I Broke Off My Engagement and Got a Job at the Academy

9 – 9. To You Leaning on Shoulders

Father stared at me for a moment, as if he had heard something absurd.

“To secretly help Cielline?”

Then, Father began to tap his fingers.

“It’s impossible. No one has the skill to do such a thing without anyone knowing, and there’s no reason to go to such lengths.”

“A reason? There is. It overflows. The fact that Cielline remains as an ally.”

But even with those words, Father seemed unwavering.

“It’s not that simple. You’re almost an adult now, and with only a year left at the academy, I would expect you to have some sense of discretion.”

“Father…!”

I called out, but Father didn’t acknowledge my words, standing up and leaving.

“Think about it on your own. Consider which path is the right one.”

Unable to contain my momentary frustration, I shouted,

“Is this why you arranged the engagement with Ariel and me!?”

Upon hearing that, Father turned around. I continued, overcome with anger.

“In order to do this, did he really ask Ariel if she wanted to know how to get along with him just to see us like this?”

“…that.”

“Father… Father! If the family of the late mother was difficult, did you abandon her?”

My father closed his eyes after hearing my words. Then, he looked at me and spoke.

“I’ll consider it after hearing your plan.”

I held my breath at my father’s words. I hadn’t expected this to work, so when my father acknowledged it, it was a surprising feeling.

“…Yes. I understand.”

Of course, I couldn’t show that. I began to speak.

…

Ariel looked around the mansion with dry eyes. No, it was eyes that didn’t even seem to be sad because there was no emotion overflowing.

I thought nothing would happen. I thought I would spend another ordinary year at the academy, return to the mansion after the school year as usual, and spend time as usual.

However, such expectations were shattered.

Ariel now had to shoulder the burden of the giant family called Cielaine and even the gods supporting that family. And that meant parting with the peaceful past.

Even attending the academy had to be… stopped. I had already learned everything there was to learn at the academy. Returning to the academy on the island in the middle of the Mediterranean would bring uncertainty about what would happen to Cielaine. I had to prepare to inherit the family as soon as possible.

…However, the regret was that the enjoyable time at the academy could no longer continue.

Ariel tried to compose herself and looked around Cielaine’s main mansion, now hers.

Her father, Luden Cielaine, was already buried, becoming an undeniably perfect dead person. There was nothing left to reminisce about the past.

Now mentally armed, Ariel had to become a greater duke than anyone else to avoid any shameful incidents. The weight of that burden seemed to crush her, but there was no choice.

…Because Cielaine’s gods were all looking at her. In the situation where the family was faltering, they hoped to protect them more than anyone else.

There was no room for weakness. Everything Ariel had received so far, from her bed, meals, clothes, education, to her fiancé – all of them were for this moment when she became a duke to support the family.

And as Ariel thought that way, the steward spoke.

“Your Grace, a guest has arrived.”

“Ah….”

Your Grace. Before the presence of the guest, the title came to Ariel’s mind before anything else. Because now there would be no more calling her ‘Miss,’ it was keenly felt.

But for a moment, Ariel quickly regained her composure.

“Yeah, got it. Where are you?”

…

The person who came to find Ariel was Eden. Ariel was surprised that he came, but tried not to show it.

What could he want to say by coming here? It was clear that it wasn’t something positive. Really, if, perhaps, in the worst case scenario – they would end up breaking up.

Even she would have done that. Of course, she had truly, truly, truly become close to Eden over the time they spent together… But that didn’t change the fact that they were bound by the contract of engagement.

Maybe if they had met with pure intentions from the beginning… But once bound by engagement, if they couldn’t be of help to each other… It was only natural for the relationship to end.

However, Ariel didn’t want that. If her engagement with Eden were to end, Syellaine could crumble. No, if he directly cut off Syellaine’s lifeline from Kainus, it would definitely happen.

…Yes, definitely, the reason Ariel wished for the continuation of her engagement with Eden was that.

