[How can a child be so observant?!] Blanca thought as if she wasn’t a child herself in the eyes of her elders.

"Dimo, should I tell you a secret?" Arabella said and Dimo eagerly nodded.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Dimo was delighted to learn a secret.

"It wasn’t known to everyone yet, but Blanca is His Eminence’s fiancee," Arabella said and both Alwin and Blanca flinched at the word fiancee. They both didn’t like it.

However, it was they had both agreed to pretend as such so they had no choice but to pretend like they were indeed engaged.

[Ugh! Why did I have to be engaged with this man? I should have asked someone else to play my fiance.] Blanca thought.

[I shouldn’t have agreed with having her here as my betrothed. This is absurd.] Alwin internally complained too.

"Oh!" Dimo was wide-eyed and looked back and forth between the two. "So, Elder Sister, I mean, Lady Blanca is Master’s beloved?"

Alwin choked on his drink and coughed violently. He used magic quickly to treat himself. He looked so disgusted at hearing such words.

Blanca choked on nothing and coughed as well.

"It’s not like that!!" The two said in unison and Arabella chuckled.

"Eh?" Dimo tilted his head in confusion.

Alwin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Once he opened his eyes, he was back to being calm and collected.

"She is indeed my fiancee. But my relationship with her is different to that of Her Majesty and His Majesty. We were simply engaged purely for convenience. It’s like the arranged marriages of nobles," Alwin explained.

"Oh, I see," Dimo nodded his head in understanding.

Nobles could be wed at an early age, especially when that someone was the heir. Thus, Dimo already had some education about what kinds of marriages he could have in the future so he understood what Alwin said.

"But she is still Master’s fiancee. How should I address her then?" Dimo inquired.

He did not want to be disrespectful or make a mistake that he could be scolded for.

"You can continue calling me as Elder Sister when it’s just us. And Lady Blanca when we are with other people," Blanca quickly said.

"Oh, then I shall call you Elder Sister and Lady Blanca," Dimo repeated as if he was committing it to memory or verifying that it was what Blanca wanted.

"Yes, thank you. What a brilliant child you are," Blanca beamed at Dimo.

After all, Blanca did not want to be addressed as anything that would remind her of her pretend engagement with Alwin but she had no choice.

She was not the only though. Alwin thought the same. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Arabella stopped herself from laughing since she could hear the thoughts of the two.

[He is indeed one of my saviours but he is too arrogant and full of himself. I don’t want to be with someone like him. I just have to bear with this for now.]

Blanca’s inner thoughts were filled with a negative perception of Alwin. She did not like how Alwin acted like he knew everything.

Unfortunately for Blanca, Alwin did. Which was why he was acting in such a manner. And he knew more than he let on after eons of doing nothing but chasing after more and more knowledge.

Now, since both Arabella and Alwin regressed, they both knew about a future that Blanca didn’t.

Despite looking like he was so calm and collected outside, Alwin was also thinking about how much he disliked getting engaged with Blanca even if it was just for show.

[She is so childish. And yet, she thinks she’s truly an adult now just because she could take an adult form. If not for the noble ladies sending letters and trying to follow me around every time they caught sight of me, I wouldn’t bear with this at all.]

Alwin was internally dissing Blanca as well while she was doing the same to him.

Marriage was something that was quite far off from their minds and their temporary engagement was only there for their convenience.

Blanca needed an alibi to be allowed to continue living here since she could not live in Safiro anymore due to her mana levels rising.

Meanwhile, Alwin needed someone to make his pursuers back off and stop sending him portraits of women he could choose a bride from.

They both simply needed to solve their problems which was why the pretend engagement.

Alwin and Blanca were both just thinking to themselves at first but very soon, they communicated with telepathy.

{Don’t you dare glare at me again or the child will notice again. Not even one maid ever dared to glare at me. You can be beheaded with the looks you are giving me right now.}

Alwin corrected Blanca. It was a fact but Blanca didn’t like it when it was Alwin pointing things out.

She was intentionally glaring at him to irk him since he was annoying her with how he was speaking.

{I know. It’s just because you are so full of yourself.}

Blanca didn’t want to lose so she simply said whatever she could regardless of logic.

{Whatever. If you are practicing, then do it well.

Do you think all empresses and queens would allow you to glare at their people?

You could have been punished severely.

For your information, my position is on the same level as the Prime Minister if I wield it well.

Raymond is my elder at home but here, I can even be more powerful than he is.} Alwin pointed out.

His words were also facts but the way he said it, it was irksome to Blanca. It sounded like boasting to her and simply being arrogant.

{Oh, should I inform The Elder Dragon you are saying things like this? I wonder how he would react?} Blanca taunted and Alwin flinched.

Blanca smirked when she saw Alwin’s reaction.

After all, Raymond was still a dragon. And an Elder Dragon at that. He was still among those who raised Alwin.

{So what? I was just stating a fact. I was just pointing out your mistakes but you are so hardheaded. If you don’t behave well, I will tell Her Majesty not to get you as a maid anymore.}

After receiving what seemed like a threat, Alwin gave a threat as well and Blanca was wide-eyed.

{What?!! How can you be so petty?! I was just kidding! This is so unfair. Don’t you dare say something like that? I will behave now. I will behave.}

Blanca finally admitted defeat. Her shoulders sagged a bit but she received another reproach from Alwin for not maintaining her posture so she quickly corrected it.

{Look at how Her Majesty and Dimo are not slouching in the least bit even while they are eating. You should copy their example.} Alwin cited.

Blanca glanced at Arabella and Dimo and immediately said, {Yes, yes. I will.}

Arabella had fun listening to the two keep bantering at the slightest of things as she ate her sweets.

These two could not get along right on the first day that they met. Several months had already passed ever since and yet they were still like this.

Sometimes they do get along well and converse like normal. But then there were days like this when they debated about the slightest things.

Thankfully, the two kept at their debate and Arabella pretended like she could not hear anything.

She also watched Dimo who got a taste of everything. He did not notice Alwin and Blanca’s debate earlier since he was already focused on the desserts that Blanca just brought.

After Dimo got used here, he could already eat as he pleased. However, he still misses Olivier and Loranne cuisine now and then so Duke Olivier always brought food with him every time he visited.

Arabella focused on chatting with Dimo as Alwin and Blanca telepathically debated like children.

Dimo was so much more behaved than they were.

If Dimo heard how Alwin and Blanca were speaking through telepathy, he would be utterly shocked by their behavior.

Thankfully, the two maintained a calm and collected facade in front of the child, or else Dimo’s perception of them would have been broken into pieces.

’I should officially announce Blanca as my new maid soon. If I don’t, the nobles will surely begin sending me their daughters to choose from.’

Arabella noted to make the announcement soon.

She had spent enough time with the mourning for "Renee" so it was alright to hire a new maid now.

If that happened, it would be a battle for power among the nobles.

After all, who gets to have their daughter as her maid may be able to affect her decisions with their suggestions.

They would also be able to stay updated with the goings in the palace.

They must have heard by now that Ferdinand truly fancied her so would be fighting over who gets to send a maid for her.

Arabella was not ready to accept people from though. Thus, Blanca was the best choice.

The nobles would not be able to contradict this since Blanca was here as the Master of the Magic Tower’s fiance.