Chapter 229 Engagement♪
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Phew—yesterday had been a storm. Because of Ayumu’s meddling, Empress Sarendra flew into a rage, demanding that the woman who had been Crown Prince Aare’s first partner be punished.
Yet the boy stood tall.
”No! Stop it! If you do that, Mother, I’ll cut ties with you! Alyona is a good girl!”
He defended her without hesitation. Truly admirable.
The Empress, however, shrieked back in fury.
”My Aare, what are you saying?! Prostitutes are all liars and low creatures! Sanai—this is your fault!”
She turned her anger toward Ayumu. But once again the Crown Prince intervened.
”Don’t! Sanai did nothing wrong! I begged him myself!!”
Thus, Ayumu escaped blame. What a contrast to Emperor Rai, who had been quick to shove guilt onto him. One wondered if father and son were even truly related. If only His Majesty could drink a tonic brewed from his son’s noble spirit…
Still, to soothe Empress Sarendra’s temper, Ayumu found himself whispering advice to the emperor—remind him to compliment her on her new perfume, notice her hairstyle changes quickly, and flatter her with every detail. It was exhausting work.
Two days earlier, even Ronafermia had confronted him, eyes sharp as blades.
”To think you would let His Majesty use brothels… don’t tell me you go as well, Sanaiꐦ! You’re disgustingꐦ!”
Princess Norfemina now avoided him with chilly grace. And Anastasia, who once adored him like a big brother, turned upon him the moment they met.
”Unclean! Sanai!”
The treatment from the princesses grew cold indeed.
Why has it come to this…? Ayumu thought bitterly. (Answer: his own fault. Self-inflicted ruin.)
Then, at last, some news of a different nature arrived. Princess Ronafermia had received a proposal of engagement.
The suitor? None other than Prince Erik of the Kingdom of Elandric—the very same kingdom that had, under cover of royal privilege, defaulted on a debt to Ayumu himself back around Chapter 198.
Prince Erik’s name was infamous, carried far and wide: a fool, a good-for-nothing, his indulgent lifestyle written upon his bloated frame. The moment the engagement was mentioned, Ronafermia flew into a tantrum.
”No! I won’t! Absolutely not!”
She raged like a storm, especially offended by the prince’s plump body. Even when attendants urged her gently—”If you refuse, Your Highness, you may end up like Princess Norfemina, left behind without a match”—she only shouted louder.
To the courtiers, her defiance seemed pure selfishness.
But in truth, their world judged things harshly.
Here, among merchants, nobles, royalty, and the imperial family, it was the norm to arrange engagements from the youngest age possible, sealing alliances before children even understood the meaning. Marriages were to happen quickly, to ensure strong heirs.
The lower classes, both men and women, were praised for laboring diligently. But the higher one rose, the more twisted the values became. A man whose wife busied herself with work was branded incompetent, unable to provide. His reputation would rot.
Thus upper-class women were expected to play the part of ladies of leisure, while men had to make sure they could afford to maintain that illusion.
If a lower-class bride was seen as idle, she was scorned by her mother-in-law as lazy. Yet if a highborn wife ventured out instead of staying home, she was slandered as a neglectful woman. In either case, the husband would be seen as unfit to manage his household.
So for noblewomen, jobs were scarce. At best, they could serve as tutors for wealthy families. Otherwise, staying unmarried too long made them branded as useless “neets” (T/N: slang for people who neither study nor work). Society was merciless.
For men, the choices were also limited—join the guards, buy a merchant’s license, apprentice under a craftsman, or else fall to the ranks of serfs, mining slaves, galley rowers, or corpses by the roadside.
In short: life in this otherworld offered only narrow paths.
Which meant that Princess Norfemina—and now even Second Princess Ronafermia—were approaching the dangerous age of eighteen. Society already whispered they were selfish and past their prime, yet they still dared to choose their suitors.
No wonder the attendants pressed them. They meant well, in their way. (And of course, Norfemina had already been branded a lost cause.)
