Shreegan is guiding us through the streets at night, his lantern dangling in the air.
We ended up escorting Serea and miss Bell to the Colette mansion.
“Um...Shreegan......thanks for what you did today.”
“Well, of course I couldn’t miss my cute little brother’s marriage.”
You are sticking with that stetting huh.
“Um, please don't tell anyone about tonight.”
“That would be impossible.”
“You’ll spill it all! You’ll tell father everything, won’t you ?!”
“Of course I will. If I don’t my neck will be on the chopping block.”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Even so, lord Shreegan entered his name as a witness in the registry. His highness will have him shoulder the responsibility.”
Miss Bell is pretty heartless too.
“No matter how angry his highness gets, even if he sends my head flying, with this, their marriage is set in stone. Whatever happens, there is no more changing it, since it was a vow to the goddess.”
Are you really fine with your head flying for something like this Shreegan? For a case like this, It could be sent flying literally with a guillotine. [TN-1]
“Bell...... I’m sorry.”
“This is something to be happy about, my lady. There is nothing for you to apologise for.”
“You’ll tell father?”
“Even if I don’t, when morning comes, the people in the mansion will hear about it from the royal family. Even the master is in the middle of his stay at the mansion.”
“Ughhh......”
Serea clutches her head as well. Looks like the duke came from his territory to the capital as well.
“Do you have any reason why you have to keep it a secret?”
“This was supposed to be our trump card.”
“You really are saying something weird. Well, since you are lot cleverer than me your highness, I think that you will be able to figure something out.”
Aren’t you embarrassed to say something like that to a ten-year-old Shreegan?
While talking like this, we arrived at the Colette mansion.
“Serea.”
“Shin-sama......”
“Er... see you tomorrow.”
“See you. Good night.”
Serea bows her head and disappears into the mansion through the door that miss Bell opened.
“Now, let’s go home.”
“Hey, Shreegan, about tonight......”
“I told you, I’m telling his highness.”
“Keep it a secret from everyone please!”
“Hmm, I wonder if I would be able to keep quiet about such a happy occasion?”
“I’m begging you!”
“Now, what should I do~?”
“You are enjoying this aren’t you?! You’re just jealous aren’t you?!”
Laughing with such a scary face doesn't scare me at all!
...... I’m sorry, that was a lie. I’m terrified.
This is quite strange.
I had forgotten all about her.
Those memories that so clearly flooded back to me, of when I met that girl at the age of seven, disappeared from my head by the time I got back to the palace.
When I sleepily sat on my bed, I just thought, ah something like that happened.
For some reason, that painful first love that constricted my chest, was completely gone.
The goddesses blessing is amazing.
I should have given at least two more gold coins.
I was called into my father’s office the next morning.
Of course, he looks livid. It can’t be helped, I guess I’ll just come clean.
“I understand you got married to miss Serea last night.”
“I have.”
“......You did something rash. You have been engaged for less than one month. No matter how I look at it, wasn’t it too hasty?”
“Your highness said that we could decide on when we get married ourselves.”
“Both of you are still just ten. If the people were to hear that you got married before reaching adulthood, the royal family’s morals would get criticized. Why didn’t you wait and get married grandly in the cathedral after growing up, instead of getting married in that such a place. Why were you in such a rush?”
His expression was saying that we did a very troublesome thing.
He is right about the fact that if we were forced to do this by the royal family, a lot of criticism would come from the citizenry. ‘To impose that kind of burden on such young children for the sakes of their households...’, would be what they would say. They might even think that there had to be a big reason why the political marriage was rushed so much, and the states of the households might be misunderstood.
It would probably be best if I honestly explained everything here......
“I did it so I don’t break off the engagement.”
“Break of the engagement?!”
Father was dumbfounded at those unexpected words.
“Elder sister was engaged to the son of duke Orst.”
“It was not an engagement. It might be better to call it a marriage contract.”
“No, she was engaged. But when the marriage proposal came from Halfa, the royal family broke off the engagement, and elder sister was sent to be wed in Halfa.”
“Don’t say such scandalous things. Since that was not an engagement in the first place, there was no broken engagement.”
“That’s how it’s presented on the outside, but in reality it’s not true. Everyone knows that”
“......Are you saying that I would do the same to your engagement, that I would betray my sworn friend Hurst, that I would do an injustice to lady Serea, in the form of breaking off your engagement with her?”
“No, but if that was in the interest of the country, duke Hurst Colette would propose that himself, wouldn’t he? The duke is an honourable person. He would put the needs of the country over his personal feelings. He would have lady Serea withdraw from the engagement right?”
“Even if that meant marrying you off?”
“Offers to marry a lady from a foreign country might come.”
“Do you think I would do that to the child that I recognised as the first prince? Do you think that I can’t be trusted?”
This is a bit stressful, but I have no other choice but to stick to sophistry from this point forward......
“I trust his majesty as a king.”
“......?”
