Well, I only knew a lot about noble society in Ronaudia because Rhea and Darius taught me. Even though they called them the Three Great Dukes, they weren’t equal. Jordan was seen as the most powerful, followed by Crawford and Victorino. I started my introduction from Duke Jordan.
Duke Jordan was an attractive man in his mid-thirties with a neat golden beard and hair. He appeared in the game on the route for First Prince Eric. In the game, he plays an evil role of trying to trap Eric, leading to a scene where the protagonist stands against him with Eric.
Well, I say “evil role,” but it was still ultimately an otome game. The worst he ever did was sort of bully Eric.
Next was Duke Crawford, who was a heavyset man in his forties. He didn’t make an appearance in the game.
“So, you’re the chief minister’s son. As son of the chief minister, it would do you good to understand your position! We great nobles are what hold the Royal Family up!” expressed a boy my age. He was Duke Crawford’s son, Ragnus, and it sounded like he was parroting something his father said. He appeared in the game as part of Prince Eric’s entourage.
Last was Duke Victorino; he didn’t appear in the game, but there was someone in his family I knew well.
“Master Arius, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Sophia Victorino, Duke Victorino’s eldest daughter.” She stepped up when I introduced myself. The five-year-old girl had hair the color of milky tea and turquoise eyes. She was, objectively, beautiful, like an angel.
Not that I’m into little kids or anything.
In the game, Sophia is engaged to Eric and the rival to the protagonist. In short, she was what they call the “villainess.” In the game, she and her troupe of nobles teased and bullied the heroine. Your standard stuff, it seems.
But Sophia’s expression clouded over. Why was she looking at me like she wanted to say something? I didn’t remember doing anything to make her act like that.
During our exchange, our parents went off on their own conversation with the Victorinos.
“Chief Minister, Chief Lady, I wish to discuss something with you. Could you possibly make time for a short discussion?” asked Duke Victorino, to which my father gave a stiff smile.
“Your Grace, is it regarding what you previously brought up? I believe I made my thoughts clear the other day,” replied Darius.
“Please, Chief Minister. Could you not just hear us out?” entreated Duchess Victorino, coming on strong.
My parents couldn’t directly turn down a duke’s request. The Duke and Duchess Victorino nearly herded Darius and Rhea out of the hall.
“Arius, my apologies,” called out Darius. “Please wait here for us.”
And with that, they left behind Sophia and me, two five-year-olds.
“Sophia,” I began, “want something to drink while we wait?”
While I had been left alone with a girl, she was just a child. I dropped my formal speech style, feeling like I was babysitting.
When I returned with drinks, she said, “Thank you, Master Arius.”
“Sophia, you don’t have to speak so formally with me. You can just call me Arius.”
“But I am more accustomed to this way of speaking.” She looked flustered, and I told her it was fine then.
“So, Sophia, you looked at my face earlier, and it looked like you wanted to say something. You can go ahead and say it; I don’t mind.”
There was a flash of surprise on her face. Apparently, she’d found it difficult to say whatever it was. “Well… Master Arius, it seems to me you have gone through something incredibly painful recently. I was just thinking, you needn’t force yourself to smile, if you don’t want to.” She gently squeezed my hand as she looked into my eyes.
Something incredibly painful…? There was only one thing I could think of: having killed people. I’d thought I’d come to grips with that, but maybe it was still showing on my face. I couldn’t help falling silent.
“I’ve…said too much, haven’t I? I’m sorry, Master Arius,” she uttered, her head lowered in apology.
“No, that’s not it. You’re very kind, Sophia. Thank you for caring.”
I was grateful to my parents, Grey, and Selena for watching over me in silence, but Sophia caring for me even though she knew nothing brought about a simple happiness in me.
That reminded me; my friend once told me Sophia was actually designed to be a good person. It seemed that was true. She really was a good person.
“Master Arius…” began Sophia, her cheeks turning pink. She looked just as embarrassed as any other child when I thanked her outright.
After that, we chatted about this and that, such as our day-to-day lives and families. When our parents returned, we parted ways with smiles.
It looked like Sophia could be a friend.
But she was Eric’s fiancée, which meant I shouldn’t casually engage with her in conversation because I was a guy, right? Besides, I wanted to be an adventurer. There wouldn’t be much opportunity for me to interact with her since she was a noble.
Eric didn’t come up in conversation with Sophia, though. Was it possible they weren’t engaged yet?
“Father, does Prince Eric have a fiancée?” I asked.
Darius looked shocked at the sudden question. “Arius, did Lady Sophia say something to you? In fact…”
That was exactly what the Victorinos wanted to discuss: Eric and Sophia’s engagement. They wanted my parents to suggest Sophia as a candidate to the King because they had a close relationship with him.
“Political marriages are not uncommon amongst nobles,” explained Darius, “but I have no intentions of getting involved as I don’t like those sorts of arrangements. I’ve turned down His Grace several times and made it clear today as well.”
Which meant Sophia and Eric weren’t yet engaged. And there hadn’t even been talks of it. Was there a chance they wouldn’t end up getting together?
“You seem to have taken a liking to Lady Sophia,” teased Rhea with a wide smile.
But the girl was only five, and I wasn’t interested in that sort of thing.