I held the brim of my hat as I peered up at the sky. It looked like someone had painted a faint trail of clouds on the clear blue expanse. The sunshine was warm, and the gentle breeze felt pleasant on my skin.
It’s a perfect autumn day. The perfect weather for an outing. The perfect...
“Weather for the harvest festival,” I murmured. It was so nice out that even the words I uttered seemed to melt into the air. However, it was hard for me to say that my feelings were as clear.
According to Ratte’s report that Sir Leonhart had passed on to me, Duke Schletter was up to no good. It was unlikely that he’d attack me directly, but he might try to cause trouble using the revelry as a cover. A sigh had immediately escaped my lips when I had heard that.
Why does he hate me so much? People perceive things differently, so it’s not uncommon for someone to hold a grudge against you even if you don’t think you’ve done anything wrong. But I basically only greeted Duke Schletter at the royal soiree. We only exchanged one or two sentences, so there wasn’t enough conversation to hate me for. This is absurd. Though I grumbled about it, I knew the reason.
It’s because I’m a duchess regnant. That’s it. From his perspective, that’s enough of a reason for me to deserve his hatred. Also, I suspect he dislikes that I’m ignoring his harassment. I bet if I cried about it, he’d be satisfied and eventually lose interest. But that’s impossible. He raised tariffs without citing an urgent reason like crop failure. We’re not just going to go, “Yes, sure, that’s fine.” It’s my duty to protect the people who live in my domain. Of course I’ll trade with other domains that offer more favorable terms.
Although I reminded myself of this, there was one thing I couldn’t swallow.
Being hated is hard. Being resented is hard. Being the target of another person’s malice is scary. I’m afraid of being hurt, but I’m more terrified that the people I care about will be hurt because of me. I can’t bear it.
I exhaled, trying to release the unpleasant emotions that were taking root in my heart.
A voice suddenly called out to me. “The weather’s beautiful.”
I lifted my face. Without me noticing, Sir Leonhart had joined me and was now standing by my side. “Leon.”
“The weather has been cloudy all week, so I was worried about today. Mass-producing all those teru teru bozu things was worth it,” he said.
“Indeed,” I replied. His tender expression teased a smile out of my pursed lips. My husband was a kind man who hadn’t been taken aback by his wife’s eccentric behavior of hanging strange dolls in the window. He’d even joined me in making them.
“The festivities have already begun in town. I think the merchants’ advertisements have been effective. Even people from the capital have come,” he said.
“I see. I’m glad to hear it.”
“I think we’ll be able to catch a glimpse of it from inside the carriage on our way there, but why don’t we also walk around, just the two of us, when we have time?”
“That sounds nice.” I tried to smile but failed. Negative thoughts wouldn’t stop plaguing my mind.
A large hand wrapped around my tightly clenched fist. His fingers intertwined with mine, embracing me in his warmth. The heat radiating from Sir Leonhart’s firm palm made me realize just how cold my fingertips had been from the nerves.
“Leo—”
“It’ll be fine.” There was only unvarnished truth within his straightforward gaze. “Today will definitely be a good day.” Although his voice was calm and gentle, it was strangely reassuring.
The words of my beloved, whom I trusted unconditionally, made the tension leave my shoulders. I exhaled, and the stifling feeling that’d clung to my chest disappeared. “You’re right,” I said, a goofy smile spreading across my face.
Sir Leonhart smiled back at me.
I’m not alone. My reliable husband and friends are here. I’m sure it’ll be fine.
“Well then, shall we be off?” he asked.
“Yes, let’s go!”
With our hands still intertwined, he escorted me to the carriage, and we climbed in.
Before we headed to the village, I had the carriage pass through a corner of the business district. When I peeked out of the window, I was enchanted by a vibrant scene.
Yellow, orange, and green—fabric and flags carrying colors associated with a bountiful harvest fluttered gently in the soft breeze. Storefronts were decorated with fabulous flower arrangements. There were decorations of all sorts—potted plants, flower stands, hanging balls—and every single one was gorgeous. There were also shops that had large pumpkins and sweet potatoes on display like works of art, reminding me of Halloween in some ways. Flower petals danced in the air. It was a magical sight that left me captivated, my mouth half open.
“It’s wonderful...” I murmured.
Sir Leonhart peered out the window from his seat beside me. “I didn’t expect them to put in this much effort either,” he said, smiling wryly.
I was in a daze, but I nodded my head in agreement. I hoped that I’d get to witness a sight like this one day, but I didn’t expect it to happen right off the bat. That would have been a reckless goal. I mean, we only decided to hold a harvest festival two months ago. And we weren’t following past traditions—we were incorporating my unconventional ideas. We lacked documents, precedents, and preparation time. It’s a reckless festival lacking so much.
Frankly, it’s a miracle that we even managed to hold a festival at all. That’s why I wanted to gradually increase the scale. Not now, but one day. In some years, I’d imagined I’d be holding my child’s hand as I boasted, “Isn’t it amazing?” That was supposed to be the plan.
I never thought my wish would be granted this quickly.
“It’s because, for some reason, your allies are bizarre... Pardon me, you have many extremely talented allies,” Sir Leonhart said, his tone a mix of admiration and astonishment.
As I gazed upon this dreamlike sight, Lord Julius’s and Hiiragi’s faces came to mind. They were both brilliant people, and they’d wholeheartedly put their talents to work during the festival meetings. Instead of flagrantly taking control of the discussions, they’d made self-effacing suggestions and had helped guide the conversation in a direction that was favorable to me.
Those two are quite different personality-wise, but they share many similarities. They both have friendly smiles and gentle demeanors, as well as unflappable nerves that aren’t shaken by ordinary problems. Also, they’ve both got a bit of a scheming streak. Though I’d thrown in an underhanded comment that would earn their anger, I was very grateful to them both. I was utterly positive that they had spared no effort to galvanize the harvest festival.
“I’ll need to thank them later,” I murmured. I gazed at the main road, which was already teeming with activity, though the shops weren’t even open yet.
As Sir Leonhart said, I’m sure today will be a good day.