The End of a Peaceful Life

"Where's Vincent?" A strict looking man asked his wife and daughter as he checked his dress in the mirror.

"I haven't seen him since breakfast. But knowing him, he is probably holed up in the study somewhere with a book." His wife answered while straightening out the crease on his coat.

"What's wrong with him? I already told him that we would be departing when the clock hits five." The man complained in frustration after checking the time in his pocket watch.

"Why are you complaining dear. You know he's doing this because you brought up the matter about his engagement."

Listening to his wife's words, the man replied sarcastically. "Then what should I have done? Taken him there and surprised him with the engagement?"

"I am just saying this. But you should have probably talked about it on the way. That way we wouldn't have to deal with him throwing a tantrum."

The daughter looked at her parents with eyes that seemed to say that she had lost all hope for them. Standing up from her chair, she spoke angrily. "Can you two stop discussing and get him already. What will we do if we are late?"

The mother looked at her daughter incredulously and berated. "Rosie Renn, is that a way to talk to your parents? Stop glaring at me like that and go get your brother. If we are late by even a minute, I am forcing you to learn embroidery."

"What... why me? Vincent is the one delaying us. I haven't done...."

"Not a word more young lady. You better get going. I am running out of patience." The lady cut off her daughter and pointed at the door.

Rosie sighed helplessly and walked out the door. Stomping her feet in anger, she walked to the study.

The door flew open as she pushed with all her might and glared at the boy who was engrossed in the contents of a book. "V. Get up right now, I don't want to be punished because of you."

The boy looked up listlessly and replied. "But I don't want to go. As if the crowd isn't already bothersome, dad said that he would be introducing me to my to be future fiancée."

"What are you complaining about? Didn't you say you liked mature women? She is fifteen, a full year older than you."

A serious look came over the boy's face for the first time and he explained. "Listen here. When I say mature, I mean a woman with the charms of a grown up lady. There's no way a little girl who isn't even in her twenties would possess those qualities."

"I don't care about your tastes. Get dressed right this instant. We are departing soon."

The boy looked away from his sister. "I don't want to."

"Did I say you could refuse?" Rosie shot back angrily and snatched the book away. Grabbing her brother by the wrist, she dragged him to his room.

Left with no choice, Vincent dressed up reluctantly and headed for the drawing room. His mother approached him and styled his hair carefully. Satisfied by her handiwork, she nodded happily. "My boy looks great today. I am sure Viscount Velma will be very happy to see such a handsome man be engaged to his daughter."

Vincent opened his mouth to offer a retort but was stopped by a pinch from his sister.

"Let's go. Better get there early than late." The man declared before taking off. His wife and children followed after him, some eagerly and some reluctantly.

The four of them got on their carriage and headed for their destination: Count Melnar's mansion.

The carriage passed through the busy streets of Mistellia and stopped before a grand mansion. The structure itself was huge, consisting of three floors and beautifully built arches. In front of the mansion was a pleasing garden with flowers of all sorts of colors and neatly trimmed plants. A path made of white tiles passed through and around the garden, connecting the mansion to the massive gate.

As soon as the carriage stopped, several servants ran out to welcome the guests and guide them inside. Vincent and his family alighted the carriage headed inside.

Several other guests were already present and interacting with each other. A well built man sporting a thick moustache approached them and spoke enthusiastically. "Viscount Renn. It's been a while. I heard about Vincent's upcoming engagement. Congratulations."

"Haha Baron Helmak, it has been a while indeed. Thank you for your well wishes. We are all incredibly happy because of the engagement as well." The father received the man with a smile and proceeded to make some more small talk.

The baron turned to Vincent and spoke softly. "Congratulations Vincent. I have heard that Viscount Velma's second daughter is very beautiful."

"I thank the baron for his kind words. As my father put it previously, I couldn't be more overjoyed by the arrangement."

"Hahaha, as polite as ever. You should visit my fief this winter. The number of deer and wild boars has been increasing recently. They will make for a good hunt." Baron Helmak twirled his moustache as he invited the young boy.

"Since you have invited me so graciously, it would be rude of me to reject. I shall be sure to come to your castle. It has always been my wish to visit the history filled Helmak castle. Seems like it will finally come true."

The baron laughed with satisfaction at the boy's answer and patted him on the shoulder. It was only after a new guest arrived that the man went away to greet the newcomer and Vincent found some free time.

Rosie elbowed his sides and teased by mimicking his voice, " I thank the baron for his kind words. As my father put it previously, I couldn't be more overjoyed by the arrangement."