Tradition decreed that royal women who failed to marry should retreat to convent life as nuns.
Commander Sergei had told Ayumu to join in persuading Ronafermia. But when he went to her chambers, he found her sprawled on her bed in stubborn despair, sulking and refusing to move.
How, oh how, am I to persuade her…?
Empress Sarendra tried patiently to reason with her daughter.
”Rona-Rona… the only reason we live in such luxury is thanks to the commoners. As members of the imperial family, we must fulfill our duty.”
But Princess Ronafermia snapped back in fury.
”No! If that’s how it is, then Elder Sister Norfemina hasn’t done her duty either! Why should I be the one to sacrifice myself for the country?! Ana is younger—let her marry Prince Erik instead! He’d be happier! This is unfair!”
Her voice shook the room.
It wasn’t entirely surprising. Princess Anastasia, being the youngest and Emperor Rai’s darling, often heard from her father, “Ana, I will find you a young and wonderful husband, no matter what♪.” Of course Ronafermia would feel enraged at such double standards.
The truth of her words struck both Norfemina and Anastasia. They shrank back, shocked, innocent victims of a stray bullet in this family battle.
Then, as though cornered, Ronafermia suddenly burst out, tears streaming.
”Then take me away, Sanai! Please, keep me for life!”
A bold, acrobatic proposal hurled straight into Ayumu’s chest.
What nerve! Just this morning she had glared at him, spitting,
”To think you let His Majesty use brothels… don’t tell me you go too, Sanaiꐦ! You’re the worstꐦ!”
And now this? Had she forgotten the time she whipped him simply because she missed out on a luxury melon (around Chapter 188)? Truly, the woman was impossible.
Ayumu sighed inwardly. Honestly, Your Highness, you and I would make a fine pair of human trash.
Meanwhile, oblivious to his thoughts, the family’s borzoi-like hunting dog, beloved pet of the imperial household, gently licked Ronafermia’s tears away. The scene was strangely tender.
At the same time, Emperor Rai frowned at his daughter’s reckless cry.
”What are you saying, Rona?!”
Then he added sternly,
”Sanai will be taking poor Norfemina instead.”
Eh? Is that so? Ayumu turned in shock toward Norfemina. She blushed, nodding softly.
”Yes… I’ll be in your care.”
”I’ll make you happy,” Ayumu answered without thinking.
Empress Sarendra clasped her hands, relieved.
”Wonderful. If it’s Sanai, I can rest easy. Nor, be happy.”
But Ronafermia exploded again.
”Wait just a moment! Why is your reaction so different from when it was meꐦ?!”
Ayumu could only shrug. That, dear princess, is the fruit of your own conduct.
Ronafermia pressed on, indignant.
”Sanai, admit it! You’d rather be with me—blond hair, blue eyes, same age! You prefer that over my older sister, don’t you?!”
But Ayumu had come from a world where a single year’s difference meant nothing. In truth, the gentle nature of Norfemina far outshone Ronafermia’s fiery temper.
Princess Anastasia, however, was shaken to her core. She had half-convinced herself that Ayumu would one day be her husband. To see her elder sister claim him now was unbearable.
”No! My marriage partner—gone?! That can’t be!”
And then, before anyone could stop her, she blurted out,
”Wait, Sanai! I’m younger than Norfemina or Rona! I’m blond, blue-eyed, admired by everyone! You’d rather have me, right, Sanai?!”
What audacity—trying to steal her sister’s fiancé right in front of her!
Even gentle Norfemina cried out in despair.
”Stop it, Ana! We’re sisters! Don’t try to steal your elder sister’s future husband!”
But Anastasia refused to back down.
”That’s unfair, Elder Sister! I want Sanai too! He’s rich, he buys gifts, and he’d give me anything I ask!”
Ayumu groaned inwardly. Hadn’t this exact problem just bitten him recently?
