Private Talk with Rebecca’s Father (Part 2)

From Becca's Father's words, I could tell that he truly did care about her and was working hard behind the scenes to make her life better. I was hopeful he could still be a good father for Becca. However, it was apparent what he was doing now was only cleaning up a problem in Becca's life that he created himself. With that in mind, I had to question him further.

"If you were going to say all this, why did you have Becca engaged to me in the first place then?"

Becca's Father griped his fists tightly as he muttered in a depressed tone, "I was too naive…after I became a Count and my family was getting happier by the day, I stupidly believed my daughter would find the same happiness in the future as long as she married into a high ranking house. As long as she had wealth and power greater than mine, I thought it would bring her even more happiness.

I disregard the obvious truth, that a happy marriage could only happen between two people who's personalities complement each other…Rebecca and your personalities clashed. It was obvious, after she turned 12 and the whole Royal mage fiasco happened, that the marriage between you two would never be a happy one…"

I am glad he regrets his decision to get Becca engaged to the original Nicolas. The important part is he is putting the blame on himself and taking responsibility. I was starting to believe there was a good chance Becca could forgive him in the future as long as he apologized sincerely.

"After the Royal mage fiasco, why didn't you ask to annul the marriage if you knew she would be unhappy?"

"Nick, of course there is no way I would ever think of annulling an engagement to the majestic Harrison family!"

He was obviously trying to flatter me and stay on my good side, but what I needed right now was to hear the truth.

"I don't need the flattery. In this private conversation, what I want to hear is your true thoughts. I am giving you one chance to get all the grievances off your chest. I will not hold any grudges from our conversation today. It's my second gift to you Father-in-law."

I'm not sure if Becca's Father actually believed my words or if he was afraid I would attack him if he lied to me again. Regardless, he started to detail what he planned after Nicolas forbid Becca from joining the Royal mages.

"After the fiasco, I did look into finding a new husband for Rebecca. However, this time I was more cautious about making such a life changing decision. I had my wife work on training Rebecca to be the most attractive wife possible, while I went around to noble boys her age to see what they thought of her. I was adamant about not making the same mistake twice. I wanted to find a noble boy, who would truly love my daughter. Sadly, all the boys I talked to rejected the idea of marrying her. Apparently, all the noble kids her age knew her as 'plain' Rebecca. When I asked about it, they told me they would be ridiculed if it ever came out that they were attracted to this generation's plainest girl.

However, some less attractive boys didn't care about her plainness. The thing they cared about was that she was too headstrong and stubborn. They said they could accept it if their wife was plain, but they couldn't accept a disobedient wife.

My wife was really strict on Rebecca. She practically begged her to not be stubborn and to act like a woman is expected to. She did all this because she knew the only chance for Rebecca to get a new fiancé and be happy was if she changed her personality."

I nodded my head in understanding. A lot of Becca's Father's and Mother's actions were explained by the fact that they were trying their best to get Becca a new husband who would appreciate her.

"So that's why you said it would be hard for any noble man to love her earlier…"

His phrasing earlier irked me, but it seems he only said it because of his experience trying to get any noble man to accept his daughter. I'm shocked every noble boy rejected her, but at the same time, I'm glad they did because it meant she could be my wife. I can't wait to make them all regret their decision. I can already image Becca arriving at a ball, in a dress as beautiful as a flower, turning heads everywhere she goes.

As I was lost in my revenge daydreams, Becca's Father continued his story.

"Yes, after all the rejection, I had to change my strategy. I eventually realized that even if my daughter changed her personality, she would be forcing herself and would not be truly happy anyways. That is when I came to the epiphany that you were never the type to want a wife in the first place. You preferred to play with many different women and have a new one frequently. You just needed a wife in name only so as to have an official heir and follow tradition. So I suggested to you that I would give you 25% of my steel business in exchanged for you to produce an heir as soon as possible and then send Rebecca away so she could live in peace alone. I have already found an estate near here that you can have her stay at, so she can be close to home. It is the perfect deal for both parties, please don't go back on your word…"

"Father-in-law, you seem to really love your daughter."

The straight faced middle aged man suddenly had a warm smile, "of course, my family is my greatest treasure. I'm still sad how awkward we have become with each other and how often she just stayed in her room all day away from others, but it was best for her to focus her anger at me instead of at you."

The fact that Becca never released her anger at the original Nicolas in the past was probably the reason she blew up at me so strongly that day in the library…