CH 3

Looking out at the scenery of the city where she was born and raised, Angie closed her eyes. Looking outside reminded her of the unfamiliar territory she was heading off to, which then depressed her about what her life was turning out to be.

Her energy levels had been awfully low since yesterday, so perhaps a little sleep would do her some good.

By the time I wake up, we’ll either be at Leslie or Patsroy, or whatever. (1)

She could tell from the way he behaved before getting into the carriage—Aiden Fitzroy would not take good care of her. He always had this angry looking expression on his face and his way of speaking was too blunt and raucous for her.

I don’t understand why he has to be so unkind.

Angie tilted her head. Truly, she could not understand it at all. Most of the people she met when she debuted into society were friendly and courteous folk.

They praised her appearance, calling her an angel or a doll, recommended yummy foods and delicious champagnes, and invited her to tea parties. It was normal for the people around her to sympathize with her, to unconditionally agree with the things she said, and to praise even the smallest of things.

Actually, they were always particularly kind to her for fear of getting on the bad side of her fiance, Philip Gardiner, or her father, Duke Gloucester, but she was a very naive young lady—mistaking their behavior as them simply liking her.

And so for her, who was very used to the favorable behavior of others, Aiden’s rude attitude came as a shock.

I can’t believe I’m being made to marry this.

Angie frowned, her nose wrinkling as she repeated these constant lamentations to herself hundreds of times over. His humble status aside, he wasn’t even a good man.

Thinking about it, a common adage about unhappy marriages quickly flashed through her head.

He’s not going to be violent towards me, is he?

By the time she debuted into society, Aiden had already joined the military and went to war across the sea. All she knew about him was that he was the illegitimate son of the previous Emperor.

Ah, but looking back on her memories, Philip often spoke about him in a very biting and distasteful tone—He was thrown from the country on account of how he looked like his common mother’ and other such slanderous expressions.

Things will only get more difficult once we arrive.

Thinking about the future ahead of her, Angie realized that the path ahead was far more tumultuous than she realized before stepping into this carriage. Not only the life they were now expected to share in this rural town, but also the first night. She closed her eyes tightly. (2)

She thought the wedding was the worst, but thinking about things more deeply, what still lay ahead of her on this path was far worse.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t run away from it. After asking to stop the carriage for a break, she stretched out her legs while planning her mode of escape.

However, she was bound with both a corset and a massive wire crinoline that compressed her body, and her chest hurt. It wasn’t easy riding a carriage without anyone to tend to her, much less hedging her bets and taking a chance at running.

My only choice now is….. To fill this awkward time with sleep, hoping the carriage would go as slowly as possible. Eventually, she slowly drifted into a very restful and deep sleep, as though her mind itself was eager to escape from reality.

* * *

I think she’s actually asleep. 

After a while, Aiden glanced at her, letting out a sigh of relief. He was worried she would whine the whole way there, complaining or asking him to tend to her instead. He could just as easily ignore her, but considering her temper, that would likely end up in another fight.

He smiled bitterly, remembering how they fought in front of the carriage earlier.

A marriage that starts with a fight.

Marriage. He let the word that still felt strange sit in his mouth. He never once considered a future where he would have to connect with another person in the first place, and so this situation was very unfamiliar for him.

The reason why he was on early retirement from the military for medical reasons and tucked away in the farmlands was because he wanted to stay away from people as much as possible. 

This peaceful life of isolation away from society was one he chose for himself but here he was—having it violated like this.

I don’t know what to do now.

It’d be nice if he could sneakily drop her off somewhere. He could claim she was abducted by highwaymen, stolen away by wolves, or any other excuse he could fathom.

But he lent me a carriage owned by the Imperials.

It was probably because the Emperor himself wanted to ensure she reached his home safely. Aiden let out a low sigh at the thought.

Damn it all. 

Ever since he was young, William Gardiner was a difficult one to understand. Philip was cruel, but he was simple and easy to read. William on the other hand was a man of intellect on the outside, and god-knows-what on the inside.

Philip was the rightful heir to the throne but by watching out for his weaknesses, William was able to secretly amass his own political power and take the throne out from under him with ease. William was by no means a man to be trifled with.

This peaceful life was one Aiden finally managed to carve out for himself, and he didn’t want to cross William and lose it all.

I’ll just take the Princess in. At least long enough for the Emperor to forget her existence.

Aiden carefully observed the appearance of Angie Gloucester…er, Angie Fitzroy.

She was a small woman with a slight frame, delicate facial features, and a skinny body adorned with laces and ribbons that would not take up much space in his home. He could leave her in her room, do what he could to take care of her, and ensure she does not disturb this peace of his.

Looking out the window, he saw a familiar sign in the distance.

[ DALTON FARM – NO ENTRY PERMITTED UNLESS BY OWNER ]

Dalton—the last name inherited by his mother—was a sign they had already reached the boundary of his land. Aiden’s mood was already beginning to brighten up.

Maybe staying with Princess Gloucester wouldn’t be so hard. He could just think of it as having picked up a pet dog on his trip to the capital. A pain in the ass dog, but still—just a dog.

But that small optimistic hope was immediately dashed across the stones the second he heard Angie shout as she got off the carriage.

[Angie] “This is the house? Are you sure this isn’t a barn?”

Angie’s voice was a whole octave higher than usual, containing brutally honest and pure surprise. Aiden responded with dull emotion, his voice level and subdued.

[Aiden] “Yes, to your surprise, this is my home.”

She called his house a barn. There was a tinge of discomfort in his voice, but Angie was far too surprised to notice. She blinked, asking again.

