"We haven't told anyone else," Cassie quickly explained in a low voice, but Sigrid shook her head.
"I'm not scolding you. It's just that— well, I don't know what Arthur and Serena think, but I want to refuse for now."
At their mother's firm words, both Arthur and Serena felt the tension leave their shoulders. A sense of relief flooded their chests at having found such a strong ally.
Of course, they knew their parents wouldn't force them, but hearing a clear expression of intention was still reassuring.
"But how?" Arthur asked cautiously. Refusing the will of the Imperial family couldn't be easy.
At his words, Sigrid looked at the children and shrugged, saying,
"That's why I called you all here. If you're okay with it, I was thinking of refusing on the pretext that you already have feelings for each other."
At those words, the children's mouths fell open.
"What?!" Brin exclaid without thinking. Jin thought for a mont before nodding.
"That's the most innocuous way."
"Wait, does that an I only have Cassie as an option?" Arthur asked with a frown, to which Cassie snorted and said,
"Or you could say you like Rika."
"Rika......"
Arthur fell into thought for a mont, recalling Rika Lian. Lowengrin spoke quietly,
"Of course, we'll just say 'there's soone' at first. And then when they press for who it is, we'll give nas."
"We'll also say it's not officially decided yet. Since you're all still children," Sigrid added, and Arthur nodded.
"In other words, we're letting the other side know it's just a convenient excuse."
"That's right."
At his mother's answer, Arthur sighed and said,
"Let's go with
being smitten with Rika, then."
Cassie nodded.
"That seems best for Arthur. Rika hardly ever cos to the capital anyway."
"You can use my na for Serena, I don't mind," Jin said gently, making Serena smile. Brin quickly added, "I'm fine with it too." Serena looked back and forth between them, saying "Oh?" before grinning and saying,
"Wow, is this how it feels to be a woman choosing between n? I'm fine with either of you. Alright, let's see— odd or even?"
Brin quickly said "Odd," and Jin followed with "Then I'm even." Serena pointed to her hair ornant and said,
"Then it's Jin. It's an even number."
"I'm honored, my lady."
"Oh, won't this ruin Jin's marriage prospects?" Arthur said with an exaggeratedly worried expression. Serena snorted and said to Jin,
"Jin, if it doesn't work out, I'll take responsibility. If you tell
about a girl you like, I'll make sure to set you up, so don't worry."
"That's reassuring," Jin replied with a chuckle.
"But does that an I can marry the Prince?" Ellie asked curiously from Lowengrin's lap, drawing everyone's attention. Cassie's eyes widened as she asked,
"Ellie, do you want to marry the Prince?"
"Hmm— is the Prince handso?"
"He's not... bad...?" Lowengrin answered slowly, caught off guard by the unexpected question. Ellie tilted her head, falling into serious thought, and Serena said,
"Really? Seriously?"
"But he's the Prince, isn't he?"
"Books and reality are completely different. There's no such thing as a prince on a white horse, you know."
As Serena spoke forcefully, Ellie's eyes narrowed.
"Are you treating
like an idiot?"
When Serena was at a loss for words, Rio softly called out to his twin sister.
"Ellie."
"What?"
"You don't like him, do you?"
It was an abbreviated version of 'You said you wanted to marry soone you like. But you don't like the Prince, do you?' but Ellie understood imdiately.
"That's true."
She nodded and said,
"I'll talk about it later if I et the Prince and start to like him."
With that, the atmosphere seed to settle with a sense of relief. Sigrid, making a ntal note to observe her third daughter closely, said,
"So, is that the end of the discussion? Everyone can relax now."
"Alright, kids, go play among yourselves," Marie-Chez said as she stood up, prompting Cassie to whisper to Serena,
"I hate it when they say that."
"But really, there's nothing else for us to hear."
"That's true."
Brin clapped Arthur on the shoulder and said,
"Be my sparring partner for a bit."
"If you want to get beaten, I won't refuse."
"You always have to say it like that. Jin, you're coming too, right?"
"Sure."