Regardless of the nature of their relationship, noble relationships couldn’t involve personal emotions, and shouldn’t involve them. She was now the Duchess of Syellaine, and personal emotions had to be discarded.

“Are you okay? What are you thinking?”

Eden asked Ariel. In response, Ariel shook her head and said.

“Huh? Yeah, it’s nothing.”

“I see.”

Eden hesitated for a moment. Ariel had to tense up internally. She couldn’t know what he was going to say.

It seemed like just a few weeks ago they had to spend time together with smiles, but now it had become the most tense time with him.

However, what Eden said was slightly different from what she had expected.

“Wanna have a drink?”

What he brought out was nothing other than alcohol. At the sight of the crystal bottle containing the red liquid, Ariel couldn’t help but let out a surprised sound.

“Huh?”

What Eden had brought was none other than red wine. Eden smoothly received a crystal glass from the servant and poured one for Ariel too.

“You can look forward to it. I secretly brought what my father treasures. Thinking about it, you never drank in the academy, so at least your first drink should be with me, right?”

Ariel couldn’t understand what Eden was thinking and hesitated. Clearly, she had thought he would bring up something practical, but Eden just smiled at her.

“Come on, give it a try. It’s sweet, so even if it’s your first time, it shouldn’t be too bad.”

At Eden’s words, she hesitated but raised the glass and took a sip of the red liquid. Her expression subtly changed.

“Hmm… It’s sweet, but there’s something… really subtle about it. It’s like it goes ‘whoosh’ and… there’s a bit of a bitter taste too.”

As Edden spoke, he smiled warmly and poured himself a drink, ignoring Ariel’s comment.

“Haha, surprised because I’ve never had a sip of our baby booze?”

Ariel responded with a serious expression to Edden’s remark.

“I might die, seriously.”

Despite her threat, Edden chuckled and replied, “Alright, sorry. Here, have some more.”

Ariel, though outwardly furrowing her brow and giving Edden a slight glare, felt a release of tension within herself.

It wasn’t because of the mansion or the alcohol but rather Edden’s consideration.

As soon as she accepted the glass from Edden, Ariel drank the wine in large gulps, clearly deviating from proper etiquette. However, Edden not only didn’t point it out but laughed heartily.

“Haha, feeling exhilarated? Good. I’ll join you.”

Watching Ariel empty the glass, Ariel absentmindedly smiled, feeling a bit relieved by her usual behavior.

From then on, Ariel began to accept and drink the alcohol without restraint. Since things had come to this, she decided to drown out any troublesome thoughts.

“Bring more drinks here.”

Ariel said with a flushed face. As Edden went to get the alcohol, he asked, looking at her.

“Is it okay to drink like this for the first time? It might not be a joke about a hangover.”

Ariel, already close to being intoxicated, replied with a twisted tongue.

“Noisy. You may still be a Kainess apprentice, but I am no longer Lady Cielline. Cielline Duchess. So, I’ll do as I please, be it alcohol or anything else.”

Looking at Ariel, who spoke with a sharp expression, Edden subtly smiled.

“Who’s stopping you, really.”

After that, Ariel began pouring out various thoughts. True feelings that she couldn’t bring out sober emerged with the influence of alcohol.

Being a duchess is frightening. She’s uncertain about what she should do. People expect things from her, but she lacks the courage to take a step forward.

After talking for a while, Ariel suddenly began to sob.

“Dad… Why did you die? I, I’m not ready for anything yet… I’m still just a kid…”

Edden said nothing to Ariel, who was pouring out tears, just watching her. When Ariel completely succumbed to the effects of alcohol and fell, he picked her up.

“Don’t go…”

Ariel, who had fallen asleep in a drunken stupor, mumbled in her sleep. Iden smiled as he carried her towards a place where she could rest.

“Don’t go anywhere. Don’t worry.”

Although his voice couldn’t reach Ariel’s consciousness, it touched her emotions, and finally, Ariel could fully rest.