My fiancée, Francette de Blanchard, is the most beautiful lady in the world.
Normally, she would be completely out of my league, but various things happened that led to our engagement. That is, she got caught up in a certain incident and became a fallen noble. Even in the face of these unfortunate circumstances, she continued to live a pure and righteous life, her beauty never faltering.
Normally, she never should’ve had to involve herself with me and my slimes. Someone like me wasn’t worthy of being in her presence. I wanted to support her from the shadows, but in the end, we met, and even after coming to Triste, she continued to live with the same vigor.
One day, I received a letter from the siren duke, praising Francette’s pastries and saying that they were special, which I completely agreed with. The siren duke suggested opening a store in the capital. Indeed, Triste didn’t deserve Francette—she would be better off blossoming in the capital. I replied to the siren duke’s offer with a simple “I’ll look into it.”
Over the next year, I spent my days happily with Francette. It was the happiest I’d ever been in my life. But one day, I received another letter from the siren duke. She wanted to know the status of her request to open a Lakeside Duck Bakery branch store in the capital.
Living together with Francette had been so fulfilling that I’d completely forgotten about my promise to the siren duke. A year ago, I had been open to the idea of establishing a store in the capital. But now, I couldn’t imagine life without Francette. If she opened a branch store, she would have to go there frequently. The thought of her being away from home for a few days was utterly heart-wrenching. As such, I selfishly declined the siren duke’s proposal without consulting with Francette.
At the time, it never occurred to me that my impulsive decision would cause Francette grief. Since I’d formally turned down the siren duke’s offer in writing, I assumed that she would give up. This assumption turned out to be wrong. The siren duke came to Triste and tried to negotiate with Francette directly, which I did everything I could to prevent. I also intercepted her attempts to reach Francette by mail.
The siren duke stubbornly continued to contact me. When she came to Triste again, I was indignant that she’d go to such lengths. She must’ve been frustrated, too, that I refused to give her permission to speak with Francette. We ended up arguing.
“The Lakeside Duck Bakery deserves better than to be restricted to Triste!”
“We have our own strategy. We don’t need others meddling in our affairs.”
“But you said you’d look into it! Is there nothing I can do to make you accept my feelings?”
“The situation is different from before.” I had always been fond of Francette, but after a year, my feelings had deepened. I could no longer think of being separated from her. “I put her feelings first in everything I do,” I lied. In reality, I was being selfish because I didn’t want to be apart from her.
I received swift punishment for making this decision without Francette’s input. Shockingly, she mistakenly thought that there was something more to my relationship with the siren duke. I was lost as to why she’d believe such a thing, but perhaps it was because my recent attempts to hide my correspondence with the siren duke had appeared suspicious. I confessed my guilt, and she forgave me. I also vowed that I would consult with her on everything going forward.
I was worried that Francette would be fed up with her life in Triste after this trip to the capital, but instead, she said that Triste was her home. The slow life in Triste seemed to suit her better than the glamor of the capital. Needless to say, I was very grateful to her.