fiancé?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?
I choked on my own spit causing me to cough violently for about ten seconds.
I drank water to aid it.
Ahh . . .
Right.
The House of Pattinson and Portgas were in a good relationship since my father—the marquess—and duke Portgas were childhood friends and their relationship wasn't giving any signs of breaking.
So of course, like what almost all people do in this timeline, they were planning to engage their son and daughter for marriage to strengthen their power.
Yes . . .
A marriage with no love.
Majority of the marriages in this world were fixed—especially when it comes to nobles. But of course, on rare occasions, there were also noble couples betrothed through genuine love like Velvet's mother and father, and also the duke and the duchess.
Though it seemed like Ethan and Velvet were not in good terms.
Ethan have always disliked Velvet since childhood.
More memories came rushing through me—I was experiencing a mild headache.
I remembered that he said . . .
" You're so timid! You express excessive altruism to others to the point that you do not even realize that you are, in fact, degrading yourself. You act as if you're not of noble blood.
" You are drenched in pusillanimity. You follow all orders and requests without even thinking twice all because you are afraid to be scolded and to hurt another person's feelings.
"If it wasn't for your status and my father's relationship with yours, I do not think that I'd be capable of understanding why the duke would like his son to be married off to a coward like you."
. . . to Velvet.
Wow, this is intense.
Well, I could say that I understood both sides, but that was a little . . . harsh.
Velvet was just being kind and she had shy personality.
But Ethan was partly right, it was as if Velvet was too scared of her own title—her own privilege.
Memories, come forth!
Ethan never showed this side of his to the duke and treated Velvet as a proper lady worthy of respect in front of him. He would never dare to oppose his father because the Dukedom comes first before his personal interests.
Well . . .
I was different from the Velvet he knew, though.
Ethan was just 15, a year older than her. But I was a couple of years older than him so it should be fine to kick his butt. It wasn't new to me anyway.
I've already kicked a lot of brats' asses for bullying a girl their age which, by the way, was pretty obvious that they had a crush on her. It was fun embarrassing them in front of the girls they like.
" You just have a crush on her and you want her attention. But scared to confess your feelings and you result to bullying her instead . . . haa, kids these days."
"W-what? T-that's not true! You're just like this because boys don't have a crush on you seeing that you're a tomboy!"
They're pissing me off.
" Don't try to change the subject . . . Want to taste of my fist instead? You brats dare talk back to me!"
#&#+#-#'°¢÷×€¢^¢
( *Censorship*)
Ha . . . Good ol' days. They eventually became my followers that day, I missed those boys.
Though they were twisted little creatures, love was not so low that it could be expressed through violence and insults.
" By the way." I said, snapping back to reality. " I'd like to go out for a walk today at the town square. I am going to shop casual clothes.."
Father nodded.
" Bring Dellie and your knight with you."
" Yes, Father..."
" Wow . . ."
It was my first time riding a carriage! And on top of that, this carriage looked plain yet elegant!
I chose a not-so-fancy carriage in our mansion to not attract attention, but this design was all we had!
The color was black—like our hair.
Guess what I learned from Velvet's memories.
Our hair color was actually the Pattinson's most unique feature. All the people who posses Pattinson blood had raven hair. No other family had hair as black as ours. And that was why our family crest was a crow.
Was this world perhaps the fantasy kind?
Here was another interesting fact.
The Pattinson Clan was one of the most influential houses in the entire empire—not just in the political aspect.
For unknown reasons, a boy must have unrivaled physical strength as long as Pattinson blood runs in his veins. But on the contrary, girls born in the Pattinson Clan were always frail and weak, physically speaking.
What kind nonsense was this?
It seemed like I had the skills, but I didn't have the strength. But little did the people in the empire know, even girls could train their body.
Everyone had potential, women were most definitely not an exception.
In the empire, a girl was not obliged to receive training except for ones who wanted to be female knights—which happened rarely. And I doubt my father would agree with me being a knight.
