Chapter 7
After Charlotte told Edward, “I’m disappointed in you,” and left the drawing room, a long silence fell between the remaining Edward and Ian.
Finally, Ian slowly stood up.
“I’ll go to Charlotte.”
“Sorry.”
At the weak voice that touched his back, Ian slowly turned around. He saw Edward with his face buried in one hand. He looked as if he was feeling guilty.
In Grand Batten, the succession to the throne followed the principle of direct lineage first, and male preference.
That meant Ian’s succession rank was higher than his older sister Charlotte. If Edward gave up his right to the throne, Ian would become crown prince.
‘So is he sorry for pushing the throne onto me, or is he sorry for disappointing me?’
It was probably both, but Ian hoped it wasn’t the latter.
“I’m most sorry to you. I know this is a selfish choice. But…”
“I know.”
Ian cut off Edward’s words. He didn’t really want to hear his brother struggling to speak.
“I know.”
“……”
Ian knew about Edward’s long-standing love.
Eris was a princess of the duchy. She was from a collateral line, but the queen dowager had especially adored her, so she had grown up at Malik House with them. She was both gentle and fiercely competitive. Ian had looked up to Eris, who was two years older than him.
Because Eris was a cousin the same age as Edward, she had the privilege of even hitting the crown prince on the head.
The two of them clashed over everything, so people usually remembered them as not getting along. But sharp Ian knew they were each other’s first love, and that love had never faded.
But just as people say first love never works out, Eris, like any other princess, married abroad and became the duchess of Heinznover.
The problem was that her husband, Heinrich III, was a bastard. It didn’t even take five years for the strong Eris to be broken.
Edward watched over her, shed tears of blood, and regretted it bitterly. After such a long detour, it seemed he had no intention of ever letting go of his first love, who returned in disgrace.
‘There’s no way Charlotte doesn’t know Edward’s situation.’
Ian thought as he cut through the cool night air.
‘Why did she get angry first?’
All three of the Astiers siblings loved Eris. Charlotte shared a special friendship with Eris and was more outraged than anyone when she learned of her troubles.
There was something odd about Charlotte’s reaction.
“Charlotte.”
If you walked over the damp grass, you could easily find Charlotte hiding in a corner of the garden. When she was angry, she always came to her private garden with the old swing, even in the dark hours before dawn.
“Edward?”
Charlotte, sitting on the swing, repeatedly bent and straightened her legs as she asked.
“Saying you were disappointed was too much. You know Edward has an obsession with duty.”
“What about us?”
“Sis.”
“…I know, I know. I was mean even though I knew everything. Don’t call me that.”
Her voice lacked strength, so it seemed she regretted her cold words.
The two of them sat side by side on the swing and silently looked up at the night sky.
Ian hadn’t shown it in front of Edward, but he couldn’t help feeling as if he was slowly sinking into a swamp.
The throne. Nothing had been decided yet, but it was more suffocating than he’d imagined.
How long did they sit like that? Suddenly, Charlotte spoke.
“Our brother has more responsibility than anyone. It must have felt like cutting off a part of himself. I know how much Edward loved Eris, and how much he regretted it after she left. I also know how sad he was when that crazy bastard abused her. Back then, I almost lost my mind too.”
“……”
“But how can he give up so easily?”
“For Edward, it’s definitely not an easy choice.”
“I mean, if it were me… If it were me, I wouldn’t make that choice. If it were me…”
Charlotte gripped the swing’s rope tightly, as if swallowing the words that almost came out impulsively. She fell silent, lost in thought, and after a long pause, she spoke again.
“If Edward really marries Eris.”
“Yeah.”
“You’ll become king of Grand Batten, and I’ll become a queen or princess consort somewhere.”
“…Probably, yes.”
“But Ian.”
Charlotte, mumbling as if in a trance, stopped talking. Ian reflexively looked at her.
At that moment, the still chilly wind swept between the siblings.
“Sometimes I dream of making a different choice.”
A whiter moon than ever, the quiet garden scenery, the sight of her long blond hair fluttering in the wind, and the face so similar to his own… all of it came into Ian’s eyes.
“It might sound strange, but I envy you and Edward.”
A deep darkness had settled in Charlotte’s eyes as well. Maybe that’s why Ian couldn’t read her expression for a moment.
Charlotte was Ian’s mirror. Inside and out, she was the person most like him. That’s why he prided himself on knowing her best.
But now, Charlotte wore a face Ian didn’t know. Ian felt as if he were dreaming.
“Sorry. Forget it. You must be the most troubled, but here I am, whining to you like a child.”
As if to say it really was just a dream, Charlotte was smiling as usual before he knew it.
