Outaishihi ni Nante Naritakunai!! Chapter 226
Childhood Friendâs Troubles
Holding the bundle in my hands, I sighed.
Itâs actually not that heavy, but it weighs heavily on my heart.
ââ Itâs a matter from just before.
I was called to Fatherâs office. Just like many ministers and commanders, Father who is the Foreign Minister has an office for his exclusive use.
To be honest I didnât want to talk to him, but told itâs an important story I couldnât not go. If itâs about national politics I canât ignore it as the Magician Division Commander.
ââŠEsteemed Father, I have comeâ
Granted permission to enter I went inside Fatherâs office while enduring a hazy feeling. Inside thereâs no one except Father, at a glance I understood he cleared it of people. It seems it wasnât a lie than itâs an important talk.
I spoke, wanting to quickly finish the talk.
âThen Esteemed Father, just what is that important talkâŠâ
âGlennâs marriage talks were broken offâ
Such were the words Father told me all of a sudden.
For a moment I didnât understand what was being said, then when I did I thought, âAh, I seeâ.
Father doesnât know, but itâs a famous story among us childhood friends that thereâs a certain woman my little brother has always had feelings for. I understand his womanizing tendencies are his reaction to the unfulfilled love. Of course, itâs not something praiseworthy.
But, I know the pain of an unrequited love. I canât indiscriminately condemn his actions⊠Still, I do sometimes criticize them to vent my anger.
Glenn understands more than enough that he canât marry that woman.
He understand it much better than me that eventually he will have to take as a wife a woman other than the one he loves.
So when I heard of his matchmaking a while ago, I only wondered if that time had come.
I donât feel pity for him. Because, sooner or later I will have no choice but to follow the same path.
Upon hearing that Glennâs marriage talks were broken off I asked Father.
âItâs unthinkable, but did Glenn refuse?â
âHe didnât. It was the other party. She said she couldnât marry Glenn no matter what, and Glenn too accepted thatâ
âI thought it was going well. But it didnât go as expectedâ
Father didnât break his discontent expression.
âWe were in a superior position. I tried questioning him for the reason, but that Glenn persisted that itâs his fault. It didnât seem like a lie⊠I decided to lay down my armsâ
Iâm probably overlapping my little brother with myself.
I feel extremely relieved that my little brotherâs time limit has been extended.
While I bit my lips to suppress my feelings from growing dark, Father said.
âGlenn has countless marriage proposals. Thereâs no need to be persistentâ
Father turned his eyes to the heap of files placed on the desk. I got a bad premonition.
Just as Iâd thought, Father easily said.
âGlennâs new marriage candidate. Something like this repeating would shame Pellegrini house. As an older brother, look over them once and recommend a few namesâ
âThey need to be carefully examined. You wouldnât want your younger brother to be talked about behind his back, rightâ
âT, that is true, butâŠâ
I grimaced at Fatherâs words to choose my little brotherâs marriage talks partners.
Father mustâve noticed my displeased face. He said.
âDonât think Iâm only talking about Glenn. More than half of those files are for you. White files are Glennâs, Will, the red ones are prepared for you. Of course, look over themâ
âHonestly, Iâm not in a hurry about Glenn. Who Iâm worried about is you, Willâ
Father glared at my face.
âYouâre so annoying I conceded that anybody is fine, and yet you donât even try to choose a partner. Do you understand. You are Pellegrini ducal houseâs heir. Like this I canât retire no matter how much time passesâ
â⊠I donât particularly desire the court rank. I hope Esteemed Father never retiresâ
These were my true feelings, but Father seemed to be displeased by my answer. He scowled.
âHis Highness Friedrich too is getting married. Donât think you can remain an unmarried man foreverâ
âDonât go too far with obstinacy. You havenât returned to the mansions recently⊠Both Glenn and you, why not think of following His Highnessâs example a little and obediently marryâ
⊠His Highness can marry a person he lovesââ!
Such words appeared in my throat.
I desperately swallowed them.
His Highness and I are different.
