Ultimate Goddess System

"So Miss Warrington, what do you mean by a marriage contract?" The moment he sat down across from her, he immediately questioned her. She didn't know where to start, but knew that this was her only opportunity to present him this contract. If she failed here, then there was a high chance that her target progress overall would be sabotaged. Adriel seemed like the type of person who wouldn't easily forgive, especially for matters like marriage which were very serious.     

"Your Highness, we will not get married but only engaged." She began, trying to console it and make the offer more tempting. It had the opposite effect and he looked more annoyed. "Engaged in the eyes of others."     

"And why would I, the future king, need a fake fiancée?" This was the trickiest part of his question. Why would the crown prince and the future king of one of the two largest nation's need to fake his engagement and marriage? She had to explain this thoroughly.     

"It will benefit you because Your Highness is in that age where you have many persistent women after you." And your status, but she wasn't that bold to say the last part. He could always assume that she was the same as the 'persistent women' and only proposed such a ridiculous contract to have that luxury.     

"Persistent women aside, how will this benefit you? How do I know that you aren't just as greedy as them? Didn't you choose and demand for me to be your escort? Is this another ploy..." His sentence faltered and he didn't continue since he felt like his words were turning too harsh for a delicate young lady like her. However, his accusation didn't escape her ears and only made her more nervous.     

"Your Highness," she was contemplating on whether or not she should be honest. In the end, she chose the route of truth since it was better that he found out now then later from the mouth of another. "Actually, I didn't even choose you to be my escort."     

"What!?" His royal blue eyes widened in shock. Never in all of his calculations did he expect that she hadn't even chosen him. He had assumed that she did it out of infatuation originally, then throughout the night, his assumption had changed that she had a plan in store for him. But now, she was admitting that she didn't even choose him to be her escort.     

What was the truth?     

"Yes," she nodded and didn't avert her eyes from his. She wanted him to see how clear and honest they were, which he could see. No amount of acting could reflect the integrity that she was showing in her sky blue eyes. "The Duchess has chosen you, Your Highness. I had no say in it." Her words were madness. When it was the matter of the debutant party, it was the matter of becoming an adult and having a coming of age ceremony. Even though the preparations would be done for them, things like clothes, escort, everything would be picked themselves because it would signify the becoming of an adult and picking for their own.     

It was very unheard of to have any of these things picked for the person having the debutant party, so he didn't believe her initially. However, with the candor glint in her eyes, he couldn't doubt her. "Then...you didn't actually choose me?" For some reason, that stung him more than he expected. For such an intelligent girl, when they were speaking, he assumed that she had chosen him because she knew that he was also intelligent like her. They shared a similarity in intelligence and likes, especially the books he thought that no one else around his age would enjoy except him.     

She shook her head, her eyes shifting to misery. "This dress, the diamonds, you...everything was chosen for me." Her admittance to the truth so easily meant that she wasn't lying about, nor did she have a reason to lie about it.     

"Why?" He could only muster one word and ask.     

Why? She didn't know either.     

For the past couple of years, she had been taken in and groomed by the Duchess of Warrington to be the perfect little puppet, to be obedient for her fifteenth birthday. Clearly, all the time and effort was for the royal family, especially to set her up with the crown prince. Based on the expressions filled with triumph, she could see that the Duchess thought that she had won. But won what exactly?     

"I don't know. It's always been that way." She couldn't explain to him that she had been used like a doll from the moment that she stepped in to replace Evelyn all those years ago.     

"I see..." Adriel murmured, his thoughts filled to investigate once he returned.     

'Always been that way?' He realized that just like him, her life had been planned out. The similarities they shared with each other broke a small barrier that he kept against her. All the original assumptions about her had already been thrown away, so he was only discovering the real her more and more. Although he didn't trust her, he still found it in him to trust her current words.     

"Your Highness, you are the future king, yes that's true. However, you also need the backing of several nobilities, particularly the more powerful ones." Her warning was clear. He had a brother, born from his mother, the Queen, so he had the same bloodline as him. He was not inferior by being an illegitimate child, his only flaw for the crown was being born one year later than Adriel himself. "If Your Highness agrees, then I, Violetta Charlotte Warrington, sweat an oath on my family name to have the Dukedom of Warrington back you."     

She uttered those words and the promise, but she was a bit scared. She was taking a gamble. Since the Duchess had wanted her to interact with the crown prince so much, then she would help her convince the Duke to support the crown prince. The Warrington Clan had been taking a neutral stance since the birth of the second prince, so once they chose a side, it would stick with them until the death of the chosen side.     

"Furthermore, as you know, the Duchess comes from a powerful noble house as well. My maternal side of the family will also assist you to have a smooth journey to your crown." Once again, these words were another gamble. Based off of the accumulation of all the years of being played and controlled by the Duchess, she was taking a gamble. The cold woman had worked and trained Violetta far too hard for this moment. Even if she didn't know why, she knew that it was important. However, her thoughts panicked at the idea that the Duchess would do the unexpected and not care.     

