[Side Story 10] Loving Foolishly

One day, as spring was in full bloom.

"No way!"

Joyce felt like the sky was falling down as he saw Diane and Talprin smiling awkwardly in front of him.

Joyce wasn't the only one with a face that looked like he was about to faint. The Duke of McKinnon was also gaping. His hand looked like it was about to pour the water from his cup over Talprin.

But in contrast to the father and son, the Duchess of McKinnon smiled brightly.

"Congratulations, you two. When would you like to have the wedding?"

"I'd like to have it before it gets too hot. We've already done some preparations during the winter."

Talprin calmly adjusted his glasses, not at all like someone who had just said he would marry the daughter of this house, a precious angel, a genius, beautiful, cute, kind… no matter how many good adjectives you put on her, it wouldn't be enough.

Joyce was about to lose his composure. The Duke, unable to speak because he was so angry, stammered and asked,

"Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, when, when did you two… uh, uh, uh, that…?"

"Oh my, you really didn't know? I thought you were pretending not to know."

The Duchess and Diane seemed to be enjoying the pleasant atmosphere of the sunny drawing room. Compared to the Duke and his son, Talprin was much calmer, but he was still a little tense.

The Duchess ignored her husband, who was completely unaware of the love story that everyone in society knew, and enjoyed the aroma of the tea. Then she spoke kindly to her daughter.

"It's brewed very nicely today."

"Yes."

Diane agreed. The emerald ring on her left hand, which was gracefully holding the teacup, sparkled.

Even Joyce had to admit it. He had to admit that what he had just heard wasn't a hallucination. That this situation wasn't an unreasonable nightmare.

That Diane had really brought a husband-to-be.

Tears welled up in Joyce's eyes. He wanted to say something predetermined. Like, "I can't accept it!" or, "Do you think you're good enough for my sister?!" But what if he said that here and Diane hated him?

The Duke of McKinnon was gradually regaining his composure, but Joyce's expression showed no sign of recovery even after a long time. The Duchess, noticing this from the corner of her eye, sighed deeply.

She loved Diane more than anything in the world. If she married Earl Wirtam Talprin and went to live in Meindlandt, what would she do, missing her so much?

But she couldn't keep her daughter from getting married and keep her around forever, could she?

Fortunately, Earl Wirtam seemed to be a good prospect. The Duchess had witnessed the two of them together several times, and Diane's expression when she announced her engagement today was good.

'If it doesn't work out, they can just break up.'

She had enough money and power to remarry her daughter, who had been divorced once, without any shame. She also had enough money and power to let her live happily ever after without having to get married, of course.

Talprin keenly felt the Duchess's gaze, which was warm as she congratulated them but also coldly scanned him for a moment over her teacup. He suppressed his arrogance perfectly and said politely,

"There is no dowry culture in Meindlandt, so you don't have to worry about that. When we get married, all my property will naturally be jointly owned by your daughter and me."

"Hmm? If that's the structure, what does the bride's side bring? I've never heard of a marriage custom where one side just brings their body."

"Meindlandt allows daughters to claim inheritance rights to titles and grants them land upon reaching adulthood, so it's not like the South where the groom's side pays cash. But the South doesn't have equal inheritance, so I can't do the same."

"So if you married a Meindlandt woman, Earl Wirtam, your joint estate would have increased considerably."

"I have no intention of marrying anyone other than your daughter, so I haven't considered that."

He's a good talker. The Duchess was even more satisfied with her prospective son-in-law. He was a confidant of the Emperor and Empress, and a descendant of a long-established family in the North. Judging by his demeanor, he seemed to have a considerable personal fortune.

Her daughter wouldn't leave the Empress's side anyway. If that was the case, Talprin's qualifications were very good. The Earl of Wirtam would have a castle in his territory, but their actual residence would be Penmerwick in the future.

After a very brief silence, the Du"chess spoke quickly."

It's not what we want when we marry off our daughter for the groom to lose out because of his own land's customs. You know that there are still many lands in the South without lords, right?

"Yes."

"We'll buy a suitable size among them and make Di the lord. I know you young people want to get married quickly, but we'll have to wait until that happens. Don't be too disappointed. I'll make sure it's settled by this winter."

"Mother!"

Joyce jumped to his feet. He wriggled like a newborn fawn and asked,

"Th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th…"

"It means I'm allowing the marriage, that's right. You two have agreed and there are no objections, why would I stop you?"

"Th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th…"

"Why can't you say "marriage"? Is it because you haven't gotten married yet?"

Joyce had many advantages: handsome, high-ranking, wealthy, and diligent. Yet, he was still unmarried.

He didn't think much of it. He believed that he should focus on his work first, and when the time was right, he would marry a woman who would be most helpful to his work. However, the Duchess had a sad suspicion that her damn son might not even have a partner, even if he wanted to get married.

A man who called his older sister, who was over twenty, "baby" all the time and doted on her, wasn't a good candidate for a husband, even from a mother's perspective.

The Duke, around that time, had regained more of his usual self. He agreed with his wife. He looked sad, but he agreed.

"It will be settled by winter, for sure. We wanted to do a lot of things for our daughter when she got married, but we haven't finished preparing, so we'll have to wait a little. I want to make the most beautiful dress in the world for our Di…"

"Hearing what you said, it seems our plan was too hasty. Then, let's prepare with the goal of having the wedding before the first snow falls. And since we know how much the people here love your daughter, we would like to have the wedding here. What do you think?"

