Chapter 2

I opened my eyes when I felt the presence of people, and the first thing I saw was a beautifully carved ceiling. When I strained my eyes to see better, it seemed to be the inside of the canopy.

I can’t understand the current situation.

Quietly, I lifted my body and saw a softly curved figure that appeared to be a woman walking towards me behind the gleaming thin cloth hanging from the canopy.

“Did you awaken, Karena-sama?”

I still feel as if a haze has formed in my head.

My vision wavers.

Seeming to wonder why there was no reply, the woman pulled the edge of the thin cloth and made a face.

“Karena-sama?”

“…what?

I couldn’t think of anything to say and spoke in a small voice, and then my eyes widened when he grabbed me by the shoulders, peering at me as close as he could.

“Are you okay?! It’s Clara! How many fingers am I holding up?”

Clara held up two fingers.

“Clara…Clara……oh, two.”

“Are you all right, Miss Karena?

Yeah, it still felt like I was dreaming. I must have slept pretty well.

What kind of dreams did I have?

I feel like it was fun.

But I also feel sad.

I didn’t remember it at all, but it couldn’t have been a good dream because waking up wasn’t a pleasant experience.

As I sat up and stretched out, Clara’s hushed voice roared into my ears from beside me.

“You slept for so long! You have no idea how worried I was! It was lying in your garden. I told you. I told you that you shouldn’t go out in the garden in this cold and windy weather. You only have one precious body, and you shouldn’t be out in the garden with such a strong wind…”

Did I fall down?

As far as I was concerned, I don’t remember falling down at all. I don’t even know why I don’t remember it.

”

”

The various conflicts about the current situation I was in were piling up in my mind. I could barely remember the last time I had gone to the garden to surround myself in it.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’ve been holed up in my room by myself and I had a lot on my mind. I just needed a change of scenery.”

Clara has been a maidservant for six years. She was the only same-aged maidservant among the many older maidservants who were skilled in obedience, and she speaks her mind with me. She is one of the few handmaidens who can talk. She had decided to leave the country of her birth for me, and she’s kept following me around like this. I’m very aware of her sincere concern for me.

‘It’s a good thing that you’re able to get the most out of this servant.’A distant warning not to bring an extra person.

I recalled the words of the messenger who had obviously despised myself and my country. When I first heard them, I couldn’t stop my body from shaking in anger. Still, I’d calmly considered the situation I would be throwing myself into and locked that anger deep inside.

“Well if you dislike it so much, couldn’t you have said no?” Clara murmurs softly with a downcast expression.

The number of maidservants that father-the king had asked for as he listened to the messenger’s words, and was allowed to follow me, was one person only. And I’d chosen Clara.

“I knew it would come to pass. I was born into royalty, so I always knew this day would come.”

Political marriages are the norm for royalty. And moreover, the other party is the biggest military power on this continent. I’m just a princess of a small country that occupies less than a third of its land area. There is no way I could refuse to marry.

It’s better to have a good idea of what you’re doing.

This was the path I had to take.

This was the path that was destined for me.

Even though I’ve repeated this to myself many times, my heart still feels heavy.

It’s just a matter of time before you’ll be able to get your hands on a new one.

This land, which has prospered as an agricultural country in the past and has long hours of sunshine per day and abundant annual rainfall, is still dazzling! The country is covered with as much lush green land as the country has to offer. The current Knights, the strongest on the continent, are said to have originated from a peasant vigilante group, and my homeland state, a tyranny as despotic as Ravina’s, started out as a vigilante control and turned into a knightly order. And so it was.

The marriage of Franz, the country’s only prince, and myself, the second princess of Ravina, had been decided about two months earlier.

The king of Burgmueller’s father, who wanted to have the backing of the great king, happily agreed to this proposal.

In recent years, a large mine of a rare and valuable gemstone called Sorolite had been discovered in Ravina. My father, the king of that country, was able to provide his country with the mines that would generate vast national wealth and the military power it needed to defend itself. The scarcity of the area was troubling him.

Ravina had benefited from the Sorolite mines and had grown rapidly in just a few years. However, the risk of invasion from other countries that were targeting its mines had grown proportionately higher.

Ravina is the smallest nation in the world, a calm, peaceful nation that doesn’t like to fight. Even if it does not declare itself outwardly, it is neutral in its world perception. It is located at the southern end of the continent, where the hot sun shines all year round and there are many wildernesses. Less than two-thirds of its land is actually inhabitable, including land that can be inhabited.

Therefore, the invasion of a developing country with a poor landmass is not an option for a neutral country. For many years no country was willing to do this. Partly because of the intricate mountain ranges that overlap the borders and restrict access to the country it would be.

Thus, a small country, which is not taken seriously by any nation, will not be able to strengthen its military power, and the army of Ravina was nothing more than a means of maintaining the security of the country. No, it’s not fair to call it an army; it’s better to call it a security force.

However, the rapid growth of the country has changed the situation drastically.

Ravina was in constant danger of invasion in exchange for the country’s wealth.

”

”

Then, as if by design, a marriage proposal from a military power offered to marry her.

Ravina’s condition was protection from other nations and an alliance in case an actual battle broke out.

Burgmueller’s condition was obtaining support in burgeoning national fortune and preferential treatment in the trade of Sorolite stone.

This story was quickly advanced in the blink of an eye.

I’d heard about it only after the king had already given Burgmueller’s side his consent. From the common sense of this world, when a princess of a small country like Ravina marries into a large country, she will have to be a member of a side room. This was normal treatment in general, but I wonder if Ravina’s finances deem me fit to be the rightful queen of Burgmueller. It was in the capacity of a legitimate queen that he proposed to me.

The acceptance of this marriage, though a political one, may have been a political move by King Ravina for his daughter’s happiness. It could not be. Indeed, it was obvious that even if he refused this marriage, the next candidate would immediately stand. As things stand, given the current state of affairs in the country, there was no chance of marrying into another country’s royal family, who were older and greedier.

It was not that there had not been an offer of marriage before. In fact, just prior to this marriage proposal, there had been an offer from the great power of Saulfiya. But the king had refused it.

And I had spent two months learning the history of Burgmuller, their common sense, and etiquette, since the day the king had accepted my marriage to the Burgmuller prince.

Some of the continental princesses of the world marry as early as twelve or so. It’s a good thing that I will reach the age of 18 this year because that’s the limit of the average royalty to make a good match. The other party is not far behind at twenty-two years old. In fact, this favorable offer might be the best opportunity.

However, even if I can reason that in my head, my heart can’t catch up with it.

The anxiety of marrying into the next king of a great country.

Confusion about marrying someone with whom I have no access to any information.

That’s all that’s going through my mind.

What if I had refused this marriage?

What if I was born an ordinary citizen of Ravina and not a royalty?

What if the Sorolite Stone had never been unearthed and the country remained a poor, impoverished country?

In the short time since the marriage had taken place, I had been asking myself foolish questions that could only be called futile. But it’s still not going to solve my anxiety, and I can’t seem to find a way out of these unresolved emotions, no matter how much I think. It’s just the way it is.