CH 35

Chapter - 35 || I'm So Glad You Broke Off Our Engagement

[ E/N - I was scrolling through the titles of the comic for this and realized the manga of it was released on Nico, which I scanlated three pages of their introductions.

Unfortunately there are only Elvira's, Natalia's, and Rudolf's introduction. They are all different pages and a lot of panels are missing that I didn't scan. ]

After the marriage ceremony, Alexander and Natalia left the palace for a carriage ride around the city.

There must have been a lot of people on the streets to see the King and Queen.

We decided to take a short rest at the Palace.

I will be attending the celebration dinner in the evening, so I decided to finish my preparations as soon as possible.

"Lady Elvira, you look wonderful!"

For the dinner party, I decided to wear a dark purple dress.

"You look as good as the night sky."

"You're giving me too much credit."

"It's not enough!"

I was having this conversation with Erma.

"Elvira, may I?"

Rudolf-sama was there, and he was finished changing as well.

"How can I help you?"

Rudolf-sama spoke while standing,

"It's short notice, but I'm going to be staying at Count Sylven's villa tonight."

I was really surprised at how sudden it was.

"Was it at Lady Anna's place?"

Rudolf-sama nodded.

"I can't leave my precious Elvira here like this. We're going to make a formal protest about what happened yesterday."

I understood he was concerned for my safety, but did he think about the situation over there?

"When did you tell them this?"

Rudolf-sama laughed,

"Richard has been offering me the opportunity to stay with you at any time if I want. I checked with Lord Esaias, and he said he would love to, so I decided to stay tonight. He's also going to provide us with a carriage to the Sacred Heart."

"Okay."

If him and Rudolf-sama are fine with it, then I have no reason to object.

I had to admit that I was a little relieved.

"Well,"

They must have been waiting for us to finish our conversation.

Erma said, as if she couldn't resist.

"May I have a moment?"

I nodded as I finished my conversation.

"Lady Elvira and Lord Rudolf, you look even better together like that! It's wonderful!"

Rudolf-sama was wearing a jacket of the same color as my dress.

"That's all there is to it, but I'd like to share it with everyone in the... Empire."

We were a little embarrassed when we saw each other.

——

A short time after the King and Queen returned from the parade, a sumptuous banquet was held at the court to celebrate their marriage. The former Queen, Sofia, was also here.

"That was a wonderful wedding ceremony. May the Kingdom of Turku prosper even more."

Rudolf-sama called out to Alexander-sama,

"I am honored that the Crown Prince, who is honored as the sun of the Empire, would say so. I am extremely honored."

Alexander-sama acted as if the incident the night before had never happened. Although I didn't express it, I felt annoyed.

Rudolf-sama was also smiling, but his eyes were not.

I tried to stay out of Alexander-sama's sight. I even asked him not to talk to me if he could.

The main character, Natalia, was sitting quietly and not saying much. I guess she was tired indeed.

Even so, I was impressed that she had changed into a bright red dress for this event.

As expected, both Lady Natalia and Alexander-sama were smiling at this occasion. Maybe they didn't relax their expressions at the marriage ceremony.

Prince Patrisch and Lady Anna were not present in this meeting.

Esaias-sama smiled at me, and I greeted him with my eyes, despite the distance.

I'll have to thank him properly later.

Gorgeous dishes were served one after the other.

Compared to the cuisine of the Empire, where various seasonal ingredients were readily available, the cuisine of the Kingdom of Turku was more seasoned and varied.

In addition, I found that using a lot of fat gave it a luxurious look. I didn't realize that until I left.

"More wine, please."

I heard the voice of Lady Sofia telling me to do so. Lady Sofia had always been very plump, but I felt that her edema was getting worse, as if her recuperation was not worth it.

And yet, she had consumed quite a bit of wine.

In the past, I would have gently instructed Lady Sofia to slow down her eating and drinking, but now I cannot.

I'll ask her how she is feeling later, I thought to myself.

Sofia had never been interested in state affairs, but after the death of the previous king, she seemed to have lost interest in everything.

The conversation seemed to be going well, but it wasn't at all.

"I heard that the Crown Prince and Princess are going to visit the Sacred Grove after this."

Alexander-sama said to me and Rudolf-sama.

Rudolf-sama's eyebrows twitched, but he returned his expression back to normal.

"I heard you can still see snow at this time of year."

"There's no mountain in the empire as high as that."

"No."

I was inwardly dismayed by Alexander-sama's attitude, as if he had never tried to force me to visit him last night.

But there were no surprises.

Because I knew.

In Alexander-sama's mind, this and that are different.

I've been through something similar many times before.

I gently reached for the glass in front of me.

I'm so glad that you broke off our engagement.

I swallowed the wine to keep my thoughts from leaving my mouth.