Chapter 14
“From now on, Saint Garden belongs to the Crown Princess.”
“My… garden?”
“So you may decorate it however you like.”
The garden Mother loved…
“It’s already beautiful the way it is.”
Leah shook her head.
“This garden belongs to Reverse Palace. Without permission from you or me, no one can enter except the gardener and a few servants.”
While listening to Edward’s explanation, they slowly walked until they reached the fountain.
“Would you like to sit and rest for a moment?”
Around the fountain were marble benches.
The two of them sat side by side.
Leah lifted her head and looked up at the clear blue sky.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
In the quiet garden, a gentle spring breeze rustled the leaves and soft birdsong could be heard. Behind them, the sound of flowing water from the fountain continued.
“…It’s peaceful.”
“…Yes, it is.”
Leah and Edward quietly closed their eyes.
At that moment, without trying, they both felt calm.
***
Later
Even though he said he was on vacation, Edward still spent a lot of time in his office.
Leah even started wondering if she should worry about him dying from overwork.
At that moment, the door connecting to the office opened and Edward appeared.
“Crown Princess, there is something I want to show you.”
He didn’t step inside but opened the office door wider.
Leah stood up and walked into the office.
Edward guided her to the sofa in the center of the room.
After she sat down, her eyes fell on a document envelope on the table.
Edward sat across from her.
“Please open it.”
Leah picked up the envelope with a red wax seal that had already been broken and took out the papers inside.
It was a mineral trade contract between the Kloster Empire and the Trans Kingdom.
She slowly read through it.
As she did, her face gradually became stiff.
“…Because of… our marriage… another 10% was added…”
She let out a bitter laugh while still looking at the paper.
Did they really have to marry me off just to give away another 10% ownership…?
Even without a royal marriage, 30% would have been enough to protect the kingdom. She couldn’t understand why the Trans Kingdom made this decision.
After reading the contract again, Leah placed the document on the table and looked up at Edward.
“Why are you showing me this document, Your Highness?”
Her tone sounded uncomfortable and her voice had grown cold.
Edward looked slightly surprised.
The smile that always seemed to stay on Leah’s face was gone.
“…I thought the Crown Princess should know about it.”
“Why?”
“Because it is not unrelated to you. And… I wanted you to stand proudly in your place here.”
Leah silently looked at this kind man.
The mine… the minerals… that was the problem. If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have married this man.
“Why… did they marry me to you while giving up even more mineral ownership?”
She turned her head toward the window glowing with sunset light and muttered emptily.
“It would have been a good enough deal even without a royal marriage…”
Edward looked at her unfamiliar side with confusion.
He watched her as if trying to understand the real her.
“…Do you regret it?”
Leah turned her head back toward him.
“Regret… isn’t that something only people who have choices can do?”
She was smiling, but her presence felt cold.
It wasn’t the warm smile she usually had.
Edward had asked if she regretted it, but what she showed instead was resentment.
He hadn’t expected that reaction.
Many kingdoms wished for a royal marriage with the Kloster Empire, so he had never considered that it might be unwanted.
Leah had never shown any signs of that before.
“…It’s probably because the position is Crown Princess.”
Edward said, trying to calm his confusion.
“Is this position really that great?”
“It is the position of the future Empress of the Kloster Empire.”
Ah… right. If I even live long enough for that.
“If you become Empress and give birth to an heir, the Trans Kingdom will receive stable protection from our empire for as long as it exists. That cannot be compared to an alliance based only on minerals that will eventually run out.”
“I see…”
Leah nodded calmly. Her expression was quiet.
Edward watched her strange mood silently.
“I did not intend to upset you.”
He spoke carefully, feeling bitter about her reluctant acceptance.
“I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”
Hearing Edward’s heavy voice, Leah finally realized she had been taking out her frustration on the wrong person.
She took a deep breath to calm herself.
“I’m sorry.”
Edward, who had been looking down, raised his head.
Leah’s eyebrows drooped slightly as she showed her apology.
“I was being petty toward you. I guess I felt too comfortable around you.”
She said it like she found herself ridiculous.
“I don’t doubt Your Highness’s sincerity. Or the kindness you’ve shown me until now.”
“…”
“I think I briefly forgot that this marriage was a political transaction.”
Political transaction…
Edward suddenly felt that familiar phrase sound cold like metal.
“I was rude. I’m sorry.”
Leah stood up and tried to bow in apology.
Edward quickly stood up and stopped her.
“Please don’t do this, Crown Princess.”
At his request, Leah sat down again.
Edward let out a small breath and sat down too. Then he handed her another envelope.
This one had the hawk emblem of the Crown Prince and showed no signs of being opened.
Leah glanced at him before hesitantly picking it up.
She carefully broke the seal and took out the paper inside.
“A… share transfer document?”
She looked at Edward, waiting for an explanation.
“The additional shares we received because of our royal marriage were given to me. And I intend to share them with you.”
“…Why?”
“I didn’t get married alone.”
Leah slowly put the document down.
“The value of the minerals that come in each month will be converted into money and sent to Reverse Palace. I will introduce him properly later, but Secretary Robert—who you saw at the training ground—will manage it. If you need anything, you can ask Robert.”
“…”
“And no one will interfere with how you use it.”
He’s really… a strange person…
Leah couldn’t understand him.
He told her things he didn’t have to tell her, and gave her things he didn’t have to give.
“Do you have any other questions?”
Edward asked gently when she remained silent.
“Your Highness… is a little… strange.”
“Pardon?”
“But… I don’t dislike it. This kind of strangeness.”
“…”
Edward looked surprised, then thought about her words and laughed softly.
The tension between them melted away like snow.
Edward actually felt pleased hearing her call him strange.
“In this empire, the only person who makes me this flustered so often is the Crown Princess.”
“…”
“And I don’t dislike that either.”
Leah smiled brightly.
It was the same clear smile she had shown when they first met.
***
The Last Day Before Returning to Normal Life
Edward introduced a maid to Leah.
A bright blonde maid entered the office together with Robert.
“This is Sasha, one of your personal maids. Officially she is a maid, but in reality she will serve as your bodyguard.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness, Crown Princess.”
She looked more like a noble lady than a bodyguard.
“Someone this pretty is going to guard me?”
Leah stepped closer to Sasha and said it with sparkling eyes.
Sasha looked flustered.
“Crown Princess.”
Edward called her softly, smiling slightly as if telling her to behave.
“Oh, I must have been rude. Sorry, Sasha.”
“N-No, not at all. Actually, I…”
“Please take care of me from now on, Sasha. Let’s get along well.”
Leah approached her warmly with a bright smile.
Sasha blushed shyly.
Watching this scene from the side, Robert clicked his tongue to himself.
