A Fake Marriage? Sure! …Wait, Is It Actually Fake? Something’s Not Right Here! - Chapter 38

The next day.

Alex and Lidoria were at a royal capital jewelry store.

Thanks to Alex having made prior arrangements with Crown Prince George, things proceeded smoothly, but as expected of a store whose main clients were the royal family and upper nobility, one couldn’t even enter without a letter of introduction.

“The store is empty except for us,” Lidoria said in a low voice to Alex, who sat on the adjacent sofa, while glancing around.

The store was roughly divided into two floors.

The floor with display cases where customers could try on and browse items, and the consultation floor, which was raised one step higher. This area had chairs, sofas, and tables arranged so customers could wait comfortably.

Upon entering, they had requested resizing of the rings received from the Crown Prince and Princess, and the staff had guided them to this sofa area.

Though Lidoria sat on the sofa with a nervous expression, she gazed around the store with keen interest. It wasn’t the kind of place one could visit often. But Alex didn’t seem particularly interested.

“They said it’s by appointment,” he said, leaning his upper body against the backrest and vaguely looking toward the display cases. It was plain he was thinking, “Won’t this wrap up soon?”

The display cases seemed to hold items beyond Lidoria’s reach.

Of course, she couldn’t afford them.

But she wanted to look around. Was that rude? As she fidgeted anxiously, two staff members returned.

One was their assigned clerk, and the other carried a silver tray with tea.

“Thank you for waiting. Regarding the resizing, do you have a preferred date or time?” the clerk asked Alex and Lidoria with a calm expression as he sat in the opposite seat.

The other staff member quietly served the tea, bowed, and withdrew.

“Not particularly,” Alex began, then immediately furrowed his brow. “Can’t it be done right away? Like today?”

“That I’m sorry. It’s not possible,” the clerk replied with an apologetic look. Lidoria was exasperated.

“That’s impossible. It’s not rubber, you know? It won’t stretch if you just pull on it hard.”

“Madam is quite right,” the clerk said, modestly lowering his gaze. “Upon examining the rings you entrusted to us, we noted that Madam’s ring in particular has a highly artistic design. Enlarging the size might compromise its appearance. We’d like to proceed carefully.”

“Huh? It’ll look weird if enlarged? Then let’s not do it,” Lidoria panicked. She’d received it as a gift from the Crown Princess, after all. If making it fit her finger would ruin it, she’d rather keep it as is.

“No, not at all. If we judge it would look awkward, we plan to maintain the ring’s elegance by adding new stones.”

So additional costs would be incurred.

She felt slightly faint. The clerk had casually mentioned “adding stones,” but he didn’t mean ordinary pebbles. They were gemstones.

“Uh… well. For example, what kind of stones?”

“We were about to discuss that as well. Our store believes sapphires would be most suitable for that ring, but does Madam have any preferences?” he asked with a smile.

The ring originally featured aquamarine as the main stone. They probably wanted to add small sapphires.

“…Ah, if it’s a deep blue tone… what about amethyst?” she mumbled, proposing something decidedly cheaper than sapphire. The clerk looked troubled and glanced at his clipboard.

“Amethyst? Unfortunately, we don’t have high-quality ones in stock. Ah. Is it perhaps Madam’s birthstone? If so, we can promptly source a high-quality piece.”

“No! It’s not!” she denied immediately. She wasn’t seeking high quality; she wanted something affordable. Just as she was about to say so, Alex interjected.

“You have sapphires in stock, then?”

“Yes. The finest ones.”

“That would be faster, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then go with sapphire.”

“Understood.”

Watching the clerk immediately jot it down on his clipboard, Lidoria turned pale.

“I-Is that okay? Um…”

“Fine. I’ll cover the payment.”

“I’m sorry! Just because my fingers are fat!” Lidoria slumped, feeling like crying. The clerk stepped in smoothly.

“Madam’s fingers are by no means fat. It’s simply catching at the second knuckle.”

“That’s right!”

“It’s quite common among women. Many engage in handwork or sewing, tasks that use the fingers frequently.”

She couldn’t tell the smiling clerk, “No, it’s probably from too much straight-punch practice.” Glancing at Alex, she saw he also had a “Yeah, probably from the straight punches” look.

“So, regarding the desired date? We’ll likely need to keep it for about a month.”

“A month?” Alex said with a disgusted expression, making Lidoria tilt her head.

“Is something the matter? It should be fine, right?”

“…Well. As long as it’s ready for the wedding banquet. …Ah. There’s also the Knight Order’s banquet. Tch,” Alex replied bluntly, looking as if he’d bitten into something sour.

“Wedding banquet… that story. Is it still happening?” Lidoria’s eyes widened.

The wedding banquet the Crown Prince and Princess had offered to plan.

She’d thought it had fizzled out since Princess Melissa’s marriage arrangements had suddenly accelerated.

“It’s alive. And in the worst possible way.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Today, there was a document titled ‘Banquet Plan 2’ on His Highness’s desk. I peeked.”

“Is that okay?”

“In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t.”

“What was written?”

“‘Fairy King Alex.'”

“…What’s that?”

“No idea. Seems to be the banquet’s concept.”

“Fairy King.”

