“Tenma? You don’t look like you’re feeling sufficient remorse about this matter.”
“N-Not at all! I mean, I’m just reflecting on my behavior.”
“And how exactly do you plan to take responsibility for this?” the queen demanded.
“Responsibility?” I repeated.
In situations like this, “taking responsibility” could really only mean one thing...
“You do realize I’m asking if you intend on marrying Primera, don’t you?”
I was expecting her to say that. Marriage would be the most obvious way for me to take responsibility for the situation, considering the potential damage to her reputation and family name.
“Primera’s the daughter of a duke, so her noble status is far above yours. But your parents, Ricardo and Celia, were nobles, and given all of your accomplishments and your long-standing relationship with House Sanga, it’s not an unreasonable match. What do you say?”
I didn’t have any objections to what she’d said, and the duke wasn’t objecting either, so he must’ve agreed with the queen. That meant it all hinged on my answer. But if I just got swept up in this solution, then it would show that I hadn’t learned a thing at all.
“Tenma?”
“I’ll take responsibility however I can, but when it comes to marriage, I think Primera’s feelings are the most important thing,” I said. “I don’t think we should be discussing this without her here.”
“The head of the family’s wishes matter more than the feelings of the individuals involved. So if the duke tells her to marry, then that’s that,” the queen said.
“But that’s no better than what Albert did,” I protested.
“Are you saying you wouldn’t be satisfied with Primera?”
I thought it over for a moment. “I didn’t say that at all. Primera’s personality and character are exactly what I would look for in an ideal partner. But that’s a different topic than what we’re talking about now,” I said firmly. I guess I’d never really considered this before, but now that I was forced to, Primera honestly would be a great choice for a wife.
“And what do you think about all this, Duke Sanga?” the queen asked, turning her gaze on him.
I followed suit.
The duke looked even more serious than before, but suddenly...
“Pfft, ah ha ha! I can’t hold it in anymore!”
He burst out laughing. And it wasn’t just a little chuckle. He was laughing uncontrollably and clutching his stomach.
Albert and I just looked at each other like What the hell just happened?
The queen and king started laughing too. I looked around the room and realized Prince Caesar and Prince Zane were both covering their mouths, stifling their own giggles.
The only ones in the room not laughing, and therefore totally confused, were me, Albert, Gramps, and Jean.
Duke Sanga tried to recover himself a bit. “Sorry about that. Actually, a letter from Primera arrived a little while ago, and she mentioned acting as go-between and officiant together with you, Tenma. She told me about the wedding too. She also said that Albert seemed to be plotting something, but she made it very clear that you had nothing to do with it. I figured I should pass that information along to the queen since she’s basically your guardian these days,” he said between laughs.
So the whole mess had started because he had given Primera’s letter to the queen. Albert and I were beside ourselves.
“However, Albert, I’m still very angry with you. You used our family name without permission to drag Primera into this situation while getting Tenma involved too,” Duke Sanga said sternly.
“Exactly. The royal family even put out a formal decree to the nobility not to use Tenma for their own gain, and you violated that,” the queen said.
So, thanks to Primera’s letter, they weren’t actually mad at me but at Albert.
As soon as the queen finished, Duke Sanga handed Albert the letter from Primera.
“We can talk more about this back at home, but today certainly has been full of wonderful surprises!”
That was when I suddenly realized what I’d said earlier.
“I agree! Tenma thinks Primera is a perfect match for marriage! I’m so happy! I might be holding one of Tenma’s children someday very soon!” the queen gushed.
She was exaggerating, but...yeah, that was basically what I’d said.
Ugh, this is so embarrassing...
The way the guys in the room were all staring at me was so awkward. I wished they’d just get it over with and tease me instead.
But that would just make it even worse...
“Now, now, Queen Maria. I’ll be the one to hold my grandchild first!” the duke said with a grin.
“It’ll be my turn after that, since it’ll be my great-grandchild!” Gramps added.
Oh, great. Now Gramps is joining in. This is really rough...
I looked at the king for help, but he and Lord Ernest were clearly just waiting to jump into the conversation too. Meanwhile, Prince Caesar, Princess Isabella, and Prince Zane were chatting about old times. Cruyff, meanwhile, had roped Jeanne into helping him set up the tea.
Only Albert was left, but he was busy reading through Primera’s letter.
And she had written a lot. He was holding at least five or six pages in his hands, and there was no way all of that was about the wedding and Albert’s little scheme. I had a feeling at least a few of those pages were her talking crap about him. I really wanted to sneak a peek at it.
“Oh, you can sit down in a chair now, Tenma,” the queen said at last. Apparently, she had finally remembered that I existed. She paused her conversation with the duke just long enough to give me permission to sit.
Albert was still glued to what he was reading and slowly started to stand up, but...
“You stay right there, Albert,” the duke ordered.
Albert froze and sat back down without a word.
“Tea, Tenma!” Jeanne said loudly.
“Uh, thanks?”
Jeanne practically slammed a teacup down in front of me. She looked like she was in a rotten mood.
“I understand how you feel. I won’t mention this to Aina,” Cruyff said quietly to her.
“Well, Tenma, I’m glad things worked out this time thanks to Primera’s intervention, but under normal circumstances, you would be expected to take responsibility by getting engaged or married on the spot.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
“Oh, I think that’s enough, Queen Maria,” interjected Duke Sanga. “From our perspective, just learning how fond Tenma is of Primera was worth the trouble. Now, Tenma... I’d like to ask you not to do anything like this with another woman. I understand that she agreed to it, but if the same thing happened with someone else, I don’t think she’d take it well. And as Primera’s father, I would have to take action, if you know what I mean. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
For some reason, the duke suddenly seemed scarier than Queen Maria. It wasn’t pressure through strength, but the kind of intimidation that only a powerful noble could inflict. In comparison, the queen’s brand of intimidation was something that made your instincts scream at you not to mess with her. And as for the king, well, I never found him scary in the first place, most likely because all my memories of him involved him goofing off, being kind of pathetic, or being just plain sloppy. He felt more like an uncle who was always joking around than a king. Honestly, I felt the same way about Lord Ernest and Prince Lyle too. In my own personal ranking of the royal family, the queen sat firmly at the top in terms of scariness, and those three were at the very bottom.
“Your Majesty, perhaps it’s time to call in our eavesdropper behind the door?” Cruyff said smoothly.
Cruyff’s suggestion put a faint smile on the queen’s face. “You’re quite right. There are a few things we need to have a word about.”
“Is there someone else out there besides Steel?” the duke asked, raising an eyebrow. He assumed they were talking about his bodyguard Steel, but apparently, that wasn’t the case at all.