Side Story Episode 4. Something Forgotten
“Your Excellency!”
I waved vigorously as Prince Kydel appeared in the Crown Prince’s Palace reception room.
“Lorisha. What is that? Carrying something like that? I told you to carry people around.”
“It wasn’t that heavy. Drink it quickly.”
Prince Kydel gulped down the herbal water I poured him without even asking what it was. He furrowed his brow at the bitter taste, but he finished the glass.
I opened my eyes brightly and asked,
“How are you?”
“Hmm... My wife’s eyes are prettier the more I look at them.”
“No, that’s not it. I thought you might be tired, Your Excellency, so I brewed a tea made of herbs that are excellent for recovering from fatigue...”
“Somehow, I only slept for an hour this morning, but I feel so energized! I thought it was because of your face, but it was the medicinal properties.”
He spoke with such a bright smile that I couldn’t ask any further.
“Take this and drink it in the evening. You have to take it regularly.”
“Ha, I want to go home and drink. With you.”
“Oh, you too, Your Excellency.”
I punched him in the shoulder, and his brow furrowed.
He glared at me slightly and scolded,
“You can’t seduce me whenever you want, Lorisha.”
“Well...”
I gave up on objecting. It was clear I wouldn’t be able to grasp his criteria for “seduction” right away. It was a matter of long discussion someday.
“I’ll be going now. I need to meet with the administrator for Her Highness Shanla.”
“Her Highness the Crown Princess?”
“For Her Highness’s wedding fantasy. You know, the things women dream of: proposals, wedding decorations, and all that.”
I could barely understand why such things had to be objects of fantasy or romance. But I knew she considered them very important.
I smiled, kissed him on the cheek, and rose. But his face was stiff for some reason.
He had never scolded me for provoking him with a kiss on the cheek, but I looked at him, feeling a pang of pang, wondering if that had changed.
Then he smiled awkwardly and said,
“Yes. Be careful on your way back, Loricia.”
“Yes. You too, Your Excellency, eat well.”
Locard felt the chill in his fingertips as he watched Loridha’s back as she hurried out of the reception room.
He unconsciously gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
“Damn it...”
He sprang to his feet and went home.
Heinel, the swordsmanship instructor who had once claimed to be Locard’s love mentor, took a step back when he saw him. He had the expression of someone about to rip someone off.
“Your Excellency, you won’t be able to come back during the academy exam period...”
“Instructor Heinel!”
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
“What will happen if I don’t propose?”
“You won’t be able to get married, right?”
Heinel answered with that, his eyebrows furrowed.
The astute Prince Kydel probably hadn’t come looking for such a pathetic answer, but the question was so strange that he couldn’t give a proper answer.
“Your Excellency, what is the matter?”
Locard grabbed Heinel by the collar. It wasn't out of a desire to act harshly, but out of desperation.
“Your Excellency!”
I waved vigorously as Prince Kydel appeared in the Crown Prince’s Palace reception room.
“Lorisha. What is that? Carrying something like that? I told you to carry people around.”
“It wasn’t that heavy. Drink it quickly.”
Prince Kydel gulped down the herbal water I poured him without even asking what it was. He furrowed his brow at the bitter taste, but he finished the glass.
I opened my eyes brightly and asked,
“How are you?”
“Hmm... My wife’s eyes are prettier the more I look at them.”
“No, that’s not it. I thought you might be tired, Your Excellency, so I brewed a tea made of herbs that are excellent for recovering from fatigue...”
“Somehow, I only slept for an hour this morning, but I feel so energized! I thought it was because of your face, but it was the medicinal properties.”
He spoke with such a bright smile that I couldn’t ask any further.
“Take this and drink it in the evening. You have to take it regularly.”
“Ha, I want to go home and drink. With you.”
“Oh, you too, Your Excellency.”
I punched him in the shoulder, and his brow furrowed.
He glared at me slightly and scolded,
“You can’t seduce me whenever you want, Lorisha.”
“Well...”
I gave up on objecting. It was clear I wouldn’t be able to grasp his criteria for “seduction” right away. It was a matter of long discussion someday.
“I’ll be going now. I need to meet with the administrator for Her Highness Shanla.”
“Her Highness the Crown Princess?”
