"This was a mistake," I almost sighed, not even ten minutes after the evening party began.
The venue was Count Theodore's mansion.
Twenty days had already passed since that day when Vandel brought engagement gifts and told me, "Please come to my territory."
For my part, as I'd initially told him, the handover itself could have been done in five days, but dealing with the travel route and communications for Miss Citoyen, getting Father's permission, and explaining things to the Crown Prince—all this took so much time.
The main issue was that neither Miss Citoyen nor I really understood why we were going to Vandel's place.
When the Crown Prince asked me, "What's the purpose of this outing? What are you going there for?"I had no answer.
Vandel had only said, "Just come, no matter what."
However, it seemed Vandel and his father, Count Cienne, had thoroughly explained things to my father.
It must have been a classified matter, as even the reluctant Crown Prince seemed convinced after receiving a direct explanation from Father.
So, when I sent a letter apologizing for the significant delay in our departure, Vandel replied, "It can't be helped. Even if he's the third son, a prince is leaving the capital." I felt a little relieved. At least he understood that he was asking for a lot.
And then.
As for the journey, if it were just me, it would be no problem, but traveling with Miss Citoyen made it complicated.
I had planned to move between the royal family's seasonal villas, but each lord insisted, "Please do visit our mansion," and in the end, we ended up imposing on the mansions of the lords whose territories we would pass through.
They probably want to see Miss Citoyen.
What kind of bride did the King's third son take?
For lords normally far from the capital, it was perfect gossip material.
"It seems we'll be making an appearance at the mansions we stay at. Is that alright?"
I offered Miss Citoyen the option to decline, but she accepted readily, with an immediate "Yes."
But still.
For my part, I had only expected to share dinner with the lord's family.
So, in the carriage, I briefly explained to Miss Citoyen the names of the host lords, their family structures, and the characteristics of their territories, and she was to memorize them and handle the interactions.
But I never imagined.
That on the very first day, they would welcome us so grandly.
"Oh, when we heard the Prince would be staying, everyone expressed a strong desire to pay their respects!"
Count Theodore laughed, his large belly jiggling. I, too, forced a polite smile and raised the glass in my hand.
It was quite a strong distilled liquor. Apparently, it was the famous local brew. Honestly, the barrel aroma that wafted up my nose was excellent. It seemed like a drink my second elder brother would enjoy.
I took another sip and looked around the venue.
The hall, which took up the entire first floor of the mansion, was divided into male and female sections by screens and decorative flowers placed in the center.
Surrounding me were our host, Count Theodore, and his father. Then there were sons-in-law and various distant relatives, whose greetings I had just finished. The truly elderly nobles had, after that, tottered off to the seated area to smoke their pipes.
Along the walls, young noble offspring, seemingly in their early teens, watched us restlessly.
When our eyes met, they'd offer a newly learned bow, which was incredibly endearing.
They seemed eager to approach but were being held back by their parents, occasionally venturing closer only to be pulled back by their attendants. That was cute, too.
"Is Miss Citoyen alright?" I thought, pretending to survey the room, and searched for her.
It seemed she, too, was engaged in conversation, primarily with Countess Theodore, the hostess.
I wasn't worried about Miss Citoyen's linguistic abilities, which were impressive, but the problem was keeping track of names and ranks. I hoped she was managing well, feeling a sort of parental concern.
The knights I brought for security were positioned inside and outside the venue. They'd report if anything happened, but...
Later, I'll discreetly send Raoul over to her.
"Ah, but Prince!"
"Yes, yes," I turned my face to the conversation circle, offering a bright smile.
The middle-aged man smiling magnanimously at me was the Count's cousin, I believe.
"When I heard the Prince had swept Miss Citoyen away from the Karaban Allied Kingdoms' engagement ceremony, I just nodded and said, 'That's 'The Winter Bear of Tidros' for you!'"
I almost spewed out the distilled liquor I had in my mouth. I swallowed it reflexively and coughed violently.
"Are you alright?" "Prince!"
They hurriedly patted my back, but I waved them off and returned the glass to the butler. Wiping my mouth with a handkerchief, I barely managed to suppress my urge to say, "Huh?!"
"It seems quite a different rumor from the truth is circulating, doesn't it?"
Well, 'The Winter Bear of Tidros' part is accurate, though.
"Oh, is that so?"
All the men in the circle looked surprised, which surprised me. What kind of rumors are going around out there?
"No, um... I attended as the Queen's escort, but... there, I witnessed a very rude scene directed at Miss Citoyen... As a knight, I merely demanded an apology on Miss Citoyen's behalf..."
As I briefly explained, everyone exclaimed, "Ah, I see!"
"Well, and that led to a connection... The Queen became very fond of Miss Citoyen, and that's how this arrangement came to be."
"My, what unreliable things rumors are, aren't they?"
"Now that we've heard the truth, it was completely different!"
Everyone exchanged glances, said so, and laughed. Well, a rumor of this magnitude is rather charming.
"Speaking of rumors, Miss Citoyen herself is also completely different from the rumors, isn't she?"
Count Theodore exhaled through his nose with a "Hmff," his large belly jiggling heavily.
"Rumors?"
I tilted my head, indicating my confusion.
My first encounter with Miss Citoyen was at that engagement ceremony with Crown Prince Arios.
Had there been rumors circulating about her before that? Unfortunately, I'm unfamiliar with the social scene, so I didn't know.
"It was during her engagement to Crown Prince Arios, but they said she was from the Kingdom of Tania and was boastful about having the Dragon Crest."
"I also heard that she didn't appear in social circles because she looked down on their royal family."
Count Theodore and his cousin nodded at each other, telling me this. Beside them, high-ranking nobles from the territory hesitantly spoke up.
"Also... they said she seemed to struggle with speech. She couldn't appear in social circles because she couldn't speak foreign languages at all."
"And that she was wasteful with money, or that she tormented her servants. It was truly awful..."
"WHO WOULD SAY SUCH A THING!"
I inadvertently shouted. The surrounding nobles flinched. Raoul quietly called out, "Prince," from behind me, and I hastily tried to compose myself.
"My apologies. I just..."
But the nobles responded to my rudeness with deference.
"No, we should apologize!"
"Of course, after greeting Miss Citoyen and experiencing her personality, we understand those were malicious rumors."
Count Theodore sighed as if speaking for everyone.
"It must have been Crown Prince Arios who spread those bad rumors, as he didn't want to be engaged to Miss Citoyen. In reality, Miss Citoyen is fluent in foreign languages, and she shows no sign of boasting about her origins."
Without anyone prompting it, everyone instinctively looked at Miss Citoyen, who was in the hall.
She was currently listening intently to a young lady near her own age and then said something. Suddenly, soft laughter surrounded them, and even the servants nearby cracked smiles.
Of course, the language being used there was probably Tidrosian.
Not Miss Citoyen's native language.
When I first met her, she spoke fluent Karaban Common Tongue.
She's a woman of great talent.
Beautiful, and possessing an approachable charm.
Simply put, Crown Prince Arios didn't like Miss Citoyen and didn't take her out to social events, which caused strange rumors to start and grow with added embellishments.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
How long has it been since she last spoke her native language?
I heard she left her country two years ago to assimilate into the Luminas royal family. And then, after that, she came to marry me.
A total of three years.
She has lived in foreign lands, spoken foreign languages, and worn foreign clothes.
Considering her circumstances, I felt an indescribable emotion.
That white veil.
To me, it looked like a white cocoon.
If that's the case...
Is she wearing that and striving to become someone different from who she was born to be?