Jin slowly stood up. After the three boys left, Rio hesitated before following them, and Lowengrin called out,
"Jin, take care of Rio!"
Ellie pouted, muttering, "He's a boy too, you know?" before sneaking a glance at Serena, who chuckled and held out her hand to her younger sister. Ellie quickly took it.
Cassie said,
"Show
your new accessories."
"There's probably nothing new."
"Whenever you say that, there's always sothing new."
At Cassie's words, Serena grinned and whispered to her,
"Actually, I got a new sword too—"
"Great, show !"
Cassie clapped her hands, and the three quickly headed upstairs.
"It feels more livable without the children," Marie-Chez said, to which Lowengrin replied, "You usually leave them with the nanny anyway," as she sat down. Sigrid glanced one last ti at the children's retreating figures before sitting down.
Marie-Chez pushed an iced glass towards Sigrid and said,
"Are you alright?"
"Huh?"
"You haven't heard from Beramund, have you?"
"How did you know?"
"How long have we been friends? I can tell."
"No, that's Marie's special talent."
Lowengrin shook her head as she spoke. She wasn't as sensitive to people's expressions and auras as Marie-Chez. To be honest, she thought it was impossible to deceive Marie-Chez.
"I'm worried because I haven't heard from either Arkana or Beramund. Even though Awen— I an, His Grace the Duke says there's nothing to worry about."
"They probably just forgot to contact you like idiots. It'll be fine."
Marie-Chez waved her hand dismissively. Sigrid smiled and said, "I suppose so?" before bowing her head slightly to both of them.
"Thank you for agreeing to this difficult request."
"It's not that difficult."
"Oh, it's nothing—"
Lowengrin and Marie-Chez waved their hands. Marie-Chez grinned and said,
"Actually, it wouldn't be bad if it really happened."
"Well, if they like each other."
Sigrid nodded as if it wasn't a big deal. Lowengrin chuckled and added, "That's the hard part."
Sigrid let out a breath and said,
"The children all agreed too. Now all that's left is to go and talk about it."
"Did you request an audience?"
Lowengrin asked, and Sigrid nodded.
"Since it would be too conspicuous to do it directly, I asked Duke Lunatil."
"Aha. Not bad."
At Marie-Chez's words, Sigrid humbly replied, "Well, I've been here for a few years now."
It wasn't long after that when Sigrid had her eting with His Majesty—Serios. It had been four days since she lost contact with Beramund, and she was quite anxious.
"Your Majesty."
Still, her greeting was impeccable.
Serios gestured for Sigrid to rise and said,
"I dislike such formal greetings, that's why I arranged this private eting. You're still the sa, Marchioness Ankertna."
"I apologize."
Sigrid raised her head to look at Serios. He smiled slightly and said,
"So, you've co to give
an answer, I suppose?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I'm sorry, but—"
Before she could finish, Serios sighed and raised his hand.
"You've co to refuse?"
"Yes."
At Sigrid's answer, Serios said, "I see," and leaned back in his chair. He didn't seem particularly angry or perplexed.
As if he had fully expected her to refuse.
Rather, it was Sigrid, who had co fully prepared, who felt perplexed. Seeing her like this, Serios smiled faintly.
"Didn't Beramund tell you?"
"Tell
what?"
"That Lucy was the one who proposed this."
"Ah, he did ntion that."
"That's why."
Serios lightly tapped the desk and turned his gaze to the window.
"It seems realizing you're an inadequate parent is quite a sad thing."
Serios turned his gaze back to Sigrid and said,
"This is a personal request, but could you arrange a eting with Lucy?"
"With the Princess and ?"
"No, with your son."
"With Arthur?"
"Yes."
Sigrid answered carefully.
"I understand. I'll talk to Arthur about it."
"Please do."
"I'm honored."
"No need for such formalities, just give your son a little push."
Serios said this and gestured for her to leave. Sigrid, feeling sowhat dazed, bowed deeply again and left the room.
'Did the Princess really fall for Arthur?'
