I Got My Engagement Annulled… Even Though We Were Never Engaged - Chapter 28

The venue for the tea party was the Cerullion Ducal House, hosted by Lady Eliene.

A large fountain stood in the spacious garden.

Beyond it was a grand mansion resembling a palace—in truth, this mansion was a royal villa given by the previous king, his father, to Duke Cerullion when he descended from the royal lineage to join the nobility.

Even among other ducal houses, the Cerullion Ducal House, headed by the king’s younger brother, was in a class of its own. It was no exaggeration to say that Lady Eliene had lived a life equivalent to that of a princess since childhood.

Presumably, she had been intended for an engagement with the crown prince from the moment she was born. Numerous top-tier tutors were assigned to her, and she received an education befitting a princess.

Perhaps because of this, Lady Eliene, though a duke’s daughter, carried herself like royalty.

With her path to becoming the future crown princess and queen all but assured, there was no one in this country above her except the queen herself.

Lady Eliene was magnanimous, yet her demeanor overflowed with grace, making her an object of admiration among women of her generation.

As I nervously stepped down from the carriage in front of the Cerullion Ducal House’s entrance, I was greeted by a large number of the ducal household’s servants.

While tea parties for ladies often made use of salons, today’s gathering had many guests, so preparations had been made in a large hall.

Guided by a maid to the hall, I saw several round tables draped in pure white tablecloths, each laden with delicious-looking sweets and light refreshments.

Seating appeared to be assigned, and I was led to a spot somewhat distant from where Lady Eliene was to sit.

Relieved that my seat wasn’t too close, I sat down, only to be addressed in a light, cheerful voice: “Adeline.”

Startled, I turned to see a familiar woman seated three seats away from me, and I felt myself blanch. I’d been too nervous to notice her earlier.

“Lady Tatiana!”

It was Lady Tatiana, the eldest daughter of the Dauvergne Ducal House.

The town my family governed was within the Dauvergne Duchy. In other words, Duke Dauvergne was our direct superior. The fact that I hadn’t noticed his daughter’s presence made me flustered, and I hurried to apologize, but Lady Tatiana waved her hand dismissively with a laugh.

“It’s fine, really.”

“Hehe, you seemed quite tense. You were moving your arms and legs all out of sync.”

“R-really?”

“Oh my, you didn’t notice? Hehe, Beatrice often shows up at these events, but it’s rare to see you here.”

Lady Tatiana was a beautiful woman with softly waving golden hair and amethyst eyes. At nineteen, she was a year older than me and engaged to the heir of the Yuro Marquis House.

It was said that if Lady Eliene hadn’t been born, Lady Tatiana would have been the crown prince’s fiancée. Rumor had it that the reason she hadn’t yet married her fiancé was because she was waiting for Lady Eliene and Crown Prince Odilon to wed.

To put it crudely, she was keeping herself available so she could swiftly take the crown prince’s place if the engagement fell through.

As a second daughter, I rarely attended Dauvergne Ducal gatherings, but I did join the New Year’s party. Lady Tatiana was a kind woman who would come talk to me when I stood quietly by the wall.

“Oh yes, thank you for the wonderful gift the other day. I never expected to receive a griffin’s magic stone. My father says he’ll treat it as a family treasure and polishes it almost daily. I thought I might get a feather or two, but I never imagined we’d receive both the magic stone and the liver. Ever since that day, Father’s been in such high spirits. I’ll have something sent to you as thanks soon.”

“Th-thank you.”

“But really, you’re such a powerful mage. I’m amazed you managed to take down a griffin.”

“No, that was… Lord Fe— I mean, Lord Levesius who defeated it.”

“No need to be modest. Lord Fevan also said it was only because you were with him that he could manage it.”

No, if anything, Lord Fevan was the one being modest. All I did was hold one of them off; Lord Fevan dealt the finishing blow.

Lady Tatiana paused there, then leaned in closer, her lavender eyes sparkling.

“But more importantly, is it true that you and Lord Fevan are getting married?”

As soon as Lady Tatiana spoke, the two other young ladies at the table also leaned forward. I recognized them both. They were daughters of nobles whose territories, like ours, lay within the Dauvergne Duchy.

“Yes, I’ve been wanting to hear about that as well.”

“I read that confusing newspaper article about being engaged without being engaged and then having the engagement broken off. Was that what started it all?”

It was difficult to say, “That’s exactly right,” so I gave an ambiguous smile.

Taking that as confirmation, the young ladies let out delighted, “Eeeek!” cries.

“I read that article too, and I wondered if such a strange thing could really happen. I had another engagement on the day of that party, and I’ve been regretting not canceling it to go to the Levesius Marquis House instead.”

Lady Tatiana, so even a duke’s daughter reads gossip papers.

Well, she did have a taste for the interesting and was relentless in gathering information. Gossip rags were probably just one of her sources. They were full of lies, but sometimes, as in this case, they printed stories that sounded like lies but were actually true. Incidentally, regular newspapers were too afraid of noble retaliation to publish such articles.

“Well, you see, there were various misunderstandings.”

“In short, they got the name wrong, right? But normally, you wouldn’t mistake your fiancé’s face. I’d love to hear more about that part.”

“For the sake of Lord Levesius’s honor, I must ask you to spare me.”

