I reincarnated as the Duke’s only blind daughter - Chapter 3 Part 2

—• Alicia’s arranged marriage announcement •—

Right now, my heart keeps pounding non stop, I am nervous. Because today is Karl and me’s arrangement cenemory.

After the accident with the wolf, Karl went and had a talk with the King, in result the King promised to secure the path’s safety for Alicia. Surprisingly after this, a marriage proposal between Karl and I from the Royal was sent to the Duke.

The Duke’s house only has one child, and there is no way my parents would allow me to get married off, so the only solution is for a marriage partner to come to our family and be our in-law. But I didn’t think it would be this soon. He told me that he was going to live with me last time but I never thought that he meant this.

Karl is the The Firth Prince from the Royal family but wasn’t on the throne succession’s line, an arrangement with the Holsten, the most elite of them all among the influential families throughout the country will bring a lot of benefits to the Royal family. It seems Daddy refused this proposal once, but Karl begged again and again until he agreed.

You are talking about my daddy who hates to lose the most, and he finally gave in and gave us our blessings. Maybe it all happened after our last training day.

Nevertheless, besides the fact that we have to learn a lot, the rumor about the Royal wanting to be in favor of the Duke’s house is true too. Everyone was talking about how there are only benefits for the Duke if the engagement really happens. Hearing that, Daddy hugged me tightly and announced that whoever the opponent is going to be he will not accept any of them until I turn 18 years old. Karl asked the king to help him in the end, being an order from the king, dad could do nothing but accept Karl.

The Royal put a lot of pressure on us, but there wasn’t any opposition after because our age is close. Karl is my friend and the one who saved me from the wolf and that was the last straw for him to be accepted as my Fiance. I always thought I would get married for politics, but I am more happy and at ease with my partner being Karl.

Lately my heart keeps pounding nonstop when I listen to Karl’s voice.

“Mi’lady, Karl his Highness has arrived.” – Kate opened the door and informed me of his arrival.

“Thank~you!”

I stood up and walked the path I was familiar with.

Today’s event is being held in the Duke’s residence. Even if I cannot see, compared to before, I don’t need to touch the wall to walk anymore. I remember this house very well and am able to walk by myself a lot now. Even so, the gentle Prince was still coming over to escort me.

“It’s me, Alicia.”

Maybe around this place? When I stopped Kate immediately opened the door. Before going in, I knocked at the opened door first, after that I could hear Daddy’s voice from inside.

“Is it you Alicia? Come on in!”

“Okay.”

When I walked in, everything became quiet.

Wait?  Have I made a mistake?

I was quite taken aback and decided to step back but got tangled up in something. When I was about to fall, a hand pulled me in and supported my shoulder.

“It’s okay Alicia.”

It’s Karl. I can finally relax and with his help we got further into the room.

“Alicia, This is my Father and my Mother.”

When Karl said that, I remember what I had been taught by the tutor lady when I was young.

“The daughter of Duke Holsten, Alicia. It is my pleasure to greet you.”

“Hahaha, No need, lady Alicia. Today, I am here as Karl’s father, not as the King. You don’t need to mind.”

“That’s right. It’s nice to meet you, adorable young lady. I am Karl’s mother. Thank you for always being friends with him.”

The two sound so lovely, and kind. I feel relief and give them a smile. I felt their eyes move toward my face.

“Oh!”

“My my!”

After the two of them said that, the surrounding became noisy. Did I make a mistake again? I got scared and whispered to Kal’s ears.

“Karl,Was I..was I doing something wrong?”

“Don’t worry, your manner and your introduction were perfect. The thing is you are really beautiful today.”

“What?”

“Oh, Hmm. You don’t need to worry about it. Just do as you did then you will be fine.”

There isn’t anyone near me except Karl so there is no way others can hear our conversation. For the time being I will just do as Karl said, smile!

“Today is a good day to announce the engagement between The Fifth Prince, his Highness Karl and Princess Alicia, the daughter of Duke Holsten. They will be tied to each other after officially becoming  adults. The Prince will join the Holsten family as a son-in-law. Is there any opposition?”

“King Jonas!”

When the King declared like that, daddy could not hold it in anymore.

“I won’t accept your opposition, Stephen. Give up.” – smile

After their glaring battle, the talk continued.

“Well, Isn’t it fine like this? From now on you are going to judge if Karl is suitable for the Holsten house or not. The Holsten Duke is the guardian of the Royal family. It will be easy for you, don’t you think?”

“…Hahh.. I understand. Will Prince Karl be suitable for the name Holsten and be the right person for Alicia, I will see and carefully watch him until his Highness becomes an adult. Can’t promise that I will go soft on him.”

“I don’t mind, Karl is your disciple. Also, I used to be scolded by you when we were young after all.”

The King made a bitter smile, but Daddy didn’t give in.

– “Of course. We, the Holtens’s duty is to help your Highness and all the Royals to walk on the right path. Even if you are the King or Prince it doesn’t matter. There is nothing you can do about that. I am willing to rebuke.”

Daddy footsteps headed towards me after saying all of that from a distance.