Certainly, His Highness may have resigned himself to the marriage at first. But, the fiancĂ©e he obtained as a result has become His Highness first love. Not only that, His Highnessâs love has even been fulfilled.
Wanting to make her his both in name and reality, His Highness is eager to marry as soon as possible, but I perfectly understand him.
If the partner was my beloved person, I too would want to marry her as soon as she became an adult.
However, ironically the person I love is the person His Highness loves⊠And that person â Lidi took his hand without hesitation.
The lovely bashful faces sheâs been showing particularly often recently tell of how happy she is more than anything.
The gaze she directs at His Highness is always sweet, His Highness too is very delighted to receive it.
Soldiers and court ladies all bless them.
Their happiness is transmitted through their attitude and the aura they give off. Everybody prays for that happiness to continue. Everybody looks forward to the wedding. They eagerly await the day she becomes a mother and becomes His Highnessâs Queen.
⊠Only I canât honestly be happy.
âWill! Answer. Honestly⊠Well, you donât have to say it immediately. Everybody is busy preparing for His Highnessâs marriage. Letâs talk in detail after that settles downâ
â⊠I do not feel like doing itâ
Me marrying once His Highnessâs wedding finishes?
Am I supposed to welcome a woman I donât desire right after seeing His Highness at the height of his happiness after obtaining Lidi.
I absolutely donât want that.
âWill, you are too selfishâ
I got irritated by Fatherâs words. Selfish? Who is being selfish here?
Isnât that Father for continuing to ignore my wish.
I understood the feelings I suppressed within swelled up.
âIf you want me to marry so much, I wish you had allowed me when I had desired toâ
âDid I not appeal many times that I want to marry her, Lidi! However, Esteemed Father persisted that I cannot. There was no problem with either social status or age difference! Just a single one, that Esteemed Father wasnât pleased with it!â
Father shouted, but that didnât matter.
âI wanted her. I desired her alone. Had you granted that, I wouldâve been satisfied!â
âPrincess Lidiana received the Kingâs Flower and is set to become His Highnessâs princess consort. Even before the wedding sheâs already recognized as a member of royalty in the Royal Castle. Donât say discourteous things like you want herâ
âThatâs why I had wanted her as my wife before that happened!â
Father raised his voice again.
But I wonât yield. I donât want to yield.
While scowling, I said to Father.
âAnyway, I do not want to have that conversation. I was told itâs an important talk, but no matter how I look at it, itâs absurdâ
âYeah, itâs absurd. My answer will always be noâ
âDo you not realize you are the heir to a ducal houseâ
â⊠Glenn can succeed it. I wonât insist on the status of a duke. Iâm fine with being the Magician Division Commander and the fact Iâm His Highnessâs close aideâ
â⊠Is that Princess so goodâ
Of course she is. Iâve always been telling Father that.
âI should have told you. I donât want anybody but her⊠My feeling will not changeâ
âAre you saying you want to steal His Highnessâs princess consortâ
I objected to Fatherâs words.
âShe does not have feelings for me. She can only see His Highness. Moreover, His Highness too truly loves her. What meaning would there be in me acting in such a situation? I want Lidi to be happy. If she is happy with His Highness, I⊠will bless them, nothing moreâ
Most importantly, on her chest is the Kingâs Flower. Itâs already settled she will be joined with His Highness in marriage.
During past few months Iâve been made to realize that, so much I hate it.
â⊠Do you mean to say you will remain unmarried for the whole life. I canât allow it. Stop pointlessly strugglingâ
â⊠Something like what I will do. My current emotions are too much for me, I cannot possibly see what will happen in the futureâ
When I told so with self-derision, Father let out a large breath.
â⊠It seems we both need the time to calm down. Anyway, take these files. Even leaving you aside, I want to get at least Glenn engagedâ
Father must still have things to say to me. But, I know we wonât reach an agreement and itâs not the place for such a drawn-out talk.
Because I didnât want to start over despite withdrawing, I only reluctantly received the files.