Vincent furrowed his brows at his older sister's immature actions but didn't say anything. He knew her well enough to know that replying to her words would only invite more trouble.

His mother glared at the girl. "Listen here young lady. If you show such behavior one more time during this party, I will make sure you will regret it. Know that I am very serious right now."

Rosie looked away and let out a 'hmph' at her mother's threat but didn't do anything to anger her.

"Come Vincent. We should go and greet the others." Viscount Renn shook his head at his daughter's antics and spoke to his son.

The father son duo went around socializing with guests present one by one. Everything went well. The only thing that made the viscount uncomfortable was the congratulations that kept coming his way. While his son had a smiling face the whole time while replying to those words politely, he knew well enough how stubborn Vincent was. Who knew what the boy would do later on to get back at him.

The time passed just like that and the sun slowly set over the horizon. And with the departure of the fiery celestial body, two moons rose high up in the sky. The bigger one was pale green in color and had waxed halfway through while the smaller one was light red in color and full.

As the dim light of the moons illuminated the world, the chandelier inside the giant hall in Count Melnar's mansion lit up. it was made of thousands of crystals and gave off light bright enough to cover the entire place in an orange hue.

An elderly man descended the stairway accompanied by his wife, two sons and a daughter. His entrance caught everyone's attention and the hall became a lot quieter. He slowly made his way to an elevated spot on the hall and addressed everyone.

The speech was pretty standard. He started by expressing his thanks to everyone present and went on to speak about various matters. After a few minutes of speaking, he ended his speech by thinking everyone once again.

"The count is as boring as ever." Rosie commented as she took a sip from the glass she was holding. "Well at least he isn't stingy. This wine is excellent."

"He does have an iron vein in his territory after all. Spending this much should be no problem for him. You better work hard so that you can find a wealthy husband as well." The mother joined in and hinted at her daughter to try and find someone marriageable in the party.

"Leave me alone. I will find one eventually. I am pretty after all."

The mother rested her cheek on her palm and replied, "I really wonder about that. All the good men run away after talking to you. Even though you inherited my looks, such a shame that you turned out as boorish as your father."

"Hey, why do you have to bring me into this. And what's wrong with me huh? I will have you know that I had suitors lined up to try and marry me. You were one of them as well. Don't throw dirt at me." Viscount Renn defended himself after hearing his wife's remark.

"That's only because your father was getting old and you were all set to inherit his fief. Do you seriously think I would have married you if it weren't for that? Dream on."

Viscount Renn looked as if he was hurt but had to hide his expression immediately once he saw a group of people coming his way.

"Viscount Renn, there you are. Sorry for being late. It took a little longer than expected to have everyone ready." Viscount Velma, a middle aged man wearing a luxurious set of red clothes spoke after stopping by Viscount Renn's side.

Viscount Renn put on a bright smile and greeted. "Hahaha, please. There's no need to apologize. We almost ran late ourselves. I can understand given that your family has even more women."

"Haha. That's right. Women sure do take quite a long time to get ready."

"Dear, are you drunk already?" Viscount Velma's wife cut in with a scary smile. "You know it's because of our dresses being cumbersome right? It has nothing to do with being a man or a woman."

"Of course dear. I was just getting to that point but you stole the words right out of my mouth. You understand me the best after all. Hahahaha." The viscount laughed awkwardly and greeted everyone.

His wife followed soon after and turned to Vincent. "Oh my, you look splendid today. You certainly are your mother's son."

Vincent bowed while accepting the compliment and returned politely. "Thank you for your kind words Viscountess Velma. You look as beautiful as ever. Though it has been four years since I last saw you, it looks like you haven't aged a single day. On the contrary, you seem to have regained even more of your youthful vigor."

The Viscountess couldn't stop grinning happily at his words and she pinched his cheeks lovingly. "Oh, you little devil. You still have such a glib tongue. Tell me Renee, how did you raise such an adorable boy?"

"You know. Just like every mother I tried my best, he just turned out to be this way somehow. Anyways where's Jinny and Suzy, I don't see them."

"Oh, what can I say. Suzy had a little bit of a wardrobe malfunction at the last moment and we left Jinny to take care of it since we were already running late. If all goes well, they will be here soon."

"Too bad your fiancée isn't here already eh?" Rosie snickered from behind Vincent.

Vincent ignored his sister and turned his attention to Viscount Velma's son, Joshua who called out to him. "Is Brandon not coming home for the winter?"

