Because Anne was lively and talkative, the atmosphere quickly became animated. And in the course of conversation, Mary also heard a piece of news from Anne that utterly stunned her.
"What——————!? You're both Mr. Duanmu's fiancées?"
"That's right."
"But why...…um...…"
"It's not strange, is it? Mr. Duanmu is the hero who saved Manaria from the evil dragon, after all. In adventure stories, it's perfectly natural for the hero who saves a kingdom to marry the princess."
"Well...…that's true, and Miss Guleya...…?"
"More or less."
Guleya gave a slight nod, clearly not wanting to say more on the subject.
"Um...…"
Looking at both their reactions, Mary was a little dumbfounded — not because she disapproved of them, but rather...…
"Ah, do you think this doesn't quite fit?"
Anne looked at Mary with a cheerful grin.
"Hm?"
"I can guess. You must be thinking that we and Mr. Duanmu don't really match, right?"
"Well...…this...…"
Though Mary found it hard to say out loud, that was indeed what she was thinking. After all, purely in terms of appearance, both of them were exceptionally beautiful. In Mary's estimation, the kind of beauties who would instantly captivate every gentleman the moment they appeared in London society. Though what Anne said made some sense, that was a fairy tale, wasn't it?
And besides, calling Duanmu Huai a hero was a stretch — he was more like the demon lord. If anything, the image of the demon lord capturing the princess as his prisoner might actually be more fitting.
"Listen up, Mary!"
At that, Anne suddenly raised her voice, startling Mary.
"Yes??"
"This is my advice to you — in the future, when you're looking for a man, you absolutely cannot judge by looks!"
"Hm? What?"
"Listen carefully. A lot of girls have this fantasy — they hope for a handsome, gentle, devoted knight to sweep them off their feet and grow old with them...…but I'm telling you, the moment you're deceived by appearances, you stop seeing what those people are actually like on the inside! Ugh, just thinking about it makes me shudder!"
At that, Anne reached up and grabbed her own hair involuntarily.
"A-Anne?"
"Actually, at my father's request, I've been through a few meetings with potential suitors."
As she spoke, Anne turned to look at the stars beyond the window, her tone carrying a mixture of exhaustion and the weight of memories she'd rather not revisit.
On reflection, it wasn't strange. As a princess, Anne would have been expected to settle her marriage prospects sooner rather than later.
"And the candidates my father introduced to me were always either some genius knight from the order, or the capable son of a noble family — every one of them handsome, well-mannered when they met me, gentle and quite the gentleman. But...…absolutely none of them would do."
"Well...…what exactly was wrong with them?"
Mary found herself asking out of curiosity. She was genuinely puzzled — the expression on Anne's face, which seemed like both the look of someone who had endured terrible things and the look of someone reliving memories best forgotten, felt entirely at odds with what she was describing.
"Everything was wrong! Every single one! Take Kevin, for instance — he was the most brilliant rising star the knight order had ever seen. Flawless manners, golden hair and blue eyes, devastatingly handsome, from an illustrious family. When we met for the first time, he even brought me a Casablanca lily, and told me 'your eyes are more beautiful than this flower...…'"
"Goodness...…"
Hearing this, both Mary and Guleya stared with wide eyes. It had to be said, if Anne's account was accurate, this was genuinely one of the most enchanting chance encounters most girls could ever dream of.
"Isn't that wonderful?"
"Wonderful my foot! Later, I was going to go see him in secret — and then I discovered he had quietly let himself into the knight commander's room! And he had a whip, rope, and candles!! Can you understand? Can you understand what I felt in that moment?! The knight commander is a man nearly sixty years old!!"
"Well...…"
Hearing Anne's increasingly unhinged account, Mary and Guleya exchanged a baffled look, Lorena was speechless, and Phyrin beside them let out a snort of laughter.
"So my first introduction fell apart completely. Then my father introduced me to a noble's son — a rising star in the foreign ministry, very handsome, widely praised among women of good families, and quite the attentive gentleman."
"And then?"
"And then I went to see him in secret, and discovered he liked to dress in women's clothing! Can you imagine? A tall, large-framed man, wearing a lady's dress, wandering in front of his own wardrobe mirror looking completely besotted with himself...…ugh, I can't even bear to think about it!!!"
"Well...…"
Looking at Anne rolling around on the sofa clutching her head, nobody had anything to say.
"But...…everyone has a few small secrets, don't they...…"
"But he was supposed to be my husband! Are you asking me to spend my life tolerating a husband who plays unmentionable games with a man nearly sixty, or who secretly dresses as a woman and admires himself in mirrors?!"
"Well...…"
Imagining herself in that position, Mary shuddered.
