The Possessor Mistook the Genre for 20 Years

78 – The Secretary Dreams of Marrying the Wizard

Franz and Arian, having left the mansion, started to stroll around the vicinity.

“Are you not cold?”

Arian asked worriedly.

Indeed, the northern weather was cold, and every breath they exhaled turned into visible puffs. But thanks to the wine he had with Balak earlier, he felt warm and not particularly cold.

Rather, it might be just right; the cool air seemed to sober him up a bit.

“I’m fine. Aren’t you cold?”

Arian was wrapped in a large blanket over her thin clothes.

So if anyone were to be cold, it would be her, not him, dressed in thick clothes.

“I used to live here before going to the Magic Tower…?”

“But you’ve been stuck in the Magic Tower for over ten years.”

“So, actually, I think it’s a bit cold. I don’t know how I used to live here.”

Arian shrugged playfully.

Franz let out a small laugh.

It seemed he was drunk, laughing at trivial things.

‘Would it feel like this if I married Arian?’

A life where he laughed and enjoyed even trivial things didn’t seem so bad.

Arian had changed a lot from before, so surely they could live without major problems.

Normally, he wouldn’t have thought such things, but it seemed the recent events had a significant impact.

Haa-.

With a white breath escaping from Franz’s mouth, the thoughts in his head scattered and disappeared.

It was now meaningless to think about it.

Balak had decided to cancel the arranged marriage, and with that, his responsibility was gone.

And it was time to tell her that fact.

“Arian.”

Franz slowed his pace as he spoke.

“Yes, go ahead.”

“I talked to the Duke about your arranged marriage.”

“Oh, yes….”

Arian’s voice sank.

She seemed worried that the result might not be good.

Franz had deliberately created such an atmosphere.

Wanting to tease her, he lowered his voice and made his tone as serious as possible, so Arian naturally took it that way.

But the words that came out of Franz’s mouth were contrary to the serious atmosphere.

“The Duke said he would cancel the arranged marriage.”

“Yes…?”

Arian’s eyes widened in surprise.

The surprise was indeed a great success.

Franz, feeling proud, continued speaking.

“You don’t have to go through with the arranged marriage. You can marry the man you love.”

“Wait a minute. What about the family’s honor? Surely, there will be bad rumors.”

“The Duke said he would take full responsibility. He said you are more important than the family.”

He was a truly remarkable father, one who prioritized his daughter over the family, something rare in this era.

Of course, some might call him selfish, but at least Franz decided to support that choice.

Arian would surely be moved by such a choice from Balak.

Yes, it should have been like that…

But Arian’s reaction was somewhat subtle.

“Why…?”

There was a hint of dissatisfaction in Arian’s voice.

Even though it was something to be happy about.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“Well, yes… but this isn’t exactly how I wanted it to happen…”

“Then how did you want it to happen?”

“Of course…”

Arian trailed off, lowering her head.

Franz, tilting his head in confusion, suddenly realized why she said that.

She disliked the arranged marriage, but now that the family was sacrificing, she felt guilty.

After all, they were her precious family and her precious house.

Despite her constant complaints, she had a tender heart.

Franz took off his coat and draped it over Arian’s shoulders.

“It’ll be alright.”

“Of course it will…”

Arian said, letting out a long sigh.

The length of the sigh indicated a significant amount of guilt.

Afterwards, the two walked a bit more before returning to the mansion.

There wasn’t much conversation, but it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable either.

“Then, good night.”

As they arrived at the room where Franz was staying, Arian lightly bowed her head in greeting.

Her tone was completely devoid of energy, perhaps still bothered by what had happened earlier.

“Yes, sleep well and see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, I’ll come to get you in the morning.”

After finishing her greeting, Arian left the room, and the door closed firmly.

Franz, who immediately lay down on the bed with his tired body, fell into thought.

‘Well, I managed to solve one thing safely…’

Unfortunately, there was one more problem.

It was to decipher the code left by the cultist.

Originally, he had planned to solve it right away today, but he couldn’t pay attention to it because he was busy with Arian’s matter.

Well, it should be fine.

It’s not like today is the only day.

I can look into it slowly tomorrow.

With a relaxed mind, Franz closed his eyes.

Someone outside the room was anxious, but he didn’t know that even in his dreams.

Meanwhile, Arian, who had left the room after seeing Franz off, let out a long sigh as she walked down the corridor.

‘I thought everything was over…’

If she just waited like this, she could have married Franz without any trouble.

She didn’t feel comfortable using Franz’s kindness, but she planned to apologize for that later. For now, getting married was the priority.

But everything got twisted. Her father cherished her so much that he canceled the arranged marriage itself.

Of course, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. She was in a situation where she couldn’t thank Franz enough for his efforts or her father for his love, so it could only be called unfortunate.

The only problem was that the misfortune was too great.

‘But it’s not all bad.’

After all, it was Franz himself who said he would marry her.

That meant he didn’t think of her as a bad marriage partner.

If he had thought badly of her, he wouldn’t have accepted such conditions.

So, she couldn’t stay depressed forever.

Even if it was unfortunate, she had to forget the past and plan for the future.

Bringing her all the way to the main house, if she makes the most of this opportunity, marriage might not be too far off.

Marriage with Franz.

A happy life with a beautiful child.

Just thinking about it brought a smile to her lips.

That day, Arian dreamed the dream she had longed for.

A dream where she and Franz, in a good mood, headed to bed together.

* * * * *

Was it because the sleeping arrangements had changed?

Franz, who woke up earlier than usual, finished getting ready and waited for Arian.

How much time had passed like that?

“Master of the Tower, excuse me.”

With a knock, a voice was heard, and then the door opened as Arian entered the room.

“You’re awake…?”

Arian’s face was colored with embarrassment.

She must have thought he was still sleeping.

Well, that’s why she opened the door without asking for permission.

“Oh, I woke up a bit early.”

“Were you uncomfortable?”

“No, it was fine. I think it’s just because the sleeping arrangements changed.”

“If you’re tired, would you like to sleep a bit more?”

“No, I should get up.”

Having finally left the tower, he wanted to take it easy, but unfortunately, he couldn’t. Since he was indebted to another family, he had to be mindful.

After that, Franz had a simple breakfast with the people of the Frigia Duchy.

The bustling breakfast table was quite awkward, but it wasn’t bad. Listening to the conversations going back and forth, he wasn’t bored.

If there was a problem, it was that Balak’s expression wasn’t good.

His face was dark, and he was picking at his food, seemingly paying the price for drinking too much.

It was after breakfast, while walking down the corridor.

Suddenly, Arian clapped her hands and said,

“Oh, right. Now that I think about it, I had something to ask Grandfather.”

It was about the code left by the cult.

When I told him about the code, Arian said that his grandfather might know.

“I’m going to ask him now, would you like to come with me if it’s okay…?”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Franz readily agreed.

After all, it was his problem, so he couldn’t leave it to her alone.

It was also more certain to hear it directly.

Franz followed Arian out of the mansion.

After walking for a while, they came across a small building separated from the mansion.

“Grandfather and grandmother are there. They don’t like the hustle and bustle, so they live separately.”

“I see.”

No wonder I never saw them, they were living separately from the beginning.

Thinking that, Franz walked with Arian and soon met the former head of the Frigia duchy.

“My dear granddaughter-!”

A large figure with a fierce appearance, comparable to the current head.

With hair turned completely white, he looked like a nomad from the north, appearing before Franz and Arian.

“Grandfather-!”

…That appearance was a family trait.

I couldn’t even imagine what changes the youngest, Marcel, would go through in the future.