Tensei Saki de Suterareta no de, Mofumofu Tachi to Oryouri Shimasu ~Okazari Ouhi wa my Pace ni Saikyou Desu~

Translator: Kuromaru

Editor: Kapekopicoffee

11. The Request for a Figurehead Queen

After being shocked by my villainous smile, we returned to our residence since we couldn’t stay in this deserted place any longer. I left via the carriage that brought me here and Father left on his black horse. And, after putting on a lighter dress, I got called by my father to his office.

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There seemed to be something that he wanted to tell me this evening. Father originally changed his schedule and returned early for that, and that’s how he noticed my absence after looking everywhere for me.

“Would you like to marry His Majesty Glenreed, the King of Wolfwald?”

The option that my father gave me was unexpected. His daughter of marriageable age got exiled, and the first thing he thought was to marry me into a foreign country as part of a political marriage. I understood, as a daughter born into an aristocratic family in this world, that political marriages were a natural thing, but- – – – – – – – – 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this, father? I, who was dumped by His Highness Fritz…by The Crown Prince, am to marry the King of a foreign country…”

If you think about it normally, it didn’t make sense. Even though my engagement was one-sidedly annulled by Fritz, I still had a bad reputation for being cast aside by the Crown Prince. And yet, being upgraded from the fiancée of the Crown Prince to a Queen of another country was something I couldn’t immediately comprehend.

“As I thought. You’re anxious, aren’t you, Leticia? I can turn it down if you don’t want to.”

“No, that’s not the case. It’s just a bit strange, and I was wondering why. His Majesty, Glenreed, has accomplished many achievements in the war against a neighbouring country while he was still young, and is renowned as the Silver Wolf King. I don’t understand why he chose someone like me as his Queen… Moreover, if the rumours are to be believed, he’s extremely misogynistic.”

“Exactly. It’s because he hates women. Do you know about His Majesty Glenreed’s current personal affairs?”

“Yes. I heard that he has four Queen candidates, but has never shared a bed with any of them.”

“Exactly. But, His Majesty Glenreed is 23 years old, so the aristocrats of his country are vehemently pressuring him to sire a child. However, His Majesty hates women, and given his country’s political situation, he seems to want to avoid taking new candidates from his country.”

“…And that’s why I got chosen.”

I had been convinced, upon hearing about the circumstances. Originally, one was required to have a high pedigree in order to become Queen of a country. However, few people would want to marry a king who was known for being misogynistic. In addition, half of the kingdom of Wolfwald, ruled by King Glenreed, was made up of beastkin with animal ears and tails. 

Many countries in the western continent have a deep-rooted prejudice against beastkin. Under such circumstances, it was easy to imagine that finding a suitable candidate to become the Queen would be hard.

“In other words, he wants a “Mariage blanc”1 from me. He wants me to act as a figurehead Queen, not trying to get too close to her husband-to-be, His Majesty Glenreed, nor trying to seek his favour, right?”

{Mariage blanc/White Marriage}

It was a type of political marriage in this world that does not involve physical relations.

“And if I’m not mistaken, according to the Kingdom of Wolfwald’s marriage laws, if the “Mariage blanc” isn’t consummated, and a child isn’t born within two years, one can get a divorce without any future problems, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right. You know a lot about not-so-well-known laws from foreign countries, huh.”

My father complimented me and smiled.

As usual, it was a vicious smile that could make even the yakuza turn pale, but was still almost affectionate, which made me glad.

…That was the result of the Crown Princess-to-be training, which I never thought would be useful in this way.

“For two years. As a figurehead  Queen, I’ll just have to be the Queen His Majesty Glenreed wishes me to be, and act as his shield of sorts, correct?” 2

“Yes. You can return after two years if you want, or if you come to like it there and wish to stay, His Majesty Glenreed has promised that he would help you with anything from housing to money for all kinds of things.”

“I see…”

Thinking about it, it didn’t seem like a bad proposition at all.

It was common practice to marry someone, as I was raised as an aristocratic Lady. However, I was slandered and cast aside by Fritz. In that case, the man who approaches to become my new fiancé would be troubled by these problems.

Marrying as the Queen of another country, though only for show, in such circumstances, was not a bad option, so as not to bring shame to both my household and I.