"Brother's unit received a mission that requires them to defend the Northern Gale pass. Apparently, a lot of bandits have been showing up there lately. He will only come back after having completed his mandatory service time by the end of the year."

"That's unfortunate. I would have liked to spend some time with him like when we were kids. Well at least his service tenure is coming to an end soon."

Rosie cut in between and asked politely, "Young master Joshua, weren't you in the same legion is my brother?"

"We were indeed in the same legion. Our units however were completely different. While Brandon is serving in the light cavalry unit, I was assigned to the ranger unit."

The two families continued mingling. The other guests only came to give a short greeting and refrained from disturbing them since they knew the two houses of Velma and Renn were going to be tied together with marriage.

After some time, music filled the hall and several people took to the floor with a companion in hand to dance. As Rosie and got invited by a young man and Joshua invited another girl, Vincent was the only one left with the two Viscounts and their wives.

Seeing that he was free, a young girl approached him and curtsied, "Young master Vincent, could I have the pleasure of dancing with you?"

"Ah miss Westerna, I am most honored by your invitation. Unfortunately, my first dance has been reserved. I hope you will join me for a dance when I will invite you later." Vincent replied apologetically.

Viscountess Velma stood on her toes and looked towards the gate. Seeing still no sign of her daughters arriving, she spoke uneasily. "Vincent, it looks like it will be some time before Suzy gets here. Why don't you accept miss Western's offer in the meanwhile? You can save your last dance for Suzy."

Vincent calmly stood there as he drank some refreshments that the servants were ushering around. "I am afraid it would be very inconsiderate towards miss Western if I were to go back to her after refusing just a while ago."

A few more minutes passed and there was still no sign of Viscount Velma's daughters. A few pair of eyes kept on looking at Viscount Renn and his company after seeing no signs of Viscount Velma's daughter. As the gazes became more frequent and increasingly judgmental, all of the adults present began feeling uneasy.

"Ah Vincent, Suzy and Jinny must have ran into some trouble. Why don't you invite someone to a dance. A young man like you shouldn't be keeping company to old people like us." Viscountess Velma urged the young man once again after feeling insecure because of the looks directed at her.

Vincent wanted to refuse, he was quite satisfied with not having to deal with the crowd. But his mother pushed him with a scary face when he was about to decline.

'Looks like my only option is to dance with Countess Melnar.' The boy thought to himself and made his way towards where Count Melnar and his family were.

"I thank you for being kind enough to invite me to this celebration Count Melnar." Vincent bowed with a hand on his chest and greeted the host.

"Ah Vincent. It's good that you came. I read your paper the other day. Excellent insights. Unfortunately, the second prince is too stuck on the idea of using the Thenrine stone to power Goldsawl, a ship he says will achieve sir supremacy for our Luciena kingdom." The count welcomed the boy with a smile and began talking about military matters. Though Vincent was still young, he had shown excellent wits and genius since a young age.

And as a conservative when it came to military matters, he specially favored the young scholar who often analyzed the matters regarding military reformations of the kingdom to his liking.

"I had expected as much. The second prince is quite headstrong when it comes to going against the Valvert Empire.

Still, I am satisfied. The calculations I did were purely to satiate my curiosity, it would be foolish of me expect my ideas to be adopted."

The count laughed at the boy's remark and spoke, "Haha. Don't be so modest. Personally, I think your idea of using Thenrine stone to power a supply ship in order to increase the mobility of our Monolith legion is much more brilliant.

Anyways, it's a joyous day today, let us not talk about such matters. Speaking of auspicious matters, where's Viscount Velma's daughter? I was specially happy to hear that you two were getting engaged and was excited to have you guys meet for the first time in my place. Why are you alone?"

Vincent shrugged helplessly and answered. "Looks like I am being stood up. I don't know if I did anything wrong though."

"Hahahaha, no wonder you were just standing still. Young girls can be quite a handful. Don't worry too much."

"I can't say I understand women too well. But I would be really happy if I could borrow Countess Melnar for a dance. Honestly speaking, all the gazes are making me quite uncomfortable."

The count patted Vincent's shoulder happily and agreed. "Since you can't have your first dance with your to be partner, I guess your only option is to dance with the lady of the hosting house. Go on. I am sure Jasmine is getting bored of all the formality as well."

The countess smiled politely and offered her hand. "Then I guess I will be in your care."

Taking her hand, he slowly led her to the floor. "It is my great honor to have your first dance."

"I am surprised to see that you are holding up well." The countess struggled to hold back her laughter and continued. "And I was sure you wouldn't be coming today because of how much you hated the idea of marriage."

