I, Francette de Blanchard, second daughter of Duke Mercœur, had my life take a dramatic turn when Crown Prince Mael rescinded his engagement to my older sister, Adele, on the groundless accusation that she had insulted his mistress. My sister was banished from the country, and our family fell into ruin.
My sister immediately left for the neighboring country, where our mother had formerly been an imperial princess. The crown prince there fell in love with her, and they got married, making her the crown princess. No one objected—not when she’d already overcome the strict training required to become queen. The two of them made a good couple.
However, that wasn’t the story’s happy ending. My mother and sister invited me to go to the Empire with them, but I declined. There, I knew I’d have a stabler life, and people would treat me with respect. But if a similar incident were to happen, throwing my position into jeopardy again, I would suffer the same pain. “Duke Mercœur’s daughter,” “the former princess’s daughter,” “the crown prince’s sister-in-law”—it hurt to be evaluated based on titles alone, as if no one saw me for who I truly was. I decided that I would rather support myself even if it meant being impoverished, so I stayed in the country with my father, and we lived together in a one-story house in the old part of town.
Cooking, cleaning, laundry—all these chores used to be left to servants, and none of them went well when they became my responsibility. I would accidentally buy spoiled vegetables, eat undercooked meat and give myself an upset stomach, or slip on the wet floor after scrubbing it. There were many days when I felt depressed because everything was going wrong.
Meanwhile, my father was good at getting by—every day, he would go from one mistress to the next, living under their care. This worked in my favor, because if I had to take care of my father while already struggling just to survive by myself, I probably would’ve lost all hope. I was secretly grateful for his mistresses.
As I grew accustomed to my new life, I started to earn money daily by making sweets—a skill I’d learned while doing charity work. I consigned them to a pastry store, and however many were sold, that was my income. The store owner sympathized with my family’s situation and said I didn’t need to pay the consignment fee.
My sweets didn’t sell at first, but at some point, a regular customer began to buy them all up. Thanks to him, I was able to have a normal life. From now on, I’ll continue to live modestly with my duck, baking sweets in the old part of town—or so I thought. Until the day came that I picked up a light-red slime that was lying by the road.
The slime was a talkative and delightful fellow, and it said its name was Wibble. It’d gotten separated from its owner, and the knights said I’d have to take care of it until said owner was found.
Wibble was an incredibly talented slime that could clean, do laundry, and assist with cooking. Having it around helped stave off the loneliness of living by myself. I knew these harmonious days wouldn’t last forever—Wibble had an owner, after all—but I hoped that they would continue just a bit longer.
Unfortunately, even that small wish wasn’t granted. I received a concerning letter from my father that said nothing but “Sorry.” My bad premonition came true when I found out that, of all the things that could’ve happened, he’d run away with the wife of a wealthy merchant.
After that, a large group of thugs came to my home and demanded two hundred thousand geld as compensation. It was a large sum—the kind of amount a wealthy noble family would prepare for their daughter’s dowry. I didn’t even know where my father was, so I couldn’t expect help from him, and there was no way I could pay it by myself.
In this moment of desperation, a savior appeared: a handsome young man named Gabriel, around twenty years old, with glasses and long, beautiful pearl-white hair tied in a ponytail. Not only did he defeat the thugs when they attacked me, he even paid the two-hundred-thousand-geld compensation in my stead. I also learned that he was the slime duke—one of the grand monster dukes—and Wibble’s owner.
Though the commotion was over, and Wibble’s owner had been found, my relief was short-lived. How was I supposed to repay the two hundred thousand geld? I’d never be able to earn that much money, even if I worked for the rest of my life.
While I was at my wit’s end, Gabriel made an unexpected suggestion: I could become his fiancée. Apparently all of his many marriage proposals had been rejected in the past. I couldn’t imagine why someone would turn down a sincere, earnest, and calm man like him, but he explained to me—with an exasperated expression—that the land he governed was a lake region called Triste, where it rained all year round. Not only was it constantly damp and depressing, it was home to a large number of slimes.
I’d never been to a lake region before, so I didn’t know what to think. All I knew was that I’d endured living in this house, which leaked every time it rained, so I’d probably be fine. It wasn’t as if I were going to be able to find my father, and earning two hundred thousand geld was a difficult ask. Thus, I steeled my resolve and accepted the engagement.
And so, I became Gabriel’s fiancée and moved to Triste. I was still his fiancée, not his wife, because my father was missing—a noble lady could not get married without her father’s permission. But eventually, he was found, and my marriage to Gabriel was approved. Now we just needed to wait for the hubbub around my father’s crime to calm down before we could have the wedding.
When I spoke to past acquaintances at a soiree, they were surprised to learn I was going to marry the slime duke of Triste. The region was a place that people avoided, so they probably just didn’t know how wonderful it was. The misty rain that fell over the land was like a beautiful lace curtain. Gabriel had complained that it was damp all year round, but that didn’t bother me. It was much more habitable than I’d expected.
Triste was also filled with unique individuals, like Gabriel’s cheerful and energetic mother, Maria; my attendants, Nico, Coco, and Rico, who were triplets; and our beautiful steward in men’s clothing, Constance. The residents were all kindhearted people, and our days were peaceful. I wasn’t the only one who felt this way about Triste. Even Prince Axel—dragon duke and heir to the throne—loved it, as did Princess Griselda and Lady Magritte, the siren duke.
I was determined to continue living an honest, upright, and earnest life so that I wouldn’t bring shame to Gabriel.