I watched the accusation unfolding before my eyes with an unbearable feeling.
Had that girl really done something to warrant being interrogated to this extent?
Before I knew it, a sigh escaped my lips.
Arios, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Luminas, one of the neighboring Karaban Allied Kingdoms, was pointing his finger at Miss Citoyen Barrymore, the girl who was about to become his official fiancée.
I had heard that she had been living in the Kingdom of Luminas for about two years prior to the engagement, so I assumed the fiancés knew each other by sight.
Following custom, Miss Citoyen was covered from head to toe in a white veil.
From our perspective as attendees, her appearance was unimaginable. When she entered the cathedral, for a moment, I thought she was a moving white cocoon.
"Now, Crown Prince Arios will remove her veil and kiss her forehead," my mother, who was sitting beside me, secretly whispered.
Apparently, that would be the end of the engagement ceremony.
My mother, who is the Queen of the Kingdom of Tidros, and I—in other words, just to witness someone else's "forehead kiss"—had been invited to this engagement ceremony, enduring seven days of carriage travel. We had only just arrived in Leith, the capital of the Karaban Allied Kingdoms, yesterday.
Normally, after this engagement ceremony, I'd participate in the customary reception involving the royal families. The ladies would exchange remarks like, "Oh, is your son still single?" "Yes, he is! Do you know anyone good you could introduce?" And I, having absolutely no experience with women, would practically face a public execution.
At 25, unmarried and with no fiancée, they'd assume there must be some underlying reason.
No, there isn't.
I'm just not popular.
No, wait, why am I attending a neighboring country's engagement ceremony in the first place?
Usually, the King or Crown Prince would escort Mother to such an event, right?
Then it hit me.
Ah, it's a matchmaking scheme.
Mother wants to put me in front of all those ladies and say, "How about my son?"
But...
No, I feel bad for Mother, okay? She keeps saying things like, "My son is such a good boy. I wonder why he keeps getting rejected. Everyone has no taste!"
...Yeah.
My eldest brother, the Crown Prince, or my second brother, who married into another country, are both neutral-faced beauties, like Mother—smooth, refined princes.
But I resemble my father.
No, it's an honor, really.
I resemble His Majesty.
Mother also said she was relieved.
Apparently, people would immediately ask, "Whose child is he, anyway?"
But.
Resembling His Majesty doesn't mean I have a fashionable face.
How do I put it? It's just...
My face is overtly masculine.
And my height? There's barely anyone taller than me even in the Knights.
I'm not fat, but the more I train, the more thick, broad muscles I develop on my arms, back, and thighs. See? I don't look like a Duke at all.
What's more, every winter I lead the Knights to guard the border.
If I'm busy scattering bandits and rebels, then....
My nickname became 'The Winter Bear of Tidros.'
No, come on!
When guarding the border, I'd skip shaving! Because it's not court! It's just men, gathered around a bonfire at night! Beards are fine!
...Then I got this nickname... And as soon as I returned to the capital, ladies would shriek... Some even said I smelled.
Ah, I've already decided I'm fine being single for life.
But Mother is desperately trying to find me a partner.
Every time I get rejected, it subtly hurts my feelings...
So, I was dreading the "review session" by the ladies that was supposed to follow.
But unbelievably, during the engagement ceremony, Crown Prince Arios started talking about "annulling the engagement."
This...
This is going to get messy.
I was sure of it.
Tonight isn't about finding my future wife.
This engagement annulment will be the main topic.
At first, I watched the unfolding drama with excitement.
But gradually, it started to become unpleasant.
The reason was Crown Prince Arios.
He's just plain creepy.
His voice, trembling slightly as he's intoxicated with himself, is exquisitely repulsive.
He's just so self-absorbed.
My own elder brother is a Crown Prince, but he's nowhere near this creepy.
In fact, I'm proud of him. He's also a source of pride for our country.
But.
Is this acceptable for the Crown Prince of this country?
"Is this normal?" I wondered, looking around the cathedral.
Those in attendance were mainly the princesses and relatives of the Karaban Allied Kingdoms.
As the name "Allied Kingdoms" suggests, Karaban is made up of five kingdoms.
When an elected king dies, each kingdom elects a representative to decide who will be the next elected king.
The current elected king is Norris Giena Luminas.
The head of the Luminas Royal Family, one of the five royal families.
