Arranged Marriage

Week 3 (1)

Compared to his dominant Alpha grandfather, he had many shortcomings from childhood. He learned slower than dominant Alphas who had outstanding natural strength, physical conditions and intelligence. They merely needed half a year to learn a new language, but it took Karlyle a whole year. Other things were the same.

To his grandfather, scolding was a waste of time. So when Karlyle's learning was slow, all Arthur did was give him a cold look.

But there were times when he smiled. Sometimes, on days when Karlyle beat other dominant Alphas of his age.

Luckily, Karlyle was talented at horse riding and hunting. These skills were not very useful for ordinary people, but it was a bit different for nobles. Normally, when the weather was good, they would hold a garden party and many other events.

That day was one of those days. His grandfather threw a party to celebrate his mother Alice's health was getting better. It was also the first day Kyle, the next dominant Alpha of his family, was introduced to people. That was one of the preparations for his official debut in the aristocratic world.

The party was a success. Many people came, and a sacrament was set up outside. The highlight of the party was his grandfather’s favorite event - “Hide and seek”. However, it wasn’t the normal hide and seek. It was a game where the person who could find the most tokens hidden throughout the forest won. This game was popular among nobles as it was antique and old-fashioned.

Everything seemed favorable. The weather was forecast to be sunny, and the nobles, who were all very proud of their children, each made big bets with high expectations. And his grandfather bet the most money on him.

The newly debuted boys and girls began running to the forest at the start signal. Karlyle used to laugh often back then. Although he didn’t have many facial expressions, he wasn’t stingy with laughter when he was with his peers. Then, when everyone started to disperse to look for tokens, the sky suddenly became cloudy.

One or two drops of the rain turned into a heavy shower within a few minutes. He was wondering whether he should go back, but he decided to continue searching since it wasn’t completely black. His grandfather’s face was at stake, he had to make him proud.

It was later that he realized that things didn’t always go as planned. He seemed to have lived under an illusion, even though he had known that the very birth of his was already the proof. He got lost in the rain.

People would definitely be surprised that he got lost in the garden of his own grandfather. It wasn’t even his first time going in here.

That was the first thing that crossed his mind. It was difficult to determine the direction under the sky where the sun had disappeared. He was at a loss. He had learned many things, but had never learned about this type of distress.

His well-dressed horse riding clothes got wet in the rain. His hair stuck to his forehead, and his milky skin turned pale. Karlyle counted the tokens he had collected. Six tokens. Considering the number of participants and the number of tokens distributed by his grandfather throughout the forest, six couldn’t guarantee his first place. If he went back like this, there was a chance that he would lose.

While his hesitation was taking up time, the rain was gaining momentum. As the sky grew darker, just before it turned pitch black, he made up his mind. The forest at night, even if it was his grandfather’s front yard, was dangerous. Going back would cause less worries for everyone.

It took twice as long as when he got in to go out. He was so busy soothing his scared horse that he didn’t even notice the scratches on his skin. Finally, he arrived at the mansion, looking like a mess and inappropriate for a noble.