“I told you. If you don’t accept this engagement, the only path left is to become Duke Clanef’s second wife. I said that in the first place, only those two places would accept someone as lacking as you!”

He threw the ink pen he was holding onto the desk. Aris shrank back, startled.

“Are you dull-witted, or do you really want to become that old man’s wife?”

“I don’t want either. I don’t want either of them, Father.”

Marquis Eldeiz laughed as if he found it ridiculous and stood up. He approached Aris with iron-like steps.

“You’ve been taught wrong. If you have nothing decent about you, you should at least listen to your father at times like this, not bring up your own opinions!”

As her exceptionally tall father stood right in front of her, Aris’s hands trembled finely. However, as much as she wished to stand at the moment of choice again, she squeezed out her voice with all her might.

“I… I’m not a doll that has to follow your choices, Father…!”

Yes. If this was reality, if she could choose again, Aris could shout as much as she wanted.

If only she could avoid marrying him. If only she could avoid becoming miserable again.

If only she could avoid loving him again…

At that moment, Aris’s head turned sideways with a fierce pain. A sharp, ear-splitting sound was heard, and a ringing echoed in her ears.

Before Aris could comprehend the situation, the Marquis’s hand struck her cheek once more. Unable to withstand the strong force, Aris collapsed onto the office floor.

“What have you done right to talk back to your father! If a woman is stupid, she should at least marry well. Where did you learn such manners!”

His shouting reverberated dizzyingly in her head. The sharp pain and loud ringing continued to prick her consciousness.

‘This can’t be a dream… This is not a dream.’

The ringing gradually stopped. Aris, who had reflexively steadied herself on the floor, clenched her fist and raised her head.

In her life, Aris had never once talked back to her father. But now, she felt like she could. The overwhelming feeling that this was clearly reality bolstered Aris’s courage.

“I… I will live my own life. I’ll do what I want to do, and I won’t regret it anymore. So, I won’t get engaged to His Highness the Crown Prince!”

Despite her dizziness, Aris gritted her teeth and raised her fallen body. Her clenched fists trembled. She left the office without even saying goodbye to her father, putting her rebellious spirit forward.

She could hear the Marquis shouting something behind her. Aris fled to her room with her eyes tightly shut.

Her heart was racing. Sorrow and fear were swelling in her heart. But even so, Aris somehow felt refreshed.

‘I really did such a thing…’

Rebellion was something she had only secretly overheard in the maids’ conversations. To be able to make her own choices, to rebel, to move forward for herself…

Aris tightly clenched the hand she had placed on her chest. She took a long breath and comforted herself.

‘Well done, Aristena. Well done, really…’

But the problem remained. Although she had expressed her will to the Marquis, permission had not yet been granted. Judging by his reaction earlier, it was clear he wouldn’t listen no matter how much Aris pleaded.

In this situation, Aris suddenly thought of one person.

‘What would you have done in this situation…’

A hero who always grasps victory. A man who can stand at the forefront no matter what threats there are, without backing down.

Aris bit her lip and then put forward a resolute mind.

‘…Let’s leave, far away.’

If she stayed at the Eldeiz mansion, she would have no choice but to get married. Aris decided to create her own choice to save herself. Like that person who always manages to turn despair into hope.

She would leave. To a place that needs her. To a place where she can feel her worth.

But before that, Aris had one thing to resolve.

“Sister!”

Just then, the door burst open and the person she had been thinking of appeared. Aion, who appeared without knocking, rushed to the side of the sofa where Aris was sitting.

“Did you really tell Father that you won’t get engaged to His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Yes.”

Aris overlooked her brother’s rudeness in barging in without warning.

Aion was two years younger than Aris. The fourteen-year-old Aion in front of her was still an immature prankster. But Aris didn’t dislike this Aion, neither in the past nor now.

“Wait… What’s wrong with your face? Sister, did you talk back to Father?”

Suddenly noticing Aris’s face, Aion’s expression hardened as he grabbed her shoulders. Although he could be a bit ill-mannered, Aion was the only one in this household who worried about her.