When she returned and told Arthur, he was surprised too.
"She wants to et? With ?"
"Yes. Of course, if you don't want to—"
"I'll et her."
Arthur answered. Sigrid tilted her head and asked, "Are you sure?" and Arthur smiled.
"I wouldn't go if I wasn't okay with it. Besides, I want to hear the reason directly from her."
Sigrid nodded.
"Alright."
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Serena stood with her arms crossed, seeing Arthur off. She had changed out of her dress and was now in pants and a jacket, fully ard with a sword and protective gear.
"I'm telling you, I should go as a guard."
Serena was worried about letting him et Princess Lucy alone, even in a friendly situation, given the talk of political marriage. They might force him into marriage by claiming he'd dishonored her or sothing.
"You know that's nonsense, don't you?"
Arthur said this while lightly patting Serena's shoulder. Knowing she was being unreasonable, Serena swallowed a sigh and said,
"Have a good talk and co back safely."
"I will."
Arthur stepped onto the horse's stirrup and mounted. Feeling Serena's persistent gaze from behind, he slightly increased the horse's speed.
'Really.'
It was both touching that she was worried and amusing that she was acting like this despite being weaker than him.
Since the mansion wasn't far from the Imperial Palace, Arthur quickly arrived at the palace. The eting place wasn't the main palace, but a small separate palace near the lake inside the palace grounds, so he lightly galloped across the garden that was more like a forest.
A luxurious building beautifully constructed with pink marble ca into view. Arthur dismounted and tied the reins to a ring hanging on the wall before entering.
'There are no soldiers? No servants either. No, there's no sign of anyone.'
Did he get the eting place wrong?
Puzzled, Arthur went inside. Passing through well-manicured grass to the back garden, he saw soone standing there.
Wearing a light pink dress—
"Your Highness."
Arthur quickened his pace. Lucy noticed him and turned around. After Arthur gave a knight's salute, placing his right hand on his chest and bowing, he asked,
"Why are you standing out here?"
"I felt like I was getting moldy staying inside."
"Mold can be solved with good ventilation."
Arthur answered without blinking. He'd heard plenty of strange things from Ellie and Rio. Lucy chuckled softly at his words. Lucy wasn't very tall, so there wasn't much difference in height between her and Arthur.
Her sky-blue hair, exactly like her father's, was lightly half-tied.
"You must have been surprised that I asked to et you."
"I was surprised."
Arthur answered honestly.
'More importantly, are we going to keep talking standing here in this sunlight, in this shadeless garden?'
"I was there when you knocked down Viscount Zigret's son."
At her sudden words, Arthur looked at Lucy and then bowed his head.
"I didn't notice. I apologize, Your Highness."
"No need. Rather, how should I put it— that one hit was really satisfying."
At those words, Arthur groaned and carefully said,
"I don't enjoy violence."
"I know."
Lucy nodded and asked, "You did it because Marchioness Ankertna was insulted, right?" Arthur sighed and answered,
"Yes, that's right."
Lucy stared intently as he ran his hand through his hair.
'The silver sparkles.'
It seed a bit ridiculous even to her that a nineteen-year-old woman would be drawn to a fourteen-year-old boy. Or should she say attracted? Or perhaps wanting to escape?
"I thought soone like that might help
run away."
"That's quite a non sequitur."
At Arthur's retort, Lucy was flustered and lowered her eyes before looking back at him.
"You know there's a big age gap between
and my brother, right?"
"Yes."
"Until I was nine, I thought I would beco queen. Everyone said so. The imperial studies, the domain studies, they weren't bad, but they were tough. Still, I thought it was my duty."
Lucy smiled slightly and continued,
"That was until my brother was born."
Lucy started walking briskly, and Arthur matched her pace. She swung her arms and legs vigorously as she walked. It was more like jogging than a stroll.
"From then on, all my studies stopped. They didn't teach
anything anymore. I couldn't beco a capable princess who might hinder my little brother, could I? Instead, they started pushing other things. And do you know what they said? 'Now, Princess, please marry well and give birth to a child who will beco a bridgehead.'"
