The Duke’s Daughter Trained a Wild Beast (Web Novel) - Chapter 2

To monitor and open Ed’s heart, I have to be the person closest to him above anyone else. He’s the kind of person who don’t trust others aside from himself.

 

That’s why I decided to become his wife.

 

That was the practical reason why I chose him as a political partner, but aside from that, there’s also an emotional reason behind it.

 

‘I don’t particularly comprehend why but, despite being a villain, Adrian is one of my favorite characters in the novel.’

 

When I read << The World Once Destroyed >>, Ed was the character I gave my heart to after Lena.

 

‘Why am I feeling sorry for him? Is it because he’s a bad guy with back story?’

 

Anyway, like Lena, I wanted to change Ed’s fate. I wanted to save his heart, which the original Lena can’t save even after sacrificing her life.

 

“…… What?”

That was the Duke’s reaction upon hearing that I wanted Ed as my marriage partner. He was staring at me with his trembling eyes.

 

He’s probably thinking that I don’t have the ability to choose a proper husband, and he even seems to be cursing inside his head.

 

But after hearing his words, I found out that the Duke is much terrible than I think.

 

“Aside from not knowing how to do anything, you also have a bad eye for choosing a spouse.”

 

The Duke was not a person who curse “only inside of his head” in consideration for the listener. He didn’t say it directly but he’s talking as if questioning my level of intellect.

 

“Of all things… Do you know what kind of position Prince Adrian is in?”

“I know. I made that decision after knowing that he has no blood-relation to the Empress, who is the legal wife.”

“……”

 

In other words, Ed is the Emperor’s illegitimate child. On top of that, he’s even a child born between the Emperor and a demon woman, thus making him a half demon. Of course, externally, he’s known as a human being.

 

Perhaps that’s why in the novel, it depicts that the Duke is instinctively uncomfortable with Ed.

 

‘Why is he not answering? Did he not like it? Is he against it?’

 

If he goes saying he can’t trust Ed, then my plan would go awry. Impatient, I quickly opened my mouth.

 

“You may not like it but marrying him will really benefit the family. It could be a good opportunity for father to show your loyalty to His Majesty.”

“There’s no point on convincing you any further. Do whatever you want.”

 

The hem of his robe fluttered as he went out.

 

 

‘It’s… easier than I anticipated. And for some reasons, I didn’t like it.’

 

The Duke don’t look bothered at all. Anyway, now that I’m alone in this large room, the cold brought chills down to my spines again.

 

‘…Ugh, it’s cold.’

 

My body trembled. Whether it was because of the northern cold air, or my father… for some reason, I just felt even colder today.

 

***

 

The next day, the Duke notified me that he had already sent a letter to the Imperial palace. Of course, it was about the marriage between me and Ed.

 

If the Imperial family took this offer positively, they would let me see Ed, Adrian von Berg, the prince who tried to destroy the world even by using Lena’s heart.

 

I was troubled at the thought that I had to meet him sooner or later to stop him from being the villain of this world, but…

 

‘I can’t let you go out of my hands until then.’

 

Isn’t this a cruel world without any blood or tears for a villain like me? If I get confused and mesmerized, I could have died before I knew it.

 

Therefore, I decided to stay in the office and use my spare time on my skill development.

 

‘From now on, I have to work hard to develop my ability. It’s hard to become a strong spirit user like the Duke since my spirit is just a chick.’

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Fortunately, one of the ‘sacred power’ that Lena was born with is useful. Thanks to Lilia, Lena’s mother, who came from the Holy Kingdom of Yerta, the country of the priests, to make a bold decision before she died from an incurable disease.

 

“A life that won’t last long. I will just use it for my child.”

 

She used magic to transform the rest of her life into holy power and succeeded in planting it on Lena. Thanks to her mother’s sacrifice, Lena had the ability to heal others.

 

Unfortunately, her powers were not revealed when she was young. So the Duke conclude that the process was failed, and did not help Lena’s power at all. As a result, it was wasted on her.

 

‘If I develop myself early, I might be treated differently and even be a priest.’

 

After all, having a spirit is a characteristic possessed only by the people of the Empire, so most people outside the Empire don’t have companion spirits. So if I relocate to a place like the Holy Kingdom of Yerta and live as a priest, I won’t be discriminated for having a weak spirit.

 

After my conclusion, I concentrated my mind to do the ‘Spiritual Development Meditation Method’ I read on the novel. Then, indeed, I felt a mysterious power within my heart.

 

‘It’s a lot more than I thought…? But among the other priests, this is probably average, right?’

 

It would be more convenient if I have someone to measure my spiritual power, but that was impossible. Only yourself can feel your own power. So, it was actually hard to compare mine with others.

 

In any case, the strong force I felt did not go well with this slender body. But then, I eventually felt better as if I found a gold vein after a hard shoveling.

 

“Lena!”

 

In addition to the Duke, Lena has another family member. It was the one who opened the door and came in.

 

“Brother Nick?”

 

The silver hair of her older brother, Nicholas, which is usually as groomed as the Duke’s hair, was tangled like a bird nest.

