บท 23: Betrothed (1)
Austria, December 14th 1791
5:14 PM
Herman and Lukas were dueling once again outside the garden of the mansion. It had been a daily practice for both of them and it was finally starting to pay off.
Lukas raised his sword with both his hands and clumsily slashed it downwards, however, Herman easily blocked it.
After that, Herman checked his watch. "Okay, Lukas, let's call it a day. Great job today though," he said.
Lukas was panting loudly and even though it was very cold, the boy was sweating quite a bit.
Lukas smiled. "Thank you," the blonde boy said, he actually was proud of himself. In the beginning he was truly struggling with these duels, but he was finally getting the hang of it.
Of course, Lukas still didn't compare to Herman at all. He still wasn't even able to land a blow on the bulky man, however, Herman was satisfied with Lukas's progress so far.
'This brat is quite a fast learner! Although he still can't wield the sword quite properly, he's improved a lot,' Herman thought, content.
"Okay, I'm going home now. I'm quite exhausted," Lukas said as he panted and his breath was visible due to the cold.
Herman nodded his head. "Fine, you may go."
-----
Austria, December 15th 1791
8:30 AM
Lukas was sleeping on his bed. His snoring, although it was low, could be heard in his bedroom.
Soon, the door of his room carefully opened and Olivia cautiously walked in. She approached his bed and sweetly called for him.
"Lukas, honey, it is time to wake up."
After complaining for a while, Lukas sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Olivia, why am I sleepier than usual?" he asked.
After that, he eyed the clock on the wall and showed a pout. "Why did you wake me up earlier today?" Lukas asked.
Olivia smiled. "Today will be a determinant day for your life, Lukas. Please, get dressed and come to the breakfast table quickly, fine?"
Lukas was pretty curious with what Olivia had just said. 'Today's a determinant day for my life?' the blonde boy wondered.
Lukas stood up from the bed and quickly got dressed. After that, he headed to the breakfast table where Frida and Elias were sitting at.
'Well, uncle Karl is not here, but father is. What can it be? They will tell me now?' Lukas wondered.
Lukas pulled the chair and sat on it like any other day, waiting for someone to say something. "Good morning, mom, dad."
Frida smiled. "Good morning, honey! Did you sleep well?" she asked. Frida had been much happier lately. It looks like that was just a bad phase.
"Yes, I did." 'I am a liar!' Lukas thought. Soon, a servant served him some tea along with the rest of his breakfast. "Thank you," Lukas said to the servant.
"I'm glad to hear that, Lukas," Frida said. "And I have great news for you!" she said.
'Oh, so it apparently is a good thing... I say "apparently" because me and mom sometimes have fairly different opinions regarding certain matters,' Lukas thought.
Lukas started eating his breakfast and he asked. "What is that? Tell me, please. I am curious."
Frida showed a smile that would make most men's heart skip a beat. "We will have a special visit today at lunch time!"
Lukas pretended to be surprised. "Oh, really? And who will it be?!" he asked. After that, he took a cup of tea and started sipping on it.
"My cousin and his daughter. She is your age and is your betrothed!" Frida said with enthusiasm, on the other hand, Elias didn't look so happy, he actually looked pretty angry.
However, Lukas didn't notice his father's reaction because he was very shocked to hear that himself.
As soon as he heard the news, he spat out the tea he was drinking. "WHAT THE ACTUAL F..." Lukas held himself back and took a deep breath. "Really, mom? I'm so pleased to hear that!" Lukas said with a refreshing smile.
Lukas could feel that the servants around them were controlling themselves not to laugh, but Lukas didn't find it funny at all.
Frida showed a disappointed expression. "You are not happy to hear that, Lukas?" Frida asked.
'Yes! I'm not!' Lukas thought. "N-No! I am truly happy to hear that! I even... spat on the table and stuff."
Frida was still doubtful, but she ended up accepting it. "That's good to hear, son! I really hope you'll get along with your cousin!" she said.
"She's my second cousin, right?" Lukas asked.
Frida shook her head as she laughed. "No, no, silly. She's your first cousin. She's both my sister's and my cousin's daughter," Frida revealed.
'What a mess,' Lukas thought. "Oh, I see. Then why is your sister not coming too?" Lukas asked.
"She is really ill, Lukas, so she can't be coming," Frida said with a sad look.
Lukas had already heard a lot about his mother's prodigy sister and her illness. But he didn't think that she was still sick.
'Oh, she's still ill?! I thought that at this point she would be dead or cured already. Wow, tough woman.'
"Oh, I am so sorry about it! Is it bad?" Lukas asked.
Frida nodded her head. "It happened shortly after your cousin was born and since then, she never got better."
Lukas paid attention to his surroundings. Although the servants around him were showing sad expressions, Elias couldn't care less about this conversation and was just focusing on his breakfast.
Lukas sighed. "Sorry for bringing this up, mom."
Frida smiled. "It's fine, darling. Today is a happy day, so let us not change it, okay?"
Lukas nodded his head with a smile. "Yes, mother."
"Oh, I almost forgot. Do you feel better about yesterday?" Frida asked.
Lukas nodded his head. "Yes, it's okay."
Lukas had seen a dead bird the previous day in the garden after the training, and that truly made him feel bad, but he felt better now.
'That thing I felt... it was so bad. Was I on the verge of crying at that point?' Lukas wondered.
-----
Lukas was sitting on a bench in his room as he painted a canva. He had been painting things on the canva for quite a few months, and Lukas truly preferred it to the quill and paper, things looked much more vivid like this.
