Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress

Meanwhile, others thought it was only a baseless rumor. But now, Alwin confirmed it himself.

Most of the nobles were depressed that Alwin already had a fiancee and even brought her here as Arabella’s maid. It meant he was building her future since he was serious about her. Meaning, they might have plans to get married soon.

Thus, the nobles no longer had a chance to set up their daughters with him.

[Hmm. Wait. If His Eminence is no longer available, isn’t that knight still single?]

The noble all had the same thought and Rendell flinched as all fathers in the room eyed him with a predatory glint in their eyes as they calculated his value.

Rendell was quite famous for being a mad dog on the battlefield so he was known as Ferdinand’s black hound.

The nobles would have hesitated to pair up their daughters with him in the past. But after Rendell was Arabella’s main guard knight ever since she was brought here, and she did not look terrified of him at all, the nobles realized that just like Ferdinand, Rendell must have an unexpected gentle side too once he gets married.

[I should send a portrait of my daughter to him as soon as possible. He doesn’t look bad and he is close to His and Her Majesty.]

[It seems I still have a chance to elevate the status of our family. Now that I look at the infamous Black Wolf, he is quite good-looking. I have to set him up with one of my daughters.]

[I heard he is usually silent most of the time. He is tall and has a good build. If one of my children marries him, they will have strong offspring. Now that I thought about it, it would be nice to have a grandson with a strength close to his.]

[He seems to be as innocent as His Majesty when it comes to love. It would not be hard to charm him once they find his weakness.]

The nobles had various thoughts in the room, but it all concluded with one thing. Since Alwin was taken, they would send their daughter’s portraits to Rendell next. If it does not work, they will target Ferdinand’s closest knights.

After all, those with lower status among the nobles had already been trying to marry off their daughters to Ferdinand’s knights in their efforts to try to elevate their household status and bring honor to their families with the knights’ achievements and likewise get strong heirs.

It had been proven to be an effective tactic since the knights always won the battles they went to when Ferdinand was the one on the throne.

Thus, the knights had no difficulties finding marriage partners. However, it led to their families becoming picky in finding wives for them.

From what Arabella could recall in her past life, the higher the knight’s position, the more picky their family was in choosing a suitable wife for them since there were many candidates. They only choose one that would also bring benefits to their household.

It was another matter though if the knights fell in love. Which was what a lot of those who had daughters were aiming for. They were setting up their daughters with knights in a pre-arranged "encounter."

The knights were getting used to it though as time passed by and thus, were no longer easy to lure to such traps.

[Why are all of them looking at me like that?!]

Rendell unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword, as if preparing for an incoming attack due to the look everyone was giving him.

Arabella stopped herself from laughing and wrote a note for Rendell instead.

***

Rendell,

Beware, unless you want to get married soon too.

You have just become the next target since Alwin’s engagement is publicly announced now.

They are thinking of sending their daughters’ portraits to you.

Good luck!

***

Rendell frowned when he read Arabella’s note. He was tall so it was easy to read it from his spot.

[What?! I never received one before. Even if Alwin is announced to be engaged, why would they target me next?]

Meanwhile, Alwin smirked in victory. He was relieved that the nobles finally decided to leave him alone.

[Rendell had been so carefree since he was not bothered by it before. Now, he would finally understand how I felt receiving all those declarations of fake love and probably even getting followed around every time he was spotted.]

Alwin was rather vengeful since Rendell had been quite comfortable when it came to this matter in the past.

It was because they had Alwin as a target. But now that Alwin himself announced that he had a fiancee who would even serve as Arabella’s maid, the aristocrats’ attention was diverted to Rendell who was still single and not yet taken.

In her past life, Arabella thought Rendell was taken and had a family of his own but it was apparently just a made-up story to make him seem more humane and relatable.

Rendell was perfectly single since he was focusing on honing his skills and getting stronger to be able to protect the youngsters of his kind in case another Great War occurred.

Because of Alwin announcing his engagement with Blanca, the talk about hiring more maids in the Imperial Palace was forgotten. They would likely bring it up again later. But at least, for now, they would not insist on it. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Meanwhile, Rendell kept feeling uncomfortable during the entire court session due to the glances the nobles kept giving him.

Alwin, meanwhile, had a breather. He was glad they were no longer bothering him.

Once the court session was over, Ferdinand walked Arabella to her study since she was planning on doing some tasks before retiring for the night.

Ferdinand also had work to do so he had no complaints about her doing some more work after an entire day of working.

They agreed to meet later in her room once their work for today was complete.