Chapter: 722
Out of nowhere, an impromptu fan meeting with overseas fans took place, and my signed sword… saying it like this makes it sound like some legendary sword or something. Regardless, Alice, who received the sword with my signature, quickly returned to the palace.
“Thank you so much! I’ll treasure this as a national treasure for life! Have a great time!”
“Thank you for graciously overlooking the rudeness. I will never forget the kindness of Count Krasius of Tailglehen.”
Alice, leaving with a beaming smile, and Beril, who nodded politely beside her, made quite the picture.
Just seeing that scene gave me a rough idea of Beril’s workload, but honestly, with someone like Alice, she’s on the tame side compared to royalty from the continent. If Beril knows that, she could spend her days a bit lighter.
“She was quite lively, wasn’t she?”
“Right? I guess being royalty and choosing the path of a knight makes her really energetic.”
I chuckled at Mar’s words and nodded along.
If you think about it, Rutis is also a unique breed, being royalty but still choosing the knight’s path. Given that Rutis and Alice are the same age, it’s kind of like thinking of Alice as Rutis’s female counterpart—
“Wait, no.”
I quickly shook off that terrible thought. That would be a big insult to Alice!
If it were Rutis, no matter if I was on my honeymoon or not, he would have probably said, “While you’re here, how about a friendly duel?” At least Alice had the common sense not to disrupt my trip!
“Sorry, Alice.”
I mentally apologized to Alice. Here I was comparing her to someone when I had no one else to compare to. Just signing the sword and sending her back was a mistake that hurt my heart a little.
So, if Alice were to get married someday, I should at least send a gift. After all, she’s not a total stranger; she’s a fan I met one-on-one. I should extend that level of service.
“Well, now that the guest is gone, shall we continue enjoying ourselves?”
After promising myself to sign a piece of armor next time instead of a sword, I reached out one hand to Mar.
“Sounds good, Dad of Narl.”
That made me chuckle involuntarily.
It seems that already in Mar’s mind, we were expecting our second child.
The sightseeing enjoyed after the fan meeting was blissfully calm.
There was no feeling of someone following us like with Alice and Beril, and no one from Jerano sent anyone as an apology for the rudeness either. In other words, we could truly enjoy our time together.
“Guess the warning was apparent enough after all.”
I had warned Jerano through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I had insisted it was a private visit and begged them not to bother us, and thankfully, Jerano turned out to be the docile nation that followed the Empire’s words without question.
Of course, there was the surprise situation with Alice, but let’s leave that as an exception. There wasn’t really any damage done, and it ended with a smile, so there was no need to dwell on it.
“Royals are beings that the administration can’t control.”
In the first place, you can’t stop the antics of royals even by high-ranking nobles or ministers. Who understands that sorrow better than me? People who share the same pain should understand and take care of one another.
By now, the external ministers of Jerano and various others must be fainting with tears. Perhaps they fiddled with resignation papers or attempted a hasty escape on vacation. I would have done the same.
So I didn’t express any regrets to Alice, nor did I say to the Jerano administration, “Aren’t you guys managing your princess properly?”
“Touching this subject while wanting to die can lead to serious consequences.”
Furthermore, expressing dissatisfaction directly would be a lack of dignity. Even if I just sat back and breathed, Jerano would probably beg to lay flat on the ground. Why take unnecessary actions?
Instead, by keeping silent, they would surely treat me with deep gratitude for my mercy. If I were to get involved again for work-related reasons, Jerano would have to cooperate actively, or else I might just bring up today’s events.
“Carl, want to try this?”
“Oh, they sell stuff like this too?”
What’s paramount right now isn’t taming Jerano but savoring a cozy date with Mar.
Being a port city, seafood was plentiful. And since it’s a prosperous city, the dishes were an array of spices and various ingredients. Thanks to that, Mar brought home a whole fried squid snack from a street vendor.
I never expected to find fried food so casually sold on the streets. Food that uses a lot of oil isn’t something easily found in commoners’ fare.
“I guess this place really did have a resort feel to it.”
It suddenly made sense why the Gold Duke had taken over Narvesia’s resort. It’s a rich city, so it’s only natural that noble tourists flock here, and the local commoners in Narvesia must have decent purchasing power.
“So, how is it? Does it suit your taste?”
“Thanks to Mar’s touch, it’s delicious.”
Although it wasn’t homemade but only something taken from a vendor, in any case, it was touched by her hands.