“For Her Highness’s wedding fantasy. You know, the things women dream of: proposals, wedding decorations, and all that.”
I could barely understand why such things had to be objects of fantasy or romance. But I knew she considered them very important.
I smiled, kissed him on the cheek, and rose. But his face was stiff for some reason.
He had never scolded me for provoking him with a kiss on the cheek, but I looked at him, feeling a pang of pang, wondering if that had changed.
Then he smiled awkwardly and said,
“Yes. Be careful on your way back, Loricia.”
“Yes. You too, Your Excellency, eat well.”
***
Locard felt the chill in his fingertips as he watched Loridha’s back as she hurried out of the reception room.
He unconsciously gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
“Damn it...”
He sprang to his feet and went home.
Heinel, the swordsmanship instructor who had once claimed to be Locard’s love mentor, took a step back when he saw him. He had the expression of someone about to rip someone off.
“Your Excellency, you won’t be able to come back during the academy exam period...”
“Instructor Heinel!”
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
“What will happen if I don’t propose?”
“You won’t be able to get married, right?”
Heinel answered with that, his eyebrows furrowed.
The astute Prince Kydel probably hadn’t come looking for such a pathetic answer, but the question was so strange that he couldn’t give a proper answer.
“Your Excellency, what is the matter?”
Locard grabbed Heinel by the collar. It wasn't out of a desire to act harshly, but out of desperation.
"But what if you're already married?"
"Your Excellency..."
"Women's romances, those unfulfilled fantasies!"
"That..."
Prince Kydel, seeing Heinel's confused gaze, realized he wouldn't get the answer he wanted from him. He then remembered how Lorisha had repeatedly belittled him when it came to women.
"Damn it! Excuse me."
He straightened Heinel's collar and hurriedly left Kydel's quarters, avoiding running into Lorisha.
He washed his face dry with both hands in the carriage, mulling over the situation. She had said that women harbored great fantasies from proposal to marriage. They absolutely had to be fulfilled, and to ignore them was a crime.
The one who had instilled this knowledge in him was Misha Loire. Locard had heard Misha make similar remarks to the servants as they prepared for their wedding.
It was a tense moment during the competition, so Misha's words had faded into his memory.
But today, when Lorisha, with a troubled expression, spoke of Princess Shanla's romantic wedding, he literally felt goosebumps run down his spine.
Locard thought he had compensated Lorisha for their loss, however small, by arranging a honeymoon trip to Zebron.
But looking back, Misha hadn't even mentioned a honeymoon. It meant it wasn't important.
Soon, he had overlooked something a hundred times more important than the honeymoon.
'A proposal! A proposal! Ugh, Locard Kydel. And you, you cub of Tagar!'
But hadn't their wise ancestors long ago said, "What's once passed never returns."
It was their fathers who had decided on their marriage, and in front of the stern nobles of the House of Lords. The proposal wasn't an act of love, but a fierce political struggle, with the political standings and lives of both families at stake.
The wedding took place barely a week later. There was not a shred of romance in the process.
There was no way to fix it now.
It was like trying to breastfeed a grown child.
Locard was tormented by the fact that he had inflicted such loss and deprivation on his other half, Lorisha. His heart burned.
There was nothing more cruel than having to work to fulfill Princess Shanla's dream of a wedding when Lorisha herself had never received a proper proposal.
Locard sighed deeply.
'I wonder how she feels. She just pretends nothing's wrong in front of me... '
He ordered his coachman.
"Go to the Academy."
There was Misha Loire at the Academy.
She was quite self-centered, and her grades weren't great, but at least she was top-notch in planning and executing parties and events.
Who could possibly plan such a wedding in a week?
He had expected Misha's help this time, too.
But when he found her in the Academy library, Locard couldn't say a word.
Misha was studying, looking disheveled and tired. The tea on her desk was clearly a wake-up tea, its pungent aroma evident at the slightest touch.
After Locard got married, Misha would always sparkle with joy whenever she saw him, but now she seemed to have no energy to do so.
“Master...? Oh... Could you teach me just this one thing?”
When Misha, with blank eyes, thrust the book she had been reading in front of him, Locard couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.
“I remembered today that I forgot to propose to your wife. I know you’re busy studying for exams, but could you help me for a moment?” he said.