"Then we're fine with that."

It seemed that the time had come to send his precious daughter away. The Duke agreed, wiping away a tear. The Duchess smiled and briefly covered her husband's face with a fan.

Talprin was now being treated as if he were already part of the family. Joyce watched everyone except himself chatting amiably and left the room.

"Oh my, that boy."

The Duchess frowned at his rudeness and apologized.

"I'm sorry, Earl. He's not usually so reckless."

"No, it's understandable. He must be upset that his beautiful, cute, kind, lovely, and adorable sister is leaving. I had a younger sister too. If she were still alive and getting married, I think I would have been upset too."

"Oh, my. Does he know we call Di that? Did we say it that often in front of others?"

The Duchess laughed, covering her own flushed face with the fan she had been using to hide her husband's tears. She was embarrassed, but she liked Talprin even more. Hearing a little about his family history made her feel sorry for him.

Talprin, with the confident demeanor he had cultivated over the winter, chatted happily with the Duchess. Diane excused herself and left the drawing room after a while.

"Miss."

Betty, who had heard the news, approached Diane and sobbed. She had been separated from Diane since the time the Empress of the Vista Imperial Family called Diane a candidate for the Crown Princess, before the war. It had been a gloomy time for Betty, who had practically raised Diane since she was a little girl.

Diane hugged Betty, smiling.

"Why are you crying?"

"If you go far away, I'll miss you so much. I have to take care of you."

"Betty can take care of me. I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to come with me. It's too far from here, so it'll be hard to meet my siblings, but if you're okay with that…"

"I'll go!"

Betty had thought she had been abandoned by her Miss after the war, even though it was understandable before and during the war. Or, even if not abandoned, she thought that her Miss had grown up and it was time for her to leave.

But at this unexpected offer, Betty let out a joyful cry. Seeing Betty's delight, Diane giggled and asked,

"Where did my brother go?"

"Master Joyce, I think he went to the lakeside."

"Okay. I need to talk to my brother, so I'll go. Betty, ask anyone who wants to come with us. Make sure you tell them that we're going somewhere really cold."

"Yes, Miss."

***

Joyce stared blankly at the sunlight breaking on the surface of the water.

'Di.'

Because of the age difference, he clearly remembered the feelings he had when he first saw Diane. Wonder, cuteness, loveliness…

Even her tiny hands had fingernails. She was just a little peanut, but she ate, cried, and slept. She didn't feel like a person, but she was.

At first, he was afraid of hurting her if he touched her, so he just watched from the side. But gradually, the baby and Joyce grew closer, and one day, when the baby leaned against his chest, he fell into an inescapable love.

But that love was always one that he couldn't escape from the perspective of a caregiver.

Diane, who had once considered her parents and brother to be her whole world, was now going to create a different world. Even though he knew it was right, Joyce couldn't help but feel sad. It felt like his heart had been split in half, and one half had declared its independence.

Sniff. He cried like a fool. Joyce crouched down, feeling empty and sad, and looking pathetic from the side. The gentle breeze scattered his hair.

"Brother!"

Diane approached from the direction of the mansion. Joyce tried to get up, but Diane stopped him with a gesture.

"Stay seated. I want to sit next to you."

And as she said, Diane sat down by the lake, next to Joyce. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"Why did you come out here?"

"I was just sad because you went out alone."

He had run away because he didn't have the self-control to stay when he was alone, but it hurt his heart to hear his precious sister say that. Joyce apologized dejectedly.

"I'm sorry. I should have been more polite."

"It's okay! Talprin will understand. He knows how much you love me."

"Huh? How does he know? It doesn't seem like you've met that often."

Well, they met more often with different faces. Diane laughed and brushed it off.

"I told him often."

"Really?"

Joyce's mood improved slightly at the news that his sister had talked about him often. Diane looked at her brother's face for a moment, where his thoughts were clearly visible.

Come to think of it, she hadn't really looked at her brother's face like this since she was a child. Maybe when she was a baby, she liked being with her family the most, but after she grew up, there were just too many interesting things in the world.

But that didn't mean her brother wasn't precious to her.

"Brother."

Diane hugged Joyce's shoulder. Joyce quickly turned his body to make Diane comfortable and hugged his sister back.

"Yes, my pretty one."

"I'll love you even after I get married. You know that, right?"

"…I know."

Joyce started to sob again. The strength of his arms around Diane increased.

Diane stayed just like that until her brother, who loved her foolishly, cried his fill.

***

The Duke of McKinnon kept his promise to make the most beautiful dress in the world for his daughter. Of course, the criteria for what is most beautiful varies from person to person.

Diane smiled happily, wearing a dress with a white base and green embroidery, elegant yet bright. As they left the temple together after the wedding, Talprin awkwardly linked arms with her.

Neris, watching them from the guest seats, whispered to Cledwyn.

"He really did his job right."

"Right?"

Cledwyn, and Aidan, who was sitting behind him, both had proud expressions in their own ways. Neris felt happy at Diane's smile.

"You're so smart."

Who would have thought that she would look like this when she first met Diane in this life?

Neris smiled, thinking once again, for what felt like countless times, that she was lucky to have regressed.