It was a fifty-fifty percent chance of how persistent the Duchess was.     

Adriel looked at the firm yet delicate girl who was standing firm and looking him in the eyes. He could see her face turning a bit pale and the sweat dripping down her forehead, but she didn't flinch and stuck with her oath.     

Interesting...     

The illegitimate daughter who had no relations to the Duchess' maternal family could make a promise like this.     

She had come prepared for this contract. But since it was a contract and she said that it would benefit them both, he was curious on what benefits she would be getting. "And what would Miss Warrington be getting out of this contract?"     

She took a deep breath, "My freedom." And that pretty much summarized all the feelings she felt towards the Duchess. First and foremost, she wouldn't need to be married off to who knows what random person, and second, she could have the old woman give her some space. She had a feeling that the Duchess' real aim wasn't just Adriel nor his crown prince position, but her real aim would be revealed the moment that he was crowned king.     

Seeing him confused, she felt the obligation to explain. "Even though it's considered the norm to be married off, especially for nobility, I still wish I could get the chance to choose." Although Juliet didn't have money nor the ability to get food or nice clothes, her life as Juliet wasn't monitored nor did she have her everything restricted, including her marriage, since marriage wasn't as formal with peasants as it was with nobles. "Your Highness, the engagement will be temporary until you are stabilized and become king. By that point, you can easily break it off as the ruler of the nation and marry whoever you want."     

"...And what would you do?" She had everything planned out, he pondered if she had planned out her future as well.      

The bittersweet smile on her lips left an unfamiliar ache in his chest. "I would probably be traveling and renouncing my status as the daughter of the Warrington Duke." In reality, she would just be giving up the thing that didn't belong to her. To this day; she felt guilt for Evelyn who never had the chance to enjoy the luxury and food that she enjoyed in her stead.     

Adriel stared at her in disbelief. She was only fifteen years old! She was too mature for her age and didn't bat an eye at admitting that she would give up her status and family name.     

"Why would you want to travel?" He was met with a brief silence.     

"I've always wanted to see different parts of the world." She finally confessed. It was an excuse but not fully a lie. Although this world was divided into two major nations, it didn't mean that there wasn't traveling by boat. If she ever succeeded with her current target, she could always travel to find her next one. It would allow her to have fun and look for whoever was next in her mission.     

"I see..." Xiao Yunhua stared at him, hoping he would respond to her contract, but he didn't say anything.     

"If Your Highness is worried about your potential marriage arrangements, then I would like to remind you that I can appease the Queen." By being the perfect daughter in law. Even though the Queen most likely wanted to marry Adriel to a princess of a foreign nation, she was sure she could convince her otherwise. If anything, she could always give her Vehemence.     

She hated to manipulate emotions, but if that's what it took to get success, then by all means, she would manipulate the entire world.     

"I'm just...surprised." Adriel didn't acknowledge the feelings he felt towards the noble knight as envy because he had no word in his dictionary. "I would've assumed that you would've picked the noble." Once again, he blurted things curtly that he would've never thought he would say. Even if he couldn't see the jealousy, she could.     

'Is he jealous?'     

The possibility of it was absurd. They had just met that day! The noble he referred to, of course she understood immediately. She just didn't expect that the crown prince had heard the rumors about her as well. She didn't realize that her intense stare earlier had been noticed by him.     

"Your Highness, I don't know what you've heard but I can assure you—"     

"My apologies Miss Warrington. I let my mouth say words purely based from rumors." He interrupted, embarrassed.     

She blushed. She hoped that the rumors would have dissipated by now, but if the crown prince, her partner, had heard them, she needed to make more of a conscious effort to make them disappear.     

"No, if Your Highness is agreeing, then I think it's best that I explain these rumors now." She was giving him an ultimatum. If he agreed, then she would explain everything to him. Of course, she wouldn't really explain every detail, but enough details to where he could believe her and know that there is nothing going on between Dominic and her. She would explain that she possessed no feelings for him either.     

She saw him still undecided and wished that her words could persuade him already.     

Persuade?     

She suddenly remembered that she had the power of persuasion! But Xiao Taotao had told her that her persuasion was useless except for minor things. Since she had already given all of her reasons, she was willing to try her luck again. She looked Adriel deep in the eyes and said, "Please Your Highness, I hope you agree as this would help us both." Something stirred in his eyes and he found himself nodding.     

"Alright Miss Warrington, I agree to your contract." She wanted to cheer because she thought her persuasion had worked, but she didn't know that this wasn't anything minor. Her power was still useless and she had achieved this purely on her own by stirring something in Adriel's heart. "Now I wish for Miss Warrington to explain to me about the rumors." His curiosity around the subject couldn't be concealed in his words.