“I’ll say it once more. Leticia, you may refuse if you’re feeling reluctant. If there is a man that you secretly love, I’ll just talk with him man-to-man and leave him half-dead, then allow him to marry you.”

“…Father, that isn’t something to joke about.”

My face involuntarily twitched. It’s hard to understand my father, but he loves me quite a lot. If I were to get tangled up with an imprudent man, Father’s ‘I won’t give you my daughter!’ mode would activate and a catastrophe might happen.

“Please rest assured, Father. I don’t have someone that I love nor someone who loves me.”

It’s a little sad to say, but that’s a fact. For the past few years, I had Fritz as my so-called fiancé, and was devoted to my Crown Princess training, so I didn’t have the time for such things. And, in my previous life, I was so busy doing exhausting work every day that I neither had the time for love nor to look for a lover.

…I tried not to think deeply about the many years I haven’t had a romantic relationship in my previous life and my present one.

“Why do you look so sad, Leticia? Is it perhaps true? That there’s someone who you love.”

“No, it’s nothing. I’m fine. I’d be lying if I said that I don’t admire love or marriage at all, but I’m a Lady of the Duke’s family. If I were to accept His Majesty Glenreed’s marriage proposal, His Majesty the King should be indebted to us. I’ve had a hard time finding a decent fiancé from the beginning. So, taking two years away, then coming back here sounds quite nice.”

“Ah, that’s right. Of course, your brothers and I will welcome you when you come back. After that, you can devote yourself to your hobbies and work. And, if there’s someone that you like, you may pursue them.”

My father deeply loves me and cares about my future.

…Our conversation so far was about not wanting to marry His Majesty Glenreed. 

As a Lady from a Duke’s family, it’d profit both my House and this country. And, it had the assurance of having some degree of freedom thereafter.

It was not a marriage out of love or affection. If I thought of it as a kind of work till the end, it was a marriage with quite nice terms.

“I would like to accept. There are no other precautions or particular hidden reasons, correct?”

“There are no hidden reasons, but… do you like cooking, Leticia? You’ve looked so lively in the kitchen lately. With such a look of pure joy that I’ve never seen on you when you were Prince Fritz’s fiancée. Could it be because of cooking?”

“Oh. I see that you’ve been peeking into the kitchen, father.”

I averted my eyes slightly.

I was a bit embarrassed. He saw me humming and singing while I was cooking. Sometimes, when I was cooking, I felt an unusually sharp gaze. Was it an assassin or something? So, I became more cautious, but it seemed that was just Father peeking.

…Father, the intensity of your gaze gets a perfect score.

“Just like what Father has seen, I like cooking. It may not be a highly approved hobby for a lady though…”

“That’s true. It is indeed unusual for a lady, but…that’s when it comes to this country.”

“This country? So, in other words, that means-“

From what father is saying, could it possibly be-

“Yes, it’s what you’re thinking. In Wolfwald, a noble lady can stand in the kitchen. There is no doubt that, compared to here, cooking is more likely to be approved as a hobby.”

Yes!! Yes! I did it!!

I internally cheered and made a triumphant pose in my mind.

“That’s also why I approached you with marriage—–“

“Thank you so much, father!!! I’ll be happy to accept this marriage proposal!!!”

– – – – – – – – – – – A figurehead Queen. Moreover, for the limited period of two years. I wouldn’t be required to be deeply involved in the nation’s politics, and I also should have time to spare.

Getting the chance to execute my cooking situation improving plan had me very excited.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Soon after, we finished preparations for the wedding within a few days. We wanted to be done with the wedding as fast as possible; as this time of the year, the seasonal changes tended to worsen the conditions of the land route to Wolfwald and make it hard to go through it. That was why we didn’t want to miss our chance before that happened.

“You didn’t forget anything, Leticia? Did you sleep well? Do you feel unwell?”

Father seemed more flurried than me, the one who was leaving. He was pacing around restlessly. 

Father came to see me off despite his busy schedule.

“Father, please calm down. I’m bringing Lucian with me, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re not just enduring it?”

I smiled a little at my father’s vehement appearance.

Father was still as evil-looking as usual, but from what he was saying and doing right now, it showed that he couldn’t help but worry about sending off his daughter.

The gap between his usual stern words and actions was embarrassing​, yet a bit amusing.