A girl must stay elegant and well-mannered, as they said.
But I couldn't just ignore my hard work in my past life. I trained for ten years and already received the title of a champion, which was my dream ever since I was seven.
I need to train this body in secret. At least do some minor exercises every day, then I would be able to ask Lucas to spar with me.
I do not want to call him elder brother yet since I was actually older than him.
But well, I was stronger than a man so there must be nothing to worry about, hopefully.
" Dellie."
" Milady?"
" Are there any shops that sell menwear for women?"
She looked at me, puzzled. She gave me the ha look.
" I'm afraid you are not making any sense, milady."
I sighed.
" I meant some training suits, where can I find those?"
" Baron Dominic's shop, milady."
Guess I found my first destination.
" Okay, we're going there."
Dellie nodded even though she was wondering why I would like to buy training suits.
The town square was a lively place. The people—noble or not, were all over the place.
Some kids were playing with other kids.
How wonderful.
There were stands and vendors all around. This reminded me of my past life where I always went out with my sister.
I just died recently and woke up in this unrealistic world.
This seemed like it was all a dream.
Being born with a beautiful face.
Wealth, fame, power.
Having a complete family . . .
" We arrived, milady."
Finally.
The knight opened the carriage door and asked for my hand. Well . . . I was still not getting used to this, being feminine and all. But I still accepted his hand.
Oh . . .
So this was Baron Dominic's shop.
The store looked just like a fancy boutique with a glass window that everyone could peek on. From outside, I could already see the men's wear that I've been looking for.
Yes, this is what I want.
Let's go check it out!
The bell chimed as I opened the shop's door.
I gasped in astonishment.
So many suits and formal attires, there were also clothes for knights. So many colors . . .
" G-greetings, my lady." said the man with the brown hair and mustache. He bowed his head while rubbing his palms against each other.
" Baron Dominic." I said in return to his greetings.
In my memories, Lucas went to this store countless times before.
Oh, right, he was training to be a knight.
So this is Baron Dominic.
" Are you perhaps looking for garments for your brother?" he asked in the most polite way possible.
" No, why would I buy clothes for my brother?" I said, his expression visibly confused. " Bring me your training suits and stretchable lower garments suitable for kicking. And I want a loose shirt. All of those must be in my size.."
Silence filled the shop.
Yep, he was dazed, alright.
Even Dellie.
He blinked twice and rubbed his ears gently. He looked at me again.
" For you, milady?"
I nodded.
" Bring only the high-quality materials." Dellie stood up straight. What poise!
" A-as I always should. Please wait a moment." He left with some workers with him.
Dellie turned to me.
" Milady, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? Why would you like to buy those?"
I sighed and looked at her in the eyes.
" Keep this as a secret from anyone in the family." I whispered. " I would like to have my training."
Her eyes widened.
" T-training?! Why?"
" It's none of your business."
" My lady! You're now talking to me informally! You've grown!" she acted as if she was about to cry.
" W-what? Is that something you should cry about?"
" My lady . . ." She covered her mouth with her right hand.
Suddenly I heard a chime—the shop's bell. Someone entered, although I didn't care.
What was taking the baron so long? I guess there were a lot of clothes that he had to bring.
I chuckled.
I was going to buy them all.
" Where's the Baron?" asked the unknown customer to another worker. He was wearing a light blue cloak, the hood covering half of his face.
Why would you wear that?
Can you even see in that thing?
" I greet the son of the duke to this humble place, sir Portgas." The worker said. " Please wait for a moment, the Baron will be back as quick as he can."
Oh . . .
Oh no . . .
Portgas.
I gasped in surprise.
Due to my curiosity, I looked at him properly and saw his face.
Woah.
Why are people here so good-looking?
Blond hair.
Royal blue eyes.
He turned to me unexpectedly.
Our eyes met.
Ethan Portgas.
We meet at last, you bastard.