I Got My Engagement Annulled… Even Though We Were Never Engaged - Chapter 14

“So, Father, what materials do we actually need?”

“Mandrake flowers and Moon-song grass.”

Hearing that, I grimaced.

Mandrakes were monsters that only grew deep in the forest, and when hunting them you had to be careful not to hear their screams.

And Moon-song grass only became active during moonlit nights. During the day they burrowed deep underground, emerging at night to sing songs that disoriented people’s sense of direction.

“Father! You don’t actually plan to stay in the forest until night, do you?”

“That’s right. After all, Moon-song grass only comes out at night, doesn’t it?”

That’s not the point!

He should know how dangerous the forest is at night during this season when monsters are most active. No wonder Mother told me to accompany him.

“It’s fine. Fevan here has, you know, food and a full set of camping gear!”

“That’s not the problem!”

But we’d already set out. At this point, Father probably wouldn’t listen to anything I said. Once Father gets obsessed with materials, nothing can stop him.

As I pressed my forehead and sighed, Lord Fevan beside me chuckled softly.

“Adeline’s father is quite an amusing person.”

“‘Amusing’ doesn’t quite cover it.”

While I was glad Father had regained his energy, perhaps because he’d been bedridden for a while, the rebound was just too extreme.

Even before we reached the forest, Father was busily gathering every medicinal herb he found, completely regressing to his childhood self. His eyes were sparkling.

“Even though Father has already started using them for potion ingredients, was it really alright to receive so many precious Eternal Roses?”

“It’s fine. His Highness said it was okay.”

“Is it really alright to be so generously handing them out like that?”

“Well, this time the circumstances are, shall we say, special.”

Lord Fevan said hesitantly, scratching his cheek.

“You see, I lied about preferring men to break off my engagement, right? That ended up causing trouble for His Highness. It seems Lady Eliene, His Highness’s fiancée, got the wrong idea.”

“The wrong idea…”

“Yeah. Well, to put it simply, she started suspecting there’s something between His Highness and me.”

I see. Come to think of it, my sister mentioned there were rumors circulating that Lord Fevan’s love interest might be the Crown Prince. Although the royal family seemed to have suppressed it, it reached the ears of the one person who shouldn’t have heard.

“No matter what His Highness says, she won’t believe him. So when he heard I was proposing, His Highness thought that if my engagement worked out, it might clear up Lady Eliene’s misunderstanding. So, he said he’d support me however he could. ”

I see. So that’s why he was so generously offering those precious Eternal Roses. The Crown Prince must be desperate.

“But if I may say, isn’t it suspicious that he’s so generously giving you those precious roses in the first place?”

“…It’s probably fine, don’t you think?”

Lord Fevan must have thought about that too. His eyes were darting around.

“If the Crown Prince and Lady Eliene break up because of this, would I face any repercussions.”

“Th-that probably… It would be my fault.”

“What about the Marquis regarding the rumors?”

“He didn’t say anything, but he took to his bed.”

Poor man.

And if the Prime Minister is bedridden, His Majesty must be having a hard time.

“So I’d be really happy if you’d marry me, Adeline.”

“That’s a completely separate matter.”

“You’re really tough to deal with.”

Lord Fevan’s shoulders slumped dejectedly.

Father showed no sign of hearing our conversation at all, running around like a child from here to there.

“Father, you’ll be exhausted before we even reach the forest!”

“Yeah! But there are so many medicinal herbs here!”

“That’s because you scattered herb seeds along these paths long ago, of course they’d grow here!”

Some medicinal herbs boast weed-level vitality. Because Father scattered seeds, this area produces medicinal herbs year after year.

“Adeline, I’ve decided! I’m going to make medicine for people who drink too much alcohol like I did and get sick! I’ll develop medicine that works even without Eternal Roses, no matter how much you drink!!”

Just when I thought he’d stopped gathering herbs, he suddenly made this declaration.

I wanted to bury my head in my hands. My alcohol-loving father hadn’t learned his lesson at all. Instead of quitting drinking after his health failed, he wanted to develop medicine so he could drink as much as he wanted – it made no sense. I just can’t follow Father’s thought process.

“Adeline’s father is quite an amusing person.”

Lord Fevan said the same thing as before, but I felt the meaning was slightly different this time.

I covered my face with both hands in embarrassment.