Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 192: The Father’s Counterattack
Viola and Primula were already exhausted from their long-overdue reunion with their mother. However, the conversation was far from over.
“Oh, that’s right. There’s one more thing I need to tell you.”
“…What is it now?”
Despite her growing fatigue, Viola asked, wondering why a conversation with her own mother had to be so draining.
“A letter arrived at the Marquis of Rosemary’s estate. One from the royal family, another from the Duke Crocus, and… one from Marquis Catreya.”
“…!”
Viola and Primula exchanged glances at Eillish’s words. They both had an inkling of what this might be about.
“Could it be…”
“A proposal of marriage? With Lady Celestine?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Eilish confirmed nonchalantly to her daughters’ suspicions.
The letters from the royal family and Duke Crocus were clear proposals: they wished to marry Lady Celestine, the Duke’s precious daughter, to Rest. Celestine carried royal blood, and with no young, unmarried women left in the royal family, she was treated as a de facto princess.
For a long time, she had been engaged to the Third Prince, Rodel, due to the Dowager Queen’s arrangements. However, following the foolish prince’s involvement in treason, that engagement had been nullified. As such, Celestine currently had no fiancé.
“Prince Andrew was the first candidate proposed as Lady Celestine’s new fiancé, but… it seems he declined. He argued that forging ties with the Duke Crocus would threaten Crown Prince Richard’s position. Prince Andrew appears to be quite sensible.”
Eilish said with a touch of admiration.
Few people knew the true reason behind Andrew’s decision, and publicly, it was attributed to his loyalty to the crown.
“All other suitable men of the right age are already engaged. While there was talk of marrying her off to another country… that would be too cruel for Lady Celestine, wouldn’t it?”
“The neighboring nations are unstable. Sending Lady Celestine to the Empire would be far too dangerous.”
Viola added.
Though the Empire was an ally, it had recently grown more aggressive in its military campaigns. Sending Celestine there as a political hostage might be strategically advantageous but undeniably cruel.
After years of being tied to the troublesome Prince Rodel, demanding she marry into an uncertain and perilous situation was inhumane. The royal family, already feeling guilty over how they had treated Celestine, couldn’t bear to impose such a fate on her.
“So now the offer has come to Rest, hasn’t it? Lady Celestine herself mentioned it to us recently.”
Primula said, sighing with sympathy.
During her visit to the settlement, Celestine had spoken with Viola and Primula beforehand.
“’I’m so sorry. Even though you two are Lord Rest’s fiancées, it seems I’ll be intruding on your engagement…’”
Celestine had explained that the royal family intended to marry her to Rest, apologizing profusely. Viola and Primula, however, had felt only pity for her. They couldn’t find it in their hearts to be angry or blame her.
Celestine’s difficult circumstances were evident, and as her friends, they had no reason to hold it against her.
(Honestly, with Mother preparing a harem and trying to turn Rest into a breeding stallion, this is hardly surprising.)
(At least it’s clear the royal family values Lord Rest. In a way, we’re fortunate it’s Lady Celestine…)
Both sisters sighed in unison.
“The letter from Duke Crocus included a plea to ‘take care of our daughter.’ They’ve also offered a significant portion of the reparations they received from the royal family over Prince Rodel’s incident as her dowry.”
“Well, that’s quite generous.”
“Rest-sama’s fortune just keeps growing, doesn’t it…”
The two sisters smiled bitterly at their mother’s words but suddenly remembered something.
The letters weren’t just from the royal family and Duke Crocus. There was also one from Marquis Catreya.
“Now that you mention it… what did Yuri’s father have to say?”
“Oh, that letter was addressed to my son-in-law, but I took the liberty of opening it in case it was urgent. It contained things like, ‘Return my daughter,’ ‘Lay a hand on her, and I’ll tear you limb from limb,’ ‘What do you mean living under the same roof with my unmarried daughter?’ and ‘I’ll come to get her right away, so wait for me.’”
“…”
“Albert also seemed quite exasperated by the knight commander, who comes to the palace whenever he has free time. But as my son-in-law, I must say he’s quite dependable. I’ve heard that Marquis Catreya’s daughter may not have much magic power, but she’s incredibly strong. I wonder what kind of child she and my son-in-law would produce if she bore his child.”
That wasn’t the issue here, but… Eilish seemed to have no intention of giving in to the knight commander’s demands.
On that point, the Rosemary sisters were of the same mind.
“Rest is… currently on an expedition with Yuri, isn’t he?”
“How do you think the knight commander would react if he found out?”
The knight commander likely didn’t have the time to come all the way to the settlement, but if he did, it would surely cause trouble.
The Rosemary sisters, thinking of their beloved fiancé, couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of sympathy for him.