newAlbert Ke no Reijou wa Botsuraku wo go Shomou desu 57

Volume 2 Chapter 17

As the lady of the Albert family, which holds as much power as the royal family, there were a mountain-load of preparations to do, on top of that, the wife of the Albert head made a difficult request and said that “since it’s a rare opportunity, we should keep the person you are getting married to a secret until the party!”. Even so, including Patrick, a few people- some people who wield might and power gathered to make it proceed smoothly, and what’s left was for them to sign the matrimonial document in front of the priest.

-Since it’s the marriage of the noble, it would mean forging a connection between two families, usually the heads of the two families would sign various documents and the two people who are going to be married would be left out of the matters until the very end… There are cases where the two people would express the intention to skip the matters of signing-

Therefore, in their case, after Addie is done with signing the document, Mary would do the same and there’s only one single document.

It’s a matrimonial document which proves that Addie and Mary are married.

Well, to be precise, this would only be officially recognized once the stamp of the royal family was imprinted, but as long as their signatures are on it, they could be practically called a married couple. Since it is the marriage of the Albert family member, their document will be prioritized and sent over to the royal king and queen.

The priest lifted the document and read it aloud. It is amazing how a piece of paper would change the relationship… thought Mary as she’s in a daze. Patrick reached his hand from the side and received the matrimonial document.

“Well then, I’ll take the responsibility and deliver this to the king and queen.”

Patrick carefully rolled up the document and placed it in his bag.

After hearing that, Mary looked around the surroundings.

“Speaking of which, what happened to that girl? She’d normally be in a high tension on days like this.”

“Well, Alicia said that she wanted to document to be processed as quickly as possible and had the king and queen wait at the royal castle.”

“Have the king and queen wait!? Alicia is doing such a terrifying thing!”

“Well, even I was taken aback by that!”

“Right, me too.”

Patrick nodded with a pale expression; he opened the door with the document in his hand… when he stopped.

That’s because Mary asked Addie “by the way, what was it that you wanted to do so much?” Patrick hurriedly looked behind, Mary was looking up at Addie with interest; Addie looked at her as though wondering if she’d be ready for it.

Silence continued between them, and he could feel the tension. However, Mary, who totally did not notice it even when things have proceeded this much, tilted her head in confusion.

“What was it that you wanted to do that you’d even marry?”

“Lady… I…”

“Hm?”

Mary tilted her head and looked up at Addie as though waiting for his reply.

In return, Addie took a small breath as though he’s resolved to say it…

“Lady… no, Lady Mary, please marry me.”

Addie said that earnestly, without making it seem like he’s joking, as he looked straight into Mary’s eyes.

Mary did not understand that and tilted her head with widened eyes.

Well, in her mind, they’ve just married and since she was proposed at while the ink on the matrimonial document has not dried yet, her mind was filled with question marks; she totally did not understand. She tilted her head even further and blinked several times.

“Eh… that’s why I signed earlier, no?”

While dumbfounded, Mary was about to point to the platform where they signed earlier… when her hand was suddenly grabbed and this made her twitch in surprise.

She looked up with shock and Addie stared at her.

Mary felt as though those deep red eyes were piercing through her and she gulped quietly.

He’s totally different from normal, and she’s overwhelmed by the atmosphere. She wondered what’s wrong and her heartbeat rate quickened as she was stared at by Addie; she felt like it’s difficult to breathe.

Her hand, which was grabbed, was warm. His manly hand was large and it felt like it was enveloping hers. Her heart hurts and it’s so painful that she wants to escape…

“…A-Addie?”

“I’ve always wanted to tell you this. I like you, from the depths of my heart, and more than anyone else, I love you.”

Addie’s straightforward confession made Mary’s eyes widened; she opened and closed her mouth without uttering anything. The suddenness just hit her and her mind cannot catch up to it, she has no idea what she should say… but without having the time to even think about it, Addie pulled Mary’s hand and kissed her fingertip.

Mary’s heart was tightening just by being grabbed upon forcefully, and now the soft sensation on her fingertip made her cheeks… no rather than her cheeks, her entire body felt the heat. It’s not just the warm sensation of Addie’s lips on her fingertip; she felt it to her bones.

Mary has no time to process all these, and Addie once again looked at Mary after kissing her fingertip to let her know of his love. His deep red eyes were burning and Mary’s heart and mind were at their limits.

That’s why Mary tried to pull her hand back, but Addie would not allow that and pulled her even firmer; it’s as though he’s stopping her from escaping.

“I promise to be by your side for life. That’s why, please, stay by my side too.”

He earnestly looked at him as he declared that.

Mary has finally reached the limit and her body has reached the highest temperature ever.

“Eeek-!”

She finally let out a shriek and escaped.

