As agreed with her grandmother, she arrived at her grandmother’s mansion. However, as soon as she entered the room, there she found her engaging in a heated argument with the Marquis. The man was berating her for the embarrassment she'd caused him the night before, for taking Charlotte to the party, and he demanded that the grandmother call Charlotte so that he could take her away.
“I am her father and she will do as I say. She will be sent to a boarding school today,” the Marquis bellowed.
“I cannot fathom how you could treat your own daughter this way. But from the moment you gave her up to the magicians, you lost all rights over her,” she replied.
“As long as she bears the Leroux name, she is my daughter. Call her now; she will leave with me this instant,” he insisted.
Entering the room, Charlotte was immediately the target of his anger, but as soon as he faced her, a chill coursed through his body as the girl met his gaze.
“I will not go with you, and you shall leave my grandmother in peace. Do not forget that it was you who pushed me out of your life,” she stated calmly.
“You insolent brat, you do not speak to me that way,” he seethed, raising his hand to slap her.
However, he found himself immobilized as Charlotte continued to fix him with her unwavering stare.
“I am no longer a child, Marquis; do not dare. It would be best for you to leave now,” she said with authority.
“You have heard her. You have no right over her anymore, leave now with your perfect family,” Valentina screamed.
Immediately, she summoned the guards to escort the Marquis out, with instructions to never let him past again. Indeed, the guards dragged the man out, threw him into his carriage, and sent him back to his marquisate. Charlotte sat down, releasing a long sigh.
“Are you alright, Grandmother? Perhaps I should have returned with him; I don’t want to cause any more trouble,” she said, looking downcast.
“It's not like that. Your father just grows madder by the day. Just make sure to always have the guards I assigned for your protection,” she advised her.
“Alright, I will always have the guards with me,” she concurred.
Valentina flashed a smile in response to her granddaughter's words.
“And if the young duke is with you, I feel even more reassured, knowing that he will take good care of you. Speaking of which, wouldn’t you like to marry him? You two seem to get along well.”
“Grandmother, we are just friends, that's all,” Charlotte avoided eye contact, not expecting such a suggestion from her grandmother so soon.
“You know each other well, isn't that preferable? I wouldn't want your father to force you to marry a horrid man. He could still enforce that, with the law on his side,” Valentina voiced her concern.
Charlotte knew her grandmother was right; society was still so patriarchal, with men ruling over the lives of their daughters. Very few women had the freedom to choose their spouses, and at her current age, her father still had the legal right to compel her to marry anyone he wished.
“I'll consider it, but the young duke would also need to agree, and there’s no knowing if he's interested in someone else,” she speculated, though she doubted it.
Having known him since childhood gave her the advantage of knowing that Sigrid wasn’t an ordinary boy. His maturity always belied his young age, and to this day, she had never seen him take an interest in any girl.
*******
Years earlier...
After being taken to Claus, the magician, he reported to the headquarters about the situation at the Marquis's house. The leader there allowed Claus to take the girl to his home. Claus was a respectable magician who had earned the title of count with a smaller, yet profitable, territory. Upon returning to his mansion, he was greeted by his wife, Jessica, to whom he relayed the girl's story. Jessica welcomed Charlotte warmly.
The couple had their own grown children who had married and moved away. During Charlotte's stay at the mansion, these children would visit, and they too showed kindness to her. They all concurred on the horrid nature of Marquis Leroux in abandoning his own daughter.
After a week at the mansion, Charlotte confided in Claus that she possessed magic, specifically dark magic. Claus was not entirely surprised, for he had sensed it at the Leroux mansion but had refrained from saying anything due to the Marquis's behavior.
“I'll teach you how to use it wisely. In the future, you could become a powerful mage,” Claus offered.
“I am grateful for your guidance, Master,” Charlotte bowed respectfully.
“There’s no need for such formalities. Now tell me, do you have any other relatives who can protect you?”
“My grandmother, but if my father finds out that I am with her, he might take me back. I don’t understand why he despises me so much,” she said, looking away.
Of course, she knew the likely reason—that her father had been forced to marry her mother and that he’d been “in love” with Nidia. But due to Nidia's status as a commoner, the Marquis’s parents never consented to the marriage, aware that Nidia was only seeking a wealthy man to raise her status. Before the Marquis, she had charmed other men, but they had all discarded her after brief dalliances; only the Marquis had been fool enough to be ensnared and remained so to date.
“Let’s send a letter to inform her that you are here and to allow her to visit you,” Claus suggested.
Charlotte wrote the letter, which was sent along with one from Claus. Subsequently, her grandmother rented a mansion near the county to be able to visit her frequently. To prevent any suspicion from the Marquis, she fabricated a story of being dismayed with him for his actions. Every now and then, she would return to her own territory before visiting the county again, often accompanied by Sigrid when his parents were away.
“Young duke, what a surprise,” Charlotte feigned astonishment.
“I brought him because I thought it would be good for you to have a friend of your age,” Valentina explained.
“I truly wanted to come. I’ve missed Lady Charlotte,” Sigrid smiled.
Charlotte pursed her lips, bewildered that no one else seemed to notice his insincere smile. She knew he was no ordinary child; something about him unsettled her and it vexed her.
That same night, Charlotte stole away into the woods, needing some time alone to train not just her magic but also her swordsmanship. After practicing as usual, she was startled by applause.
“I knew you were no ordinary girl...”
Turning towards the voice, she saw that it was Sigrid, appearing serious.
“Dark magic, could it be that... you’re the cause of your sister’s death?”
“Will you accuse me?”
“Why would I? I didn’t know her and her family holds no interest for me,” Sigrid replied.
“Then don’t interfere or get in my way, or you’ll end up like them,” Charlotte warned.
“Agreed. I will only observe,” he shrugged.
Charlotte clicked her tongue in annoyance and left. Back in her room, she contemplated the night’s events. She had been so careless to be exposed by that boy.
《Maybe I should kill him...》
No, she concluded, if he had no intention of betraying her, perhaps he could be of use to her after all...
\*\*\*\*\*\*\*NOTE\*\*\*\*\*\*
Monday 2-for-1 special 🤭
As you can see, I'll be gradually revealing what happened after Charlotte was taken by the magician.
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