Chapter 15

The Duchess, who demanded that I sleep in Rebecca’s room.

“Excuse me, but that seems a bit inappropriate.”

“…Mother.”

Both Rebecca and I reacted with serious expressions.

The fact that I had feelings for Rebecca wasn’t the important part.

Although the Princess and I were engaged, it was still just an ‘engagement’ in name only.

Legally, we were still just a man and woman with no formal relationship.

How could we already be sharing a room?

Among nobles arranged in strategic marriages, there are cases where they don’t even share a room after marriage.

For Rebecca and me, who hadn’t even had our wedding yet, sharing a room was unthinkable and a serious breach of etiquette.

Though it was the Duchess, Rebecca’s mother, who suggested it, there are things that are possible and things that aren’t.

“Why are you reacting like that? I thought you’d actually be pleased.”

The Duchess seemed unable to understand our serious reactions.

From her perspective, Rebecca and I were at a stage where casual gestures like cheek kisses were no big deal.

So her confusion wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

But what could I do?

As I mentioned earlier, I couldn’t just say it was a penalty from a chess bet.

It was like digging my own grave, but I had to fix this.

I couldn’t actually share a room with Rebecca.

It was still too early, and it was clear Rebecca wouldn’t want it either.

“Even though we’re engaged, we’re not yet married. How could we possibly share a room already?”

So I logically explained to the Duchess why sharing a room was out of the question.

With such a perfect argument, I thought the Duchess wouldn’t be able to refute it…

“As I mentioned earlier, I married my husband at 17. Prince Albert and Rebecca are just moving too slowly.”

“…”

I hated myself for thinking the Duchess wouldn’t be able to counter.

The Duchess of Valencia, who had spent over a decade in the aristocratic social scene, which was practically a battlefield.

In the world of nobles, I was just a fledgling who stood no chance against the Duchess in a war of words.

Still, I did my best. I tried everything to win the argument.

But I could confidently say it was all meaningless.

“I already told my parents I’d return home today…”

“You can just tell them again now.”

“I’m not feeling well right now…”

“We have plenty of digestive medicine.”

“If it’s not the blanket or pillow I usually use, I can’t sleep…”

“Don’t worry, we already have the bedding and even the underwear Prince Albert uses at the Duke’s mansion.”

‘…Even underwear?’

The bedding was hard enough to comprehend, but underwear too?

Just how thorough was her preparation?

The underwear part was particularly shocking.

I was so stunned by the Duchess’s meticulous preparation that I couldn’t speak.

“…Mother. Sharing a room could lead to unforeseen events, so I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Rebecca took over the conversation.

Normally, I would’ve been upset at the Princess’s implication that something might happen, but this was the best argument to persuade the Duchess, so I nodded vigorously in agreement.

I truly thought there was no way to counter this.

“What kind of events? That sounds delightful. Personally, I’d like to see grandchildren soon.”

Of course, that thought vanished from my mind within three seconds due to the Duchess’s shocking statement.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

Grandchildren? Children between me and Rebecca?

How could the dignified and poised Duchess of Valencia say something like that?

“Mother!”

Rebecca’s face turned bright red as she shouted at her mother’s embarrassing remark.

“My, my ears are going to fall off. Why are you shouting so loudly?”

Your mother’s ears are still perfectly fine.

The Duchess pretended to cover her ears as she replied.

Seeing this, I could sum up my feelings about the Duchess in one sentence.

‘…Why is she so infuriating?’

She was truly the most infuriating person in the world.

I was just watching this conversation unfold.

The sight of the Duchess pretending to cover her ears while speaking made even me furious.

Compared to the infuriating expressions I’d seen from Rebecca before, this was on a whole new level.

If I was this frustrated, imagine how Rebecca must feel.

The Princess was only holding back because it was her mother. If it were me or someone else, a barrage of insults and disdain would’ve flown.

Anyway, staying here any longer would mean I’d really have to sleep over, so…

*Screech*

With the sound of the chair scraping, I stood up.

“Are you really just going to leave?”

The Duchess grabbed me again as I prepared to head home.

Her expression was terrifying, as if something bad would definitely happen if I left.

“If I don’t return soon, my parents will worry.”

I had already made up my mind to return to Count Zernias’ Mansion.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve had Charles’s cooking for dinner.’

Thinking I’d make up for the missed dinner with a meal prepared by Charles, the mansion’s chef.

I tried to leave the dining room of the Valencia Duchy Mansion.

“…I guess there’s no helping it.”

With the Duchess’s quiet sigh, my legs stopped moving before I could take another step.

***

“…Madam?”

At first, I was bewildered.

Just moments ago, my legs were moving fine, but now they were completely frozen, as if broken.

But that bewilderment quickly vanished.

‘In the novel… I think the Duchess was a magic prodigy.’

I recalled that in the original story, the Duchess of Valencia was even more skilled in magic than Rebecca, the overpowered Princess.

“…Please release me.”

“You figured out it was magic so quickly? Prince Albert, you must have experienced a lot of magic, huh?”

The Duchess seemed quite surprised that I immediately recognized her use of magic.

“…It just happened.”

I said that while glancing at Rebecca.

Nine out of ten times I experienced magic here, it was because of Rebecca.

There was hardly any type of magic I hadn’t experienced.

Fire magic, wind magic, water magic, ice magic, plant magic, earth magic—I’d experienced almost every elemental magic.

And I’d seen almost every type of magic being used right beside me.

Rebecca was already showing her prodigious talent in magic, living up to her title as the overpowered Princess.

Given that, it was impossible for the Duchess of Valencia, her mother, not to know this.

Perhaps that’s why the Duchess seemed to instantly understand the meaning behind my glance.

“Well, Rebecca takes after me, so her magical abilities are exceptional.”

“Then will you release me?”

“No. If I were going to release you so easily, I wouldn’t have used it in the first place.”

Not that she actually released the magic binding me.

While the Duchess and I were engaged in this meaningless battle of wits.

A soft voice came from Rebecca, seated across the room.

“…Mother, why did you bind me too?”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one affected by the Duchess’s magic.

The Princess, who had been blushing from her mother’s embarrassing remarks, asked in a quiet but firm voice.

The Duchess answered Rebecca, who was wearing a puzzled expression, simply.

“If I force Prince Albert into your room, you’d absolutely refuse to enter, wouldn’t you?”

“…”

Rebecca’s expression showed she’d been hit where it hurt.

It seemed that if I were forced into Rebecca’s room, she would’ve made any excuse to avoid entering.

Unless it was her mother, the Duchess.

I could say it was a pretty good plan.

Everyone has a good plan—until their legs are bound by magic.

Unfortunately, Rebecca and I had a good plan, but our legs were bound by magic.

“Dorothy, Emma! Please move the Young Lady and the Prince.”

We had no choice but to move as the Duchess wished.

‘…Is this even a realistic situation?’

The absurd situation of being carried by maids, bound by magic, into my fiancée’s room.

I seriously wondered if I was dreaming.

“…”

Rebecca’s expression also seemed deep in thought, probably thinking the same as me.

She likely never expected the maids she trusted to carry her around like a sack.

It was only natural.

And so, Rebecca and I were carried through the air for a while before being unceremoniously dumped onto the Princess’s bed.

“The binding spell will wear off in a minute, so don’t worry.”

The Duchess left the room after saying the magic would wear off in a minute.

*Click*

She didn’t forget to lock the door firmly behind her.

My future mother-in-law was thorough to the end.

---