On a drizzly day, with a gloomy and lonely atmosphere looming around, Santana stepped onto the carriage with heavy footsteps.
“Well then, Father, I’m off.”
“Alright… be careful on your way.”
The carriage was headed toward the Dragona Empire. The marriage between the Dragona Empire and Bohemia was to take place in the territory of Sofia.
Typically, engagements occur before marriages, but due to the urgent nature of the situation, the Dragona Empire insisted on proceeding with the marriage immediately. Thus, Santana was now traveling to get married just one week after the engagement was settled.
“Mr. Santana…”
Estelle, watching Santana perched on the carriage, spoke with a desperate voice.
To her, Santana replied with a calm smile, “I’ll be off now. Please take care of yourself until I return.”
“Yes… I will wait…”
Estelle’s voice carried a sense of longing.
After exchanging farewells with her, the carriage carrying Santana began its journey toward the Dragona Empire.
With a heartfelt gaze, Estelle watched until the carriage disappeared from view.
Soon after, once the carriage was no longer visible, Dust, who had been standing behind her, asked in a voice filled with deep sadness, “Are you… alright, sister?”
“…I’m okay… Thank you, Dust.”
Dust felt a heavy sense of guilt for not being able to change the situation, despite her efforts. However, Estelle comforted her.
At that moment, she recalled his last promise to her…
“I’m really okay… Even though I couldn’t sit beside Mr. Santana as I wished, at least I was promised a place under him…”
*
The carriage, having left Bohemia and arrived at a sufficiently quiet place, saw the rain starting to let up, and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds.
The sounds of birds singing began to fill the air.
Traveling under the sparkling sunlight were Santana and his attendant Polena, who were headed for the marriage, along with Cazerose, who was slowly removing her black veil.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The three of us maintained silence while looking at each other for a moment. Though their expressions seemed serious, cracks of amusement slowly began to appear on their faces.
Then…
“Ha…”
“Sniff…”
“Hahahahaha!!!”
Eventually, the facade shattered, and laughter filled the air, bursting forth in joyous delight.
“Ah… Truly, Master, your acting is splendid! I never thought you would fool everyone like that.”
“Exactly! Honestly, I thought there’d be some suspicion, but I didn’t expect everyone to fall for it!”
The two spoke in voices mingled with admiration and joy. Watching them, I spoke with a slight sigh of relief.
“Honestly, I was very nervous throughout the whole thing. While the conditions were set, whether or not it would actually work was another story.”
Though I felt a bit of guilt about deceiving them, I couldn’t shake this situation…
I felt deep satisfaction regarding the marriage with Cazerose Sophia Raymond, the ‘Princess of Dragona Empire.’
“Mr. Santana…”
“Cazerose…”
Now, there were no more obstacles standing between us.
All that remained was to enjoy the happiness between us.
Once the marriage in Sofia concluded, even if the truth eventually came out, no one could overturn it.
More than anything, as long as we and Cazerose truly loved each other, there would be no issue at all.
A marriage that was solid in both legitimacy and realism.
Thus, the two of us began to comfortably lean against each other, clasping our hands tightly.
A warm and cozy sensation.
Honestly, part of me wanted to deepen our connection right there and then, but since Polena was watching us with a blissful smile, I decided to hold back for now.
‘If we stop at an inn on the way, I’ll grab a chance… after all, I won’t have to worry about prying eyes then.’
*
“Ah…”
“You look upset, what’s bothering you?”
Seeing her daughter let out a deep sigh, the Emperor Rozebeta of the Dragona Empire asked with a gentle smile.
Her expression seemed to reflect the delight of the moment.
In response, her daughter, Duchess Kattlena, who was the lord of Sofia, spoke with a hint of bitterness in her voice.
“Mother… You can’t just rush things like this… A marriage?! How can you decide something before even seeing the other person’s face?”
“You’ll see their face soon enough, will you? I heard the groom and bride are on their way here.”
“That’s… not what I meant… sigh…”
Kattlena sighed deeply, unable to say more against her mother’s light tone.
The sudden request for a marriage from her daughter, Kattlena, made her feel uneasy as she weighed various possibilities, yet Emperor Rozebeta stamped it without hesitation.
Thus began the hurried arrangement of the marriage between her daughter, Cazerose, and a man named Santana.
While Kattlena learned through Blood’s report that she had misunderstood Santana, the truth remained that she was still not fond of him.
The political burdens associated with marrying into another country were inherently an issue, but ultimately, her initial negative impression had taken root.
Though she claimed to be following through on her promise to Cazerose, she couldn’t shake her discomfort with that history.
Caught in this unease, Kattlena let out a deep sigh while watching her mother calmly sip tea.
“Really… mother, you never hesitate in such matters… You should at least observe the situation a bit more before pushing forward…”
Duchess Kattlena, who had a tendency to take love-related matters very seriously, felt a romantic inclination.
During her contemplation, Cazerose’s past marriage proposals from her mother suddenly came to mind.
“Thinking back, wasn’t it like this when I married him too? One day, she suddenly suggested the marriage and pushed it through without hesitation.”
Perhaps because she had originally come from a common background, her standards for marriage were crystal clear.
What mattered was whether the two individuals truly loved each other.
The differences in status or other circumstances did not hold much weight.
What counted was the feelings between the two, which meant that Cazerose and Santana’s love received approval from the Emperor.
And frankly, excluding her position as a mother, the Duchess could also admit this truth.
Devoid of political or superficial implications.
Falling in love without knowing each other’s statuses, meeting as a paladin of lower rank, cultivating affection, and continuing to burn with passion even after their statuses were revealed—it was like a story from a fairy tale, surely not bad in and of itself.
“What does it matter now for me to think about these things? The priority should be to see what kind of guy this son-in-law is. If he turns out to be a good-for-nothing, I’ll have to…”
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