“Claudel. Be my Queen.”
I was momentarily dumbfounded as I looked at Kaian.
When I stared at the dazzling large diamond without saying a word, he slowly added.
“I’m proposing to you.”
“You...”
“You’re rejecting me, are you?”
I hurriedly shook my head.
“T-That can’t be.”
I felt like my face wouldn’t listen to me.
I couldn’t express the emotions and feelings I was feeling properly, and I was at a loss, unable to do anything.
“Hand.”
The hand I held out to Kaian trembled slightly.
Seeing that, he smiled and put a ring on the fourth finger of my left hand.
I still wore the thin button decoration he had given me on that finger.
“There’s no way I could give you something like that.”
There were many bitter memories we remembered together that made my heart ache.
Things I regretted for a long time.
Why did I do that back then? And there were so many things to be ashamed of.
'Do you think I liked this so much that I've kept it all this time?'
Even when I was pushed to the limit, it wasn't easy to be honest.
A relationship that I couldn't trust.
It was too much to say that I didn't trust, but I was so consumed with love and hate that I could've stabbed myself in the gut if the scale tipped slightly toward hate. Even so, I still had that much heart left in something so thin and worthless that I would frantically search for the thing that had been thrown away.
Now, the two of us were able to be together.
Kaian used to want to take that ring off.
Every time he saw Claudel wearing it, he seemed to remember the shameful way he had embarrassed her.
Now, when he saw the thin light hanging on her hand, he would quietly pull her hand and kiss her lightly.
A large blue diamond ring was placed on top of that painfully wounding and hurting symbol.
Every time the jewel sparkled, it seemed as if it was whispering that only good things would happen in the future.
Kaian held her ringed hands together and looked into her eyes.
“Be my wife, Claudel.”
“I':m already your wife. You don’t have to do this.”
“No. I really wanted to do it right.”
Kaian brought up something that had always bothered him.
“Don’t you think that we were married by royal command?”
That was true.
There was no bond or communication between them.
Even nobles who usually marry for political reasons usually spend time together before the wedding, getting to know each other, and becoming a happy couple.
They got married so suddenly that they didn’t have time to spare.
If Kaian had intended to do it right, he would have come with her to Rowen after the wedding, and they would have had about two weeks to talk.
After the wedding, Kaian left Claudel in Valmonde.
At that time, his eyes were rolled back with anger at Vermont. If you go through each of these, it’s not hard to understand, but Kaian couldn’t help feeling like he had torn apart what could have been the happiest and best moment of his life and thrown it into the gutter with his own hands.
So he wanted to pretend that it never happened, he wanted to see Claudel in her wedding dress again, he wanted her to be happy and joyful, he obsessed and waited for her face to be painted in various places by about thirty artists and left it forever.
“Marry me now.”
He said forcefully.
“A marriage where I love you the most in the world.”
Kaian sincerely regretted and reflected on the past.
Everything he had done to hurt Claudel came back to him one by one.
Then, as he went back to the past, his memories inevitably reached the wedding hall where he had first seen her.
‘I left you alone there, so precious.’
If he could turn back time, he would hug the small shoulders that stood there, unable to follow the groom’s gaze that day.
But since he couldn’t, he tried hard like this.
Until Claudel’s heart was relieved.
“I will. I will accept your proposal.”
A small word of permission fell from her lips.
“I am so surprised that I don’t know what to say.”
Claudel wiped her eyes, where tears were welling up, with her hand.
Kaian got up, hugged her, and sat down on the chair.
“Kaian. Thank you.”
The moved Claudel smiled sweetly.
“I’ll make you happy too.”
“Don’t expect it.”
“I never imagined I’d be proposed to.”
Even among the nobles, this kind of proposal was only done by those who got along well and got married for love.
Usually, when families promised to marry, the documents were exchanged first.
Naturally, she had no chance of receiving Kaian’s proposal, having married as Valquiterre had told her.
“What others do. Let’s do it too.”
The man, who had realized how precious ordinary happiness was, spoke as if he was making a promise, and the woman sitting on his lap smiled like a flower.
The summer in Valmonde was as busy as it was short.
When Irena returned to the castle after visiting several mines for a few days, a pile of telegrams and invitations greeted her.
Irena sat down at her desk in her office and picked up the thick invitation on a small gold tray. It meant that the most important thing was on top of it.
