A Fake Marriage? Sure! …Wait, Is It Actually Fake? Something’s Not Right Here! - Chapter 41

Alex and Lidoria’s wedding reception was being held in grand style at the Crown Prince’s private villa garden on the outskirts of the royal capital.

“Anyway…”

Lidoria, who had been sitting on the tiered seating and absentmindedly sipping from her glass, looked up at her brother’s voice.

Finley stood pressed close beside her, gazing at the scene spread out before them with eyes that seemed both exasperated and resigned.

The villa garden.

Drops from the fountain at its center reflected the sunlight, occasionally creating small rainbows.

Chairs, tables, and parasols were decorated with balloons, paper ornaments, colorful lanterns, and glass crafts, while the participants chatted happily.

Yes.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary wedding reception venue.

If only all the participants weren’t dressed up as wizards, animals, or mythical beasts.

“This is totally a costume party, right? Just an extra event?”

Even Finley, though wearing his light blue Unicorn Knight Order uniform, had a rabbit-ear headband on his head.

Perhaps the wire in the ear part was weak, as it occasionally flopped down, leaving him with just one ear, which was incredibly cute. She’d just gotten scolded for mentioning it earlier, so she refrained from saying so now, but Lidoria thought he might as well just go with the one-ear look.

“That’s not it, Finley-kun.”

Sena, a fellow maid sitting beside her on the tiered seating, called out while steadily moving her fork and eating. Sena was also dressed as a wizard, wearing a pointed hat and a black cloak.

“This is the ‘Celebration for the Fairy King’ hosted by the Crown Prince and Princess.”

“No. Officially, this is my and Alex’s wedding reception.” Pursing her lips into a shape, Lidoria then gulped down her glass’s contents.

As for Lidoria, she was the Fairy Queen.

She wore a green dress with an organza shawl over her shoulders and lace-adorned wings on her back. Because of those wings, she couldn’t lean back in her chair and was currently struggling.

“Wine from Hazel, brought by Viscount Deel. No issues.”

Lidoria twisted her neck to look behind her and reported this.

The attendant standing behind her, assigned to the Crown Princess, quickly made a check on his board.

Another attendant handed Lidoria a glass filled with white wine.

“Next, white wine from Lila, brought by Lady Samantha.”

As Lidoria accepted the glass, next to her on the tiered seating, the wizard Sena was reporting to her own attendant behind her, “Baron Rayas’s cake, no issues.”

“What have you two been doing all this time?” Finley asked suspiciously.

Lidoria and Sena answered in unison.

“Poison tasting.”

“Huh?”

As Finley’s eyes widened, Lidoria furrowed her brow.

“Well, you see, things around the Crown Princess have been smelling fishy lately. Right, Sena?”

“Yes. For the past ten days, there’s been a series of small accidents.”

Sena said this while tossing a pink macaron into her mouth.

A pot fell from the third floor while she was strolling in the garden, an axle broke while she was traveling by carriage.

Finally, just yesterday, a stone was thrown at the window while she was working.

They wondered if it was the Princess’s doing again, but that Princess was currently busy preparing to marry into a neighboring country.

Then they thought it might be Lady Sena’s revenge, but there was no movement from the convent.

So, the “Crown Prince’s Hounds” moved.

According to their report, there seemed to be some movement to oust the Crown Princess.

The reason was that there were no signs of pregnancy.

Even when they suggested taking a concubine to the Crown Prince, he wouldn’t agree. No matter how many high-ranking noblewomen tried seductive tactics, he wouldn’t budge.

The Crown Prince had eyes only for the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess was a princess invited from a neighboring country. They couldn’t just casually divorce her.

So then.

Wouldn’t it be better if the Crown Prince just gave up in some way?

There seemed to be such movements.

The reason it hadn’t surfaced until now was because the Princess had been taking the lead in bullying the Crown Princess.

But now that Princess was going to marry overseas.

So, it seemed that faction was becoming active in her place.

“The ‘Hounds’ are investigating various leads, but it seems they haven’t yet identified the actual perpetrators. No issues.”

Lidoria emptied the white wine. She was then handed a glass of rosé.

“There might even be enemies who’ve infiltrated this reception. What if there was something strange in the gifts for the Crown Princess? That’s why we’re doing poison tasting.”

“Does the guest of honor today really have to do it?”

Finley sounded exasperated. Lidoria shrugged and brought the glass of rosé to her nose. Smell, good.

“Amanda’s pregnancy was confirmed.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“She has morning sickness, so she said she wanted to do the poison tasting, but we can’t let her do that.”

Sena made a face while tossing a cookie into her mouth.

“And since Sena said she can’t drink much alcohol, I became responsible for the drinks, and Sena for the food.”

She finished the rosé and reached for the next glass.

“Being a maid is tough.”

As Finley said this with a somewhat taken-aback tone, Lidoria gave a wry smile.

“But at least the Unicorn Knight Order is handling security properly. That alone makes it easier. Until very recently, we maids were also doing security.”

