Chapter 2
“R-R-R-Rora, what the heck have you done?!”
“Ah, niisama. Is your body fine now?”
“No not at all, my fever hasn’t settled down but what the heck did you do last night?”
“A charitable work?”
It was around noontime when the young man resembling Aurora rushed in her room and as a diversion of what happened earlier this morning, she is doing embroidery.
A young man with the same semblance of Aurora—egg cream hair, pale complexion and green eyes. Despite reaching the age of 28, his feminine features made him seem to be more of a sister than a brother to Aurora. Although she’s not tall, she was a bit masculine. Could this be the reason why they get along well?
While pondering about it, Aurora remembered the figure of the young man who just became his fiancé this morning. His cold looking demeanor wasn’t manly but as a knight, he has an unnatural feature. Could this have been related as to why they sudden got friendly?
“A charitable work you say…”
Her brother’s cheeks was flushing red in fever as he sat down and Aurora who was staring intensely at the embroidery turned sharply towards the couch and saw how bad her brother’s condition is.
“What is the matter, niisama?”
“I woke up with a fever and all of a sudden, I heard you were greeted by a man bowing down to his knees bearing a letter congratulating your betrothal to the son of Marquis Clavis.”
“One would normally think of it as some sort of hallucination due to fever.”
“I almost thought of such situation as a dream and hesitated on getting back to my bed.”
Aurora let out a cough.
“I’m sorry i had to let you go alone last night but I didn’t expect you to come back home getting engaged to Marquis Clavis’ son. Our house is a middle rank noble and above all, you haven’t spoken to him either.”
Aurora frowned.
Felix himself brought a formal letter of engagement in the House of Porta—Aurora’s family this morning. However, because the Earl and Countess Porta stayed to their fief under certain circumstances, it was supposed to be Aurora’s brother who should be receiving the letter of engagement but he was down in the bed due to fever so Aurora decided to receive the letter in his stead.
“There will be less marriage meetings when people hear about this which can save me some more time doing embroidery, don’t you think so?”
“You are at it again.”
His cheeks are red in fever but his face in pale, the man’s typical sickly face perks up from the couch.
“… but you don’t seem to be in high spirits.”
“Like I said, it’s a charity work.”
“Felix-sama, one of Royal Guards in the capital is supposed to be yearned by all ladies in our kingdom.”
Reminded by the uncanny handsome features of the young man, Aurora smiled bitterly.
“Well, I just learned he’s quite popular.”
“I think it’s good you know that but why a charity work?”
“It’s a charity work for Clavis-sama who is having hard time with the marriage proposals.”
“What?”
“I feel a bit sympathetic for Clavis-sama’s situation. Oh, but it’s alright, niisama. I have accepted Clavis-sama’s offer under my own volition, I wasn’t forced to accept this.”
“Are you perhaps planning to use him as an insect repellant?”
To this, Aurora’s eyes arched up an in jovial voice says—
“As expected of you, niisama. You didn’t go to that ‘academy’ for nothing. That’s right, Clavis-sama is a pretty effective insect repellant.”
Aurora praised her brother using the name of the kingdom’s highest institute of education and added—this morning, she was thinking that it would be fortunate if the engagement with Felix would divert the winds of marriage proposals.
To say that, this engagement was nothing but an ‘insect repellant’ for Aurora.
“Is that all right with you?”
“Clavis-sama who doesn’t seem to distrust women and me who only wants to have more time to embroidery, don’t you think our interests matched?”
Her green eyes arched up when she smiles just like her brother. Aurora, as her brother puts it, is a “Crazy Embroiderer.” The ladies in nobility doesn’t familiarize themselves with embroidery that much but for Aurora, she spent most of her days doing embroidery.
She does embroidery everyday, most of the time right after dinner or even before going to bed. Aurora herself has not much recollection as to how she got such a hobby but she was said to have found her mother doing embroidery and that was the first time she also did her own design. Her childhood dream was to become a future “embroiderer” but after realizing how difficult it was for her, soon changed her plans to enter the temple with the excuse of “making embroidery as an offering to God.”
However, Aurora is already an 18 years old unmarried noble lady and she is already at the proper age for marriage. As she hasn’t decided if she ever wanted to be a craftsman or a nun, her father and brother are arranging marriage meetings for her. In fact, as of late, there has been 3 meetings arranged for her.
(But I don’t like it because these marriage meeting takes a whole day.)
But once Aurora is engaged, she doesn’t have to attend an arranged meeting, or to go to a tea party or an evening party to find a fiancee. In short, she can have all the time doing embroidery!
“Well, I don’t mind if you like it Aurora since it’s hard to refuse an offer from the son of Marquis Clavis, nonetheless, when you come to dislike this, say it to me I can properly tell them.”
Aurora answered her brother with a vigorous nod and in response, her brother smiled meekly without trying to hide his poor physical condition.
“But niisama, you can disagree to this if you wanted to.”
“Well… I guess you’re right…”
“Besides, all I need is my embroideries in this studio.”
“Canceling the engagement too early will surely cause you bad reputation so be careful, Rora.”
＊＊＊
“Are you Miss Aurora el le Porta?”
Right after her brother went back to his room, Aurora received her 2nd visitor.
She frowned once again at the interruption of her embroidery but what appeared before Aurora was a beautiful woman with bright silver curls and light blue eyes. Her features such as long eyelashes, straight nose and eyebrows reminded her of Felix and so she has an idea who she was right away.
As the maids and servants excused themselves out of the room, Aurora held up a smile. It was because she saw the wonderful embroidery on the woman’s dress.
“Yes, I am Aurora. ”
Although the white and silver embroidery on her chest and cuffs are modestly done to suit her appearance, the fine beads sewn around her glistened under the sun. As expected of the fashion leader in the society, she showed a different sense of fashion.