“Hehe, really?”
At my praise, Mar smiled softly and took a bite of a leg.
“If I feed you directly, it’ll taste even better—whoa, don’t bite my fingers!”
“Muuh. It’s too delicious for that.”
“Okay, I get it, just let go of your mouth for a second…”
Mumbling with my fingers still in her mouth, Mar’s face turned beet red in an instant.
It was childish fun, but I was satisfied with her reaction. Mar is just so cute and lovable, especially when she boldly launches an attack and is hit right back—this gap creates such an adorable shyness.
Honestly, I know I have a bit of a weird taste, but who cares? We’re a couple that’s seen it all. A bit of playful teasing is merely cute.
“It’s even tastier because you fed me.”
“You didn’t get fed; you just snatched it from me.”
With a smirk, as I pulled my fingers out, Mar shot me a sulky look.
It seemed she was disappointed that our smooth feed-you moment got interrupted.
“Mar.”
To cheer her up, I tore off a leg and held the end to my mouth.
“…Carl?”
Then, I stuck the other end out towards Mar.
I never expected to do this with a squid leg instead of a stick snack, but surely this was a more heartwarming and cozy action than feeding each other. I believed Mar would surely enjoy it.
“A beach just for the two of us? This is more luxury than I ever had on a school trip.”
“I know. Normally, you’d go to the beach with everyone else, not really fit for just a couple.”
The only person with whom I’d been alone on a beach was Lynn. Unintentionally, going on a beach date just the two of us had become an unintended achievement of hers.
Though Lynn herself would probably shudder whenever the beach comes up.
“When we return home, should we try to find a beach like this? It might be a little cold in the north, but the Cheness Principality could work.”
“Not in Boyar?”
“That place is too expensive. With Cheness being relatives, can’t we get it a bit cheaper?”
“Ha ha, maybe they’ll ask for drinks instead of money.”
Mar’s comment made me burst out laughing.
That’s true. If it’s the Wise Duke, he’d probably value a bottle of alcohol over cash.
“…Carl.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really glad you’re my husband.”
That was a surprising confession, and I silently gazed at Mar’s face.
Normally, I would have said, “I’m glad to have you as my wife too.” But seeing the atmosphere, I figured it was best to stay silent for now.
“When I first got rejected by you and entered the academy… I worked hard to become a bureaucrat like you, but to be honest, it was boring. Learning something at the academy or meeting people was never really enjoyable.”
With those words, Mar smiled broadly and took my hand.
“If you hadn’t been my goal, and if you hadn’t become the academy’s administrative supervisor, how would my life have changed?”
“…If it were Mar, it would’ve been fine.”
“I probably would have become a boring, stiff person by my own standards. I might’ve even set cold standards to everyone and earned their hatred.”
Mar placed her finger on her lips, as if begging to carry on.
“Wandering without finding a goal, yet pointing out others’ actions in school life. And when Rizie established the pastry club, maybe I would’ve been furious and thought, ‘How dare a noble’s daughter mingle with pure-bred blood!’”
I kept silent, unable to deny the possibility.
Mar had once critiqued Rizie even while I was at the academy. Of course, it was just a pretext to get closer to me, but if that parallel world existed where I wasn’t around, would she have truly scolded and pressed Rizie?
Mar cares a lot about dignity and decorum. If Mar had transformed into a stiff and cold city woman, those critiques would have been anything but light.
“If that had happened… then my relationship with Rizie wouldn’t have been as good as it is now.”
I couldn’t argue against that either. Rizie, who had cried over Mar’s gentle critique, might have even fainted from a real punch.
“So it’s all thanks to you. Because you came into my life, because you came to the academy, because you accepted my heart, I could be this happy.”
“What an honor to hear that. You would have done well even without me.”
“Materially, yes. But I never would have felt my heart race like this.”
Before I knew it, Mar’s face had gotten closer.
“I love you, Carl. I know you already understand, but I want to say it once more.”
A shy yet confident, small but mighty confession of love.
“I love you too. More than anyone else in this world.”
“But we’re both tied for first place, right?”
“Can’t argue with that.”
Chucking softly, Mar kissed my lips and slowly pulled away.
“Carl.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to see my swimsuit?”
“Absolutely.”
My answer was impulsive, making both Mar and I burst out in laughter.
As the last agenda of our honeymoon, this wasn’t such a bad plan.
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