BXBX NOVEL 59 - The 59Th Tea Party Drama
"Oh, wow."
"Ew."
"Oh, my God."
As soon as I returned to the villa, I gave my report. I told him that I could not refuse to marry Princess Licorette no matter what and that I had no choice but to resign myself to it. It is interesting to see the different reactions of Peris, Meirias, Geneha, Ilimo, and Gon, even though they are strangers to each other.
"First of all, I wonder how much of the secret of this house we should tell Princess Licorette..."
"Well, basically, Peris, Ilimo, and Jeneha are made to look human, so we can choose to keep quiet about it."
"Well, when we build Licorette-sama\'s mansion, the craftsmen will be there, so I think it would be better not to remove the wards for a while..."
"I\'ll see what happens and talk to them about it. If they refuse, I\'ll think about it then.
"And I have to go back to Miyagi tomorrow, I\'m very busy.
"Tomorrow, there will be a banquet to recognize my succession to the throne. That\'s where they\'ll announce my marriage to the princess.
"So you don\'t want lunch and dinner tomorrow?"
"Yes, that\'s right. Actually, the food at Perris is better. Yeah, it\'s probably going to be late at night, so lock up and go to bed. Meirias, go to bed too."
Awe. Master..."
Meirias looks somewhat sad. Peris seems to think that things will turn out the way they are supposed to, or maybe he\'s just being normal. By the way, Jeneha is in a congratulatory mode, while Ilimo\'s reaction is indescribable, since he does not have a good impression of the royal family members.
The next morning, after having breakfast at Peris, everyone sends me off to Miyagi. As soon as they arrive, they are taken to another room and made to change their clothes. He puts on an imperial-style ceremonial dress and a medal. This is a tricky business indeed, and it is decided where, what, and in what order they are to be put on. While doing this, we had a brief meeting. It took more time than expected, and thanks to that I missed lunch.
As soon as we were ready, we were taken out of the room and made to walk through the maze-like palace. I was led to a door guarded by soldiers, and the door was opened as if they were waiting for me. There were many ladies and gentlemen there, all dressed up.
The usher led me through the crowd. As I stood in front of the throne, as if they had been waiting for me, His Imperial Highness Prince Heat, His Imperial Highness Prince Vilas, and the Prime Minister and other ministers appeared. The throne was empty, as expected, since the Emperor had passed away.
"Welcome to the throne, Mr. Vasam Darke Rinos!
The Prime Minister raises his voice.
"Ha-ha-ha!"
I bow lightly.
"I am truly sorry for your loss. I cannot express my regret that the Kingdom of Juka has collapsed despite the fact that you were adopted by the Barsam family and will eventually become a marquis. Nevertheless, we are greatly touched by your achievement of reaching the empire safely after a long journey, and by the fact that you have informed us of the calamity that has befallen the Kingdom of Jukha. Therefore, as Lord Bartham has long expressed, it is with His Majesty\'s deepest wishes that you be allowed to assume the title of Marquis of the House of Bartham after the death of the Duke."
"Haha, thank goodness."
"After this, you may enjoy your time in the empire at your leisure."
"Now, I have a favor to ask of the Duke of Bursaam. I would like to ask the Marquis to marry my sister, Licorette.
The room is buzzing. My throat is parched. I feel a cold trickle down my back. I make up my mind.
"Thank you, sir. I humbly accept."
The nobles around us cheered.
"You have done me a great favor. Our empire and the kingdom of Juka have been at war with each other for a long time and now there is a truce. Since the recent catastrophe, the kingdom has been in turmoil, but peace with the Kingdom of Juka has been a long-cherished desire of the Empire. It is a great honor that my sister has married into the most prestigious family of the Jukan Kingdom, which is called the "Double Wheel", and that we have been able to establish a friendship. On behalf of His Majesty who is ill, the Marquis, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this heedata sure heat."
"The new Marquis de Berthaume\'s stay in the Empire will be under the guardianship of this Heidata Sure Vilas. Should there be any inconvenience, my Lord...
Thank you very much.
"Fortunately, the principal men of the empire are here. Let us celebrate together! Call Riccolette!"
A few moments later, a beautifully dressed Princess Licorette enters the room. She is breathtakingly beautiful in a pure white dress.
"My name is Licolette. I look forward to working with you for many years to come.
He greets me with a masterful gesture. As one would expect from the First Princess of Japan, she is no ordinary woman. Then the Prime Minister opens his mouth.
"In honor of your marriage, His Majesty has granted you the title of honorary Marquis of the Empire."
Thank you very much for your happiness.
"All of you, please take care of these two for me!"
Everyone there hangs their heads. Then the banquet begins, and Riccolet and I leave the place side by side.
"What the hell is this? That farce. I couldn\'t stop sweating."
"It can\'t be helped. I am still the First Princess. I can\'t avoid presenting myself to the nobles since it\'s my marriage.
"What a pain in the ass!"
"You may be an honorary marquis, but now that you are a member of the imperial nobility, you will be attending more and more of these events."
"...Did I do something wrong?"
Does that mean you\'re marrying me?
No, it\'s not that. I just thought that since you\'ve been able to live your life in such a carefree manner, you might not be so free from now on.
"You only need to show up at events hosted by the emperor. There are not many such occasions. Even though you are a nobleman, you do not own any lands, and moreover, since you are my consort, I doubt that you will receive many invitations from other nobles, do you?
"I hope so."
"And... your father was missed. The royal family will be in mourning for the rest of the year, so there will be almost no events hosted by the Emperor. Perhaps until your brother\'s coronation a year from now.
I\'m surprised you agreed to marry me. I thought you would refuse.
You made me make that decision, didn\'t you?
Me?
You told me that if I lived, good things would happen to me. Then I will live. If you think about the alternatives that might be interesting to live, the answer will come to you.
"I\'m a former slave, remember?"
"Dr. Krumphal... He passed away, but I believe his teachings were correct. A person\'s status should not be determined by others. One should take his status by his free will. I do not reject you on the grounds that you were a slave. You did not become a slave of your own will, did you?"
"That\'s true, but..."
"Besides, you are the only one who immediately agreed with Dr. Krumphal and my way of thinking. And I thought it was interesting that you said that the times have not caught up with me.
"Is that how it is?"
"You\'re in a lot of trouble, aren\'t you? All the nobles know what has happened. Even more so, he is marrying a renegade, retarded princess who has been interfering in the Emperor\'s politics and whose own vassals have rebelled against him. The nobles will look at you with curiosity. But that is only because you have agreed to marry me. Please be prepared for that.
"I\'m used to people looking at me with curiosity, and I\'m rather good at protecting a honeymoon princess."
"...You are very reliable, aren\'t you? Are you really younger than me? I\'m a bit of a fool, but I\'m looking forward to working with you in the future, sir.
"Linos," is fine. Lycorette."
"Gentlemen, Linos is my husband-to-be. Please call me Lycoretto.
"Well, it\'s nice to meet you, Licorette."
"By the way, your brothers and Prime Minister Gremont have done a marvelous job. To pull off such a farce in just a few days.
"Absolutely. We have to be careful that this conversation doesn\'t turn into a farce.
We laughed at each other as we looked at the reflection of the garden of Miyagi in the late afternoon in the window.