"...And that is the situation. Celestine, what would you like to do?"
"............"
At the estate of House Crocus.
Celestine gently closed her eyes and sank into thought at the weighty news her father had delivered.
"I see... So I'm to be engaged to Rest..."
What her father had broached was an engagement proposal — to none other than her classmate and friend, Rest Clover.
Rest had performed great deeds in the recent civil war — deeds so great, in fact, that the rank of count and a domain were nowhere near sufficient as proper recompense.
The royal family, wishing to keep Rest tied to their side for the foreseeable future, devised a plan: to betroth him to Celestine, their daughter who carried the blood of royalty.
Until just the other day, Celestine had been engaged to the Third Prince, Rodele Aiwood, through a magical contract forged between the queen dowager and her grandfather.
But Rodele was guilty of treason and had been given the poisoned cup, which voided the engagement — and now, right on the heels of that, came this new arrangement.
"...I understand. I will accept."
Celestine replied without much deliberation at all.
"Are you sure? The royal family said they wouldn't force you into this."
"That's a strange thing to say. If that were the case, they shouldn't have brought the matter up in the first place."
"Well, that's..."
"As the daughter of House Crocus, I have a duty to marry for the sake of both country and family. There was never a choice to simply refuse from the start, was there?"
"...I'm sorry."
The Duke of Crocus bowed his head at words that could only be read as resignation.
Had she not been born his daughter — had she not been born a young lady of the ducal house — Celestine might have lived a far freer life.
Engaged to that worthless prince and made to clean up his mess, and when she thought that was finally over, she was immediately married off to another man in a political arrangement.
It was as if she were nothing more than a convenient tool for the royal family.
"Whatever are you so pessimistic about? It's not as though your fate is sealed to misery."
Celestine smiled wryly.
Celestine did not view the situation as negatively as the Duke did.
Her fiancé, Rest Clover, was widely regarded as the most promising man in the kingdom at present.
She had heard that many young ladies were attempting to make contact with him, vying to become his wife or mistress.
If the royal family were to broker the engagement, Rest would have no grounds to refuse.
(If anything, it might be considered fortunate… there were no longer any men of a suitable station left for her anyway.)
Men of a similar age and reasonably high rank were already engaged to others.
The sole exception might be Andrew Aiwood, the Second Prince… but Celestine knew the truth.
Even without a formal fiancée, Andrew already had someone he held dear.
He was entangled in a love the royal family would never sanction, and he certainly would not welcome an engagement to Celestine.
(Besides… if I were to become engaged to His Highness Andrew, the balance of power in this country would be thrown into disarray.)
Should Andrew, the Second Prince, and Celestine, daughter of the foremost noble house, be united, it could very well threaten the position of Crown Prince Richard Aiwood.
The kingdom was already plagued by political instability in the wake of the civil war… she could not afford to destabilize the standing of the Crown Prince, who was already designated as the next king.
"…This is, in all likelihood, the best choice for me — becoming Rest's wife."
"But… you will almost certainly not become his legal wife. You will be a concubine."
That was the reason behind the pained expression on the Duke of Crocus's face.
Should Celestine marry Rest, she would become a concubine.
Because, after all, Rest was already engaged to the sisters of House Rosemary.
In terms of family standing alone, House Crocus was superior, but if Celestine—who had come later—seized the position of legal wife, it would breed ill will between House Rosemary and House Crocus.
House Crocus, a powerful force within the royalist faction, and House Rosemary simply could not afford to be at odds with each other.
"I don't mind at all. Legal wife or concubine—it's merely a title. Fortunately, there is more than enough inherited territory to go around."
One of the main sources of friction between a legal wife and a concubine was the question of whether children could inherit the family estate, but Rest possessed far more unclaimed territory than he knew what to do with. There was no shortage of land for his children to inherit.
As long as one did not concern oneself with the distinction between the main house and branch houses, there was nothing to worry about regarding the children's futures.
(Rest already has more than enough, and House Clover growing too powerful would only make the royal family uneasy. It would actually be better for the children to inherit separate territories.)
"I am close friends with both Viola and Primula, so I'm sure we'll get along well even after the marriage. So, Father… please don't wear such a gloomy expression."
"…I'm sorry."
Her father was apologizing an unusual amount today.
His complexion was poor, and he wore a guilty look throughout the entire conversation.
Celestine thought it was a rare sight and let out a small, wry smile before turning her mind to how she should bring this matter up to Rest and the others.