17 - My Husband is My Favorite, But I Think I'm Going to Get Divorced
Chapter 17
I stared at Alexis with a sullen look, then averted my gaze, realizing my mistake.
“I’m sorry, Father.”
The Duke looked puzzled.
“What is it, ah…….”
Then, a beat later, he frowned.
“Evgenia, I would have been angrier if you had stood there like a fool and said nothing. Well done!”
Even though His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince had given cause, I thought I would be scolded for laying hands on royalty so rashly.
But instead of being scolded, I was praised. I was a little taken aback, realizing that Evgenia hadn't been recklessly reckless for no reason.
“Is it okay for you to say that? I laid hands on royalty, no less. What if His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince takes issue with it later? If His Majesty the Emperor finds out, our House might be in trouble…….”
“How much could a weak young lady like you hurt him by hitting him? Besides, he’s a Sword Master called a war hero, so at best, it would have been like a bug tickling him!”
“…….”
“Anyway, if he has any conscience, he won’t dare to make an issue of it. And the House Basilian won’t be shaken by something like that. His Majesty the Emperor also knows what our House means to the Elios Empire.”
As the meritorious family that supports one axis of the Empire and the leader of the representative Emperor faction, the Duke spoke confidently.
But thinking about how the House Basilian eventually collapsed because of Evgenia in the novel, I could only feel sorry.
‘Well, that won’t happen now.’
……Unlike what I thought so resolutely, strangely, the aftertaste wasn’t clean.
I shook my head to shake off the unpleasant feeling.
“Then that’s a relief. But I didn’t do anything right either, so I hope it passes quietly.”
Lionel, who seemed ready to send a letter of protest to the Imperial Family, clicked his tongue at my words.
Feeling self-conscious, I avoided his eyes and finally brought up the real point I wanted to discuss with the Duke today.
“I just want to hurry up the marriage, as I said before.”
“……Has your decision wavered?”
“Not at all. Rather, seeing His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince today has made me even more determined.”
As if trying to grasp my true intentions, the Duke stared at me intently.
Lionel, who always doubted my words, nodded, seemingly very angry at the Crown Prince’s words and actions.
The Duke, reading my resolute gaze, sighed softly.
“I’m glad to hear that. As it happens, what I was going to tell you was exactly that.”
“That would be……?”
“The reply to the marriage proposal has arrived.”
“……!”
Finally!
Was I holding my breath without realizing it? A burst of overwhelming breath escaped, but I clenched my fists tightly and held it in.
I wanted to raise both hands and shout, but I couldn’t show that I was happy here!
“Did he…… accept it?”
There’s the flow of the original story, and I’m almost certain that he had no choice due to the circumstances, but I asked because I wanted to hear the answer properly to be relieved, and the Duke scoffed.
“Of course. What man wouldn’t welcome you with open arms as his bride?”
“…….”
I take back what I said about him being a calculating merchant.
It seems like his judgment is clouded when it comes to family, I shook my head inwardly and stroked my pounding heart.
The thought that all that was left was to marry Euclid made my lips dry.
Then the Duke frowned.
“By the way, I was dissatisfied because I wondered why the reply was so late, but when I looked at the date of the signature, it was done on the day the marriage proposal arrived.”
Signature? Does that mean there’s a document with Euclid’s autograph in this Ducal House?
My heart fluttered at the unexpected merchandise, and I grabbed the hem of my skirt, and the Duke continued sullenly.
“Apparently, they sent a person in a regular carriage, so it took more than three days to arrive in the capital. Tsk, even though they’re a family that has produced magicians for generations, they don’t even have a Magic Carriage. Well, even if they did, the Magic Tower has drastically increased the price of Magic Stone these days, so they probably can’t afford to buy it.”
At that moment, forgetting what was fluttering, I swallowed a groan.
I was also anxious waiting for the reply to the marriage proposal, but to think there was such a situation.
I knew he was poor, but thinking about Euclid living in such dire circumstances that he was being pitied made me so upset.
Perhaps this feeling was revealed on my face. The Duke, seeing my tearful face, paused and said.
“Evgenia, don’t worry. I’ll prepare plenty of Magic Carriages so you can ride comfortably when you go, and even there.”
“……Just carriages?”
“Of course not! We have to pack plenty of Magic Stones too.”
There was no need to refuse, so I raised the corners of my lips with a bright expression. Then I asked carefully.
“Um, then could you send one to the Ludion Ducal Family in advance? I think he’ll need it when he comes up to the capital.”
Honestly, two days is too long. I felt sorry for Euclid, who would suffer on the road riding in a carriage, so I said that, and the Duke nodded, saying he hadn’t thought of that.
“Evgenia, I didn’t realize you had such a meticulous side. I was worried that you were living without proper Royal Knight, and you’ve already chosen a knight to take with you after the marriage. I looked into it, and the evaluation within the knighthood is good.”
“……Yes?”
“Ahem. I heard it was the knight who was guarding the front door when I told you to stay confined last time, did you see him favorably then?”
“Oh…… yes.”
Suddenly, incomprehensible words followed, but instead of making a surprised expression, I nodded.
The Duke, who was smiling contentedly, suddenly sighed.
“I thought I could finally get along with you, so I was thinking of just having an engagement ceremony and postponing the wedding for about a year…….”
Huh?
“Seeing that you’ve finished all these preparations, it seems you’ve made up your mind. So I’ll have to give in to you.”
I was finally relieved by the Duke’s words following the thunderbolt-like muttering.
I felt like I was going between hell and heaven for a moment.
“As I said before, I want to have it as soon as possible. There’s no need for anything grand, and it’s okay to have it modestly with just family members.”
“But it’s the wedding of the Basillian Duchess, no less…….”
“That doesn’t matter at all. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince is said to be going on a campaign, so I want to leave the capital before he returns.”
So I hope I don’t have to see the Crown Prince’s face when he comes back!
I strongly expressed my opinion once more, putting plenty of hope in that, and the Duke said, managing his regretful expression with effort.
“Evgenia, if that’s what you want. I’ll have to contact the temple right away. That’s the fastest wedding ceremony…….”
I vaguely remembered a story in the original work that Evgenia and Euclid had a simple ceremony at the temple, so I was about to nod when.
“Wait a minute! Marriage?”
Like a jagged stone in a smoothly flowing conversation, Alexis suddenly popped out.
At his question, my family and I blinked.
Frustrated, Alexis shouted.
“What is all this about?!”
“Why are you raising your voice? You should know if you’ve been listening.”
“No, I mean! Melissa clearly said she refused. But what’s with the marriage?!”
Alexis usually yells at Lionel like that too.
Somehow feeling good, I watched Alexis getting angry and Lionel shaking his head lightly as if it were someone else’s business.
Lionel sighed and said.
“Evgenia has decided to get married.”
“So, to whom?”
“Duke Ludion.”
“Ha!”
Alexis made a dumbfounded expression. Then he slowly looked around the dining room.
Unlike himself, who seemed shocked, he looked at the faces of his family members, who didn’t seem very surprised, one by one, and asked quietly.
“Am I the only one who didn’t know?”
“…….”
“Melissa, did you know too?”
Reading the serious atmosphere at Alexis’s questioning, Melissa looked around cautiously and nodded.
Alexis’s face turned red in an instant when he realized that even Melissa, who hadn’t been in the Ducal House for long, knew about my marriage.
“H, how…….”
Alexis, who was panting and breathing heavily, shouted at me with a betrayed expression.
“Even if you hate me, how could you do this!”