“Lidoria is excellent, after all.”

Nodding, Lidoria looked at Sena, who was now reaching for a cupcake, and wondered what was up with her stomach. Sena claimed to have a dropped stomach, but how could she eat so much and still be so skinny?

Sena, for her part, seemed puzzled about how Lidoria could drink so much liquid without needing to go to the bathroom.

“Most importantly, as long as the Crown Princess seems happy, I’m fine with anything.”

She gulped down the wine from her glass, then realized, oops, she forgot to check the aroma. But since she wasn’t feeling unwell, there probably wasn’t any poison.

She turned her gaze to the center of the garden, near the fountain.

There stood the Crown Prince and Princess.

Today, the two were dressed in outfits inspired by the bluebird said to bring happiness.

Around them were participants in various costumes, chatting happily.

Until very recently, the Crown Princess had tended to be somewhat isolated, partly due to the Princess’s harassment.

It seemed almost unbelievable now.

The Crown Princess was chatting amiably with high-ranking nobles around her age.

That made Lidoria and Sena, and of course Amanda who wasn’t here, happier than anything.

“So? Where’s today’s guest of honor, the Fairy King?”

Finley looked around restlessly.

Currently on the tiered seating were Lidoria, Sena, and the attendants assigned to the Crown Princess.

It was practically becoming the staff seating area.

“Alex? Probably around there somewhere.”

Lidoria pointed with her empty glass toward the top floor of the villa.

It was a garden terrace with a variety of plants.

“Huh? That security guard?”

As Finley shaded his eyes with his hand to look, Lidoria shook her head.

“That’s a ‘show’ security guard. The kind that says ‘We’re doing security, you know~’.”

On the garden terrace stood two members of the Winged Lion Knight Order with rifles and crossbows, but that was a kind of deterrence. “We’re properly on guard. We’re watching.”

Alex, who was actually keeping the venue in sight and preparing for attacks, was somewhere on the garden terrace. Probably. Even Lidoria hadn’t been told.

“He must be hiding somewhere in that planting, right?”

Sena said admiringly while bringing a pudding to her mouth.

“I don’t know~. I’ve been looking at the plants this whole time, but I can’t tell at all.”

Finley was also surprised and stared intently at the garden terrace again.

“Eh. Seriously. He’s in there? Ehh…… Is he wearing a ghillie suit?”

“What’s a ghillie suit? Ugh, this wine.”

She involuntarily made a face, and the attendant leaned forward. “Poison?!”

“No, it just tasted bad. Please lower the evaluation of the person who brought this wine.”

“Understood.”

“So, what’s a ghillie suit?”

“It’s what snipers and such wear when hiding in grass or woods. They attach branches and leaves to their shoulders and body so it’s easier to camouflage.”

“Ah! I’ve seen that! That shaggy monster-like thing!”

Lidoria raised her voice, but Finley furrowed his brow even more and tilted his head.

“But you know, the most easily found part is the face.”

“Face?”

“See, no matter how much you camouflage your head or torso, your face is white, right? It stands out quite a bit. So normally, they use camouflage makeup on their face too.”

Perhaps due to the alcohol, Lidoria laughed.

“That’s right! I saw Finley with camouflage makeup once!”

“How do you know that?!”

She couldn’t say she’d actually sneaked into the military academy, so Lidoria panicked.

“So? And then?”

“Well… Sir Alex, he’s the groom, right? He’s probably doing sniper duty on shifts. But if even we can’t find him… Eh? What’s Sir Alex’s costume?”

“Fairy King.”

Lidoria and Sena answered in unison.

“Right? So, what does the Fairy King look like?”

Finley asked again. Even as he asked, his eyes remained fixed on the garden terrace. Even trying to find him, he really couldn’t. He was staring so hard that the show security guards were starting to act suspicious.

“He was wearing green clothes overall. And he had artificial flowers attached here and there.”

At Lidoria’s words, Finley groaned.

“Uu…n. Then camouflage would be easier.”

“And he had horns.”

“Horns?!”

Finley let out a startled cry, and not only Lidoria but Sena looked at him.

“Yeah, that’s right. There were two, like this.”

Sena held a fork in each hand and placed them against her head.

“You thought the Fairy King had horns too, right, Lidoria?”

“They were quite impressive, Sena. His Highness the Crown Prince said, ‘We examined various horns and selected the ones that truly represent the Fairy King.'”

“But those looked heavy.”

“They were pretty heavy. I thought, how could anyone bring themselves to wear such a headpiece.”

“Right~”

“Alex’s loyalty was being tested, huh.”

“Wait, so even with horns like that sticking out, we can’t see him?! What’s going on?!”

Finley said, but “Who knows,” Lidoria and Sena exchanged glances.

“Well, anyway. Once security settles down, the Fairy King will come, right?”

“We have to finish the poison tasting before then. I have to leave my seat. This is the Fairy King’s seat, right?”

“Isn’t it fine? Already.”

“It can’t be helped.”

Sena desperately resumed her poison tasting.

