“Could it be that your fiancée failed to please you? They say in Peurieo that she is as lovely and wise as a delicate flower….”
“Not I. The duke’s daughter must be the one displeased, forced to marry a man who doesn’t even know his roots.”
At Edward’s remark, Baihereun started in surprise.
“How could you say such a thing! In what way is Your Excellency lacking? Be it looks or wit, you are without a single flaw. Were you not the one who monopolized the smitten gazes of female officers even on the battlefield?”
“….”
“Whenever we made port, even briefly, harbor women targeted Your Excellency day and night, such that I, your aide, was on constant guard and unable to sleep.”
“…Was that so.”
Baihereun’s expression turned rather bitter.
“Please, do not speak of it. To recount those events to Your Excellency would take a fortnight of days and nights. Anyway, how utterly uninterested you are in your own affairs….”
Clicking his tongue, Baihereun hurriedly continued.
“Do not worry. The majority of noble political marriages are said to be decided suddenly in this very manner. You need only hold the engagement ceremony first and gradually grow accustomed to one another.”
Edward could not ask whether it was a problem that he was six years older than his betrothed. Such an age gap was no great flaw to nobles, and more than anything, Baihereun’s eyes sparkling brightly greatly annoyed him.
“Since His Majesty has acted as matchmaker, what greater honor could there be? Your Excellency’s wedding will be an incomparable honor for us officers and soldiers as well.”
At those words, even Edward was left speechless.
Compared to the army, the officers and soldiers of the Peoreun Navy received abysmal treatment. Having fought through the last war, their pride had been wounded in ways seen and unseen.
The army’s notoriously fastidious administrative officers never issued a single supply item on time, so disruptions in weapons procurement were a given, and it was common for soldiers to go without proper meals.
It was obvious that the grievances of officers and soldiers had piled up considerably.
It was amidst this that they heard the news that the Emperor himself would preside over the Vice Admiral’s wedding. According to Baihereun, it was like a ray of light piercing through dark clouds.
*The problem is, it is not the glory I desired.*
Feeling as though the whole world had turned its back on him, Edward covered his forehead with his right hand. Baihereun hastily brought up his business.
“I shall select the most presentable soldiers and train them thoroughly.”
“…Why soldiers?”
“Why, to stand honor guard at Your Excellency’s engagement ceremony, of course?”
Edward lowered his eyes, feeling an even deeper weariness.
It was a long-standing tradition for soldiers to stand as ceremonial guards at a Peoreun Navy officer’s wedding.
Edward was soon scheduled to be promoted to Vice Admiral of the Peoreun Navy, and if he did not have soldiers stand guard at his wedding, it was clear he would long be the subject of the soldiers’ gossip.
“I suppose I must contact Duke Sabie.”
There was much to discuss with the Duke of Sabie regardless.
“You should take this opportunity to meet the young lady of Duke Sabie as well. You must meet often for affection to blossom, must you not?”
“The young lady?”
“Surely you do not intend to avoid meeting her until the engagement ceremony? You are to spend your lives together.”
Edward crossed his legs and furrowed his brow. A lifetime together—to think of it made his aide seem almost frightening now.
Suddenly, a girl who had looked at him with what seemed like deep resentment came to mind.
In her large green eyes, a moist shimmer rippled like dew. Even that had looked fresh and pure.
*Did I make a mistake?*
Unfamiliar with noble etiquette, Edward did not know exactly what mistake he had made the night before. Yet Yellodia had looked deeply wounded, and Edward thought he ought to apologize.
“Send a formal letter to the House of Sabie. I would like to meet as soon as possible.”
Having spoken thus, Edward rose and gathered his documents. His face was already expressionless as usual.
“When is the Admiral expected to return?”
“It seems the injuries he sustained in the war were considerable. At present, the date of his return is uncertain.”
At his aide’s troubled answer, Edward stopped in his tracks.
“Is he quite ill?”
“The war wound itself should not be serious. Rather, since His Majesty forced Your Excellency into the office of Vice Admiral, he must have fallen ill from resentment. Absenting himself from his post—why, is this not a sit-in staged against His Majesty?”
“….”
Edward remained silent.
The reason for the naval admiral who had served as supreme commander on land to have sustained injuries was unclear.
Though swords remained sheathed, a war bloody enough to draw blood was raging in Peurieo between the nobles and the Emperor over post-war spoils of influence.
Though he knew none of the minor details, even Edward, who had been away from the capital for five years, could sense that the situation was turning rather strange.
The Emperor wished to use this war to suppress the nobles and consolidate imperial authority. Even if it meant marrying Edward to a girl six years his junior.
That day, fewer than half of those expected attended the high-ranking general meeting.
Suppressing a sigh, Edward thought he would rather return to the battlefield where shells were bursting.
＊ ＊ ＊
“How was it?”
