Deciding Potential Fiancés

“Cordula, I heard that Lady Hannelore’s fiancé has been chosen, is that true?”

At the end of autumn, during the time when attendants took turns eating lunch, Andrea, an apprentice attendant, lowered her voice slightly as she asked the question. At that moment, everyone eating with us in the retainers’ room turned their eyes toward me.

“You hear things quickly, Andrea. To be precise however, he is not her fiancé, but a candidate for one.”

“A candidate? With so little time left before we leave for the Royal Academy, I find it hard to believe that the Aub is still undecided…”

Since Lord Werdekraf, the Aub of Dunkelfelger, was someone who made swift decisions without hesitation even on important matters, it was no wonder she found it strange that he would leave things in the vague state of having only a fiancé candidate. Elucia, an apprentice scholar, tilted her head as well.

“Could it have something to do with how Lady Hannelore’s prominence suddenly soared at the end of spring…?”

Lady Hannelore was already someone who drew attention as a potential marriage partner, being the daughter of the first wife of a greater duchy. On top of that, during the battle instigated by Lanzenave at the end of spring, Dunkelfelger contributed greatly to the victory. As a result, our duchy rose to first place in the rankings, was favored by Lady Eglantine—the new Zent—and its overall value increased.

“It wasn’t just the duchy’s ranking that changed; Milady’s personal value changed as well.”

“Ah, so the influence of being invited to the Archduke Conference by Lady Rozemyne really was significant. Lady Rozemyne is the Avatar of the Goddess of Wisdom who returned the Grutrissheit to Yurgenschmidt. And Lady Hannelore is her closest friend.”

I nodded at Elucia’s words. Originally, Milady, being a minor, would not have been permitted to attend the Archduke Conference at all. Yet she participated through a personal request. As a result, she became widely known not only as Lady Rozemyne’s close friend, but also as someone seen as capable of having her requests granted by both the Zent and the goddess’s avatar.

“Lady Rozemyne is frail and very selective about whom she meets. It isn’t strange that duchies who find it difficult to form ties with her would instead seek a marriage with Lady Hannelore. But if that’s the reason, it feels as though Lady Hannelore is being treated like an add-on to Lady Rozemyne, and I dislike that.”

Heilliese, an apprentice guard knight who had hoped to accompany Milady to her future marital home, spoke with clear dissatisfaction.

“That is certainly displeasing, but I am more worried about whether Lady Hannelore will be able to handle the duchies seeking her out for her connection to Lady Rozemyne if she marries into another duchy. Before, she only had to consider relations with her own duchy, and that was manageable—but now the level of negotiating power required of her will be completely different.”

“Certainly. If all that were required were a connection to Dunkelfelger, she would only need to coordinate with her family, with whom she is familiar. But when it comes to forming a connection with Alexandria, her negotiation partners would be Lady Rozemyne and Lord Ferdinand. Leaving everything to Lady Hannelore alone would be a bit concerning.”

It was only natural for Andrea and Elucia to worry. There was no way we could entrust negotiations with Alexandria to Milady, who lacked confidence and was easily pushed into a corner. It was all too easy to imagine her being talked into something while she floundered, saying, “Eh? Um… ah…”

“Aub Dunkelfelger and Lady Sieglinde made their decision to keep Lady Hannelore within our duchy because they were concerned about that very issue.

And as for why he is a candidate rather than a fiancé—it is because Lady Sieglinde wished to leave at least some degree of choice to Lady Hannelore…”

The retainers exchanged looks. Even though they were worried about sending Milady to another duchy, their expressions were complicated, as though they could not fully support keeping her here either.

“Cordula, could it be that Lady Hannelore’s fiancé candidates are Lord Kenntrips and Lord Rasantark?”

If she was to remain in our duchy, the pool of possible candidates was extremely small. I answered Andrea’s question lightly with, “Yes, that’s correct.”

At that moment, Hailliese furrowed her brow sharply.

“Eeeh… Those two? Lord Kenntrips and Lord Rasantark are both retainers of Lord Lestilaut. Considering that period when Lady Hannelore was treated so coldly, we can’t be sure she would be cherished.”

After the ditter match with Ehrenfest, Milady—who had left her own formation and caused our duchy’s defeat—was shunned by Lord Lestilaut’s retainers. We, as Lady Hannelore’s retainers, were treated the same.

“It would have been impossible even for the guard knights who were participating in the ditter. It was Lord Lestilaut who ordered everyone to rush in and drive away the Sovereign Knight Order, leaving Lady Hannelore behind.”

