Prologue
IT had been a month since the two of them last met.
The slightly fruity fragrance of a sophisticated black tea perfumed the air, and a sweet berry tart sat on the table between them. The tea leaves were of the highest quality, and the berries used to make the tart were a rare variety that could only be harvested in extremely small quantities. Marialite eagerly sipped at her tea, but the man sitting opposite her showed no interest in any of it.
Even then, Marialite thought he was acting strange; usually, he was enthusiastic about afternoon tea. She was quickly drawn away from her thoughts once he began to speak.
“I shall be holding a ball in the royal palace soon. It’ll be the talk of the town, I suppose. I plan to invite beautiful ladies from all over the country to join.”
“Oh, really? That sounds marvelous,” she grinned.
“…Marialite,” he addressed her gravely. Her smile fell when she saw the apprehensive look on his face. “I shall seize this opportunity to find myself a worthy partner among them.”
“What…?” Marialite uttered in a quiet voice, her eyes widening in shock.
But… I’m his fiancée. How could he forget? I’m sitting right in front of him!
“But, what about me? I’m your…” she trailed off, exasperated. His eyebrows knitted together.
“Well, what did you expect? You’re twenty-seven years old now. The people would wholly reject me marrying a woman well past the prime age for marriage.”
Marialite’s mouth hung open in bewilderment. However, under the intense pressure of his contemptuous gaze and cruel words, she decided her only course of action was to agree.
“I suppose you’re right…” she conceded awkwardly. In all honesty, she’d had a vague feeling things might end up this way for a while.
In this country, many people considered twenty-four to be the cut-off age for marriage. Marialite was three whole years too late. A smug, satisfied smile sat on her ex-fiancé’s lips; apparently, he was appeased by her quick admission of defeat.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I assure you, Marialite: I am very grateful to you. Thanks to your efforts as a saint, our country has come alive with thousands of luscious trees and plants. However, that is all. I do not see any appeal in you as a member of the opposite sex,” he declared in a detached tone.
She couldn’t believe her ears. What she was hearing completely invalidated all of her future plans.
Once, years ago, she had been engaged to another man. However, a few days before she was supposed to get married, the fact that she was a saint came to light, and a member of the palace suddenly showed up at her house.
All saints had to completely give themselves up to the state. As they were not permitted to marry commoners, Marialite had her previous engagement annulled by force. Of course, there were numerous citizens who voiced their criticism over Marialite’s treatment, but the king was so overjoyed to have a saint in his country that he couldn’t care less.
That was when she became engaged to the crown prince, Rufus, who was twenty-three years old at the time. They were set to get married five years after their engagement. However, years after, when there had still been no preparations to speak of for said wedding, Marialite began to grow suspicious.
Even so, she never imagined that Rufus had actually been looking for a new fiancée without consulting her.
“I understand how you feel, but…can you really just decide that out of the blue? Does His Majesty know about this?” Marialite hedged.
That was the thing she was most worried about. The king had no concern for whether she was “proper wife material” for his son; her being a saint was enough to appoint her as the crown princess without a second thought.
I doubt he’d accept age as a justifiable reason to call off the wedding.
Rufus simply snorted at her in reply, his nose wrinkled in a displeased grimace.
“I understand that you may be dissatisfied with another woman becoming my princess,” he huffed. “And, do spare me the whole ‘but I’m a saint!’ talk as well. Rest assured, the matter is all taken care of. We have arranged for a large shipment of magic items to be delivered from another country. With those, we shan’t need your holy powers any longer.”
“No, really, that’s not what’s bothering me,” she shook her head. “Tell me: has the king been informed, or…?”
“What I’m trying to say is that thanks to the technology of magic implements, the crown princess no longer needs to be a saint. Therefore, I may as well search for a young, beautiful woman to wed. Besides, such a woman would carry far more favor with the people. You, however, are going on thirty, and are undeniably plain in appearance. With one look at you standing next to me, I’m sure my father will understand my decision.”
“Uh, right…”
Although Marialite was not at all impressed by Rufus’ justification, she didn’t bother to argue back. If they no longer needed a saint, then there was no reason for her to stay in the palace. As his son, Rufus could probably manage to convince the king eventually. There was nothing Marialite could say to change his mind.
“Marialite Harty… You must leave the palace at once,” Rufus demanded in a low tone.
“Of course,” she accepted. “But, would you at least let me say goodbye to His Majesty and all the servants who looked after m—”
“Leave! Immediately!” he shouted, his cheeks turning red. “Now that you are no longer my fiancée, you are nothing more than a commoner. Do you really think it appropriate for someone with no royal standing to simply waltz about our sacred abode?”
Faced with his harsh words, Marialite suddenly thought of her parents. They had passed away a few years ago, believing that their daughter would go on to become royalty.
They’d be so sad if they found out about this.
That was the worst part. She felt like a disappointment to them.