NOVEL NEXT Chapter 0
Prologue— This Contract Marriage Is on a First-Come First-Served Basis —
“Who’s that?”
“Is it a beggar?”
The existence of that child could only be described by one word,
‘shocking’
.
“Why is such a child here?”
Today the gates to the castle of the Remdragon Grand Duchy opened for its first banquet in a hundred years.
Just like the rumors, the castle was mysterious and beautiful.
The castle’s chandeliers were decorated with real diamonds and silver crystal. Its walls were adorned by ancient murals, and a jeweled carpet decorated its long stairs.
The only problem was the silver haired girl who was walking through the middle of the grand banquet hall with a limp.
“Phew….”
The child took a look around before sighing, her cheeks plump, looking as white as freshly baked bread.
The child seemed to be about four or five years old at most, but her appearance was quite the contrast to the lavish banquet hall.
Her hair was shaggy and disheveled. Her dress, which was originally made of a soft cotton cloth, now had its skirt torn into pieces.
One foot was completely barefoot as her little white toes wiggled around. Who knew if she sold her shoes somewhere.
It was pathetic.
Like a stray cat who got lost and walked into the wrong place.
“How did she get in here?”
“How courageous! How dare she come to the Remdragon Duchy’s banquet. Could it be that she smelled the food and sneaked in?”
“But, that hair color, it’s unusual.”
All the ladies who would normally occupy the center of the ball were now glued stuck to the walls.
Instead of them, the center of the hall was occupied by girls aged 5 to 10 dressed in various colors. Each child wore dresses of a more vivacious color than the one before.
Of course, it was because today’s ball was for the five-year-old Little Young Lord of the Duchy to choose a political marriage partner.
“Look there. I think they’re finally chasing her down!”
“Are they going to kick her out?”
Elton, the Grand Duke’s butler as well as the person in charge of the ball, approached the girl.
“Young Lady, are you a guest of our Grand Duke?”
The people’s ears pricked up. They all watched as the child took out a piece of paper out of her pocket.
“Hwere’s my wetter of awkseptwance.” [Here’s my letter of acceptance.]
“Did you come knowing that this was a ball to choose the Little Young Lord’s fiance?”
“Yup…. I mween, ywes.” [Yup…. I mean, yes]
The child blinked her smart-looking eyes at the butler as she carefully read his expression.
Elton carefully took the letter of acceptance that the child was holding out and read it.
“Ah, so you’re the youngest royal princess of the Allegro Royal Family.”
(t/n: The ‘Royal Princess’ in here is written as 왕녀 [wang-nyeo] which means she’s a princess but could be an illegitimate one, the lowest rank among multiple princesses or the name of an unmarried woman related to the Royal Family. 공녀 [gong-nyeo] = 왕녀 [wang-nyeo] but their difference is, 공녀 is usually used for the daughter of an Archduke/Grand Duke/Duke. Meanwhile, 왕녀 is for the (illegitimate/the lower rank) princess of a king.)
“…”
“Your name is Young Lady Sephiel.”
He nodded his head at the child.
“If you received the letter of acceptance, then it means you have passed the ancestry test at the entrance, that’s enough.”
It was one of the conditions for participating in the ball.
‘A girl aged 5 to 10 who was a descendant of the Three Monarchs, excluding the Grand Duke family.’
Sephiel was a baby lady that met those conditions.
“You’re allowed to attend the ball,” said Elton.
Thump. Thump.
Sephiel instantly felt relieved after that remark and held back her desire to collapse.
‘Thank goodness. I have a chance.’
At this moment, Sephiel had just barely escaped from hell.
‘I have to do well here to change my life.’
It was still too early to be relieved.
The people who heard Elton’s words thought,
‘What? Is he really going to let her pass like this?’
But there was no time left to dawdle. At that moment, the clang of a clear bell began to resound in the hall.
“The selection is about to begin!”
Someone shouted.
The sound of a curtain falling caught the attention of the people in the hall.
Beneath the stair railing that went down from the second floor to the ballroom hall was a large stand. In an instant a translucent curtain came down it.
“Here comes the Grand Duke of Remdragon’s Little Young Lord, Erga de Remdragon.”
Behind the curtain, a small sound, as if a door was opening, echoed.
But that was it. The Little Young Lord did not appear from behind the curtains.
“What is this? Does this mean he won’t even show himself?”
Regardless of the people who were buzzing around in confusion, Elton continued.
“For the Young Ladies who want to be the fiance of the Little Young Lord, tell us what you can do for the Grand Duchy as a condition of marriage.”
Just once.
They would only be given one opportunity to present themselves to the Little Young Lord. It was already stated in the invitation.
The opportunity to marry the wealthy Grand Duke Family who had the blood of a dragon. Nobody wanted to miss such an opportunity. There was tension on the faces of all the Young Ladies.
Step. Step.
The beggar-looking girl, Sephiel, stood in line faster than anyone else by diligently moving her small feet.
Sephiel’s behavior caused some thick-headed Young Ladies to give her a reproachful glance.
“Looks like she doesn’t even have a mother.”
“My dad told me that a stinky kid should be kicked out by the servants! Let’s scold her later!”
Sephiel flinched, but simply stood silently with her head down.
As the Young Ladies’ received their turns, they began courting in a dainty manner, just like the way they were taught.
“My family owns a gold mine.”
“I’m a close relative of Grand Duke Fuller, the Grand Duke of Blue.”
“My family has produced Sword Masters for generations. We have a lot of strong knights we can bring.”
But, there was never an answer from behind the curtain.
Instead, the butler, Elton shook his head relentlessly and shouted.
“Fail. Next!”
Before she knew it, Sephiel’s turn came.
Sephiel tottered in front of the curtain and bowed down.
Seemingly determined, she murmured in a serious tone,
“If, I’m aww gwown up, you cwan divowce me anytwime.” [If I’m all grown up, you can divorce me anytime.]
Sephiel’s words were spoken quietly.
‘What did she say?’
Everyone who was standing behind the girl couldn’t hear a word.
But, it was at that moment that the voice of the Little Young Lord rang over the curtain.
“Pass.”
The five-year-old’s voice was clear and firm. It wasn’t at all like a five year old child’s voice. It’s tone was beautiful, holding the juvenile essence of a boy’s voice before they went into puberty.
Clap!
Elton clapped his hand loudly.
“The Remdragon Grand Duchy’s Little Young Lord’s marriage partner has been decided.”
“What did he say?”
There was an uproar.
“The name of the person who will become the Little Young Lord’s fiance is….”
The guests looked at each other breathlessly.
‘Really? They’re really going to choose his fiance this way?’
‘Isn’t this crazy?’
But, Elton’s mouth didn’t stop.
“…the Royal Princess, Sephiel de Allegro!”
It was the time for applause, but the hall was deathly quiet.
“This way. The Old Covenant, the ‘Betrothal Promise’, that was made between the Grand Duke and the United Three Monarchs will now be fulfilled.”
Sephiel, who was appointed as the party of that marriage, moved her little lips and grinned.
‘Yes, my plan is a big success!’
At that moment if one wanted to know the feelings of Baby Sephiel it was simply,
‘This jackpot is now all mine.’
That was it.
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