Albert Ke no Reijou wa Botsuraku wo go Shomou desu 58
Volume 2 Chapter 18
“Even though you are the lady of the Albert family, if you have not made prior appointment for a meeting at a time like this…”
Being told that in a troubled way, Mary just quietly replied “Well that’s true.”
After that incident happened, she rushed out of the Albert family mansion and she coincidentally chanced upon someone on a horse wagon who’s heading for the royal castle; however, once she arrived, the security personnel asked Mary for the reason of her visit and she could not come up with a proper explanation.
She just thought that she wanted to meet Alicia.
However, thinking about it carefully, Alicia is the princess and it’s not going to be easy for her to meet her at a time like this when the sun has already set for a while.
For now, Mary could not even understand her own feelings and whatever that comes out of her mouth just does not sound right. No matter how close the lady of the Albert family is to the princess, the personnel in charge of the royal castle’s security would probably not let Mary, in her current state, in. That’s his job so she does not think too badly of it.
Even so, he did not force her to go away, and tried to calm her down; perhaps this is because of her status as the daughter of the Albert family, or it could be due to pity as Mary has had teary eyes, or to be more precise, red eyes which have been rubbed against vigorously.
“I’m sorry. The princess is currently having a meal with both the king and queen. If you’re not in a rush, perhaps tomorrow would be a better idea.”
“That… that’s right… I’m sorry for saying something impossible.”
After hearing the security personnel’s words, Mary’s head drooped slightly.
After that, she decided to give up and turn around… as she was walking off, she heard a tinkle when her skirt swayed and it made her gulped; she once again turned around as though she has made up her mind.
“Um, please just this one time! Just this one time would be fine, not as the daughter of the Albert family… I’d like to talk to my friend, Lady Alicia, would you please pass the message along to her…?!”
Mary grabbed the security personnel’s arm which is certainly not how she would have behaved normally. Furthermore, she called the princess a “friend”. That’s of course rude, and it’s not like Mary to say something like that, even though she’s known for being weird; of course, it’s definitely not like the daughter of the Albert family who’s known for being perfect to do that.
The security personnel widened his eyes at that, and as though to comfort Mary, he placed his hand on her shoulder and deeply nodded as he said “I got it.”
“Even though you are the daughter of the Albert family, if it’s not an emergency, I cannot allow you to meet the princess at a time like this. However, if it’s a visit to Lady Alicia, as herself, and not the princess, I’ll be scolded if I were to turn her friend away.”
He said that with a wry smile and called out to another person behind him.
He greeted before leaving and might have been on his way to call Alicia… while thinking of that with a blank look, there’s a stir from the inside of the mansion.
Right then, someone raised her voice “Lady Mary!” and ran over, of course that was Alicia. She was wearing a pink one piece and her golden hair was braided; Alicia immediately rushed towards Mary.
“Lady Mary, what happened!?”
“Lady Alicia, I…”
“Did you come here alone? What about Addie?”
“Addie… he…”
Mary’s eyes started welling up with tears. When she thought of the reason why she was here, the reason why she left Addie behind and came here and all that, her heart tightened up and started to hurt. It’s the royal castle and she knew that the king and queen were nearby, but she could not help it as tears rolled from her eyes. She has not greeted yet and so tried to open her mouth, but all that came out was a shaky voice and sobbing.
Looking at that, Alicia sensed that something must have happened; she nodded and tightly grabbed Mary’s hand.
“Someone, please head towards Lady Mary’s house and deliver the message that she’s here and I’ll take the responsibility to send her back, so there’s no need for them to come and fetch her.”
“Yes, I got it.”
“I want to talk to Lady Mary, so please clear the garden and pour some warm black tea please.”
“I’ll immediately bring it over.”
While still grabbing onto Mary’s hand, Alicia sent out instructions to the maids and servants nearby.
After that, she once again looked at Mary and she gave her usual warm smile.
“The flowers have bloomed in the garden. It’s very pretty when illuminated by the lights outside. I’d love to have you take a look at it.”
With a gentle voice, she invited Mary.
After that chain of event happened, Mary looked at Alicia with her tearful eyes.
“…you are like a princess.”
She muttered.
The garden, which she was brought to, was beautifully lit up by the moonlight and lamps outside. The occasional breeze caused the trees and shrubs to sway and the sounds of rustles were very refreshing. Mary began to calm down with the clear air and gentle moonlight. The warm hot black tea loosened the tightness of her heart as she sipped it. By the time Mary has finished half of the teacup, she has resumed to her usual state.
