Seduction☆Strategy
Translator: Kagura
Editor: Millinia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 31
As I walked through the commoner district after parting from Levin’s performance, I noticed that people were beginning to gather on the main street.
There were even women, who were rarely seen.
I asked Gilliam, who was standing beside me, for an explanation as to why the women, who ranged in age from small children to the elderly, were gathered around and laughing happily.
“I suppose a bride’s procession is coming through.”
“Bride?”
“Weddings here are grand, and countless flower petals scattered around. It seems like to be a large scale event, so maybe a princess of some kind is getting married to a foreign country? Want to take a look?”
“Yes.”
A wedding ceremony for a woman, of whom there were only a few.
It was unusual, so I decided to watch the bridal procession too.
The crowd of onlookers waited in lines on both sides of the street. Women occupied the front of the line.
It seems they wanted to be blessed with a happy marriage as well.
By the way, I heard that even though she was a princess, she was not of royal blood.
It was said that all the daughters of relatively prominent aristocratic families were called as such.
Since there were so few women, they were treated as idols.
It seems that the newspapers, similar to Kawaraban1, were sold in the city, and the princesses were often mentioned.
I was living a life with no connection to women, so I wouldn’t know…
(Including the last 35 years of my life.)
A group of soldiers, fully dressed in white armor, marched in from across the street.
A-are we going to war?
Contrary to my momentary anxiety, the people around me were chatting in a relaxed manner.
“Quite impressive escorts.”
“Although it’s a neighboring country, there will be magical beasts along the way. In another year, the country will be going through a rough time. I’m sure Princess Monica wanted to be married as soon as possible.”
Immediately I wondered, “…The country will be going through a rough time?“
I asked the man next to me, who was conversing with his companion, “Excuse me… What do you mean by rough time?”
“Um?…You see, even though the dragon appeared, we failed to summon Sakura-sama, didn’t we? Because of thatー”
The man who had been answering me stopped speaking when he saw Gilliam beside me.
Perhaps he recognized his face as a member of the Knights from somewhere.
I followed the line of sight of the man who lost his words and looked at Gilliam.
The usually calm and collected handsome man had turned pale with wide eyes.
“…Princess Monica was supposed to be engaged to Farangis.”
“…It seems to have been resolved.”
“――――!”
Petals started getting scattered across the road.
Cheers and lively music began to fill the air. It seemed that the bride was finally getting closer.
“…Keigo, I’m sorry.”
Gilliam grabbed my hand and turned me away from the street.
I turned my back to the bride’s procession and left with my hand in Gilliam’s, who muttered in distress, “We’re going to the square.”
We briskly walked toward the square with the fountain, where we planned to meet in the evening.
Farangis was already sitting at the edge of the fountain, even though there was still some time before the meeting time.
The droplets of water that spewed up and scattered in the wind glistened just like his long hair.
The handsome man, who had been sitting with one knee up languidly, stood up when he saw me and his colleague.
“You’re here early today. Do you have other plans, Gilliam?”
“…I saw Princess Monica’s bridal procession.”
He was expressionless for a moment, and then Farangis flashed a mien that made it seem as if he was ridiculing himself, “…Ahh.”
His hand quickly reached out toward me.
He took a petal that was tangled in my hair and uttered a soft laugh as he let it go.
White petals floating in the wind danced and flew everywhere.
“So you saw it.”
“Why? She was supposed to be your fiancée.”
“The engagement was called off. Apparently, she’s fed up with my debauchery. I guess it’s called reaping what you sow.”
“Farangis!!” Looking at his colleague with an intense gaze and deep sincerity emanating from his voice, Gilliam protested, “You are a splendid knight who is the pride of Shirokia Kingdom. I, who stood by you all this time, know that better than anyone.”
“…”
Did Gilliam, who kept his eyes downcast, notice that Farangis smiled in a listless manner?
The silver-haired knight sat back on the edge of the fountain with a heavy sigh.
He looked up at the both of us in front of him.
“First off, let me say that this has nothing to do with Keigo. Don’t think too much about what I’m about to tell you.”
…Farangis said in a low voice that the temple’s failure to summon Sakura-sama was the trigger.
“It will take two years to summon Sakura-sama again. Although there are individual differences in dragons, they begin to go berserk around one year after their appearance is confirmed. The knights will be sent out to suppress the situation, and some of them probably won’t be able to come back. I was allowed to be a member of the Knights until Sakura-sama successfully slays the dragon.”
“…Allowed?”
“There’s honor, but there’s also a high risk of death, you know, being a knight. Married people are not allowed to join, Keigo. If the first summoning had been successful, the dragon slaying wouldn’t be that difficult. If we wait for the next summoning, it will be quite difficult… If I marry her, I’ll have to quit the Knights. She said that she couldn’t wait until the next summoning. I chose to be a knight.”
As evening fell, Gilliam returned to his parents’ house in the commoner district.
Farangis walked beside me as I headed back to the royal castle.
There were still some petals on the cobblestone road that seemed to have been scattered for the bridal procession.
“…Things weren’t going well with her to begin with,” Farangis muttered as he stared ahead. “The engagement was forcefully arranged by my mother, but it seems that they didn’t like the second son, even if he was from the prime minister’s family. I suppose they finally have an excuse.”
“What did you think about her, Farangis?”
“I didn’t think anything of her! I guess she didn’t like that either, that princess.”
He chuckled, squinting his blue eyes.
Farangis stopped after passing through the castle gate.
He stared at me with a somewhat tearful expression, similar to the look he directed at his colleague.
I called out to him, “…Good night.”
Farangis nodded and turned on his heels.
I saw him off as he headed back to the dormitory, and then I headed back to my room.
T/N: I want to say thank you to my patrons who have supported me for months and to the readers. Your comments really make me feel good. Thank you very much.
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