"I'm sure His Majesty will put the well-being of his people before that of his son. I'm sure that when the time comes, he will make a decision that is in the best interest of the country.”
“......So, your logic is that if you are married, no matter what happens, the breaking off of the engagement won’t be able to happen. Since you have already gotten married, that means you love lady Serea that much?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I were to disinherit you?”
“If that is what you wish.”
His highness shakes his head in exasperation.
“......I understand. You can do as you wish.”
“Thank you very much.”
“If you think about it more carefully, there is nothing really wrong with it. I was hoping that you and lady Serea would get married and succeed the throne. What’s more both I and Hurst have recognised this marriage. As a parent, I wanted to give you a grand wedding, like everyone else’s. You didn’t have to get married in the middle of the night in a church in the middle of nowhere...... I have no idea what in the world made you rush it like that.”
“I’m really sorry.”
I bowed my head without complaining.
I’m honestly sorry about it.
“You are not to tell anyone about this. I don't want to set a bad precedent. That's what I'll tell Hurst. We'll discuss the matter of a public wedding when you come of age.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“You may leave.”
“Yes, sir. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Ah... wait a minute.”
I was stopped as I was getting up from my seat.
“Congratulations on your marriage, Shin.”
“...... Thank you very much.”
I respectfully bow with all my heart. I feel like I'm going to cry.
I'm sorry, father. But this was the only way I could think of to protect Serea. I'll work hard on my studies to make up for it, so please forgive me.
It’s noon, and I’m having lunch with Serea.
Ah, since we are having lunch in the castle, I won’t have her taste everything. [TN-2] That’s something we do during our outings.
“Ah...... good morning.”
“Good morning your highness.”
We were so embarrassed that both of us greeted each other in a distant manner.
“Um...... did anything change since we did that?”
“Father praised me by saying ‘Nicely done!’.”
You are really something duke! Your ten-year-old daughter got married without permission, don’t say lines like that so easily!
“It seems like things went fine on your end. As for me, his majesty was angry at me, and gave me a lot of grief.”
“I guess that could happen too.”
“ ’If I had two ten-year-old kids get married people would think that it was a rushed political marriage that had some bad circumstances behind it.’ is what he said.”
“Aah, that’s right. I hadn’t thought about that at all!”
Politics are really bothersome.
“That’s why, he told me to keep this marriage a secret until the right time comes.”
“Yes, I think that his majesty is correct in saying that.”
“......I think that we should keep it a secret as well, since I think that it has served its purpose.”
“It’s purpose?”
“You see, when I saw that girl, my heart started beating wildly. Like I had met a person that I was madly in love with, like meeting my first love, all of my memories of that time flooded back into my head. I fell for that girl at one glance.”
“Wha......”
“But, after our wedding at the church, I just stopped thinking about her. I just stopped caring. I just thought ‘Ah right, some like that happened’. That game compulsion is really something...... or rather calling it a games compulsion, should I call it the power of fate? It’s like there was a command, forcing me follow the predestined fate, but now its completely gone.”
Serea was listening and nodding her head.
“......It’s the same for me. I hated that girl so much, I was frustrated to the point of tears, I thought that there was no way I could forgive her, but since then, I just thought ‘what in the world was I frustrated about?’, right now I think so little of her to the point that it’s a bit strange.”
“That’s great! The blessing of the goddess is amazing!”
The two of us start laughing together.
“There is no way to break of the engagement anymore. We already got married after all, no one has the right to get between you and me anymore, and not matter how much someone would look for it, there is no way to make us get a divorce, be it in the scriptures or by law. Things came out exactly how we planned, didn’t they?”
“We might have troubled the goddess though.”
Serea started giggling.
Aaah, I’m glad. Getting married was the right choice!
“I’ll do my best from now on. I have to become a good king. I have to study a lot and think of a proper way to make this country great.”
“I’m sure Shin-sama will be able to do it.”
“I’ll do it. After all, I’ll never have to be troubled about love, suffer heartbreak, search for a lover, Because you will always be there. I’m sure things will go well.”
“They will, and I’ll do my best to help.”
At the age of ten, I’ve gotten myself a bride.
She came to me at the age of ten.
I absolutely have to protect her.
Whatever fate throws my way, I won’t lose.
That’s what came to my mind when I saw Serea’s smiling face.
[TN-1]: This part is basically a pun on the fact that to have one’s head fly and to get fired(from a job) are said the same way in Japanese, so the joke is that Shreegan said even if my head flies(get fired), nothing will change, while Shin says that his head might actually fly in the literal sense.
[TN-2]: This was bothering me for a while now, but who the hell lets a lady from a ducal household, who is now a princess and the next queen, poison test food??? I mean I get that the author probably just put it in for the fluff of Serea feeding the MC, but still...
TN: Well, this one is a nice wrap up of the previous couple of chapters, goddess you are the best! Also, Shin would it kill you to be a bit nicer to Shreegan, though I guess I can’t be too hard on him, he is 10 after all...
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