~Chapter 36~
[To my beloved Lari,
The weather’s gotten much warmer lately.
Have you been keeping well?
The reason I’m writing today is because we received a message from the Count of Gusto.
Apparently, you sent Gregory a letter to break off the engagement. Is it true?]
“Ack.”
I flinched, stiffening my shoulders as I read the letter without thinking.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
The princess, seated beside me, looked at me with a puzzled expression.
But I was too preoccupied to respond. I quickly read on.
[I’m not writing to scold you about the broken engagement.
I trust that our daughter made the right decision.
But I would like to hear the full story. Why don’t you come down to the Ansi estate for a visit?
It’s been far too long since we last saw your face.
— With love, Mother]
The letter ended there.
I felt a jab of guilt.
‘Oh right… I never told them about the broken engagement.’
To be fair, it had been a heat-of-the-moment decision to send that breakup letter in the first place.
And after that, I was swept up in the salon and retainer meetings at the duchy… I simply hadn’t had the time.
“Honestly, Lady Ansi!”
Just then, the princess puffed out her cheeks in protest and called my name.
“Y-yes?”
Snapping back to my senses, I turned to her.
The princess asked grumpily,
“What kind of letter makes you react like that?”
“Ah… well.”
I tucked the letter back into its envelope and answered.
“My parents are asking me to come down to the Ansi estate for a bit.”
“The Ansi estate?”
The princess blinked in surprise.
I nodded.
“They probably want to talk about the broken engagement with the Gusto family.”
Of course, I knew they wouldn’t be too angry.
They were never all that fond of my engagement to Gregory to begin with.
‘Come to think of it… I really drove a wedge between us when I insisted on marrying him back then.’
I stifled a sigh.
Why had I been so obsessed with Gregory?
Why did I insist on it so stubbornly?
I shouldn’t have hurt the people who actually cared about me…
And then—
“Hmm?”
I felt a strange tingling on my cheek and turned to the side.
And there she was.
The princess, her eyes sparkling like stars, spoke loudly in a voice that was clearly meant for me to hear:
“Aah… I’d really love to visit the Ansi estate someday…”
“…”
“Lady Ansi and I even signed a friendship contract, remember.”
“…”
“Friends are supposed to meet each other’s families.”
“…”
“I even introduced you to my brother, you knooow~”
…There’s no way I could pretend I didn’t hear that.
I gave a wry smile and asked,
“Would you like to come with me?”
“Yes! I’d love to!”
The princess cheered excitedly.
But then she quickly added, with a prim little pout,
“B-but! Only because you invited me.”
“Even if I said I wanted to go, you’re the one who suggested it, right?”
“Of course. I invited you because I really do want to go together.”
“Right? It’s not like I begged or anything, right?”
Finally, the princess beamed with a bright smile.
* * *
And so, for those reasons, the princess and I were now sharing a carriage.
Staring out the window, the princess propped her chin on her hand and muttered with a frown.
“Ugh, you wouldn’t believe how much my brother nagged me right before we left.”
“Nagged?”
I tilted my head.
She pouted again.
“He told me not to bother you.”
Then, drooping her shoulders, she asked in a pitiful voice:
“Tell me the truth, Lady Ansi… am I a bother?”
“Of course not.”
I smiled and shook my head.
It felt kind of like watching a proud pedigree cat turn into a clingy house kitten.
I’d been so tense around the princess at first, not knowing how to act.
But now that she was treating me so warmly, it actually felt a little rewarding.
“Right? I’m not annoying, am I?”
The princess bounced back quickly and began to whine again.
“But my brother is always so mean to me. Do you know what he said?”
Putting on a deadpan expression, she mimicked the Duke:
“Don’t go wandering off. Stay put. I’ll come pick you up myself when it’s time to return.”
“Pfft.”
I couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
‘She even sounds like him!’
After laughing until tears welled in my eyes, I asked:
“Wait, he’s coming to pick you up? What do you mean?”
“Oh, he’s going on a business trip to the south too.”
“A business trip?”
For the Duke to personally travel, it must be something important.
The princess shrugged casually.
“The duchy recently invested in a southern shipping fleet. He said he had to go check on it.”
“Ah…”
That made sense.
The southern region—where the Ansi estate was located—bordered the sea.
Most people there worked in fishing or trade, and many trading companies ran fleets out of the area.
I recalled that one such company operated in our territory.
“Would that be the Light Trading Company, by any chance?”
“Huh? How did you know that, Lady Ansi?”
The princess’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.
I shrugged lightly.
“It’s the largest in the south. I just took a guess.”
“I heard the Ansi estate is known more as a resort. But there’s a trading company there too?”
“Yes, well…”
I gave a bittersweet smile.
She wasn’t wrong.
Though small in size, the Ansi estate was quite wealthy thanks to both tourism and trade.
Which is probably why Gregory kept our engagement despite not even liking me…
But then—
“Ugh, such a workaholic—ah! Look!”
Right in the middle of complaining about her brother, the princess leaned out the window and shouted.
“The sea! I see the ocean!”
We were close to the Ansi estate.
* * *
The Ansi family home.
The familiar three-story manor where I’d grown up greeted me.
The sight filled me with a wave of nostalgia.
As soon as I got off the carriage, I ran to my parents.
“Mom! Dad!”
“Lari!”
They smiled brightly at me, just as I remembered them.
Something warm bloomed in my chest.
But my parents, on the other hand…
“L-Lady Evangeline…”
The moment the princess stepped out of the carriage, my parents froze.
“It’s an honor to meet you, my lady.”
“We are so privileged to welcome you.”
Their nervous voices were stiff with formality.
‘Oh no… They’re completely overwhelmed.’
Even wind-up dolls don’t move that stiffly!
I couldn’t blame them, though.
I had sent word ahead, yes—but it’s not every day the daughter of the Duke of Claudius visits.
I was nervous too when I first met the princess…
But at least I asked to meet her.
For my parents, this was more like thunder on a clear day.
‘What do I do, Lady Ansi?’
The princess turned to me, eyes trembling, clearly panicking as she stared at my frozen-stiff parents.
