C199
Last night he promised he would stop being overprotective, but Terence was still willing to spoon-feed me.
To be precise, he actually brought a bowl of soup to bed, took a spoonful, and tried to bring it to my mouth.
"Ethel, try it."
"I can eat by myself."
I stubbornly rejected his favor and impatiently moved my trembling arms to fill my stomach.
No matter how I thought about it, it was Terence's plan, but strangely enough, I didn't feel so bad.
After finishing breakfast and lunch, I sat for a while to digest and then returned to bed.
Since I only fell asleep at dawn, I still hadn't slept enough.
I didn't have any special plans today, so Terence lay down next to me as I was about to fall asleep.
"Is it okay if you don't go anywhere?"
"Yes, I have no schedule, so you don't have to worry."
"If you cancel it for no reason…"
"Ethel, being by your side right now is more important to me than anything else. Rest a bit. I won't go anywhere until you wake up."
His low, confident voice helped my consciousness slowly fall asleep.
When I woke up, Terence was by my side.
How sweet.
My heart warmed at the thought that I might continue to experience this kind of happiness once I got married.
In the end, I spent the whole day at Terence's palace.
It was a simple but precious daily life: just walking with him, reading the newspaper, and having tea.
The next day, I returned to the annex and the first thing I did was tell Lucy the news of our marriage.
"I was wondering why you didn't come back after two days."
"Haha, it just happened…"
"Well, that's it."
Lucy looked at me, I avoided her embarrassed gaze, and she laughed.
"Teacher, congratulations on your marriage."
"Thank you. Did you know? In fact, I received a marriage proposal thanks to your advice. Originally, Terence planned to prepare various things and then propose later."
It seems he had prepared an extravagant marriage proposal in his own way...
"Honestly, even though it's not flashy, I liked yesterday's marriage proposal better when it was just the two of us alone on a quiet moonlit night."
"I'm glad I could help. If it's my teacher, you'll live happily ever after."
I hoped that happiness awaited us as we received God's blessings.
The next person to find out about our marriage was Terence's father, the Emperor.
The emperor, who appeared in the throne room with the help of his assistants, listened to his son's story and nodded.
"That's it. Terence, my son. On one hand, I'm proud of you, who, unlike me, kept your love until the end."
However, the emperor's expression darkened.
"Even so, it's hard to respect your intention to no longer be interested in power."
"Your Majesty."
"After Liena Cassius left, Mikhail seems to have regained his senses and is performing his duties well, but people still admire you more for your active role in the Siege of Miloam. I want you to…"
"Father, I realized this through this incident. It's not that I have no desire to rule an empire."
Terence's eyes turned to me.
"However, if the time comes when I must choose between the empire and my precious person, I will choose my precious person without hesitation."
"Terence…"
"If you insist on making me emperor despite knowing this, how would it differ from the former Mikhail, with whom my father was disappointed from the beginning?"
The emperor sighed at his son's firm resolve.
"Still, I believe you have desirable qualities as a leader. It's a shame to waste it."
Of course, as Terence's father, he was as stubborn as his son.
Well, he had returned to power less than a few months after the accident, breaking the doctors' prediction that he would no longer be able to handle state affairs.
Personally, I didn't like the emperor, but I acknowledged his obsession with power.
"So I will give you the land that was the territory of the former Marquess of Molo."
"What?"
"Your mother's hometown. After the collapse of the Molo family, it was incorporated into the direct jurisdiction of the imperial family at the will of the previous emperor, but recently the corruption of the official who governed it on behalf of the imperial family was revealed."
The emperor clicked his tongue.
"I find it difficult to manage it efficiently because it's far from the capital and the people there have a poor perception of the imperial family. The former emperor expelled Marquess Molo, who had a good reputation."
"So you're asking me to take care of it?"
"That's right. You may be a prince, but you are also of Marquess Molo's blood and you also participated in the Siege of Miloam, so they will probably be relatively friendly to you."
"Well. It's something I hadn't even thought about…"
"Then think about it now. From now on, that place will be called the Territory of Freeheiden, and you, the Marquess of Freeheiden, will govern it."
Marquess of Freeheiden, Terence's former title.