[Angie] “Perhaps this is where the servants and maids stay?”

[Aiden] “Nope, it’s where I stay.”

He thought for a moment, grumbling out.

[Aiden] “And where you’ll stay.”

Angie dropped her bag on the ground—the very same bag she’d been holding in her arms like it was the most precious thing in the world the whole trip here.

[Angie] “Dear God.”

In that chapel, she vowed she would never believe in God again, but looking at this, she impulsively called out to some kind of higher power. 

Barely managing to wrangle her own thoughts, she kept asking—despite already hearing in her head the negative answer that would come back.

[Angie] “Do you happen to have…….a banquet hall? Or a dressing room?”

Those were the two most important things to have in a house for her.

[Aiden] “I have a pigsty.”

Aiden replied bluntly, moving to help the coachman unload Angie’s things. There were a lot of bags, each made with high quality leathers, but it was a quick job thanks to their combined forces.

All of her bags were spread out across the grassy lawn and the coachman, having received his pay from Aiden, politely bowed and disappeared back down the path they came from.

Not asking for any help from Angie, Aiden started moving everything inside, all while Angie was still trying to recover from her shock. She stared at Aiden’s house with her mouth agape, slack-jawed in shock, bewilderment, and also fear.

This is where I’m going to live? Me? The Princess of House Gloucester?

Alright, from the viewpoint of ordinary people, by no means was this house shabby or pitiful.

Aiden survived life in an internment camp for prisoners of war, and when he returned from all that, he received consolation pay for the achievements he’d made while on the battlefield. Even before then, he carefully saved up whatever pay he collected while working as a shadow ‘aide’ in the Imperial Palace.

And all of that money went back into this farm.

With newly painted window frames and roof shingles, the two-story farmhouse felt very neat and tidy thanks to its freshly painted white walls. 

There were trees of apple, mint, and cherry surrounding the house, and while they were still bare having yet to bloom flowers for the spring, there was the sound of the creek flowing around the house that gave off the air of vibrancy.

But for Angie, born and raised in a mansion with dozens of rooms and an expensive garden who was also raised to believe the Imperial Palace would one day be her home, this place was a total joke. 

It looked so absurdly shabby, she couldn’t even laugh.

[Angie] “Is this really your home?”

[Aiden] “I have a barn you can stay in if you’re so eager.”

She followed his pointed finger all the way to another building, far smaller and more desolate in her eyes than even the house in front of her. Angie jolted back to her senses.

Okay, this was his home. She didn’t like it one bit, but it was much better than that crusty old barn.

She glanced down at the bag she’d dropped and then looked around. She would’ve asked a servant to pick it up for her, but not a single person had arrived to greet the owner who’d returned.

Is it because they’re a bunch of boorish country folk?

Angie frowned, reminding herself to harshly reprimand the servants.

[Angie] “Where are the workers? And the butler?”

[Aiden] “There are none.”

[Angie] “Excuse me?”

[Aiden] “I live alone.”

On second thought, he was the one who moved the bags inside, wasn’t he? As the gears slowly clicked into the place in her head, Angie gasped.

[Angie] “You’re joking.”

How nice would it be if this was all just some practical joke to surprise the new madam. If they all jumped out of the bushes right this instant, she was even willing to generously forgive them and laugh off such a mischievous prank.

But Aiden, indifferent to the reddening of her face, nodded.

[Aiden] “No, I’m serious.”

Angie hung the bag she’d dropped before on her arm, digging her branch-like arm through the opening, urgently searching for that familiar brown bottle. Annie…..Ah, she put it here.

[Angie] “Oh my god…Haha…..”

If she didn’t inhale that mint scent immediately, she felt like she was really going to faint.

[Angie] “W, who’s going to serve me from now on?”

Since she wasn’t allowed to bring a maid or a servant of her own, she’d expected he had someone in mind to replace. She never doubted for a moment there would be someone to take care of her once she arrived at Aiden’s home.

[Aiden] “I told you this before. You have perfectly functioning hands and eyes. You can do it yourself. That’s the Fitzroy way.”

That was such a cold way of explaining how she was now a Fitzroy, which meant as a member of the Fitzroy family, she should do as they do.

[Angie] “No, I want to go back! This marriage is a sham!”

But Angie could protest all she wanted, the carriage was already long gone. Aiden just shrugged his shoulders.

[Aiden] “If you hate it so much, then stay in the barn you were so eager to talk about.”

As he went about his daily life, living out the peaceful and tranquil existence he desperately sought out while working on his farm, he received an urgent call from the Emperor to make a brief return trip to the capital.

The wedding was hectic, was over before he knew it, and the series of steps required to move back and forth like this was mentally exhausting.

If anything, he was the victim here. A victim of the Emperor forcing him to take on Angie like this without any regard for him simply because he was in the best position to remove her from his plate. Aiden was in no way obligated to put up with her grumbling.

And obviously he didn’t appreciate her attitude one bit, insulting and undermining the house his grandfather had passed down to him without even blinking.

She must’ve fit Philip like a glove as his fiancee. They’re the perfect match.

Thinking he’d have to live with her in the future depressed him to no end, but there was no point in crying over spilled milk. He left her where she stood and went inside his home.

* * *

astralmech T/N: (1) She’s mispronouncing Fitzroy, likely on purpose.

(2) The word she uses here can have two meanings— the first night between husband and wife OR a small town/hamlet. Both make total sense for her to be panicking about, so I’m not 100% sure which she’s talking about, so I included both in the translation.