The emperor, for whatever reason, had a shred of conscience. A large, comfortable carriage prepared by the imperial court was waiting in front of the chapel.
Of course, the pile of luggage that Anje had brought with her was already loaded onto the carriage.
‘Or maybe he just wanted to get the princess out of the capital as soon as possible.’
TL/N: Dukes’ daughters are called princesses too.
Eiden nodded to himself, thinking that this was a more likely explanation.
It was a plausible guess, considering that he had been specially summoned from his secluded life in the countryside to take on this burden.
Emperor William had justified the match by saying that he was finding a suitable marriage for the princess, who had lost her fiancé because of him.
He said he was doing this to help the “poor” fiancée of the former crown prince, Philip Cardinare, who had been ousted by his younger brother just before becoming emperor.
However, it was clear that he had chosen Eiden, the illegitimate son of the previous emperor, over other noblemen, in order to snub the Glasster family, which had been persistently vying for the position of empress.
“To ‘half-breed’ Aiden, not even a similar high-ranking noble.”
Aiden smiled bitterly as he recalled the derogatory nickname that he was called in noble society. It was a malicious nickname spread by former crown prince Philip, who had led the charge because Aiden had a commoner mother.
In this Albion Empire, where religious beliefs are strong, illegitimate children who were not born to a legally married couple tend to be ignored as impure beings.
This was no exception for Aiden, even though he had the blood of the emperor flowing through his veins.
Fortunately, he had received the surname “Fitzroy”, meaning “son of the king”, a knighthood, and a small piece of land, which had been pleasing to the previous emperor. But that was all.
Look, you can’t hide your low-born blood.
Aiden frowned at the memories that flooded his mind. After returning to the capital and meeting William, he thought of the past that he didn’t want to remember.
“Hey! Are you listening to me?”
Anje raised her voice to get Aiden’s attention, who was lost in thought. Perhaps the princess’s attitude also contributed to his recollection of the past.
“What’s the matter?”
She didn’t care that the man’s expression showed obvious annoyance, and she protested loudly about what he had just said.
“You can’t take a maid or servant with you? Where is that law?”
She couldn’t believe it. She naturally thought that one of her two personal maids, or both, would go with her to his house. That was the “custom” of the noble society.
But now the man who had become her husband simply shook his head indifferently.
“It’s my land, and it’s my house. So you have to follow my rules. I’m already over the limit with you as the only outsider I’m bringing.”
He answered firmly, with no room for compromise, but Anjesa did not give up and retorted.
“Then who will wait on me on the way?”
This short journey and a maid? This is why nobles are raised so delicately.
Whether Anjesa rolled her eyes or not, Aiden rolled his eyes with an impolite thought.
“It’s not an amazing journey, and do two people need a maid to move?”
The woman, whose eyes and nose were still red, put her hand on her waist. Like a small bird fluffing up its feathers to threaten an enemy.
“Of course! If there’s no maid, who will fan me? Who will massage my legs when they’re numb? Will you read me a book on the boring journey?”
Aiden frowned deeply. The woman’s whiny voice was annoying, but he had no intention of giving in.
Choosing to live in Leslie, especially in a house where no one else lived, was to avoid people.
He could endure up to one noblewoman, but expanding the family from there was out of the question.
“Do you need someone to fan you in early spring?”
“Of course! I have layers of skirts underneath—”
Anje almost shouted, about to ask if he knew how many layers of skirts she was wearing.
Due to having discarded the refined mask often seen in social circles, she almost complained to him like a servant would.
“How thick do you think the fabric of this dress is? You might not understand with your ‘simple’ attire.”
Sensing the underlying sarcasm, Aiden responded sharply.
“What are hands and eyes for? Fan yourself, massage your own legs, and read the book yourself.”
“Hah, outrageous. Annie!”
Anje called out the maid’s name and gestured. The hesitant maid, unsure whether to ride the carriage with the young lady, hurriedly approached, holding a brown bottle under her nose.
It was herbal oil brought to calm her down whenever the noble Miss Glasster got excited.
In other words, an essential item that cannot be dispensed with in this ducal household.
“I can’t go without my maid. No, I won’t go!”
He stared at the princess, who was about to throw a tantrum and sit down, for a moment. Then he slowly approached the carriage and took out one of Anje’s bags. He dropped it on the ground without any care.
Anje screamed in a panicky voice.
“What are you doing now?”
“Every minute you delay our departure, one of your belongings will be left behind.”
Already five minutes have passed, Aiden said as he picked up another bag.
“Take your hands off my bag!”
“If you don’t get in the carriage willingly, you’ll have to leave without any clothes on.”
