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“…Anastasia.”
“Oh, my husband. Thank you for picking me up.”
The evening two days after talking to my brother, surprisingly, it was William-sama, himself, who greeted my return to the royal palace. Let’s just leave the slightly grumpy expression behind for now. What kind of change of heart would it take for him to go to the trouble of greeting me himself?
“…No, it’s nothing to be thankful for… Anastasia and I are a married couple after all.”
I was surprised to hear William-sama say such a thing. William-sama must have missed Anastasia and suddenly welcomed her like this, even saying this. What kind of changing winds was blowing? Or, did he eat something bad? This must not be real…
“Oh, my husband can also say such words.”
“Maybe once in a while.”
When William-sama said this, he blatantly turned his face away. Oh, what an unexpected reaction. As I focused on my thoughts, I remembered Lloyd, who was standing right behind me. Even though my brother had already spoken to him, I thought it would be better to introduce him.
“Husband, this is Lloyd. I’ve brought him to the palace as my personal attendant.”
“…I know. He was Anastasia’s servant until you married me, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, he was.”
I smiled as I said this, but I immediately heard murmurs around, such as, “…What was that?” William-sama seemed to think that I was weird. In other words, it meant that we were alike to one another. Since my character has changed due to the poison (this was what I was telling others) and William-sama welcomed his wife without any hesitation, it was no wonder why we found each other weird.
“Hah, I was cornered by the Duke Strauss because of your selfishness… I was told to give you permission to have at least one squire… If the weakness of the royal family was exploited, we have no other choice but to follow the Duke Strauss.”
“…If you ask me, it’s all your fault Anastasia.”
William-sama glared at me as he said this. It seemed that the reason why he greeted me was to complain about my brother… Even if my brother raised his head, why are you telling me this? While thinking so, I kept a smile plastered on my face. A crown princess’s smile was important, even if I was going to abandon this seat in the future.
“I did a quick patch and made some of the land in the territory under your right. With the Duke Strauss’s approval, there’s no need for us to go against you.”
“Oh, thank you. You were able to get it ready in half the time I expected.”
“Well, yeah… If we were rushed like that. It wasn’t easy for us either.”
I overheard William-sama’s mumbling and chuckled out loud. When you have a brother that wore a devil’s face by your side, it’s certainly a terrible thing. For the first time, I felt closer to William-sama. With that in mind, I turned my gaze to Lloyd, and Lloyd, who was carrying some of my luggage, was glaring openly at William-sama.
“…one week from now.”
“Yes?”
As I turned my attention to Lloyd, William-sama muttered something to me. The words sounded like “one week from now.” What will happen one week from now?
“One week from now, you’ll be on my way to the territory I gave you the right to. I’ve spoken to the librarian and you brother. I’ll also be coming with you.”
“…What?”
Fortunately, my younger brother has come back a little earlier. He can take care of the palace.”
“No. No, that’s not what I meant…”
Wait a minute. It’s all, well, it’s a little unexpected, shall I say… I was originally planning on running the estate with my brother and Max for a while, right? But, I didn’t expect William-sama to come with me too. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“I also decided to have one magician, who can pretty much guard us against anything, to be an escort. That magician is extremely capable, and he’s a former subordinate of the librarian.”
No, no, no, no, what are you talking about!? While thinking this, I stared at William-sama in a dumbfounded manner, and William-sama just laughed intrepidly. The smile he showed was exactly the same as the one that fascinated all the ladies of the high society.
“I seem to have taken an interest in you. I’ve heard the rumors about you from Duke Strauss, the librarian, and the maids, and I thought I’d check for myself.”
“Uh, what rumors?”
“Rumor has it that you’ve changed… I think I’ve been shallow up until now, so I’ve decided to believe what I see with my own two eyes from now on.”
…Well, ugh. I think that’s a good thing, right? But, you know, I personally don’t want you to come along with me… So I’m not sure what to say next.
“Well, that’s a nice thing for a crown prince to do…?”
“Are you grumbling? You’ve changed. So, why don’t you… show me how serious you are?”
I wasn’t sure why William-sama’s words overlapped with the words left behind by ‘that girl.’
“You’ve changed, so you’ll surely be happy.”
For some reason, ‘that girl’s’ and William-sama’s words overlapped. Even though they were completely different in character, why did I feel this way?
“…――”
‘That girl’ that I was talking about, she was the one who supported and changed me. As I recalled her face, all I could do was blankly stare at William-sama.
“I understand. I’ll show you how serious I am.”
And――