“How was what?”
“You met your fiancé last night.”
Perhaps from excitement, Masa’s cheeks were flushed red like apples. Her dark brown curls were tied up tightly as always, and her thick eyebrows and dark brown eyes looked quite stubborn.
Despite Masa’s impatient question, Yellodia merely stared blankly at her maid.
Burning with curiosity, Masa urged her on.
“My lady? I asked how it was?”
“He was just… okay,” Yellodia answered, pouting her lips slightly.
Masa’s eyes grew wide.
“‘Just okay’? That is your entire impression of meeting your fiancé?”
“Strictly speaking, he is not my fiancé yet. Since the engagement ceremony has not been held.”
“If His Majesty has arranged it, it is as good as an engagement. Please, explain in detail. Was he truly so unimpressive?”
Masa raised her voice as if interrogating her.
Yellodia ignored her personal maid’s curious expression and looked sullenly down at her embroidery frame.
As always, the roses were blooming crookedly under her hands. Even if she embroidered hyacinths or peonies, the result would be no better.
Among all the maids in the manor, none were as clumsy at needlework as Yellodia.
*I think I’ve ruined it.*
The events of last night—that is, meeting Baron Edward Adrian—were the most incomprehensible incident of Yellodia’s life.
The dishes prepared by His Majesty’s personal chef were, as always, too bland or too salty, and the Emperor’s gaze dwelled in a realm impossible to decipher.
And Edward’s eyes as he looked at her… Those eyes…
Just then, weary of waiting, Masa set down the shirt she was sewing onto her lap and let out a sigh.
“As expected, was he a frightening man?”
“Frightening? How can you judge someone you’ve never even met like that?”
“He is a soldier. Was that not why you were so worried you couldn’t even eat lunch yesterday?”
At Masa’s bewildered expression, Yellodia could only close her mouth.
Come to think of it, until yesterday afternoon, she had harbored exactly that kind of prejudice against Baron Adrian.
*I had expected him to be a cold-blooded man, having fought a war spanning five years…*
And all that prejudice had shattered the moment she met Edward.
The moment his quiet, water-calm eyes gazed at her.
Yellodia let out a sigh and confessed.
“He seemed earnest and sincere.”
“Th… that’s a good thing?”
“It’s not a bad thing.”
Yellodia admitted humbly. Try as she might to recall Edward’s tone and expression, she could form no other evaluation.
Edward was the most composed and sincere man she knew. And so handsome it made one sigh.
“But why are you so restless, then?”
“Hmm?”
“Your expression looks, how should I put it, sulky? Are you angry?”
At Masa’s observation, Yellodia finally realized her expression was poor.
If the sensation of her stomach bubbling and boiling was anger, then she was certainly angry.
The reason was unclear. She did not wish to know it, either.
Without realizing it, Yellodia pouted and said,
“He probably doesn’t want to marry me.”
“What?”
“He clearly doesn’t like me.”
Masa jumped in surprise and looked at Yellodia. She had nearly stabbed her own thigh with the needle she held, rather than the collar.
Masa set the dangerous needle far away and composed herself.
“Is breaking the engagement… even possible? It is a betrothal arranged by His Majesty.”
Masa was extremely cautious. Her young mistress’s mood seemed unusually awry.
Yellodia set the embroidery frame down on her lap and pressed her hands firmly into the sofa.
“Still, it’s possible for him to dislike me, isn’t it?”
“Oh my… heavens! Who in the Empire would dare reject you, my lady? Unless they had eyes on the soles of their feet.”
“Masa, I’m really not all that.”
“You are! How beautiful you are! Surely the Baron was nervous before His Majesty and made a mistake.”
“He didn’t seem nervous…”
Yellodia murmured so, yet strove to recall Edward’s expression and eyes.
Yet the face of the man requesting His Majesty to reconsider the betrothal had been endlessly calm. In his serene cobalt-blue eyes, not an inch of hesitation could be seen.
*As expected, he must not like me.*
The moment she thought so, Yellodia’s lips jutted out sharply.
Of course, Yellodia had never held any expectations for the betrothal, nor even any particular feelings about it.
What feelings? She had lived without even knowing such a word as betrothal existed in the world.
Yet despite this, she had never once imagined that her fiancé might not like her. Not a single time.
She had not expected anything at all, so why she felt so hurt was utterly beyond her understanding.
*Ah, I shall live a loveless marriage all my life. Like other nobles in political marriages… What a pitiful life.*
The wild delusions that could be called Yellodia’s specialty soon soared off to unimaginable heights.
She would live her whole life exchanging fake smiles with an indifferent husband, die unable to bear a single child, and meet a lonely death…
Finally lying a cold corpse, the baron would place lilies on her firwood coffin, only then with eyes brimming with longing, offering his bitter regret…
She felt as though tears might trickle forth.