The Incubus Archduke Dreams of a Pet Human - Chapter 3

“Your marriage has been arranged, Theticia.”

The Viscount’s wife, Lady Farsha Pelloni fanned herself leisurely while seated on a cushioned couch. Unlike the twins, who were allowed to sit beside her, Theticia stood alone before the three of them like someone being punished.

“Congratulations, Sister.”

“You’re finally getting married. I did wonder what kind of man would take you.”

The twins, Theo and Roy, clung to their mother like sycophants. Though they were only a few months younger, they insisted on calling Theticia “Sister”, as if to mock her.

‘So this is what it’s come to.’

A shadow of resignation fell over Theticia’s already pale face.

In Viscount Pelloni’s Estate, only the current Viscountess, Farsha, and her twin sons were treated as nobles. A daughter from the former wife was nothing more than an extra mouth to feed.

“You look rather displeased. You should be grateful we’ve found you a match, instead of throwing a traitor’s daughter out on the streets with nothing.”

Eila Pelloni, the traitor. That was her mother’s name.

There was a time when Theticia wondered if her chronic illness had been a curse placed upon her by the Imperial Family to punish her mother’s treason. After all, the Imperial Palace was where magic thrived most abundantly.

Her mother was beheaded immediately after giving birth, following a denunciation by her father, Basel Pelloni. There was likely no need for a curse. Her mother’s existence was so faint that not even a portrait or a list of charges remained in the records.

As if someone had deliberately erased her.

Her father, who was granted the viscountcy in return for his denunciation, soon died of lingering illness. That left Theticia to be raised under the care of Farsha, her father’s second wife, a woman who had never once spared her a loving glance.

She had struggled not to be scolded and to be loved by her stepmother, but that was so long ago it no longer stirred any particular feelings in her.

After all, Farsha hadn’t raised Theticia out of love. It was because of the subsidy from the Imperial Family.

A subsidy granted under the guise of raising a traitor’s daughter with proper morals.

Now that she had come of age and the subsidy had stopped, she had expected Farsha to look for a husband to exchange her for money.

Theticia hesitated and asked,

“Who is the groom…?”

“Are you in any position to choose?”

At the sharp sting of her voice, Theticia flinched. Farsha let out a small laugh and flicked her fan.

“His Imperial Highness, Prince Periot. I was surprised that the Imperial Family would propose such a marriage to a lowborn girl like you. They say he’s been interested in you since your debutante ball. It’s an honor far more than you deserve.”

At the familiar name, Theticia’s already pale face turned as white as paper.

Due to her chronic illness, Theticia struggled to interact with others, making her an outcast of society. Branded as the daughter of a traitor, she never expected to be matched with a prestigious family.

‘But still… Prince Periot?’

The Third Prince, who stayed secluded due to illness, was over thirty years older than her. Though, thanks to the Imperial Family’s long-lived constitution, even in his sixties, the prince appeared to be in his thirties…

But for Theticia, who couldn’t see faces, it was hardly the point.

The problem lay in the horrifying rumors that clung to him.

– “His first wife died suddenly, his second wife fell to her death, and the third simply disappeared. They say it was he who killed them.”

– “His troops vanished at the border without a single body left behind. People say he worships demons. No doubt he offered them up as sacrifices.”

All kept quiet under the weight of the Imperial family’s power, but the mad prince’s bride was known as the Imperial gallows.

And now, Theticia was to become his fourth wife.

As Theticia remained silent, Farsha urged her once more.

“You truly ought to be grateful, don’t you think? A man of Imperial blood has taken a liking to you. Isn’t it time you repaid the favor of being raised?”

The twins’ snickering laughter followed. The moment she heard that light, playful laughter, all the pieces clicked into place in Theticia’s mind.

‘She sold me off so her sons wouldn’t be conscripted.’

Theticia bit her lip hard.

She had always thought the war with the demon realm was something happening far beyond the river. But now, even this little viscounty had been touched by the flames of war. Theticia wasn’t the only one who had come of age. Theo and Roy had also reached adulthood this year.

The war with the demon realm, nearing its hundredth year, remained in a grueling stalemate. For over a decade, the empire’s northern defenses and the demon army had been locked in a brutal tug-of-war.

The twins, who had avoided the draft under the pretense that the heir had not yet been named, had finally reached their turn.

If handing off the troublesome, illegitimate daughter Theticia to this prince would keep her two sons safe, Farsha saw it as a trade she couldn’t refuse.

“Do you know how hard I worked to find you a good match? It’s a noble position, where you won’t have to wander the mountains and fields anymore and yet, not a word of thanks from you, Theticia?”