|Elizabeth Vermillion POV|
I look around the party for a few seconds before my eyes land on someone. My eyes land on a person with a lean body but still filled with muscle. He has long black hair and brown eyes. His sharp eyes look around the room, searching for something exciting.
This man is Terrion Gurkan, the Heir of Gurkan County and my future husband if I arrive in the DLC timeline.
While the main timeline gets me more support from my family, there are too many death flags in that timeline for my comfort. I have no happy ending in that timeline, and I don't want that.
I prefer a hard life rather than something that happens in the main timeline.
"Can I have your attention?"
I look up and see the Crown Prince looking at the audience with a smile on his face. He is handsome and totally my type. If only not for this cursed storyline, and when I get reincarnated, I will try to get close to him.
Sadly, the ship has sailed, and now it is time to see which timeline I'm in.
"I want to make an announcement! Because of some event, I canceled the betrothal contract between me and Lady Elizabeth Vermillion!"
He takes out a piece of paper and shows it to the people in the room.
"This is proof of the cancellation! My father, the king, already signed it. With this, our betrothal is now void."
After saying that, I can see the Crown Prince looking at me with a certain expectation. I know this. In the game, Elizabeth throws a temper tantrum, and the crown prince will then humiliate her even further.
Heh. Sadly for him, I'm not Elizabeth anymore. I'm Elizabeth but more.
I only smile at him and walk out of the room. I will not give him the satisfaction he wants. As I leave the room, I can see my family butler already waiting for me.
"My lady."
"What is it, Sebastian?"
"Lord Vermillion is waiting for you in the mansion."
I hold my smile when I hear the news. I'm in the DLC timeline!
In the main timeline, the Villainess will return to her mansion alone, and she will start scheming. I continue to hold myself from smiling as the butler takes me to the Vermillion Mansion in the capital city.
When we arrive, we enter the mansion, and the butler opens the door to the office, where I can see my father sitting on the chair.
My father, Handerson Vermillion, is a massive man that stands two meters tall. His body is full of muscle, and his red hair flows to his shoulder. His green eyes look at me with an unreadable expression.
He is a warrior and a powerful one at that. The player can see him in action in the DLC timeline when they reach the third arc of the storyline.
"Take a seat."
I nod and sit in front of him.
"You should know the reason why I call you here."
"Yes, Father. Is it because of the cancellation of my betrothal?"
He nods and takes out a piece of paper.
"This is the so-called evidence the Crown Prince gives to me. I know you did not do anything to warrant such slander but we cannot do anything for now."
I blink for a few seconds at his word. I thought that he would punish me. The DLC says that I get married off as a punishment.
"It looks like the Crown Prince gathers the other nobles to ensure your punishment sticks. It looks like he and his group already planned this a long time ago. What makes matters worse, they decide to 'punish' you by marrying you to another house."
"What? Marrying me to another house?"
I know the word in the game said I would be married off as a punishment, but I never thought that the Crown Prince punished me instead of my father.
"Yes. The king decides to 'reward' the Gurkan house for their loyalty by marrying you to their heir."
"Can he do that?"
"Technically? No. However, the Crown Prince gathered our enemy under his banner, creating the biggest political move against our family. Don't worry, Eli. Your father has already gathered his ally, and they are ready to fight this farce."
"No!"
I shout and look my father in the eyes.
"No. I know our family situation, father. I know how we start to lose power in the capital. We cannot waste even more power for something like this."
"But, Eli! Think about your happiness! I cannot watch my beloved daughter sad and miserable."
"And you need to think of our family's future, father. I also need to think of my little brother."
That's right. I have a little brother and heir to the Vermillion family. He is still a babe, almost a year old.
"Let me bear this burden, father. Mother and you have sacrificed enough for me. It is time for me to do the same for you and the rest of the family."
After I said that, he quickly hugged me tightly. I smile a little and hug him back.
"You should not sacrifice anything… Our job is to make our children happy and have a bright life! Not the other way around."
He hugs me for a minute before taking a deep breath. He releases me and looks at me right in the eyes.
"Don't worry, my daughter. I promise you that we will pay them back threefold for what they have done to us."
"You don't need to do that, father."
"No! They make us their enemy, and we will do what we need to do to an enemy. We destroy them."
I can only smile and say.
"Just make sure not to get caught, okay? I don't think conspiracy against the Royal Family will be seen as something good."
"Don't worry, my daughter. Even when I'm like this, I can be sneaky, you know?"
"Fufufufu~ Of course."
"What?! It is true!"
We look at each other and laugh together. After a few seconds, he looks at me and says,
"Anyway, at least you will be married to the Gurkan family. They are an honorable family, not very rich but they have enough money to last three generations even when they did not do anything. Not only that, they are a strong family with an elite army that can capture the capital with ease."
"Really? Can you tell me more?"
"Of course. The current head of the Gurkan family is Lord Barlam Gurkan. He is a stalwart defender of Gurkan County. He can easily fight ten men and command ten thousand soldiers as if it were his own two hands. He has a blessing called [Golden Castle] that lets him negate any damage to himself and three hundred people near him for one minute. Because of this blessing, he is called the [Unbreakable Hero] to the people in the eastern part of our kingdom."
"What about my soon-to-be husband?"
I want to know what kind of man he is. I want to know if he is different from the one in the game.
"Terrion Gurkan, huh? There are not many things I know about him. What I know is that he recently awakened his blessing in the capital, and he is a rather powerful person. There is a rumor about him fighting against three of his guards alone, and he can hold his ground against the three of them."
"Impressive."
"Yes. I know that the Gurkan family is an honorable family, but if they do something that makes you uncomfortable, immediately tell me, okay? I will fight the world rather than see my children suffer."
"Of course, father."
I smile at him and say.
"However, I have a feeling that this will be a blessing rather than a curse."
Thanks for the chapter