The chamberlain leads me to the reception room, which His Majesty uses for personal visits.
In addition to His Majesty the King, the Marquis of Friedenreich and Marguerite will be present.
“Please come in.”
“Yes…”
I take a deep breath as the royal guard guarding the entrance opens the door.
“Your Majesty, Dietrich, arrives.”
“Yes.”
I bowed reverently and raised my head.
Behind Marquis Friedenreich stood a young lady.
Of course, I can’t confuse her for anyone else.
Her gleaming silver hair, amber eyes, well-defined nose, red lips against her pale skin…
She prayed for me until the moment I died.
Marguerite…
“This is your fiancee, Dietrich.”
“I greet His Highness Dietrich, the kingdom’s shining star…w-what’s the problem, Your Highness?!”
Marguerite is about to say the same words as she bows reverently, but her expression changes in an instant.
Because
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaa…!”
Now that I’d met Marguerite, I was crying.
…with the joy of being alive and seeing her again!
I had never cried when my mother, the First Queen, whipped me on the back, nor since the death of His Majesty the King, nor since Oscar, the proud winner, had sentenced me to death…
“What’s the matter, Dietrich?”
“Please accept my apologies… It appears that I was so moved by the beauty of the person in front of me that I cried.”
I quickly regained my composure, wiped my tears away with my sleeve, and tried to make amends with myself.
Of course, I put on my usual expression of inexpressibility.
“W-Well, I understand…but if you saw that much potential in her, we’ll get to the point. As I previously stated, Marguerite will be your fiancée.”
“My… My name is Marguerite…”
Marguerite, who had become perplexed as a result of my tears, rushed to tell me her name.
I’m sorry for what I’ve done…
Nevertheless,
“Marguerite-dono, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Dietrich, the first prince.”
Unlike in my previous life, I greeted her with the utmost politeness.
But I can’t tell her that I met her when I was younger, let alone the second time.
“Well… Dietrich rarely expresses his emotions…”
“Your Majesty, if you don’t mind, could you please leave my daughter alone with His Highness Dietrich so she can get to know him better?”
“Oh, that’s a good idea, Dietrich. Why don’t you show Marguerite around.”
“Yes, sir.”
I bowed in response to his Majesty’s words.
“Please, Marguerite-dono…”
“Eh?!”
I knelt in front of her and extended my hand.
Royalties
For me to kneel down in front of the daughter of a vassal in this way isn’t normal.
But I have a responsibility to do so.
It’s not so bad for the sake of Marguerite, who prayed for me, a fool like me.
“Ah… Y-Yes…”
Marguerite looked apologetic and took my hand in hers.
“We’ll be right back.”
“Of course, take your time.”
His Majesty the King and Marquis Friedenreich saw us off as we exited the reception room.