I glared at him without thinking, but hopefully you can forgive me for that. We were already on the cusp of getting supremely busy, so I really did not want him to take one of the precious few people I could leave Nia to.
But there was no way a look from me was going to scare His Highness. In fact, he gave me a smile that I had a hard time figuring out whether it was serious or joking.
“Making passes at her? How rude,” he quipped. “For once, I’m approaching someone properly from the front while taking all the necessary procedures.”
“And that’s exactly why I’m having a hard time figuring out how I stand on it,” I said with a sigh at his shamelessness.
The first pass His Highness Prince Alphonse had made at Laura was to send her a plaited cord dyed deep blue. Her reaction when she saw it was something. She was the very picture of shock, freezing in place for a few moments. His next pass had been sending her a poem written on pure white paper in blue ink. I had never seen Laura look so bewildered.
According to Nia, these were the proper procedures a male member of nobility or the royal family would take to request a relationship with a woman in the fallen Kingdom of Albashaf. Not only had he researched things, but he’d also most likely written and composed that poem on his own. It was more than enough to tell that he was quite serious in his intentions.
“But it’s the truth that she’s currently the most convenient option for me. Though I understand your feelings.”
“So you’re doing it despite understanding how I feel,” I said with a glare.
“Well, yes. In both a private and public sense, I’ll probably never meet anyone better for me,” His Highness retorted, his smile gaining the slightest edge of bitterness in it.
This was one of the things I didn’t like about him.
Laura was the daughter of a baron with blood harkening back to fallen royalty. She was of high birth, yet she had absolutely no political power. Not only that, but she was also competent, with an education comparable to other royals, and was additionally skilled in numerous other areas.
It was the honest truth that to His Highness—who was completely uninterested in ruling yet wanted to work in a public-facing capacity—it would be hard to find anyone better suited to be his wife.
Had the fact that she was convenient for him been the only reason he was making passes at her, then Nia, and even I, would never accept it. I’d never say it in front of her, but now, Laura was an important part of my family. But the fact that His Highness was seemingly actually interested in her as a woman made it difficult for me to deal with the whole thing.
“Lady Laura might seem like an impregnable fortress, but it would be convenient for her as well. The rest is a matter of feelings,” His Highness concluded.
Just what I’d expect from His Highness. He didn’t miss a trick when it came to using other people’s feelings. Of course he wouldn’t—he was the sword that would support his older brother, the next king. His position was secure.
And if Laura wanted to cement Nia’s position any further, then he was the best connection she could make. Even if it was just for form’s sake, having the blood of a former royal family made all of the difference, and Laura’s personal pros far surpassed any of her cons, so there was no logical reason anyone could complain. And even if someone did find some sort of irrational fault with her, His Highness would probably stamp them out with a smile.
If His Highness was serious about her, then there was no one better to leave Laura to. And he was probably serious. His actions made me believe that he was. And plus, he’d most likely done things in such a way as to make me understand just that.
“All I’ll say is that if you take her away without any consideration for anyone, you’ll be in trouble.”
I was protecting her as her employer. And with my words, I was letting His Highness know that really, I understood. He was that sort of person, and that was my hope.
His Highness’s eyes widened for a moment when I came out with that, before he burst out laughing.
“Hah, aha ha ha ha! You really do seem like a proper noble now, Ark! That’s my man!”
Hearing him answer that happily made a chill run down my spine. From the sixth sense I’d developed knowing him for so long... I heard the “now I can make you do even more impossible things” hiding in his words.
Seriously, please don’t. But I had no right to refuse. That was what was sad about middle management in any era.
I couldn’t respond right away, but His Highness seemed satisfied enough to turn and begin to take his leave.
“Well, it’s almost time. I’ll leave you be. Did I help with your nerves any?”
The question surprised me enough that I was shocked silent. And then, His Highness gave me a little parting blow.
“Also. From my perspective, you’re always manly.”
...Dammit. If he said that, then there was no way I could snipe or complain back. He really wasn’t fair.
His Highness left in the middle of my thoughts, and moments later, one of the priests working behind the scenes for the ceremony came to get me—perfectly timed with His Highness’s exit. Just thinking about how His Highness had most likely deliberately planned such a thing reminded me of how unfathomable the guy really was.
“Viscount McGuine, your wife... The Saintess has finished her preparations.”
“Thank you. I understand, I’ll be on my way,” I replied, assuming my viscount persona at once—and inside, smiling bitterly. If I looked in the mirror, I was pretty sure I’d see an expression much like that smile I was so used to getting.