𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐦𝐞
Theodore-sama, sitting in a wicker chair, quietly spoke after showing a moment of thought.
“We have to start over. . . the lost time.”
“Lost time, you say.”
Playing with a piece of magic stone that Maria had picked up, Theodore-sama began to speak.
“Originally, there was talk of a marriage proposal between you and me.”
I held my breath at his sudden confession.
The piece of magic stone reflected the light, illuminating Theodore-sama’s distant gaze.
“I didn’t know.”
“Since we’re both from families that manage magic stone mines, the Count Maclouge family and my Margrave family had interactions. There’s nothing strange about it.”
“Indeed. . . that’s true.”
“Your fatherーーLord Maclouge, before he sent you to this frontier, seemed to want you and me to slowly develop a relationship. However. . . something unexpected happened.”
Theodore-sama tightly gripped the piece of magic stone.
As if he was trying to grasp the past that had slipped away.
“The invasion by the neighboring country and the reconstruction, Lord Maclouge’s illness. . . various misfortunes piled up, and we couldn’t welcome you. My late father told Lord Maclouge that he wanted to push for the marriage proposal, even if it was forceful, but he firmly refused, saying, ‘If I send my daughter, who hasn’t even received a proper education as a lady, she and the Margrave will eventually become unhappy.’”
“. . .So, that’s how it was. . . and then, I was sent to the Strelitzi family. . .”
“Perhaps influenced by books, the children seem to believe that I was ‘engaged and then broken off.’”
Guided by his gaze, I turned my eyes to the children.
The children, whether they were blood-related siblings or not, were getting along well as “Lord Father’s” children.
It’s not hard to imagine how intense the invasion that caused so many children to lose their parents was.
The young lord who had just inherited his title, the devastated territory, the Margrave Heyerdahl territory where many vassals were lost.
As the lady of such a land, I was too immature at 14.
“Choosing the Strelitzi family as your marriage destination seems to have been a bitter decision. The previous lady of the house was still alive, and the family was not bad. The territory was also adjacent, so it wasn’t completely unfamiliar land. As a place for you, who knew nothing, to take refugeーーeven if it wasn’t the best, it was much more appropriate than the Margrave territory.”
When I was a young bride in the Strelitzi family, I was just devastated.
I wondered if I would end my life as a decorative Countess, being used by my mother-in-law and father-in-law, without ever having a child or loving someone.
“I must also thank the people of the Strelitzi family. They provided me with the education and culture to be a female tutor like this.”
At my words, Theodore-sama laughed, “haha.”
“You’re dazzling, being able to say words of gratitude so honestly, even though the treatment was certainly not good.”
“It’s my true feelings.”
I straightened my back and expressed my will. Looking at me, Theodore-sama narrowed his ash-blue eyes.
“That’s right. I also have to express my gratitude. . . For raising you into a beautiful lady while keeping your marriage white, and for letting you go so soon, I am grateful.”
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