"That"s right. How is the prime minister"s mood?"
"About that. So…"
"After this marriage, will I need following her too?"

It was a desperate measure carried to lump together all of His Majesty, Prime Minister, and Prince Alfred"s goals.
You can"t laugh over the desperation.
Well, at least today"s tea is delicious~.

"I want seconds."
"As you wish."
"Franc! Are you listening to your father?!"
"I know, I know. There are no other options for our family. It"s fine."
"D-don"t even joke about it…!"
"Now, it"s time for me to pack my luggage~."
"………………"

After sipping another cup of tea, I went back to my room and packed my luggage.
I don"t know what my father wants to speak; nevertheless, I have no choice but to obey.
And somewhere in the deepest part of my heart, I can"t help but feel pleased a little.
Miss Elana is a Duke"s daughter.
She"s not my match.
If I requested her hand in marriage, I would not be the head of the family because I"m the one who marries into her household.
What is more, she"s Alfred"s fiancee.
Ah, it"s forbidden love at best.

"……〜♪"

I departed from my house with my luggage while humming some tune.
My father and mother sent me off with a subdued expression, but my younger brothers were crying.
As expected from the second son, Ruth, to some extent, he can hold back his tears from showing.

"O-once in a while you can come back!"
"Yeah. I will come back, okay?"
"Uaaaaaaaa!"
"There there, Ruth. Don"t cry, aren"t you a big boy?"

Being sent off with such a cute smile, I get on the carriage heading to Miss Elana"s residence to pick her up.
That"s what my father said. Guess we should do it.
The servant at Miss Elana"s residence being instructed of my arrival ahead of time.
I did not conceal my complicated expression when I was admitted straight into the drawing room.

"Oh! Eufranc-kun!"
"Good morning~, Prime Minister~."

It was the prime minister who greets me first.
Coming in with a murderous face, I almost spurt out the tea that I swallow.

"You! I was impressed with your last night"s appearance! Please take care of my daughter!"
"(Too close!) Huh? Oh! I can"t promise anything but I"ll do my best."
"Kukukuu~! Your report! I want to hit my past self for being useless on the nose! My daughter! Please take care of my daughter!"
"Of course."
"…………!"

Ah, the information that Miss Rifana collects together.
If I have to start, then I have to accept it.
He bobbed his head with a smile.
I"m not skilled, and our household social standing is above average.
I don"t think I can provide the luxuries in her present life.

"I"ll do my best with my whole being."
"Eh!"
"Etto… can you let go of your hands? It"s too close to my face… Tears, you can wipe your tears with my handkerchief?"
"Really! What a gentleman! You are!"
"Uwah, that was the first time someone said that to me."

Are you overcome yesterday"s anger already, Prime Minister? 

"…Compared to Prince Alfred…! What a nice broken engagement! Also, the procedure was completed last night!"

Eh, isn"t typically there"s an agreement between two families?
No, he"s involved with the guardian dragon?
That prince is good at such vain ability, isn"t he?

"…and what"s more, getting out of the country a day after the engagement was broken!"
"………"
"It"s too much! It"s too much for my daughter!"
"Well, it"s certainly too sudden…"

Is the guardian dragon involved in this too?
No, she"s taking advantage of this.

"Saishō-sama, as far as I know, Miss Elana and other friends" fiancée aren"t bullying or hara.s.sing Miss Rifana."
"!? …w-what?"
"Please investigate it carefully… your daughter isn"t that kind of person. Please believe in your daughter."
"…………. ……Eu-eufranc-kun!"
"Eehhhh!!!"

Let"s not lean our face too close anymore.
I can feel him whispering close to my ear, and I can feel him hugging me tightly… it nearly feels like being strangled.
Perish.
I don"t want to die in middle-aged man"s embrace.

"Ah, my daughter"s husband."
"Eh?"
"………"

He stared down at me with a keen, penetrating glance.
That was dangerous.

"O-oh ohho~on! Elana, you should take care of your health."
"Y-yeah… thank you for taking care of me, father, mother."
"………"

Miss Elana"s mother didn"t say anything as she wipes the tears off her face with a handkerchief.

Then again, the prime minister was turning his back… but I can see him crying.
She"s their precious daughter.
She only carries a suitcase.
Reaching out, I lift the luggage for her.
Miss Elana place her palm on the top of my hand.
Oh, no.
I was taken aback and open my mouth.

"……..I"m sorry for troubling you."

When they got out of her residence, she said that with a dark face.
He loads the luggage into the carriage, opening the door for her, and offering his hand to prop her in then gave the visual signal to the coachman.
Eufranc didn"t make any particular reply until then.
After the carriage starts running, he seized his time to observe Miss Elana.
Trying looking not too showy, she"s wearing a dark brown one-piece dress and breezy hat.
Her jade-like hair looking l.u.s.trous and her eyes were as bright as the sea.
Where are we going from now on, and what will happen from now on? Don"t you want to hear that?

"Isn"t it great? I was so composed yesterday."
"Oh, yes. Yesterday… Yesterday"s graduation party?!"
"Hmm, I see…"
"W-what?! People are troubled to ask forgiveness in a light-hearted manner! Do you want to be comforted?"
"If you aren"t feeling down, you don"t need to be comforted, right?"
"Gu~u ~tsu…!"

