Chapter 11
11. If You Don’t Want It, Then I Won’t2021.10.07.
Reina stammered.
“Arthur…… Sir Arthur. Um…….”
Arthur scooped Reina up lightly into his arms and headed toward the bed. Reina fell into a panic. What do I do? What should I do? I know this is all part of the act, including that. But. But. Not yet. I’m not ready. It’s not my first time, but still. Doing it because I was ordered to and ending up like this after I seductively suggested we be alone together are completely different. Lady Christina really won’t let me get away with this. Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes. I’m scared. I’ve been trying my best to do exactly as I’m told. But if this happens, it’ll look like I’m the one coveting Sir Arthur and stealing Lady Christina’s man. I did briefly step into Lady Christina’s bridal chamber, but nothing happened. I felt relieved this morning, thinking I could say that.
“…….”
Suddenly, sorrow overwhelmed her, and tears spilled out. Just calm down for a moment. Just get past this situation. Sir Arthur must have noticed too. Why isn’t anyone coming to get me?
“……Hey.”
His footsteps stopped, and Arthur’s flustered voice rang out. Hiccup. Hiccup. Reina tried desperately to hold back her tears, but she couldn’t hide the violent heaving of her chest each time she swallowed a sob.
“……Are you crying?”
She hadn’t even cried on their actual first night. To cry now of all times. Reina tried to stifle her sobs, thinking her lie about wanting to be alone with him would look too obvious, but in the end, she covered her pathetic, contorted face.
“…….”
Arthur awkwardly sat on the edge of the bed while still holding her. Then, he patted her back soothingly, as if to comfort her.
“Why are you crying?”
She knew it wasn’t sincere…… but she hadn’t expected it to affect her like this. Arthur’s hand patted her awkwardly.
“Don’t cry.
I won’t do anything.”
* * * 【 The Century’s Couple Reunites! 】 【 Triumphal Procession Night — The Most Grand Street Festival in History Sweeps Through Marquis Julius Territory 】 【 The Reason Their Marriage Was Only Known as an Engagement: Sir Arthur’s Consideration for His Past Reputation? 】 【 House Julius Remains Silent 】
“They kept the marriage secret back then because of his own reputation, right?”
“Oh my god, look at this. Some say he kept it secret because he might die in war…… Ah, it makes me so upset. He’s too good for our lady…….”
“People did say it was a loss for House Julius back then. Emperor’s bastard, all that talk. The imperial family didn’t acknowledge him and pretended not to know, so Sir Arthur’s reputation was at its worst…….”
“Anyway, the imperial family was too much. They really need to treat Sir Arthur right.”
【 Historic Midnight Triumphal Procession! Beautiful Night Views of Marquis Julius Territory 】 【 Sir Arthur and Lady Christina Waving Hands at the Triumphal Procession 】 【 Sir Arthur & Christina Couple, Princess Carry Homecoming! Newlyweds Flaunt Their Passion! 】 【 Sir Arthur Personally Carries Lady Christina in His Arms Amid Cheers, Returning to the Mansion — Eyewitness Illustrations Included! 】 【 Sir Arthur and Lady Christina: Political Marriage or True Romance!? 】 【 Special Feature, ‘Julius & Arthur’ — Who Benefited from This Marriage? 】
“Pfft. Still, our Lady Christina won’t lose out to Sir Arthur. Our lady has the top beauty in high society, you know. And her family has the most money in the empire.”
“Since when is she ‘our lady’? You were badmouthing Lady Christina, saying she’s impossibly picky.”
【 Julius Signs Exclusive Moonstone Supply Contract with Imperial Research Institute! 】 【 Julius Dramatically Resolves Stalemate in Saran Strait Fishing Rights Negotiations! 】 【 Julius Wins Exclusive Mining Rights Dispute for Magic Stones! 】
“Heh heh. Of course affection would blossom even if there wasn’t any before, right? With Sir Arthur’s victory news spreading and Marquis Julius becoming an Elector, all the businesses in this territory are booming big time. Everyone doing business here probably wants to kiss up to the marquis right now?”
“That much?
“Don’t even ask. All the competing bids and supply contracts from other territories? Julius snatched them all up. Everyone’s going crazy trying to break into deals with Julius. They’ve all caught on that the imperial family is giving Julius unprecedented treatment. The sharp ones have already started aggressively expanding their businesses.”
【 Julius’s Economic Gains from the ‘Arthur Special’ Cannot Be Simply Quantified 】 【 Julius, Major Boom! 】 【 Special Feature — Analysis of Arthur & Christina’s Triumphal Procession Attire 】 【 Lady Christina’s Pearl Earrings the Talk of the Town! 】 【 Lady Christina’s Dress, Orders Flooding In! Reservations at Latria Shop! 】 * * *
“No cutting in line! Hey, come on!”
