He didn’t see the need for marriage. He liked people, but he had no romantic interest.
Even during his adolescence, when he was supposed to be interested in romance and love, he was more interested in things like asparagus and oat varieties than in women.
Maybe Raymond Milanaire was too selfish to become a lover or a couple with someone.
Because he is selfish, he is busy just doing what he wants to do and taking care of his happiness.
There were so many crops to take care of, so much soil to study, so much bread to bake, and cheese to make.
Count Duncan looked at Raymond with strange eyes.
“Did Her Majesty the Emperor say anything else?”
“What do you mean?”
“Prince Hezen’s right to succession to the throne, or something else.”
Count Duncan’s voice became quietly quiet.
The current emperor is Dorothea, but Raymond was the crown prince before her.
If Raymond had children, there could be a dispute over the throne with Hezen.
Therefore, Count Duncan thought that Dorothea prevented Raymond’s marriage to keep Raymond in check politically.
Count Duncan was a person who could understand Raymond’s actions only by thinking that way.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain Raymond not getting married until he was almost 30.
“I think there is a misunderstanding, Her Majesty the Emperor and I have always been close.”
“Yeah…”
Count Duncan nodded, looking not very persuaded.
‘Why on earth do these people even read such personal matters as political reasons?’
Raymond sighed inwardly and opened his mouth again.
“I will get married someday when I find someone I like.”
After saying that, Count Duncan smiled in satisfaction.
“As expected! If you need someone to take your heart, I will introduce you to a lady.”
“Then, can you also introduce me to a lady who fits my life plan?”
“Ah, you have an ideal type! I can’t believe I didn’t know that, haha. Tell me! I’ll do my best to find you one.”
Count Duncan’s eyes lit up like a dog that had found its prey.
“First of all, she needs to be able to distinguish herbs just by scent even with her eyes closed, and I want her to smell like healthy sweat.”
“Yes…? Smells like healthy sweat?”
Duncan’s cheek twitched at the unique taste.
“Her fingernails should have dirt and grime on them. It’s natural if she touches dirt every day. Her skin should be the color of a pretty autumn leaf when tanned by the sun, and her cheeks should have freckles.”
The longer Raymond spoke, the more frowned Duncan’s eyebrows became.
“Hmm…I don’t know if it’s among the ladies I know, but I’ll do my best to find it…”
“And most importantly, I want her to be around 40 years old.”
“what? 40 years old?!”
‘How could there be a noble lady at that age who wasn’t married?’
It was natural for any young lady from a noble family to get married and start a family before she turned twenty-five.
It is normal for a woman, no matter how ugly, to get married as if she were being sold for the benefit of the family.
‘If he wants to find a woman who hasn’t married at the age of 40, he has to look among widows, but that doesn’t mean he’ll marry a widow.…’
“Are you joking right now?”
Duncan hinted at his displeasure.
But Raymond shook his head seriously.
“I’m not joking, I’m serious. I think I’ll be getting married around that time.”
Since he doesn’t have anyone he loves right now and he has no desire for a family, he doesn’t see any reason to get married.
Therefore, he is not getting married.
‘Why doesn’t everyone understand this simple thing?’
“I understood what Prince Raymond said.”
‘No, you are nodding your head like you didn’t get it at all.’
“I will leave it to you then.”
Anyway, it seems like Raymond succeeded in getting rid of the nagging Count Duncan.
* * *
“Dorothy!”
Dorothea burst out laughing at the nickname she hadn’t heard in a long time.
“Ray. I always feel weird hearing that nickname.”
Dorothea stood up and greeted Raymond.
Raymond, whom she had not seen in a long time, seemed to have slightly tan skin than before.
“I like that nickname. Don’t you like it?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it, but… I think it would be very embarrassing If you called me that in front of other people.”
“That’s why I only call you like that when we’re together.”
Raymond laughed.
“More than that, I heard I have another nephew. Congratulations!”
Raymond opened his arms and hugged her.
Now Dorothea never pushes away his hugs.
“Thank you, Ray.”
Dorothea smiled and expressed her gratitude, and Raymond’s arms loosened.
But even after the hug was over, he just kept his head down.
“Ray…?”
As Dorothea was looking at Raymond to see if he was in pain, Raymond looked up only after he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
“Really, Dorothy is going to be a mother of two…!”