After entering the imperial family, he was never called marquess because his status as prince prevailed, but that didn't mean he lost the title of marquess.
"You can stay here and become the Crown Prince or go there and rule the territory as Marquess of Freeheiden."
It seemed the emperor had no intention of making further concessions.
"Well, I really don't agree, but it wouldn't be a bad idea for you if Mikhail came to power and you became Grand Duke and cooperated with him."
"… Please give me some time to think."
"I understand. Then I'll leave. And congratulations to Viscountess Lucibiu for accepting the marriage proposal."
After giving a rather hearty congratulatory message to his son who was getting married, the emperor left the audience chamber supported by his assistant.
I asked Terence in the throne room where we were alone together.
"Are you worried about His Majesty's proposal?"
"To put it bluntly, I'm attracted to it. I've never been to my mother's hometown before…"
As if reminiscing about the past, Terence stared into space.
"The last time I went to the County of Miloam, I saw the Count interacting with the people of the territory as neighbors. I wonder what it would be like to experience life like that."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Of course, the Count is a special case."
I took Terence's hand.
"Then give it a try. Maybe Terence will fit right in."
"…Is it okay with you?"
"For me?"
"You don't have any friends there, and it's a completely new environment."
"Is it because of me that you hesitated?"
"I'm not so audacious as to ask someone who has just accepted a marriage proposal to go to a faraway place just because of me."
Terence, who had concerns I had never thought of, was so cute that I ended up lightly pinching his cheek.
"Of course, it's okay. My original plan was to move to a foreign country where I didn't know anyone after my divorce."
As I said that, I winked.
"But did you know? Terence is truly a bed of roses."
"…….."
"Let's go to new places and try new things together. They say life is a series of challenges."
Terence pulled my body closer and hugged me.
"Thank you."
At that moment, we decided to take a new step forward.
Afterward, Terence and I had a busy life preparing for the wedding and the move.
We decided to head down to the estate of the former Marquess of Molo, after celebrating the wedding in the capital.
Diana, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, strongly insisted that we visit the Kingdom of Leok before heading down.
"The honeymoon destination must be the Kingdom of Leok. Ethel, you were invited there before as a guest of honor, but you haven't gone yet."
Now that I think about it, the King of Leok invited me for helping the Ambassador and his wife find their true daughter.
I was so busy with life that I completely forgot about it.
"I've been there before, and the weather is warm, and the buildings are beautiful. I'm sure Ethel will like it too."
"Okay. Then I'll go to Leok for the honeymoon. Terence also left the choice of travel destination to me."
"Yes!"
Diana was happy as a child, talking about Leok's strengths, but suddenly her eyes filled with tears.
"Ethel, you have to be happy no matter what. This marriage must be…"
As a comrade who had experienced a failed marriage, she seemed to have mixed emotions.
I made Diana lean on my shoulder and then slowly rubbed her back.
"I promise. Diana must also promise me that she will live happily with her family."
We promised our intertwined future by intertwining our pinkies with each other.
"You're getting married, congratulations!"
When I passed by the lawyer's office and told her the news of my marriage, Sharon said with joy.
"Just because I'm a divorce lawyer doesn't mean I can't go to a wedding, right?"
"Of course not."
"It's a relief. I hope to meet with you only as friends from now on."
It was her wish for me to live a happy married life with Terence.
I drew a V shape with my fingers and smiled, saying it was natural.
However, as I left Sharon's office and was about to get on the carriage, an unexpected person appeared in front of me.
"…Ethel."
It was Countess Wallace. Ethel's, or rather my adoptive mother, the woman who raised me.
According to what Sharon casually mentioned, she recently successfully divorced Count Wallace through a lawsuit.
By now, Count Wallace and Samuel were probably suffering forced labor to pay off their huge debt, so they probably didn't have the energy to respond to the divorce petition.
Thanks to this, the countess's divorce was achieved quickly.
I looked at the woman dressed in ragged clothes and who looked several years older than when I had seen her before.
After the soul resonance, my memories as Ethel gradually came back to me.
Among them, there was a memory of a time when the countess mistreated me and yet I longed for her affection.
"Ethel, listen… what I mean is…"
The countess called me pitifully.
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