“What is this?”
However, as soon as she glanced at the envelope, she frowned.
“The sender is the Duke of Temnes.”
How could the outside say ‘wedding’ invitation?
The adjutant standing next to her couldn’t control his curiosity and asked.
“That’s right. The Duchess of Temnes is Lady Claudel, so how could this happen?”
When he read the contents inside, it said that the King and Queen of Rowen were holding a coronation ceremony that was also a wedding.
The reason for the coronation ceremony and wedding was that Claudel had health problems when she came to Rowen, the weather, and the hasty marriage meant that they couldn’t have a proper welcome ceremony and wedding, as detailed in the text.
“You got a deal.”
Irena snorted.
When Kaian had visited the Castle of Valmonde before, Irena had shown him around the inside of the castle and taken him to the hall where they had their wedding, but he had no memory of that place.
“That day, Claudel was wearing a red shawl embroidered with gold thread, right?”
She lied, trying to make him believe it.
“Do you still have that outfit?”
He took the bait.
'No way. Where is the bride who wears red on her wedding day? Hohoho. You don't remember.'
Kaian had become a completely different person.
When Irena first saw my brother-in-law, she thought he was such a scary man.
He was surprisingly transparent when it came to Claudel.
'Ah... I see.'
However, when Kaian seemed to be discouraged by the light-hearted joke, it didn't feel good in its own way.
"I guess I should attend, right?"
"It will be the first official event of the Kingdom of Rowen."
"Good. While I'm at it, I should also formally document my request to increase iron ore exports."
"Good idea."
Irena left her office after ordering her adjutant to send a telegram so that they could take a boat from the capital to Rowen.
She rode a horse from the castle and headed to the lakeside.
The place that used to be a huge sheet of ice in the winter was now a wide, quiet space between large trees that were quite deep green.
And there was someone who had arrived there before her.
It was the Duchess of Vermont, wearing a black veil and a black dress.
Irena approached her mother.
After standing side by side for a while, she looked at the ripples reflecting the light proudly and opened her mouth.
“We’ll stop searching today and start the funeral tomorrow.”
The Duke of Vermont, who detonated the detonator at the independence declaration ceremony in Valmonde, was nowhere to be found in the frozen lake.
The people of Valmonde were shocked when Kaian saved Claudel.
“He must not know anything to do that.”
Most people thought that the Duke of Temnes, being a Southerner, did something because he didn’t know how dangerous and devastating it would be for the frozen lake to break. It was fortunate that Claudel was saved, but it was inevitable that he looked ignorant.
They rushed to the castle, and the remaining people circled the lake to look for the Duke of Vermont, but it was in vain.
“Let’s wait for the lake to melt.”
After much thought, Irena stopped searching for the Duke of Vermont until the lake melted.
This is because while searching the lake that had once been broken and frozen again, several people fell in again. Fortunately, they tied their arms with ropes and searched together, so no major accidents occurred.
However, strangely, they could not find the Duke of Vermont until the day cleared and the water completely melted.
Normally, when it gets warm, the body with the soul leaving it naturally floats to the surface of the water.
The Duke of Vermont's body was never found.
The Duchess of Vermont looked at the lake with a forlorn face.
“Your father. He must have wanted to remain a Duke until the end.”
Since Irena had caused the incident before the proclamation that she had ascended to the throne of Valmonde, he would officially remain a lord forever.
“I was short-sighted.”
Even though she was her son, she couldn’t just stand by and watch her father insist on and choose the wrong thing.
“I’ve prepared a place for my father and mother to live comfortably.”
She hadn’t considered the consequences of provoking the pride of a man who had been supported and reigned as the King of the north all his life.
What should she have done then?
Should Irena herself have simply become a hostage to the Oberon royal family and become Queen? Should she have helped Valquiterre send troops to Kaian and Claudel to continue the war?
That path would have certainly made everyone unhappy.
The Duke of Vermont had sacrificed their misfortune on the altar for his own measurable gain.
Irena couldn’t bear to make the choice to push someone to death even though she knew it, and she wasn’t going to do it again.
“You did nothing wrong.”
The Duchess of Vermont patted Irena on the shoulder as she stood proudly in her Grand Duchess’ uniform.
“I am proud of you.”
Her task was to rule this land from now on.
