CUBE 6

chapter 06…

“I don’t understand. So you’re saying the Grand Duke and Damian chose our family? Do you really think that makes sense?”

Arkin, unexpectedly, remained calm.

“Well, of course it doesn’t make sense. Your family isn’t even from Luxen, and it’s not some incredibly prestigious house either. In this case, it’s more accurate to say they chose the person, not the family.”

Ha.

“Because I’m close to Adellind?”

“To be honest… this might sound rude, but Lady Adellind has had a lot of unfortunate incidents since she was young. If she’s going to marry Damian, then the person must also be someone close to her. And it’s true there aren’t many people she can fully trust.”

“You have a younger sister.”

“She’s fourteen!”

Arkin looked horrified, but in truth, a seven-year age gap in an engagement wasn’t that rare in this era. That was also why people used to assume Damian would be Adellind’s future husband.

Of course, Tislin knew better than anyone that Damian would never marry Adellind. If they wanted someone closer in age, choosing Tislin would make some sense. But even then, she couldn’t be the only one who met those conditions.

“So in the end, there’s no special reason. I’m not the only trustworthy person, and there are plenty of families that could help Adel.”

“Well, if it’s the Grand Duke, he probably prioritized Damian’s wishes over all that. But is that really so important? You seem pretty dissatisfied.”

Tislin closed her mouth for a moment.

Should she tell Arkin that she wanted to break off the engagement? He didn’t seem like someone who would gossip, but if he found out Damian was against canceling it, he might stop sharing information altogether.

“You like Damian, don’t you? Isn’t this a good thing?”

“Hey!”

Her face instantly grew hot. Not wanting to show it, Tislin lowered her head and repeatedly stomped on Arkin’s foot. Knowing he had misspoken, Arkin quietly endured it.

When her anger cooled a little, she asked softly,

“…How did you know?”

“Hey, you… How could I not?”

Arkin waved his hand in front of her flushed face, grumbling. Tislin tried to cool her cheeks with her cold hands and glared at him fiercely.

“Was it that obvious?”

“Everyone knew. It’s not even something to be embarrassed about. Whether in Luxen or here, there are more than enough girls who like Damian.”

That’s true.

Tislin let out a sigh.

Damian was special to her, but she probably wasn’t special to him. Maybe there was some affection or familiarity from raising Adellind together for so long. But that kind of feeling would never be enough to decide on marriage.

“I don’t understand what Damian is thinking. Why would he say he wants to be engaged to me?”

“Well, there must be a reason.”

A reason neither Arkin nor Tislin knew?

Why would the Luxen Grand Ducal House choose Tislin Ermiz—nothing particularly special—as the fiancée of Damian Xsanov, the Grand Duke’s only disciple and the closest aide to Grand Princess Adellind?

And why would he maintain an engagement with someone he once rejected so indifferently, even when that person asked to break it off?

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with an answer.

After staring at her feet for a long time, Tislin finally slumped her shoulders. Talking like this without knowing anything wouldn’t bring any answers.

“…Right. Thanks. I’ll get going now.”

She hadn’t gained much.

After telling him to let her know anytime if the Department of Administration needed anything, Tislin left.

Left alone, Arkin tapped the newly repaired training ground floor for a moment before heading back to the dormitory lounge.

Damian returned from the knight order two hours later.

The king had temporarily taken this magic swordsman from the Grand Duke of Luxen and even granted him a position in the Royal Knights, intending to make full use of him while he was attending the Royal Academy.

It would be even better if Damian ended up changing his allegiance.

But after seeing that all his persistent attempts at persuasion had failed, the king was probably starting to accept rejection. Probably.

Damian was the Grand Duke of Luxen’s only cherished disciple, raised and personally trained from a young age. No matter how attractive the offer, he would never change his lord. The thoughts of absolute rulers could be surprisingly simple in that way.

Arkin smiled bitterly to himself.

“You’re a bit late.”

“The Knight Commander kept me.”

“Was it something important?”

“No. Nothing much.”

Well, that would depend on the Knight Commander’s perspective. Arkin chuckled and said suddenly,

“I had something important, though.”

