Our Count Blanchard family is poor.
Being poor means we have no money.
All our family has is muscle-heads and family love. I repeat, we have no money.
The Count Blanchard family survived by winning military honors, but our country has been very peaceful lately.
Because of this, we cannot win any military honors. Furthermore, since most of our family members are muscle-heads who are optimistic and think “everything will work out,” we are not good at paperwork.
Also, because we are very kind-hearted, if someone is in trouble, we lend them money without caring about our own financial situation, and if a disaster happens, we spare no money to help the local people first.
What happens to a family like this if there is no war since our grandfather’s time?
“At this rate, our family will go bankrupt before I inherit it.”
It was a year ago that our family was shocked when our younger brother, who is the smartest in the family, told us that.
A chance came to a family like ours, too.
“Now, Miss Deborah. Have you decided on a marriage partner?”
Standing right in front of me is His Majesty the King.
Half a year ago, a neighboring country suddenly started a war against us, and my father, Count Blanchard, went to the front lines and did a great job. In other words, he finally achieved the military honors we longed for.
Our family was excited because we would finally get money from the country. Yes, money. No, bankruptcy.
However, two big towns near the border were burned down, the knights suffered heavy damage, and even though we could get reparations, the country did not have that much money. The monetary reward we could get was very small.
However, it is also true that the war ended thanks to my father’s fierce efforts. We have to give my father some kind of reward, otherwise it will not look good to others.
So the King gave me, the daughter of Count Blanchard, the right to choose a marriage partner. He said that any single man, even if there is a difference in status, would be ordered by the king to marry me if I wished.
I repeat, our family is poor, so our dowry is about the size of a sparrow’s tears. It would be nice if it was even the size of a sparrow’s tears, but it is probably about the size of an ant’s tear. That is why I, having turned seventeen, had no fiancé.
“I want the Duke of Dartoy to be my marriage partner!”
When I said that with pride, the King opened his eyes wide for a moment.
“…I will grant your wish as promised, but are you really sure? Um, that man has broken off his engagement many times and also keeps a mistress, you know?”
“It is no problem at all no matter how many mistresses he has! The Duke of Dartoy is the richest man in our country. I will become a wonderful decorative wife.”
“Is that so… hmm…? Miss Deborah, are you going to become a decorative wife?”
“Yes, a wife who doesn’t mind if her husband has a mistress is rare, right? Everyone else probably breaks off their engagements precisely because they don’t want a mistress before marriage. However, the Duke must also get married eventually. Therefore, if the Duke supports our family, I will become a wonderful decorative wife who doesn’t mind his mistress at all. Since the Duke is also true to his love, it would be a pity to separate him from his mistress.”
What I am aiming for is actually an invisible wife. As long as he supports me, I am a well-behaved, invisible-like wife who will not interfere with the relationship between the mistress and the Duke at all.
When I said I would become an invisible wife, my smart brother begged me, “Please, just don’t say that in front of His Majesty,” so I reluctantly used “decorative wife,” which is more commonly heard.
When I looked at my father and brother with the satisfaction of having said my piece, my father, being a muscle-head, had his eyes shining with expectation, and my brother was holding his temples as if he had a headache.
“Are you really sure? He is my much younger half-brother, so I am grateful that you will marry him, but Miss Deborah, you are young, so you don’t need to aim to be a decorative wife, do you?”
“For the sake of our family, it is just what I wish for!”
The King looked at my father and brother to confirm, and nodded, saying that if I insisted that much.
Thus, it was decided by royal decree that I would marry into the Duke of Durtal’s family.
Yes, as an invisible wife!