To become a person who is not ashamed of her own choices.
When I stared at the dazzling large diamond without saying a word, he slowly added.
“I’m proposing to you.”
“You...”
“You’re rejecting me, are you?”
I hurriedly shook my head.
“T-That can’t be.”
I felt like my face wouldn’t listen to me.
I couldn’t express the emotions and feelings I was feeling properly, and I was at a loss, unable to do anything.
“Hand.”
The hand I held out to Kaian trembled slightly.
Seeing that, he smiled and put a ring on the fourth finger of my left hand.
I still wore the thin button decoration he had given me on that finger.
“There’s no way I could give you something like that.”
There were many bitter memories we remembered together that made my heart ache.
Things I regretted for a long time.
Why did I do that back then? And there were so many things to be ashamed of.
'Do you think I liked this so much that I've kept it all this time?'
Even when I was pushed to the limit, it wasn't easy to be honest.
A relationship that I couldn't trust.
It was too much to say that I didn't trust, but I was so consumed with love and hate that I could've stabbed myself in the gut if the scale tipped slightly toward hate. Even so, I still had that much heart left in something so thin and worthless that I would frantically search for the thing that had been thrown away.
Now, the two of us were able to be together.
Kaian used to want to take that ring off.
Every time he saw Claudel wearing it, he seemed to remember the shameful way he had embarrassed her.
Now, when he saw the thin light hanging on her hand, he would quietly pull her hand and kiss her lightly.
A large blue diamond ring was placed on top of that painfully wounding and hurting symbol.
Every time the jewel sparkled, it seemed as if it was whispering that only good things would happen in the future.
Kaian held her ringed hands together and looked into her eyes.
“Be my wife, Claudel.”
“I':m already your wife. You don’t have to do this.”
“No. I really wanted to do it right.”
Kaian brought up something that had always bothered him.
“Don’t you think that we were married by royal command?”
That was true.
There was no bond or communication between them.
Even nobles who usually marry for political reasons usually spend time together before the wedding, getting to know each other, and becoming a happy couple.
They got married so suddenly that they didn’t have time to spare.
If Kaian had intended to do it right, he would have come with her to Rowen after the wedding, and they would have had about two weeks to talk.
After the wedding, Kaian left Claudel in Valmonde.
At that time, his eyes were rolled back with anger at Vermont. If you go through each of these, it’s not hard to understand, but Kaian couldn’t help feeling like he had torn apart what could have been the happiest and best moment of his life and thrown it into the gutter with his own hands.
So he wanted to pretend that it never happened, he wanted to see Claudel in her wedding dress again, he wanted her to be happy and joyful, he obsessed and waited for her face to be painted in various places by about thirty artists and left it forever.
“Marry me now.”
He said forcefully.
“A marriage where I love you the most in the world.”
Kaian sincerely regretted and reflected on the past.
Everything he had done to hurt Claudel came back to him one by one.
Then, as he went back to the past, his memories inevitably reached the wedding hall where he had first seen her.
‘I left you alone there, so precious.’
If he could turn back time, he would hug the small shoulders that stood there, unable to follow the groom’s gaze that day.
But since he couldn’t, he tried hard like this.
Until Claudel’s heart was relieved.
“I will. I will accept your proposal.”
A small word of permission fell from her lips.
“I am so surprised that I don’t know what to say.”
Claudel wiped her eyes, where tears were welling up, with her hand.
Kaian got up, hugged her, and sat down on the chair.
“Kaian. Thank you.”
The moved Claudel smiled sweetly.
“I’ll make you happy too.”
“Don’t expect it.”
“I never imagined I’d be proposed to.”
Even among the nobles, this kind of proposal was only done by those who got along well and got married for love.
Usually, when families promised to marry, the documents were exchanged first.
Naturally, she had no chance of receiving Kaian’s proposal, having married as Valquiterre had told her.
“What others do. Let’s do it too.”
The man, who had realized how precious ordinary happiness was, spoke as if he was making a promise, and the woman sitting on his lap smiled like a flower.
***
The summer in Valmonde was as busy as it was short.
When Irena returned to the castle after visiting several mines for a few days, a pile of telegrams and invitations greeted her.
Irena sat down at her desk in her office and picked up the thick invitation on a small gold tray. It meant that the most important thing was on top of it.
