That aside, he couldn’t think of anything that had ever caught his interest enough for him to devote himself to it. He wasn’t familiar with feeling curiosity, either.
“In other news, have you been back home recently?”
“No. I haven’t returned to the estate even once since I graduated from the Officer’s Academy.”
“Yes, I’d heard that. Hmm… So what should we do…?”
The demonic man looked to be deep in thought for once, but the expression was soon replaced with another smile.
Arnald knew that smile. He prepared himself for what was to come next.
“I’m sure you’ve heard that we’re getting dispatched to the south next. From what I’ve been told, we’re going to be gone for a nice long while. I’d like you to take on a unit of your own, so I was planning to promote you…but there’s one more condition you’ll need to meet for that to happen.”
“Which is?”
“You’ll need to get married. It’ll spice your life up a bit, eh?”
Arnald didn’t have the words to ask him how on earth he’d reached that conclusion.
“So? What’s your type? Cute? Pretty? Affectionate? Gentle? Maybe you’ll catch me off guard and tell me you want a sadist…”
Arnald wasn’t sure if Movris had misjudged him as lonely or whether he just wanted to stick his nose in Arnald’s business. Maybe he wanted Arnald to suffer through the same strife with women that he did? Though God knew Movris was always bringing that trouble on himself.
Regardless, it didn’t matter what he was after—Arnald knew that Movris wouldn’t take no for an answer. Still, the man’s condition was not something he could easily accept.
“Don’t you remember me telling you that I hate women, sir?”
“Yes, well, it was me who swooped in to save you after you lost your virginity. I’ve also seen that you’ve been able to keep that hatred in check enough to have a few amorous encounters, though I have noticed you’ve been finding such things a chore lately. You don’t approach anyone, and you avoid anyone who comes to you. Understandable behavior for a man who hates women, but life is long—why not try having some fun for once, my dear subordinate? You may feel drained of all carnal desire, but being with a wife will be an entirely different beast from being with anyone else you’ve had before.”
“I believe that most arranged marriages don’t work out very well in the end. And hearing this suggestion from you, sir, who are yourself unmarried, is not doing much to persuade me otherwise.”
“I just love the thrill of the chase. A wife would make that difficult. Anyway, what you said may be true, but what’s important right now is the matter of your promotion. When you inevitably attain a higher rank, more of those ladies you claim to despise will begin to circle. Having a wife will nip that issue in the bud.”
While Arnald was incredulous at how his superior was trying to sell marriage to him, he decided that it would indeed be better to deal with the matter now.
“Fine. If you want to hear my requirements, I would like a woman who is fearless, courageous, and physically strong.”
“Huh? Are you sure you’re describing a woman?”
“Of course. Beyond that, I don’t have any concrete preferences when it comes to the opposite sex.”
“Are you sure you want a bride like that? Why marry someone who could walk all over you? Would that make you happy? Who could have imagined that’d be what you’re really into!”
Movris clapped his hands, evidently in high spirits. He was finding this whole situation very funny indeed.
Arnald was relieved that he had managed to stupefy his superior. All he had done was recount the qualities that were expected of new military recruits. He doubted that Movris would be able to find such a woman. At the very least, it should shut down any talk of marriage for a while.
“Oh my, I don’t think there are many people like that even in the military, are there? So to ask that of a woma— Wait. Hold on a minute. There might be one from a family I know.”
The words spilling from Arnald’s superior’s mouth boded ill. And indeed, he’d struck upon just such a woman within seconds.
“Yes, there is! A bride who matches every single one of your requirements!”
Arnald was so surprised that he nearly gave a retort, but he was impressed by his own restraint.
In the end, he’d left for war without so much as seeing the face of the woman Movris had set him up with. And then, eight years later, he’d been confronted with a provocative letter demanding a divorce without ever meeting her. She’d sounded fearless and courageous indeed, though he didn’t know whether she was actually strong or not.
