Chapter 39

The day after the ball.

Opal arrived at the Marquis Lucel's countryside mansion with Claude's family in the afternoon.

The wedding ceremony the next day would take place in the village chapel, so they were to spend the night at this mansion.

After the reception, the family and guests would return to the capital, and Claude and Opal were planning to spend three days of their honeymoon alone at this mansion.

However, Claude was still at the main residence in the capital.

Now, Opal, who had been led to the lady's room, felt restless and uneasy, as a bride should.

In her previous marriage, her husband Hubert had used the adjacent room only for one night at the ducal manor.

But this time—Claude would, of course, use the adjacent room.

Of course, she wasn't unhappy about it.

(What should I do... Even Claude wouldn't think that I've been married for seven years and haven't shared a bed yet...)

Opal, who had just seen Claude's luggage being moved into the adjacent room, started pacing around the room, which was elegantly furnished.

At twenty-eight, she understood the nature of marital relations.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't embarrassed, but she felt safe with Claude.

The question was whether to tell Claude about this fact.

She was known to be a novice in love, but it was unclear how much he understood.

(But if there are some procedures and I end up confusing Claude... I should probably tell him in advance.)

After rationally concluding, Opal faced the problem of when to tell him.

It wasn't something to be conveyed in a letter.

If she went to the capital now, she would return late at night.

(...Well, if it's just telling him, it won't take long, and I can do it tomorrow. There's plenty of time before the ceremony and the reception start.)

Feeling relieved to have found a satisfactory answer, Opal approached her writing desk.

She had brought some documents that needed to be processed.

However, when she opened the bag containing the documents, the first thing she saw was a letter from Hubert.

She had postponed reading it after missing it the first time, but now she needed to deal with it.

She should have returned it through an agent as usual when she received it.

(I must have been carried away...)

Sighing to herself, Opal cut the seal with a paper knife.

She took out the contents and read them.

"...I don't understand the meaning."

Murmuring to herself, Opal placed the letter on the desk and stared at it.

She regretted not having replied earlier or returned it.

Even though her father, the marquis, knew that she had cut off communication with Hubert, she wondered why he had included the letter.

It was her fault for postponing it, but she wondered if her father knew about it.

(Father knew when I arrived in this country...)

He would attend the ceremony as the bride's father but would stay in the capital tonight and come to Opal tomorrow.

After the ceremony, he planned to return to the country immediately, as he was still busy.

Incidentally, Opal's brother would not attend, as Claude had informed her.

(To think that my brother and Claude have been in constant communication... That's unfair!)

Opal had written several letters to her brother, but he never replied.

Yet, Claude had not only corresponded with him but also helped with supplies during the civil war in the Kingdom of Taisei.

Moreover, it seemed he had dropped out of university and was now in some other country.

Her father, of course, knew about it, and Opal felt left out regarding her brother.

(But as long as he's doing well, I can't ask for more.)

As a child, she had disliked her mischievous brother.

Even now, they weren't close, and she hadn't seen him since he entered university, but she still cared for him as family, worried about him, and got angry.

(Really, men are so selfish!)

Opal put away the letter a bit roughly, as if taking out her frustration.

In her anger, she also quickly finished her paperwork.

Surprisingly, it went smoothly, and Opal felt much better after completing everything.

---

The next morning.

Opal's father, who had just arrived, came to see her after she had finished getting ready.

His attire was impeccable, despite the carriage ride from the capital.

"Opal, you're as beautiful as you were eight years ago."

Opal furrowed her brow for a moment at her father's words as they were about to board the carriage to the chapel.

But she quickly smiled and replied.

"...Thank you, Father."

Still, Opal was irritated inside, thinking that he didn't need to be sarcastic on such a day.

Then she wondered if he was being serious.

He had decided on her marriage to Hubert, which, though misguided, was for her benefit, as he thought.

"...Father, did you love Mother?"

"What? Suddenly?"

Opal's question made her father, the Marquis Horoway, frown in surprise.

Previously, this expression had frightened her, but now she could stand up to him a little.

Feeling a bit pathetic, she mustered the courage to continue.

"Mother always thought of Father until she passed away... Of course, she cherished me and my brother and loved us a lot. But I think she also wished Father would spend more time with her..."

"---I made a promise."

"Huh?"

"When I met your mother, I had inherited the title but also the debt left by my father. I didn't want her to think I was after her dowry, so I avoided her."

"But... you ended up proposing anyway, didn't you?"

"No, she proposed to me."

"To Mother?"

"Yes. She told me not to run away. Not having money isn't shameful. Since she had money, it was fine, she said."

"So, you built your current fortune with Mother's dowry?"

"I promised to multiply her dowry. But in the early days of our marriage, I made her suffer a lot. Your mother wasn't very healthy, so I thought it would be better for her to live in the countryside with better air, so I improved the estate to make it more comfortable."

"...I didn't know."

"I never told anyone."

The marquis, who answered Opal's quiet murmur, seemed to puff out his chest a bit.

Avoiding his gaze, Opal looked out the window at the peaceful scenery.

She knew her mother had been lonely, and so had she.

But her mother must have loved her father, including his awkwardness.

(Not just awkward, but absurd...)

If it were Opal, even if she were weak, she wouldn't wait quietly in the countryside but would fight to be with the one she loved.

In that moment, Opal realized something.

"Did you push for my marriage to the Duke of MacLaud and offer such extraordinary support because you saw yourself in me?"

"...I took your stubbornness into account, but I didn't anticipate the Duke's arrogance."

"Then, did you not anticipate this outcome?"

"I don't regret not giving permission for Claude's first proposal. I do regret not allowing the second one. But now, I think this is for the best."

"Yes, I see..."

She had many complaints, but she understood that her father, in his own way, loved her.

However, he wouldn't acknowledge love as a feeling.

That was part of who he was, and Opal loved her father.

(I understand a little of Mother's feelings...)

Opal shifted her gaze back to the window and swallowed a sigh.