"What kind of man could possibly catch your eye, my daughter? Tell me your standards," the man asked with a sigh, putting down his pen.
"The bare minimum," Arina began matter-of-factly, "is that my future partner must not be weaker than me. At the very least, he must be stronger than me within the same age group."
A reasonable demand, but one that made her father furrow his brows deeply. He knew exactly how talented his daughter was. Finding someone her equal, especially among men her age, was a near-impossible task.
The only solution would be to lift the age restriction. But even then, he would be reluctant to marry his daughter to someone a decade—or several decades—older. The Frankel family had already risen beyond the need to trade their members' lives for alliances. That was the plight of middle and lower nobility, not theirs.
"That's a tall order," he admitted.
"Then let it be. I'd rather remain alone forever than settle. My partner cannot, under any circumstances, be a weakling."
"Arina, you're too exceptional for your own good. If only you were slightly more ordinary, your demands would be easy to fulfill."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Father," she said with a smirk, "but your daughter is a genius, one unmatched by anyone in the Empire's younger generation."
"Don't get too full of yourself," he warned, though his tone held no real harshness. "The Empire is vast, and there are many extraordinary individuals who don't make themselves known. It's entirely possible that someone out there has produced a talent to rival you."
"But Father," she countered, a playful grin on her face, "such talents rarely belong to the aristocracy. Would you even allow me to marry outside of our noble class?"
"A youth with talent equal to yours wouldn't find it difficult to earn a title. Why wouldn't I allow it?" he retorted.
"Then why won't you approve of Brother's marriage? Lucia is an exceptional person. Is it because she's a woman and can't hold a title?" Arina demanded, her tone indignant on behalf of her brother.
Her father's face softened, though there was a hint of frustration. "Exactly. She doesn't have a title, and that's why I oppose their union."
Despite his words, there was a glimmer of admiration in his eyes as he mentioned Lucia. He clearly appreciated her qualities, but rules were rules, and even he couldn't defy them.
"I'll be honest," he admitted, "I admire Lucia. If she had a title—even the lowest rank of knighthood—I wouldn't oppose her marrying your brother. But alas, she is a titleless commoner."
"If Lucia were a man, she'd already be at least a count by now," Arina shot back, her tone sharp with disdain.
"A man?" The Frankel patriarch gave her an incredulous look, raising a brow. "If she were a man, I'd oppose the marriage even if he were a noble. I won't tolerate that kind of humiliation."
"Cough… I misspoke!" Arina's face flushed red with embarrassment, and she quickly corrected herself. "What I meant to say was if the Empire allowed women on the battlefield, then neither Lucia nor I would need to prove ourselves through others."
"Men have handled matters of war since the Empire's founding. That's tradition, and no one can change it," he replied firmly.
"It's not fair!" she burst out, finally voicing a grievance that had long simmered in her heart. "Women are no worse than men. Anything a man can do, a woman can do just as well."
"My daughter," he said gently, "you are a special case. You can't use yourself as a benchmark for the entire Empire's female population. You may be extraordinary, but most women are not."
"You know what I'm capable of, so let me prove it on the battlefield. With your influence, you could easily arrange for me to enlist," she pressed eagerly.
"Let my daughter march into a military camp with tens of thousands of men? Do you think that's even remotely acceptable? What father would agree to such a thing?"
"Father, no one can take advantage of me! All I'd do is fight battles. There would be no disgrace to the Frankel family."
"I know nothing would happen to you, but that won't stop the gossip. Those idle tongues would spin stories from thin air."
"Let them try!" Arina slammed her hand on the desk, sending a visible shockwave through the air. Documents scattered across the desk, and the Empire's vital reports fluttered to the floor.
"Plenty would dare," her father sighed, rubbing his temples as he surveyed the chaos. "Arina, you have to understand, if you join the army, the rumors would never end. And the Frankel family cannot afford that kind of scandal."
"Fine," he said finally, waving her off. "I have more pressing matters to deal with."
"Got it, I'll leave you to it," she said, already heading for the door.
"Hold it!"
Her father's sharp tone stopped her in her tracks. "Clean up the mess you made. I won't have my time wasted dealing with your carelessness."
"You have servants for that," she muttered, but under her father's withering gaze, she reluctantly knelt to gather the scattered papers.
Muttering complaints under her breath, she began picking up the documents. Her eyes flitted over the contents of each page, though most of it was dry and unrelated to her. Until she came across something that caught her attention.
"What is this?"
Her gaze locked on an image of a sprawling ancient forest, bathed in otherworldly light. Amid the trees stood a strange, ethereal city. Towering structures, as old as the forest itself, were connected by winding roads and intricate bridges. Scattered across these roads were steel constructs, their purpose a mystery.
"That's the gateway to another world," her father said, his voice tinged with a mix of awe and caution.
Startled, Arina turned to see him standing behind her, gazing at the image with a complicated expression.
"A gateway to another world? This isn't just some artist's fantasy?" she asked, unable to mask her curiosity.
"No artist's imagination would warrant a place in this office," he replied. "This is real."
"Why haven't I heard about it?"
"It happened three days ago," he explained. "And the gate isn't in the Empire; it appeared in the Wild Beast Forest, outside our jurisdiction."
"Oh!" she nodded thoughtfully, her mind racing with possibilities.
"How does the Empire plan to handle it?"
"For now, observation. Nothing more."
"Observation," she repeated, a glint of intrigue in her eyes.
"Enough distractions," her father interrupted. "Finish cleaning up, then go find yourself a suitable husband."
Later, Arina walked briskly out of her father's office, her steps light and her spirits high.
"Marry? I'm far too young for that nonsense," she muttered to herself. "Besides, exploring that otherworldly gate sounds far more interesting than wasting my time with those dullards. Perfect timing—I was bored anyway."
Meanwhile, atop a massive ancient tree deep within a primeval forest, a black-haired, golden-eyed boy surveyed the dense woodland below.
Behind him, a shimmering portal of light hovered in the air—a passage linking two vastly different regions of the clustered world.
"Fascinating," the boy mused. "Lucky or unlucky, I wonder?"
The portal had brought chaos, linking a thriving city to a wild, untamed forest. Beasts had poured through the gateway, wreaking havoc before being subdued.
"Let's see what this world has to offer," he murmured, leaping gracefully into the shadows of the forest below.
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