When the speed of her running away, Addie, who was left alone, collapsed and he said “to think that she’d even run away…!” Patrick felt bad for leaving the door open which made her escape possible and patted on his shoulder. Also, the priest, who did not understand the situation, patted on his shoulder to comfort him too; it must have been quite a development for those who’re watching from the side.

Mary, who let out a shriek, returned to her own room, jumped into her bed and covered her head with the blanket. She’s totally cooped up; that’s not enough and she took the pillow nearby and hugged it.

Mary finally relaxed enough and her eyes started watering. She felt the heat in her eyes… and was about to wipe them. Tears rolled through her fingertip, down her cheeks and then dripped onto the white sheets.

She has no idea what should do after being told something like that.

The words Addie told her earlier replayed in her mind, and each time that happens, Mary felt her heart tightening; she did not expect Addie to tell her that he loves her.

In the other dimension world, he’s always by her side.

“I don’t understand what liking and love is about… we married each other already, didn’t we… idiot…”

Mary wiped her nose and recalled her hand being grabbed; the slightly reddened part was the marks of his fingers and the recollection of her hand being grabbed tightly earlier made her cry again. The more she thinks about it, the more her chest hurts; the heat, which could not find an outlet, circulated in her body and turned into tears. When she breathes in through her mouth, her throat shook and she slowly breathes out with tears overflowing her eyes.

It’s not like Mary to do that, neither is it an action that’s befitting of the lady of the Albert family; she could not show her vulnerable side as a girl to other people… other than him.

Even when this situation has happened, Mary thought that she wanted to talk to Addie.

Of course, that does not make sense, but that’s how much she has always relied on him. No matter what kind of problem she has encountered, she’d always seek his advice. Even on the day when her recollection of her previous life rushed back, she could tell him about it nonchalantly, even though it’s something one might fear of being scoffed at.

She remembers him telling her “You shouldn’t tell others about this” and her replying him “of course.” Other people would definitely not believe her; or rather she doesn’t have the intention to tell it other people… other than Addie.

To Mary, Addie is that kind of existence to her. They did not talk about love or romance but he was always there by her side. Even if she went to an exchange school, and there’s a physical distance between them, their relationship did not change. Even if Mary were to marry someone else and move into another person’s house, he’ll always be there by her side; that’s what she thought.

That’s why, now that she knows of his romantic feelings towards her, she could not just accept it readily.

In the first place, Mary’s not that familiar with the concept of love between opposite genders and she has reminded herself to not be too concerned about it.

It’s not as though she has no interest towards the opposite gender… it’s because she’s Mary Albert. As long as she’s the daughter of the Albert family, she’d probably marry off for the family’s sake. She’d only end up hurting herself if she falls in love like the other girls of her age. To Mary, no, as the daughter of the Albert family, it’s a good thing she’s not concerned about romance.

She has thought about that since young. Political marriage is common in this world, and she has seen girls who have married to guys they’ve met for the first time, without even having developed any feelings either of love or hate towards them, and she believed that love would only grow after that.

Or rather, Mary had Patrick. As the son of the Dice family, he’s known as the “perfect marriage candidate” in society.

People around Mary would not care about her feelings and said that “they match well.” Girls of her age would express jealousy as they say “how enviable that your partner is that Sir Patrick.” It was as though they’d eventually marry to each other. There’s not even a single person who asked Mary if she really likes someone or Patrick. They just selfishly made their judgment, selfishly get jealous and selfishly imagined the future of Mary and Patrick.

With such treatment from the surroundings about her feelings, Mary thought that it was normal. She thought that this is her duty as the daughter of the Albert family.

That’s why, if she were to fall in love like the other young girls, she thought that it’d only hurt her in the end. She thought that a beautiful sad love only exists in stories and in that case, she rather not know about passionate feelings and would marry for the sake of her family and support the guy who would be her husband… she has the confidence of playing the role of the wife that’s expected of her, even if it means to suppress her real self as Mary. It’s easy to kill herself and act as a wife who came from the Albert family.

Also, as long as Addie’s there for her, as long as she can be “Mary” by his side, she can tolerate any marriage. Even if she’s not needed as “Mary”, as long as Addie’s there, she can exist as “Mary” and that fact alone is enough.

That’s why, if Addie is no longer by her side… that thought made Mary cry again. She tried to calm herself by taking in a deep breath when her throat shook.

What should I do?

Since Addie was not there to think about it with her, she could not come to a conclusion.

For a while, or rather for hours, she continued worrying without coming to a conclusion.

It’s indeed unlike Mary Albert to behave this way, but Mary is after all a girl and the only person who’s able to calm her down is the cause of the worry.

The only thing she could do is to drown in the endless swamp of thoughts as she rubbed her nose and hit on the pillow.

“Idiot, Addie is an idiot, what am I going to do? I cannot gather my thoughts when you’re not here to listen to me…”

While muttering like that, she once again hit the pillow when she heard something tinkle in her pocket.