Vincent maintained his poker face and moved his body in tandem to the music. "Please don't tease me. I would have holed myself in the study if it weren't for the demon having come back from the academy."

"Rosie will be very mad if she hears you calling her a demon."

"I certainly won't tell her about it. And if you keep your lips sealed, there's no way she will ever hear of it."

The countess spun with a smile while the boy waited for her to complete the action. "You are still as entertaining as ever. What a shame I don't have a daughter. If I did, I would have surely reserved you for her."

"I would have liked that actually. If she was your daughter, I am sure she would be just as beautiful as you. And I wouldn't be waiting like a log since she would be here at her own house."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere. Still, it's good to know that your tongue is functioning well as usual."

"It's not flattery. You have all the qualities I like in a woman."

"Oh my, so young and already flirting with a married woman. I must say I like your guts."

"I will gladly receive that compliment."

"So tell me Vincent, what qualities in me do you like?"

"You have a very youthful face and still look mature. Your movements are very elegant. You have the right curves at the right places. To top it all off, you have a way with words."

"Oho, I still have a long way to go compared to you if we are talking about way with words. Still, if those are the qualities you like, I think you will be satisfied with Viscount Velma's second daughter."

"Surely you jest. She is but a kid. The fact that she is absent from this celebration proves that. She couldn't be farther from my ideal woman."

The music stopped and he began leading her back to the count. While on the way, the countess teased him once again. "Now don't go talking like that to every girl you dance with. I am afraid the young ones will fall for you."

"You know I wouldn't do that. Like I said, I prefer mature women."

The count received the two with a brimming smile. "How about joining me for a game of chess after the celebration? It's been quite some time since we last played."

"Of course. I shall excuse myself for now." Vincent accepted the offer and made his way back to his parents. But before he could grab a drink to cool himself down, his mother pointed towards miss Westerna and chased him away.

The boy hid his annoyed expression that threatened to spill out. Forcing himself to maintain a soft smile, he approached miss Westerna and her friends. Dancing with her to keep his words, he headed for Baron Helmak who was calling for him.

"Looks like Viscount Helma's second daughter isn't coming. Don't feel too bad. Women are fickle creatures after all."

Vincent laughed awkwardly as response to the baron's attempted consolation. "Baron Helmak, you haven't introduced me to your wife yet. Are you being protective because it has only been a month since you got married?"

"It's not like that. The matter just slipped my mind. Anyways, this is Lily, she is the daughter of Baron Inwood who owns a fief south of Deliz lake. Lily, he is young master Vincent Renn, the second son of Viscount Renn."

Lily curtsied shyly and hid behind the baron.

"I had my suspicions before but now I am sure of it. Baron Helmak, aren't you a bit too obsessed with shy girls?"

"What... a man has to live by his taste." The baron retorted strongly, caught a little off guard by the comment.

"Indeed. For this reason, you have my respect. You even managed to get your hands on such a shy beauty. Now I know why you left your fief unattended for so long to go play in the southern region."

"I knew you would understand me. We should talk more about these matters sometime."

Vincent nodded profusely. "I agree. Such a topic needs to be discussed in length. But for now, I would like to borrow your cute wife for a dance. Or else, I am afraid people are gonna look down on me because of Viscount Velma's daughter."

"That is true." Baron Helmak nodded in understanding and continued, "Be gentle though, Lily is very shy."

The two took to the floor and began dancing as the music started again. She looked incredibly nervous and her body was a bit stiff. Because of that, she stumbled and almost fell. Thankfully, Vincent caught her before anything could happen.

Feeling embarrassed at the beginner mistake she made, her face went beet red immediately. She looked away to hide her face and continued dancing.

Looking at her antic, he got an uncontrollable urge to tease her. 'This is for science. I have no ulterior motives.' Repeating those words in his heart, he looked straight in the eyes and spoke, "If you blush like that, I am afraid my heart will skip a beat."

As soon as his words entered her ears, she froze like a statue. Her already flustered face grew even redder. Thankfully the music stopped and she was escorted back to Baron Helmak.

Vincent gave a thumbs up to the baron. "I have newfound respect for you Baron Helmak. I think my eyes have been opened to a whole different kind of beauty. This is all thanks to you. If we weren't among so many people, I would have kowtowed to you."

Helmak twirled his moustache with a proud grin. "As I had expected. You understand my taste. Now I can't wait until winter to host you at my castle. We could talk about so many things."

The man and the boy began making plans enthusiastically and Lily grew even more embarrassed as she listened to their conversation.