Unfortunately, he doesn't give me the reaction I want.
Father dressed up in all white, ignores my remark, clasped his hands and said.
"Yes. Only my daughter can look this beautiful. You truly are befitting to be the Duchess"
He laughed and stared at me with his dark purple eyes which looked like mine. The only difference between our eyes was the magical power which lay beneath them.
Asides from the bright red hair which I inherited from mother, my resemblance to father was great. Back in my first world, there was a belief that two people who looked alike, hardly got along. Maybe this was our case.
"Why do you want me to marry Ronald?"
I asked what first came to my mind. For him to have been so eager to marry me to Ronald, there had to be some catch — something great he got out of this. But I doubted he'd say the truth.
Father laughed lowly. And just as I expected, he said.
"I only want the best for my daughter"
Lies. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.
"Then what about Paisley? Isn't she Ronald's lover? Don't you think she'll be heartbroken if her sister gets married to the man she loves?"
Question after question rolled out on my tongue. If father thought it important to have a strong connection with the Belv Duchy through marriage, why not give out Paisley who was willing? Since when did I become the family's representative whatsoever?
Father looked at me patiently. The smile on his face seemed to get brighter by the second.
"Since I'm in such a good mood, I'll show you something"
He walked over to his desk and sat on the chair behind it. I noticed the way how the chair made a creaking noise, and couldn't help but think.
'When I take that seat and his office as the head, I'll make sure to have that chair changed'
I shook the thought off. I couldn't become the head until I ousted father at his own game. This however suddenly felt difficult with the problem presented to me. Usually I solve problems, but problems like these feel so annoying. Just popping out of the blue like this!
It seemed so ridiculous. The only reason why I remained was to gain information out of all this. My escape plan was easy. If the magic stone didn't work for me, I'd use hypnosis and get out of here. The desire to leave strongly pulled at me.
'No Adrianna. Be calm. You have to hear everything till the end. You can't be in the dark'
Complaining would do no good. I heaved a sigh and slumped unto the chair in front of father's desk. I felt the urge to break some of his furniture, to relieve my stress maybe just a little, but destruction would do no good either. So I just watched him open his drawer.
After a minute or so, he brought out an envelope which had a familiar symbol on it.
"You see this"
He waved the envelope as if it were a flag. His smirk growing wider as he sensed my growing curiosity.
"It's an order from the Emperor"
Aha! I recognized the symbol on the envelope to be the sun and moon insignia of the Imperial family.
"An order to do what?"
As I asked, he tossed the envelope over to me. I clasped the envelope in my hands with satisfaction.
'Finally, we're getting somewhere'
I thought, while I opened the envelope and brought out the letter which it contained.
"An order for me to give Paisley's hand in marriage to Crown Prince Nathaniel."