Oh, it"s so much better than I thought.
If I were healthy, I would be able to manage in the future.

"Okay, let"s talk."
"Wh-what?"
"Let"s talk about the future. The Prime Minister… have you heard anything from your father?"
"No, nothing. Except for last night, I"ve been instructed to leave the country today…"
"Ah, I only heard it this morning."
"Are you serious?!"

Ahahahaha. I was scolded when I was laughing, she said, "It"s not a laughing matter!"
I"m fine. I"m fine.

"It"s the shaking carriage."
"You are lying?!"
"……I"m not."
"Which one?!"
"By the way, my relative is married into the neighboring country"s Margrave. I will inquire whether I can rent a place to stay from them."
"!"
"If we get into trouble with the house, we still have a place to settle for a while. However, since we are distant relatives, they may reject our request. When that happens, we will have to bring our luggage in one hand and bow our head lower like a commoner in the neighboring country to rent something to start living. How is it? Can"t Can"t you imagine our happy future?"
"~~! How can you say that without cackling?!"
"Well, you can"t live like what you"re used to. I"m certain of it."
"……!"

Feeling a little dejected she let her shoulder dropped then give away a little smile.
She"s looking down and apologizing again, "I"m sorry."
Why?

"No, I"m okay. It"s interesting. Isn"t it hard for you? You are Duke"s daughter?"
"! It-it"s fine with me!"
"Hmm? Are you prepared for some trouble?"
"E-eh… Yeah… B-but you are…"
"I told you I would be fine, and it looks interesting."
"…Interesting, huh?"

It"s just I"m excited about spending time with you.
This is a problem.
I don"t know what"s going on with my life anymore.
I thought the forbidden love that I have would never come true, and then this happens.

"No more orders, no more involved in a pointless power struggle… Since I"ve been occupied, I can rest now.”

And together with Miss Elana.
Is this the best?
Alfred has announced his marriage with Miss Rifana, and now he wouldn"t think about getting back Miss Elana.
We are performing the marriage ceremony inside the country.
By the end of the day, the procedure will be over. The witness for our wedding is my father, Prime Minister, and His Majesty.
Also, they"re freezing our citizenship.
They"re likely trying depriving us.
She doesn"t have her citizenship or t.i.tle, but if they recognize her innocence, they will call her back.
I can go back home, but I want to relax with her in the neighboring country"s land.
The capital is nothing but trouble.
Alfred and his 『Five Alumni』 were too rough.
Well, please do your best in the future.
And I"ll do my best here.
That"s all.

"……Be optimistic……"
"Maybe it will not get any worse."
"I hope so."

Two hours have pa.s.sed since we had a conversation.

"We"ve arrived at the border."
"Thank you~."
"Eh?"
"Young master… ano…"
"It"s okay, don"t worry about it. Thank you for your hard work. Please h.e.l.lo to my father and the prime minister."
"Eh?"
"Yes… then…"
"Hihi."
"……Eh."

We are getting off of our carriage when we"ve arrived at the border.
We only brought two luggage.
And one of my favorite horses.

"……Huh?"
"Let"s walk. Ano, Miss Elana, can you ride a horse?"
"Eh? Eh? ……………..Ehhhh?"
"Eh?"

What"s wrong?

"Eh, eh? Wait, please wait for me Eufranc-sama…… eh? Walking?"
"Eh? If Miss Elana can ride a horse you can ride on Lucy, you know? I can"t ride because I carry two pieces of luggage."
"But… I can"t ride a horse."
"Then, we will walk. Lucy, I"m going to load the luggage."
"Fu~un!"
"Huh…."

Lucy is a horse that I received as a birthday present when I was little.
Lucy was one of the horses that helped to pull the carriage.
As his father"s expected, it"s impossible going to the neighboring country on foot. And because Lucy is his horse, he can take it, his horse looking wild for being sent out.
No, thank you.
It"s not a pasturage horse, but it"s a horse for horse riding or hunting, the difference is significant if you don"t know.

"Eh…… lie? ……you are lying….we have to walk……?"
"Yes, we are walking. We will camp tonight!"
"………………."

He"s giving out thumbs up with a smile.
Miss Elana"s facial expression is full of despair.
Thirty seconds later, he whispered in a low voice, "Why don"t you ride the horse?" then a.s.sist her to ride on Lucy and started walking.
In the evening, they stop the journey.
Sitting down in a s.p.a.cious place at the edge of the road, he creates a circle of stone and lay the wood he had pickup on the way.
Using a match, he lit the dead leaves and branches to make a bonfire.

"Do you want to eat dried meat?"
"……I want to eat."

I wonder.

"Do you need a blanket?"
"……Please."

I pull out a thin blanket out of the bag and pa.s.s it over.
Well, I thought I was getting used to many things, but I"m still shocked.
For an only child born from the Duke"s house, you wouldn"t expect to spend the night camping.
I nibbled the dried meat as I watched the bonfire.
Meanwhile, Miss Elana munched the dried meat while intensely gazing at the fire.

t/n: i forgot that i have this chapter ready, sorry for the delay! also i need a proofreader, if you are interested you can join the discord or hmu astraea#2855