“And it was Lord Lestilaut, her own elder brother, who accepted the condition that included Lady Hannelore’s marriage in the first place… that is the true root of the problem.”

…Well, there were all kinds of strains between them.

Lady Hannelore redeemed her honor by participating in a true ditter, and her position improved once she became known as Lady Rozemyne’s close friend. The way people treated her retainers also changed noticeably for the better.

Even so, there had been a long period—up until the end of spring—during which neither side could harbor good feelings toward the other. Even now, half a year later, relations with Lord Lestilaut’s retainers remained strained. Both groups of retainers wore polite, fabricated smiles on the surface, but neither side had settled their feelings internally. It would take a bit more time.

Personally, I hoped that Milady and her fiancé candidates would serve as a bridge between the two sides.

“I understand that, considering mana balance, age, and whether they already have fiancées, it really could only be the two of them—but couldn’t it be someone else? Thinking about serving under them after Lady Hannelore’s marriage makes me dislike the idea.”

“Hailliese, mind your wording. People might think you are dissatisfied with the Aub’s decision.”

Chastised by Elucia, Hailliese slumped her shoulders.

”…It may not matter to you anymore since you already have a fiancé, Elucia…” she muttered.

“If our lady is going to remain in our duchy as part of the archducal family, then that will greatly affect the selection of my marriage partner as well, will it not? It will be entirely different from if she were to marry into another duchy. I really wish they would not change direction right before our fifth year. Even my father would be troubled by it.”

Hailliese’s argument was not incorrect. Those whose engagements had already been decided could, in a sense, feel at ease. They merely had to serve their lady as they always had until the day they married.

However, those whose matches were yet to be determined would now have to adjust to their lady’s change of circumstances. Even if talks with someone from another duchy had already begun behind the scenes, those arrangements might be nullified now that the premise had changed.

From here on, during the winter social season, we would need to gather information from the nobles, confirm the retainers’ engagement situations, and—if necessary—introduce nobles of appropriate faction and age who posed no issues.

…It seemed this winter’s social season would be quite a difficult one for Lady Sieglinde.

“Cordula, do you think those two could make Lady Hannelore happy?”

At Hailliese’s question, I let out a small laugh. I had attended gatherings of the archducal families since childhood, and I knew very well how Kenntrips and Rasantark had interacted with Milady over the years.

“Lady Hannelore has already cleared away the shame of that ditter. She will not be treated poorly anymore.”

”…I wonder about that. I can’t bring myself to believe that the people who didn’t stop Lord Lestilaut from wagering Lady Hannelore’s marriage in a ditter would truly cherish her.”

Hailliese still did not seem convinced, but there was nothing to be done. The retainers gathered here were those selected for the Royal Academy. They did not know how things had been at the inter-duchy gatherings.

“I myself am more worried that Lady Hannelore might suddenly change her mind again and run straight to Lord Wilfried… That concerns me far more.”

I nodded in agreement with Elucia’s words. It was still fresh in my memory how Milady had suddenly changed her mind in the middle of the ditter, leaving us clutching our heads.

“Lady Hannelore says that Lord Wilfried is an important friend and not a romantic interest… but isn’t it only that she doesn’t want to admit it’s love precisely because he rejected the marriage proposal?”

“Even if it’s the truth, she overreacts to anything concerning Lord Wilfried and immediately defends him. And the fact that she says she doesn’t want to ruin their relationship, or that she doesn’t want him to know she was being treated coldly within the duchy… well, you understand, don’t you?”

At Elucia and Andrea’s words, Hailliese nodded vigorously and shot to her feet.

Was it a trait unique to Dunkelfelger’s knights, I wondered? I could already sense the beginning of one of those overly passionate speeches that were such a bother.

I decided to focus my attention on my meal instead.

“It must be love. Otherwise, Lady Hannelore would never have left her formation of her own accord! Fending off the Sovereign Knight Order’s attack with getlit would have been nothing for her, and there is absolutely no way Lady Hannelore would lose to a mere archducal candidate from another duchy who has only undergone minimal training!”

Among the knights of Dunkelfelger—who admired strength above all—our lady was highly respected, and many of them tended to make such forceful declarations when their emotions ran high.

Because of that, we had grown accustomed to letting these speeches wash over us. Andrea, already preparing the after-meal tea, responded with polite, noncommittal sounds as she worked.

