Chapter 38

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Our Love Story
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The atmosphere at the banquet was rather pleasant.

Of course, that didn't mean the heads of the three families were gathered together, laughing and chatting merrily.

It was more that people from different families weren't on edge with each other.

“…This is my first time trying seafood from Argenta. I didn't know you could get seafood from the Infinite Sea.”

“Of course. It's just like how food is gathered from Alloje's 'Endless Forest'.”

I could hear the voices of knights chatting like this.

Had they met elsewhere, they would have been hostile and on guard, but this was the period of the gathering.

During the gathering, it was an unwritten rule not to attack one another.

This rule was observed even during times of war between the three families. It was said that during the gathering, even those who had crossed swords just the day before would clink glasses and enjoy the occasion.

As such, the atmosphere now, in a time of relative peace, was bound to be even better.

“Croire Alloje—no, Lady Croire Argenta!”

But there was one person who was even more cheerful.

The girl running toward me with sparkling eyes was…

“…The one who was behind the head of House Cartiel earlier?”

I think that's her.

The girl running over, her emerald hair shining, looked so purely innocent and bright.

“That's right. My name is Ellin Cartiel.”

She held the edges of her dress and gave a slight curtsy.

The formality was brief. One look at her sparkling eyes told me everything I needed to know about her personality.

She was a mischievous girl who didn't quite fit in at such a formal gathering.

“It's a pleasure to meet you.”

“Me too! There was something I've been wanting to ask you for a while…”

I blinked at her words.

I wasn't sure if she realized she was drawing attention by leaving the Cartiel table to come all the way over here.

“What is it?”

I replied, glancing around.

The Cartiels were shaking their heads as if they'd given up, while the Argentas were watching Ellin with a mixture of caution and curiosity.

And among them, there didn't seem to be any other girls her age for Ellin to talk to.

I was probably the closest.

It made sense why she had run over to me.

I was the only one here who could entertain her.

“Can I really ask?”

Ellin asked me again.

I had no idea what kind of question she was building up to.

“Of course.”

I'll answer anything, as long as I can!

After I replied, Ellin, looking somewhat relieved, dropped a bombshell question.

“Do you truly love Duke Argenta?”

Not only Diello, who was sitting beside me, but many others who had been glancing our way now turned their full attention to me.

Of course, everyone here knew that Diello and I were in a political marriage.

They would know that I was Diello's Pero.

But this girl, it seemed, didn't know yet.

“Argenta and Alloje didn't get along, right? My uncle said that even if you two got married, it would take time to fall in love.”

As she said this, Ellin glanced toward the head of House Cartiel.

Siete Cartiel's expression was now a bit stiff, unlike before.

He clearly hadn't expected Ellin to run over and quote him.

“But how can you live as a married couple if you're not in love? Isn't it… uncomfortable?”

The way she blushed while rambling on about sharing a bedroom and so on was the very picture of a pure, innocent girl.

By then, I could feel not only the Cartiels but also the Allojes watching us intently.

Of course, they all knew it was a political marriage.

But they, too, must have been curious.

Have the Argenta couple truly fallen in love?

Is that why they got rid of the lily?

Ellin might not have known it, but this was nothing short of a test.

Just then, Diello wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“If we weren't in love, even being this close would be uncomfortable, wouldn't it?”

His gentle voice echoed in my ear.

Ellin looked up at him.

After blinking a few times, she burst into a giggle.

A blush colored her cheeks.

“You two seem much closer than my uncle and aunt!”

It was obvious who the "uncle and aunt" she was referring to were.

She meant Siete Cartiel and his wife.

“Hahahaha…”

“Duke Cartiel, she says. What do you think of that?”

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

Even Duke Alloje was laughing as he spoke to Duke Cartiel.

“…There is more to married life than a child can see, is there not?”

Duke Cartiel said this as he took his Pero's hand.

A hand he hadn't held even once until now.

But why does Ellin call Siete ‘uncle’?

If she uses the Cartiel name, they must be related by blood.

Is she from a more distant branch of the family than I thought?

