Our Summer Is Not Over - vanish into fiction

“Did Dylan have any external appointments today?”

When Mia asked with a soft sigh, the servant answered right away.

“No, he doesn’t have any appointments, but there are guests visiting.”

“Who?”

“The heads of several families arrived early this morning.”

Mia slowly opened and closed her mouth a few times at the news the servant gave her. It wasn’t hard to guess the reason for their visit.

It seemed they had come to offer their opinions about the Rihardt family succession. Mia had already thought they would come to see Dylan soon, since people had started bringing up the topic at the palace banquet not long ago. Although, it seemed they moved a little sooner than expected.

During the ongoing war, the world of the nobility had changed significantly. The days when Dylan was called a fool for giving up succession in exchange for a few businesses now seemed laughable, since wealth had become the main focus of the nobility. With frequent conflicts between the wealthy upper class and the traditional noble faction, the Rihardt family stood somewhere in the middle.

In other words, Dylan was always a potential threat to the traditional nobles. It was no wonder they had gathered to try and convince him to continue the Rihardt family line.

Of course, if Mia went to the main building and ran into them, it would only cause unnecessary trouble. But if she waited too long, Dylan might finish everything on his own.

“I should go to the main building. I’ll go by myself, so you don’t need to come with me.”

Having made up her mind, Mia dismissed the servant and headed toward the main building.

* * *

Unlike the annex, the main building was bustling. The staff there gave Mia a brief bow as she passed, then returned to their work. Mia made her way to the stairs leading to Dylan’s office.

Just then, the nobles finished their conversation and came down the stairs.

When they saw Mia, they bowed politely.

“Greetings, Duchess.”

“It’s been a while, everyone.”

Though they quickly put on polite faces, their stiff expressions and low voices made it clear that their talk with Dylan had not gone as they’d hoped.

From the tension in their faces, Mia could tell it would turn into a pointless argument if she said anything. Deciding it was better to leave, she nodded slightly—when someone spoke up.

“Duchess, could you please persuade His Grace for us?”

It was a rather blunt request. Mia simply feigned ignorance and replied,

“What are you referring to?”

Of course, they knew she understood, so they sighed and tried to pass the responsibility to each other. Then, one of them finally explained, suppressing their emotions.

“In this war, both His Grace and you, Duchess, rendered great service.”

“That’s true.”

“As compensation from the royal family, we just asked His Grace to retract his previous declaration that he would not inherit the family title.”

It was a refined way of announcing the start of choosing sides, but Mia wasn’t about to take their words at face value.

“So Dylan didn’t accept your proposal?”

“His Grace must have said so because, as an admiral of the war, he isn’t fully aware of the current state of things on land.”

“Is that so?”

“After the war, those outside the nobility have become even more unruly. In these times, if the Rihardt family stands at the center, the noble families will be able to unite even more tightly.”

While the old nobility valued their honor and name, now wealth was becoming more important. Not only could people buy their way into parties that were once exclusive to nobles, they could even purchase noble titles.

It had gotten to the point where commoners would say it was better to accumulate wealth than to have an empty noble name, so it was natural that the old nobility would feel anxious.

“It wouldn’t be a bad proposal for you, either, Duchess.”

“Why is that?”

“If the ducal house is inherited, you could live in a mansion far grander than this small residence, and even have a townhouse in the capital. That would be a much more comfortable life.”

The faint smile lingering on Mia’s lips slowly faded.

“As you know, nobles who do not inherit titles cannot have estates. Nor can they own a mansion in the capital.”