Chapter 12.
“Might as well make it official while you’re here. I plan to marry Prince Friedrich of the Kill Kingdom soon.”
Joachim froze for a moment, then nodded calmly and murmured,
“…Well, I’ve heard that in some countries, kings take mistresses before legitimate wives.”
“You keep deflecting, but I mean to make the prince my legitimate husband.”
Now, all expression vanished from Joachim’s face. I narrowed my eyes and asked him,
“Didn’t you hear that I demanded marriage to the prince as my war trophy from His Majesty the Emperor? Well, it’s far from here to the Kill Kingdom, so maybe not.”
“…I thought it was just empty words.”
Joachim’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Pushing for succession to the throne right after such a great achievement wouldn’t be the best political move. I assumed it was a statement to prove your loyalty to His Majesty, and I was actually pleased by Your Highness’s wisdom.”
“Take it at face value, Duke. It’s exactly as I said. I thought his face was too good to kill, and I wanted him for myself.”
“Take him, Your Highness. As you always have—whatever you desire, you should have it.”
Joachim asked with reddened eyes,
“So, weren’t you planning to have me as well?”
“I almost did. If you’d given me an answer sooner.”
In an instant, the color drained from Joachim’s face. I found that reaction somewhat unexpected.
It’s not like he doesn’t know Rene’s personality. Did he really not anticipate this at all?
Rene had been deeply displeased that Joachim hadn’t immediately accepted her proposal.
Even though Joachim, who had maintained neutrality in the power struggles, probably needed time to think it over.
‘But Rene isn’t the type to understand that.’
He might think I’m getting revenge now for him delaying his response.
‘I probably would have just married him otherwise.’
But marrying this man, the empire’s sole duke, would be tantamount to declaring my intent to inherit the throne, which I absolutely couldn’t do.
Joachim bit his lip with a wounded expression, then let out a plaintive voice.
“Yes, I admit it. It’s partly my fault. So now… do you no longer want me?”
“You’re not some toy…”
“I’ve been waiting for this day. To tell you of my resolve to live as Your Highness’s sword for life, to be wielded by you however you please.”
Joachim continued with a sorrowful look.
“But now Your Highness says you have no need for me. And the one you’ve chosen is the prince of a fallen kingdom.”
Joachim’s face showed clear confusion on that point.
“What about me doesn’t please you compared to that prince?”
I couldn’t honestly say it was his power, so I was about to casually answer that it was the face when.
Suddenly, Joachim’s anguished expression caught my eye, and I had to rethink.
‘…He’s handsome.’
It was a beauty even I couldn’t deny. I recalled the empress murmuring that Duke Rommel was no slouch in looks either.
But beauty is inherently subjective!
“The prince’s face suits my taste a bit more.”
Joachim’s expression turned dumbfounded.
“The reason you proposed to me wasn’t my face.”
“You’re right. I thought you were the handsomest man in Stade.”
“…”
“But Friedrich is the most handsome man in the world.”
I casually spouted that doting remark and glanced at Joachim, only to see him looking even more shocked than before.
“…Really, because of his face?”
“Yes.”
“To make him your husband for such a trivial reason. That doesn’t seem like the Your Highness I know.”
Joachim shook his head in a daze, then firmly told me,
“The prince will never help with Your Highness’s succession to the throne.”
That’s exactly why I’m marrying him…
“If you want him by your side, make him your lover. I’d be fine with that.”
“I want him as my husband.”
“Because if you have to marry anyway, it’s more convenient and better to do it with a man you can treat like a slave?”
Joachim recited the words I’d said when demanding Friedrich, not missing a single syllable.
What? He heard all that and has been pretending not to know until now?
“Your Highness.”
Joachim called me in a serious voice and suddenly rose from his seat.
Then, he knelt on one knee before me and looked up.
“Who could dare stand above Your Highness? Who could dare not submit to Your Highness like a slave?”
If his gaze seemed almost desperate, was that my imagination?
“I have no intention of challenging Your Highness’s authority just because I’m the empire’s sole duke.”
Everyone else believes it when I say I’m marrying Friedrich for his looks.
Maybe it’s because Joachim hasn’t seen Friedrich’s face yet. He’s the only one stubbornly refusing to accept it.
As Elsa said, even if I told him here that I’ve given up on succeeding to the throne, it feels like he’d just try to persuade me otherwise.
“Well. I’m not sure if the people around you would think the same.”
In the end, I deflected with a political reason.
“My thoughts changed on the battlefield. I figured someone with nothing would be safer.”
“Even so, to take the prince of the nation you personally destroyed as your husband. Who knows when he might stab you in the back.”
“You think I couldn’t stop him.”
“…Of course not. But.”
“Duke, I think I’ve conveyed my intentions clearly, so you may leave now. I have a dinner appointment soon…”
Gasp, it was already six! I pushed at Joachim’s back as if to hurry him out.
“Come on, go find another partner quickly. See you tomorrow evening.”
“Your Highness, wait…!”
At that exact moment, the door opened. Huh, I didn’t open it? Did my magic come back?
“Frie…drich.”
Friedrich was standing blankly outside the door.
He alternated his gaze between Joachim and me pushing his back, then moved his lips.
“Should I come back later?”
“Oh, no. No need.”
I shook my head lightly and finished pushing Joachim’s back.
“He’s just leaving. Farewell, Duke.”
Joachim seemed flustered and wanted to say something, but I quickly shut the door.
“Welcome, Fritz.”
I looked at Friedrich with a beaming smile, but he remained standing there, staring at me intently.
I smiled awkwardly for a moment, then noticed something odd and asked,
“But weren’t we supposed to meet in the banquet hall? This is the reception room.”
“…”
“Ah, you still don’t know the way around?”
But the maids should have guided him? It struck me as strange.
“Who was that?”
“Hm?”
“That person just now.”
“Ah… Duke Rommel.”
After a brief hesitation, I said,
“The man I was going to marry before.”
He has ears too, so hiding it didn’t seem meaningful.
But upon hearing the answer, Friedrich’s face suddenly grew confused.
“What’s wrong?”
“Perhaps you had a fiancé…”
“Oh, no fiancé. I just proposed marriage before going to war.”
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the same thing, so I quickly changed the subject.
“But my mind changed after meeting you. It’s only natural after seeing the most handsome man in the world, right? Until then, I was just a frog in the Stade well.”
“…Yes.”
I meant it as a compliment, but he didn’t seem particularly pleased. Is there still resentment from last night?
“Haha. Let’s go, Fritz. Aren’t you hungry?”
I brushed it off with a laugh and draped my arm over his shoulder. Actually, with the height difference, it was more like resting my hand on top of his shoulder.
Arriving at the banquet hall, I sat in the same spot as yesterday.
I assumed Friedrich would too, but unexpectedly, he sat diagonally across from me.
“Why sit there?”
“…”
“Friedrich?”
He seemed deeply lost in some thought, completely spaced out. Why is he suddenly acting so out of it?
“Friedrich, are you feeling unwell?”
“…I.”
Then, after his prolonged silence, Friedrich abruptly said something out of the blue.
“Might not be the most handsome man in the world.”
