His old fla hadn’t shown up, and the banquet’s appeal instantly dropped several notches for Isaac. After all, he didn’t manage a fiefdom or build up a faction, so socializing with the Nobility was aningless to him.
Besides, he was a Mad Witch.
So Isaac didn’t even go over to his older sister and the others, instead wandering around the banquet aimlessly by himself, occasionally grabbing a few pastries to stuff in his mouth.
"Hello, why are you all alone? On bad terms with your family?"
A pity. Even though he was a Mad Witch whose reputation struck fear in people’s hearts, he was still a mber of the Solomons Family, which was enough to draw attention. And sure enough, a young woman holding a glass of red wine approached him.
Isaac glanced at the magnificent sight of the young woman’s chest, a flash of understanding in his eyes. ’Just as I thought,’ he mused. ’The reason she looked so flat before was because her chest was bound.’
The young woman who had approached to greet him was none other than Sylvie, the golden-haired girl he’d t during the battle for the island. Unlike the simple, light Leather Armor she’d worn back then, Sylvie was now in an elegant white gown. Her chest was prominent, a generous amount of pale skin exposed in an utterly alluring display.
Isaac, however, rely glanced once before averting his eyes. He scanned the direction Sylvie had co from and asked with a hint of confusion, "Didn’t Avin co with you?"
Sylvie’s expression was complicated...
’This Mad Witch, Isaac, has no interest in ,’ she thought. ’I don’t know whether to be happy or angry...’
"Avin went back to the Truth Association. He has to pursue so advanced studies for a while, so our adventuring party is on hiatus."
Isaac understood. ’That makes sense,’ he thought. ’What a sha. I wanted to thank Avin properly. It would have been even better if we could have had an in-depth discussion about the Knowledge surrounding the Evil God Ceremony.’
Too bad he didn’t make it.
"You still haven’t answered my question. Why are you by yourself? Do you not get along with your family?"
"It’s fine, I guess. But I’m a Mad Witch. Isn’t it normal for to keep my distance?" Isaac looked at Sylvie in surprise. "What about you, though? Shouldn’t you hate ? Why approach at all? If you’re looking to network, shouldn’t you be talking to my older brother or sister?"
"You have a point; you are a Mad Witch. But you’re mistaken. I don’t hate you. You may be a Mad Witch, and you might do terrible things in the future, but you haven’t done anything yet. So I have no reason to hate you... though I have no interest in getting to know you, either..."
A resigned smile touched Sylvie’s lips. ’If this had been two years ago, back when I first started adventuring, I definitely would have been interested in Isaac. Of course,’ she mused, ’it would have been mainly to try and pull him back to the straight and narrow.’
’But now...’
’I don’t understand it, but I respect it.’
"If you’re not interested in getting to know ... then why did you co over?"
"Family orders," Sylvie said with a helpless shrug. "Being Nobility isn’t always a good thing."
"Sotis, you have to sacrifice personal interests for the sake of the family. It’s unavoidable. When you enjoy the privileges that co with your family na, you also have to accept the duties that co with it."
"I see." Isaac nodded. Now he understood. Mad Witches might be notorious, but her family wasn’t targeting Isaac the person—they were targeting the Solomon na behind him.
"So, did they tell you how far you have to go with this?" Isaac asked curiously, taking a glass of orange juice from a passing waiter. "For Avin’s sake, I can help you out if it’s sothing simple."
"Then you probably can’t help. They want a political marriage," Sylvie said with a resigned laugh.
"Huh?" Isaac froze, the glass of orange juice stopping just before his lips. "A political marriage? With you?"
"Is that so strange? It’s just how the Nobility operates. A political marriage, nothing more."
"It is strange!" Isaac said, looking Sylvie up and down in astonishnt. "You’re the daughter of a Duke. The Solomons are just a Count’s family. We have so power, sure, but... not enough for this, right?"
"Daughter of a Duke... heh." Sylvie gave a casual laugh. "You really don’t understand the Nobility. To you, my status might seem lofty, but in reality, it’s nothing special. I’m just one of a Duke’s daughters. I’m Duke Hass’s one hundred and thirty-second daughter. He probably doesn’t even know my na. Now, do you still think my position is so prestigious?"
’One hundred and thirty-two... And that’s just the fucking daughters?’
Isaac’s lip twitched. ’Fucking hell, how is he that fertile?’
But after a mont of shock, Isaac realized it was actually... quite normal.
First, this wasn’t a world of monogamy. As long as you were powerful and rich enough, you could have as many wives—or husbands—as you wanted. Second, Extraordinary Power existed in this world, and the powerful had very long lifespans. High Level Nobility were almost all first-class powerhouses who lived for ages, so having a lot of children was perfectly normal.
After all, this world had no rule making it difficult for the powerful to conceive. Of course, the child of a powerful individual was often no different from that of an Ordinary person.
The rule was a bit strange, but that’s just how it was.
Sylvie’s situation, then, wasn’t hard to understand. To outsiders, her status was indeed lofty; she represented the public face of Duke Hass’s household. But internally...
...it was a different story.
In fact, a family like the Solomon Clan, with only four children, was an extre rarity.
"In that case, I really can’t help you." Isaac shook his head. Sylvie was beautiful, but he wasn’t interested in her that way. And he could tell the feeling was mutual.
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