In front of Ariel was a quiet manor located a short distance from the capital. The sunlight poured down upon it, and from a distance, a displeased voice called out to her. “Hey!”
But Ariel only briefly glanced in that direction, before going back to watering the plants while pretending she couldn’t hear the caller. The water splashed down from the can and soaked into the diligently fertilized flower bed, turning the soil a dark brown.
“Hey, you! Answer me!” the icily beautiful Bernard—also known as Marquis Balladur and Ariel’s husband—demanded angrily, clearly annoyed that she was ignoring him.
The man stood right behind her, and Ariel let out a sigh as she finally turned around to face him. “Unfortunately, my name isn’t ‘you,’ so I won’t respond to it. If you need something from me, call me ‘Ariel,’” she huffed curtly, raising her chin.
Bernard looked grumpy, but nonetheless properly responded with “Ariel.”
“Yes? What do you need from me, my dear husband?” Her voice was cold and disinterested, and not at all like that of a dutiful wife addressing her husband. But that was obvious: she’d been sold off into this house as collateral for a debt and endured harsh treatment from everyone. Not to mention, Bernard was the one who started ignoring her first.
In response, Ariel decided to defiantly live as she pleased. However, lately her husband had begun acting strange. For some reason, he had started wanting her to join him for dinner, tried starting conversations with her despite the blank looks she gave him, and generally acted in enigmatic ways.
I don’t know if he’s had some sort of change of heart, but it creeps me out. Just what is he after?
While Ariel was on her guard, Bernard spoke up irritably. “Have this,” he said, and held out a small velvet box.
“Hmm? What is that?”
“Just open it,” he insisted, stubbornly holding it out to her.
Without much of a choice, Ariel took the box and opened it to see...
“A ring?”
Indeed, inside of the box was a silver ring. A round, glittering gemstone—a diamond—was embedded in the center.
“We never had wedding rings, right? So I got this,” Bernard declared, crossing his arms. On his left hand, he wore a similar ring.
“Why thank you,” Ariel replied. What is he trying to do, giving this to me now? We didn’t even have a wedding ceremony or consummation, but he’s suddenly trying to be all proper about the marriage?
“Go on, put it on.” Barely a second after he said that, Bernard snatched the box back from her. Then, somewhat clumsily, he took out the ring, grabbed Ariel’s left hand, and placed it on her finger. “See? It’s a perfect fit,” he concluded, looking satisfied.
“Riiight... Thank you,” Ariel said out of necessity as her eyebrows creased at her husband’s incomprehensible behavior. “But why are you giving me this ring so suddenly? You yourself said that you wouldn’t buy me any luxury goods.”
When Ariel had met Bernard, the first thing he’d said to her was “I have no extra money to spend on you.”
So why? Ariel wondered, staring at him with suspicion.
Bernard’s cheeks flushed and he cleared his throat. “W-Well... I ran into a merchant who offered to sell me the rings at an unmatched price, so I thought I might as well. And I’ve noticed that without a ring, it’s harder to avoid women.”
“Hmm...”
“What’s with that face you’re making? You don’t believe me? Or maybe you think I gave you a fake?” he asked as Ariel gazed at him coolly. “You needn’t worry. This merchant’s famous within the capital, and I’m sure it was really her because her distinctive feature is her red hair.”
Ariel jolted at that description. “A female merchant with red hair...?”
“Right. She’s selling diamond goods right now, and she said she wants to build a friendship with House Balladur, so she sold me the rings at a special price.”
No way! Ariel cried inwardly. “What was her name?!” she asked, leaning forward with anticipation.
This time, Bernard was the one frowning at her. “What on earth? You’re reacting completely differently from before...”
“Just tell me the name! Please!” she pressed, drawing closer to Bernard than ever before.
Bernard was overawed, and his eyes wandered in every direction as he answered. “What was it again...? Now that I think about it, she might’ve had the same surname as you. As for her first name, I think it was—”
“Jeanette?!” Ariel exclaimed.
Her husband looked startled at the interruption. “Huh, so you know her?”
It really was her! Ariel giggled at having her guess confirmed. Bernard began explaining something about the diamond, but she wasn’t listening and only continued to laugh. Lord Bernard has so little interest in me, I’m sure he didn’t even notice that the merchant was my sister.
But that was fine with her. If Jeanette hadn’t mentioned that she was Ariel’s sister and had just presented herself as a merchant, she must’ve had her own reasons. Right, sister? Ariel thought, holding up her hand to gaze at the ring.
The diamond glittered in the sunlight in seven different colors, as if blessing Ariel’s future. This was Jeanette’s roundabout gift to her. As for the writing engraved on the ring, which read, “An everlasting light for you,” it’d still be a little while until Ariel understood its meaning.