My mother-in-law burst into tears. “H-How awful. I can’t believe that happened to you! If I were at that soiree, I would have gone right up to you and given you a hug!”
“Mother...” I imagined her defending me on that fateful day, and the thought filled me with warmth. I felt as if my past miserable self had been saved.
“Still, I’m disappointed in Gabriel. He was there, but he didn’t help you!”
“He wasn’t feeling well at the time.”
“He should’ve saved you even if he was coughing up blood!”
Even though my mother-in-law said that, I knew that if Gabriel had rescued me that day and we had gotten engaged, the current me wouldn’t exist. I would’ve become spoiled and dependent on him.
“Mother, I like the person I’ve become after overcoming hardships,” I said. “So I’m glad he didn’t save me that day.” Besides, in the end, he had saved me two years later.
“I can only think that he reached out to you far too late.”
“No, that’s not true.” Living in the old part of town had been extremely challenging for me. I’d had to work hard in order to get results, and many of my problems had only been solved by time and effort. “My father’s elopement was the only thing I couldn’t have possibly done anything about.”
Thanks to Gabriel, I could now stand by my fiancé’s side with confidence. Words couldn’t express how proud and happy I was.
“I’m truly grateful to you and Gabriel for giving me this fulfilling life,” I said.
“I’m happy too, thanks to you, Miss Francette.”
As we smiled warmly at each other, my mother-in-law voiced a concern she had.
“That said, I’m surprised your sister’s broken engagement wasn’t considered a serious controversy.”
“A controversy?”
“Your mother was formerly an imperial princess, wasn’t she? Prince Mael shouldn’t have gotten away with treating her daughters so horribly.”
She had a point—Prince Mael’s utter lack of respect and courtesy during the whole ordeal could have become an international issue with the Empire.
“Maybe my mother and sister prevented it from escalating,” I said.
“Given the lack of protest from the Empire, that must be the case.”
In certain circumstances, this same scenario would have resulted in war. I shuddered at the mere thought of the future we’d avoided. A royal marriage wasn’t something that could be affected by emotions—it was a duty that had to be fulfilled no matter what. But Prince Mael had lost his senses in a bout of passion and canceled his engagement. Perhaps he hadn’t understood how grave a sin it was because he had been so caught up in love. As a result of his actions, he had been removed from his position as crown prince, and now he served as a knight guarding the country’s border.
“Apparently the king didn’t know about the rescinded engagement,” I added. He must’ve disinherited Prince Mael the moment he found out, to avoid a dispute with the Empire.
Prince Axel, the king’s second son, was now first in line to the throne. However, rather than being named the crown prince, he was called the heir apparent. I didn’t know how it was in other countries, but in ours, “crown prince” was a special title reserved for the king’s firstborn son. It was unbelievable that someone in that position would act based on emotions alone, with no regard for his country’s future or international relations.
“All I can say is that I’m appalled,” my mother-in-law said.
“Indeed...”
As the crown prince, Prince Mael had surely been expected to behave a certain way, and part of him had probably found it suffocating. My sister was also a strict puritan. I’d heard that the woman Prince Mael loved was the type to behave however she wished, not bound by conventions or common sense. Perhaps he had been attracted to her because she was the complete opposite of my sister.
In regard to my sister, I had planned on attending her wedding, but due to a sudden storm in Triste that day, I hadn’t been able to. I felt bad, but I also realized that part of me was relieved. In the past, my mother and sister had sent me countless letters trying to convince me to move to the Empire, but I hadn’t replied because I hadn’t had the money to buy stamps. That had made the prospect of a reunion somewhat awkward for me. If they’d known that I hadn’t had any money, they probably would’ve taken me to the Empire with them by force. But they didn’t know about my impoverished life in the old part of town—I’d even had them address their letters to a post office instead of my house.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I hadn’t looked forward to seeing them again. A big part of it was that I was afraid of being seen as the younger sibling of my amazing sister who went to the Empire and became crown princess. Ever since her first engagement had been rescinded, I couldn’t help but be terrified of people’s stares. It was that fear that had given me cold feet.
I confessed all of these feelings, which I’d kept hidden until now, to my mother-in-law. As I spoke, I felt the pent-up emotions deep in my heart begin to dissipate.
My mother-in-law hugged me gently without saying anything.
“I’m sorry, mother,” I said. “I didn’t mean to go on for so long.”
“Please don’t worry, Miss Francette. I’m glad I was able to learn about everything you went through. I know you experienced many hardships before coming here, but we truly love you just the way you are. Please remember that.”
“I will... Thank you.” I felt so fortunate to have my kindhearted mother-in-law by my side.
✦ ✦ ✦
My mother-in-law advised me to first think of a wedding theme with Gabriel. I wasn’t familiar with the concept, but apparently, it was customary in Triste to theme wedding ceremonies around something in particular. My mother-in-law’s theme had been roses, and she had prepared a rose dress and enough roses to fill the entire venue. I also asked the married employees at the Lakeside Duck Bakery about their weddings, and though they had varied in scale, every one of them had had a special theme, be it chocolate, violets, fire, or water.
Gabriel said that we should just make it whatever I liked most. But the first thing that came to mind was, well, Gabriel. When I told him that, he flushed bright red and exclaimed, “Well, you’re also what I like most!” The discussion that day accomplished nothing other than making us both embarrassed.
We thought it over for a few days, but no good ideas came to mind. At this rate, we wouldn’t get anywhere. We decided to look outwards for inspiration.
Gabriel and I got on a horse together and rode into the forest, where the autumn foliage shimmered in the bright sunlight.
“Even though I’ve been looking forward to our wedding, I can’t quite think of any specific theme,” he remarked.
“Maybe the hard part is narrowing it down to one thing.”
“What about making Wibble the theme?” suggested the slime, who had transformed into reins.
“You as the theme?” Gabriel asked. “I suppose we could decorate the venue with light-red items and—”
“Can Wibble be Fra’s dress?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why?”