“Thank you.”

In the midst of this, Diello smiled gently. Ellin giggled.

“But how did you become so close?”

Then she stood on her tiptoes and whispered softly.

“I actually have a boy I like, you see. I want to get closer to him.”

It seemed she had come for relationship advice.

“How… can you fall in love?”

Ellin asked shyly.

It would have been nice if it had ended as just a child's shy question, but this was inevitably another test.

To the others, it was tantamount to asking, ‘Are you truly in love?’ and ‘If so, how did it happen?’

In other words, this was a perfect opportunity for them to find out if we were truly in love enough to erase the lily from Diello's body.

Ellin was the only pure one here.

“Well… I'm not sure how you can get closer to that boy, Lady Ellin, but—”

“Then what about you, Lady Croire?”

In the end, she was asking me to tell her the story of our first love.

Faced with her persistent question, I wracked my brain.

I should have anticipated a question like this.

“We…”

Should I try to concoct a plausible first-love story?

Hmm, the first thing that came to mind was the image of Diello standing in the sea.

Of course, he had been standing on a battlefield.

Even though it was a battlefield covered in monsters, blood, and screams, for a moment, he was all I could see.

Looking back, that's how it was.

The water droplets on his black hair, his wide, surprised cerulean eyes.

And me, reflected in those cerulean eyes.

“I fell for him on the water.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them. Then I realized my mistake.

By saying ‘we’, it implies Diello fell for me at the same time, doesn't it?

But thankfully, Diello was listening to the story with a gentle smile.

As if this story of their first love, which he knew nothing about, had actually happened.

“On the water?”

“Yes.”

Fortunately, I wasn't completely talentless at making up stories, so I continued with whatever came to mind.

“As you know, Diello is of the fiery Argentas. I thought since he wields fire, he would naturally dislike water.”

I turned to him and smiled. It was, of course, entirely an act.

A sweet smile! A smile of someone in love!

Thankfully, Diello's faint, captivating smile was more than enough to help me smile back.

“But he willingly came into the water to spend time with me.”

—Drip.

Even back then on the battlefield, I think I heard the sound of water dripping from Diello's hair.

I spoke as I recalled that moment.

“It felt like we were the only two people there.”

If nothing else, that part was true.

It was a fact that my gaze had been stolen by him.

“Wow…”

Ellin's eyes sparkled.

At the same time, she looked a little disappointed.

“Weren't there any monsters? Or him saving you from danger…”

There were.

But I was the one who saved Diello.

Instead of telling the truth, I shook my head.

“Love doesn't only blossom amidst such dramatic events. Right?”

I looked back at Diello.

With the hand that was wrapped around me, Diello gently stroked my dark violet hair.

“Yes. That day, I learned for the first time that water could be so beautiful.”

Diello said.

For someone who wasn't good at acting, his line was quite long.

Did this man practice in his spare time?

“The Argentas are fated to hold back the Infinite Sea. Because of that, the sea, the water, had only ever been my enemy.”

The corners of his lips curved into an arc.

His voice, so sincere and gentle you couldn't believe it was an act, rang out.

“I had never seen water shine so dazzlingly.”

His whisper reached my ears.

I couldn't help but blush.

“It was so brilliant and beautiful, I couldn't look away.”

Diello's words were so sweet, so ticklish.

Even knowing it was an act, I was momentarily captivated.

This was beyond mere improvement; the student had surpassed the teacher.

“Kyaa!”

Ellin covered her face with both hands. A gentle ripple of laughter spread through the banquet hall.

“Well then, to the sweet newlyweds!”

Duke Alloje raised his glass with a satisfied expression.

There didn't seem to be a hint of falsehood on his face.

Which meant we truly looked like a sweet couple to him.

Duke Alloje was clearly convinced that I had succeeded in seducing Diello according to his plan.

This was a good thing. A very good thing…!

Even I'm being fooled, even I am!

My face flushed, and I instinctively ducked my head before raising my glass a beat too late.

—Clink.

Diello's glass lightly tapped against mine, making a sound.