“I won’t leave without my maid, no matter how much you threaten me… Wait, that bag has perfume in it. Be careful how you handle it!”
He just repeated his gesture of throwing away the luggage at Anje’s words. She, furious, shouted with a flushed face.
“You… ruffian! Thug!”
“Hmph.”
Anje, who came waddling over to retrieve her precious bag, snatched it from his hand and shouted again.
“Devil, Satan! Beelzebul!”
“Scary.”
At most, the maximum curse that a well-bred only daughter of a noble family could come up with was the level of the king of demons.
For him, who had dealt with rough soldiers and military units, the mild curses didn’t bother him at all.
Without batting an eyelash, Aiden pulled out additional luggage corresponding to the delayed departure time.
Thud, the bag containing Anje’s shoes rolled on the floor.
“Even if you bring this much, there won’t be any place to put them. Just take what you need.”
“I need all of that. Don’t touch my luggage casually. You, you, you… half-blooded fraudster!”
Anje, with a flushed face, uttered the harshest insult she could think of even after speaking, and though she flinched, Aiden responded to her with another retort.
“Yes, that’s right. With humble blood in my veins, I can only resort to deadly means.”
More bags tumbled to the ground in his unrelenting actions. Anje gestured to the servants with a shake of her head.
“What should we do? Don’t put them back in the carriage.”
“Huh? Uh, well…”
Annie and Sophie exchanged glances. They had served Anje well, but when it came to the conflict between Anje and Aiden, they were unsure of the attitude they should adopt.
Ideally, Aiden, being the young lady’s husband and thus their master, should be in charge. The tall and robust new ‘master’ seemed physically challenging to confront.
‘And now, she’s not our young lady anymore, right?’
The troublesome young lady who had made their lives difficult for a long time. They pondered how much loyalty they should maintain now that she was liberated from the duty of being their mistress.
Anje, sensing the hesitant maids, stomped her foot again, scolding them.
“You guys…! I’ll tell my father later. Both you and Aidan.”
“To the Duke of Glaster? This is terrifying; I won’t sleep for a while.”
Knowing that there would be no consequences in revealing it to someone who didn’t even attend the wedding, Aiden shrugged off her threats.
“Oh, understood, Miss.”
The maids were well aware that this was a meaningless threat, but just in case, they hesitantly picked up the luggage from the floor.
Anje restrained a sigh that was about to burst, glancing at them with a gaze that had almost exploded.
She felt a pang of pain as the maids, who usually moved promptly at her command, hesitated as if pleading in a tepid manner.
Now, she seemed like an outsider to the Glaster family, and their actions echoed that sentiment.
And that was an undeniable fact for her now. She was now a loner without anyone on her side.
‘No, once my father’s anger settles… he’ll find a way to help.’
She forgot her previous determination and clenched the end of her gloves tightly. Although tears were threatening to well up again, she didn’t want to show herself crying because of this wretched man.
With determination in her eyes, she declared to Aiden, “…As you wish, I’ll go without a maid. But don’t touch a single thing in my luggage.”
Having reconsidered, Anje didn’t want to bring maids who weren’t on her side. However, she didn’t want to give up any of the precious belongings she had carefully packed throughout the previous night.
The latest fashionable clothes tailored for prominent philanthropists, the collection of exquisite perfume bottles she had gathered over time, and dozens of fashion catalogs and magazines, including ‘La Mode Illustrée.’
Although she couldn’t bring valuable accessories without her father’s permission, she took as many small trinkets as she could.
For her, these belongings were treasures beyond anything the world could offer.
Aiden nodded in a seemingly generous manner and headed towards the carriage door.
“Alright, then let’s depart quickly.”
Wait, help me…! No, it’s fine.
Expecting etiquette like helping her into the carriage from this man might be too much.
Instead of asking for help, Anje shouted at the maids.
“Annie, Sophie!”
Upon hearing their names, the two quickly ran over, assisting her to sit in the carriage with a polite demeanor. The voluminous crinoline made it tight to pass through the carriage door, but with the combined efforts of the maids pressing the sturdy wire, the circumference somewhat decreased.
“Take care, Miss.”
Annie, who had taken care of her for the longest time, offered a somewhat awkward farewell in a murmuring voice.
Standard well-wishing for happiness or congratulating on the marriage seemed inappropriate in this situation.
Anje responded to her in a manner that hinted at a mix of approval and disapproval, then turned her head as if she were more interested in something beyond the window.
“Yah!”
After the stableman urged the horses outside, the carriage, now carrying the newlyweds, began to move.
Leaving the capital, Rondian, and heading towards Leslie, Aiden Fitzroy’s house. It was a small rural village Anje had never known existed in this country.
