry Sariones… Miss Esmeralda. The very idea of a political marriage makes me sick. There’s no love involved! I know I sound foolish for a noble, but I simply can’t stand it…”

I want to marry Mama! I couldn’t bring myself to say it, but I made my feelings as clear as possible.
Mother smiled awkwardly. “If Hein were to marry someone else, Mama would be lonely,” she said. But that was just a mother’s sentiment.

“Still, as a member of the Duchal House, we can’t completely ignore this, Hein.”

“Perhaps…”

I scowled, sulking.
Ah, my body felt heavy as lead.
My heart felt even heavier.
Right now, I was sulking with every fiber of my being—