"Um... Duke Sanga?"
"Don't be so distant, Tenma! You can call me father-in-law!"
Duke Sanga was in such high spirits that neither Primera nor I could have a proper conversation with him, no matter what we said.
"Duke Sanga, calm down."
"...My apologies, Your Grace. I got a little carried away."
Just as I was wondering how to calm him down, Ernest spoke in a voice that wasn't loud but resonated through one's body, stopping Duke Sanga... It was a rare sight — one where you could truly see that Ernest was one of the highest-ranking officials in the kingdom.
"Duke, you haven't actually gotten engaged yet, so please calm down a bit."
"Huh?"
When he said that, Duke Sanga and Primera both looked surprised, but I stepped in front of Primera, extended my hand, and said:
"Primera, will you go out with me with the intention of marriage?"
It was the first confession of my life. Going along with Duke Sanga's momentum to push forward with the engagement talk would be wrong, and more importantly, I hadn't asked Primera how she felt. I didn't think she disliked me... but it was entirely possible she didn't see me as a marriage partner. Besides, this was the first time in both my current and past lives that I'd been involved in something like marriage, and I wanted to go through the proper steps. In the highlight reels of my past life, I'd seen the sad scene of being rejected at this exact moment more than once, so it was better to think that the engagement would only be confirmed once I'd heard Primera's feelings.
"Yes, I'd be happy to."
Well, judging from how things had been going, I didn't think she'd refuse... but if she had, I was confident I would have become a shut-in.
"Both sides have given their consent, and both sides' families have given their permission, so the engagement is officially established — or so I'd say, but if we go any further, Maria will get sulky, so the rest of this discussion should be held in front of Maria."
Ernest was right. If Maria found out that talk of my engagement had progressed without her knowledge, she might keep making passive-aggressive remarks every time we met from now on.
"Primera, we're heading to the royal castle right away. Duke Sanga, I'd like you to come along to report this as well. And while we're at it, Grandpa and Ernest too."
"That's so rude! But... fine, I guess..."
As expected of best friends, the two of them were perfectly in sync.
"So that's how it is — I'll be heading out for a bit. Can you watch the place?"
I asked Jeanne and the others to keep watch, and we hurried off toward the royal castle. We each took our own carriages. Primera ended up riding in mine, and for some reason, Albert had moved to my carriage to serve as the driver. When I asked Albert why he was driving, he replied, "Because Father has become unbearably annoying with all his excitement," which made Primera look embarrassed.
Amour's Side
"Just as planned."
"What's 'just as planned'?"
I was so happy that things were going according to my scheme that I let my inner voice slip out. To make matters worse, I was so caught up in my excitement that I didn't even notice Jeanne was right beside me. Well, whatever.
"To put it plainly, this is the first step of my plan to end up with Tenma... or maybe the second or third step."
I hadn't thought through the details, so I wasn't sure exactly what stage we were at.
"Well, whatever. The point is, for me to end up with Tenma, Primera needs to be the one in the position of primary wife."
"Why?"
She wasn't very perceptive... well, I suppose it couldn't be helped with just this... Jeanne was necessary for the plan, so I should explain it in detail.
"Right now, it would be impossible — well, not necessarily impossible, but extremely difficult — for me or Jeanne to marry Tenma. The reason is that Jeanne and I are too close to him."
I didn't think Tenma failed to see me as a woman, but the family bond came first, and it was even stronger than any romantic feelings. The same went for Jeanne, so the chances of marriage were slim.
"I think I might see what you're getting at..."
"That's where Primera comes in. She has just the right amount of distance from Tenma, she's someone he recognizes as a woman, and above all, she's easy to deal with — I mean, kind!"
"I could have sworn I just heard something really rude?"
"You imagined it."
Jeanne didn't seem entirely convinced, but I wished she'd let it slide since it was just a slip of the tongue.
"So, Primera's role — to release Tenma's sexual frustrations — I mean, to change his perception of me from 'family' to 'woman'! If my feelings change through my interactions with Primera, then I'll have a chance! ...That's the theory, anyway. If that doesn't work, I'll appeal to Primera's sympathy."
