ARPTCF 06

Chapter 6

“Being recognized as a married couple… You dare, in front of me, to bind yourself to another woman instead of me?”

Biting her lower lip as if suppressing her anger, she growled and glared at the princess.

“Is that true?”

“…Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Valoa. Since this concerns not just anywhere, but the Hartwell Count family and the Dalton Ducal House, I went to meet His Majesty first and received approval.”

Sorry, my foot. For reference, it was the princess herself who suggested getting the Emperor’s approval before the wedding.

At the time I thought she was just unusually excited…

Now it seemed she had been preparing for this very moment.

If they were going to control a rampaging Valoa without derailing the marriage, they would need a shield like the Emperor.

“Ha… hah! Hahahaha!”

Just as expected, even Valoa—no matter how reckless she was—couldn’t ignore the Emperor.

“So you’re telling me to back off? To just stand here and do nothing while you shamelessly cling to them in front of me? Ha!”

She flew into a rage, kicking her seat back, and in a fit of fury smashed a flower vase.

Ignoring the guests’ shock and the hurried steps of the guards, Valoa spoke sharply.

“So you want to paint me as the villain. Fine. I’ll leave as you wish today. You don’t succeed in a hunt by just cornering your prey, after all.”

“…”

“But remember this. I will never give up what I want. If I can’t have it, I’ll break it, tear it apart, ruin it—anything. Even if I discard it the moment I obtain it!”

As if to etch her foul mood into the surroundings, she slowly looked around before turning sharply away.

Naturally, no one stopped her.

After the Storm-Like Wedding

The wedding that would go down in high society history finally ended.

After seeing off the last guest, the two protagonists were now the ones being seen off.

Standing in front of the carriage, family and friends offered their final farewells.

“Congratulations again, Via! Have a great trip!”

“Yeah, I’ll bring back something tasty. Thanks for seeing me off until the end, Mieriel.”

“Congratulations, senior! You two really suit each other!”

“Glad to hear that. Thank you for coming, Lady Susanna.”

“Oh, don’t worry too much about Lady Crawford’s incident. She’s always been… like that. Everyone in high society will be on your side anyway.”

“Right! You’re legally married now anyway—what else can they do? Just ignore her!”

Ignoring it might be difficult given how intense it had been… but still, what mattered was their friends’ kindness.

Nodding vigorously, Via tightly hugged Susanna and smiled.

“Who even came? I only remember you guys anyway.”

“Hey~!”

“Brother, please take care of my friends while we’re gone!”

“Don’t worry, just be careful on your trip. And don’t end up fighting on your honeymoon.”

Ignoring her brother like a proper younger sister, Via boarded the carriage.

Clyde, who had entered slightly ahead of her, helped her in and bowed his head.

“We’ll greet you properly after we return.”

“Yes.”

The two waved through the window as they embraced each other warmly—but the moment the figures of their family faded from view, they promptly moved apart.

It was perfectly synchronized, as if rehearsed.

“Ugh, I really thought I was going to die from cringe.”

“Look who’s talking.”

Via loosened Clyde’s cravat as she replied, about to say more—when he raised an eyebrow as if something had just occurred to him and smiled faintly.

That was the same ominous smile he often wore when teasing her.

“But what are you going to do? From now on, you’ll have to get used to things like that.”

“That’s nonsense… no, wait. Yeah, that’s true? Damn it… Even the wedding ceremony was unbearable, and now we have to keep doing that kind of thing? Even the way we address each other—ugh… whatever that term is…”

“Darling.”

“I didn’t forget the word.”

“If that’s too much, there’s also honey, my love, or sweetheart. Oh, and ‘baby’ too.”

As Clyde listed affectionate terms one by one, Via’s expression grew colder and colder.

Finding none of them acceptable, she cut him off sharply.

“I hate all of them.”

“Really? I find them pretty natural.”

“What? Liar!”

She glared at him in disbelief—only to realize too late she had made a mistake.

As if waiting for that exact moment, Clyde smiled gently, almost angelically.

A very suspicious smile.

Sensing danger, Via reached to cover his mouth—but he was faster.

He caught her hand lightly and intertwined their fingers, speaking sweetly.

“A lie, darling? You don’t trust your one and only honey and other half?”

“Ugh.”

“My love doesn’t trust me this much? Clyde is heartbroken. Looks like I’ll have to properly teach you a lesson.”

“Ack! I—I get it! I’ll admit it! Okay?!”

Flustered so badly she nearly bit her tongue, Via tried to pull away—but Clyde leaned closer.

“Hmm? Admit what? Why are you struggling so much? Are you embarrassed, darling? But if you move too much in the carriage, you might get hurt, sweetheart.”

“You definitely polished your tongue with oil or something—stop it, you psycho!”

Clyde wrapped an arm around her waist to prevent escape.

Via swung a cushion at him, but he caught it effortlessly and shrugged, victorious.

“If you don’t want this happening, you’d better get used to it quickly. You’ll be saying those words constantly from now on.”

“Ha! Exaggeration. It wasn’t even this bad at the wedding. Why are you acting like this now?”

“Well… about that…”

His voice trailed off unusually, making Via narrow her eyes.

Before she could press him, he suddenly asked:

“Since it’s just us, I’ll ask honestly. Via, when the princess supported our marriage and helped speed up the ceremony—how did you feel?”

“…How did I feel?”

She frowned but thought about it seriously.

Clyde looked more serious than usual, so she didn’t brush it off.

After a moment, she slowly spoke.

“Well… first, I was like, ‘this is insane.’ And knowing how it ends, I was kind of looking forward to it too. And…”

“And?”

She bit her lip slightly.

And I felt… annoyed.

She couldn’t clearly define the emotion, but it felt like something boiling in her stomach.

A strange mix—relief and satisfaction tangled with irritation and discomfort.

“Like… winning while also feeling like I lost.”

“Then what about when Valoa Edm—Crawford showed up and caused trouble?”

“…Huh?”

Why was she even thinking about this so seriously?

Wasn’t she the one who asked why they had to get used to those titles?!

Before she could protest—

“I was frustrated.”

Clyde’s calm voice interrupted her.

Via turned to look at him.

He wasn’t smiling anymore.

“We acted smart. In the end, we won. We even used the princess as a shield, and we handled Valoa’s outburst.”

“….”

“But even so, it still bothers me that this was the best I could do right now.”

If he had the ability and influence to handle everything without relying on others…

Even then, I probably would’ve used them anyway.

There was a clear difference between choosing freely while in control—and not being in control at all.

And Via understood that better than anyone.

Because she had experienced it before.