It seemed no one heard our conversation, but whatever it is it still went in my ears

“Your Highness may have forgotten but I wrote most of your reports for you.”　☆（〇-〇ヽ）

“K..KARL!! YOU MUST BECOME THE PROPER SON FOR THE HOLSTEN FAMILY! I HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS FROM YOU!”

“Yes, Father! And the Duke, I will not let you down!” – Karl stood beside me and answered back with confidence.

After a passionate talk between father and son, the King continued.

“Are there any ?”

The room got quiet. After the confirmation, the King finally smiled.

“There is none. Then, I announce the two are officially engaged to each other!”

“CONGRATURATION!”

Being suddenly surprised by a lot of people’s voices, Karl quickly held the anxious me tightly.

“Uh? Are there a lot of people here?”

“That’s right. About a hundred people are here.”

“What? But Father didn’t tell me anything!”

“Ah, If we tell you, you will be nervous won’t you? So we decided to keep quiet about it.”

“Again!? Father!!!”

Seeing me getting angry as I puffed my reddening cheeks, Karl laughed.

“But you know what? From now on I am your fiance.”

When I heard him saying that, my face got really hot.

“T..That’s right.”

Karl kept giggling at me.

“Please take care of me from now on too.

However, I couldn’t help but to ask him about one thing, if I didn’t do it now I would surely regret not doing it sooner”

“Me too. But, you know, Karl? I always want to ask you something. Can I?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind?”

“Is it okay? To be with me? You know that I’m blind right? Won’t I be a nuisance for you?”

Even if we are childhood friends, to have a blind wife would bring him a lot of troubles in the future. I couldn’t do a lot of stuff by myself, and it would be impossible for me to socialize.

As I became more and more anxious, Karl strongly pulled me into his arms.

“There is no such thing! The engagement happened with my own will! So be more confident! Also the Duke said he will test me until we become adults! If I can’t be the one who deserves to be by your side then our engagement will be pulled off!”

With a painful voice, Karl explained to me while I was still in the middle of confusion.

“..Will it be okay for me to be by your side? Are you also wishing for that?”

“Of course I am!!!”

Answering me with a loud voice, Karl then tightly held my hands. His firm but gentle words touched me, as I now understand his heart, there is something warm inside my chest that began to spread throughout my whole body.

“I am really happy. Thank you Karl.”

“Ah ah, We will always be together, Alicia.”

We laughed and put our heads to each other.

Just like that, we became each other’s fiance as we both desired.

—• Karl’s arranged marriage announcement  •—

“It’s me, Alicia.”

When Alicia’s voice echoed, the once rowdy hall then went silent. People had been waiting for a long time to see the rumored blind but beautiful princess of Duke Holsten. Karl quickly headed to the door to help her but Alicia opened the door and went in by herself.

Maybe because today is Alicia’s engagement party, she was dressed up more beautifully than usual. It was an orthodox princess  dress in pink and blue gradient color that gently flows down, looking so elegant and suiting Alicia so well. Her platinum blond hair was silky and half tied up neatly.

The blind princess, with her light purple pupils dressed up was so beautiful and even more pretty than all the ladies wearing any sparkling dress, took everyone’s breath away. Karl walked to where Alicia stood, gradually escorting her to where their parents were waiting. There were strong oppositions from the bride’s father, but everything was solved as everyone agreed that he could still make a final decision even after it was announced. As he walked to her side, Alicia’s beauty shined more than before. Noticing that, Karl did not forget to keep other rivals in check, glaring at them.

“Who started the rumor that this marriage is only a beneficial purchase? It’s totally fine even if she’s blind with that beauty!!”

“That’s what I want to say! There were a lot of people asking to be adopted as the Duke’s son, but from now on the competition for lady Alicia will become the main focus in our society, don’t you think!?”

“Prince Karl did really well. Even though he is not on the succession line, his highness is powerful enough with the help of the Duke Holsten and princess Alicia.”

Hearing people whispering and judging only Alicia’s appearance and her position, Karl couldn’t help but feel angry inside. No one was looking at the real Alicia.

However Alicia did not keep silent about it.

“How interesting. You know that my appearance means nothing to me. So why does everyone keep mentioning that? Don’t you agree, Karl?”

Seeing the smiling Alicia become so fearsome, something started to stir inside Karl’s heart.

“Alicia, I really think I am blessed to be engaged to you. You are probably the only one who looks at me properly. If I make a mistake, you would not be afraid to say it out loud just like what you did when we were five. You have something special that no one has. That’s why whatever people say to you, don’t be swayed by it! Be proud! Just like that, please be by my side.”

Karl did not hesitate to voice out his heart to Alicia who was standing right by his side.

Upon receiving a sudden confession, Alicia’s face got really red. She then whispered to Karl’s ear.

“I am really happy, Karl. I’m glad that you are my fiance. How exciting this will be!”

To witness Alicia’s bright beautiful angelic smile, everyone couldn’t help but to have their breath taken away again. Some hesitated to continue the conversation.

The serioussess between these two became the famous talk of the society from that day.

—–

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