"That must have been unpleasant."
"Thank you for saying that."
Lucy shook her head and said,
"Compared to those who said, 'You can finally find happiness as a woman. We've been worried about you.' I was in a sowhat twisted state because of that."
"Your Highness."
"Yes?"
"Shall we sit down and talk?"
At Arthur's words, Lucy stopped walking. She stared at Arthur for a mont before asking,
"Did you notice?"
"Are your feet hurting?"
"You did notice."
Lucy sighed, and Arthur pointed to a nearby bench.
"It would be better to sit if you have more to say."
At those words, Lucy's face reddened. As she sat down, she said,
"You're probably just listening to a woman's complaints because I'm royalty, aren't you?"
"I didn't think that at all."
At Arthur's words, Lucy sighed again. Sitting down made her feet feel much better. Wearing high heels to et Arthur hadn't been a good idea.
The much younger one was much more composed.
"So that's why I secretly attended Viscount Alsekidna's evening party then. I wanted to break the rules a bit. Without guards, without manners, without formality—"
"Ah."
Arthur nodded, understanding if it was sothing like that.
"And that's where I saw you and Viscount Zigret's son."
"It must not have been a pleasant sight."
"No. I liked it."
Lucy said emphatically.
Viscount Alsekidna's parties were famous and always crowded. And that day's protagonists were the Ankertna family.
It was a rare occasion for the Ankertna family, who didn't show their faces in social circles, to attend a party.
As attention focused on Arthur and Serena, Viscount Zigret's son must have been in a bad mood. He'd probably had a drink too, and he insulted Marchioness Ankertna loud enough for everyone to hear.
Saying how far a woman would go to obtain a viscountcy.
Arthur didn't ignore it.
Viscount Zigret's son was already an adult, while Arthur was a slender youth in comparison. When Arthur challenged him to a duel, Zigret's son laughed.
Arthur smiled back and retorted.
"I'll give you a chance to draw your sword."
"I don't need to draw my sword for the likes of you—"
Viscount Zigret's son hesitated and stepped back as he t Arthur's gaze. Feeling ashad at his retreat, he grabbed the hilt of his sword and drew it.
"You should draw your—"
Before he could finish saying "sword," Arthur kicked his arm, breaking it, and then struck his chin with his palm, knocking him out instantly. Viscount Zigret's son collapsed, unconscious and bleeding from his mouth, possibly having bitten his tongue. Arthur kicked him once more before leaving the party in a foul mood.
It certainly wasn't a good sight.
"But I felt so satisfied seeing that. I wanted to do the sa to so people myself."
"You wanted to hit soone?"
"Yes."
"That's not a very civilized thought."
At Arthur's words, Lucy muttered, "Says the one who actually did it......" and Arthur replied, "I'm reflecting on it."
Lucy quietly looked up at Arthur.
After Arthur knocked down Viscount Zigret's son, everything went silent.
He was strong.
Not with logic or reason, but with pure, simple strength, he had defeated his opponent. Lucy envied that. She also envied Serena, who was wearing pants instead of a dress and carrying a sword.
And she wondered what it would be like to beco part of the Ankertna family.
That's why she had forced the issue, creating a plausible reason to propose a political marriage. Her father, for whatever reason, had readily accepted it.
"That's just the story. Thank you for listening, Young Lord."
"Not at all. Thank you for thinking so highly of , Your Highness."
Arthur bowed lightly.
Compared to all the ti he had spent racking his brains and making all sorts of conjectures about why the Imperial family had proposed to them, it was a simple conclusion.
'How anticlimactic.'
Realizing that all his worries and complex thoughts had been in vain, Arthur felt a sense of deflation. But on the other hand, he also felt relieved. If this had been an intricate trap, it would have been quite troubleso.
And Arthur made a ntal note that humans can be moved by quite simple motives.
Lucy stood up and said,
"That's the end of our talk. I didn't invite you inside because I wanted to send you off right away. Forgive my rudeness."