Even the newspapers were in a boom, which you could feel right in the square. All sorts of gazettes and papers were selling like hotcakes, and people lined up at gazette stalls to buy the ones featuring Arthur’s stories. The gazettes detailing Sir Arthur and Lady Christina’s ‘princess carry homecoming’ in detail had sold out early, with notices saying the afternoon reprint would be available later, so please wait. The shortage wasn’t limited to temple-issued gazettes. Even after tripling the print run, the first morning batch had sold out, and with additional handwritten copies released in time for afternoon mass, people were lining up at the distribution points, paying donations to buy the extras. The temple was enjoying a golden boom with donations several times the usual amount. The monks handwriting copies deserved condolences for their wrists.
“What? The reprints are already sold out?”
A young lady who had lined up to buy a gazette made a pouty face when stock ran out right in front of her. The man right ahead of her, who had snatched the last copy, wiped sweat from his brow and let out a sigh of relief. His side was stuffed with today’s popular gazettes of all kinds. The man tucked the gazette into his bag. The young lady stared longingly at the gazettes he held, then spotted a rare one through a gap in his bag—with an illustration by Lady Settledown—and her eyes widened. Gazettes with illustrations originally sold at higher prices, but those with Lady Settledown’s artwork were printed in limited numbers, making them hard to get even at several times the markup. Above all, they were limited editions with no reprints.
“Excuse me! Sorry, but those gazettes……!”
She was quite a pretty young lady, but the man didn’t bat an eye and refused politely with a courteous smile.
“Sorry, no can do. These are for a ‘real collector.’”
At the word ‘sell,’ the young lady’s eyes lit up instead. If it’s for sale and not personal collection, then maybe I have a chance!
“How much? I have money! I’ll pay double!”
But by the time she fumbled for her pouch, the man was already far away.
“……Ah! Wait! I’ll pay double! I can do triple!”
The man—Taylor, son of Alvin Lorenson, House Julius’s family physician—didn’t look back as he dashed off.
‘Who sells to just anyone for money? I said only to real collectors.’
Taylor snorted dismissively. Then, thinking of the customer who would receive this gazette, he smiled a bit differently.
“…….”
Reina Astalin. His customer. That girl was a ‘real collector.’ Not the type swept up in fads, collecting gazettes briefly before forgetting where they were stashed or throwing away what they’d gathered. A true collector. She’d been sincerely collecting them for over three years now. Taylor thought that precious collectibles should go to someone who would truly cherish them for a long time. If people caught up in trends made competition fierce, leaving true collectors unable to get what they wanted, wouldn’t that be unfair? But with a guy like me around, that won’t happen. Taylor grinned. She’ll be thrilled to get these gazettes, right? He knew well how much she treasured that scrapbook. He’d never seen inside since she never showed her collection to others, but he could guess what was in it. Whenever he handed her gazettes, her eyes always lingered in the same places as she flipped through them. She’d been pretty excited looking at the recent ones. He could picture her face, delighted and at a loss for words over the gazettes. She never just took them for free, so she’d fidget awkwardly, looking troubled, and ask how much for all this. How much should he charge so she could take them without burden? No financial strain, no emotional guilt. He needed to name a fair price. Humming to himself, Taylor quickened his steps toward the Marquis Julius mansion. Reina was a beauty even at rest, but when she got the gazettes she wanted and that rare expression others never saw appeared—that was when she was truly beautiful. The thrill of seeing that happy face kept him from quitting this foolish act of scouring around and pretending he’d ‘found it by chance’ despite all the legwork.
“…….”
Suddenly, Taylor’s expression darkened as he looked at the illustration of ‘Christina Julius’ in the gazette he held. He naturally recalled the story he’d heard from the maids. The day before Sir Arthur’s return, Reina had been summoned at dawn as Lady Christina’s personal attendant. He’d heard it from another maid while searching for Reina, who hadn’t been seen for the past two days. ……I’m worried. Is she suffering under that picky lady? Being a personal attendant makes it hard to slip away even briefly. I wonder if she’s eating properly on time.
“…….”
……Tch. Taylor glared at the annoying young lady comfortably cradled in Sir Arthur’s arms in the gazette. When would Reina be able to come out? * * *
Reina sat on the bed, sniffling with her nose red from lingering sobs. Arthur sat beside her, expressionless. As if simply waiting quietly for her to calm down. After a long while passed. Reina gazed down at her fingertips resting on her lap and began to worry about what face Arthur was making.
“…….”
He’s probably angry, or at least finds me pathetic or ridiculous. She lacked the courage to look at his face. Reina fell into gloomy silence. Arthur spoke.
“The first night was an obligation, but anything beyond that isn’t.”
“…….”
“So if you don’t want it, then I won’t.”
“…….”
That’s not the issue. I’m not your real wife. You know that, right?
“…….”
He was so polite it sometimes made her misjudge things. To the point where she occasionally wondered if he mistook her for the ‘real Lady Christina.’ Reina stealthily rolled only her eyes to偷 peeks at Arthur.
“Finally gracing me with a look.”
Arthur leaned against the bed headboard and smiled. Looking straight ahead calmly. ……He didn’t meet her gaze. So Reina could偷 peek at him a little longer.
