“What is your reason for such a request, Marquess Acton?” Count Ford asked.
The marquess nodded slightly. “My daughter, Amy, is the most important person in the world to me, and Lady Cesia’s actions saved her life. I’ve wanted to thank her for some time now, and I won’t be satisfied by repaying that debt of gratitude with any ordinary reward.”
Cesia felt Marcus’s influence in the touch of drama in the marquess’s speech, and she had to prevent herself from smiling. While it was true the marquess had requested to be able to reward Cesia, she hadn’t accepted it. That wasn’t because the reward hadn’t been enough, but because she had never gotten around to replying to him.
“So,” Marquess Acton continued, “I have decided to give one of my titles to Lady Cesia.” He explained that he had two sons in addition to his daughter and had already decided what assets he would give to each of them.
Under Emeroadian law, it was possible to give others noble titles, but this required the national government’s permission if this was not done through inheritance so that titles couldn’t be given to just anyone. His request was to grant Cesia one of his next valuable possessions: his lowest-ranking title, the barony of Wallen. Here, he was asking for that request—an unprecedented one—to be granted. Still, there wouldn’t be an issue if they followed the proper procedure. Also, women could inherit or receive titles and estates in Emeroade.
“I wanted to do it sooner, but with the recent national disorder, I thought it would have been a bother to suddenly make such a request, so I delayed it until today,” the marquess said.
He presented this decision as if it had been admirably selfless, but it was clear to anyone that he had preserved it for this moment. If his request had been granted beforehand and Cesia had been a baroness, there would undoubtedly have been a different argument against Cesia’s wish to marry Marcus. However, if the speaker declined Cesia’s request now, just as she was about to accept a barony for her heroic deeds, he would have seemed overly stubborn in refusing her achievements. Marcus knew well that, even if the cards in his hand were the same, it was important to play them when they would be the most effective.
The truth was that while almost everyone there was surprised, they could predict, based on common practice, that Marquess Acton’s request would be granted without an issue. They also knew that once granted, the reasoning Count Ford and others had given for being unable to accept Cesia and Marcus’s marriage—namely, that she was a commoner—would be invalid. Being a baroness didn’t quite cut it for marriage to a prince, but it was difficult to say that Cesia lacked merit. Naturally, there were no previous examples of this happening, so with no clear rules, it would be up to the judgment of the people there—the most powerful people in the kingdom.
“Pff.”
In the middle of the deathly silent hall, someone quietly giggled. It grew louder but remained elegant, and the culprit, Princess Muriel, sitting to the left of the king, eventually burst into laughter. The speaker was surprised, and both he and Cesia, who had been nervously watching over the proceedings, looked at the princess with astonishment. She laughed joyfully for another moment, then hid her mouth beneath her fan, still chuckling.
“Princess Muriel,” Count Ford said, admonishing her.
The princess suppressed her laughter. With traces of a smile still on her face, she seemed overjoyed as she looked at Cesia. “You said your name was Cesia Kathrin, right?”
Cesia looked at the speaker, checking whether it was all right for her to speak, then returned her gaze to the princess and bowed formally. “Yes?”
“You want my prince?”
Cesia hesitated. “Yes.”
“Why?”
At that, Cesia slightly frowned. She hadn’t thought that she would be questioned in that way. The answer was obvious, so she was straightforward. “Because I love him,” Cesia replied. She had maintained a neutral expression until then, but saying it again made her blush.
Muriel took in Cesia’s youthful, innocent expression, then nodded, satisfied. “You too, Marcus?”
“Yes,” Marcus instantly replied. He understood his mother and knew he should tell the truth without any embellishments or tricks. “I love Cesia. She stubbornly wished for a peaceable engagement, so I took the liberty of setting this up.”
“You’ve always loved playing pranks.”
“I must have gotten it from you, mother.”
Muriel smiled, pleased. “I approve of this marriage, Your Majesty. Saving the future king was a wonderful deed, and with the difference in status resolved, I see no reason to oppose it,” she said confidently.
The king’s first wife, Queen Claudia, was silent, but she nodded firmly. Crown Prince Reynold and his wife, Princess Edith, had already been ready to grant Cesia land or a title for saving their son, and it went without saying what Mavis thought. The first princess and the third prince were absent due to other duties and had said they would abide by whatever the rest of their family agreed upon. The other assembled leaders found it difficult to object, having been the ones who had decided on the notorious Juliette as Marcus’s fiancée in the first place.
In a certain way, Marcus had contributed more to Emeroade’s interests in this case than marrying a Gwylltian princess would have. So, there was no issue with his next fiancée being the hero who saved the kingdom.
Count Ford looked up at the king, who had been silently watching the entire time, for his final verdict. The king deliberately looked at Marcus, then the rest of the audience, before fixing his gaze on Cesia. “Cesia Kathrin,” he said.
“Your Majesty,” she said, bowing deeply.
“In acknowledgment of your great achievements, I approve of your engagement with Second Prince Marcus Emeroade.”
“Thank you!” Cesia barely managed to speak before she heard sudden, cheerful clapping. She raised her face to see that Mavis was so overjoyed that she had spontaneously begun clapping. The princess hurriedly lowered her hands and bowed. Cesia was thankful, however, as she had lightened the mood in the hall.
“Then, I’ll inform you of the process of the title transfer at a later date. With this, today’s audience is over!” Count Ford proclaimed.
Beginning with the king, the rest of the attendees left the hall. Until the final person exited, Cesia kept her head bowed in appreciation.
Cesia heard footsteps in the now-empty audience hall and raised her head to see Marcus standing unexpectedly close to her. The morning sunlight came in from a large window high up on the wall, shining on his fiery red hair.
“Good work,” Marcus said.
“I feel like, in the end, it all went just as Your Royal Highness guided it. Like I was just watching the whole thing happen,” Cesia said, pouting.
Marcus smiled and drew her close to him. “What are you saying? Your efforts were what created the situation in the first place.”
Cesia had a troubled expression as Marcus toyed with a strand of her hair. “I guess so,” she said, still not confident.
“I only set it up. I’m more used to fighting here than you are, that’s all.”
Cesia nodded. She didn’t think things would have gone as well, even if she had had the same idea as him. I’ll never be a match with him, she keenly felt. “I’m still far from being able to compete with you.”
Marcus smirked. “I think you’re on the right track, though.”
Cesia frowned, annoyed. “Just you watch. One day, I’ll beat you!” she declared. Love wasn’t a matter of victory or defeat, but she was getting fired up with competitive spirit for some reason.
“Yeah, I’ll be expecting great things from you.” Marcus laughed and put his hand on her cheek, drawing her face close to his.
With his long eyelashes close enough to touch her, she cast her purple eyes downward. She felt Marcus’s soft lips on hers, and he pecked her before separating. Cesia quietly watched him, then smiled widely.
He was the person she loved and respected the most. She wanted him to protect her but also wanted to be able to help him whenever he was in trouble. More than anything, she wanted to be on equal terms with him. Her goal and her rival was her husband—that didn’t have a bad ring to it.
“I’ll beat you, no matter what,” she declared.
Marcus smiled mischievously, then quickly kissed Cesia’s smiling, pink lips again.
No matter who she was up against, Cesia’s creed was determined resistance.
And so, the mischievous prince and the stray cat had a long, happy life together. Everyone lived happily ever after—this, however, is an ending that Cesia Kathrin doesn’t get to enjoy because she was born under the unlucky star that doomed her to a life of constant trouble.