Just like that, she slowly started to talk about what happened.
About how she signed the marriage forms with Addie; and the fact that she married him because he said that there’s something he wanted to do. The fact that she made the decision without hesitation as it’s for his sake.
Even so, Addie suddenly told her that he loves her, and she had no idea how she should react to that.
“I always thought that we’d be together without any changes, but if we were to have a relationship between a male and female now… it’s as though Addie has become a total stranger…”
Mary relayed what has happened as she rubbed her eyes in between. Alicia carefully nodded and replied to her as she gently held on Mary’s hand on top of the table. It’s as though she’s placating a child, so Mary was a little embarrassed, but that warm hand was too comfortable which made her narrow her eyes for a bit.
She cried her heart out and came over to the royal castle without having made sure that her appearance was proper; she must be in quite a terrible state and that thought made her even more embarrassed than ever again. On the other hand, the warmth of the hand and the dark sky made her feel relaxed.
“Hey, Lady Mary, recently I feel very relaxed when I’m with Sir Patrick.”
“Relaxed…?”
”Yes, when I first started dating Sir Patrick, my heart would beat very hard whenever I meet him and his gestures would make my heart tighten. Whenever he hugs me, I’d feel so nervous to the point of shaking and my heart would be thumping loudly. However…”
“However?”
“Right now, I feel relaxed when I’m in Sir Patrick’s embrace. Even though my heart used to pound so hard and my mind would go blank due to nervousness before, right now I feel the calmest in Patrick’s embrace.”
Alicia laughed shyly. After that she added on “Ah, but” as though she has thought of something.
“I still think that Sir Patrick is cool. Previously, he had a pretty difficult conversation with father, and smiled at me when he noticed me. The moment when his serious expression suddenly turned soft, he looked so bright and it made my heart pound so hard.”
“I’m going back if you were to brag about your love again three more times.”
“I’m just joking.”
Mary rubbed her nose and said that coldly, which made Alicia puffed her cheeks.
After that she once again began her talk “And so”
“Initially, I wanted to be with Sir Patrick more and thought about how we could spend more time together. However, right now, I started thinking about how we’d be able to spend our lives together from now on.”
Alicia said that shyly and happily with a smile.
It could be the thought of Patrick, but that soft smile was slightly different from that of the smile of a young lady who’s in love, she felt a sense of broad-mindedness towards loving the other party. It’s not clear when that has changed, and thinking about the past, she could not determine when it has changed either, but Alicia’s expression is somehow different from the one she had in the past.
It’s as though she has self-awareness of her love, or it’s the pride of being loved that has changed her smile…
“We’re always together without thinking about it, that’s why I began thinking about our future. I recently started thinking that this might be a transition from puppy love to that of true love.”
“From puppy love to that of true love…”
“I’m sure Lady Mary has already entered into that stage before having a puppy love relationship with Sir Addie; that’s why it’d trouble you if you were to have a puppy love relationship at this point, no?”
Alicia tried to seek affirmation and Mary showed confusion.
She thought that the story of hers and Patrick was wonderful. Everyone would be envious of them as it’s exactly like the romance between the prince and princess in fairytales.
However, when she tried to apply that to Addie and herself, she just could not relate to it. After all, she has never thought of love all these while.
She has only thought about romance in the books which she would stay up all night to read, and thought that it’s a totally unfamiliar concept that’s in no way related to her.
”However… I don’t think I’d be able to fall in love… after all, I don’t have a single feeling even towards Patrick.”
Mary muttered and Alicia giggled.
“Lady Mary, you thought that you’d end up marrying Sir Patrick… right?”
“Yes. That’s right…”
“That’s because of family connections, right?”
“Yes, it’s partially due to our family connections, and also Patrick is too good for me, you know my personality very well.”
“Also, Sir Patrick is tall and handsome and smart and kind and manly and yet at times he’s cute, right?!”
“…Two more times.”
“I’m just joking.”
As the number of times left decreased, Alicia started to sulk again.
Right then, she gently grabbed Mary’s hand and smiled before saying “however”
“However, Lady Mary, you did not just consider about the marriage with Sir Patrick, right? I mean you have received many proposals before, but you rejected them all.”
Alicia laughed and Mary nodded and replied that it’s true.
Of course there would not be many men who’d be on the same level as Patrick… but even so there were a few “princes who’d make girls fall over them” among those who has proposed. A young man who’s skilled in martial arts with bright eyes and refreshing looks and a charming older gentleman who’s kind-looking; there were even some actual princes of neighboring countries.
Mary has rejected all of them.
