So, that would mean her explanation of needing to summon a groom from another world in order to bear an heir was a lie.
Then why did she summon me? Was the whole thing about wanting to marry me a trick? No, if I start doubting that, there’ll be no end to it.
Zenjirou had no way of getting back to his world on his own. With that in mind, there was no need for Aura to manipulate him with honeyed words. She could just lie and tell him that there was no way home. She was probably trying to negotiate as faithfully as she could.
In which case, I can consider both her wanting to marry me and the favorable conditions to be facts. It fits better, too. So then, why? Why would she gamble and summon a descendent of royalty that fled to another world, and give such a good deal on top of it?
“Sir Zenjirou, are you well?”
“Ah, sorry. I was just thinking. So, if I were to marry you, what would you ideally want me to do? I don’t mean legally, just what you personally would want from me.”
“Nothing in particular,” she answered pleasantly with a slight shrug. “Asking you to accept all this is also asking you to give up your home, your family, your whole life from before now. I am not shameless enough to request even more of you, all things considered. All I wish is your aid in producing an heir to the throne.”
It seemed the only real expectation would be for him to have a child with the buxom beauty before him. At least, she seemed to be earnest enough when she stated that.
“I... see...” he mumbled.
Her words were once again honeyed enough to drive a man to damnation. This time, though, Zenjirou had been prepared for her answer.
I’m right, then? Those conditions weren’t just a sweet deal to entice me but were exactly what she wanted to begin with?
He mentally sorted through the information he’d acquired so far.
There were nobles with stronger ties to the royal family than the descendant of the runaway prince.
Regardless, Aura had still taken a gamble by summoning said descendant (Zenjirou) as her groom.
It turned out that he had rather strong ties to the bloodline, but that was merely “a pleasant miscalculation.”
She told him that other than having a child with her, he could do what he wanted.
The country was a patriarchal society, and queens were a rarity.
Culturally, the husband was always the head of the family, and it was seen as a woman’s virtue to treat her husband with respect.
The few prior queens had all remained single, and this would be the first time a “prince consort” would exist in the country.
From their conversation so far, he had seen her overwhelming charisma and she seemed well qualified to be sovereign of the nation.
He continued his questioning to prove his hypothesis. “Just two more questions, please. If I moved here, where would I live?”
“Most likely within the inner palace. Historically, the king would usually take several women as his queen and concubines, so while it may be a little irregular, we would live in the inner palace.”
As he’d thought. There was little room left for doubt. He gulped and made his final query. “Then, one last question. If I shut myself up in the inner palace after we marry and have little contact with the outside world or anyone related to the palace other than you, and just spend my days lazing around, what would you think of that?”
Aura seemed unable to bear Zenjirou’s suggestion and broke into the widest smile of the day so far. “I would be most happy with that!”
That was when Zenjirou was sure he was correct on all fronts. Right, it’s all making sense. She isn’t just baiting me with the chance to do nothing. She actually wants a husband who won’t do anything. A literal sponger would, in fact, be her ideal choice.
Giving it some further thought, it wasn’t all that strange. His mistake was weighing everything against the values gained from spending his days working for the almost-sweatshop that his current employer ran. His job tired him out, so being given food, clothes, a home, and a hot wife was an attractive proposition for Zenjirou, but that wouldn’t be the prevailing view in this world.
Work for a prince consort would be nothing more than exercising his authority. Men who were uninterested in doing so would be in the minority. Even if that authority wasn’t stipulated in the local laws, a prince consort here would gain that power. The country’s very culture was focused on men, and the head of the household would be the man. Even if that man had married into the family.
If a virtue of a wife was to support her husband as much as she could, that meant the prince consort could use the fact that he was the “patriarch” to give orders to the queen herself. At the very least, if the consort were to voice an opinion in public, the queen would be unable to ignore it.
Right, a nobleman would desire power, so if they became consort, in the worst case, they might usurp her authority. And even if they didn’t go that far, they’d definitely work for their own family’s gain first and foremost.
It would create a dual-layered system of power. And if the worst should come to pass, it could divide the country and cause a civil war.
Yeah, so it makes sense she’d want to summon a groom from another world. There’s no guarantee they wouldn’t have political aspirations, but they at least wouldn’t be pulling strings for their own family. It’s worth it to her even if it only ensures they won’t use their power for their own relatives.
If you perused historical texts, you would see a great number of cases where the monarch’s spouse’s family created major issues for the country.
Aura watched him as he thought it over and asked his questions. And once she judged that he had worked through things a bit, she spoke again.
“I am aware that asking for an immediate decision on such a life-altering choice is absurd. However, as I explained earlier, the summoning magic is dependent on the stars, so we have little time. You need not answer right now, but do I ask that you make your choice by tomorrow morning.
“This has all been brought about due to my own circumstances. I swear, again, that should you refuse, no harm will befall you, and should you accept, I shall attend you as your wife as faithfully as I am able to. What are your thoughts, Sir Zenjirou?” she entreated him with a gentle smile and a solemn gaze. Actually, the word “solicited” might be more appropriate, given the context.
“Right, well...” Zenjirou said, closing his eyes and turning everything over in his mind. If his thoughts and the hypothesis he now had were correct, this was a really good deal for him. But, as Aura herself had noted, he would have to leave behind his life on Earth. He wasn’t perfect, but Yamai Zenjirou had supported himself until now, had his own morals, and lived according to them.
His job was certainly tough, and he’d often been on the verge of resigning, but he’d lived self-sufficiently so far and was proud of it. You could call that pride his “dignity” as a man.
If he were to accept her offer, it would mean throwing that dignity away and living off a woman’s support. Could he do that? Was Yamai Zenjirou’s dignity something he could discard so trivially?
If I think about it calmly, I don’t need to worry about it at all, he mused to himself. This wasn’t something he needed to spend the night fretting over. He’d long since come to a conclusion.
Steeling himself, Zenjirou opened his eyes and looked into Aura’s reddish-brown ones.
“Let’s get married!” he declared, leaning over the table.
Yes, Yamai Zenjirou’s “manly dignity” could indeed be discarded that trivially.
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