Prologue.1

“Not yet.”

Once again, Ariel was rejected. She had lost count of how many times she’d heard ‘not yet.’

“Why, Mother?”

“‘Reynard’ is still a name you cannot carry.”

Reynard, a name honored by the sword. Ariel, the sole heir of the family, had worked hard to earn her mother’s recognition.

Her mother had always told her she must become stronger than anyone, so Ariel picked up the sword before she learned to read or write. She trained hard to defeat those stronger than herself, knocking them down one by one.

As soon as she reached the age to join the knight order, Ariel took the exam and entered the Royal Knight Order, earning countless merits and becoming the youngest deputy commander in history, achieving feats that would be remembered.

Yet, Ariel still could not inherit the Reynard family from her mother.

“Then what is the next requirement? Do I have to become the Commander now? But unlike deputy commander, there’s an age restriction for Commander, so it’ll take time…….”

“Ariel, you certainly have sword skills worthy of inheriting the name Reynard.”

“Then……!”

“But that’s all.”

“What?”

“What you have is only the sword skill to receive the name Reynard, not the readiness to inherit the family.”

When Ariel showed a look of confusion, her mother sighed deeply.

“This is why I said it’s dangerous to know only how to wield a sword. The head of the family must be someone who can maintain its stability.”

“I have that ability! I keep my salary safe.”

“Not that. How can you compare the economic power of the Reynard family to your salary?”

“Then do you mean management skills of the estate? I’m already inviting experts to keep things solid, so I don’t think there’s a problem, but if you want me to manage it myself…….”

“I don’t expect that much. Reynard doesn’t want someone who can do everything. What I mean is something only you can do, something only you must do.”

Until now, whenever her mother asked something of Ariel, she emphasized it was something any Reynard would naturally do. But now, she said it was something only Ariel could do.

Thinking it wouldn’t be easy, Ariel swallowed nervously.

“A family is maintained as a household.”

Ariel’s mother turned her head to the back.

Her gaze settled on a painting hanging on the wall. It was a portrait of Ariel’s mother sitting in a chair, with Ariel standing behind her. There were only two people, but anyone could see it was a Reynard family portrait.

“Get married.”

“So now it’s marriage.”

Compared to how tense she’d been, the condition her mother presented was simpler than Ariel expected.

As the Reynard heir, Ariel knew she would have to marry someday. So she had already made plans.

Reynard was a self-sufficient and free family, lacking in nothing. Thus, Ariel didn’t need to look for a spouse among the nobility. Her father wasn’t of noble birth either. So, couldn’t she bring home anyone she wished?

“But I’ll set conditions. Otherwise, you’ll bring just anyone.”

“T-that’s…….”

Her plan was exposed in an instant, and Ariel looked around awkwardly.

“You didn’t think I wouldn’t know, did you? Who do you think is responsible for Reynard right now?”

“……Mother.”

“Yes, I’m always above you.”

Ariel’s mother clicked her tongue a few times and continued.

“The condition isn’t anything grand. Just bring a man who can be your ordinary husband.”

“An ordinary husband?”

“Yes, someone in an equal relationship, where neither is above the other.”

Ariel’s mother blinked slowly and explained further.

“Ariel, you’re a Reynard. And you’re excellent. But you clearly make mistakes sometimes. You need someone who can scold you and stop you when that happens. So bring someone who can confidently speak his mind to you. Not a man who can’t even look you in the eye.”

To others, it might sound like a strange condition, but Ariel understood her mother’s words well.

Normally, when people disagreed with Ariel, they rarely insisted on their own opinion. At first, they’d argue, but if Ariel persisted, they’d always give in, thinking, ‘Ariel will handle it somehow.’

Being too outstanding meant being lonely, and Ariel’s mother worried about that.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a man around her who fit the condition. Maybe some colleagues from the Royal Knight Order. Ariel’s comrades, as knights of the kingdom’s top order, could freely exchange opinions with her. Still, most were her subordinates, so they couldn’t fully escape the hierarchy.

……Except for one person.

“So, is there someone suitable?”

Ariel shook her head, quickly erasing the face that floated into her mind. No matter what, that person was absolutely out of the question.

“From your reaction, I guess there isn’t.”

“Yes, so if you give me some time…….”

“I think it would be nice if my grandchild had eyes the color of the sky.”

Eyes like the sky. Pale blue eyes only appeared among the Arya people. And among those Ariel knew, only one person had such eyes.

“That’s why Sir Noah is absolutely not an option!”

“Why?”

“You know how badly I get along with Sir Noah!”

Noah was a knight in the Royal Knight Order and Ariel’s subordinate. Ariel and Noah were as different as fire and water. Their personalities and ways of solving problems were so opposite that they ended up arguing throughout every mission.

Noah fit her mother’s condition for an equal relationship, but the two could never be an ordinary couple, always fighting whenever they met. In fact, marriage itself was impossible.

“If I have to ask Sir Noah, I’d rather ask Sir Walter!”

“Walter? You mean Walter Mathius? He’s a married man with several children! How could you even joke about ruining a happy family?”

“That’s how much I don’t want Sir Noah……! Ack!”

Ariel, too worked up, said something she shouldn’t have, and her mother brought her back to her senses with a single punch.

“Are you thinking clearly now?”

“I admit mentioning Sir Walter even as a joke was wrong. But surely it doesn’t have to be Sir Noah! As long as someone can give me honest advice, anyone should do, right?”

“That’s true. So, who is it?”

“T-that…… I’m sure if I look, I’ll find one or two…….”

“How will you know if they’re acting that way just to marry you?”

Ariel couldn’t answer. She knew she wasn’t good at reading other people’s intentions.

“Ariel, as you know, I’ve protected Reynard alone until now. And I’ve seen many people. Some even fooled themselves for their own goals.”

Ariel’s mother, the current head of Reynard, was famous not only among nobles but also commoners.

After marrying a commoner of unknown origin and giving birth to Ariel, she became alone and protected the Reynard family, facing all kinds of challenges—fraud, blackmail, threats, embezzlement, bribery, ass*ult, injury, theft, robbery, m*rder—so many that even a month of sleepless nights wouldn’t be enough to recount them all, and grew the family into one that others admired.

“The simplest and best way to distinguish such people is to see if they acted the same way before they had a goal.”

By that standard, Noah was the most suitable. He wouldn’t change even if the situation did…… No, he would probably be even stricter with Ariel.

“And since you say you absolutely can’t do it, that’s why it has to be Sir Noah.”

“What? Why? Do you really not want to pass the family to me?”

“No, I think you’re the right heir to Reynard. You’ve turned every impossibility into possibility. That’s a remarkable ability.”

The conditions Ariel’s mother had set so far were honestly very difficult. Defeating strong opponents with big age and experience gaps, becoming deputy commander of the Royal Knight Order—these weren’t things achieved by effort and determination alone.

But Ariel always exceeded expectations, as if nothing was impossible.

“That’s why I’m making this the condition. I want to see if you can use that ability here too. This will probably be the last, so whether you give up or not is your choice.”

The last. At those words, Ariel’s head snapped up.

She had managed to meet all her mother’s impossible conditions through sheer effort. She couldn’t let all that hard-earned achievement collapse over a marriage partner.

“This really is the last, right?”

“Have I ever gone back on my word?”

Ariel knew better than anyone that such a thing would never happen, even if the sky split in two. Now, there was only one thing left for Ariel to do.