I liked ordinary things.
Such words being said from a daughter of the Duke, one of the very best in the country, could be a very contradictory statement. To be more precise, I wanted to have a life free from disturbances.
Every time I said this, my older and younger sisters would both say, “Don’t you have any dreams?”, and my older brother would ask worriedly, “Will that occur as simply as you say?”
Unlike my sisters, who have multitudes of marriage proposals coming for them, I hardly had any marriage proposals that came in. If the both of them are likened to roses, I would be likened to wildflowers, which on a certain level was a matter of course.
Within the gorgeous cluster of flowers, would a simple flower stand out?
In this kingdom, the marriageable age was generally from the late teens to the early twenties. As my sister, who’s a year older, refused the offers of marriage that came in for her, I didn’t really get any proposals.
It was only natural, as I rarely attended any social gatherings and mainly interacted with the people I knew. And they were mostly of status that were unsatisfactory to my parents.
Mother worried over what would happen if I couldn’t get married after turning twenty.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand how Mother felt, but it wasn’t something that I felt was a crisis. Even if I didn’t get married, there were still three others in the house.
The eldest being the successor of the Duchy, my brother, as well as the flowers of society, my beautiful and lovely older and younger sisters. Why would there be a need for me to feel indebted?
So what if there was an unmarried woman in the Ducal family?
As long as it didn’t affect my daily life, not getting married wasn’t a problem. Although Mother says getting married is a woman’s happiness, it actually wasn’t that true. I would only know after getting married.
It didn’t seem that bad to grow old alone while leisurely reading books.
I had undoubtedly thought so, but…
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“What did you just say?”
Today’s sunlight felt quite nice. The warm sunlight and the gentle breeze, the not-too-hot weather was perfect for drinking tea.
She was flustered by a guest’s sudden visit, but drinking tea together wasn’t anything extraordinary. Above all, the guest had a huge status, so she was acting accordingly.
‘Was I hallucinating?’
As she attempted to deny reality while ingesting warm tea to soothe herself, the person sitting across from her repeated his words.
“I said to marry me.”
She had almost broken the rules of etiquette by spitting out the tea she had drunk. After barely managing to close her mouth, Gerania quietly observed the face of the person elegantly sipping tea.
Golden hair that shimmered like powdered gold, blue eyes that reminded her of the autumn sky.
His features, too, were handsome, perhaps because he resembled his mother, who was famed for her beauty. Although thick lines formed his face, it wasn’t similar to King Kendrick’s, who was praised for being manly.
Like a flower that bloomed amongst grass, he was a gorgeous man that would stand out no matter where he went. He was completely different from her, who was said to be overly plain.
Gerania had heard from her father, the Duke, that he had a witty and sly personality, but when she had actually met him, he was quite brusque. Who on earth would talk about such a topic with an indifferent face?
In any case, right now that wasn’t important.
‘Right now, this dazzling Prince is saying–’
“Gerania Vichen, I would like to take you as my wife.”
In response to the answer that set things in stone, she set down the teacup quietly. She had originally thought that it would be a perfect day to enjoy tea time, but it seems like that’s not the case anymore.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
The object of admiration and yearning from all the unmarried ladies of high society, the Crown Prince, Franz Rinaun, stared straight at her.
His sharp gaze seemed to see through Gerania’s inner self, causing intriguing chills to form.
‘How odd, it was definitely warm today.’
“Right now, I’m quite flustered.”
“I understand, as this happened all of a sudden. In that case, shall we set a date so that we can discuss this properly?”
“No, it’s not that.”
As she didn’t know how to start speaking, Gerania took a moment to organise her thoughts. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.
“Are you being serious when you say that a handsome and fine person like the Prince wants to take an ordinary woman like me as your wife?”
She had only realised after saying those words. The Prince gave a straightforward reply to her truthful words that came out accidentally.
“I wouldn’t joke about matters regarding marriage.”
‘It was obviously not a joke.’
She could tell just from a few encounters. His personality wasn’t light to the point where he would bring up such a thing as a joke.
‘But why?’
After careful thought, she spoke cautiously.
“If you require my family’s power, there are sisters that are prettier and lovelier than me.”
Her older sister Caria and her younger sister Cordelia were very lovely and charming. In high society, those two were famous enough that those that didn’t know of them were called spies. They were sisters that she was proud of, so the fact that the Prince chose Gerania and not them was even more surprising.
