85
…What if they oppose it?
Suddenly such groundless worry came to me. How long that moment of just a few seconds felt. As I was restless, Father’s voice came through in fragments.
“Marriage… as a premise… you’re dating? You two?”
“Yes.”
“Really? But… Eddie, you tell me.”
Father turned the arrow toward me, as if he couldn’t believe just hearing Cedric’s words. I nodded while gauging my parents’ reactions.
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“……”
“…You’re not going to oppose it, are you?”
“No, liking someone is your own feeling, so there’s no reason I should oppose it. But are you… well, is it okay?”
It was a question with many meanings implied. And knowing my disposition, it was reasonable for him to doubt whether this decision was truly something I had chosen myself.
Moreover, hadn’t Cedric and I only recently become comfortable with each other?
Mother was also waiting for my answer with a serious expression. I conveyed my true feelings, hoping my parents wouldn’t worry.
“Yes. I decided this myself.”
Mother and Father fell silent for a moment. My parents, who had been staring at us as if at a loss for words, exchanged glances with each other.
Eventually, they opened their mouths.
“Alright, I understand. If you two are happy with it, then do so.”
“We respect your decision.”
Suddenly, strength drained from my body. No, I should say the tension drained. Cedric, who had been more nervous than me, only let out a small sigh of relief after direct permission fell from my parents’ lips.
Grinning, I turned my palm over and quietly took his hand that had been resting on the back of mine.
“Have you told the Grand Duke and Duchess of Soliwen?”
“Ah, um. Not yet.”
“Hmm. We should visit them once as well.”
Father rubbed his chin and pondered. It seemed even Father thought it wouldn’t be easy to get the Grand Duke of Soliwen’s permission.
I began to feel anxious as well. Then Mother asked with a playful voice.
“So… how did you two come to like each other?”
When the conversation opened up again, Father also seemed inwardly curious, as he stopped pondering and looked at us intently.
The answer to that came from Cedric.
“I liked him first. From a long time ago.”
Mother and Father’s eyes immediately sparkled.
I rolled my eyes in embarrassment, and Mother laughed “ho ho” toward me while waving her hand gently.
“Eddie. We want to have a close conversation with Cedy. Would you go up to your room now?”
“What kind of conversation are you planning to have…”
“Um. Well, this and that?”
…Is that really okay?
“Hurry!”
“Ah, alright.”
Pushed by their urging, I stood up awkwardly and looked at Cedric’s expression with worry. Fortunately, he met my gaze, meaning it was okay.
After leaving the salon like that, I first returned to my room and waited. Much later, when Cedric finished his conversation with my parents and returned to the room, I asked.
“What did Mother and Father say?”
“Just asked when I started liking you, why I like you, things like that. And…”
“Yeah? And?”
“They said if I lightly change my mind or disappoint you, they’ll chase me to the ends of hell and make me regret it.”
Then he muttered “That was scary…” while pulling me into his arms and rubbing his cheek against mine. That was so cute I couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing my laughing face, Cedric also smiled along.
“Eddie, I should go back now.”
“Yeah, let’s go down. I’ll see you off. Ah, when should we tell Ret…”
I fell into thought as I left the room with Cedric. Cedric shrugged his shoulders and answered.
“Anytime. Should we visit the Rosman mansion soon? In secret.”
“In secret?”
“Yeah.”
So he wants to surprise her? I immediately held out my fist. Cedric also laughed with a playful expression and bumped his fist against mine. We must have been making similar faces.
‘Ret… what kind of reaction will she have?’
Imagining it is fun.
Walking down the path to the front gate outside the mansion, I hugged Cedric and saw him off.
“Go safely. I’ll write you a letter.”
“Yeah.”
But instead of leaving, Cedric looked at me for a moment, then stroked my cheek with his thumb and slowly bent down while whispering.
“I love you.”
The whisper that came like a gentle breeze… tickles my chest. It was words that added weight to my heart and heated it up.