"Not at all. Then—"
As Arthur turned to leave, Lucy called out to him.
"Arthur Ankertna."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Could we talk again soti?"
"May I bring Serena along next ti?"
"Yes."
Lucy nodded, and Arthur readily accepted the proposal with a "Then, certainly." Lucy watched him leave before sighing and sitting back down.
Arthur went to retrieve his horse and was startled to find soone standing next to it.
"Father!"
"Did the talk go well?"
"Yes, but how are you—"
Arthur's steps quickened almost to a run as he approached Beramund. Beramund smiled and ruffled his son's hair. Arthur realized he hadn't even taken off his gauntlets yet.
His clothes were still in battle gear. And there was a faint sll of blood.
"Did you just arrive?"
"Yes."
"Have you been to see Mother yet?"
"No, not yet."
"Not yet?"
Surprised, Arthur asked again, and Beramund grinned, saying, "Let's go back together and surprise her." Arthur looked at Beramund in confusion before stuttering,
"Um, but there's only one horse."
"Shall we ride together?"
"What?"
As Arthur asked blankly, Beramund said "Why?" and started adjusting the horse's saddle without hesitation.
'Oh no... How many years has it been since I rode a horse with Father?'
As he mounted the horse, Arthur felt inexplicably restless.
"Father."
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you contact us?"
"Well, while we were at it, we decided to eliminate the nest too, so it took so ti......"
"You should have contacted us anyway."
"Were you worried?"
"Of course."
As Arthur spoke emphatically, Beramund laughed lightly. Arthur sighed, but he couldn't help smiling. It's comfortable to have soone to rely on.
"Father."
"Yes?"
"If—"
"Yes."
"If I said I didn't want to inherit the family—"
"Are you planning to beco an adopted son-in-law to the Imperial family?"
"No, I'm not!"
Arthur shouted and then added flatly,
"I politely refused. That's not it, I'm just talking hypothetically."
"If you don't want to, we won't force you."
At those words, Arthur's shoulders relaxed.
"I knew you'd say that."
"That doesn't an we don't care what happens to you. We're always looking forward to what you'll do."
At those words, Arthur turned around.
"Really?"
"Of course."
Beramund answered with a smile.
"Whatever you do, or don't do, you're my proud child. That won't change."
At those words, Arthur suppressed the smile rising to his face and answered,
"Really?"
"Of course."
"By the way, you should be prepared to get scolded by Mother when we get back."
"Yikes."
Beramund hunched his shoulders.
"Then we'd better hurry."
Beramund lightly kicked the horse's side, and the horse started to gallop faster.
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Sigrid sat with her arms crossed, her face sullen, turned away. Beramund, who had just finished washing, cautiously approached her.
"Siri~ Are you still angry?"
"......"
There was no answer. Beramund quietly sat down and hugged her from behind.
"Siri, my love, won't you forgive ? Hmm? I'll contact you regularly from now on."
Beramund whispered in her ear, leaning his body against hers. He slled good after washing. Sigrid glanced back at him and said,
"You promise?"
"Yes."
"Otherwise, I'll go far away and not contact you either."
"I promise, absolutely."
"Alright then."
At those words, Beramund smiled broadly and kissed her lips.
"How magnanimous, my kind and gentle goddess."
Sigrid lightly bit his lip and said,
"But I won't forgive you a second ti. I was really worried."
"I know. I'm sorry."
Answering, Beramund slid down and quickly used Sigrid's lap as a pillow.
"Ah, it's good to be back."
"You did well."
Finally uttering those words, Sigrid carefully brushed aside Beramund's hair. His odd eyes sparkled playfully. He took her hand and kissed her palm, saying,
"While I was away, you paired off all the children? And Jin? Jin for Serena?"
"I couldn't see any other way. You just left like that, Beramund."
"No, you did well. It was the most innocuous thod."
"I never imagined the Princess would actually like Arthur......"
She shook her head, saying she couldn't have imagined it.
"Well, falling in love is sothing you can't control."