“I met you last night. I am Luna Mare Clavis el le Laetus. My foolish little brother—Felix have troubled you a lot, Lady Porta.”
Not realizing that Aurora was staring intently at the embroidery of her dress, Luna Mare gracefully spread her fan and narrowed her eyes.
Aurora felt as though she heard a bell like voice coming from the woman, a sound belonging to a music of heaven when all she did was mention the name of her brother and apologize.
After Aurora left the evening party, the atmosphere of the party change once Duchess Laetus appeared, a complete opposite of her brother.
“I would never thought that my foolish brother who’s only redeeming feature is his handsome face would do such a foolish thing as that. I am really sorry.”
“If it’s to apologize, then I have received one from Clavis-sama this morning, Duchess Luna Mare.”
“Is it from my father or from my little brother?”
“…It was from Felix-sama.”
“Well, if he had yet to come here, I thought I should give him a slap later but if he have been here this morning then it’s better.”
“… He gave a very good apology.”
Aurora recalled how her eyes widened at the sudden bow with his head lowered down to the floor with only his back to see. Felix mentioned how he doesn’t mistrust women but Aurora had an idea as to why he had to be like this and it seems that his sister is the cause.
The woman in front of Aurora gave her a strong impression judging from the words she threw here and there. If she were to say it, if Felix was the “Ice Knight” then Duchess Laetus would be “Fire Princess”. It would be a sight for sore eyes to have the two siblings standing right before her but that is something she couldn’t say.
“Is it alright for me to make an assumption seeing that you are keeping the ring with you?”
Duchess Luna Mare’s eyes twinkled like giant jewels, as if she was a protector of the ring making Aurora a bit scared.
“As for the matter of the engagement, I have formally accepted it.”
As Aurora to talk about the ring, Duchess Luna Mare stood still like a statue. Her eyes as deep as the sea widened and her rosy lips trembled like a flame in a candle.
“… Oh my…”
The fan within Luna Mare’s grasp suddenly falls off the ground.
“… goodness!”
She scooted next to Aurora in an unusual speed and clasped her hands in graceful manner. Aurora was surprised when the Duchess grasped her hands and the distance between the two shortened.
“Oh my! Really? Really?”
“Yes, that’s what I have decided but the response letter will be done once my elder brother is in good health.
“Oh! Please don’t forsake my foolish brother!”
“About that, I think it would be a shame to cancel this… not that it would harm Felix-sama but I thought that at the moment I would be able to help him.”
“My foolish little brother have chosen well!”
Aurora realized that despite coming out from the mouth of a beautiful woman who looked like a goddess, her words cry out of masculinity.
Felix el le Clavis’ ill fortune concerning women seems to be due to Duchess Luna Mare.
＊＊＊
“Are you Aurora?”
“Who are you?”
Aurora was concealing her irritation but after her third visitor came, she wasn’t able to to hide it anymore especially how this visitor came through the window in the balcony.
The house was supposed to have it’s guard on the lookout which made Aurora frown but the man before her shrugs it off and laughs while saying—
“I apologize for not entering the right way.”
“……Are you also a guest of Clavis-sama?”
“Call me Eric. I’m an acquaintance of your fiancee so I’d be grateful if you don’t call a guard.”
A rare black and lustrous haired young man named Eric who at the same time dressed in the same dark garment called robe often worn by magicians.
“Are you a magician?”
“Yes, I’m a court magician.”
Eric smiled as he sat on the railing of Aurora’s balcony, it was as if she was being marked.
“You maybe a magician but don’t you think coming from the window is a bit unnecessary?”
“Due to some circumstances I couldn’t enter through the gate.”
“… What do you want?”
“I wanted to see the bride chosen by the ring.”
Aurora frowned. Was this young man at last night’s evening party or are rumors circulating already? Aurora thought that it might be the latter since the young mam seems to be interested on the ring.
“Didn’t he say that the ring will choose his fiancee’?”
“Yes, that’s what he said but…
“Can you show me the ring?”
Aurora’s eyes widened as Eric suddenly took her hand and traced his finger on the golden ring that’s fitted on her finger.
The distance between the two shortened and Aurora who’s eyes then narrowed like a cat, tries to pry her hands away from Eric.
“It’s a good ring, almost as if ‘the ring has chosen you’.”
“What…?”
“I don’t know you very well, but I want you to tell me if what I’m going to say is wrong.”
The young man looked quite serious despite Aurora not being able to keep up with his words, she nodded. As soon as he saw her agreeing, Eric started to speak as if to question her.
“Until last night, you never had a husband, a fiancee nor a lover.”
“Yes. ”
“You never received any marriage proposal before.”
“Yes.”
“You are a woman not five years apart from Felix el le Clavis.”
“If the talk about Felix-sama being 21 years old isn’t a lie, then perhaps that’s right.”
“Your family status isn’t lower than of the Clavis.”
“Well, it would have been impossible a long time ago.”
“Your family isn’t politically opposed to for you to marry.”
“I don’t think so despite what happened last night.”
“You don’t have any unpleasant desire for Felix’s looks nor personality.
” That’s right.“
“You don’t go for his fame and looks.”
“I only knew about his name last night.”
Eric smiled, his expression gave Aurora an uncomfortable feeling.
“You said you don’t know him but it’s as if you knew him well.”
“No, I don’t know him.”
“Then why?”
Aurora tilted her head and Eric answered—
“It’s because Felix el le Clavis is one of the magic knight in the Imperial Guard of the royal palace.
Aurora didn’t understand what he was saying.
Seeing Aurora’s confused green eyes, Eric laughs it off as he found something that will greatly amuse him.