“He didn’t give permission…”

Marchioness Eldeiz paid no attention to Aris at all. She would only point out when Aris behaved pitifully in front of her, but otherwise, she didn’t care what Aris did.

Moreover, Marquis Eldeiz hated Aris for not living up to the family’s reputation at all. Aris was nothing more than a thorn in his side.

No matter how hard she tried, they wouldn’t look at her, and even if she reflected, they wouldn’t forgive her. Even though she had done nothing wrong.

“Sister, what’s wrong with you? You’ve been strange for a while now. You clearly liked His Highness the Crown Prince. You were even happy when you first heard about the engagement.”

Aion said seriously, furrowing his brow. Seeing him, Aris couldn’t help but laugh.

Aion was a promising talent in the family, and unlike Aris, he was well-rounded in everything. But he too needed someone to lean on besides his overbearing parents. That’s why Aion, although a bit mischievous, didn’t disregard Aris.

She stood up from the sofa and placed her hand on his head. Then she started to ruffle it vigorously.

“What? What are you doing?”

Aion grimaced. Aris chuckled and said,

“Thank you for saying that to me. But I really don’t want that position. This time, I want to do something different. I want to stay somewhere that needs me.”

A puzzled look crossed his face. Aris gave him a warm smile.

“Just as you will shine in your place, I’m going to find my own place.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Just that. You’re doing well enough, and I want to learn from you.”

Aion’s expression twisted strangely. His face suddenly turned red, and he swatted Aris’s hand away. Aion snorted.

“Well, you’d need to work harder, Sister. Then maybe Father will understand you someday.”

Aion plopped down on the sofa opposite. He seemed to have no intention of leaving, as he rang the bell to request tea from a servant.

A moment later, Aion spoke softly.

“You did well. That position would have just been tiring anyway.”

“Yes…”

“Ah, I heard you went to see Father today, so I woke up early in surprise. Now I’m dying of sleepiness.”

Aion kept grumbling, leaning back fully on the sofa. Aris smiled at her brother who kept chattering without any intention of leaving.

She gently touched the warm teacup and calmly opened her mouth.

“Aion, when are you going to the racecourse with Father?”

“The racecourse?”

“Yes, I think I heard… that you were going with Father.”

Aris tried hard to maintain her smile. Although it was a vague question, in fact, Aris remembered this incident clearly.

Aion had gone to the largest racecourse in the East with his father, and was killed by the hooves of a horse that had broken free from the track.

When she first heard the news, she didn’t believe it. But when she saw that the boy who had gone with her father wasn’t by his side when he returned, Aris felt as if her world was crumbling.

It was even more shocking because she remembered the face and voice of her brother who had boasted just a few days earlier that he was going to see a spectacle that his sister would never understand or experience.

‘Aion, this time I’ll protect you.’

If she could change fate with her own hands, Aris wanted to change this child’s life that had ended so briefly.

* * *

It was only a week later that Aion was to head to the racecourse with Marquis Eldeiz.

‘To leave with a light heart, I must first change Aion’s fate.’

For the past week, Aris had earnestly pleaded with the Marquis to accompany them to the racecourse.

Before that, she had tried to dissuade the Marquis from going to the racecourse, but he didn’t even pretend to listen to her. He treated her like an idiot, asking if she knew how much money was at stake.

The horse race, the largest held in the East, was also called a social gathering as nobles from all regions flocked to enjoy it. It was also a place for nobles to show off their wealth. That’s why Marquis Eldeiz was so insistent.

“Aristena, you must not cause any trouble there. Your planned engagement will also proceed without any issues, so if you say anything unnecessary like last time, I won’t let you off easily.”

“Yes, Father.”

Fortunately, the cheek that had been hit by the Marquis had healed completely. The Marquis probably confirmed this before letting Aris into the carriage heading to the racecourse.

Aris looked at her father sitting opposite her once, and then at Aion, who was sitting stiffly and looking out the window without any change in expression in front of the Marquis.

‘Can I… really do this?’

After several hours of travel, the Eldeiz family carriage arrived at its destination, the Magren Racecourse. It was a large racecourse owned by Count Magren, where a large-scale horse racing competition was held every year.