~Chapter 23~
“Why are you standing here?”
Phaedris asked Aileen kindly.
As soon as Aileen saw Phaedris, she stammered.
“Well, I was just talking with Litya a little while ago, and when the topic of marriage came up, Litya suddenly ran here…”
“So, Litya is here now?”
“Yes…”
Phaedris looked troubled.
The moment Latryne heard this, he started walking ahead toward the meeting room, leaving Phaedris and Aileen behind.
“Latryne?”
Even though Phaedris was calling him, Latryne kept walking toward the meeting room without stopping.
Since the Elder Council’s meeting room wasn’t far, it didn’t take long for me to arrive there.
‘Please, don’t move…!’
For some reason, I remembered a scene where a doctor was begging me in desperation, but I couldn’t just stand still.
By the time I arrived at the meeting room, the meeting was already underway.
“Well, the next agenda item is…”
It seemed like the meeting was wrapping up, so I decided to wait for it to finish.
I didn’t plan to barge in immediately.
After all, it was a meeting, and interrupting it for something like this wouldn’t be well-received later.
As I stood in front of the meeting room door, the knights who recognized me greeted me.
Since the meeting was still going on, they kept their voices low as they spoke.
“Commander.”
“You’re working. Sorry for interrupting.”
“Not at all. What brings you here? I heard you were injured. Is it okay for you to be up and move?”
It seemed they assumed I had some official business because I was wearing my uniform.
“I’m fine. I’ll just say what I need to and leave quickly.”
“Say something…?”
The knight asked in confusion, but I didn’t have time to answer because my mind was focused elsewhere.
The meeting looked like it was about to end soon.
Once the meeting was over, I could go in and talk about the marriage issue.
Soon, I heard voices from inside, sounding like they were wrapping up the meeting.
I planned to go inside before the elders left the room, but then I overheard this conversation.
“By the way, what do you think will happen with the Grand Duke’s marriage?”
“I’d imagine the Grand Duke isn’t inclined to get married.”
“Still, we must proceed with it somehow.”
“Indeed. Even if he refuses, we have to push through…”
‘What are they saying? Why are they causing such a fuss when Latryne himself is staying quiet?’
Unable to hold back any longer, I flung the meeting room door open.
The knights next to me didn’t even have time to stop me.
Up until that moment, the elders had been talking casually, but now, they turned to me in surprise, their eyes widening.
“Lady Alpres? What brings you here? To suddenly barge into a meeting room…”
“I heard you weren’t feeling well. Why aren’t you resting?”
‘Because of you all, I couldn’t just sit and rest.’
I thought this to myself but held my tongue and instead said,
“I’ve heard that the Elder Council is pushing for the Grand Duke’s marriage.”
“You’ve already heard? We were just about to discuss it with the Commander.”
Even though I brought up the Grand Duke’s marriage, the elders responded without surprise, saying they were planning to talk to me about it.
Why were they going to discuss it with me? That thought crossed my mind, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it since my attention was elsewhere.
“Are you really planning to push forward with a marriage that he doesn’t want? Is the Elder Council out of its mind?”
“Does the Commander not wish to marry?”
“Of course not.”
My words caused an unexpected stir.
The elders started murmuring among themselves after hearing what I said.
“…What are we going to do? It’s one thing if the Grand Duke refuses, but if even the Commander is firmly against it…”
“But we can’t just back down easily…”
I was a little taken aback.
I had expected that if I opposed Latryne’s marriage, it would have some influence, but I didn’t think it would have this much of an impact.
After all, I wasn’t Latryne himself, so wasn’t their reaction a bit too extreme?
As I watched the elders seriously discussing among themselves, feeling somewhat dazed, I noticed someone approaching through the open door.
“Litya, what were you thinking, coming all the way here?”
When I saw the familiar face, I couldn’t help but feel happy.
It was Latryne, looking at me with concern.
Latryne, who was standing at the entrance of the meeting room, approached me and suddenly began to check my condition.
It seemed like he didn’t care about the elders watching him.
But why do I always feel so flustered whenever Latryne comes near me?
‘Well, I guess it’s normal to feel nervous when someone as handsome as Latryne is close by.’