“Of course, Miss Misha.”
The change in Locard’s title was due to Misha’s insistence. He said they were now related, but it was actually to show off in front of others.
In any case, Locard explained the math problem Misha had posed and then retreated to his dorm room.
If it had been something he could figure out from a book, no one would have bothered him. But this was a matter that required God’s intervention. He had to turn back the past.
Locard drooled and agonized. Even as he did, time passed steadily.
“This is...!”
“Oh...”
The imperial nobles and Smilean envoys attending Crown Prince Grayon’s wedding were speechless at the sight of the ceremony.
Grayon’s face went beyond shock and embarrassment to something approaching resentment toward one of his beloved Kydels. Now he understood
Why had Lorisha told him not to be surprised on the wedding day and then fled?
‘Yes, if this is what Shanla wanted...’
Grayon gritted his teeth and climbed onto the deck of his ship, the venue for his wedding.
Their wedding dais, instead of the usual imperial flower arrangement, was decorated in the same style as the deck of a large sailing ship.
A massive sail stretched out toward the audience, fluttered with the Imperial and Smilean emblems, and the priest stood before a massive rudder adorned with flowers and ribbons.
Grayon suppressed his anger and thought,
‘Are you telling me to navigate the ship of marriage well on the sea of life? How absurd. I’ll deal with Lorisha later, step by step...’
When Princess Shanla appeared in her magnificent imperial wedding dress, Grayon forgot his resentful thoughts, typical of Tagar.
'...Of course, so what.'
Shanla was blissfully immersed in this fake deck.
If it weren't for the nobles of both countries observing the ceremony, she would have been jumping around and rejoicing on this wooden-decked isle, her face holding back the urge to do so. As soon as Shanla approached Grayon, she leaned in and whispered,
"Grayon, this wedding is the best. The best!"
Grayon was simultaneously struck by her beauty, the imperial language, and the formality.
"I see. The best. In every sense of the word."
Then, a hmm, the priest cleared his throat loudly, telling them to look at him. And so the wedding began.
Prince Kydel kept glancing at me. It wasn't his usual gaze of adoration for me, but rather an expression closer to fear, wondering if he could truly protect his wife.
'Is it that strange?'
When I frowned and met his eyes, he averted his gaze.
This sailboat-shaped wedding podium was my masterpiece. I agonized over it for days, turning over the design dozens of times, but it was impossible to achieve anything better than this.
From the imperial guest seating to the priest's podium, the space flowed naturally, yet the space where His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and his wife exchanged their wedding vows felt like a ship's cabin.
But I had to settle for only half a success. The Smilean envoys, who had attended as guests on behalf of King Smilean, enthusiastically welcomed the sight of this wedding hall, but the imperial citizens, including my husband, all looked uneasy.
Finally, I couldn't bear it any longer and asked.
"Your Excellency..."
"Women's romances, those unfulfilled fantasies!"
"That..."
Prince Kydel, seeing Heinel's confused gaze, realized he wouldn't get the answer he wanted from him. He then remembered how Lorisha had repeatedly belittled him when it came to women.
"Damn it! Excuse me."
He straightened Heinel's collar and hurriedly left Kydel's quarters, avoiding running into Lorisha.
He washed his face dry with both hands in the carriage, mulling over the situation. She had said that women harbored great fantasies from proposal to marriage. They absolutely had to be fulfilled, and to ignore them was a crime.
The one who had instilled this knowledge in him was Misha Loire. Locard had heard Misha make similar remarks to the servants as they prepared for their wedding.
It was a tense moment during the competition, so Misha's words had faded into his memory.
But today, when Lorisha, with a troubled expression, spoke of Princess Shanla's romantic wedding, he literally felt goosebumps run down his spine.
Locard thought he had compensated Lorisha for their loss, however small, by arranging a honeymoon trip to Zebron.
But looking back, Misha hadn't even mentioned a honeymoon. It meant it wasn't important.
Soon, he had overlooked something a hundred times more important than the honeymoon.
'A proposal! A proposal! Ugh, Locard Kydel. And you, you cub of Tagar!'
But hadn't their wise ancestors long ago said, "What's once passed never returns."