Fortunately, Grandpa had told me that Tenma's perception of women had softened considerably thanks to the lich in Kukuri Village — or something like that. Besides, if I tried to forcefully seize the position of primary wife, Duke Sanga and the Queen might try to interfere. Well, I didn't need to be the primary wife anyway. Rather than making enemies of those two, it would be better to have them as allies... or at least keep them neutral. If I were a concubine or secondary wife below the primary wife, they probably wouldn't object. After all, I was supposed to be the daughter of a prominent baron — or so the story went. If someone of my standing was placed below her, Primera's social standing would only go up, never down. The same would be true for Duke Sanga's family.
When I told Jeanne that,
"Amour... you were actually able to think that far ahead and act on it," she said, which was extremely rude.
"Jeanne, how rude! If this works out, you too could end up in a romantic relationship with Tenma!"
When I said that, Jeanne's face turned beet red and she panicked.
Amour's Side — End
"Alex, could you call Maria and the others? There's a small matter to report."
We arrived at the royal castle and headed straight for the King's workroom, but Maria wasn't there either.
"Uncle, what's going on?"
The King kept looking at us, trying to figure out what we were reporting, but Ernest kept insisting, "We'll talk once Maria gets here."
"Kurif, go get Maria right away!"
The King shouted toward the corridor, and a reply came back: "I've already sent Aina." Grandpa and I weren't surprised — we'd had Kurif appear behind us too many times — but Duke Sanga, Albert, and Primera all turned around in shock at the voice that had suddenly come from behind them. I hadn't turned around myself, but I imagined that Kurif was probably wearing a satisfied grin right now, pleased that his little prank had worked.
"Dear, you told Aina there was a report to — oh?"
We moved to the table and were chatting idly when, after a while, Maria and Aina arrived. Maria apparently hadn't been told that Primera and I were here, because she looked surprised the moment she entered the room. She then glared at Aina, but Aina, who had done this deliberately, acted as if nothing had happened.
"So, not just Tenma and Merlin, but the whole Duke Sanga family is here together... You've finally decided to settle down, Tenma! ...That can't be it though, right? You're Tenma after all."
Saying all this, Maria tried to sit down next to the King, but —
"This time, we've decided to get engaged to Primera, who is here, so we've come to make our report."
"Huh? Ack!"
"Oof! Gurk!"
Maria was so startled that she missed her chair and barely avoided falling by shoving the King out of the way. In exchange, the King toppled over along with his chair onto the floor.
Seeing how shocked Maria was, I felt a sudden revelation telling me to turn around and look behind me right away... so I turned, and there were Kurif and Aina, their faces more shocked than I had ever seen them.
"Th-that... that... *ahem!* Is that really true?"
When Primera and I nodded simultaneously, Maria sank into her chair as though all the strength had left her body. Seeing this, Kurif rebooted and started preparing tea, while Aina... ran off somewhere.
"Ugh... my back... my back is... ow..."
Because no one had bothered to check on the King, he had to pull himself up and get back into his chair on his own.
"So, Tenma. How did the engagement talk come up? Oh, and let me say upfront — I'm not against it in the slightest, so you don't need to be so stiff about it. It's just curiosity."
The first half of Maria's words were directed at me, but the second half was for Primera. She had noticed Primera stiffen up completely mid-sentence, but even that didn't seem to help much.
"Well, after some recent events and the fact that I'd always had favorable feelings toward Primera, I thought it was a good opportunity and confessed. There was a chance I'd be rejected, so I was relieved when she accepted."
As I talked, mixing in a little humor here and there, Primera gradually began to relax and was able to answer Maria's questions as well.
"So, I understand the engagement, but when will the wedding be? This may not be the most delicate way to put it, but there's also the matter of Primera's age, isn't there?"
Primera was twenty-four this year, which was considered late for a noble marriage. Well, Albert and Eliza were twenty-six and still unmarried, so it wasn't without precedent.
"Regarding that, I have a request for Duke Sanga and Primera. I'd like the wedding to be sometime after next year, and when the time comes, I'd like Primera to relinquish her noble status."
"What do you mean by that? I understand wanting to delay the wedding, and Primera had originally said she wanted to give up her noble status at some point, but when it comes to actually getting married, I would think having noble status would be more convenient in many ways."
Duke Sanga's question left the King, Maria, Albert, and even Primera looking puzzled, but —
"First, regarding the wedding being after next year — Primera has just started her new position in the Duke Sanga family, and doing it right away would interfere with her duties. As for wanting her to give up her noble status when we marry, it's because I don't want our future children to have any claim to inherit the duchy."