 

It was like he ran in hurry so I decided to ignore the fact that he came in without knocking.

 

“What’s the matter?”

“I heard from father. You… you said you’re going to marry Prince Adrian? Is that true?”

 

I could feel the warmth of affection and concern in his eyes as he looks at me.

 

The Duke and Nicholas had the same blue eyes, but the warmth of the two is completely different. It amazes me every time that I see Nicholas’ warm blue color.

 

“Ah. It’s true, brother.”

“Why…You are still young! Twenty is still early for marriage.”

 

Hearing his words, I smiled involuntarily.

 

“Aren’t you the only one who see me as a child? Usually, marriage is decided before the age of 18. I’m rather late.”

“But…”

“And father don’t like the idea of me, being here… It would be good for everyone if I just leave.”

 

Of course, Nick knew how the Duke felt about me. That’s why he couldn’t respond to my words and just let out a sigh.

 

“My pitiful sister…”

 

The sympathetic voice made my heart heavy.

 

‘Did I get too attached to Nick? I somehow feel very upset.’

 

While I was thinking about it, Nick offered me comfort.

 

“I’ve said it a hundred times already, but mother’s death isn’t your fault. Even if it wasn’t because of magic, she will depart soon at some point since she has been ill for a long time. So, if you made that decision out of guilt… Think again.”

“But father don’t think so.”

“……”

“Mother was father’s everything, but he lost her because of me. It must have been hard for him to see my face, so I understand. I’ll leave.”

 

I pretended not to notice that he turned his head and wiped his wet eyes. After wiping his eyes, he gently held my hand.

 

“Still, you don’t have to get married if you don’t want to. If you want to leave this house because of father… I’ll help you.”

“No. I have already decided to get married.”

 

To stop the darkness, I must be the closest person to Adrian. And this arranged marriage will be a great opportunity for that.

 

There’s no reason to turn down the opportunity when it came to me itself.

 

So, I rejected Nick’s suggestion, but his concern touched me.

 

‘It’s been a long time since I last felt this. A family bond.’

 

My heart, which had been lost since I lost my grandmother who raised me, felt warm once again thanks to him. And I decided to repay, even just a little.

 

“Aren’t you curious about my spirit? I managed to summon for the first time yesterday.”

“I heard it’s a little chick?”

“Father is disappointed because it’s not a strong spirit, but I like it. It’s very cute.”

 

I immediately want to show him my spirit. However, there were some problems.

 

‘What should I do to summon it from the spirit world?’

 

Spirits are usually born and live in the spirit world. Then, by borrowing the power of human connected to both the spirit and contractor’s soul, it can be summoned and appear in the human world.

 

I was afraid that the Duke’s nasty wolf would swallow my chick in one gulp, so I ‘released’ it back to the spirit world. In other words, I haven’t call it again since the Duke visited.

 

‘Can I just imagine it to show up?’

 

With that in mind, I made a hard request to myself. However, the chick didn’t show up.

 

My older brother, who had been waiting, patted me on the shoulder.

 

“No need to overdo it. It hasn’t been a while since you successfully summoned your spirit. It’s still difficult for now.”

“No, wait a minute.”

 

I earnestly called out the spirit once more, and at that moment, a small tunnel of light appeared in the air.

 

“Done!”

 

I was filled with joy when I saw the chick protruding from the passageway connected to the spirit world.

 

‘He answered my call! But… why does he look pissed off?’

 

The spirit that appeared was angry as he run around me. He seemed angry because I just suddenly put him in the spirit world earlier.

 

I apologized, and as soon as his anger was relieved, he rubbed his fluffy feathers on my cheek.

 

‘Phew… I’m glad my spirit is so simple that things can be resolved easily.’

 

Nick, who was watching our reunion, stretched out his fingers to poke the chick.

 

“Are you my sister’s spirit?”

 

— Peep! Chirp! Chirp!

 

“Hey, this…”

 

Nick staggered with a serious expression on his face. Then he carefully placed the chick into my hand.

 

Suddenly anxious, I asked him with a trembling voice.

 

“What’s the matter? Is there a problem with my spirit?”

 

After observing the chick on my hand, he finally opened his mouth.

 

“This is the cutest spirit I’ve ever seen.”

“……”

 

Since it was small, I thought it has serious problems like being sick or not being able to live long.

 

“You scared me… I thought my spirit has a problem.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just too cute…”

 

I relaxed and a deep sigh escaped my lips.

 

But at that moment,

 

“Hmm?”

Nick acted as if he had found out something again as he looked as my spirit. I wasn’t nervous this time because I had just been deceived by him.

 

“Are you going to say it’s cute again? My heart is weak so don’t joke around.”

 

However, no matter how much I waited, the word ‘cute’ didn’t came out from Nick’s mouth.

 

Slowly, I started to worry.

 

‘Is it real this time…?’

 

It was around the time that I’m starting to worry about that, Nick opened his mouth.

 

“You said it was a chick right?”

“Yeah. It has a beak and the fluffy feathers were yellow like a chick.”

“Isn’t a little different?”