CHAPTER 7

"Sasha, What does this mean?"

"What? Well, it's nothing serious….."

My Mother sighed and rubbed her forehead. I was amazed a little by my Mother's appearance. Wow, Mother. It's the same pose as Rodin's Sculpture *'The Thinker.' Mother's mouth moved and she said something. But I can't hear her properly.

(TL/N : 'The Thinker' is a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin, usually placed on a stone pedestal. The work depicts a nude male figure of heroic size sitting on a rock. He is seen leaning over, his right elbow placed on his left thigh, holding the weight of his chin on the back of his right hand.)

"What? Mother, what did you say?"

At my question, Mother looked up at me. I shut my mouth at the cold gaze of my mother's blue-grey eyes.

But for a short while after, my mother put a smile on her face again. It must be because she heard the sound of me grinning and grinding my teeth while looking at her smiling face. Well. She handed me a piece of paper. It is a familiar paper material. The thick and stiff paper that the Crown Prince used when he sent me his wedding proposal. In other words, it was a paper used by The Imperial family.

Is it something official? No matter how many times I've rejected it, there's no way he'll send a proposal again…..

Thinking up to this point, my face went pale. I could refuse, but even though it was rejected by the Imperial family, I had to accept the proposal again. In other words, I can't refuse the proposal again.

Is this the second proposal?!

I hurriedly opened the paper. Leaving behind the incident where I almost cut my finger, I hurriedly read the contents.

The Meeting…. Must attend with the family successor…. didn't accept a refusal….

Ah, Oh my gosh.. If it had been a marriage proposal, my heart would have dropped. Fortunately, the paper was just an ordinary meeting invitation. Occasionally, I was also attending as a successor to the once-a-monthly meeting of the nobility, but this time it was a meeting to find out what was going on. The date is, Today? Shouldn't we hurry up and get ready?

"Mother. The meeting date is today. Aren't we supposed to get ready and go?"

"That's not what's important right now. The important thing is, why were we called to a meeting."

I nodded and read the invitation carefully again.

"The reason for the meeting is not in the letter?"

My mother laughed softly when she heard my pure question.

I tried to read the expression in my mother’s eyes, then, I pouted my lips and scratched my neck slightly. After a moment's silence, she spoke quietly.

"Did you know that the ministers have been telling the Crown Prince to marry you?"

"Yes, I know that. Luckily, the Crown Prince has a lover and got a little better, but he's not even engaged….."

My mother looked a little surprised at what I added. No, I'm still the successor of this family, and I still do social activities. Why would I say it If I don't even know this much, Mother?

"Yes. He said that he has a partner, and that he doesn't want to get married. But didn't the Crown Prince send you a marriage proposal? Even though you threw it?"

".....Yes. That's true, but…. Didn't you say you'd tell me the reason for the meeting?"

Or, is the reason for the meeting related to the Crown Prince's marriage?

My face went pale after putting some thought into it. Ah, haha... I think I know the reason now.

Mother respected her children's wishes, but she was merciless in what she thought was wrong. She didn't want any of her daughters to marry into the Imperial family. It's even worse if he's a gorgeous prince with several scandals with ladies. Cinderella just said that she liked the Crown Prince and wanted to meet him once but, a marriage between a nine year old girl and a twenty year old man?

If the reason for today's meeting is to choose a marriage partner for the Crown Prince, the story will continue accordingly. What if Cinderella meets the Crown Prince in that situation?

Ah, wait a minute. If that's the case, did I really make a big mistake….?

"But the king's way of choosing a Wife must be a bit promiscuous….."

I swallowed hard after listening to My Mother's words. Right. Pedophilia is not very promiscuous. No, it is an unforgivable sin beyond the promiscuous level.

"—He said he would hold a banquet with all the unmarried ladies in the Imperial palace. He'll choose a bride from there."

Well,

It's not as promiscuous as I thought…..?

"Yeah. It's a nice banquet, so there's nothing more to say than that he's going to gather all the ladies in there and choose whoever he wants."

Mother sighed as she understood how my expression Is. Well, it sounds like he's going to find a lady he likes at the banquet and send a marriage proposal letter.

It's not wrong to say that he'll choose according to his type. It's just an insult to the Imperial family. It's not terribly disappointing. Rather, the image of the fairy tale book that I read when I was young came to mind again. There's also a Bride Searching Banquet held there. And Cinderella takes off a pair of her glass slippers and runs away.

As I smiled awkwardly, a shadow fell on my face again. With her eyes half-closed, she slowly clenched her fist.

"Who will go first….No, I don't know who to deal with first. My daughters are too good. Did you give your Mother more work because she looks like she's free?"

No. I'm sure you will.

I wanted to refute, but Mother's voice was bleak. It seems like Mother's soul will come out slowly out of her body. But for a moment, she took a deep breath and slowly captured her energy, and released her annoyance. But it was still too early to be reassured by her smile that had returned to normal.

"Do you want me to kill him…..?"

