Outaishihi ni Nante Naritakunai!! Chapter 432
She and the Morning of the Ninth Day
The morning of the ninth day in Irvine.
I was invited by the Queen to a tea party she hosted.
Wearing a fine dress, I visited the Queen’s room.
I had my hair in a half-updo today. I didn’t wear it in an updo because I had Freed’s marks remaining on the nape of my neck from last night.
“… Really, I wish he’d stop putting on his marks.”
It’s fine if I can hide them with a dress, but I wish he’d avoid places like the nape of my neck. I always ask for that, yet he never listens. Even if I think it’s okay at the moment, when I look in the mirror on the next day, I see the number of hickeys increase.
Freed is happy as they’re the signs of him embracing me, but has he forgotten that I have proof of being his shining on the left side of my chest? Honestly, it’s troublesome having a highly possessive husband.
Now then, this and that aside, this is the second tea party hosted by the Queen.
I didn’t expect to be invited for the second time, so I was surprised, but I was honestly happy about it.
By the way, Freed left early in the morning with Brother. There’ll be a farewell party tonight; he was lamenting that he’d be busy finishing various things until then.
I had no particular plans before the evening party, so I was thinking of talking to Ilya, but when I received the Queen’s invitation, I agreed to it without hesitation.
I hadn’t made any promises with Ilya, so it was natural to accept the invitation that came first.
Be that as it may, it seemed I didn’t need to invite Ilya.
The reason is, Ilya was among the invitees this time.
I, Raid, and Ilya were attending the tea party of four hosted by the Queen.
It was a gorgeous tea party with the assembled female royalty of Irvine, but I hadn’t heard Ilya would be here, so when I entered the room and saw her, my eyes went round.
Ilya was wearing a lovely dress of her usual taste. Her expression was full of nervousness and anxiety. There was Raid dressed like a man on her side. Then the moment Ilya saw me, she relaxed.
“Ilya. You were also invited?”
“Yes. This morning I was suddenly invited by the Queen. It’d never happened before, so I was surprised, but um… His Highness encouraged me to go.”
“But when I came, Lady Ophelia was also here, so I was really troubled. I’m glad you came, Lidi.”
As Ilya smiled in heartfelt relief, I tilted my head and asked.
“… Ilya, haven’t you become friends with Raid?”
Told that, Ilya said, “Because,” and flushed.
In fact, it was only two days ago when I learned that she was Raid’s fan and they talked about becoming friends.
“… Lady Ophelia is an author I admire, right? I’m so embarrassed that I can’t really talk with her…”
The day before yesterday she agreed to becoming friends with the momentum, but after cooling off, her feelings changed to awe.
For Ilya, Raid is a respected writer. Becoming friends with such a person may be beyond her wildest dreams.
Be that as it may, Raid is Ilya’s little sister-in-law before being a writer. I don’t think it’s good to be nervous around your sister-in-law.
“Ilya. Raid will be troubled if you treat her like this forever.”
“… I understand that. But…”
Her nervousness made it impossible, huh.
Seeing Ilya shiver with her face flushed, I realized it was hopeless, so I took her hand and decided we’d go to Raid together.
“Ilya, let’s go together.”
“Lidi… Yes, I’ll be happy to do that.”
She seems to have realized she shouldn’t run away. I grasped her hand, and Ilya tightly grasped mine back.
We headed towards the Queen and Raid together. Seeing us holding hands, they smiled wryly.
“Queen, thank you for the invitation.”
I greeted the organizer and sat on the seat recommended by the Queen. Immediately, court ladies came in and set up the prepared tea.
There was also coffee today. Star-shaped chocolates were served as sweets. They seemed to have milk chocolate exterior with coffee ganache inside and looked very delicious.
Same as the last time, the Queen had the court ladies withdraw. Only the four of us remained in the room. The Queen turned to Ilya.
“I thought that we hadn’t talked much, so I invited you today.”
Ilya stiffened from nervousness.
I’ve heard that Ilya fundamentally remains shut in her room, so she doesn’t interact with the Queen much.
As anxiety over what she’d be told showed in Ilya’s eyes, the Queen told her nonchalantly.
“You’re a beastman, aren’t you?”
Ilya gasped at those words.
I reflexively looked at Raid. She met my eyes and nodded to show it would be alright.
Since my friend told me so, I decided to keep silent and peeked at the Queen and Ilya.
The Queen looked composed; on the contrary, Ilya was trembling. It felt like she had no idea what she should do.
“I heard from Hendrik yesterday. I sincerely apologize for that child making you go along with his selfishness.”
Ilya turned her face to the Queen. While looking at Ilya, the Queen said apologetically.
“I understand the reason why that child kept your identity a secret until now. Regrettably, discrimination against beastmen remains firmly rooted in Irvine. A riot would be inevitable if the Crown Prince in a country like ours had a beastman consort. It’s truly deplorable.”
“That child declared to us yesterday. That he wouldn’t accept anybody but you. That he didn’t want to take a concubine to produce an heir. That if he was forced to do that, he’d leave the country together with you at once. Hendrik said all that.”
The Queen giggled while remembering that. Then she looked at Ilya with a sharp glint in her eyes.”
“Thus, I have a question for you. My son has said that he can give up everything for you. In fact, he intends to do that. What can you give back to him?”
“Since that child says he won’t have children with anybody except you, he can’t be allowed to remain the Crown Prince. The reason is that this country requires a successor. You understand that, don’t you?”
“A beastman consort might still be possible. However, the resulting half-beastman child cannot become a king in the current Irvine. The country would lapse into chaos. Completely changing the public perception in a decade or two is a mere pipe dream. The person at the top of the country must recognize that reality. It might be possible for a beastman to be a king one day, but the foundation for that hasn’t been laid in Irvine yet. We cannot naïvely let a beastman become a crown prince and ruin the country. Therefore, in the near future we’ll have that child step back from the position of the crown prince. Ophelia will be made the successor. Ophelia will become a queen regnant and take a prince consort. Then the child Ophelia gives birth to will become the next king… Do you understand all this is happening because you married that child? After disturbing the country so much, will you just tremble while being protected by that child?”
The Queen’s tone wasn’t reproachful.
She was just asking Ilya, ‘What can you do?’
With this chapter, I’ve at long last caught up with the web novel raws. It’s been a truly amazing and sweet journey, and I’m glad with all my heart I picked up Outaishihi. New chapters release more or less once a week, and I’ll be translating them as soon as possible.
Next, I’ll be translating a what-if novel where Lidi and Freed met as children. Since it’s not as neatly divided as the web novel, I’ll only post it whenever I deem appropriate, so please bear with me.
I’ll also be picking back up as a sort of filler for days I have nothing else to post, so feel free to check it out too.
Lastly, for updates about Outaishihi, to leisurely chat, or for whatever other reason, !