“Father, please get a hold of yourself already. I’ll be away from home for a while, but there’s one thing I’d like to entrust you with, in my stead.”

“What is it?”

“This.”

I took out a bundle of papers filled with my handwriting and handed it to him.

“What’s this…?”

“I selected some dishes that I want you to eat and have put together instructions on how to make them. Father, you’ve been looking pale lately, correct? You’ve been busy because of me, but I don’t think that’s the only reason why.”

“I see. What is the cause?”

“Strongly flavoured meals. Spices and salt are delicious and all, but…I found in a book that I read as part of my Crown Princess training, that if one ate too many, it could hurt the body. The book also described how to cook dishes with less salt and spices, so I tried to imitate them in my own way.”

“Is that it? I did think that your enthusiasm for cooking came out of nowhere, but it was all because you were thinking about me…”

Father looked as if he couldn’t hold in his emotions (yet still looking evil).

…Father, your face is scary, but you’re a good person, who always has his daughter on his mind. And as his daughter, I wanted my father to have a long life.

If Father happened to die from a combination of high blood pressure and vascular trauma caused by a high salt diet while I was married in a foreign country, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.3

Fortunately, we’re related by blood, so our taste for food seemed similar. Father didn’t seem to like over-spiced food, given from how he enjoyed eating the second batch of ice cream that I borrowed the kitchen to make.

…It was quite a shock, to say the least, to see my scary-looking father, who was a full-fledged adult, drool while eating the ice cream.

“As for the recipe book, the details are still incomplete because I didn’t have enough time. Could you please leave the fine adjustment of ingredients and how to make them to the chefs of the estate?”

I looked back at the mansion behind me. There stood the chefs, standing straight and in a line to see me off. I was able to make friends with them while spending time together in the kitchen.

The chefs were all talented and ambitious enough to be hired by the Dukedom. They, who were quite interested in cooking recipes native to Earth, and I did a mutual exchange of information.  I had knowledge of food and cooking experience from my previous life, but I had never gotten involved in cooking in this world. 

As the whisk had not become widespread yet, just this one cooking utensil made a big difference. Even though there was a cheat called magic, it was a series of trial and error with the help of the chefs.

Wherein cooking with the chefs created a sense of solidarity…at least that’s what I felt. I think that it’s because the nature of people who sought delicious food didn’t change, even if the world did, even though there was a difference in status.

It’s unwise to deny and change the food culture, but if it was on the pretext of “For my father’s health”, that change should be much easier to accept. Many chefs had some misgivings about the current over-spiced dishes, so I think it was a lifesaving offer to them.

– – – – – – -With that, I left the recipes from Earth to my father and the chefs, then headed straight to Wolfwald, to the Silver Wolf King, Glenreed.

The recipe book that I entrusted to my father.

I didn’t know at that time that it would have a huge impact on the food culture and future of this country.


Author’s Note:

Next up is the Mofumofu country’s arc, but before that, there’s an extra chapter from a different perspective than Leticia that I will post first.

Translator’s Note:

At long last! 11 chapters and no sign of the ML. While I love slowburns, it’s way too slow… T~T

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Coralia
Coralia
2 years ago

I’ve been silently saying this since it was revealed Ileus had a rivalry with Leticia but he’s totally in love with her isn’t he? like he must be depressed to find out his plan of getting the engagement annuled so he can propose to her is totally back firing (especially since he seemed so shocked like “DONT EXILE HER DUMBASS I WANNA MARRY HER” type of feel to him)

Elegant Rain
Elegant Rain
3 years ago

Gonna echo the comment above me – “misogynistic” should probably be replaced with something like “gynophobic.” Gynophobia is a fear of women, which he might have. Misogyny sounds more like he has a prejudice against women, which probably isn’t the case. He probably tends to avoid them, which would make him more gynophobic. Thanks for the chapter!

Bec wun
Bec wun
3 years ago

I don’t think misogynistic is the word your looking for in this case. In many cases in LN when a male “hates women” an impaction of sexual preference or lack there of, i.e. gay/ace. Or he’s a one man army and has yet met the “one” to make him take a break. He has no rumors of sleeping with any female, including his princesses. Or that he miss treats any of them, he just hates them…
“‘…Moreover, if the rumors are to believed, he’s extremely misogynistic.’ ‘Exactly It’s because he hates women. …'”

Edit: a word