Published: August 10, 2026
This time, without even wiping my mouth, I leaned forward in a panic and shouted.
"Leave the royal family!? L-Lady Reimia is going to stop being a princess!?"
"Yes. If that is the only way, then that is what I must do."
Lady Reimia answered casually, tilting her cup as she said it.
"W-Only way...? Well, I mean, as a method, if Cedric were to rise to the ranks of the higher nobility, then we could still marry even if I remained a princess! Or, if need be, I could be adopted into some other family, the same way as Elder sister Anastasia did—"
"...That option was actually proposed by Cedric himself as well..."
At that, Lady Reimia gave a faint smile.
"But then Cedric would not be able to do what he wants, would he? He wishes to live in Chadelan Territory someday."
"Well, yes, that's true..."
"I heard it from Brother Richard. You're planning to start some kind of business using the land in Chadelan Territory, aren't you? And Cedric is actively overseeing it."
That was exactly right.
Right now, Lord Ruifeng... or rather, we at the granado trading company, were planning to use the sheep farms in Chadelan Territory to turn it into a wool-producing region. Cedric, who had been present at the time, did actually have knowledge of dairy farming. That was proof that ever since inheriting the baronial title two years ago, he had been studying seriously and taking his responsibilities to heart.
"Once I learned that, I had been making arrangements to bring Cedric into the royal palace. But if I did that, I would only be able to give him a position no different from a concubine. I would only be trapping Cedric in a vast palace and keeping him as a caged pet."
"...But even so, to think the princess would abandon the royal family..."
"I am a princess, but at the point I refused the arranged marriage, there is nothing I can contribute to the royal family. If that is the case, then I want to support Cedric's dream. As his wife, I want to support Cedric's life. That does not mean that, because I am a woman, I merely follow a man."
......
I had things I wanted to say. But there was no point in saying them. This was already decided in Lady Reimia's heart.
I closed my mouth and sat back down.
"Of course, this is a matter for the distant future. There may be a better solution. From here on, I intend to discuss it properly, together with Brother Richard as well. So let us speak of this again another time."
"Um... then what is it that Lady Reimia really wanted to consult me about?"
"...I realized something. That I, thinking like this, am nothing more than a fool."
Lady Reimia let out a deep, deep sigh.
"After all, that child is only eight years old. There is no way he was seriously saying he liked me or wanted to marry me!"
As she cried out, Lady Reimia covered her face with both hands and suddenly burst into tears.
"Please laugh at me! It was foolish of me to believe him. No matter how much I grew up in a convent and knew nothing of the world, taking the words of an eight-year-old at face value was absurd."
"W-Well... but isn't it not uncommon for noble children to become engaged at that age?"
"If it is an arranged marriage, then that would be fine. But if not, then that is a problem, is it not!? In fact, from the standpoint of our social standing, there are problems everywhere, and yet we must overcome them using nothing but our mutual feelings and trust!"
Wow, Lady Reimia was really crying. I stared blankly as huge tears spilled endlessly from her blue eyes.
Well, certainly... I thought Lady Reimia's worries were perfectly understandable.
Even as adults, you should never trust a man's sweet talk. That's what Tunic taught me, too. And much less when the words come from a child...
But I laughed.
I gently placed a hand on Lady Reimia's shoulder, still sniffling and crying, and patted her slowly to calm her down.
"So it wasn't your status or the age gap that bothered you, Lady Reimia. It was whether Cedric's words were sincere. Whether he really likes you."
"Yes, that's right—no, that's not it, please stop. I already understand that I was the only one getting carried away...!"