Reborn As Noble

Chapter 1588: The Order of the Wives ( 1588 )

Just as Javier was about to speak, a rush of footsteps came from the side. Delya jumped, landing between Javier and the girl, and raised a palm barrier just in time to block her punch. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the sand.

”Sister Nyxara! Why are you hitting my man!?”

The girl paused, her eyes narrowing hard at Delya.

”Your man?” She glanced at Javier, then back at Delya, her voice dropping into something cold and low. ”So... the one you’re engaged to from Armand... is him?”

”Yes! Danna-sama is my husband!”

Delya’s voice was firm, her dreamy smile replaced by a rare, serious expression. She kept her palm raised, the barrier shimmering between them.

Nyxara’s aura flared to full power. The sand around her feet began to shift, the air growing heavy and thick. Her voice came out low, trembling with barely contained fury.

”So... you forgot about me... and made my little sister your wife instead?”

Delya’s eyes widened when she saw Nyxara’s hand. Red mana swirled around her right fist, thick and violent, accumulating power with every heartbeat. Nyxara’s voice broke, raw and furious.

”Two elves! One dragon girl! That’s not enough for you?! And now my little sister too!!!”

”Err... sorry, miss... you might be...”

Before Javier could finish, Nyxara lunged. Her fist, wreathed in full power, shot toward them. Delya released her full power into the barrier, closing her eyes, bracing for the impact.

But before the punch landed, a single finger flicked Nyxara on the forehead.

The blow sent her flying backward through the air. She crashed into the sand far in the distance, tumbling and rolling before she came to a stop.

Fransesca stood where Nyxara had been. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a long, weary exhale.

Nyxara sat up in rage, her hair wild, her eyes blazing.

”Who dares to fight back?! Who dares to...”

Her voice died in her throat. Her fury and rage drained from her face in an instant, replaced by bloodless fear.

”F... Fransesca...”

Fransesca appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye. She reached down, grabbed one of Nyxara’s horns, and lifted her up off the sand with one hand, smiling sweetly.

”Ara~ Long time no see, crybaby Nyxara~”

Nyxara kicked her legs, trying to wiggle free from Fransesca’s easy grip. Her voice came out strained and panicked.

”T... This is between me and Garius! Even if you’re his first wife, you don’t have the right to interfere in the promise he made to me!”

Fransesca tilted her head to the side, glanced up at Nyxara with a sweet smile.

”Yes~ I know about it. It was between my dear husband and you, after all. But...”

Her aura flared. Heavy. Oppressive. Dark. Her eyes turned sharp and terrifying, though her smile never wavered.

”...you’re hitting the wrong person, Nyxara. Letting out your frustration on the wrong person.”

”B... but... He is Garius! And his pekko is...”

Nyxara pointed toward Javier and Buddy in the distance, her voice stammering, her body trembling under Fransesca’s grip.

Fransesca lifted her free hand and showed a single finger, ready to flick.

”Open your eyes carefully, Nyxara. What do you remember about Garius’s pekko? The color? And his hairstyle? You know Garius has never changed his hairstyle. Not once. Not in all these years~”

Nyxara’s eyes widened. She looked toward Buddy. Orange feathers. Not golden. Then toward Javier. His hairstyle was different. Shorter. Lighter. Then her gaze drifted upward, measuring his height against the memory of Garius.

”A... ah... I... I...”

Fransesca’s grip on her horn tightened. Nyxara flinched, wincing in panic.

”And the height, Nyxara. That young man is taller than Garius. Noticeably taller. Did you not look properly before you attacked?”

Fransesca’s eyes glinted dangerously, locked onto Nyxara’s. Her voice dropped, still sweet but carrying something terrifying beneath the surface.

”That young man over there... is my Honey Bun. My youngest son. And you attacked him.”

She released Nyxara. Nyxara dropped to the sand with a heavy thud, landing on her rear. Fransesca cracked her knuckles slowly, one by one.

”How dare you attack my youngest son, hmm~?”

Nyxara’s lips pursed. Her eyes glistened, tears welling up at the corners. She let out a soft, childish sob. She dropped onto her knees, hands clasped in her lap, eyes fixed on the sand.

”I’m sorry... I’m sorry...”

Fransesca let out a weary exhale, shaking her head slowly.

”Garius is standing over there.” She lifted one hand and pointed into the distance, where Garius stood not too far away, Giddie at his side, Alf observing from a short distance behind him. ”Next time, check properly before you let jealousy consume you. Look at the person first. Verify. Confirm. Then act. Don’t go swinging your fists at whoever happens to resemble someone you’re upset with.”

Nyxara nodded, her lips still pursed, her voice small and trembling.

”But... Garius promised to marry me after he married you. He promised. In front of everyone. He said he would take me as his wife...”

Fransesca tilted her head, her expression softening.

”Yes. Garius did make that promise. I remember it too. He said it in front of everyone. You, me, Mylezra, Eridith, the whole party. Everyone was there.”

She lifted one finger and pressed it gently to her lips, a thoughtful motion.

”But Garius never said you would be his second wife. Did he?”

Nyxara’s head snapped up, her crimson eyes wide.

”W... what?”

Fransesca crossed her arms, one hand rising to tap a finger against her lips. She glanced up thoughtfully.

”If I’m not mistaken, he said he would marry every girl in his party, one after the other, after he married me. He said whoever came forward to claim the promise first would be his next wife. Then the next after that. And so on.”

”E... eh?”

Nyxara’s eyes, still glistening, widened further.

”Yes. That’s why, after I gave birth to my youngest son over there, the first girl who came to claim the promise was Eridith. She came when Honey Bun was eleven. Then, after Eridith was married, Mylezra learned about it and left her position as Elven Queen just to become his wife.”

Fransesca tilted her head.

”I wonder why you didn’t come earlier to claim the promise first, Nyxara. It was never my place to choose the order among the girls he promised. That was theirs to settle, by whoever came first. Garcinia and Phenelopie were different. He took them by mutual agreement, so they don’t factor into this. But you could have come before Eridith. You could have come before Mylezra. You had every right to. So why didn’t you?”

”B... but... no... no one told me...”

Fransesca narrowed her eyes.

”No, Nyxara. That’s not true. Your brother mentioned it to you. Multiple times. He said he would be attending the Summit with Lioness and Garius. Every time the Summit was held, he told you. And yet... you never came. You never showed up. Not once.”

She paused.

”Despite what Veldrac told us about you. About how you kept turning down proposals from other demon nobles. How you rejected every suitor. How you waited, quietly, in the palace. So what were we supposed to think, Nyxara?”

( End Of Chapter )