I Don’t Want To Be the Main Character

133. The meeting of the century (7)

1.

“Your Highness? What do you mean by that…?”

The princess of a country knelt down so much that she could hear a thud and bowed her head. Naturally, almost reflexively, our mother panicked and was at a loss as to whether she should help Elena up or not, since touching her body would be considered blasphemous.

And as I watched the scene, I realized.

Aha, Elena had it all planned out?

To put it badly, Elena was clever, and to put it nicely, she was smart. The word clever has a bit of a negative connotation, so here it might be right to just say that she was smart.

Anyway, Elena’s actions just now were right in the sense that she was quick to strike. Since it was Elena and not someone else, there might be some hidden reason behind it, but that was the meaning that I could interpret as soon as I saw it.

‘… … Coming out in a humble manner while secretly taking advantage of her status as a princess. And then being the first to strike, giving off the impression that she’s a kind of representative. Is that natural?’

I roughly understood what the meaning was and what the action was, but I have to say that Elena was amazing for thinking about it and putting it into action in such a short amount of time.

“He’s such a consistent gentleman that I never get tired of him.”

Rasil muttered softly next to me and then our eyes met. As our eyes met, Rasil shook his head slightly as if he couldn’t stop me.

Elena continued speaking calmly while everyone else was clicking their tongues at the dark intentions of Elena.

“It is exactly as I said. Mother, if you would please give me Ludrick, I will make you happy for the rest of your life.”

“Uh… So, Your Highness the Princess is engaged to be married to our son…?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Ugh……”

As soon as Elena finished speaking, her mother let out a deep sigh with a puzzled expression.

“If Your Highness the Princess wants my son, who is lacking, then it is right for me to give him up as a subject, but there is a concept of rank, isn’t there?”

“Is that a big deal, since Ludrick has already ascended to the position of court magician and formed a family?”

Even though she was flustered, Mom answered calmly, and Elena responded in a similarly calm voice.

‘That’s true.’

If it weren’t for me, the engagement of a son of a count family and a princess in a remote rural area that most nobles wouldn’t even know existed. Originally, when it comes to marriage, one cannot help but consider various political factors. Even if it’s not a political marriage, marriage is a union between two families.

However, as Elena said, I am currently being treated as a Marquis of the Empire, even though it is not an hereditary honorary title, so there is no reason for me to go against the custom of marriage between the noble and the common.

The mother was speechless, wondering if Elena’s point was valid.

Now is the time for me to step forward.

I was reluctant to say anything out loud because it felt like dropping a bomb on the crowd, but I guess it’s better to get hit first.

It’s not a story that can be kept hidden forever, so I have to tell it.

“……Mother, by the way.”

“Ludrick, step aside for a moment. This is not your place.”

“yes.”

And then, just as I was about to speak, the brakes were applied and I quietly backed away.

Perhaps it was because the word marriage that Elena brought out came as such a huge shock to her mother. As soon as she took a step back, promising to meet again later, her mother spoke in a calm voice.

“……First of all, it doesn’t seem right for a subject to continue serving Her Highness the Princess here. Please come inside first.”

“I can’t just stand here and keep talking, so let’s do this.”

Elena also nodded.

The expressions of the four people who suddenly became like barley sacks because Elena hit the player subtly changed. How could they not know that I also noticed it? But they couldn’t say anything out loud here, so they all just kept it to themselves.

By the way, what will happen if we do this?

How can I not see an inch ahead of me in my life?

2.

As a result, all five of them, including Count Weiss and Ludrick, gathered in one place, sitting in the reception room of the Weiss mansion.

Although everyone was gathered together, it was still light years away from an atmosphere where everyone could talk properly.

“I didn’t prepare anything to treat you since you came so suddenly. I have asked my wife to prepare some tea for you first, so please wait a moment.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t come here to be treated to something.”

Elena nodded as if it was nothing.

When I first visited the Vice County Territory right after my return, there was a gap between the way they used to call me a gentleman and the way they spoke to me now. Perhaps because of that gap, Count Vice’s expression also changed subtly, but he looked around.

‘… …Why is the Archduke of Nord here?’

Although Sylphia and Arwen did not recognize her, she had seen Eileen’s face well, having attended the inauguration ceremony of the court wizard. It was no wonder that Count Weiss recognized her, as Eileen’s face was often published in the newspapers.

Moreover, Eileen had recently been on the rise as the Empire’s black lion and a master class swordsman, one of the few in the Empire.

‘And that guy is definitely… … Admiral Repert. Is there a reason he came here… …?’

