Favored by the Family That Will Become the Strongest! - Chapter 85

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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At her alarm, Barcan frowned and spoke.
“I won’t sit idle.”
“Really?”
“I’ll stop it by whatever means necessary.”
“Right? You also think it’s absurd that Diena would be betrothed to such a strange man and return to the Rothwell people, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Bianca’s eyes gleamed with sharpness.
She gripped Barcan’s shoulder firmly and spoke.
“Brother!”
“What?”
“What if we register Diena into our house? Father has already suggested it first, anyway. I’d love to become sisters with Diena. I can take such good care of her. I could cherish her for a lifetime.”
It was a fervent confession spoken from the heart.
Barcan gazed at Bianca’s face in silence. As she said, Sevar had already made the proposal, so there was a good chance he would consent.
But imagining such a thing made his mood inexplicably sour.
“What do you think? If you’re okay with it, Father would surely be pleased, right?”
Barcan ran his hand through his hair roughly and answered.
“That won’t work.”
“Why not!”
“I don’t like it.”
Bianca, having never expected Barcan to refuse, fidgeted and bit her lip.
“Perhaps he’s instinctively uncomfortable with something his own heart hasn’t yet acknowledged.”
She even muttered words she didn’t quite understand.
She could understand why Bianca was making such a fuss—without intervention, Diena might truly end up betrothed to someone she didn’t want.
‘I know registering Diena into our house would be the easiest solution. But why does it feel so…… irritating?’
Even thinking about it brought a wave of displeasure and frustration.
Seeing how troubled Barcan looked, Bianca found herself speaking without thinking.
“Then why don’t you just become betrothed to Diena yourself!”
“Betrothed to Diena……?”
Diena and himself betrothed to each other. It was something he’d never even imagined. While he was dazed, Bianca continued, raising her voice.
“No matter what, you’re better than him. I hate to admit it, but there’s no one but you who has looks comparable to that man’s!”
Coming to his senses, Barcan shook his head and grasped her shoulders.
“Calm down, Bianca. That’s a decision Diena needs to make.”
“Ah, right—Diena might not like you, after all…….”
She spoke as if it had never occurred to her that Barcan might dislike it. Barcan exhaled softly.
It wasn’t an impossible thing to consider—perhaps he’d be a better match for Diena than Cassian or any of the others. He’d even thought it would be far better than having her register into another house.
But.
“Do you think the Duke of Rothwell would accept it? Either way, a betrothal with me is impossible. A betrothal requires the Head of House’s permission.”
“Then what do we do?”
Just as Bianca bit her lip and wrung her hands,
the firmly shut door opened silently. Diena, who had been in the room all along, appeared.
“D-Diena. Are you feeling better?”
Unaware that the two were there, Diena startled briefly, then tilted her head at Bianca’s question.
“Hmm? I wasn’t feeling unwell to begin with?”
“O-oh?”
Diena nodded.
“I had a letter that needed to be sent urgently, so I wrote it.”
At her words, Bianca’s gaze dropped—toward the letter in her hand.
“Who’s it for?”
“His Highness Prince Ardin.”
Bianca asked in surprise.
“You’re not planning to become betrothed to His Highness, are you?”
She asked in genuine astonishment, but Diena tilted her head as if confused.
“No.”
Bianca visibly relaxed, and Barcan too seemed quietly relieved.
“Then, what is it? Do you have someone in mind?”
At that question, Diena’s gaze turned toward Barcan. In that instant, a peculiar hope bloomed across Bianca’s face.
‘Brother clearly likes Diena.’
If Diena agreed, the two might actually become betrothed.
‘Then I could become family with Diena?’
But Diena crushed Bianca’s hopes by firmly shaking her head.
“No. I don’t really have anyone in mind. Nothing’s been decided yet. I’m planning to think it over now.”
Bianca’s head snapped up.
‘Diena truly has no feelings whatsoever for my brother!’
With a pitying heart, she glanced at Barcan. There he stood, his face expressionless as though nothing were amiss. Watching him with confusion, Bianca soon realized something.
‘Could it be…… that brother is convinced he doesn’t like Diena? Seriously, it seemed that way even before the winter banquet—is it possible he still hasn’t figured it out? What on earth were they doing at Castleton Duchy!’
Bianca sank into thought for a moment, but decided to look on the bright side. His refusal to become betrothed to anyone meant he wouldn’t be betrothed to Cassian either, so at least they’d avoided the worst outcome.
She preferred it if Diena married Barcan rather than someone like Cassian. She even thought objectively that her brother was better than other men.
But love was something you had to manage yourself in the end. The fault lay with him if he couldn’t win the heart of a woman he liked, with a face like that.
‘If I were my brother, I wouldn’t have done it that way.’
Bianca was truly confident she could give Diena everything. Because she had no intention of handing her over to a pitiable man who couldn’t even recognize his own feelings, she turned her attention away from Barcan and spoke with composure, changing the subject.
“Is that so? But do you have a way out? It seems the Duke of Rothwell intends to have you betrothed to his tool one way or another.”
“That’s true.”
“Then, isn’t it just Cassian Volkov?”
Diena shook her head. She detested a betrothal with Cassian. She intended to avoid it at all costs.
She didn’t want to follow her uncle’s wishes, either. Recently, her primary directive was to not move according to his desires.
If anything, she’d rather be with someone he hated.
Since Balthasar had made up his mind to betroth her, there seemed to be no way to escape.
A betrothal was the exclusive authority of the Head of House and a promise between families. Yet despite that, Diena had no intention of following his wishes. If no method existed, she would simply create one.
“I need to find a way to become betrothed to someone my heart chooses.”
* * *
The Imperial Palace.
And within it, the First Prince’s Palace at its heart.
Liandro, both friend and guard of Ardin, spoke with a furrowed brow.
“The Duke of Rothwell is acting up again.”
“I’ve already heard the report.”
“He convinced the High Priest to cut off the distribution of Side Effect Suppressants to the elite mercenaries outside the Purification District.”
Ardin wore a bitter smile.
The Purification District was the name given to the territory where the Temple stood.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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