An Encounter- Edmund's Side
I first met Anna du Sennet, my potential fiancée, when I was nine years old. My father said that I could reject the arrangement if I didn't like it after meeting her. Honestly, I did not like girls who cried easily, so I had intended to reject her from the start. Although the Sennet family held the title of marquess, our Lucas family, as a margrave serving the royal family since the founding of the kingdom, held a status virtually equivalent to a marquess, so there was no need to humble ourselves.
The Sennet Marquess family was renowned for both their looks and magical abilities, and they seemed to greatly value bloodlines. I had heard that even the lady of the house was a distant relative of his. Perhaps because of this, everyone in the family looked the same, which to be honest, I found creepy. They weren't the only ones with blond hair and blue eyes but their identical features were unsettlingly unnatural in their beauty.
I was determined to reject her. Such feelings filled me.
However, Anna was entirely different. I recalled my father's words at that moment:
"She is rumored to be a duck among swans."
Indeed, she was like a duck. It was hard to believe she shared the same bloodline. It was ironic. Was this the result of them placing too much importance on bloodline purity?
Strangely, she was not shunned by her family. Perhaps they didn't put their bloodlines above everything as I thought. If they had, they would have put her up for adoption immediately due to her different hair color. That was a common practice among nobles.
"I am Anna du Sennet. Pleased to meet you."
Her greeting showed she was well-mannered. Up close, her features were quite ordinary.
"I am Edmond Lucas. Still, you don't resemble your family at all. Your brother is so beautiful even as a man. Are you really a child of this family?"
Looking back, my words were the worst. I don't know why I said such harsh things. I would never usually say such things, but for some reason, I couldn't stop saying cruel words when looking at Anna.
Anna looked at me with her large brown eyes wide open in surprise. It seemed only she heard my harsh words; no one else looked our way.
"I am truly a child of this family, Sir Edmond."
Anna answered with a smile, but she completely rejected me.
After that, whenever we met, she would smile, but there was always a barrier between us. I became stubborn and continued to say mean things whenever we met.
That day, when I returned home, my father called for me.
"Are you ending the engagement talks? Seeing how you are saying such things, it appears to be that way."
My father seemed slightly angry. I realized then that everyone had heard what I said. Everyone had pretended not to notice—her parents, her brother. Why didn't they defend Anna?
"If you heard, then her family must have heard as well, correct?"
"They were closer, so they must have heard."
"Then why didn't they say anything? Normally, they would be angry."
"That's what you are saying?"
My father's exasperated voice made me realize that was at fault. However, if those words had come from someone else, I was sure I would have been angry for her sake.
"If it were me, I would protect her. That family is strange."
"Does that mean you accept the engagement?"
"There's no other way to protect her."
"Interesting. I thought you wouldn't accept this engagement."
"If she were like the rest of her family, I wouldn't have accepted. Honestly, I found them unsettling. But she is different. She seems like she would be quite entertaining."
Why did I accept the engagement? At that time, I couldn't come up with a clear reason.
But now I understand. It was because I was captivated by her eyes. Those eyes that stared back at me without crying, despite my harsh words, were very strong. I think that was my first love.
(t.N: little boys can be mean and weird istg)
Comments
Post a Comment