Chapter 2 - Love and marriage are separate things.

Translation: Thrax

Editing: Alexy

While I was going to my room, after returning to the royal palace, my elder sister Saran found me and ran up to me.

“Elder sister...... As a lady, you should stop running up to people while wearing a dress”

“We are at home, it doesn’t matter. So, how was she, the person you went to meet?”

As expected of my elder sister, calling the entire royal palace her home.

Hmm... explaining will be a pain though, won’t it?

“I couldn’t meet with her. It looks like she wasn’t feeling well.”

“Is it fine like that......?”

My sister who will soon go to marry to the neighbouring country is worrying about me.

“Hey Shin, listen, for a woman to marry into the royal family, she has to have a healthy body, feminine charm, and be able to give birth to any number of children. Something like having a weak body, being ill, or having no feminine charm is a no no. If it’s like that, turn down that girl.”

“It was just a coincidence. It’s not really something to be worried about.”

“I hope that’s the case........”

“Elder sister....... will you be ok?”

She patted her stomach, which made her large breasts and behind, that she inherited from our mother, sway around. She didn’t pat it, because it’s sticking out or something. She did it playfully.

“Leave it to me! I’ll wring out the prince, give birth to lots of kids, and dye the Halfa country with the blood of our Midland royal family!”

Phrasing. I think there are better ways of saying that, elder sister....

“Elder sister, have you ever met the prince?”

“Hmmmmm, I did meet him, but it was over 3 years ago, so I don’t remember him at all.”

Elder sister studied in the Halfa empire for 2 years. After returning from observing a country more advanced than our own, she devoted herself to opening orphanages and clinics around the country. After becoming well known in foreign countries, she attended a party held in the academy where she studied abroad, in which the first prince fell for her at first sight and asked her to be his wife.

“You are going to marry a person whose face you don’t even remember..........?”

“............Love and marriage are separate things. It’s something you have to accept as a noble. Until now, I lived a good life on the taxes of the citizens, and now it’s my turn to do something for the citizens and the country. We have to pay our dues, right?”

A marriage between households. A political marriage for the purpose of creating a connection. That’s what it means to get married for a noble. It’s not a particularly special occasion. Marriages made for the sole purpose of creating a superior lineage, it could be likened to the selective breeding of cattle and horses.

Because of that, when my father, the king, came to the 10 year old me and said “I’ve found you a fiancée.”, I just thought “Oh, I see.”

“It’s the young lady of the Collete duchy, lady Serea. You will be going to see her next week, so try not to forget.”

It’s just a matter of who is next in line. The prince chooses a fiancée from one of the ducal families. It just so happened that lady Serea was close to me in age, and so my fiancée was decided, there isn’t any other special reason for it.

At first, my elder sister was supposed to become the queen and get a husband from one of the ducal families, but because it was more favourable for the country if she were to be wed into and become the queen of a large neighbouring country, it was quickly decided to proceed with that. I feel sorry for the son of the ducal family who was supposed to become my elder sisters fiancé.

“.......Shin, even so, don’t think that there will never be any love there. Even I plan to love my husband properly after getting married. I mean, he was the one who proposed to me, so he isn’t going to make me unhappy. No more worrying about that from now on.”

“Yes.”

“Even you Shin, you picked that girl as your fiancée, so make her happy. Love her properly, ok? If you don’t do that I won’t be able to be happy where I am either.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Oh, Shin......”

After saying that, my elder sister hugged me tightly.

I’m being smothered by her breasts.

“The thing that makes me the saddest, is the fact that I won’t be able to see you anymore.....”

Tears started falling on my head. I feel like crying too.

“For tonight, let’s go take a bath together, and then go sleep.”

“I don’t mind sleeping together, but I have to say no to the bath.”

“Why?”

“Because you will try to touch my thing.”

She lets me go, and starts glaring at me.

“Because I’m getting married, I want to know what I’m getting myself into!”

“What kind of thing will you learn from looking at a kid? Please stop it!”

“How it grows?”

“You are still not stopping!?”

“Does it peel?”

“It doesn’t! Stop it, it’s embarrassing!”

“...Fine I’ll just go to with Len.”

Len is my younger brother. I also have 2 younger sisters.

“Please do that......”

I mean, I’m already 10, I can’t be going to the bath with a girl anymore.....

“Do not be misled by rumours. You must see the truth with your own eyes”

That’s what my father, the king, said.

The king cannot govern the country by himself. Many decisions are made after a back and forth with numerous ministers and officials. Father also said that there is a lot of intrigue and deception at play there, and it is a kings duty to see through the lies and decide what to trust and carry out, and what to discard. There are a lot of people who want carry out misdeeds and profit by using the king’s name. And if that happened, the one responsible would be the king.

I have to be the one to decide what to do regarding my engagement to lady Serea.

In the end, not meeting her again won’t do.

And so, three days after the first tea party, I came to visit Duke Colette’s villa in order to check up on the lady. It’s the Dukes base in the capital.

“Um, the lady is still confused, and is still lying in bed”

The maid, Bell, came to guide us. My guard Shreegan is happily following us. Well, I might be the only one who can tell that he is happy after looking at his face.