Next, Count Weiss briefly glanced at Rasil and tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

Elena dropped the bombshell that she wanted to marry her own son, so I could understand why she came here, but I couldn’t figure out why Eileen or Rasil followed her there. I don’t know who else, but Arwen and Sylphia, who seemed to have an extraordinary status based on their natural elegance.

Count Weiss had no idea why five people were gathered here.

The reason was that not only Elena, but the other four were also brides-to-be for this wedding, but this was an idea that would be difficult for an ordinary person to come up with in this situation.

After those words, a heavy silence flowed, and everyone’s eyes turned to Count Weiss.

“Phew…….”

Count Weiss sighed softly and opened his mouth as if he was pushed.

“So, you say that Your Highness the Princess wishes to get engaged to my lacking son?”

Today’s main topic.

In fact, Count Weiss was still confused. He was confused because she had suddenly knelt down without saying anything, and marriage was a very important matter between families.

Marriage is a happy event, but I was not very happy about being involved in this with the royal family.

Basically, Count Weiss was content with just taking good care of the land he inherited until his death, and he had no ambitions to enter central politics or become a relative of the queen and wield power.

To Count Weiss, who was modest by nature and content with his current situation, the offer came like a bolt from the blue.

“Yes. Just like I said before.”

“Ugh……”

As Elena nodded in a calm voice, Count Weiss revealed his complicated feelings without filtering his expression.

Count Weiss, who was good at political calculations despite his natural naivety, was calculating the beads on the abacus in his head, and then looked at Ludrick and asked.

“Ludrick, is that what you think?”

“yes.”

He’s also talented.

As soon as he saw his son nodding as if he had been waiting, Count Weiss sighed again, thinking to himself. He had thought that Ludrick was not worth his money, but he had finally managed to get the princess of a country to come over.

There is a saying that even a hedgehog loves its own babies, but objectively speaking, Ludrick was not bad-looking, not necessarily because he was the child that was born out of pain.

There is a saying that a man’s looks are his greatest weapon, but he is not aware of it himself, so objectively speaking, it is safe to say that he is quite handsome.

So, I could have guessed how he would make the difficult princess fall for him, but since even Ludrick agreed, as a parent, I had no choice but to allow it.

With permission already given, Count Weiss, who was calculating the ramifications of this marriage, suddenly asked as if a thought had occurred to him.

“But what happened to the rest of you…?”

A question I had earlier.

Let’s say Elena and Ludrick came to ask for permission to marry.

But what on earth are the rest of the people doing here? Surely they weren’t just here to look around.

Moreover, it was absurd to accompany such an important event just to watch, so Count Weiss’s expression was filled with bewilderment.

“mother.”

“Oh, it’s not your place to meddle. Let’s talk later.”

“That’s because I have no one else to talk to.”

“hmm?”

In the meantime, Count Weiss tried to stop Ludrick who was opening his mouth again, but as soon as he heard Ludrick’s words, the doubt on his face grew even deeper.

at the same time.

At the same time.

A subtle and inexplicable feeling of unease came over Count Weiss.

Ludrick is her son.

In other words, it was a child born and raised over a period of twenty years.

And in the twenty years I’ve watched him as a parent, Ludrick’s eyes have occasionally wavered like that when he’s about to do something absolutely ridiculous and bizarre.

It’s one of two things.

If you know that it is nonsense and try to commit it, or if you are not aware of it and it ends up being nonsense.

Count Weiss could intuitively tell that it was the former.

And, as expected,

“That… It’s true that I’m marrying Elena, but it’s not just with Elena, right?”

“…….”

As soon as the words left Ludrick’s mouth, Count Weiss chewed on them.

Elena, it is true that you are marrying the second princess.

But he doesn’t marry ‘only’ the 2nd princess.

That meant there were more marriage partners, and it was no coincidence that Count Weiss was looking at the remaining four people who were silently keeping their place with eyes that shook like aspen leaves.

“……Is what I’m thinking correct?”

“Maybe.”

Ludrick answered yes to the question I asked with the intention of grabbing onto a rope.

Countess Weiss’s eyes shook as if there was an earthquake, and then she lost consciousness.

“Mom! No, this isn’t something that will make you faint! Mom! Come to your senses!”

Ludrick shook Count Weiss, who was rolling his eyes with an urgent shout, but Count Weiss thought for the last time as his vision gradually darkened.

‘… … I wish I could just lose my mind forever.’

It was a truth that was still too shocking for her to accept.