MTST 02

Chapter 2

At my words, the man tilted his head in sheer disbelief.

I gently stroked the belly of the puppy, which was sleeping soundly.

“It’s just plump and round because it eats well and sleeps well.”

“………………Even if it’s distended to a bizarre degree?”

“To grow into a proper adult dog, it has to eat enough to get a belly like this.”

As I let out a small chuckle, the man’s gaze momentarily drifted toward me.

Though he quickly pulled his eyes away the instant I tilted my head in confusion.

“By the way, what is the child’s name?”

“Beatrice.”

It was far too aristocratic and grand a name to bestow upon a tiny, cute puppy.

“Then is her nickname Betty?”

“Yes.”

Watching Betty rub her face against my hand even in her sleep, I froze upon discovering something tucked against the puppy’s fur.

“Um… I take it you do realize that Betty is a boy, right…………?”

“What?”

The man stiffened for a brief moment.

So he hadn’t known.

Well, of course not; he never would have given her such a name if he had.

Gazing quietly at the wriggling little life inside the box, I asked without much thought.

“If I’m ever in the capital, would it be all right if I came to see Betty from time to time?”

The man’s name was Noah.

Though I naturally assumed he was a noble, he claimed to have no family name.

……Or he was lying through his teeth.

No matter how wealthy someone might be, the average commoner simply does not walk around accompanied by an elite knight.

And even if they did, a knight bestowed with a title by the emperor would certainly never tremble in front of a commoner master.

The answer was painfully simple.

A high-ranking noble. Or perhaps an illegitimate child of some aristocratic house.

Since he likely had complicated family circumstances that prevented him from properly caring for a single puppy, I decided not to pry.

Instead.

“My name is Laura.”

I tossed out a fake name of my own.

I’m about to get married to the Second Prince soon anyway, and I’d rather avoid getting dragged into any unnecessary scandals.

Especially not with someone who was actively hiding his own identity!

Even so, a small part of me hoped I could reveal my real name someday.

To be completely honest, I had actually enjoyed myself quite a bit today.

What a ridiculous woman.

Returning to the imperial palace, Theodore let out a faint, amused snicker as he thought of the woman named Laura whom he had met just a short while ago.

At that moment, Beatrice stirred beneath the folds of his cloak.

Theodore tapped Beatrice’s tiny head with his fingertip and murmured,

“Some woman called you a fat pig, you know.”

Whether she had any idea what he was saying, Beatrice let out a long yawn.

“Let’s lose some weight and get our revenge.”

Right on cue, the rustle of footsteps nearby prompted Theodore to turn his head with practiced familiarity.

“Y-Your Highness!”

It was his aide, Victor. Jogging up to him, the man gasped for air and cried out,

“Have you heard the news?”

True to form, Theodore let the words drift in one ear and out the other as he strode forward with long, purposeful strides. Victor hurriedly scrambled to chase after him.

“This is genuinely, truly important news!”

“Speak.”

“The news of the marriage between Your Highness and Lady Lilian Carpena!”

That was the exact moment Theodore’s strides came to an abrupt halt.

“………………Marriage?”

At the high-handed, dangerous edge in his voice, Victor swallowed hard against a dry throat.

Theodore slowly spun around, tilting his head at an angle.

“Victor, tell me I didn’t just hear what I think I heard.”

Breaking out in a cold sweat, the aide managed a laborious, trembling nod.

“Y-You heard quite correctly…………”

“Hah.”

As Theodore brushed a stray lock of dark hair back from his forehead, a sharp, brilliant light flickered in his eyes.

“Mother has decided to play a rather amusing game.”

With that, he changed direction and headed straight toward the Empress’s Palace. Startled, Victor scrambled to catch up.

“Y-Your Highness!”

“Ah, Victor, you certainly have your work cut out for you.”

From behind them, the voice of Empress Cassandra rang out.

“I-I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress!”

Theodore let out a brief, dry scoff as he locked eyes with her. Meanwhile, Cassandra approached with a faint smile, coming to a halt right in front of him.

“The Prince looks as though he has a great deal to say to me.”

“Ah, well, I happened to catch wind of rather bizarre rumors floating about.”

“Surely you know by now that rumors in the imperial palace don’t just appear out of thin air?”

………………Marriage.

Granted, he had been through several engagements in the past. Every single one of them had run away, of course, entirely unable to tolerate his abrasive personality.

This one looked like it would start off heading down the exact same predictable road.

Yet, there was one single detail that set this apart from the rest.

They were skipping straight to marriage discussions before even holding an official engagement.

It seemed the imperial household was growing quite desperate, terrified he might miss his prime window for marriage.

“She is a young lady I selected after much careful deliberation. Truly a remarkably lovely lady.”

“And how did you know I had such a soft spot for beautiful women?”

Theodore chuckled leisurely.