To appease Empress Sarendra, whose anger he had stirred at the brothel scandal, he had gifted her ambergris perfume and luxury Keldan bags. Yet Ronafermia had spotted him doing it (was she stalking him?!) and immediately demanded her own tribute.
”Mother alone? That’s unfair!”
Cornered, Ayumu gave her a designer pouch crafted by the renowned Takanashi Ami.
Worse, Ronafermia flaunted it shamelessly among the maids and even her sisters.
”Sanai insisted I accept this gift♪ This is love! Pure love♪”
She dug the moat around him deeper and deeper.
In desperation, Ayumu tried giving gifts to the others as well, to even the field. But soon enough, all of them had acquired a taste for it.
”Oh my♡ Keldan’s newest bag really is stunning♡”
”The cosmetics, too—they’re marvelous… I do wonder how one might get some♡”
In other words, they had begun to hint openly for more.
Damn it. Self-inflicted again. What a disaster.
Now he wasn’t just their supposed fiancé—he was their walking wallet.
Especially Cecelia, Eclea, Oreana, and Rieana… cruel, merciless, all of them. (See Chapter 182 for details.)
Still, thanks to his fief’s own production and the fact that his income outweighed his expenses, he could acquire these goods cheaper than most.
For now, it was only a minor loss. But in spirit? His dignity was bleeding dry.
Notes:
• Empress Sarendra – Aare’s mother who expresses quiet resentment towards Aare’s existence. But still love him.
• Alyona – Crown Prince Aare’s first partner, fiercely defended by him when Empress Sarendra demanded her punishment. Though branded lowborn and scorned as a “prostitute” by the Empress, Aare’s open defiance shielded her, showing his deep attachment.
• Ronafermia – Second Princess, Norfemina’s younger sister. Harassed by Doll’s poems, then slandered with rumors of stable boys. Publicly shamed him, hurled her glove, and forced a duel—pushing Ayumu to fight as her champion. After his win, she claimed it as proof of her virtue. Reminder: fiery, reckless, twists scandal into pride.
• Anastasia – Younger imperial princess. Often accompanies Norfemina and Ronafermia. Playful, carefree, less political. Known for impulsive acts like cuddling Rostic cat-beastfolk soldiers (Scottish Grenadiers), showing childlike mischief rather than statecraft.
• Norfemina – First Imperial Princess. Blonde, blue-eyed, courteous and composed. Embodies imperial dignity during tours, observing from carriage. Known for grace and mercy toward servants, yet firm in rejecting scandal or improper advances. Serves as the gentle, diplomatic counterbalance to her harsher sister Ronafermia.
• Erik – Crown Prince, infamous wastrel. Obese, arrogant, reckless spender who tried extorting Ayumu for 400k gold with an IOU. Disliked by nobles and commoners alike, stark contrast to his sister Lana and half-brother Senelio.
• Kingdom of Elandric – Northern kingdom, ex-Yugan vassal turned buffer state vs Caesar. Known for Viking-like culture, magic-stone wealth, and harsh living. Royal family: High King Karl Ewan Bellnah, wasteful heir Prince Erik, illegitimate scholar Prince Senelio, and Princess Lana. Key ally: merchant Baldric.
• Sergei – Elderly but towering commander of the Royal Knights, hawk-eyed and authoritative. Holds powers equal to a Defense Minister, trusted by Emperor Rai as his most loyal and stabilizing force.
• Cecelia – Blonde sharp-tongued marquis daughter, socially slick and used to court games. Childhood friend of Yoluminette. First appear in chapter 182.
• Eclea – Efficient, no-nonsense attendant to Empress Sarendra. All business, little small talk. First appear in chapter 182.
• Oreana – Highborn and calculating, one of Sarendra’s favored ladies-in-waiting. Keen observer in social settings. First appear in chapter 182.
• Rieana – Quiet and watchful lady-in-waiting, tends to blend into the background but misses nothing. First appear in chapter 182.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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