“Yes, that’s right. If it had been a one-on-one, straightforward battle, I believe Lady Hannelore would have won.”

“With her trained movements and the bodily enhancement fueled by the vast mana befitting an archducal candidate… I wanted so dearly to see Lord Wilfried struck speechless as he witnessed the strength of a Dunkelfelger archducal candidate firsthand! I wanted to make him understand—truly understand—how unthinkable it was to make Lady Hannelore a second wife of a lower-ranking duchy! And yet! Why did Lady Hannelore leave her formation on her own??”

…It was because she had always been praised for her strength and never worried over in matters of battle.

So when Lord Wilfried reached out to her, saying he wished to protect her or help her, she felt—just for a moment—like the heroine of a romantic tale, and her heart fluttered before she realized it.

I whispered this only within my mind. The shift in her feelings at that time, and the words she spoke, had been far too dismissive of those who participated in the ditter. I could never say it aloud.

Only Milady herself, Lady Sieglinde, and I knew the truth of it; even the retainers had not been told.

Even so—because Lord Lestilaut had framed it as a bride-stealing ditter, because Milady had actually taken Lord Wilfried’s hand, and because she had been fully prepared to marry him until she was rejected during the inter-duchy tournament—everyone believed without a doubt that Lady Hannelore had been nursing a one-sided love.

“I simply cannot understand what is so good about Lord Wilfried—someone who, in the middle of the bride-stealing ditter, urged her to betray us and come to Ehrenfest, only to turn around and reject her afterward!”

“Perhaps Lady Hannelore simply lacked an eye for men, being swayed by sweet words in the middle of battle. Or one could say she lacked sufficient awareness of her position as an archducal candidate.”

“My goodness! Elucia, are you not on Lady Hannelore’s side!?!? No matter how you look at it, the one most at fault is surely Lord Wilfried, who overturned the terms of the ditter!!??”

Elucia received the full force of Hailliese’s passionate argument, but she simply accepted the cup of tea Andrea had carefully prepared and smiled gently.

“I dislike Lord Wilfried the most, since he blemished my lady’s honor, but regarding the ditter, I believe the one most at fault was Lord Lestilaut—he was the one who forced a bride-stealing match and dragged Lady Hannelore into it.”

“Eh?”

“At the same time, I believe Lord Lestilaut’s retainers—who failed to stop that reckless act—are at fault, as well as Ehrenfest, who overturned the agreed-upon terms after the ditter despite having reviewed and signed them. And of course, Lady Hannelore herself bears some blame for being swayed by the enemy’s sweet words without consulting her retainers at all.”

At Elucia’s calm and pointed remark, Haillise let out a “Guhh”—a sound entirely unbecoming of a lady.

Andrea lightly tapped her arm and urged her to sit, saying, “Compose yourself.” Hailliese reluctantly sat down, and Andrea placed a cup of tea before her.

“I am not particularly well-versed in Lady Hannelore’s tastes in men, but does she not prefer gentle gentlemen? I have heard her say more than once that Lord Wilfried is kind, and that she wished she had an older brother like him. He still seems rather immature emotionally, though… Will she truly be able to face the fiancé candidates she has in reality? It would be best for us to be very cautious about her interactions with Lord Wilfried.”

At Andrea’s words, Hailliese’s face finally turned pale.

I took the tea Andrea had prepared for me and let out a quiet breath of relief now that Hailliese had calmed down.

“I only hope Milady will soon understand that romantic tales and reality are not the same… but I fear she will hesitate and hesitate, unable to decide anything for a very long time. Will we have to watch over more of her strange behavior again?”

When I said that, it seemed everyone had their own memories on the matter. Soft giggles spread through the group.

“Ah yes, she paces around the room in circles, agonizing over her thoughts, doesn’t she?”

“Didn’t she once sit in front of the fireplace brooding so intensely that her face grew hot, and then claim she had developed a fever from thinking too much?”

“Or perhaps she’ll eat while lost in thought and then wonder aloud where her food disappeared to?”

All of Lady Hannelore’s attendants were well accustomed to her peculiar behaviors. I looked around at the girls who would be accompanying her to the Royal Academy.

“In the Academy, please be especially cautious regarding her interactions with gentlemen from other duchies. Also, while it is important to increase her contact with her fiancé candidates, if Milady shows signs of discomfort, create a bit of distance for her—subtly protect her. It will be troublesome if their relationships become even more strained.”

“Understood.”

And with that, we finished our lunchtime together.