An Arranged Marriage with an Enemy - Chapter 2.1

Leonida’s first order was for him to attend a banquet in the palace as her representative.

Since she was the deputy head of Ferdinand, that meant he was now the deputy of the deputy.

Kaon laughed inwardly, looking outside the carriage’s window and watching the walls of their duchy grow farther away.

‘Actually, this isn’t funny at all. What the hell am I supposed to do? Why didn’t she tell me about this in advance?’

He crossed his arms and glowered at the aide sitting opposite him.

Quick-witted as he was, Joseph obviously sensed the figurative daggers pointed at him, but he opted to feign concentration on his book first before raising his head. “Lady Leo said to only let you know right before the event.”

“Joseph, whose aide are you, again? Mine or my sister’s?”

“Of course, I serve you, Young Master, but Lady Leo pays the salary.”

“Hah…”

It went without saying that the deputy had greater authority than the young master. Still, the present circumstances made his head hurt.

Kaon blinked rapidly to dispel the fog in his mind. “Never mind, just tell me about what happened with the Ingelos family. What even happened? Was this really the agreement between our families? Those foolish wizards…” He frowned.

Was it a hoax? The Ferdinands and Ingeloses were equally disdainful of each other. The latter was comprised of typically arrogant mages who looked down on everyone who couldn’t control their mana; they especially hated knights because, by their standards, they were beings so far from intelligence. Moreover, Ferdinand was the knight family from the founding myth that was recorded to have been their enemies since the beginning. It was no exaggeration to say that the two were mortal enemies.

There had to be some reason why the Ingelos family had agreed to an arranged marriage, and he believed that he at least had a right to know what it was—given that he was the other half of the arrangement.

“Since ancient times, their family has always been devoted to the study of magic, as you must already know.”

Well, yes, he did know. The whole kingdom did. Mages and research were inseparable, and Ingelos was the oldest mage family in Gaius, as well as the one that was most abundant raw power and talent. Everyone knew that they were madly engrossed in all things magical.

“All forms of research are expensive, but magic research has a particularly astronomical cost. That’s why the Magic Tower is trying to earn and save every penny.”

“Persistent bastards…” Kaon ground his teeth.

How many negotiations had his sister conducted with them? They really were a miserly bunch.

“But the Ingeloses, in a good or bad sense, are the ones most like the ancient mages.”

“Ancient mages?”

“In terms of being purely obsessed with magic. Money or anything like that is not part of their priorities.”

Kaon paused. He had a rough idea of ​​what Joseph was trying to say.

“…Are you saying they have a financial problem?”

It still seemed surreal.

Even though they were his family’s enemies, Ingelos was still one of the seven families representing the kingdom. It was not a nameless family tucked away in a corner of the kingdom. A duke’s family undergoing a financial crisis? Wasn’t that absurd?

“Yes, and it’s quite a serious situation. They’re on the verge of bankruptcy.”

“What?”

Joseph confirmed it, explaining that it really was quite dire.

“How could that be?”

Kaon was genuinely curious.

King Helios I, the founding king of Gaius, did not forget to pay tribute to the five families who contributed to his founding. Each family was given the land they wanted along with huge amounts of gold and precious stones.

Of course, it was a story from several hundred years ago, but even considering that, it was incomprehensible that Ingelos alone was on the verge of ruin.

The situation of the other four families was more or less the same as theirs because even if the Ferdinands were worried about the future and looking for ways to prepare, they weren’t in serious financial trouble right now.

“Didn’t I tell you? They are the ones who are the most like the ancient mages. How would you describe a mage?”

“What…? Single-minded and reticent? Selfish?”

Kaon knew he was biased, but it wasn’t like mages didn’t act that way.

Even the mages officially dispatched from the Tower who were obligated to protect the territories neglected their duties, contributing to the prejudice against them.

“Ingelos is an exceptionally antisocial family. There is probably no other in Gaius and beyond who can exceed them in that.”

“Well, that’s… something.”

“If each member of the family was raised to value only the act of increasing their own magical power and dislike all other activities, wouldn’t that be a fundamental problem?”

“It means no one is making money.”

“Correct.”

There was obviously nothing wrong with cultivating intellect and exploring academic pursuits in itself, but what if every single one in the family is focused on that? No matter how much gold was there, it would run out one day if nobody bothered to add to the pile.