Chapter 3
#03
As with most evening banquets, the occasion was tedious, and I was kept busy listening to the old men's stories of the past.
It might have been a waste to spend three hours getting ready for such an event, but I was already beyond such sentiments.
Instead, I nodded at their words, offered elegant smiles of understanding as if I knew everything, and occasionally voiced my agreement.
These dull old men, living in the past, all held important positions in the Empire, and maintaining good relations with them was a natural duty for me, the future Duchess.
"Lord Wendsbury's stories are always fascinating, as always."
It was only natural that his stories were fascinating. With each telling of his heroic tales, the number of enemies he faced grew.
The first time I heard the story, he had faced seven enemies alone, but over time, the number had increased to thirty-three. It was quite intriguing to see how much further it would grow.
If the number continued to increase until his death, Lord Wendsbury would become a legendary hero who single-handedly defeated an army of 500,000.
"Ah ha ha ha! Is that so? To hear such praise from a beautiful lady makes me feel quite elated!"
"You have every right to be elated. After all, you are Lord Wendsbury, the most renowned swordsman in the Empire."
As I praised him, he beamed with pleasure, and I returned his smile.
"While my name may be the most famous now, I am a setting star. The rising star in the Empire is none other than Lord Wincaiser, right here."
He said, pointing to Ricardo, who was quietly sitting next to me, sipping red wine.
"You flatter me."
"Ha ha! Such modesty and reticence remind me of my younger days. Ha ha ha!"
For a moment, his comment almost shattered my perfect smile, but I barely managed to maintain my composure, offering an elegant smile and a nod.
"The Empire's greatest swordsman and the Empire's greatest beauty. The best couple I've ever seen in my life."
At Lord Wendsbury's words, the people around nodded in agreement.
"You flatter me."
In truth, I thought so too, but I merely said it modestly.
"Oh, my, even your answers are the same, and you're only engaged! Truly a match made in heaven!"
"Oh, did I?"
Everyone burst into laughter at his words, and so did I. Of course, my response was intentional.
"So, when are you two planning to hold the official wedding ceremony?"
That was a question I was also curious about.
At first, I thought it would be after my Debutante. Then, I thought it would be after he returned from the war, and then, after I turned twenty.
But my twentieth birthday had already passed three months ago, and there was still no news from the Wincaiser Family.
My anxious mother considered contacting the Duke's family, but my father told her to remain patient for the sake of appearances.
And I sided with my father.
Ricardo's partner was naturally me. I had grown up believing so since childhood, and our engagement, arranged in our youth, included my own wishes in addition to the family's agreement.
To become an excellent Duchess and Ricardo's beautiful wife.
That was my long-held wish, my natural life, and my future.
"Someday, we will."
At Ricardo's dry response, even I couldn't maintain my smile this time. The corners of my lips, which had been raised, lowered without my realizing it, and my gaze, which had been on Lord Wendsbury, turned to Ricardo.
He was expressionless, as if talking about someone else's story. He wasn't looking at me. He wasn't looking at anyone.
He was staring at some corner of the table, putting down the wine glass he was holding, and speaking as if he had heard a story from a stranger.
"Isn't it a promise between families that must be kept?"
Suddenly, a passage from a book flashed through my mind.
Could it be...?
I bit my lip without realizing it.
"Yes. Promises and trust are the most important virtues for a swordsman."
As if trying to break the awkward silence, Lord Wendsbury spoke, and several people nodded.
Marriages based on mutual restraint and trust between families, rather than love, were not uncommon among nobles.
So, Ricardo's words weren't entirely wrong.
But... I...
"Now, let's raise a toast to this beautiful couple. Everyone, fill your glasses."
At Lord Wendsbury's words, I quickly smiled and raised my glass.
I smiled more brightly than a flower, but a thorn-like anxiety was growing in my heart.
"Can we talk for a moment?"
After the evening banquet, I spoke to Ricardo in the carriage on the way back.
His seat was always opposite mine. Not sitting side by side like lovers, but opposite me at a certain distance. Or on the opposite side.
"Go ahead."
It might have been because I was feeling twisted, but Ricardo's attitude now was, 'If you insist on speaking, I'll listen.'
"What you said at the banquet earlier."