Besides, painting somehow relaxed him a lot, it was what made him feel better after he had seen the dead bird and it also calmed him down in this stressful situation.
Soon, Lukas heard a knock on his door. "Come in," Lukas calmly said as he kept painting.
A servant came in. "Hello, young master. Let us make you ready for the visi-" as soon as the servant saw Lukas's state, she gasped.
"Oh my God, young master! You are covered with paint! And the visitors are almost here."
Lukas raised his brow. 'You are overreacting, it's just in my hands and my face. No big deal. Takes less than five minutes to clean up.'
"Don't worry, Sarah, we have time. Let us go," Lukas calmly said.
-----
Frida and Elias were waiting at the front door. Lukas still wasn't there and Frida was starting to feel stressed.
"Oh my God, why is Lukas taking so long?!" Frida said nervously.
Elias sighed. "Just calm down! So what if he is a little late?!" he asked.
Frida took a deep breath, trying to relax. "You are right, Elias. It's nothing special if he is late for the first meeting with the woman he will spend the rest of his life and have children with!"
Elias sighed once again. 'It's useless.'
Soon, Elias and Frida heard steps coming from upstairs. After that, Lukas could be seen along with some servants with a smile on their faces.
'I still think I am a bit too young for this,' Lukas thought.
Lukas was wearing a black linen shirt along with black trousers. "We thought it would match his eyes very well, Mrs. Von Neumann," a servant said with a smile.
Frida had an overjoyed smile on her face. "You thought so right! He looks so stunning!" she said, almost yelling.
Soon, a knock on the entrance door could be heard. "Oh my, they are here!" Frida said. "Let's wait here with a good stance."
'I am impressed that father is tagging along with this,' Lukas thought. 'Well, I don't remember interacting with another girl my age. There are some servants in this mansion who have daughters around my age, but I barely talk to them, and everytime I try they are always too nervous to answer me.'
Lukas noticed that they may have some sort of crush on him, but he considered it was just because of his high status.
'Okay, let us see what expects me.'
Olivia went to open the door and a tall man with shoulder-length, blonde hair and blue eyes was revealed. He had a friendly smile on his face, but something about him intrigued Lukas.
'I don't think you are that well-intentioned, my friend,' Lukas thought.
However, who had the most hostile reaction towards that man was Elias. He was truly disgusted to see him and he didn't bother to hide it. 'You piece of shit!' Elias instantly thought once he saw the man.
"Good morning, everyone. I am so pleased to see you all!" the man said.
For some reason, he still stood at the door for a few moments. Soon, he looked down and said.
"Violett, please, let go of my leg. We have to enter and you have to meet your betrothed," the man gently said.
Soon, a little girl with a shy face appeared from behind his legs. She looked a lot like a smaller version of Frida, which intrigued Lukas.
'What is this?! Are you sure she is not my sister rather than my cousin?!' Lukas wondered.
Although the little girl had rather attractive features, Lukas didn't pay much attention to it. 'I can see she's very pretty, but I am still incapable of feeling physical attraction, so whatever.'
The man and Violett walked in and Olivia closed the door behind them. "Welcome to our mansion, Tobias, Violett," Frida said with a wide smile.
Tobias nodded his head. "Thank you very much, Frida," Tobias looked down at Lukas "Hello, Lukas. I am pleased to meet you. I have heard a whole lot about you."
Lukas showed him a smile. "Hello. I am happy to hear that. I hope we will get to meet each other ourselves rather than through other individuals."
Tobias was truly impressed by Lukas's answer. "He speaks well, does he not, Elias?" he asked, looking at Elias with a smile which looked more like a smirk.
Elias just clenched his fists and nodded his head.
Lukas noticed Elias's reaction and he realized Elias perhaps hated him even more than he hated Frida.
'What is happening?' Lukas wondered.
Tobias chuckled and turned to his daughter. "Now it is your turn to introduce yourself to everyone. Go ahead, Violett. Do not be afraid, we are family."
Tobias said.
Violett nodded her head. She approached Frida with a strong blush on her face and said "G-Good morning, aunt Frida. I am very happy to finally meet you," she said with a clearly forced smile.
'She pronounces the words like any other child her age. I am sure her father told her to say these words when she met us,' Lukas thought.
Then, Violett turned to Lukas. This time, her blush was even stronger and he could see that her hands were shaking. 'Okay, this is too much for me, I'll help her out. Too much pressure for a regular three-year-old girl.'
Lukas stepped forward with a friendly smile and started speaking. "Hello... "Violett", right? My name's Lukas. I am so happy to meet you. I hope we will get along."
Lukas leaned in and kissed her cheek. Since they were both betrothed, it was no big deal for anyone, even though it was unexpected.
Violett's blush got a bit redder and she showed a genuine smile this time. "It is nice to meet you too, Lukas," she calmly said.
Frida was very content with Lukas's attitude. 'Good job, honey,' she had already noticed Viollet's nervousness, and Lukas's friendly stance calmed her down. 'It probably was Lukas who she was most worried about. She is so lucky that Lukas is a good boy.'
'I can't believe it... she's taller than me!' Lukas thought. Although it was less than one centimeter, she still was and it still mattered to Lukas.
Soon, Violett turned to Elias who didn't have a happy face at all, and that naturally scared her.
Although Lukas looked serious regarding the situation, he actually found it very amusing. 'Haha! Oh my gosh! Look at his face towards the little girl! Oh my, poor thing!'
Tobias noticed that it wasn't worth it for Violett to greet Elias, so he just decided to advance. "Well, shall we have some tea?" Tobias asked.
'Damn you! I wanted to see what would have happened!' Lukas thought.
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