That truly was a nightmare. No matter how handsome they were, that was completely unacceptable.
"Odelle feels the same way, doesn't she!"
As she said this, Anne pointed at Odelle standing nearby. Odelle blinked, then gave a nod.
After all, she too had been on the receiving end of someone breaking off an engagement over something as absurd as "true love."
"So, Miss Guleya, I don't suppose you've had anything like that on your end...…"
"Hm...…?"
Hearing Mary ask about her, Guleya blinked, then lowered her head and said nothing at all. As Mary was wondering what to make of that, Anne gave a quietly amused laugh.
"Heh heh heh — you really shouldn't ask Guleya that. You know, Guleya is the princess of Regnis, the dragon kingdom. When you think of dragons, what comes to mind?"
"Um...…they love gold and treasure?"
"And?"
"And...…I'm sorry, I don't know."
"They're lecherous! Why else do you think in all the old legends, dragons always kidnap princesses and never princes?"
"This...…"
Hearing Anne's explanation and looking at Guleya — who had practically buried her face between her knees, her ears visibly red to the tips — Mary was lost for words.
Though Guleya hadn't said anything directly, her expression spoke volumes — things on the dragon-kind side were apparently also a rather difficult story to tell.
Hm?
"Though — aren't you worried Mr. Duanmu might have a thing for women's clothing?"
"With that build of his, they'd have to find something that actually fits him first. Come to think of it, I'm actually curious what Mr. Duanmu would look like in women's clothing. It'd probably be hilarious."
"...…That's a fair point."
Mary couldn't think of a single women's clothing shop in her country that would carry Duanmu Huai's measurements. Finding anything for him to wear in general was difficult, which was why his wardrobe had basically never changed.
"So compared to those pretty-on-the-outside, rotten-on-the-inside types, Mr. Duanmu is much better, honestly. He looks fierce, yes, but his temper is actually quite decent day-to-day — he doesn't get angry very easily. And when you're with him, you get to encounter all kinds of interesting things and see entirely different worlds. That's just wonderful!"
"Ah...…yes...…"
Hearing Anne's assessment, Mary found herself nodding along in agreement. It was true — just as Anne said, though Duanmu Huai looked fierce, he rarely lost his temper with the people around him, and he had genuinely taken her to see things she never could have imagined seeing — Antarctica and those underground ruins were certainly not places Mary would ever have had the chance to visit on her own.
Not to mention he had spent a considerable amount of money on her behalf — far more than what a typical young man would spend taking a girl out and buying her gifts. And Duanmu Huai had spent it all without so much as a furrowed brow. From that perspective, aside from looking fierce, he didn't seem to have any particularly glaring flaws.
"I would rather not encounter too many things, personally."
Compared to the bubbling, excited Anne, Guleya clearly preferred a quieter life.
"What does it matter? If it weren't for Mr. Duanmu, we would never have found a world where the dragon-kind could build a nation of their own, would we?"
"When you put it that way...…I suppose that's true."
Faced with Anne, Guleya clearly had no intention of arguing. She quietly took a sip of her tea and sighed.
"But that Miss Lia is also a problem."
"Ah, Lia — that queen really is troublesome."
Hearing Guleya's words, Anne's brow furrowed as well.
"If I can say so — not that I want to underestimate her — I did underestimate her a little before. Both in terms of politics and when it comes to Mr. Duanmu's affairs, she's been remarkably aggressive. Though I think Mr. Duanmu probably doesn't care too much...…"
Anne muttered a few complaints under her breath, then shook her head and pulled the conversation back on track.
"Anyway, never mind her. Let's talk about Mr. Duanmu — in my opinion, just being around him is entertaining enough."
"Is that so?"
"Of course! Look — Mr. Duanmu looks very fierce, so sometimes I want to play a little prank on him. It's like teasing a tiger through the bars of a cage, you know? Both tense and thrilling — isn't that fun?"
"..."
Mary had to admit Anne's words made a certain kind of sense, though she thought it was better not to say so out loud.
"Click."
While the girls were happily chatting, the door opened and Duanmu Huai walked in.
"Figured you'd all be here."
"Really, Mr. Duanmu — at least knock before coming in. We girls have our little secrets, you know."
Seeing Duanmu Huai appear, Anne raised a finger to her lips in mild protest.
"Fine, I'll think about installing a doorbell next time...…get yourselves ready. We're heading to the bridge."
"They're here already?"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, Anne's eyes immediately lit up and she leaped to her feet.
"Almost. They'll be here any moment. You all wanted to watch, didn't you?"
"Of course — please, you absolutely must take me!"
When it came to spectating where no spectating was needed, Anne was always the first to volunteer.
(End of Chapter)