It wasn’t just that he was standing near me, but we were having more and more interactions, so it was probably a natural reaction.
I tried to cover my face, which had turned red, and said,
“Why are you here, Latryne?”
Of course, I was glad to see him again.
In response to my question, Latryne spoke in a scolding tone.
“That’s what I should be asking. Why are you here, Litya? Your body is still weak, so why are you moving around carelessly? You seem to be alright, though.”
It seemed like he was checking my condition earlier after all.
“I’m fine. I’ve been resting and doing nothing lately… But when I heard they were trying to force you into marriage, I couldn’t just sit still.”
“You dragged your body all the way here for that?”
It was about his own marriage, but he said it like it was no big deal. I wanted to argue with him, but before I could, one of the elders interrupted.
“Does His Grace the Grand Duke also have no intention of marrying?”
At the elder’s question, Latryne pulled me behind him as if to protect me, and answered coldly.
“That’s correct.”
The elder let out a deep sigh.
“If both of you feel that way, there’s not much we can do… But Your Grace, for the sake of your lineage, you must get married. Surely, you understand the importance of this.”
“…”
Latryne’s eyes seemed to flash dangerously.
Suddenly, a scene from the novel crossed my mind, and I felt that if I didn’t intervene, Latryne might do something rash. I tried to stop him.
Just then, not only did Latryne appear, but I also saw Aileen and Phaedris entering the meeting room.
“Both of you are always so impatient…”
Phaedris, who seemed to have rushed over, was slightly out of breath.
The Grand Duke, the Commander of the Knights, and even the Emperor were all gathered. It was quite the spectacle.
Unless it was a matter of national importance, it was rare for all of them to gather like this.
It really hit me then just how significant the issue of Latryne’s marriage was.
With Phaedris’s arrival, the elders, who had been seated until then, stood up.
Phaedris looked at the elders and spoke.
“You’ve already heard the situation. This is not a marriage that can proceed just because you want it to. Since the person involved doesn’t want it, let’s drop it.”
“But Your Majesty, the Grand Duke’s marriage must take place.”
“Even so, it doesn’t have to be right now, does it? It hasn’t been long since what happened to the Grand Duke, and I don’t understand why you’re so eager to push for this marriage.”
The elders fell silent, seemingly having nothing to say in response to Phaedris’s words.
He was probably referring to Erias’s death, and that made me instinctively glance at Latryne.
Surprisingly, Latryne looked completely unfazed.
I guess Latryne was really good at controlling his expressions.
One of the elders, who had a troubled look on his face, hesitated before speaking.
“Of course, we understand that pushing marriage like this isn’t ideal. Especially now that both the Grand Duke and the Commander are so opposed…”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were oddly concerned about me.
What was it about me that made them act this way?
Unable to hold back my curiosity, I asked,
“Why do you keep making comments that seem to involve me? What does the Grand Duke’s marriage have to do with me?”
As soon as I spoke, I felt the room go silent. The elders and even Phaedris stared at me in shock.
The only people who weren’t staring at me like that were Aileen, who looked troubled, and Latryne, who avoided my gaze with a blank expression.
One of the elders spoke to me.
“You didn’t know? We assumed that Lady Alpres was aware when you spoke like that.”
‘What are they talking about?’
Fortunately, Phaedris kindly explained.
“It seems the message didn’t reach you properly. The person being considered as a marriage partner for Latryne is you.”
“…What…?”
I couldn’t understand what Phaedris had just said and stared blankly at the people in the room.
‘So… what? Wait… what?’
I saw Aileen sighing.
So… I was the one being discussed as Latryne’s marriage partner?
Why was I the last to know?
Were they really trying to marry me off without even telling me?
As I stood there, dumbfounded, the excited elders started asking me questions.
“It’s a relief that you didn’t know. What do you think? We heard that you’ve spent quite a bit of time with His Grace recently.”
“Do you not find the Grand Duke appealing?”
‘Appealing? We’ve only known each other for a few days! How can you talk about marriage?’
I was too shocked to say anything, but Latryne stepped in to silence the elders.
“Isn’t my refusal to marry enough? Please stop being disrespectful by pushing this onto the Commander.”