Raymond’s eyes were red and moist as he smiled brightly.
“Are you crying?”
“It’s just that Dorothy is so amazing, so pretty, and so cool, so that’s why.…”
Raymond’s voice trembled slightly as he pursed his lips.
Dorothea was mature, but she had always been a younger sister to him.
‘Amazingly, she’s able to take on the heavy title of ’emperor’, but now she’s a mother of two.’
‘I’ve always been proud of my younger sister, but today I admired her even more.’
“I’m crying because I’m happy, so don’t say anything.”
It seems like the older he gets, the more tears he shed.
Dorothea burst out laughing as she saw him wiping away more tears.
Sometimes she wondered what it would have been like if Raymond had become emperor, but seeing him like that made all those thoughts disappear.
‘I don’t think it’s a lie to say that he cried because he didn’t want to study at Episteme.’ Dorothea thought as she patted Raymond, who was sobbing.
‘Before I return, did Raymond cry like that even after becoming emperor?’
For some reason, she thinks Raymond shed tears at the end.
Suddenly, the distant past came to mind, but Dorothea soon shook off the memories of her past.
“Ray. There’s something I want to ask you.”
Dorothea changed the topic and took a file from among the piled-up documents.
“I guess the disease has spread to western grape farms.”
Dorothea said while showing the data from the report to Raymond.
As expected, as soon as the topic of farming came up, the tears in Raymond’s eyes disappeared.
He wiped away his tears and looked at the data with a serious expression.
Because the disease was not caught early, the situation became so serious that a report was even made to the emperor.
The grape stalks, leaves, and fruits of the grapes were covered with grayish-brown lesions.
Since it spread to fruits, it was naturally impossible to harvest this year’s crop.
The envelope that came with the report also contained dried fruit and stems sent from a grape farm.
Raymond, who looked at the report with a serious expression, asked Dorothea.
“Did it rain a lot in the west this year?”
“Ah, yes. It was raining particularly heavily so we had to reinforce the beam.”
The western region is dry because it is close to the desert, but it rained particularly heavily this year.
Then Raymond nodded as if he understood.
“I’m not an expert, so I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s black rot disease. It’s not known because it’s dry in the West, but it’s a common disease. There’s a cure for it.”
TL: Black rot, a foliar and fruit disease of grapes (caused by the fungus Guignardia bidwellii), is considered to be the most serious disease of grapes. The main disease loss is the direct destruction of fruit.
“You really know anything, Ray.”
“Ah no, I can’t even join in on the farmers’ chatter at this level. If you ask Professor Patrick of Episteme about black rot, you’ll know for sure.”
Raymond smiled shyly but added some advice.
It was a great help to Dorothea as he even recommended the right people.
“It was frustrating that the ministers didn’t know anything about farming, so thank you so much, Ray.”
Dorothea immediately ordered someone to make an appointment to meet Professor Patrick as soon as possible.
Raymond looked at Dorothea’s back as she organized her work.
Raymond’s gaze made Dorothea feel a tingle in her back, so she put down the document she was looking at and looked up.
“Why are you looking at me like that? It bothers me so much.”
“I’m so worried.”
“It suits you well. The Emperor, Dorothea Milanaire.”
The corners of Raymond’s mouth went up to the tip of his cheeks.
“You know, even if father had passed on the throne to me, I wouldn’t have lasted long and would have handed it over to you right away.”
Ray smiled.
At his words, Dorothea’s busy hands stopped for a moment.
‘Yes, you would have. You would have tried to get it to me somehow.’
The long-forgotten past before returning flashed by.
“People think our relationship is weird.”
Raymond said, looking out the window.
The crown prince who stepped down from his position as heir to the throne and the princess who ascended to that position.
“They think I’m afraid of you.”
The nobles thought that Raymond was a loser who had lost a power struggle and was driven out.
Some people sarcastically said that Dorothea forced him to live in a corner of the countryside.
Some said that he chose this path to soothe his anger after being pushed out of the imperial throne.
“I couldn’t come to Lampas anymore because of that.”
He was afraid that his visit would interfere with Dorothea’s work.
He was afraid that unwanted disputes would arise and that foolish rumors would follow Dorothea.
* * *