Savoring the weight of that precious phrase, I hugged Cedric again and leaned my cheek against his chest.
“I love you too.”
I could feel the rapid beating of his heart through the skin of our touching cheeks. Mine must be beating like this too. Cedric, who had been pressed against me for a while, reluctantly pulled away.
“I’m really going now.”
I patted his shoulders as if to say hurry and go. Cedric looked back several times before completely disappearing from sight.
I traced his path with my eyes and smiled softly. The feeling of having the whole world filled me contentedly.
Some time later, I made a surprise visit to the Rosman mansion with Cedric as we had discussed. Though surprised, Riette welcomed us warmly and let us inside.
“What brings you here? Both of you coming all this way?”
Riette, who had brought us into the salon and asked a servant to prepare desserts and tea, sat on the opposite sofa and asked. As I was wondering what to say first, Cedric opened his mouth first.
And then…
“We’re going to get married.”
Once again, he blurted it out without any preamble.
While he had at least hesitated nervously in front of my parents, there was none of that in front of Riette. He threw it out casually as if having an everyday conversation, so Riette also seemed to think she had misheard for a moment and stared blankly.
“What?”
“I said I’m going to marry Eddie.”
“……!”
Riette’s eyes grew so wide they looked like they might spill over. Only then seeming to grasp the meaning of the words, Riette let out a shriek-like high-pitched sound and began interrogating us thoroughly.
“Really?! You’re not joking?”
“Really.”
“Until recently you two were fighting and the atmosphere was weird.”
“Mm. We made up from that fight recently.”
When I awkwardly rubbed my nose bridge, Riette immediately brightened up and smiled widely.
“That’s great! Really congratulations.”
I also smiled shyly back at her. I was grateful to her for being happy as if it were her own matter. Soon, as if remembering something, she opened her eyes wide and asked.
“Oh right, have you told your parents?”
“Ah. We told my parents.”
The only ones left were Cedric’s parents. Riette also grasped the situation and seemed a bit worried as she furrowed her brow.
I voiced the anxiety I couldn’t show in front of my parents.
“I’m worried whether his parents will accept me.”
“It’s okay. Everything will work out well. Even if they oppose it, that guy isn’t the type to give up easily anyway.”
Saying that, Riette winked toward Cedric.
Actually, the biggest mountain to overcome was Cedric’s parents… but Cedric was acting nonchalantly as if everything was already resolved just from getting my parents’ permission.
Eventually, Cedric muttered quietly.
“If they interfere, I’ll have to get rid of them.”
…What exactly does he plan to get rid of, and how? Those are words I don’t really want to interpret the meaning of.
As I was trying to pretend I didn’t hear that, Riette said while resting her cheek on her palm.
“Cedy, rather than that, I think making it so they have no choice but to accept is also one method. First make an heir. Once there’s a cute grandchild, even that scary Grand Duke won’t be able to resist.”
“I was thinking about that method too.”
Hey, what kind of conversation are you two having without me? Of course, I’ve also thought about various methods! My ears turned red all the way to the tips as I waved my hands.
“L-let’s think about what to do later! It’s not even confirmed yet that Cedric’s parents will oppose it.”
How could we know if all this worry might end up being needless worry? We might be caught up in excessive prejudice. When we actually meet and talk, a situation different from our expectations might unfold.
“Right, exactly! Worrying about it right now won’t solve anything. There will definitely be a good result. Don’t worry too much, both of you.”
Riette chimed in with a gentle smile. There was definitely some power in her words. At that time, I really felt like there would be a good result, so even I, with my tension released, smiled broadly.
Right. Everything will be okay.
Honestly, the Lowell family’s reputation wasn’t lacking anywhere either, so considering the prosperity and benefits between families, they would more likely deliberate on permission rather than opposition.
I believed that, but…
“No.”
A few days later.
The moment I visited the Soliwen mansion with Cedric and voiced the fact that I was currently dating Cedric along with my desire to marry him, the Grand Duke of Soliwen expressed his opposition in a stiff and dry voice.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