Damian, who had been tending to his sword, lifted his head as if waiting for him to continue. The blade, forged from fine steel and continuously infused with magic, gleamed faintly black.

“Your fiancée came looking for you.”

“Tis?”

“For me.”

Damian frowned. He was usually expressionless and indifferent to everything, so this reaction was unexpected. Arkin continued casually. It wasn’t like there was anything to hide about Damian’s fiancée.

“She asked how the two of you ended up engaged.”

“Why ask you?”

“How should I know? Anyway, I didn’t say much. She thought her parents had initiated the marriage talks. So I just said it was probably our side that approached first. That’s about it.”

Come to think of it, was that what she believed? Damian tried to recall their earlier conversation. She had spoken so quickly that he had focused more on calming her than listening properly. That might have been what she said.

But now that the engagement was already decided, did that really matter?

“And?”

“And? That’s it. She just kept asking why you wanted to be engaged to her.”

Arkin briefly remembered telling Tislin, “You like Damian, don’t you?”—but quickly pushed the thought aside.

“To be honest, I haven’t heard much either. You just cut out all the details and announced the engagement. But why her? Tislin Ermiz isn’t bad. But still—why?”

She was pretty enough, and more and more boys had started sneaking glances at her as she grew older. There were even rumors that if the Grand Duke arranged her marriage, she would likely wed a man from Luxen.

Her personality wasn’t difficult, and she was the only person Adellind relied on besides the Grand Duke and Damian. From the perspective of the Grand Ducal House, she wasn’t a bad choice. They had known each other for a long time, so even if they didn’t know everything about each other, they likely fit well enough.

But the women the Grand Duke had previously introduced to Damian also had similar advantages and disadvantages.

“She’s pretty, sure, but it’s not like there aren’t prettier women. And it’s not like you—”

“Arkin. Stay out of my fiancée’s business.”

He had been dissecting Tislin as if evaluating her worth, and it did feel crude. Even if everyone did the same when choosing a marriage partner, that excuse wouldn’t work on Damian.

Avoiding Damian’s cold stare, Arkin shrugged.

“Anyway, I told her I didn’t know. That’s all. Since a girl from another department came all the way to the dorm, some strange rumors might spread. I’ll just say she came because we worked on a joint assignment last year.”

Damian sheathed his sword and asked,

“You did that with her?”

“Yeah. It was a cross-department project, and neither of us knew many people in other departments. We didn’t even meet that often.”

“…Why didn’t you tell me?”

That wasn’t a question meant for Arkin. Arkin let out a dry laugh.

“You were too busy being summoned everywhere back then. I don’t think you were even at school much. If they hadn’t counted your attendance, you would’ve had to repeat a year.”

Between the Royal Knights and the Ministry of War, he had been called everywhere. He barely set foot in school, traveling constantly near the border. Missing classes—and even exams—had been inevitable.

The king had subtly suggested that he repeat a year, but the Grand Duke of Luxen had firmly prevented that.

After thinking back, Damian frowned.

“So you did it with her.”

Arkin actually thought that even if Damian had been at school normally, Tislin wouldn’t have asked him to work together.

In Luxen, it was already widely known that Tislin Ermiz liked Damian, but at school, no one even knew the two were acquainted. And Tislin wasn’t the type to cling to someone just because she liked them.

More importantly, although they were engaged now, judging by how strongly she reacted, it seemed she had never even considered marrying Damian. That meant she would need to look for another match, so she probably wouldn’t want to openly show interest in another man.

Even aside from that, Damian Xsanov had always been someone difficult to approach for the boys and girls of Luxen. So “probably,” Tislin would never have asked him to partner up.

But there was no need for Damian Xsanov to know that.

“Probably.”

“Don’t do it this year.”

Arkin burst out laughing.

“…What? Do you actually like her? Is that why you got engaged?”

Damian didn’t answer. He simply looked at him as if he were foolish, then left the lounge and returned to his room.

Watching his straight-backed figure disappear, Arkin tilted his head.

Judging by that reaction, it didn’t seem like that was the reason.

Then what was it?