He is the biological father of Crown Prince Arios, who is loudly scolding a young girl in the middle of the cathedral's red carpet.
King Norris.
He is a distant relative of my mother, the Queen of the Kingdom of Tidros.
My mother married into Tidros as a sign of friendship.
Because of that connection, we were invited to this auspicious occasion of the Crown Prince's engagement ceremony.
Such attendees seemed rare.
Excluding my mother and me, there were only about three other groups not directly related to the Karaban Allied Kingdoms.
Well... perhaps Luminas Kingdom's dignity was maintained then.
Unknowingly, a wry smile played on my lips.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the Crown Prince's idiotic behavior was minimized from leaking to other countries.
I bet a gag order will be imposed when we leave.
"Furthermore, you repeatedly ignored Meil even when she spoke to you!" Crown Prince Arios declared, his voice particularly loud.
Whoa, that startled me.
I just shifted my gaze towards the Crown Prince of the neighboring country.
Crown Prince Arios stood in the center of the cathedral.
Facing him was his fiancée, Citoyen Barrymore, enveloped like a cocoon in her white silk veil.
And behind Crown Prince Arios was a girl named Meil Hearty, dressed in flamboyant attire.
She was a girl the Crown Prince had brought out from the attendees before he began his accusation, and the opulence of her dress was utterly out of place. It made her look like the fiancée herself.
From the disgruntled comments I overheard from attendees near me—"That's Meil. From the Harty baronial family," "Ah. The Crown Prince's lover, then"—it seemed she was a public mistress.
That made sense, I conceded.
That's definitely not the kind of dress a mere baron's daughter should be wearing. Her taste aside.
The girl named Meil, behind Crown Prince Arios, made herself small, clutching his sleeve and casting her eyes downward.
As if to say, "Poor Miss Citoyen," she would occasionally lift her head, her lips trembling as if she wanted to speak to Crown Prince Arios, but in the end, she would look down again.
That looked less like a humble demeanor.
And more like a thick-skinned actress.
After all, if she were truly timid, she would have fled under the glare of all those high-ranking men.
Yes.
Every single attendee was glaring at the Crown Prince and his lover.
And yet.
Crown Prince Arios was deluding himself.
He thought that cold gaze was still directed at Miss Citoyen. Meil did too.
But no one present would direct anger or disdain towards Miss Citoyen; if anything, they felt sympathy for her.
After all.
Enveloped in her cocoon, she was being verbally abused in front of the audience, yet she offered no rebuttal to Crown Prince Arios.
I thought she was enduring it patiently, but gradually, I felt that she was simply giving up.
It's useless to say anything.
Such resignation enveloped her along with her veil.
"Salu."
Called by a quiet voice, I blinked and looked beside me.
Mother, hiding her mouth with an open fan, was looking at me.
"Yes, Mother?"
"You still don't have a lover, do you?"
What's with the sudden question?
"That's... right," I stammered slightly.
"Not at the moment."
I answered honestly. In fact, I had my heart broken just before I turned twenty and was so fed up that I cried to Raoul, my adjutant. I told him that my appearance would only scare women away, never make me loved.
"I see."
What did she "see"?
When our eyes met, Mother hid her mouth with her fan and smiled like a young girl.
"Then let's take that young lady."
Mother said it with the casualness of someone asking, "Could you wrap this item for me?"
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
"Take" what?
"Mo... Mother..."
My words, about to continue with "ther," were cut off by Crown Prince Arios's grand declaration.
"I could never take someone with such an ugly heart as you as my wife! I hereby annul this engagement!"
He announced it loudly, puffing out his chest.
Oh, dear... He really messed up.
A stunned silence fell over the cathedral, filled with bewildered quiet and pity for King Norris, who had such a son.
"Besides,"
Crown Prince Arios choked back a laugh deep in his throat.
No, you shut up already.
Isn't there anyone with him? Shouldn't someone punch him and drag him out?
"Someone with your appearance, to be my fiancée..."
He spat it out.
A sudden tremor.
For the first time, I saw the white veil actually shake.
Even for a Crown Prince from another country, this statement couldn't be overlooked.
Something clicked inside me.
What kind of behavior is it to insult a woman's appearance in public?
"Retract that statement!"
Before I knew it, I was standing and saying that to Crown Prince Arios.