The story of how I was mistakenly dumped was less troublesome than the rumor that he’d acquired a fiancée while studying abroad, someone whose face he’d never even seen. Especially among women, this kind of gossip spread quickly. Women disliked cunning women. They might forgive themselves but never others.

Particularly since Adrienne Canteloupe, the count’s daughter, was someone around whom glamorous rumors constantly swirled. She probably had plenty of female enemies. If only she were the one being criticized, that would be one thing, but there was no telling whether the backlash might not reach the Levesius Marquis House.

If people started saying the prime minister’s household had been tricked by a foolish woman, it would be a disaster.

The truth was that they’d only entered into the engagement to silence the other party temporarily, with plans to confirm things once Lord Fevan returned from his studies. But rumors didn’t care about the truth, they just had to be interesting.

“Then at least answer one thing. Is it true that Lord Fevan is into men?”

“That’s a complete lie.”

I had to deny that with all my might.

Lady Tatiana pouted, looking somewhat disappointed.

“Aww.”

“What do you mean, ‘Aww’? Were you hoping it was true, Lady Tatiana?”

“I just thought it would be interesting, that’s all. A scandal involving the crown prince and his aide in a homosexual affair would be the first in Belcour’s history.”

“I heard that rumor has been distressing Lady Eliene.”

“Yes, I know.”

Lady Tatiana smiled sweetly.

…Lady Tatiana still dislikes Lady Eliene, doesn’t she?

Factional strife among high-ranking noble daughters was such a nuisance.

I was inevitably grouped into Lady Tatiana’s faction as part of the Dauvergne Duchy, but if possible, I didn’t want to get dragged into troublesome female squabbles.

Lady Eliene and Crown Prince Odilon got along so well that there had been no opening for anyone to come between them until Lord Fevan’s declaration (though false) that he preferred men created a crack. Lady Tatiana probably wanted to stir things up and cause at least a bit of trouble.

Rumor had it that this stemmed from an insult Lady Eliene had dealt her in childhood, but who knew if that was true?

My older sister would probably know the details, but I wasn’t very interested in such matters, so I didn’t know the truth.

Still, the fact that Lady Tatiana, a duke’s daughter, had been seated far from the hostess, Lady Eliene, spoke volumes about their poor relationship.

…Even if they didn’t get along, they still had to invite each other to maintain appearances. What a difficult world.

As I let out a soft sigh, Lady Tatiana lowered her voice.

“So, are you marrying Lord Fevan?”

“Th-that’s still…”

“If there are any problems, our house will fully support you. …You see, if things stay as they are, I’ll be marrying into a marquis house, right? If Lady Eliene becomes crown princess, there’s a risk our faction will be pushed into sinecures. I’d prefer to have an ally in a close position.”

I see, so it’s a political issue.

Lady Tatiana has it tough too.

Perhaps Lady Tatiana would have preferred to marry the heir of some ducal house if she couldn’t wed the crown prince, but unfortunately, there were no ducal heirs of suitable age. So instead, to strengthen ties, she became engaged to the heir of a marquis house within her faction.

“Adeline, you’re a brilliant mage and clever too. You’d be an asset to the Levesius Marquis House. You must secure the position of his wife by any means necessary. Don’t let some young lady from Lady Eliene’s faction take it from you.”

“E-even if you say that…”

“According to my information, he’s currently more taken with you than she is. Get him to sign the engagement papers now, and if possible, push straight through to marriage.”

Lady Tatiana flicked open her fan and spoke even more quietly.

“Just between us, I’ve heard that the reason that Adélaïde Canteloupe managed to secure the position of his fiancée while Lord Fevan was abroad was because she had Lady Eliene’s backing. The Canteloupe Count House belongs to the Cerullion Ducal faction. The Levesius Marquis House has close ties with the Cerullion Ducal House, but they aren’t part of the faction. They’re desperate to pull them into their camp.”

The Levesius Marquis faction was a neutral group that disliked backstabbing and underhanded tactics. You could also call them mediators.

As the prime minister’s house and a powerful family, many nobles wanted to draw them into their own factions.

“Even if I marry in, I doubt they’d be incorporated into the faction.”

“I’m not expecting that much. I just want to be able to obstruct the other side. Because Lord Levesius’s sister married Duke Cerullion, the Levesius Marquis House is already quite close to the Cerullion Ducal House. We can’t afford to let them get any closer.”

My marriage prospects, hurtling straight toward spinsterhood, were taking an unexpected turn.

I didn’t want to get involved in politics or factions, but if the other party was the heir of the Levesius Marquis House, it was an unavoidable issue. I hadn’t anticipated this, but perhaps I was the fool for not having foreseen it.

If I were to marry Lord Fevan, I’d need considerable resolve.

Honestly, part of me still wanted to run away but I’d already begun to feel that I wanted to stay by Lord Fevan’s side.

It was probably time to make a serious choice.

I wished I had more time, but once things started moving around me, my own wishes wouldn’t matter.

If that was the case, then while I could still decide for myself, I wanted to give my answer with my own words.

…Next time we meet, I’ll talk to him.

I’ve thought about it a lot, and I’m still thinking.

I know full well that someone like me couldn’t possibly be a suitable match for Lord Fevan, or fulfill the role of the future Marchioness Levesius.

But—

…I’ve fallen for him.

Even though I keep telling myself it’s impossible, I can’t bring myself to leave him. So, I have no choice but to make my resolve.