No matter how good looking or skilled they were, no matter how high their statuses were, almost to the point of making it difficult to reject them, Mary has remained unchanged and she would reject all of the proposals.
Her father would smile wryly as he told her to “do as she pleases” which would make her feel sorry, but even so, she would say “I’m waiting for someone who’s like Patrick” and she would make the guys withdraw.
However, Mary was definitely not lying. Indeed, she said it as though to reject those people, but in actual fact she is really waiting for something like Patrick to come along.
She’s waiting for a partner who she thinks it’d be fine to marry to; someone who looks good, with a good family background and a good personality.
“I thought that Patrick would be good. He has family background and his personality’s good too, other than Patrick….”
Mary started ranting off.
At the end she muttered “well…”
No matter how much she talked about it, there’s a factor that she would not give up. The reason of how he would be accepted if she married Patrick…
That’s right, that’s why she thought that Patrick would be fine.
That’s because he’s the only one who’s different from other guys. He’s the only one…
“Only Patrick would allow Addie to stay by my side naturally like that…”
Mary finally organized her thought and talked about the actual reason that she could not figure out before, the moment she said that tears began falling.
No matter how much the other guys would put themselves down for Mary’s sake, they would behave differently towards Addie; they would disrespect him, distance themselves from him, and some even scolded him and told him to “stop behaving so intimately with the lady and know his status.”
Of course, Mary knows that it’s because they were too close for a “lady and her follower”, but even so she has thought that it’s natural for him to be around all these while and she would only think of people who’d place a distance between them as invaders who’re out to destroy her own world.
She has screamed multiple times in her heart at them for not knowing anything at all; they do not know anything about him or her and she does not like how they are out to destroy her world as “marriage candidates.”
However, only Patrick is different, he did not complain about the fact that Addie’s beside Mary. Even when she was escorted by him to the party, or when their parents prepared a tea party solely for the two of them, he would think that it’s natural for Addie to be there, he did not complain about it or rather, he has made sure that he’d be there with her.
It’s only Patrick who would tell Addie “What’s up? Are you not going to sit?” Whenever they go for meals, they always made reservations for three.
That’s why, she would accept the marriage if it was Patrick. She put an excuse saying that their statuses fit well, but in actual fact, it’s because that would mean Addie would forever be with her in the future…
Even if she’s in the ruins, or if she’s going to get married, there was always him in the future she has envisioned.
If she could be with Addie, she thought that she’d go to the North or university, or wherever it’d be acceptable; that’s what she has always thought about.
“Lady Mary, it seems like you’ve noticed your own feelings so it should be fine. I mean, from now onwards, you’ll be with Sir Addie forever.”
“Forever…”
“Yes, well, that’s because Lady Mary and Sir Addie have married.”
Alicia said that happily and Mary widened her eyes.
Right after that she muttered “That’s right, we married huh” as though to reconfirm.
“However… wouldn’t the order be a little weird for that?”
She has already fallen in love with him without realizing it as they were always together, and they got married and now they are going to have a puppy love relationship.
Mary was worried as she has never heard of romance like this; Alicia smiled and rubbed Mary’s cheek as she said “that’s right”
She gently wiped her tears away and Mary narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Indeed, that’s a little weird, but don’t you think it’s very Lady Mary-like?”
“…does that mean that I’m weird?”
“Yes, that’s right. You are weird and sometimes do unbelievable stuffs, and sometimes you are cheeky, but you are kinder than anyone else and both difficult and easy to figure out, isn’t that fitting for you, Lady Mary?”
“…you also started talking like that.”
Mary glared with her teary eyes and Alicia supplemented with her words “but” as she grabbed Mary’s hand with both her hands.
“But, I love that side of you, Lady Mary.”
She said that straightforwardly and it made Mary widened her eyes slightly.
After that she slowly nodded and smiled with her eyes, which still had tears in it, while she grabbed her hands in return.
“Me too… I love you too, Lady Alicia.”
When she honestly said her own feelings, Alicia was taken aback and giggled saying that “I’m happy, but you can’t do that, Lady Mary.”
“You can’t say that to me. I’ll face the brunt of someone’s jealousy.”
“Jealousy?”
Whose? Mary tilted her head.
Alicia smiled gently at her and she was looking somewhere above.
It’s as though there’s someone behind Mary.
“Right, Sir Addie?”
Alicia said that happily and Mary muttered “Eh…” and hurriedly looked behind.
At that moment, the wind swayed the trees and shrubs and rustling could be heard; Mary’s silver hair and the red hair of the person standing behind her swayed too.