The princes’ birthday party came to a close once the present-giving was over. After the royal family had left, Nazelbart took the beautifully dressed Agnes’s hand and also departed the hall with her. Before he knew it, it had started getting dark. If they stayed at the hall, they might end up having to talk to other nobles until morning. Nazelbart could have somehow managed that on his own, but he didn’t want to drag Agnes into such an ordeal.
It was great that more people were becoming friendly toward the House of Florescruz, but Nazelbart was a bit annoyed at the nobles who’d started cozying up to him as soon as the tide had turned in the royal palace. They really were quite the opportunists. He was sick of dancing to their tune. After all, he wasn’t the compliant animated doll anymore.
Haaah, I want to go home to Sutrena. It was an irreplaceable haven to Nazelbart.
“Lord Nazel?” As she walked by Nazelbart’s side, Agnes looked at him with worry. He felt a little embarrassed that she’d apparently been able to notice his emotional turmoil.
“It’s nothing,” he replied, smiling at his beloved wife.
Agnes was his precious, irreplaceable person. She was always kind to Nazelbart, with no exception.
“Agnes, after we finish talking to the king and queen tomorrow, let’s visit Bill’s store. We heard a lot of interesting things about him today.”
“Of course. I learned a lot from the way you gathered information. Maybe I’ll try it myself next time.” It seemed that Agnes had been paying close attention to Nazelbart’s conversations with the other nobles. The way she tried her hardest was simply adorable, but...
“You don’t need to imitate me, Agnes.” Nazelbart was happy that his cute Agnes was becoming more and more capable, but he didn’t want her to push herself. Just the thought of something happening to her made him lose his cool.
I need to pull myself together. A man who’s always on edge is unfit to be Agnes’s husband. Nazelbart never made the mistake of letting anyone realize how he truly felt—with the exception of Kelly, thanks to her magic—but he found himself getting more emotional than usual whenever he was in the capital. This was true even though he was no longer the animated doll that always did as he was told, nor the weak Lord Villain who’d lacked the strength to protect the people important to him.
When Nazelbart had been little, he’d been mischievous just like Solis. He’d used his magic to fill the estate’s garden with flowers or mushrooms, and kept pulling pranks that shocked the people around him. Thanks to his mother’s magnanimity, his magic hadn’t been sealed—some would call it a miracle. He’d had a healthy older brother, and even though he’d been outstanding, he was only the second son, so he’d been raised with considerable freedom and a hands-off approach—until he’d gotten engaged to Princess Mia at the age of ten.
After that, Nazelbart’s circumstances had started slowly becoming complicated. As he’d continued showing his exceptional talent to those around him, his older brother had grown jealous of him, and his previously indifferent father had started harboring reckless expectations and making unreasonable demands of him. In addition to his prince consort education, which kept him confined in the palace, he’d also been dispatched to the knight order at his father’s request. Even there, Nazelbart had continued his rigorous training and work, and showed great results. Nowadays, he might have decided to cut corners, but the earnest Nazelbart of back then had given it his all and nonchalantly completed every task given to him. And so, he’d become the future prince consort, nicknamed the animated doll.
There’s no point in thinking about it. I can’t change my past, but now I have Agnes, Solis, and everyone at the estate and fortress. Nazelbart straightened his back as if to shake free from his weak self. He could feel the warmth from Agnes’s hand as he held it in his. It’s okay. He tugged Agnes’s hand and embraced her sturdy body tightly.
“Wh-Whoa, what’s wrong, Lord Nazel?” It was only natural for Agnes to be flustered by his sudden hug.
“I just felt like clinging to you.”
“You always cling to me as much as you want, don’t you?” She was right; Nazelbart always desired more Agnes.
“Since we’ve finished our tasks for the day, let’s relax in our room.”
“Sure!” Agnes also looked happy for a chance to rest, so she cheerfully walked toward the guest room that had been prepared for them, holding Nazelbart’s hand all the while.
✦ ✦ ✦
After returning to our room and catching my breath, I looked up at Lord Nazel, who was close to me.
“What’s the matter, Agnes? Let’s rest today in preparation for tomorrow. You must be tired after talking to so many people.”
Kelly had arrived the moment we’d returned, and she was currently talking to the palace maids near the entrance of the room. It seemed that they’d brought us dinner and drinks.
Kelly really is amazing at her job. I want to follow her example more. The palace maids entrusted Kelly with the rest and left the room.
Around this time, the other nobles might be having a lively dinner together. But both Lord Nazel and I appreciated having our dinner brought to our room, since we could relax better like this instead of dining with a large crowd.
“Let’s have dinner, Lord Nazel.” If we finished our food quickly, Kelly could also dine early.
“All right, Agnes.”
We moved to a round table in the room and sat across from each other.
“Lord Nazelbart, Lady Agnes. Regarding tomorrow’s audience with the king and queen, as their schedule is full, it will take place in the evening.”
“Very well. Thank you.”
“You two were very busy today as well.”
We were also planning on staying here tomorrow, so the meeting time posed no problem. With that in mind, I looked at the food we had been served.
“Oh, that’s an unusual juice.” My eyes were drawn to the beautifully colored bottles on the serving cart Kelly had pushed over.
“That’s alcohol, Agnes. But it does look very similar to juice.”
With fluid movements, Kelly swiftly poured some actual juice from the cart into a glass for me.
“I’ll bring some additional juice.”
“Th-Thank you, Kelly.”
After she finished serving us our food and drinks, Kelly quickly left the room to fetch more juice. She must have been worried about me drinking. Before I knew it, Lord Nazel had also moved all the alcohol out of my reach.
I have mixed feelings about this, but they’re being considerate of me. I could feel their kindness. I’d once gotten drunk and practically assaulted Lord Nazel. I’d pressed myself on him, embraced him, and even forcibly kissed him! It had been a blunder most unbecoming of a proper lady.
At least I didn’t do anything beyond that. I was apparently the kind of person who clearly remembered what happened even while drunk. Whenever I happened to recall my actions at the time, I became flustered. I can’t repeat a faux pas like that again—ever!
Moreover, the day after I’d assaulted Lord Nazel, he’d been in a rather good mood...and requested I do the same things from the previous night, but sober this time. As a result, I’d gotten much, much more embarrassed. Ever since, I’d decided to abstain from drinking. If I got drunk and lost control of my actions, I’d suffer greatly for it. Lord Nazel didn’t have a high tolerance for alcohol either, but it seemed that he was fine as long as he didn’t overdrink. That time he’d gotten heavily drunk had apparently been because he’d consumed countless glasses of wine in his despair.
“If I reinforce my internal organs with my magic, perhaps I will be able to drink alcohol too,” I suddenly spoke a thought that came to mind.
“Hmm, I wonder about that. You can detoxify other people, so maybe...”
“I see.”
“But let’s hold off on that. If your magic fails, and you end up drunk again, and come on to me... I don’t think I’ll be able to restrain myself anymore. I can’t do anything indecent to you in the palace.”
“Indecent?” My face got flushed as I said that.
“You’re always attractive, after all.”
“Lord Nazel...”
“Agnes.”
We touched each other’s hand at the same time, and then...
“My apologies for keeping you waiting.” Kelly returned with the juice. She worked fast.
“Th-That reminds me, Kelly. We’re thinking of going to see Bill tomorrow,” I blurted out, trying to hide my embarrassment.
“We should be able to make it in time for our audience, so it will work out fine. The Shipish Company is inside the capital, so we can return quickly,” Lord Nazel added with a calm nod. I always thought it was incredible that he could remain so confident no matter the situation.