"Hmm, I appreciate that Tenma is thinking about the duchy, and I can accept the timeline, but it's impossible to deny the children any claim to inheritance. Even if Primera gives up her noble status, as long as our children have the duke's blood flowing through their veins, they would still be granted a claim."
"Even so, the chances of inheritance would be dramatically reduced. I believe both of Primera's older sisters each have multiple sons, but before the duchy's inheritance comes into play, they would have the inheritance rights of their fathers' families, correct? On the other hand, the Ōtori family has no noble status and therefore no inheritance to speak of. In the worst case, even an adopted child with no blood relation could inherit without issue. That means if something were to happen to Albert or Albert's children, my children could potentially be seen as strong candidates for succession."
Some of Duke Sanga's retainers might try to incorporate the Ōtori family's power, and rival nobles might try to push my children as candidates to cause chaos or a split in the duchy. But if Primera gave up her noble status, then regardless of bloodline, their family background would be that of commoners.
"In a worst-case scenario, if there were a child with noble status and inheritance rights versus a child of commoner standing with inheritance rights, you could argue that the former is more suited to be the successor, couldn't you?"
As much as possible, I wanted to keep my children away from that blood-soaked world.
"Well... I can't say that's impossible. And I can't say it couldn't be done. Primera, Tenma says this, but what do you want?"
"I agree with what Tenma says. After all, part of the reason I wanted to give up my noble status was to renounce any inheritance rights."
Depending on how you looked at it, this could be seen as wanting to maintain ties with the duchy while refusing any of the responsibility, and I knew I was being rather convenient with my demands...
"When you think about it, being able to form ties with the person who holds the kingdom's strongest military power is quite a bargain. Conversely, it could be argued that the chances of the duchy being seized are extremely low... There's no problem here. Even if someone tries to cause trouble from below, silencing them would be simple enough."
I had figured Duke Sanga would say something like that. For the Duke, what mattered more than the duchy being seized by me was Primera's happiness. Well, managing a duchy sounded tedious, and I wouldn't do it even if asked... but I think he had already accounted for that aspect of my personality.
"If the Duke is fine with it, then the royal family has no objection."
"Indeed. Tenma, Primera, congratulations on your engagement."
Both the King and Maria, seeing that all three parties involved — Primera, Duke Sanga, and I — were in agreement, refrained from interfering and offered their congratulations.
"Now then, since Tenma is already here, why don't we also discuss next year's tournament while we're at it? Tenma, do you have any good ideas? Gah!"
The moment the King suddenly switched to work talk and dumped it on me, he let out a strange cry and tumbled off his chair. He was clutching the top of his foot where he'd landed, so Maria must have stomped on him.
"Speaking of which, I was thinking of entering only the Individual Battle, on account of the upcoming wedding and such. Honestly, competing in everything would be exhausting."
"That approach might work for next year... but you can't do it the year after that, you know?"
"I'll think about the year after next sometime after next year. Maybe I'll change my mind and want to compete in everything."
If that was the case, it meant I might compete in everything next year too if I felt like it, but I'd probably manage to remember this for at least another year. Probably.
"Well, we'll come up with some plan by next year too. Besides, we can't just bar adventurers from competing entirely. You don't need to push yourself."
That was what the King said, but me winning too much was probably also a problem — for talent scouting and gambling revenue. Incidentally, the payouts were calculated from eighty percent of total revenue, so whether I won or lost, the amount going to the kingdom didn't change. However, because more and more people refused to bet when even my victories would only break even (or possibly result in a loss), overall revenue had been declining.
"The one who needs to push themselves isn't me — it's Lord Zain, who needs to come up with a new way to sell this."
Hearing this, the King quietly averted his gaze from me.
"Actually, it seems you've forgotten, but even if Tenma drops out, 'Orasion' will still participate in the Team Battle."
Even without me, they still had enough members, I supposed...
"You're the one who's forgotten — if Tenma doesn't participate, that means Slarin and the others can't compete."
"...Oh!"
