5. Becoming a True Heir

Standing in front of the girl's grandfather's study door, Ariana took a deep breath to calm her slightly nervous feelings. As Ariana expected, her grandfather didn't let her wait too long when the man immediately allowed Ariana to come to his study. Both James and Duke Andrew must have known what Ariana was up to want to speak directly to the head of the family. Ariana knew she couldn't embarrass herself in her grandfather's study. Ariana tried to correct her posture before she politely knocked on the door.

"Grandpa, this is Aria. May I come in now?"

"Do come in."

Duke Andrew immediately replied from inside the room after Ariana introduced herself. Carefully, Ariana opened the door of Grandpa's study which was large and difficult to reach with her small body. She had a hard time opening it, but her dignified look returned when Ariana pushed the large door shut again.

Seeing the adorable behavior of his rarely-seen granddaughter, Duke Andrew couldn't help but a small smile formed on his stern face. Despite all the mischief that the girl has done in the past, Duke Andrew is well aware that Ariana is the only grandchild he has.

His heart couldn't help but feel soft as he watched his sweet granddaughter act submissive and sweet in front of him. But that smile soon faded, as the Duke remembered he shouldn't look too indulgent to his sole heir.

“Aria, come closer to Grandpa.”

Ariana obediently approached and stopped right next to her grandfather who was sitting in his work chair. Her eyes, once filled with fear, were now looking at her grandfather with genuine affection and admiration. Duke Andrew cleared his throat as he couldn't stand the sight. He cursed inwardly because he suddenly couldn't keep up the stern look of a grandfather in front of Ariana.

"James said there was something you wanted to talk to Grandpa about. Actually, how important was the conversation that you had to run around my room when you just woke up?"

When Duke Andrew had calmed his mind down a bit, he asked Ariana who was still looking at him with the same look. Ariana's face turned serious when she heard her grandfather's question. Now it's time. She had to establish her path as the protector of the Alison family once she spoke to her grandfather.

"Grandpa, I wish to cancel my engagement with Crown Prince Emilio."

Duke Andrew looked surprised when the first request his granddaughter made was such a shocking request. At first, Duke Andrew thought that Ariana would come to talk about her studies that the girl had neglected ever since the death of her parents. But unexpectedly, Ariana even discussed her engagement to Crown Prince Emilio.

"If I marry Emilio in the future, I will have to leave this territory and live with him in the royal palace. I like this place, I don't want to be separated from this place in the future."

Ariana realized that in people's eyes, she was just a twelve years old little girl right now. Ariana couldn't explain the reason in a complex sentence. She could only pretend to be naive and give a slightly childish excuse.

"Even if you marry the Crown Prince, you will still be the Duchess in charge of managing this place. You can also come here whenever you want. Living in the palace doesn't mean you'll be stuck there forever. As the future Duchess of Alison, who dares to control your wishes?”

"Even so, I still want to break the engagement, Grandpa."

It felt like Ariana's lips were itching to tell her grandpa the real reason. Her family didn't know yet, that the prince they supported would betray their loyalty in the future. If Ariana wanted to save her family, the girl knew she had to break the engagement that bound the two families first. Ariana won't let her grandfather be helpless anymore because of her engagement status. And more than anything else, Ariana doesn't want to be engaged to someone who has ended her family's power.

Seeing the serious look on Ariana's face, Duke Andrew's brows furrowed involuntarily as he thought about all the possibilities. Even when Ariana sulks about her parents, the girl has never been seen to this extent. The Duke was sure there had to be a more serious reason until Ariana was stubborn about what she wanted this time.

As Duke Andrew thought back, Ariana had also fallen into the pool after the girl had returned from her visit to the palace. The old man's face was black as charcoal, and he began to suspect that Ariana's current wish had something to do with the events of that time.

"Did someone bully you in the palace?" Duke Andrew asked in a serious voice. But Ariana confidently shook her head. "With my status as the main heir of the Alison family, who would dare to bully me, Grandpa?" She asked back. But Duke Andrew couldn't just be satisfied with Ariana's answer. Breaking the engagement means declaring to the royal family that their family no longer supports the crown prince to ascend the throne as a king. The decision could cause a dispute between them. So as long as Ariana couldn't give him a good reason, Duke Andrew couldn't just obey his granddaughter's request this time.

