Chapter 145

Translator: Kadowaki | Editor: NovelMultiverse

Lord Yaakummo stepped forward, swiftly. He then bowed, once, to the King.

“Raise your head,” said the King, “Lord Naaotto made a mess of things for a while, but the fact that you are the crown prince next in line to the throne has not changed, Lord Yaakummo. You are to continue to dedicate your life to this country.” 

“As you command,” said Lord Yaakummo, bowing deeply to the King.

Ah, good. Lord Yaakummo was to remain the crown prince.

The representatives from the other countries also saw and breathed sighs of relief. I was not surprised, at all. After all, it would have been a disaster for them if Lord Naaotto, who had attempted to control them all, had become the crown prince. I think everyone could agree upon that fact.

“Now, we shall announce the crown prince’s fiancée, here and now,” the King declared to all that were watching.

I gulped audibly. I should have been sure that it wouldn’t be me, but I wasn’t quite positive.

I had been called Lord Naaotto’s fiancée, but surely, I wouldn’t be declared Lord Yaakummo’s fiancée, as well. After all, the King knew that I was already betrothed to Lord Edward. It was true that our engagement had been canceled, though.

I knew now that that had happened because of a misunderstanding with Lord Edward, and he had sort of proposed to me a second time, too.

I had realized something during this whole debacle of being declared Lord Naaotto’s fiancée. If I were to be married, it would have to be to Lord Edward.

Which is why I… I knew that I had a lot of faults, but I wanted nothing more than to be by Lord Edward’s side. I truly believed that with all my heart.

“Lord Yaakummo shall be wed to Marquess Margarita Bicosshu. Margarita, please step forward,” said the King.

“Yes, your highness,” said Margarita, following the King’s orders and stepped forward before the crowd.

I wondered when exactly Margarita had changed her clothes. Not only that, I was completely surprised that Margarita was betrothed to Lord Yaakummo. I had not even imagined such a thing.

As Margarita arrived at Lord Yaakummo’s side, she smiled at him, gently. Lord Yaakummo returned the gentle smile with his own gentle smile.

There, on his face was an earnest, heartfelt smile, unlike the deceitful one that he had been using thus far. You could tell that this wasn’t a political marriage.

I always knew that Margarita seemed like a very composed woman with wonderful attributes, but I hadn’t ever considered that she was a woman of such great character that she could have Lord Yaakummo’s hand in marriage.

She was a marquess, too. I had unknowingly asked her to do so many things for me. I hoped she wouldn’t take it as disrespect.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

As Lord Yaakummo and Margarita stood side by side, they bowed graciously towards the King. Then, they held hands and stepped out onto the balcony.

Outside the balcony, the castle grounds were filled with people who had come to see the massive event.

At first, the people’s faces were full of worry because of what Lord Naaotto had said, but now, as Lord Yaakummo and Margarita announced their marriage, the worry and dismay on their faces had been swept away.

Of course, they were probably very relieved that Lord Naaotto had been arrested, as well.

Seeing the people smile after they had been dismayed for so long sent a wave of relief over me as I watched the two of them on the balcony.

“I would also like to introduce Lady Rachel,” the King announced to the people, “She has rendered distinguished service to our nation, today. She has aided us tremendously, and Duchess Rachel is betrothed to the crown prince of the empire, Lord Edward. If it weren’t for her, our country would have surely been taken over by Lord Naaotto. She was the one to stop him.”

“What…” I said, unconsciously. I was in shock due to being introduced by the King so suddenly.

I was not expecting to be publicly thanked by the King.

“Crown Prince Edward, and Lady Rachel – please come forth,” said the King.

“Yes, your Highness,” I said.

“Yes, your Highness,” said Edward, who had appeared out of nowhere and joined me by my side.

He hadn’t been in the great hall a moment ago. I wondered when he had arrived. As I lined up with Edward, we turned to face the King.

“Thank you very much for rescuing this country,” said the King, “This nation will never forget the debt of gratitude that we owe you, and from this day forth, we will serve as loyal vassals to the Hazurattoon Empire. If there is ever anything we could help you with, we will always be willing to help, and please come to us for assistance at any time.”

“Thank you very much,” said Edward, bowing deeply in response to the King’s words of gratitude.

I had never imagined I would be thanked by a King in front of a crowd as large as this. I was so nervous that my whole body began to tremble. Edward must have noticed that I was trembling, as he laid a hand on my back to steady me.

“I would like to express my gratitude as well,” said the Emperor of Hazurattoon, who had stayed silent thus far, “I had come under Lord Naaotto’s control at some point, as well. Crown Prince Edward and Lady Rachel – I am deeply grateful for what you have done. Edward, I see you have found yourself a very good fiancée. Lady Rachel, please continue to guide my son from here on out. Edward, I hope you never stop loving Lady Rachel. You won’t find a woman of this caliber elsewhere. Make sure that you hold onto her, dearly.”

Just as I had thought, the Emperor had been driving away Lord Edward because he was under Lord Naaotto’s control.

Hot tears streaked down my face, as I was overwhelmed with this unexpected declaration of gratitude from the Emperor himself.

“Thank you very much,” said Lord Edward, “I swear that I will cherish Lady Rachel for the rest of my life.”

“…Thank you very much,” I said, “I swear that I will work hard to be of use to Lord Edward.”

As soon as we finished our replies, we heard a huge roar of cheers well up from around the castle grounds.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]