Grandpa seemed to have completely forgotten, but Slarin and the others were my Familiars, so without me — their Tamer — they couldn't participate in the Team Battle. This was clear from the fact that when Marquis Samons had previously formed a team with Garibar and his knights while he himself stayed on standby — as long as the Tamer was on the same team, the Familiars could fight even if the Tamer was on the sidelines. But if the Tamer wasn't on the team at all, the Familiars couldn't just fight — they couldn't even be registered as part of the team. In other words, if I dropped out, the only remaining members from this year's Orasion would be Grandpa and Amour. Well, it was still possible to form Orasion without me next year, but in that case, Jeanne, Aura, and Aina would have to fill in for me and Slarin and the others. Aina was still technically registered as Jeanne and Aura's instructor.
"Damn... How regrettable..."
Grandpa looked dejected, but he immediately said, "In that case, I'll team up with Amour and enter as a pair!" At this rate, he might even compete in the Individual Battle.
"In that case, after announcing Tenma and Primera's engagement, it might be wise to subtly spread a rumor that 'due to wedding preparations or such, Tenma may not compete in anything other than the Individual Battle.' If we say he's not competing at all, people might suspect the royal family pressured him, and if we state it definitively, there could be backlash if Tenma changes his mind later."
"Indeed, it would be safest to proceed in the manner the Duke suggests. Tenma, people may try to investigate the rumors, but you don't need to bother with them. It's just a 'rumor,' after all."
If strangers came asking, I'd brush them off. If acquaintances came asking, I'd say something like, "It's true that things will get busy, but I haven't decided anything yet." If I let it slip to Jin and the others first, it would naturally spread far and wide. Well, spreading the information would have to wait until after the engagement was officially announced, so the timing was still uncertain... but Jin and the others had surprisingly wide social circles, so they'd surely do a satisfactory job.
After that, we discussed the timing for the announcement, and it was decided to wait until after Jin and the others' excitement had died down. The announcement would be made at a party hosted by Duke Sanga after the new year. Maria wanted to have it at a royal-hosted party, but acknowledged that it wouldn't be right to overshadow Duke Sanga, and was satisfied with the arrangement that Primera and I would attend the party after the Duke made the announcement.
"Grandpa, how do you think we should let Uncle Mark and the others know?"
"I think it would be better to tell them quickly... but there are various interests at play, and if we told them before the duchy made the announcement, it could accidentally spread, which would be bad. I'm sorry, but we'll have to ask them to be patient until the new year. They'll probably pick up on it vaguely, but as long as we don't say anything explicitly, it should be fine."
It pained me to keep secrets from Uncle and the others, but I wanted to avoid them being blamed if anything went wrong, so I planned to explain my reasoning and apologize after the announcement.
Just as our discussion had reached a natural pause, Duke Sanga began talking about rewards for Jin and the others, so we decided to leave the Duke behind and head home.
"When we get back, I need to make sure Amour and the others keep their mouths shut."
"Indeed... Hmm? That looks like Din and Aina over there."
It turned out that Aina had run out of the room earlier to fetch Din.
"Tenma, Aina told me you got engaged to Primera. Is that true?"
When I confirmed it was true, Din congratulated Primera and me, but when I told him it couldn't be made public yet, he scolded Aina. It seemed Aina had burst in on Din while he was training, grabbed him, and dragged him off on the spot. Other knights had been present too, but since she'd insisted on hearing the reason where no one was around, the news of the engagement hadn't leaked. However, it was rare for Aina to be that frantic, and he said it would be troublesome when people asked why she'd been in such a rush.
"For now, let's head to His Majesty."
"Lord Tenma, Lady Primera, I'm sorry you had to witness that embarrassing scene."
Aina had rejoined Din and calmed down, looking back to her usual self. Well, there was the difference that her face was still red... but teasing her about that would have dire consequences, so I decided to keep my mouth shut as we parted ways.
"By the way, don't you need to be taken back to the duchy?"
"Father will probably come back to Tenma's estate first anyway, and more importantly, Primera needs to talk with Amour and the others."
"Well, that's true, but..."
Primera said this nervously, but... well, nothing bad would come of it.
That was what I was thinking lightly about, but —
"Tenma! Is it true that you got engaged to Primera?!"
"Hey! Lion, you're too loud!"
The other two of the Three Idiots were making a racket. Because of that, Jin and the others found out too, and I had a hard time keeping them quiet. Despite all the commotion, Chris didn't wake up.