Unwanted Engagement

The Ephraims were like the second royal family of the Empire. Not only did they have royal blood, but their assets and influence alone were comparable to the imperial family's.

With such a powerful noble family in their midst, wouldn't the imperial family be afraid of a rebellion?

It was no problem. The Ephraims were known to be a righteous and loyal family. The imperial family and the Ephraims had an intimate relationship, and their children were often raised together.

Every couple generations, the Ephraims would marry one of their daughters to a prince or a princess would marry into their household.

Kalina was also going to be married into the imperial family. The Emperor wanted to arrange an engagement for the first prince and Kalina from the moment she was born. However, the Duchess, who knew how miserable it was to be in a loveless marriage, said she wanted her daughter to be able to pick her own partner. Even if Kalina wanted to marry a commoner, she would let her.

The Emperor had no choice but to agree. After all, there wasn't a more suitable partner for Kalina than his son. Waiting a couple years wouldn't change anything.

Fourteen years passed in the blink of an eye, and now that the first prince was turning eighteen soon, the Emperor started pressuring the Duchess to finalize the engagement.

Although the Ephraim house was powerful, in the end, they couldn't go against the Emperor. The Duchess had no choice but to surrender. She couldn't help but worry for her daughter.

She had a feeling that she would end up regretting her decision.

－－－－－－－－－

The Duchess called Kalina to her bedroom during the evening to discuss the engagement. She sat on the side of her four-poster bed, lost in thought.

"Mother? Why did you call?" Kalina's clear voice sounded in the chamber. She walked across the carpeted floor, her steps light. She sat down next to her mother and gently held her hand.

Kalina thought that the Duke must have said something again, or that her mother was feeling down with Nessa and Lucille parading around her home.

The Duchess looked over at her daughter. She was already fourteen, and most nobles girls her age would already have a fiancé. Her daughter had grown up sheltered and spoiled. How would she react if her husband didn't love her? The first prince was likely to become the emperor on the future, which made Kalina the empress.

What if she walks on the path the current Empress had taken? What if she falls for the wrong person, gets used by them, and then finally gets thrown away cruelly?

"Mother, are you sick? You look very pale. I told you that you have to rest more. You work too hard and never have any time to relax. Tomorrow, I'll find some secretaries to help you with your work, okay?" Kalina scolded her mother with a stern expression. She had forgotten that she was just a little child in her mother's eyes.

The Duchess couldn't help but grin. Her daughter was worried about her! How cute. She reached out and patted her daughter's head.

"Hey! Did you hear what I said, Mother? You have to rest and you can't overwork yourself."

"Of course."

"Okay then. It's late, you should go to sleep soon. Why did you call me?" Kalina's face softened along with her voice after her mother reassured her.

"Kalina, what do you think about getting engaged?" The Duchess blurted out.

Kalina visibly stiffened. Her gaze dropped several degrees and she withdrew her hand from her mother's. Was it also around this time that her engagement had been decided? How had she reacted back then? She must have squealed with excitement and swore to devote herself to her future husband. It was truly foolish of her.

Who knew that that engagement would lead to her demise? Was she truly worthless in the eyes of her fiancé? In this life, she would never associate with Prince Heinrich again. She planned to inherit her mother's title and live her days as the Duchess without marrying anyone.

"Kalina? You don't like it?" Noble girls were always eager to find out their engagement partners. It was their fate to be matched with someone whose status would benefit their households.

"Mother, I don't want to get married. I don't like Prince Heinrich."

"What are you talking about?" The Duchess was too shocked by the first sentence to remember that she hadn't said that she was getting engaged to the prince yet. She raised her voice a little. "Kalina, every noble gets married. The Emperor and I have been talking about this for a long time. Prince Heinrich will become the future emperor. Don't you want to be the empress?"

Kalina looked her mother straight in the eye before she replied: "But Mother, just because I'm the empress doesn't mean I'll be happy if Prince Heinrich doesn't love me. Take Empress Juniper as an example. Aren't we in similar situations?"

Her words hit the mark. Kalina had unknowingly stated exactly what the Duchess had been worrying about.

"Kalina, you don't know that." The Duchess said with less confidence than before. "Maybe you'll like each other. You haven't met yet."

The Duchess had met the prince in person a few years ago. He had an arrogant character and refused to acknowledge anyone below him. It took a great effort to persuade him to even greet the Duchess.

Such an undisciplined person wouldn't match her elegant and poised daughter, even if he had the highest status. Their personalities would undoubtedly clash.

The more the Duchess thought about it, the more unsure she became. Truthfully, she didn't want her daughter to get married to someone like the first prince, but she couldn't go against the Emperor.

"Mother, please. I really don't want to get married to Prince Heinrich." Kalina's voice began to falter. If she couldn't convince her mother, she really might have to get engaged to that scumbag again. Then it would be even harder for her to get away from him.

Seeing her daughter's pitiful appearance, the Duchess couldn't help but give in. "If you really don't want it, I won't force you. I'll put it off for now. But meet him at least once, okay? It won't hurt to have one meeting. If you still don't like it, I'll see what I can do. It won't be easy, but I'll try my best."

"Mother, I knew I could count on you!" Kalina threw herself into her mother's arms. She was relieved that she wouldn't be forced to marry him again.

"You're still going to have to meet him. Don't forget, if you change your mind, you can't take your words back!" The Duchess didn't believe that Kalina didn't have even a tiny bit of interest towards Prince Heinrich. She thought that after meeting a few times, she would change her mind.

"Okay!"

However, no matter what happened in the future, Kalina's decision was final. She would never, ever end up with Heinrich again. From the moment she was reborn, she had sworn to make him pay back everything he owed her.