It’s the morning of the war. Kami-sama gave me a whole day off.
I was brimming with more energy than usual as I fixed my appearance, and now I nodded as I faced the mirror.
‘Perfect! Dress is great! Hairstyle okay! Let’s go for victory!!’
My reflection was enthusiastically staring at me in the mirror, as if I was ready to go to the battlefield. Well, that’s understandable.
It’s a war, after all.
Today’s the long-awaited meeting with Eric!
My next step will be determined by the results of our discussion.
‘I’ll be fine! I already did what I can!’
My days had been quite hectic here at the Shrine, but still, I had been steadily preparing for this day, for this meeting.
I kept on pestering Father to take action, sent countless letters to Eric, and appealed to Count and Countess Cervan — Eric’s parents — to do something about this. I even got my sister involved.
‘Well, should I say that the cat’s already out of the bag! She’ll discover it sooner or later anyway, I’m not home after all!’
Even if I already cut ties with my family, I still exchanged letters with my elder sister from time to time.
And because that abruptly came to an end, Elder Sis would definitely become suspicious.
When I told her everything that happened, she went to hound Father for answers, it seemed.
Thanks to her, Father’s reply that had been full of ‘giving in’ turned a dramatic 180 turn.
He suddenly wanted to hold a discussion, even going so far as saying Eric’s comments were suspicious.
<b>“This engagement was agreed upon by both the House of Cervan and House of Cladir in the first place. How dare he break this engagement at his own discretion? And what the heck is he talking about, demanding us to pay alimony!?”</b>
…was written in his letter, but I already told him this before, and countless of times, at that. He never listened to me, but his attitude turned a 180 as soon as my duchess sister interfered. Just how shameless is he?
In short, Father doesn’t really care a dime which side is right — if it’s between Eric and me he would definitely choose Eric, and between Eric and the House of Duke, he’d go the duke’s side.
‘Well, I don’t care anymore. I’m going to bombard Father with complaints after this.’
Anyhow, anyway, my nuisance of a father finally became my ally.
Count and Countess Cervan seemed displeased by their son’s arbitrary breaking of engagement, it seemed.
They agreed with this discussion to see if there was any way for us to reconcile, given that it wouldn’t look good if the engagement was called off so soon before marriage.
‘Father, Uncle and Aunty Cervan and even my elder sister are all on my side!’
Aside from Eric and me, Father and Count Cervan would also participate in this discussion.
I couldn’t leave the Shrine, so they chose a room within the Shrine.
We’re not in our own homes, so nobody should be able to disturb us, and we would be able to discuss this smoothly.
‘This will definitely turn out well. The situation’s looking great, after all!’
It would be impossible for me to fail. I clenched my fists.
Father and Count Cervan are here for me, so Eric had to convince them all on his own.
In short, it would be 3 vs 1.
Sure win.
‘Just you wait, Eric! I’ll definitely make you regret that you broke our engagement just because you’ve been tempted by Amalda!’
I would definitely make Eric withdraw his request to cancel the engagement.
I would make him grovel in snot and tears — if he really felt remorse, that is.
‘Fix the engagement, and get married…right?’
The wedding date had already been set. It’s on my 18th birthday.
If all goes well with this discussion, then I’ll marry him after a month.
“……………..”
The me inside the mirror batted her eyes in confusion.
I had imagined my wedding to Eric countless of times, but for some reason, I couldn’t recall it now.
‘No.’
I shook my head and averted my gaze from the mirror.
‘I’ve been looking forward to this wedding for the longest time ever.’
I slapped my cheeks in an attempt to clear my mind.
The discussion we’re about to have was way more important than this.
I raised my head and took a deep breath in an attempt to shake off all doubts.
“Alright, let’s go!! Just wait for your execution, Eric!”
I will definitely, definitely make you cry!!
Yes, that’s the plan — make him cry.
I had all the advantages.
Inside the room in the Shrine —
I still have those before I stepped inside the room that we rented for discussion.
Father, Eric and Count Cervan were already inside the room.
However, nobody even glanced my way when I stepped in.
Everyone was focused on — somebody else, another person who wasn’t supposed to be here.
Everything went spinning as I felt a bout of dizziness the moment I saw the giggling girl surrounded by the three men.
I had prepared long and hard for this meeting.
There were only four participants. Both the House of Cladir and House of Cervan promised not to bring any unrelated person here.
That’s why this time, I persuaded my sister to abstain from attending, and yet —
“….Why”
I raised my trembling voice towards the four people that had their back on me.
Everything will be alright — I could no longer think of it as such.
“Why is Amalda here!!!”
——— T/N: Tuesday chapter! 🙂 Just came across the Cladir. It seems like it’s more sophisticated, more aristocratic than Kuradeel, don’t you think? And so, I’ll be using this from now on hehe.. Sorry, her surname appears so infrequently that I think it’s still okay to change it hehehe.
It’s just… Eleanor, dear, marriage is a lifelong event, you know. You already know how despicable this guy is, so why bother to make your life miserable just for the sake of a loveless marriage? You already have the opportunity to break free from this scum. There are a lot of other guys out there (ehem Kami-sama) who can make you genuinely happy, you know 🙁 So although it’s annoying that Amalda is here, her presence is actually a relief, a means to an end with Eric, and a catalyst to get our couple together, at least for me. Your thoughts?
Hi everyone, Hanazakura here, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hungry for more? Great news! You can read 5 chapters in advance for as low as $3 at Patreon 🙂