The moment she repeated it, she burst into uncontrollable laughter.

The clerk, who should have been able to pretend not to hear, also snorted several times, eventually hiding his face with the clipboard, shoulders shaking.

“Ha… ha, ha… Pardon me, ahem. So, regarding delivery in time for the… ha… wedding banquet.” the clerk asked Alex bravely, suppressing geyser-like laughter with professional awareness. Lidoria, too, was laughing so hard she breathed in gasps, trying to stay calm by sipping tea, but every time “Fairy King Alex” popped into her head, she nearly spat out her tea.

“Laugh while you can. If I’m the Fairy King, you’re the Fairy Queen. Who knows what costumes they’ll make you wear and what they’ll have you do.”

“But Madam as the Fairy Queen would work, wouldn’t she?” the clerk stared intently at Lidoria as if a spell had been broken.

Lidoria vaguely imagined her own appearance.

“Right? Like that deep green dress I borrowed for the soirée the other day. Paired with yellow-green organza. Using higo paper to make wing shapes, attaching lace fabric to them, and wearing them on my back would look like fairy wings.”

“Wow! Those wings sound adorable!”

“Right?!”

After chattering excitedly with the clerk, they both simultaneously looked at Alex.

“Why are you staring at me silently?”

Though asked, honestly stating the reason for their silence would likely start a fight, so Lidoria and the clerk both coughed awkwardly and readjusted themselves on the sofa.

“Then, we’ll proceed with the estimate now.”

“No estimate needed; I trust you. Your quoted price is fine,” Alex said, then drained his tea and stood up.

She’d thought he was angry about the “Fairy King” incident, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“We need a temporary wedding ring until the real one is finished. I’m choosing one,” he said, looking down at Lidoria, who was bewildered.

“Huh? Temporary? What’s that about?”

“If we don’t make it clear that we’re married, another pest like Prince Morris might show up,” he spat out resentfully, then looked at the clerk. “Which rings available today fit her size and mine?”

“Understood. This way, please.”

The clerk tucked the clipboard under his arm and briskly walked toward the display cases.

Alex moved to follow but suddenly stopped and offered his hand to Lidoria.

He seemed intent on escorting her.

Taking his hand, Lidoria felt a slightly ticklish sensation at this change in him.

When they first met, he hadn’t cared about her walking pace, but lately, he walked beside her, and in public, he often escorted her like this.

Even if it was a sham marriage.

Hadn’t they become more like a married couple?

“The ring, is it really necessary? If it’s for Prince Morris countermeasures, he’ll be returning to his country in a few days anyway,” Lidoria whispered secretly while walking arm-in-arm with him.

“There might be a second or third Prince Morris.”

“That sounds awful.”

“Besides, that prince, every time he visits our country, seems likely to propose a mistress contract to you.”

“Whaaaaaaat………?”

“Moreover, thinking about it, rings are convenient. Wearing one shows you’re married.”

Alex seemed convinced.

But upon careful thought, what Morris had proposed to Lidoria was a ‘mistress contract.’

In that case, whether she was married or not probably didn’t matter.

She thought so but decided to stay silent, as it might complicate things.

“Anyway, let’s get a cheap one.”

“This isn’t buying vegetables. It should be something decent.”

“That’s too extravagant.”

“It’s not a matter of extravagance.”

Thinking he was being stubborn, Lidoria moved with him to the display cases.

The clerk had already selected several rings from the cases and arranged them on a velvet-covered board.

“Please feel free to try them on.”

Lidoria nearly fainted at the prices. She wanted to ask him to line them up from cheapest, but Alex paid no heed.

He forcefully slid a ring onto Lidoria’s left ring finger, gazed at it for a while, then popped it off and put on another.

Repeating this, Lidoria just stayed still. Honestly, she didn’t know what Alex was looking at.

The ring? Or her hand?

Alex seemed to be choosing rings arbitrarily, and the clerk, unsure of the criteria, frantically began pulling various rings from the display cases.

While Lidoria was perplexed.

She spotted one that caught her eye.

(This ring is cute.)

She liked the design.

“We’ll take this one,” Alex declared instantly.

“Understood. Then, we’ll prepare the pair for this,” the clerk said, wiping sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, then fluttering over to the adjacent display case.

Lidoria looked up at Alex again.

He had a “What can you do?” look or at least, she could tell from living with him, though others might see just a blank expression.

(…Was he watching my reaction?)

He’d been casually trying ring after ring.

But perhaps what Alex had been observing wasn’t Lidoria’s hand or the rings.

Maybe it was her expression.

Trying to choose something Lidoria would like.

Something she’d be pleased with.

Had he been thinking that while selecting?

The moment she realized his intent, her face broke into a smile.

Somehow, she felt embarrassed that Alex might notice.

Deliberately, Lidoria lifted her chin haughtily.

“That’s right, about that bed border. We’re abolishing it today.”

“Good to hear.”

Alex shrugged.

“It was too narrow to bear.”

“Let’s hold hands and sleep again.”

“Hands, huh.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“I’ll reinstate the border.”

“Alright, alright.”

Alex laughed, and right after, the clerk returned with the rings on a board, saying, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

And so.

Life with the provisional wedding rings began.