It was their fathers who had decided on their marriage, and in front of the stern nobles of the House of Lords. The proposal wasn't an act of love, but a fierce political struggle, with the political standings and lives of both families at stake.
The wedding took place barely a week later. There was not a shred of romance in the process.
There was no way to fix it now.
It was like trying to breastfeed a grown child.
Locard was tormented by the fact that he had inflicted such loss and deprivation on his other half, Lorisha. His heart burned.
There was nothing more cruel than having to work to fulfill Princess Shanla's dream of a wedding when Lorisha herself had never received a proper proposal.
Locard sighed deeply.
'I wonder how she feels. She just pretends nothing's wrong in front of me... '
He ordered his coachman.
"Go to the Academy."
There was Misha Loire at the Academy.
She was quite self-centered, and her grades weren't great, but at least she was top-notch in planning and executing parties and events.
Who could possibly plan such a wedding in a week?
He had expected Misha's help this time, too.
But when he found her in the Academy library, Locard couldn't say a word.
Misha was studying, looking disheveled and tired. The tea on her desk was clearly a wake-up tea, its pungent aroma evident at the slightest touch.
After Locard got married, Misha would always sparkle with joy whenever she saw him, but now she seemed to have no energy to do so.
“Master...? Oh... Could you teach me just this one thing?”
When Misha, with blank eyes, thrust the book she had been reading in front of him, Locard couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.
“I remembered today that I forgot to propose to your wife. I know you’re busy studying for exams, but could you help me for a moment?” he said.
“Of course, Miss Misha.”
The change in Locard’s title was due to Misha’s insistence. He said they were now related, but it was actually to show off in front of others.
In any case, Locard explained the math problem Misha had posed and then retreated to his dorm room.
If it had been something he could figure out from a book, no one would have bothered him. But this was a matter that required God’s intervention. He had to turn back the past.
Locard drooled and agonized. Even as he did, time passed steadily.
***
“This is...!”
“Oh...”
The imperial nobles and Smilean envoys attending Crown Prince Grayon’s wedding were speechless at the sight of the ceremony.
Grayon’s face went beyond shock and embarrassment to something approaching resentment toward one of his beloved Kydels. Now he understood
Why had Lorisha told him not to be surprised on the wedding day and then fled?
‘Yes, if this is what Shanla wanted...’
Grayon gritted his teeth and climbed onto the deck of his ship, the venue for his wedding.
Their wedding dais, instead of the usual imperial flower arrangement, was decorated in the same style as the deck of a large sailing ship.
A massive sail stretched out toward the audience, fluttered with the Imperial and Smilean emblems, and the priest stood before a massive rudder adorned with flowers and ribbons.
Grayon suppressed his anger and thought,
‘Are you telling me to navigate the ship of marriage well on the sea of life? How absurd. I’ll deal with Lorisha later, step by step...’
When Princess Shanla appeared in her magnificent imperial wedding dress, Grayon forgot his resentful thoughts, typical of Tagar.
'...Of course, so what.'
Shanla was blissfully immersed in this fake deck.
If it weren't for the nobles of both countries observing the ceremony, she would have been jumping around and rejoicing on this wooden-decked isle, her face holding back the urge to do so. As soon as Shanla approached Grayon, she leaned in and whispered,
"Grayon, this wedding is the best. The best!"
Grayon was simultaneously struck by her beauty, the imperial language, and the formality.
"I see. The best. In every sense of the word."
Then, a hmm, the priest cleared his throat loudly, telling them to look at him. And so the wedding began.
***
Prince Kydel kept glancing at me. It wasn't his usual gaze of adoration for me, but rather an expression closer to fear, wondering if he could truly protect his wife.
'Is it that strange?'
When I frowned and met his eyes, he averted his gaze.
This sailboat-shaped wedding podium was my masterpiece. I agonized over it for days, turning over the design dozens of times, but it was impossible to achieve anything better than this.
From the imperial guest seating to the priest's podium, the space flowed naturally, yet the space where His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and his wife exchanged their wedding vows felt like a ship's cabin.
But I had to settle for only half a success. The Smilean envoys, who had attended as guests on behalf of King Smilean, enthusiastically welcomed the sight of this wedding hall, but the imperial citizens, including my husband, all looked uneasy.
Finally, I couldn't bear it any longer and asked.
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