My uncle and aunt returned to the royal palace and were restored to the throne, making them the king and queen of Luchizua once more. The most surprising thing, though, was that the third prince, Dietfried, also returned to the palace.
His mother, my aunt, had seen how well he was doing living outside the palace walls and told him that he needn’t return if he didn’t wish to; however, he made his own choice to return with her.
“I’ve caused you so many problems all these years. I intend to stay by your side and make up for my behavior,” he’d said.
Though my aunt was normally great at hiding her emotions, she was unable to hold back her tears. I also found myself crying. It was as if he’d become a different person. He even began to earnestly participate in government affairs. Due to how he’d changed, who would succeed the throne was once again a question on everyone’s minds. Up until recently, the fourth prince had been the front-runner, but he enjoyed painting more than politics.
After absorbing an entire country, our house had grown much more powerful, and all the houses that had supported the first prince were wiped away. At this point, the next king could basically be decided by the royal family without anyone being able to say a word in opposition.
The royal family went back to their home in the royal capital of Luchizua, as did we of House Sevensworth. We’d returned with them so we could be present for His Majesty’s restoration to the throne and all related events, and also to determine Sir Gino’s official title. But since we’d come all this way, I thought it was a good opportunity to meet with my friends as well.
I was currently in the sixteenth drawing room of our estate, the Green Rutile, with both Lady Ekatarina and Lady Janail.
“I’ve heard that Sir Ginorious making the grand duchy was all for your sake, Lady Anastasia. I couldn’t believe my ears to hear that a single person would go to the lengths of creating their own country for the one they love. His love for you must burn as bright as the stars,” Lady Ekatarina said, sounding very entertained.
This rumor was all thanks to what Sir Gino had said during the celebration after His Majesty’s restoration ceremony.
“I know many of you have been wondering why I created the grand duchy without fear of relations worsening with the royal family, so I’ll use this opportunity to explain all at once. It was all for the sake of my wife, Ana. In order to protect her from Christopher’s evil clutches, I created my own country.” He’d said this with the attention of all the heads of the noble families in the country gathered on him at the podium.
Since the former king had had his royal title stripped from him and was now branded as a criminal, he was simply Sir Christopher now. Given that, it was proper to not use any honorifics with his name in public settings.
When Sir Gino had announced this, I’d been standing behind him at the back of the stage, and it’d been very embarrassing to hear it in front of all these people. If his speech had ended there, I might have been able to endure the embarrassment, but he continued.
“I just had a great idea! In accordance with the inspiration of its founding, how about we change it to ‘The Grand Duchy of the Cutest Woman in the World, the Woman Who’s Too Cute for Words, Anastasia’?!”
Absolutely not! This was the first I’d heard anything about the name changing, and I couldn’t believe what he’d come up with. The surprise, coupled with such intense embarrassment that I felt like I would faint, made me lose my senses. I couldn’t stand the applause that’d begun to break out, and I moved to the front of the stage to stop Sir Gino.
Before I knew it, everyone had burst out laughing, mother and His Majesty included. The ensuing conversation between Sir Gino and myself must have been very amusing. The ideal place for such a talk certainly wasn’t onstage during a party. It was such a shocking failure for me. Ever since then, I’d been so embarrassed, I couldn’t bring myself to leave the estate.
“How romantic! Even the troubadours in the royal capital are singing about the romance between you two. I’ve actually been going into the city quite frequently to listen to the songs,” Lady Janail said with a nonchalant smile.
I knew it... It’s already become a song. I made the correct decision staying inside. Oh, how I hope we change topics soon. This is too embarrassing...
“Well, I have an announcement. Thanks to the help I received from the both of you, I’m now engaged to Sir Anthony,” Lady Janail said, finally changing the topic. Her face was filled with joy as she said this.
Oh, thank goodness! She really worked so hard. It’s quite difficult to marry into a military household from one of the old guard. It takes a lot of studying and it’s necessary to change your own values. She’s truly impressive to have been able to accomplish this.
It was probably good that she’d come to the fort. Sir Anthony had been very thankful for her help with the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and other tasks. At first, Lady Janail had been the one always initiating conversation with him, but eventually, as his admiration of her grew, he began to approach her more frequently, and before they knew it, they’d made a world for just the two of them.
Ever since then, Lady Janail, who’d come to enjoy household chores, was apparently even helping out the servants in the house. It was standard for ladies of old-guard houses to not lift a finger to do any housework, but here was one such lady who broke from tradition.
“How does your father feel about your engagement?” Lady Ekatarina asked.
The political standings of the Grimardy and Treves houses were quite far apart, but even so, Marquess Grimardy had approved the match.
“My house used to be close to the former king. All the houses that aided his plot have fallen to ruin, so having members from the opposing side like House Byron and House Sevensworth mediate this engagement is a lifeline for him, so he’s thrown his most fervent support behind me.”