“Is that so...... Still, I’d like to apologise for my discourtesy the other day. I would like to give this to her.”

Saying that, I bring out a bouquet of roses and a basket of sweets.

“There is no reason for you to apologise. We are the ones who have to apologise for the discourtesy.”

“I would like to speak to her in private. Won’t you let me meet her?”

“I will go get permission from my master. Please wait a moment.”

Duke Colette gave his permission quite easily, actually with great pleasure. I had my guard Shreegan wait in the reception room and after arriving in front of lady Serea’s room with the maid, I knocked.

“Lady Serea, lady Serea? Prince Shin has come to visit you. Meet with him, please.“

....................Silence.

“I’m opening the door. If you’ll excuse me.”

This maid is really something! She opened the door to a girls room, without permission from the lady who is her master!

In the girly room decorated with cute and sparkly decoration, lady Serea was sitting on a large canopy bed wearing a negligee and covered up in a blanket.

It’s dark, because the curtains in the room are closed.

“I apologise for meeting you dressed like this. I’m very sorry for the discourtesy I have shown the other day. I can’t apologise enough. Thank you for going out of your way to personally visit me.”

The lady rolls around on top of the bed and lowers her head to me. Isn’t that basically a dogeza^[TN-1], that’s a little....

Bell promptly walks into the room and with a woosh opens the curtains.

That’s one amazing maid.

“Please raise your head. I think I should be the one apologising for visiting a woman’s bedroom in the afternoon like this.”

If you think about it, from a social etiquette point of view, what I did is a hundred times more rude. Well I mean, the reason I was let in so easily is because we are both still 10 year old kids. I’m glad I’m a kid.

If it was my elder sister, even if it’s just me, she would say “Don’t come in without permission----------!!” and then a kick would come flying my way.

As the sunlight shined into the room, I saw her (normal) face for the first time. She is a beautiful girl.

Her long black hair is very lovely. Her irises, which were rolled back last time, are now black and sparkling like jewels. Her fair-skinned delicate body is covered in a fluttery white negligee.

It’s not a flamboyant eye catching beauty. It’s more of a quiet one, blink and you’ll miss it type of beauty.

If you were to say her looks are simple, you wouldn’t be wrong. But a better way of saying it would be that she looks modest and graceful. Her unpretentious and unadorned beauty looks very appealing to me.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Shin Midland, the first prince of the kingdom of Rasteil. I would like to express my gratitude to you for granting me this audience, despite the rudeness of my visit. I hope you will forgive my rudeness in selfishly asking you to meet with me while you are suffering from sudden illness.”

“That’s....it’s not really our first time meeting.”

“It is.”

“But the tea party........”

“Let’s just act like it never happened.”

The maid, Bell, turns to me and makes a slightly surprised face.

“I will go bring some tea.”

After saying that she leaves the room.

“I’m thankful for the consideration your Highness.”

Saying that, the young lady bows her head once more.

“No no no no, stop it with that already.”

This became troublesome.

“Well then, there is no one here anymore, I asked for us to be able to speak alone. Let’s stop it with the nicetie and etiquette. We are going to be engaged, so don’t be reserved. You and I are both 10 year old kids, lest stop with the bothersome things.”

I heard that she is a lively and self-indulgent young lady. Even I want to speak plainly.

“About the engagement.... Uh... this might be awfully rude of me but, um...I would like to have it annulled if possible.... ”

“Why?”

“It would be a waste for someone like me to be engaged to your highness, I can’t fulfil the role of a queen, so I would like to withdraw......”

“......Was my face that odd?”

“Noo. No. It’s not odd at all.”

“You got really scared after seeing my face, right? Then, you raised a frightened scream and collapsed.”

“You said we should act like it never happened.”

“Yeah, I did.”

I’m that one who said not to mind it, what am I doing bringing it up again.

Ahh, I’m at a loss. I scratch my head

“Are you still feeling unwell?”

“It’s been coming and going...... but it’s settled down for the most part”

“I’m glad to hear that. Do you like fruit cake?”

“Yes.”

“Then have some with me. By the way, do you have a vase?”

“Ah... I don’t”

“Is that so. Here, I picked them this morning in the garden. I’d be happy if you would take them.”

I give her the bouquet of roses. She takes them with a sad, lonely and very complex expression on her face.

“........”

Let me see, topic, topic. I would hate it if she were to think of me as a boring guy.

I open the basket, and take out the cake.

“Here, let’s eat.”

“The plates.....”

“We don’t need those.”

I give her the basket. I then pull the chair that’s in the room to the bed, sit down and then pick up a piece of the cake out of the basket and offer it to her.

The lady is silent.

“Well then, I’ll eat it myself.”

I munch it down in front of her without hesitating.

“........”

Suddenly she starts shedding tears.

Eeeee? Why? Whyyy?

“I’m s-sorry.”

“Do you hate me?”

“I don’t!”

“Then why are you crying!?”

I’m completely flustered.

I mean, anyone would be if a girl started crying in front of them.

“I’ve seen this event before.”

What the hell is an event!!!!?

[TN-1] Dogeza is an element of traditional Japanese etiquette which involves kneeling directly on the ground and bowing to prostrate oneself while touching one's head to the floor, usually when showing respect, apologising etc.

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