"..."
"About our wedding."
"..."
Even after bringing up the topic, Ricardo's face remained expressionless.
For a moment, I wondered if I had been mistaken about him all along.
Until now, I had thought of him as simply a taciturn person, a man of few words.
A person who spent more time with his sword than with people, so he was awkward in human relationships.
To be honest, I thought that aspect of him was also admirable. I thought a taciturn man like Ricardo was much cooler than a man who babbled on and on.
Also, since he was such a man, I thought it was my natural duty to build relationships with people, expand my network, and support him in place of him, who would become the next Duke.
But seeing him now, I wondered if that might not be the case.
I wondered if he wasn't a taciturn man, but simply had nothing to say because he wasn't interested.
Perhaps the same was true for me.
"It takes a lot of time to prepare, so it would be helpful for our side if you could give us a heads-up in advance."
I spoke calmly, as if setting a predetermined schedule.
I didn't press him on when the wedding would be held because of my pride. I didn't ask if our engagement was truly just a promise between families, also because of my pride.
"Is that so?"
That was all.
Ricardo simply turned his head again and stared indifferently out the window. As if he had no interest.
For a moment, my fist clenched tightly. It felt like my pride, which I had barely been holding onto, was crumbling under my grip.
"Are you even going to do it?"
In the end, anxiety won over pride.
"I suppose so."
It was clearly a statement that we would get married, but I felt the last bit of pride crumbling into pieces at his answer.
"What you're saying now is..."
Suddenly, I stopped speaking. It was because a passage from a book flashed through my mind again.
The same passage that had come to mind at the banquet earlier.
Bianca, trembling, shouted at Ricardo, holding a fan in her hand.
"You clearly said you would marry me!"
"It meant that it would happen because it was a promise between families."
"Isn't it the same now? The promise between the Wincaiser Family and the Croford Family is still valid, and you are still my fiancé."
"No. Not anymore."
"What?"
"Because we're going to break off the engagement."
Unlike the shocked Bianca, Ricardo was calmly looking at her.
Bianca's expression, distorted by shock, was ugly. No one would call her the flower of the Empire after seeing her face now.
Thinking that our engagement was just a promise between families was the same as Ricardo now. And judging from Bianca's lines in the book, the same situation must have happened before.
The Bianca in the book asked if he would marry her, and the Ricardo in the book said that it would happen.
"Ricardo."
I called him quietly.
"..."
"..."
"...Speak."
When I called him and said nothing, he spoke without even looking at me.
As if he would listen.
As if the darkness outside, where nothing could be seen, was more interesting than my face, which was said to be the most beautiful in the Empire.
It felt like I was finally seeing things that I hadn't been able to see because I had been blinded by something.
"The dog you raised when you were young."
"How do you know about that?"
Because I saw it in the book.
From Maria's eyes, which looked at him with infinite trust, Ricardo was reminded of the dog he had raised when he was young. Her kind and clear eyes resembled that child.
Endlessly lovely, endlessly trusting, and endlessly following him.
It would be rude to call a woman dog-like, but he couldn't help it.
The only being Ricardo had ever given trust to and loved for the first time was that dog.
"I heard about it."
Ignoring his suspicious gaze, I simply spoke as if it were nothing.
"From whom?"
"Does it matter?"
"..."
"I was thinking that if we lived together, it would be nice to raise the same kind of dog."
"That's out of the question."
Ricardo refused outright.
Just like in the book.
"Oh, how pitiful."
Maria, hearing about the death of his kindest friend from his childhood, said with tears in her eyes.
For her, who was kind and loved animals, the death of a puppy was heartbreaking.
"Then, when we live together, let's raise the same puppy."
As if comforting his past wounds, Maria pulled Ricardo's face towards her and hugged him.
Ricardo smiled without realizing it, feeling good from Maria's comfortable heartbeat.
"No, I won't raise the same dog."
"Why? You liked that dog."
Maria asked with wide eyes.
"Why? You liked that dog."
I asked him, feeling the tips of my fingers growing cold.
"Another dog can't replace that dog. Being someone's replacement is an unhappy thing."
Ricardo replied.
"Another dog can't replace that dog. Being someone's replacement is an unhappy thing."
Ricardo replied.