At Beramund's words, Sigrid looked down at him and smiled.
"That's certainly true."
Looking down at her, those ruby eyes like the setting sun were so beautiful that Beramund reached out without thinking. Sigrid closed her eyes, enjoying his caress on her face. Beramund moved his hand up further and removed her hairpin. In an instant, her silver hair cascaded down in waves.
"Beramund—"
At her mildly scolding tone, Beramund laughed and said,
"What's wrong with
enjoying it when you grew it out for ?"
"Well—"
Sigrid pouted her lips, saying "But still," and Beramund said to her,
"Kiss . Hmm?"
"Really. I was just angry until a mont ago—"
Even as she said this, Sigrid obediently bent down to kiss him. Or rather, she was about to when Beramund swiftly pulled her down, flipping their positions so he was on top, and started kissing her.
It was a kiss completely devoid of the playfulness and coyness from just monts ago. After a kiss dripping with desire, Beramund sucked on her neck.
"Hah—"
Sigrid let out a small moan, gasping for breath. As she clutched his arms, Beramund whispered,
"Co to think of it, we were interrupted at an important mont that day, weren't we? I'm starving."
Sigrid raised her head with an "Eep" and kissed his lips, stamring,
"I-I'm starving too."
Beramund felt like laughing. But a hunger greater than laughter swallowed it, and he roughly undressed her while kissing her several tis. He muttered,
"It wouldn't be good for the children's education if we don't co out for a week, would it?"
"Ber—!"
Sigrid giggled and lightly slapped his shoulder. Then she quickly said, before he could beat her to it,
"I love you, Beramund."
"I love you too."
Beramund kissed the corner of her eye. Sigrid thought that life was truly unpredictable.
Beramund becoming her husband, having four children with him.
She never imagined she would be this happy.
As the children grew, her worries increased, but she knew for certain that everything would be alright. With him by her side, everything would work out.
In that sense of reassurance, Sigrid hugged him tightly.
"I love you."
As she whispered once more, Beramund laughed. Sigrid slipped into a storm of pleasure in an instant.
In the end, the couple didn't co out of their room for two days, and the children learned to pretend not to notice appropriately.
"Well, it's good that our parents get along so well," Serena said, and Arthur agreed. He looked at his younger sister and said,
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I think I might be okay with inheriting the title."
At Arthur's words, Serena chuckled.
"If you say so."
She answered and then asked,
"Why did you change your mind?"
"Just. I realized how much I really like our family."
Though she said "What's that supposed to an?" Serena agreed.
"You're right, our family is great."
"It's nice to have a ho to return to, but—"
Arthur thought for a mont before saying,
"I think it's really wonderful when the thought of going ho makes you happy."
"It is."
Serena agreed. Arthur glanced at her and said,
"And the Princess said she wants to et with you next ti."
"Princess Lucy?"
"Yes."
"Well— alright."
Serena nodded readily, and Arthur inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Serena closed the book she had been reading and said,
"Then I'm off."
"Where are you going?"
"To et my fiancé."
"Fian—"
Arthur was montarily speechless before growling,
"You an Jin? Why is that guy your fiancé?"
"We decided that, didn't we?"
"That was just an excuse! What's going on? Is it real?"
Arthur kept asking questions as he chased after Serena, who was trying to slip away. Serena grumbled, "Oh, stop it," and Arthur insisted, "I can't stop. What's going on?"
Thinking this sohow felt familiar, Serena said, "It's just a joke. A joke," and Arthur, also feeling like he had experienced this before, retorted, "What kind of joke is that?"
As the two bickered and disappeared down the corridor, Rio, who had been watching from the upper floor railing, smiled faintly and returned to his room to finish his painting.
It was a picture of the whole family smiling brightly in the garden.
Rio added a plausible signature in the corner of the painting. Then he turned it over and wrote the title.
Our Happy Ho Today.
Satisfied, Rio smiled and set out to find Ellie.
Thinking that he would have to wait until dinner to show it to their parents.
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