My father spoke jovially of how Kris had the nobles from the capital dancing in the palm of her hand. He also mentioned that everyone in the nobility resented Count Roland’s behavior, so things would be calm for a while. He seemed glad that he would have one less thing in the capital to worry about.
Kris had charmed everyone, including the emperor, with her confident demeanor in the audience chamber, and several people had asked my father to act as an intermediary to discuss marriage with her. He’d told them all to do it themselves and turned them down. I would have expected nothing less.
Garren cleared his throat. “What about the main topic of this discussion, Sir Reiner?”
My father had gotten a bit excited while recounting the tale of Kris’s accomplishments, and he’d gotten slightly off track. Garren tried to nudge him back in the right direction.
“Oh, yes... I think I focused too much on the events that took place in the capital. Let’s move on to the main topic I wanted to discuss.”
Garren seemed relieved to hear that.
I also think the tangent went on for too long.
My father took a deep breath and stared at my face before he continued. “Your marriage has been decided, Reid,” he said in a somber tone.
“Huh?”
My father’s words were so unexpected that I’d let out a pathetic response. My brain quickly caught up to the situation, and I had a question for him.
“This is not a proposal or a prospective arrangement?”
“No, this is a marriage.”
“This isn’t some sort of agreement, like an engagement?”
“No, it is marriage.”
I fell silent for a moment before I responded. “When will this happen?”
“At the earliest, it will be in several months.”
After responding to my questions, my father reached for his tea and took another sip. The clink of his teacup being put down on the table resonated within the silent office.
“Father, this is the very first time I’m hearing of this,” I pointed out, my brows furrowed into a scowl.
This was real, actual marriage. Things might be different with nobles, but there were still steps that were usually taken, such as proposals and engagements. It was only after all arrangements were made that two people would have a wedding.
On top of that, I was still a young child. According to the laws of this empire, unless a special exception was made for me, I wasn’t old enough to be legally married. Despite that, I was apparently getting married in several months. I tried searching through Reid’s memories, but there was nothing in them about marriage.
“Yes, well, I’d only heard about it from His Majesty during this last trip to the capital, so there’s no way you could have known about it.”
“Huh?” The same pathetic sound left my mouth again.
He just heard about this too?
“You will be marrying the princess of our allied kingdom of Lenarute. In other words, your marriage will be granted special exception, as it is a political marriage intended to strengthen the relationship of our countries. After the wedding, the princess will move to the Valdia Mark.”
Why is a foreign princess being married off to a lower rank like a margrave instead of another royal? That was one of the many questions popping up in my mind.
“Garren, I’ll need you to immediately start the preparations to welcome Her Highness to our home. We may even need to build an annex for her.”
Garren thought to himself for a moment before responding, “If I may, I have a question. First, I believe that this mansion may not be spacious enough to welcome a princess into. Additionally, Lenarute has a very different culture from Magnolia, so their homes are built in vastly different ways as well. If I may be so bold, I would say that for a margrave of Magnolia to properly welcome a princess from a foreign country, it would indeed be best to prepare an annex for Her Highness.”
“Mm,” my father responded, placing his hand over his mouth as he mulled over Garren’s suggestion. “Very well. In that case, we shall prepare an annex for her. We’ll have the empire foot the bill. I apologize for the trouble, but I’d like you to gather the necessary information within the next few days. I’d also like you to send a messenger with a letter to the imperial capital stating that we will be building a new structure to welcome the princess and that we expect to be reimbursed once we have the final invoices.”
“Understood. I will begin preparations right away.”
“Thank you. I still have things to discuss with Reid, so you may be excused, Garren. Make sure no one comes into the office until I say they can.”
“Yes, sir. I will take my leave now.” Garren bowed, and with that, he left the office.
I was back to being alone with my father, and we both remained silent for a few moments. I took a sip of my lukewarm tea, trying to moisturize my throat, which had dried out from nervousness, before asking him a question.
“According to what you said, Magnolia aims to strengthen the relationship between the empire and Lenarute, and in order to do that, the princess of Lenarute will become my wife. Does the empire also intend to legally take the princess as a hostage by making her my wife?”
“That’s right. I’m glad to see you understanding so quickly. Also, I’ve heard that she is the same age as you.”
The same age as me?!
I’d maintained my composure on the outside, but internally, I was quite flustered. A marriage between two young children sounded like something that would’ve happened during the Sengoku period in Japan.
Is there some other kind of motivation behind this marriage, aside from taking the princess hostage and establishing a political marriage?