Bountiful, wavy, platinum-blonde hair and blue eyes framed with long lashes; white porcelain skin accentuated by light-pink lips. She had become even more beautiful than when I’d seen her last. I felt I was gazing upon a portrait painted by a famous artist rather than looking at a girl around my age.
She was as unreachable an existence as the stars that twinkled in the heavens. I watched from afar, where I could see the clear demarcations of the sea of people, knights, and carriage, and I thought it was the perfect distance for me.
I did, at least, until a child riding on the shoulders of their father loudly yelled, “Princess!”
Lady Rosemary’s eyes went round, and after a beat, she broke into a wide smile. Her flawless visage had given way to a childish smile.
How can it be? What is that smile? People eulogize her as the nation’s most beautiful woman. She’s a hero called “benefactor” by the sovereign of one of the great powers of the continent. And she smiles like that?
“Cute...” I murmured hoarsely, my face dyed bright red.
It happened right as the carriage pulled past me. Our paths crossed for a fleeting moment. All it took were those few seconds for me to forget my place and fall head over heels. Nevertheless, there was no change to my everyday life. It was a futile love to begin with.
In terms of rank, we were a good match, but she was currently the jewel of the royal family. I, on the other hand, was the eldest son of a declining duchy in title only. Furthermore, there was my father. He only saw women as tools or trophies, and I was the son of such a man. The issue went beyond whether or not a match between us could come to fruition. No, if I truly loved her, then that was all the more reason not to reach for her.
Thus, while I merely looked on from the sidelines, Lady Rosemary married. Her husband was the Black Lion General whose name was renowned even in other countries. Our country’s pride and strongest knight, Leonhart von Orsein.
My heart was broken in an almost refreshingly perfect way. Though my chest ached, I was more relieved than anything else. The Black Lion General would surely protect Lady Rosemary from any enemy.
I figured the very least I could do was pray for her happiness from afar in a fashion that befit a milksop who couldn’t even confess. However, I realized that not even my secret wish would be granted. A year had not yet passed since Lady Rosemary’s wedding, and my father, who had only been interested in idle amusement up till now, unexpectedly began to poke his nose into managing the domain.
At a glance, this might have seemed like a positive change, but it was far from it. An ignorant lord meddling in management was nothing but detrimental. Our businesses that had stabilized pitched forward; our fortune declined in no time at all. Though my mother and I tried to stop him, he turned a deaf ear. The head of our household had the authority to force his decisions through, and as a result, we had to relinquish several of our businesses.
“Ridiculous! I can’t lose to that little girl!”
You’re the ridiculous one.
My father had been duped by a shady moneymaking scheme, and he crumpled up a deed that was now no better than scrap paper. I watched him coldly as he violently tore at his hair.
The little girl he’s referring to must be Lady Rosemary. I knew it. Father views her as his enemy.
Lady Rosemary had been bestowed a ducal rank during her wedding, and she’d since developed her domain by leaps and bounds. The world’s first large-scale medical facility was also operating smoothly in Prelier. It was garnering much attention alongside its research center, and I’d heard it had received a deluge of observation requests from every corner of the world.
Competing with a luminary of that degree was much too reckless. And yet, my father was convinced that he was superior to Lady Rosemary simply because of his gender and age.
Good grief. He’s beyond saving.
“I’ll show everyone that I’m better than that pretentious little girl. There must be something... I must have an ingenious plan somewhere. A business from another country that not even that little girl has discovered yet... That’s it! Don’t we have a workshop that produces unusual textiles? How about that?”
“We’ve already relinquished ownership of that,” I replied.
“What? What do you mean?!”
“Father, you were the one who said you found a buyer who’d purchase it for a high price. You transferred the rights away.”
There was a tribe skilled in weaving that lived in the northeast of the Kingdom of Flanmer known as the Valm people. The fabric they made was characterized by vibrant colors and extremely intricate patterns, and there were many enthusiasts of their work all over the world. The carpets they wove were durable and practical, as well as highly valued works of art.
However, as a trade-off, producing one required quite a long time. It took around half a year to weave one carpet with a complex pattern, so they couldn’t accept large numbers of orders. Our investment into that business hadn’t yet produced visible results, but it had been gradually gaining clients and en route to setting a trend. It had been a goose on the cusp of laying a golden egg. Father had sold it off as a desperate attempt to recoup his losses despite the efforts of my mother and me to stop him.