I wondered if I should answer or ignore Mother's quiet murmur. My face became pale, and I swallowed my saliva. She's someone I really don't want to turn into an enemy. I love you mother.

* * * *

Click, Clack.

The sound of my mother’s and my heels rang in the wide hallway. We were walking down the halls of the palace that already looked like the banquet hall now. It wasn't an empty hall, but it was wide enough to allow dozens of people to stand in a row. As I walked with the servant that guided us, I opened my eyes slightly and looked at my mother. Even at first glance, her strong-looking face looked pretty.

The appearance of my mother in a navy halterneck dress was dazzling even though she was over 40. Her silver hair that shines brighter than the dazzling silver hair she handed down to me is decorated with a butterfly head ornament that was carved from sapphire, and considering the nature of the halter neck, there are not many decorations, so she wore a large diamond necklace, which I think is the most ideal. She had an 'elegant and simple' appearance. It's similar to the green dress I wore when I visited the crown prince, but it's much more elegant. Considering her age, she wore high heels with an appropriate height, but even her slightly revealing shoes were elegant.

Wow, sister. No, mother. Drizella unnie is now over 20, is she this pretty? How can even the slightest wrinkles on your face be this beautiful?

As expected, *My Beauty doesn't fall far. I haven't seen my father's face, but looking at my mother's and older sister's faces, it would be strange if I wasn't a beauty. Of course, I have nothing to say if I say that my dad's face is ugly because he's all over me.

(TL/N : It's similar to 'The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree' is a phrase that is typically said in connection with children who show appearance or talents that are similar to those of their parents.)

Perhaps I was staring at My Mother too closely, a slightly darker blue color eyes than mine turned towards me with affection. I smiled broadly when I met those eyes of the same color that everyone could see that we're connected by blood. Ah, As expected, My Mother is really pretty. That color.

"Is there a problem Sasha? Are the shoes uncomfortable?"

"No. I'm okay. It's just that my mother is so pretty."

Of course, the shoes are uncomfortable and the corset is poking my lungs, but this is a daily routine, so it was okay. When mother gave me a wink, she gracefully covered her mouth and smiled.

"Are you complimenting me? It felt nice."

Although I feel nauseous about the place I'm headed now, my mother added in a gentle voice. Hearing my mother's words, I could see the servant sweating in a cold sweat and making an awkward expression. I looked sadly at the servant, whose hands began to tremble slightly.

"Marquis Hwizna, wife and daughter. Have arrived."

As we approached the big door, the servant delivered her duties without trembling. As I entered the open door, I saw an incredibly large venue. This hall, which has been used for royal ceremonies from generation to generation, has been visited by me several times.

And every time I come, I can't adjust to It. Why did they make the place for 50 people or so to gather, this big? Unbelievable. It's a waste of money. waste of money….

When I looked around, I saw a seat with the words 'Hwizna' written in cursive near the seat. After confirming that the color of the soft-looking sofa was blue-gray, the symbol of our family, I sat down with my mother. As we arrived a little late, the other seats were almost full. How many dukes are the empty seats for?

Let's see. The family name is…. Lynora, Kaeha, Deborah….

Huh? Deborah?

I was pondering over the name I had heard somewhere, when I heard a loud trumpet sound announcing the arrival of the king. The curtain behind the throne was rolled, revealing the King and Crown Prince. The first thing that caught my eye was the reddish blonde hair that was still shiny, although I could see his gray hair. The golden eyes that looked strong underneath. It is a color that goes really well with the Imperial family of Raiganian, where the sun and lions are the symbols. It resembled the color of the sun. On the other hand, the crown prince is…..

I clicked my tongue as I looked at his black hair. Therefore, It is reasonable to some extent to suspect that the nobles are not descendants of the Imperial family. It wasn't a mixture of slightly different colors, it was a stark difference in color. The difference between night and day is clear.

But no matter what I think in my mind, I'm a noble in this country. Naturally, when the king came in, I had to get up and say hello.

I got up from my seat, put one hand on my left chest, close to my heart, and lowered my head. An abbreviated greeting method offered by a liege to the king. In this situation, A Lady's greeting, that is, bowing down while holding the skirt with both hands, was an expression of giving up my right to myself. I came to this place as a successor, I have to show a suitable appearance.

The king waved his hand to indicate that It was enough and sat down on the throne. All the nobles who had gathered accordingly were seated. Like those with noble blue blood, there was no sound of dragging chairs. Count Ecran, The secretary, clapped his hands.

"First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for coming to this sudden meeting. The reason why we're gathered today is none other than_"

He cleared his throat by coughing several times. After all, everyone must have already heard the information, so what is he trying to say with so much effort?

"It's regarding the national marriage of the Crown Prince."

People were buzzing at the right time. I pretended to be moderately surprised and covered my mouth. Oh my. Mother, did you hear that? They say it's a national marriage~

Perhaps, because it was too noisy. His Majesty the King, who was sitting at the top, laughed. Well, that was a bit too much.