“Hey, Sis.”

“What? Finley.”

“Are you getting along well with Sir Alex? Is married life okay?”

Being asked such a thing so suddenly, Lidoria choked spectacularly and spat out her wine.

“W-what are you saying! It’s fine!”

She coughed violently, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

Wh-what in the world. Even though they’re holding a wedding reception, does her little brother still suspect it’s a sham?

“That’s right. These two get along well despite everything.”

When she turned toward Sena’s voice, she met her eyes, smiling teasingly.

“Just the other day, you were late for the first time, and before that, you came to work with a kiss mark here.”

“Gyaaaaah! Sena, what are you saying?!”

Lidoria screamed. Even though her face didn’t turn red from alcohol, it now looked like it was about to shoot flames.

“Th-th-th-that’s not it, that was Alex who…!”

When she tried to explain desperately to Finley, her brother exclaimed, “Ah!”

“Sir Alex had a slap mark on his face once! Was that you, Sis?!”

The moment she realized he’d put a kiss mark in an impossible-to-hide spot, Lidoria had slapped Alex’s face.

As a result, that day, Lidoria went to work with a kiss mark on her neck, and Alex went to work with a slap mark on his cheek.

“…I’m relieved you get along well.”

“Th-th-th-that’s not it!”

Lidoria tried to deny it, but…

Bang.

A dry cracking sound rang out.

For a moment, all sound in the venue stopped.

Not just the participants’ conversations, but the orchestra also stopped playing.

At first, Lidoria thought a balloon had popped.

But realizing it wasn’t, she stood up from the tiered seating.

Alex had sniped.

An enemy.

“Bandits!”

She pointed.

Near the fountain. A man wearing a mask and a jester’s costume was kneeling on one knee, clutching his shot right arm.

In his hand, he held a knife.

“Protect the Crown Princess!”

Sena threw down her fork and shouted.

Simultaneously, Lidoria grabbed her dress and leaped over the table.

Finley hurriedly followed after her.

But the participants scattered and fled in all directions, blocking their path.

“Hey, move aside!”

Lidoria yelled, pushing people aside as she looked ahead.

Near the fountain, the Crown Prince shielded the Crown Princess with his back, confronting the knife-wielding man.

The Winged Lion Knight Order hadn’t closed in yet.

The knife-wielding man raised his knife.

Bang.

Another cracking sound rang out, and the man dropped his knife.

“Sir Alex’s sniper shot!”

At Finley’s voice, she only glanced back toward the garden terrace with her eyes.

But she still couldn’t tell where he was.

“The bandits have accomplices!”

Someone shouted.

Looking, she saw two other masked men had gathered beside the knife-wielder. Each held a knife in their hands.

“What are the baggage inspectors doing?!”

“More importantly! Crown Princess, run away!”

Finley was indignantly angry, but Lidoria shouted while running.

Even with the Crown Prince by her side, they were outnumbered. It was dangerous like this.

Just then.

A whistling sound echoed through the garden.

A thump that resonated in their guts followed.

An arrow had been shot into the wall of the building opposite the garden terrace.

A rope was tied to the tip of that arrow.

It seemed someone had shot it with a crossbow from the garden terrace.

Everyone looked up, not just Lidoria.

A pulley was hooked onto that rope, and a green mass came gliding down from the garden terrace.

For a moment, she thought it was an extremely leafy potted plant.

But it wasn’t.

Lidoria confirmed that the pot-like thing had two horns on its head and cried out.

“Fairy King!”

“Fairy King?!”

Finley also shouted.

Yes.

What came gliding down from the garden terrace all the way to the fountain was Alex, wearing a ghillie suit, with camouflage makeup on his face, and two horns sprouting from his head.

His momentum was so great that branches and leaves scattered extravagantly from the ghillie suit, raining down on the participants’ heads. Alex landed right beside the Crown Prince.

The rioters stared at him blankly for a moment, then one muttered.

“Demon.”

“Who are you calling that. I’m the Fairy King.”

As he spoke, Alex drew his sword and flashed it at the rioters.

As if finally released from a spell, the rioters began to fight back.

A man blocked Alex’s sword with a knife. Taking advantage of the opening, another man lunged at Alex, but he skillfully drew his horn with his left hand and struck him down, repelling the attack.

“R-run away!”

One of the rioters shouted, and the remaining two also fled, pushing people aside as they escaped.

“After them!”

Alex roared, and several members of the Winged Lion Knights dashed out.

“Are you unharmed, Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

Alex asked the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince beamed with a full-faced smile, exchanged a glance with the Crown Princess, and nodded.

“Thank you, Fairy King! As expected.”

Then he embraced Alex, who was now missing one horn.

“Hail the Fairy King!”

“Thank you, Fairy King!”

“You’re amazing, Fairy King!”

The wedding banquet hall echoed endlessly with cheers of “You did it, Fairy King!”

Finley would recount that scene for the rest of his life.

“What the hell is with all the ‘You did it, Fairy King!’?” he’d say.