Judging from her grandfather's expression, Ariana could tell she failed to use her stubborn technique to persuade the man. The girl bit her lip hard. No matter what, Ariana had to cut her ties with Emilio as quickly as possible. Ariana couldn't let feelings get in the way of her plans. The sooner her engagement with Emilio was called off, the sooner Ariana could move on to the next plan.

"I want to become a swordsman like the people in our family, Grandpa."

The Duke was interested again when Ariana revealed another reason. This time, Duke Andrew was more accepting of the excuse than Ariana had previously given.

As a future queen, Ariana is indeed encouraged to learn many things but is prohibited from doing things that are identical to men's work. One of them included the prohibition to learn to use the sword. At first, Duke Andrew really regretted that the tradition of giving birth to great swordsmen in his family had to end just like that. But facing Ariana's attraction, the man paused to think everything carefully.

If Ariana was really serious about becoming a swordsman in their family, becoming a queen would indeed only waste the opportunity to maintain their strength in the military field. Their strength in the military field is the key to why the kingdom can win wars over and over again. The Alison family received the title of Duke because of their outstanding contributions to the war. If their family couldn't produce another swordsman, wouldn't that mean that their family would lose their dignity?

Indeed, many things will become obstacles if Duke Andrew supports his granddaughter to become a swordsman against the royal tradition. But more than anything else, Duke Andrew's only wish was to see that their precious family tradition could continue after his death.

"Aria, you know that women wielding swords are still a taboo in this kingdom, right? Not to mention that you also want to step down from your position as the crown prince's fiancé. Your path will not be easy if you decide to choose this path."

Ariana knew that her grandfather would prefer it if she would carry on their family's teachings than be obedient to being a woman who obeyed the laws of the kingdom in the palace. The girl gave a small smile, as she nodded with absolute certainty.

"Being able to learn this family's sword techniques is an honor greater than anything. I promise you, Grandpa. I won't regret the path I chose, and I won't allow Grandpa to regret this decision either."

Faced with Ariana's confident tone, Duke Andrew couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud. This was a granddaughter he could be proud of. Compared to being a timid girl who likes to get into trouble, Duke Andrew prefers Ariana who is brave, but obedient as she is now.

"Alright. I'll keep your promise, Aria. Tomorrow, I will come to the palace myself to talk to King Alexius about this matter. Starting tomorrow, be prepared to take lessons as well as practice swordsmanship after everything is over. Grandpa will make sure you work very hard to master everything. You have to be a strong person if you want to fight those who will oppose your decision."

Ariana is relieved that her grandfather agrees with her plan. The girl smiled widely. "I will work hard!" She said excitedly.

Even if she had to work hard until she couldn't breathe anymore, Ariana had promised that she would protect her family well this time.

Duke Andrew alone stared helplessly at his granddaughter, who looked like it had grown up in one night. His eyes suddenly flashed a strange light, as he tried to find the cause of his granddaughter's drastic change after she regained consciousness.

"Aria," Duke Andrew called again. "Did something happen before this incident?" he continued when he knew Ariana was listening to him. Ariana, who originally looked relieved immediately fell silent after she heard her grandfather's question. Something happened. Ariana wondered if it had anything to do with her decision to jump in the back pool.

When reminded, Ariana is also actually curious about the reason behind the events she vaguely remembers from her previous life. The girl tried to muster her concentration to remember the incident. But no matter how hard Ariana attempted to remember, her mind went blank every time she attempted to focus on remembering what really happened at that moment.

Ariana was surprised. She just realized that she couldn't remember anything about her accident in this second chance.

"I ... Can't seem to remember."

Duke Andrew's frown deepened as he heard his granddaughter's honest answer. Not only Duke Andrew, but Ariana also seemed surprised by this new find. Ariana didn't know that falling into a pool could also mess with her memory. Ariana began to wonder if this was a side effect of her time travel, or indeed a side effect of the accident she had.

"I'll talk to the doctor about this. There's no need to think too much about it. Get some rest for today."

Leaving this matter to a twelve-year-old girl was too much. The Duke broke Ariana's daydream, and Ariana knew her grandfather wanted to end their chat for the day.

"Then, see you later, Grandpa!"

Ariana tried to smile as she walked out of Duke Andrew's room. Ariana knew she couldn't make her grandfather worry too much about this matter. Her grandfather is not young anymore. Ariana wished she could make her grandpa happy as soon as possible instead of making him think about things like this right now.

For starters, Ariana might have to figure out why she jumped into the back pool a few days ago.