Regardless, she had piqued his interest, so he’d headed back to the capital to find out more about her and, once he did, had quickly come up with a plan to punish her for her wicked ways. Once she had merged in his mind with the witch who’d assaulted him all those years ago, he’d felt as if he could finally seek his revenge.
It was only after he’d lost his head during their wedding night that he’d realized he had been wrong about her. But at that point, what was done was done.
Once dawn broke, he’d left his wife fast asleep to go down for breakfast. There, he’d found himself face-to-face with a stepmother and half sister he barely knew.
He’d had almost no contact with his father’s second wife. Both she, Cynthia, and his half sister, Milena, were already eating breakfast at the table by the time he arrived in the dining room. His father, on the other hand, had finished eating and had moved on to enjoying a post-breakfast cup of tea. When he’d looked up to find Arnald, he’d almost choked on his drink.
Donovan, the butler, must have informed his father of his arrival the previous night. So why was he so flustered? Had he not expected him to come down for breakfast?
Arnald ignored his father and stared at his stepmother and half sister, who were seated opposite him. Both of them had gone stiff as boards as soon as they saw Arnald. Their faces were identically pale, as if they’d seen a ghost.
“Good morning.”
“Y-yes, good morning. So you’ve returned, Arnald.”
“I arrived late last night, so forgive me for skipping the pleasantries. I intend to stay here for a while.”
As he sat down to eat, Arnald’s stepmother smiled at him awkwardly.
“I see. Since you’ve done us the pleasure of returning from the war in one piece, I hope that you can enjoy a good rest here.”
“Thank you.”
Arnald was irritated by that twitching smile of hers. He hated women, and the ones that were drawn to him only made him more uncomfortable.
Though Arnald felt the same repugnance toward the opposite sex as always, he suddenly realized that the hatred he’d felt for his wife until the previous night had vanished entirely. Come to think of it, she’d seemed a rather strange woman. Honestly, the fact he’d had an interest in her in the first place was quite odd.
As Arnald chewed on a piece of soft bread, he absentmindedly watched the two women in front of him. They appeared to think he was imposing somehow, but on what? He’d read reports that the pair were close to Byletta. Were they attempting to chase him back out of the house for her sake?
“Umm… Have you spoken to my sister-in-law yet?”
Arnald turned his attention to his half sister, who had raised the inquiry in a rather hesitant voice. She had the blond hair of her mother, but the pale-blue eyes of their father. He met her quiet gaze. He could see both fear and anger etched onto her face.
Arnald had no memories of ever conversing with Milena. This was probably the first time she’d ever spoken a single word to him. But when he looked at her faintly trembling hands, he could tell that she feared him. Yet she’d still taken the initiative to ask a question, so despite her terror of her brother, her love for Byletta seemed to win out. That meant she was truly the ally of hers and may well want to chase him out of the manor.
She might be an ally with little power, given her age, but Arnald knew from experience how much trouble someone like her could be.
I shouldn’t take her lightly or let my guard down.
Arnald nodded at Milena. “We just spoke about the present situation and what her plans were for the future.”
“Okay.”
Her probing gaze appeared to be trying to ascertain what attitude Arnald was going to adopt. It seemed to him that if he did anything to harm Byletta, he would also have Milena to answer to. And even if he tried to exclude Milena from the situation, his wife would learn of it immediately. They would put up a united front.
His potential ally, on the other hand, would probably be his father—and no one else.
“You’ve become quite attached to her, haven’t you?” Arnald asked Milena.
“I owe my sister so much. She saved me once and has treated me with such love and affection ever since. She’s wonderful, one of the kindest people I know. So please don’t hurt her. And never, ever make her cry.”
Arnald no longer had any intention of doing that. He wouldn’t have cared about hurting her if she was the vixen the rumors would have had him believe, but after meeting her last night, he knew he needed to gather more information. What he had learned through others just didn’t seem credible.
But it was a bit late to make his half sister a promise now. He’d already made Byletta cry just last night.