Chapter 41

“L-Lord Nazel… when you say you find me dear… do you mean you love me as your wife?”

Ah, what a stupid question!

Surely he’s just saying that out of his duty as a husband.

As I struggled to escape Lord Nazel’s embrace in a panic, he tightened his hold as if to ensure I couldn’t get away.

“I do. I love you as a woman.”

“Eh…?”

I froze on the spot at the answer I never expected to hear.

“But… our marriage was an order from the state, wasn’t it…?”

“It was at first. But as we spent time together, I found your positive nature to be wonderful. Before I knew it, my eyes were always following you. I thought I had been conveying my affection quite clearly, though.”

“…I-I didn’t realize.”

“To begin with, my impression of you was good from the very start, Agnes.”

“By ‘start,’ do you mean the day of Her Highness the Princess’s engagement party?”

“Yes. At that time, you were the only one in the entire venue who took my side. There was nothing to be gained by defying Princess Mia. And despite being sent to the frontier because of me, you worked so hard to clean the estate and cooperated with the plant cultivation…”

As Lord Nazel spoke, he looked genuinely happy.

Seeing his gentle expression, I gradually began to feel that he was telling the truth, and my heart began to race.

If Lord Nazel loved me, it meant our feelings were mutual.

Emboldened by his actions, I resolved to properly convey my own feelings.

“Um, Lord Nazel.”

“Yes? What is it?”

The tone Lord Nazel used as he touched my cheek was sweet. My chest felt hot, and I felt a restless, fluttering sensation.

“I… I…”

However, just as I was about to say it, there was a knock at the room’s door.

I stiffened with a start and instinctively clamped my mouth shut.

From outside the door, I heard Lord Yarata’s voice. “His Highness Prince Leonard has arrived.”

…And I was just about to tell him “I love you, Lord Nazel.”

Since Prince Leonard and the others were coming in, Lord Nazel and I quickly moved apart to greet him.

It seemed that with the party over and his greetings finished, Prince Leonard had come to check on us.

I really wouldn’t have minded if he’d taken a little more time, though.

“Nazelbert. Is your wife’s condition alright?”

“Yes, I am grateful for your concern.”

I bowed my head alongside Lord Nazel.

“The House of Eventail quite took me by surprise. To think the head of the house was such a person. Professionally, he always appeared to be a taciturn and serious individual.”

Feeling the Second Prince’s gaze flit toward me, I answered instinctively.

“I am terribly sorry. Regarding his work, I believe my father fulfilled his duties diligently. However, there are times when he loses himself to his temper. He had also been drinking today, so I believe it made him even more emboldened…”

“Please, raise your head. I am not blaming you.”

Lord Nazel placed a protective hand on my back.

“There’s no need to speak while standing. Let’s sit and talk.”

We each took a seat in the chairs provided in the room. I wondered if I should step out, but Lord Nazel kept me by his side.

“So, what business does the otherwise indifferent Prince Leonard have with a frontier lord?”

“Even I have reached the limit of my patience watching my sister’s outrages.”

“How many years do you think I’ve spent by your side, Your Highness? I find it hard to believe you’d move based on such a motive. You’ve left the entirety of the royal palace to its own devices until this very moment. There’s someone behind this, isn’t there?”

“…”

For some reason, Lord Nazel was being surprisingly assertive.

As I wondered why, Prince Leonard looked at me with a troubled expression.

“Nazelbert is highly capable; he even served as my tutor in the past. He was quite the spartan… though he took care of me in many other ways. Thanks to that, I can never quite stand up to him.”

I suppose that means they have a casual relationship when not in a formal setting.

As I observed them, Prince Leonard suddenly took Lord Nazel’s hand.

“Nazelbert, won’t you join hands with me? I won’t treat you poorly.”

“Isn’t it a bit too convenient to summon me unilaterally without revealing the full picture and then ask for a hand? I have a duty to protect my territory and my family. I cannot easily nod to anything that might put them at risk.”

“As you suspect, Nazelbert, I am acting under instructions. There are parts I am currently forbidden from discussing, things I cannot yet say. However, there is a movement within the palace calling for the condemnation of my sister and Robin, and the Queen has begun to feel a sense of crisis. Nazelbert, if things go poorly… they might move to summon you back to the royal palace. Just to use you for their own convenience. We want to prevent that.”

“…”

Feeling worried, I looked at Lord Nazel beside me.

What did he mean by “summoning him back”?

Surely it didn’t mean something like “canceling the annulment of the engagement,” right?

“Regarding this matter, what is His Majesty’s stance?”

“Father is watching the situation. Since both Ducal Houses side with the Queen, he cannot move carelessly.”

“…I understand. I have no intention of returning to the capital to begin with, but please allow me to think on it.”

When Lord Nazel said this, Prince Leonard nodded silently and then turned his attention to me.

“Given today’s events, I will have the House of Eventail placed under surveillance for a while. I apologize to Lady Agnes, but they seem likely to serve as perfect bait.”

“I see. Understood.”

As I answered, a question formed in my mind. Bait…?

In short, they suspect Father might betray the Second Prince’s faction and move to join the Princess’s faction. Is Prince Leonard trying to catch him in the act to gather incriminating evidence against the Princess?

The House of Eventail is a rigid and serious family; no matter how much they are banned from parties, I don’t think they would abandon their convictions to defect to the Princess. So, he can do as he likes.

“I understand.”

“My apologies. Since you’ve been disowned, you won’t suffer any disadvantages, so please rest easy on that point.”

I had a strong premonition that we were about to be dragged into the capital’s affairs.

I couldn’t help but feel that I just wanted to continue living in peace in the frontier of Sutrena.