“Though, seeing as I am the empire’s resident eye candy—”

“I am told quite a few tourists come all this way just to catch a glimpse of me. This will undoubtedly come as devastating news to them.”

Struggling to swallow back a sharp rebuke, Cassandra pressed a hand to her forehead.

As he was well aware, the prince’s appearance was striking—an undeniable fact no one could ever refute.

Hair as dark as the midnight sky, paired with deep, unfathomable ash-gray eyes.

Though he possessed a sharp, sensitive impression, the contrast whenever a rare smile broke across his face was staggering.

Why, just last year, hadn’t there been a youngest princess from a neighboring kingdom who crossed national borders entirely spellbound by his face?

Cassandra would have happily welcomed a marriage to that particular royal child, but the prince hadn’t seemed the least bit interested.

Did he harbor a distaste for women, or was there perhaps some fundamental issue with him functioning as a proper man?

While the Emperor and Empress harbored a million and one worries over their baffling son, the Second Prince they had watched all these years simply remained profoundly indifferent to everything in the world.

The only saving grace was that he wasn’t entirely clumsy around women. He possessed a natural knack for playing the flirt while effortlessly drawing a firm line in the sand.

To his credit, the fact that a man with that face had managed to avoid a single common scandal was genuinely worthy of praise.

“Oh dear, I suppose the capital will echo with the mournful wailing of women for quite some time over the news of my marriage.”

………………Right. If only he could refrain from speaking such utter nonsense.

Cassandra let out a small sigh.

“Lady Carpena is a young lady renowned throughout high society for her exquisite grace and dignity. The Prince must surely have heard of her.”

“I doubt it. The fact that she never left an impression on me likely means she isn’t particularly remarkable.”

“That is only because the Prince pays no mind to women in the first place, is it not?”

Theodore’s eyes slowly drifted downward, turning contemplative.

The Count of Carpena’s household was quite an ancient and storied lineage.

While he had occasionally heard rumors of the Count’s exceptionally capable two sons, he had never once heard a peep about their only daughter.

That was likely because the woman preferred to cloister herself away in her mansion, concocting endless excuses to avoid society.

Since she was a lady who favored a quiet life indoors, and Theodore himself had never been one for crowded parties, he and Lilian had never once crossed paths.

“She is deeply versed in the arts and possesses a wonderfully calm temperament. Why, she was even the one who resolved the trouble at the Tiobe Mine just last week.”

In short, a thoroughly boring woman.

Theodore mentally filed away his summary of Lilian.

If I have to get married anyway, wouldn’t a person like that woman be preferable?

That woman who smiled so brightly and possessed such a profound, gentle warmth.

Someone just like Laura, whom he had met at the apothecary that very morning.

Did she say she was coming back to see Beatrice?

Theodore caught himself smiling and abruptly stopped.

………………What on earth am I wasting my thoughts on right now?

While he awkwardly smoothed down the corner of his lips, Cassandra smoothly carried on.

“You should meet her at least once. Your perspective might change.”

“I suppose I could.”

Theodore replied in a detached, indifferent tone.

“I’ll check out just which lucky woman is planning to drag me off to the altar.”

Though he had zero intention of ever carving out time to meet her before the wedding.

Guessing his inner thoughts, Cassandra casually tossed out a suggestion.

“In that case, would you care to at least look at the young lady’s portrait?”

“Doesn’t a portrait’s face tend to be overly idealized thanks to the flattering brushstrokes of generous painters?”

“You called her a beautiful young lady, so the portrait should serve quite nicely as a mere decoration for your parlor.”

Facing a completely speechless Cassandra, Theodore offered a smooth, unbothered smile.

“Lady Lilian!”

No sooner had I pushed open the apothecary door than Cecilia greeted me with a bright, welcoming smile. Trotting right over, she immediately launched into an apology.

“I am so sorry about last week. There was an urgent patient, so I had to visit their residence in the middle of the night, and it took far longer than expected.”

“Haha, not at all! Patients always come first.”

“……You must have waited for quite a while.”

I offered a faint, gentle smile and shook my head.

“I mean it, I really was fine.”

Thanks to Noah, the wait hadn’t been boring in the slightest.

Meanwhile, Cecilia reached into her pouch and pulled out a small packet, handing it over to me.

“This is the sleeping draft you ordered previously. I felt terrible about making you wait, so I added a few extra soothing herbs that should help. I’m sure your father will appreciate it.”

“Oh my goodness, you really didn’t have to………… Thank you so much.”

To think that because of a wasted trip yesterday, I managed to secure even more herbs from Cecilia, the most celebrated apothecary in the entire capital.

This is an absolute win.

Even after our business was concluded, I lingered for a moment, my eyes scanning the interior of the apothecary, prompting Cecilia to tilt her head in curiosity.

“Is there someone else you’re looking for?”

“Ah, oh no!”

“How strange. The male customer who came by earlier today seemed to be looking for someone, too, just like you, Lady Lilian.”

“……Pardon?”