# Chapter 8: 8
Radis wrote a letter to Armano, expressing how grateful and sorry she was that he was fired because of her. One day, she discovered that he had answered her. Margaret, with a letter in her hand, came to her room.
No matter how hard he tried to practice fencing and strengthen his determination, Radis was still afraid of his mother. When he saw his mother's angry face, his heart pounded.
Radis routinely raised her arms around her head because she thought she was going to be hit.
But Margaret didn't do it that time.
Without a word, he threw Armano's letter into the fireplace in front of Radis, a malicious smile on his face.
It hurt a lot more than just being hit.
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A lot of time passed and David graduated from the academy. After that, he became a knight's apprentice.
But an apprentice was still just an apprentice.
It was necessary to recognize his merits to be officially knighted.
In other words, he had to go out and hunt monsters.
—I don't want to go!
At eighteen, David cried.
—Monster subjugation? Why should I join something like that? I'll get hurt! I will die!
—Oh, my son! You'll only have to go a few times.
—Brian is not going to participate in the subjugation! His father made him a student of a gentleman he knew. Dad, don't you even have some connections to make that happen for me?
Hearing David, Zade limped out of the room.
Then Margaret coldly told her back that she was walking away.
—Ask your father!
—You said our family was a founding family of the Empire, but now what?!
David spoke as if the sky was about to fall.
—How many times will I have to go? Mom, please don't pretend you don't know! Do you have any idea what happens in subjugation? I'll have to fight in the forest. Do you think I won't die? They shoot miasma!
David got tired of it.
—Do you have any idea how terrible the miasma is? It's like poison! They say that if you go hunting for a month and return home, you must rest for half a year or you will die. Or you should go to the temple to pay a lot of money and be blessed by the priests. Do you have that kind of money in this house?
—But… if you kill a monster, you will get a mana stone, right?
—How can I kill one? I'll get hurt! I will die!
So the story went back to the beginning.
After listening to the conversation silently, Radis left and went to his room.
At that time, Radis was twenty years old. If she had been a normal noblewoman, she would have been married off by now.
But I couldn't. At that time, the parents or guardians of women had to prepare the dowry for the groom.
Neither Margaret nor Zade paid him any attention.
Plus, like David said, they didn't have any money. The taxes they collected from their lands were very low and it was difficult to administer their territory.
The Tilrods also owed enormous debt for sending David to the academy, both for his tuition and living expenses.
Furthermore, Radis, who was not active in high society, had no relationships of any kind.
There were boys dating Jurich, who was three years younger than her, but Radis had never even talked to a man.
Radis lived like a shadow.
There was no place for her anywhere.
Margaret mistreated her and Zade turned a blind eye to her.
Her younger brothers considered her a nuisance.
The only place she could relax and be herself was the empty field where Armano taught her swordsmanship a long time ago.
There he continued his training.
He practiced the same swing over and over again. That's all.
The same thing happened that day.
As he swung his sword, he stopped in the middle of training when he saw his mother approaching.
He wondered if they would slap him again, but Margaret didn't.
Instead, she spoke.
—Mr. Wehnz wants you to be his wife. If you are a healthy woman, shouldn't you give birth to a child? They don't need dowry and he will give you money. If you give birth to a son, he will give you the inheritance. Ah, I feel rewarded for the first time for giving birth to you. You know, it's only fair that the eldest daughter be the one who supports the family. He is a seventy-year-old man, but he is still alive and well, so live like newlyweds.
Margaret smiled as she saw the blood drain from Radis's face.
—Don't you want to? Then go hunt monsters instead of your brother. You will be able to handle that sword that you like so much. It is very humiliating to have an unmarried daughter staying at home. But if you go on that subjugation expedition, I will allow you to stay here.
Valiz