“What is this?”
However, as soon as she glanced at the envelope, she frowned.
“The sender is the Duke of Temnes.”
How could the outside say ‘wedding’ invitation?
The adjutant standing next to her couldn’t control his curiosity and asked.
“That’s right. The Duchess of Temnes is Lady Claudel, so how could this happen?”
When he read the contents inside, it said that the King and Queen of Rowen were holding a coronation ceremony that was also a wedding.
The reason for the coronation ceremony and wedding was that Claudel had health problems when she came to Rowen, the weather, and the hasty marriage meant that they couldn’t have a proper welcome ceremony and wedding, as detailed in the text.
“You got a deal.”
Irena snorted.
When Kaian had visited the Castle of Valmonde before, Irena had shown him around the inside of the castle and taken him to the hall where they had their wedding, but he had no memory of that place.
“That day, Claudel was wearing a red shawl embroidered with gold thread, right?”
She lied, trying to make him believe it.
“Do you still have that outfit?”
He took the bait.
'No way. Where is the bride who wears red on her wedding day? Hohoho. You don't remember.'
Kaian had become a completely different person.
When Irena first saw my brother-in-law, she thought he was such a scary man.
He was surprisingly transparent when it came to Claudel.
'Ah... I see.'
However, when Kaian seemed to be discouraged by the light-hearted joke, it didn't feel good in its own way.
"I guess I should attend, right?"
"It will be the first official event of the Kingdom of Rowen."
"Good. While I'm at it, I should also formally document my request to increase iron ore exports."
"Good idea."
Irena left her office after ordering her adjutant to send a telegram so that they could take a boat from the capital to Rowen.
She rode a horse from the castle and headed to the lakeside.
The place that used to be a huge sheet of ice in the winter was now a wide, quiet space between large trees that were quite deep green.
And there was someone who had arrived there before her.
It was the Duchess of Vermont, wearing a black veil and a black dress.
Irena approached her mother.
After standing side by side for a while, she looked at the ripples reflecting the light proudly and opened her mouth.
“We’ll stop searching today and start the funeral tomorrow.”
The Duke of Vermont, who detonated the detonator at the independence declaration ceremony in Valmonde, was nowhere to be found in the frozen lake.
The people of Valmonde were shocked when Kaian saved Claudel.
“He must not know anything to do that.”
Most people thought that the Duke of Temnes, being a Southerner, did something because he didn’t know how dangerous and devastating it would be for the frozen lake to break. It was fortunate that Claudel was saved, but it was inevitable that he looked ignorant.
They rushed to the castle, and the remaining people circled the lake to look for the Duke of Vermont, but it was in vain.
“Let’s wait for the lake to melt.”
After much thought, Irena stopped searching for the Duke of Vermont until the lake melted.
This is because while searching the lake that had once been broken and frozen again, several people fell in again. Fortunately, they tied their arms with ropes and searched together, so no major accidents occurred.
However, strangely, they could not find the Duke of Vermont until the day cleared and the water completely melted.
Normally, when it gets warm, the body with the soul leaving it naturally floats to the surface of the water.
The Duke of Vermont's body was never found.
The Duchess of Vermont looked at the lake with a forlorn face.
“Your father. He must have wanted to remain a Duke until the end.”
Since Irena had caused the incident before the proclamation that she had ascended to the throne of Valmonde, he would officially remain a lord forever.
“I was short-sighted.”
Even though she was her son, she couldn’t just stand by and watch her father insist on and choose the wrong thing.
“I’ve prepared a place for my father and mother to live comfortably.”
She hadn’t considered the consequences of provoking the pride of a man who had been supported and reigned as the King of the north all his life.
What should she have done then?
Should Irena herself have simply become a hostage to the Oberon royal family and become Queen? Should she have helped Valquiterre send troops to Kaian and Claudel to continue the war?
That path would have certainly made everyone unhappy.
The Duke of Vermont had sacrificed their misfortune on the altar for his own measurable gain.
Irena couldn’t bear to make the choice to push someone to death even though she knew it, and she wasn’t going to do it again.
“You did nothing wrong.”
The Duchess of Vermont patted Irena on the shoulder as she stood proudly in her Grand Duchess’ uniform.
“I am proud of you.”
Her task was to rule this land from now on.
To become a person who is not ashamed of her own choices.
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