After Louis and I said farewell to the party, we went back to the Armelia manor. I was the only one living at the Anderson manor in the capital at the moment. My father and my brother were busy cleaning up the aftermath of the incident with Wels, so they couldn’t leave the march yet. There were plenty of servants at the manor, but it was too lonely for me to be at home with none of my family there. Louis sensed that and invited me to live with the Armelias for a while.
“Thanks for coming with me today. And for letting me stay at your house.”
“I wanted to. Don’t worry about it.”
I hadn’t been able to sleep so I went to the library, and there, I ran into Louis. The two of us then decided to go to the parlor together and chat for a while.
“You have some really great allies.” I knew exactly who he was talking about.
“Yes, I do. They haven’t changed the way they treat me even after finding out who I really am. I did ask them to do that, but still.”
“The reason they listened is because they’re good people. You gained their trust.” Louis reached out and touched my cheek. “Feeling sleepy yet?”
“Yes. I’m feeling a little better now too.”
Honestly, I hadn’t been able to get much rest lately.
“I thought work had calmed down for you. But you’re still up late?” I asked.
It seemed Louis wasn’t sleeping much either. There were dark circles under his eyes.
“Yes. The same goes for Father. He’s drowning in his regrets, ever since Mother passed.”
I didn’t know at the time, but Lady Aurelia had been unwell since before I went to Rimmel, and she had since passed away. Her funeral was just the other day. Many people came to mourn her, which proved just how much she was adored by everyone. Lord Romello was deeply depressed, saying he was focusing too much on his work and wasn’t able to help her. Father had a long talk with him, Lord Romello returned to work after Lady Aurelia’s funeral.
I wondered what they talked about. Perhaps they shared a special bond now that they were both widowers. At any rate, it filled me with relief to see Lord Romello smiling again, even if it was just for show, because at first, he was beside himself with grief. Louis had been extremely depressed as well. I could hardly bear to see them like that.
As for myself, I was utterly shocked when Lady Aurelia died. She was like a mother to me. I was already deep in my grief over the deaths of Anna, Abel, my guardsmen, and Nana, so for Lady Aurelia to die on top of that was just too much. That was the real reason why I hadn’t been able to sleep at night.
Louis was so concerned about me that it was part of the reason why he insisted I come stay with him.
“Tonight, I realized that I shouldn’t just sit around and ruminate on my regrets. I should remember Mother and talk about her with a smile,” he said.
“Yes, I was thinking the same thing.”
We both began to talk about his mother. We laughed together as we reminisced about the past.
“Are you going back to school tomorrow?”
“Yes, I’m planning to. I can’t go directly there from here, though, so I’ll go back to my house for a bit and then leave.”
“Do you need to get some things from there?” he asked.
“No, I have everything I need here.”
I just felt that it wasn’t proper to commute directly from the Armelia manor since we were not yet wed. It wouldn’t be a good idea to be seen staying here overnight.
“Just come in my carriage. It’s not that unusual for someone to pick up his fiancée for school, right?”
“I suppose that’s true. I’ll do that.” If anyone asked, we could just say that was the reason.
“Speaking of school, I heard Prince Edgar finally decided on a fiancée.”
“You’re right… She’s my best friend,” I replied.
While I was in Rimmel, Sharia got engaged to the prince. And not only that, but he chose Ellia to be his concubine.
“Father wasn’t happy with Prince Edgar’s sudden decision.”
“I know… If he had just consulted with Lord Romello, he could have come up with a plan to let him marry Sharia without taking Ellia on as his concubine.”
Prince Edgar’s actions came as a surprise to both me and the Armelias. While I was away, he had negotiated with other nobles and gotten permission to marry Sharia. However, their condition was that he had to take Ellia on as his mistress at the same time.
It was a very bad move. Ellia was the daughter of Marquis Marea. And even though Sharia was the daughter of a count, her father did not have as much influence as House Marea. Despite this, Sharia would be queen while Ellia was confined to being concubine. It was clear to me that the sparks of the power struggle had been lit.
But ultimately, what was done was done.
I couldn’t do anything about the decision without causing an incident. And if something did occur, it would not only damage Sharia’s honor but threaten the authority of the royal family.
My hands were sadly tied.
“Thinking about the future, Father could have avoided Prince Edgar’s request. In a way, Prince Edgar’s actions were the right decision for him.”
“For him, yes.” I let out a sigh. “Still, now that this has happened, I must do everything I can to support Sharia in the palace.”
“That’s a good idea. But for now, you should get to sleep. You have school tomorrow.”
“True.” I gave Louis a kiss and went back to my bedroom.
✦ ✦ ✦
After that, many things happened. Louis and I got married, as did Sharia and Prince Edgar. Our weddings went smoothly, and things were going well. But for some reason, Queen Iria remained quite fond of me and occasionally invited me to tea parties. It was an advantage for me since I planned on becoming more active in high society, and I always gratefully accepted her invitations.
At the same time, I worked very hard to make sure that Sharia’s life at the palace was comfortable.
Time just passed along like that, and many things began to change in little ways. Sometimes, I would think back on the past and mourn people whose lives had slipped through my fingers. I didn’t think that pain would ever leave me, but I knew the reason I felt that pain was proof I was alive. And most of all, I wanted to carry on the wishes of the true heroes who had protected the kingdom from the shadows and lost their lives because of it.
I keep living, and I think of them.
I keep living, and I continue to fight alongside them.
But now, my battlefield is the world of high society.
Sometimes, I hold a sword in my hand so that no one else will be able to take those I love away from me again.
I keep living, and I fight alongside them so that everyone can live at peace in the kingdom. And I trust that someday, someone else will follow in my footsteps and take up the battle in my place.