I Don’t Need Them Anymore — Abandoning the Family That Never Loved Me, I Find Happiness in a Neighboring Kingdom - Chapter 6

The next morning, I received word that an envoy from the Rofeus Kingdom had arrived at the royal castle. Since they said he was being guided to the reception room, I hurriedly prepared myself.

Even when work hours began, Nana hadn’t appeared, so I resigned myself to not being able to say goodbye and rushed to the reception room.

I thought someone might be entertaining him, but only the envoy and soldiers were in the room.

“My apologies for keeping you waiting!”

“Not at all. You must be Princess Dahlia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The person waiting was wearing a black long coat with the hood pulled deep over his eyes, making his face almost invisible, but judging by his build and voice, I assumed he was male.

The fact that five burly soldiers were standing around the sofa where he sat told me he was someone of high status.

Not being familiar with the nobility of the Rofeus Kingdom, even if I could see his face, that’s about all I would have been able to tell.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Dahlia. Thank you for coming all this way.”

After bowing deeply, I asked without waiting for his response.

“Um, have you been informed of the circumstances?”

“Of course. It must have been quite difficult for you.”

Walking over to where I stood frozen by the door, the man removed his hood.

In that moment, I let out a soundless gasp.

With his silver-blond hair and crimson eyes, he had an astonishingly handsome face.

He watched me, frozen in place, with a gentle, kind expression.

“Um… Do you happen to like my face?”

“Eh? Ah, my apologies.”

When I apologized for my rude behavior, the envoy looked flustered.

“I didn’t mean to make you apologize. I was just hoping you might like it.”

“Like it?”

I felt like he was suddenly becoming overly familiar. Maybe because I’m the one he’s dealing with, he thought he didn’t need to use honorifics?

“Yeah. Well, since we’re getting married, it’d be better if you liked my appearance, right?”

“Married?”

What is he talking about? I’m supposed to marry Lord Edith, not the envoy.

As I stood there confused, a soldier approached him and said with an exasperated look, “You still haven’t introduced yourself properly.”

“Ah! That’s right. But I thought you might have heard from Nana.”

“Nana? You know her?”

When I latched onto Nana’s name, the envoy gave a wry smile.

“Know her? Well, Nana is a spy my father boldly sent here.”

“Y-Your father? A spy?”

When I repeated his words, he smiled softly and bowed.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Edith Torun. I’ve come to welcome my bride.”

“…Excuse me?”

W-Wait a minute. What does that mean?

I asked the self-proclaimed prince, who was beaming with a full smile before me.

“Y-You’re joking, right?”

“Why would you think that?”

“B-Because Lord Edith is—”

I stopped myself from saying “the Monster Prince.”

It would be rude to judge based on rumors. Still, I didn’t know if he was the real deal.

I’ve never seen him before. How am I supposed to tell!?

“Ah, I see. You can’t believe it because I’m called the Monster Prince, right? Or maybe you think there’s no way the prince would come here himself?”

“Y-Yes. The sea between the Yusers Kingdom and the Rofeus Kingdom isn’t that far by ship, but you have to cross waters with many pirates. To do something so dangerous.”

The sea separating the two kingdoms is relatively calm, and there are no reefs. It’s a route that can be traveled in half a day, but I never imagined he would come himself.

“I don’t think it’s strange to come welcome the person who will become my wife. Besides, I wanted to see the person who was supposed to be my bride too.”

So, he wanted to meet my elder sister after all.

“There were various things I wanted to investigate, so I’ve actually been staying at an inn near the port since yesterday.”

“…Yesterday?”

“Yeah. I have permission from the Crown Prince.”

“…From my brother?”

What does that mean? Is my brother connected to the royal family of the Rofeus Kingdom?

“He doesn’t know I’m here, but he’s been told that someone has come to pick you up.”

“Um, just to be sure, may I confirm with my brother?”

“I don’t mind, but it might be problematic if you go to Prince Rix’s place, so let me handle it. Could you call Nana for me?”

“…Nana?”

Now that you mention it, he did say earlier that Nana was a spy. She hadn’t arrived earlier, but I wonder if Nana has come to work now.

Still confused, I opened the door to check if Nana had arrived, and there in the hallway stood Nana, wearing a white shirt with a slightly oversized black ribbon at the chest and a black long skirt.

“Nana! Thank goodness. I was worried I wouldn’t get to see you again.”

“My apologies. The preparations took longer than I expected.”

“As long as you made it, don’t worry about it. I need to talk to you. Could you come in?”

“Of course.”

Nana nodded with a smile, entered the room, and spoke to the self-proclaimed Lord Edith.

“It’s been a while, Lord Edith. I’m honored to see you still have that unnecessarily handsome face.”

“Been a while…? We saw each other yesterday. Ah, and thank you for the compliment about my face.”

…Was that a compliment?

As I blinked in confusion, Nana curtsied to me.

“Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Nana Restlise.”

“Restlise…?”

The name of the Restlise ducal house is known throughout the world. They’re descendants of the hero who ended the great world war three hundred years ago. Though they’re a ducal house of the Rofeus Kingdom, they’re famous for having global influence. I knew they had an eldest son, but I didn’t know they had a daughter.

“Nana is the child of a second wife and used to live with us, but she was bullied by her half-brother, so she came to be raised in the royal castle.”

“Is that so?”

When I turned my eyes to Nana, she gave a wry smile.

“Compared to Lady Dahlia’s circumstances, what happened to me was trivial. I was just kicked out of the house for fighting back, so please don’t worry about it.”

“I believe you got angry and broke your brother’s arm, so they took you in because you showed potential as a guard.”

“That’s not true!”

Nana denied the self-proclaimed Lord Edith’s words, then looked at me sheepishly and continued in a small voice.

“Just his nose a little.”

Eh? His nose?

“His nose a little…? What about it?”

“You could say I… crushed it…”

“…You broke your brother’s nose?”

“Yes! He was shouting things like ‘Drop dead!’ and other abusive language, and I was only seven at the time, so I couldn’t control my emotions.”

Her voice grew so quiet toward the end I could barely hear her, and Nana slumped her shoulders dejectedly.

“That was when you were a child, right? It doesn’t seem like it was too serious, and if you’ve reflected on it, I think it’s fine.”

“Thank you.”

When I offered support, Nana smiled at me.

“So, Nana. Could you prove that I’m Edith? And I’d like you to call Prince Rix for me.”

“Regarding Lord Edith’s identity, this assumes you’ll trust my word, but will you believe me, Lady Dahlia?”

When Nana asked me, I turned my eyes to the soldiers. They were staring at me with serious expressions, as if to say it wasn’t a lie.

I can’t imagine they’d tell such an elaborate lie. Besides, I want to trust Nana.

“I believe you.”

When I nodded, Nana confirmed that the person before me was the real Lord Edith.

“He’s cherished me like a real younger sister since we were children. He’s a very kind person.”

“I understand.”

“Lord Edith, don’t you have anything that can prove your identity?”

“I don’t have an ID, but I have this. I was told to hand it over quickly and bring Princess Dahlia back.”

What Lord Edith showed Nana and then offered to me was an envelope stamped with the national seal of the Rofeus Kingdom.

Just because I’m only being married off, they treated it so carelessly. I really can’t believe it!