“Of course, while the others are very attractive women, you’re the one that I need.”
Gerania felt relieved by the expression he used, ‘need’. It would have been more troubling if he had expressed affection for her. After all, she wasn’t the kind of person that was worth his attention. Her descriptors involved plainer than expected, uninteresting and stubborn.
“You don’t really know much about me, do you?”
A marriage meant to tie their lives together with a lifelong covenant. Particularly in a royal marriage, it was difficult to divorce, unless there was an instance of committing treason.
It didn’t matter whether she got married or not, but unlike her, it was a large matter for a member of the Royal Family. As her words implied, was there anything else that she could offer, other than her status? She was at a loss.
“I think I know as much as I need to.”
She became speechless. She, too, doesn’t know the Prince very well, but the Prince knew about her?
She managed to stifle the words that were about to spring out with difficulty. She thought he was a cautious person, but did he have a tendency to be reckless?
“Do I have a choice?”
“Is that a rejection?”
‘You’re really quick on your feet.’
Gerania nodded, as there was nothing for her to deny. She quickly added out of fear of any misunderstanding.
“The– The problem doesn’t lie with Your Highness at all, it’s just that I have no intention of getting married whatsoever.”
Most importantly, barring any problems, this person would become the next King. If Gerania married such a person, she would become Queen in the future, but that wasn’t what she wanted.
The current situation of the Royal Palace was as follows.
Famed for being an outstanding soldier that expanded the Kretz’s territory through conquests, the current king, Kendrick, was also a famous playboy that had many women. As such, the total number of Princes and Princesses in the Royal Family numbered more than 30.
The carriage will not proceed if there are many horses and an incompetent horseman is at the helm. Apparently, King Kendrick treated the matters of the harem as non-existent, hence leading to the messy authority within the Inner Palace.
Not only are there all kinds of covert power struggles amongst the concubines to win favour, there was also fierce competition occurring amongst the Princes and Princesses.
As such, the place where endless conspiracies and schemes ran amok was the Royal Palace. Gerania hadn’t the slightest intention of suffering by stepping into such a chaotic place.
“I know, you had wanted to open a school and be a teacher, right?”
‘Did I say that before? I haven’t even mentioned this to my family.’
Other than the fact that he’s the Crown Prince, he could be a really good chatting buddy, and it was embarrassing that she seems to have been more excited than she had thought.
It has been like that ever since their first meeting. Unlike the nervous Gerania, he drank tea leisurely and started the conversation by gesturing towards the book she had brought along with her.
With her eyes shining as it was a book she had enjoyed, she asked if he had read this book. He said that he had enjoyed it as it was interesting. Gerania started to talk to shake off the awkwardness of discussing the same topic, and when she came to her senses, she was the only one chattering away.
‘Would he think of it as unladylike?’
Although she had sneakily glanced at his expression, it didn’t seem like he was offended. Rather, he could occasionally respond accordingly.
He wasn’t very talkative, but it felt like he was listening to her story attentively. It was surprising to her that such meticulousness was hidden behind his blunt expression.
That was why she had slowly begun to look forward to his visits, which were burdensome at first.
She didn’t expect such distress to be waiting for her after a total of five visits.
“Alright.”
She gave up readily and followed suit as the Prince rose from his seat. It would be unimaginable just based on his gorgeous-looking face, but he was so tall that her head barely touched his shoulders. The appropriate muscles rippled fluidly with his movements.
All of a sudden, a small curiosity arose.
‘Wasn’t he of the opinion that training was meaningless? But how is his body so fit?’
Even his hands and feet were big. His strides were as wide as his large feet, but his movements were slower than expected. Whenever Gerania looked at the Prince walking by her side, she would be immersed in a strange atmosphere.
When she walked to the front door to see him off, the Prince spoke a brief farewell, before adding words that were surprising.
“Then, I shall come to visit you again next time.”
“You’re going to come again?”
‘Wasn’t this over?’
Perhaps he had understood her attitude from her opening and closing mouth, hence the Prince smiled faintly. It was with a playful attitude that was wholly different from the expressionless face he had earlier.
“I didn’t expect to get the desired answer in one go anyways. I look forward to a positive response next time.”
‘What did you want me to do?’
It’s no wonder that a foreboding feeling of overcast skies gathering above her simple life plans gripped her by the ankles.
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