“I should apologize when I go back in.”
Maybe the one who hadn’t shown her feelings wasn’t Edward, but Charlotte.
***
If Grand Batten was the center of politics and the economy lately, the center of culture was still Fossa, which bordered Grand Batten.
Since waltz was in fashion in Fossa, the social circles of Grand Batten were also swept up in the waltz craze.
Men and women gliding across the floor in three-four time made you dizzy just watching. Since men and women held each other’s hands tightly and pressed their upper bodies close, conservative ladies could only sigh deeply whenever the waltz began.
Natalie was one of those who sighed. The waltz, which left no time to rest for even a beat, was torture for her, who had two left feet.
Normally, as soon as the waltz’s prelude started, she would have run to the wall and sipped punch, but today that was impossible.
Mrs. Heaton was determined. She brought gentlemen to Natalie and Emily as if she were on a mission. It seemed she wouldn’t stop until Natalie had danced with every gentleman in Dwan. Natalie missed Lady Maureen, who was easy to shake off.
“Natalie, this is Sir Fisher Heather. Sir, this is my niece and the eldest daughter of the Warfield barony, Miss Natalie Dawes.”
What kind of fish-head name is that? Natalie was genuinely surprised.
When she came to her senses, Natalie was spinning around the floor holding hands with the fish-head man or whatever his name was.
“Warfield, if I remember right, that’s in the north.”
Fish-head confidently gave the wrong answer.
“South, on the coast.”
“Aha… By the way, Dwan is really far from there.”
“A few years ago, the railroad came through, so if you take the train, it’s actually not that far. So, Sir, what about you…”
“By the way, how many children do you want?”
She was surprised for a moment by his habit of cutting her off, but the directness of his question was even more shocking. Wasn’t he skipping too many steps?
“…Children, all of a sudden?”
“I’d like my first to be a son, and since I need a spare, the second should be a son too. After that, maybe two daughters.”
Good grief, she couldn’t care less. What a fish-head of a man.
“To ask such a question on the first dance, it’s just…”
Even so, Natalie tried to be patient and politely protest her partner’s rudeness.
“So, Miss Dawes, what’s your sibling situation?”
But the so-called gentleman in front of her just kept talking. The purpose of his sudden background check was all too obvious.
“…Will knowing about my siblings help you predict the future?”
Natalie mustered her patience again and gave fish-head a chance to recover.
Sir Heather smiled and opened his mouth.
“Of course. A daughter’s ability to bear children usually takes after her mother.”
No doubt about it. He was a real fish-head. He had just thrown away his chance.
Natalie lowered her eyelids and raised the corners of her mouth shyly. It was the lady’s smile she had practiced so hard.
“My family…”
Then, matching the rhythm of the music, she naturally raised her knee and stomped as hard as she could on the annoying fish-head’s foot.
“We have lots of daughters.”
Stomp.
Ouch. Not even a proper scream came out of the gentleman.
Two hours into the ball. The number of gentlemen who had been stomped on by Natalie’s heel had already reached five.
Natalie returned to the wall, escaping while Mrs. Heaton was focused on Emily.
“Any luck, Miss Dawes?”
Christina fluttered her fan as she asked.
“Of course not, Miss Doweigh.”
Christina, who had spent the entire ball leaning against the wall watching Natalie’s antics, finally burst out laughing. People glanced at her, but the noble Marquess’s daughter didn’t care.
After she stopped laughing, Christina handed Natalie some ice cream, as if to help her cool off. She was an expert at both teasing and comforting Natalie.
Natalie stared blankly at the floor and silently ate her ice cream for a while. Then she muttered to herself without realizing it.
“I really don’t expect much, you know?”
Natalie, despite her many complaints about a lady’s life, was a woman with a certain sense of reality.
There is no prince in real life.
A woman living in the harsh real world shouldn’t forget this simple truth just because of hopeful fantasies.
So instead of waiting for a “prince,” it was better to act quickly and secure a slightly better husband.
Christina, searching her memory, said,
“Hmm. Your requirements were, what, a man within five years of your age and who doesn’t have bad breath when he talks?”
“Exactly. Add to that, someone I can have at least two conversations on a single topic with. Am I asking for too much, Christina?”
“You’re still so modest, really.”
“Right? That’s realistic, isn’t it? But why are they all like that? I really don’t think I’ll ever get married.”
Natalie shook her head in exasperation.
“Oh my. That’s great. You can keep hanging out with me.”
“I’m being serious, Christina.”
Natalie answered in a tired voice.
Christina quietly closed her mouth and looked at the floor with Natalie. Everywhere you looked, the floor was full of men and women busily sizing each other up.
