The Proposal (1)
My first meeting with the princess was a disaster.
Because I committed a slight impropriety upon first acquaintance.
In other words, I ended up kidnapping her.
Ah, please.
Let there be a pretty girl.
That was the prayer I offered as I stepped into the banquet.
I was twenty-one already. Slowly but surely, I was sliding past the proper age for marriage. As the second son of a noble house, I had a duty to marry for the family's prosperity—and my father had been breathing down my neck about it.
You'd better get married soon. This is your last chance. If you don't pick someone at the next banquet, I'll marry you off however I please.
My father never took back a word once he said it. So if I failed to choose anyone today, I would almost certainly—
—end up married to Lady Roent.
That, above all else, could not be allowed to happen.
Lady Roent wielded enormous influence in the Empire, but as her title suggested, she had already been married once. She was eighty-nine years old.
Eighty-nine!
There were lunatics who claimed women were like wine, but I was not one of them. I wanted someone within four years of my own age, up or down. That was all.
—Creeeak!
The banquet hall doors swung open with a heavy groan, and a herald's voice rang out.
"Guardian of the Empire's Western Seas, second son of the great House Vargas—Sir Henry von Vargas enters!"
At the steward's booming announcement, the hall fell silent for a beat. Every eye turned toward me. That was only natural.
I was the guest of honor, after all.
Whatever excuse my father had slapped on the invitations, the real purpose of this gathering was to find me a bride.
I knew it. Every noble in the room knew it. One by one, they approached to exchange greetings.
This is bad.
By the time I had shaken hands with more than twenty of them, a terrible realization had settled over me. The Empire was collapsing. Or perhaps—it had already collapsed.
There isn't a single pretty person here.
Marriage might be a duty, but that didn't mean I could ignore looks entirely. And every last one of them was dog-ugly. This place was hell.
"How do you do, my lord?"
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Young ladies kept coming up to speak to me, and every single one of them was so unattractive it defied belief. This generation had to be under some kind of divine curse.
And then I saw Lady Roent approaching.
Oh, for the love of—why is she here?
As a woman of considerable power, she was perpetually busy. She was not the sort of person who attended banquets like this. An indescribable terror seized me.
Something about the moment told me that if I so much as spoke with her, the marriage would become a done deal. That alone—that alone was unacceptable.
This could not be happening. Was it a crime for a man to want a beautiful wife?
Right. Father said I had to pick someone at the next banquet, no exceptions.
So if this banquet simply… ceased to exist—if I made it as though it had never happened—wouldn't that solve everything? Yes. If I killed everyone here, the whole thing would be null and void.
For the past twenty-one years, I had endured blood-scraping training for the sake of my knighthood. Every moment of it must have been for this very second.
I slowly brought my hand toward the ceremonial sword at my hip—
—and a firm grip closed around it.
"Young master! A moment—why don't you step outside for some air!"
The butler seized my hand and hurriedly stopped me. Only then did I realize I had been so terrified I was entertaining thoughts that made no sense at all.
I halted my trembling hand before it reached the blade.
"You're right. I'll step out for a bit of air."
"Wait, where are you—"
"My lady. The young master has a small matter to attend to. Incidentally, how is the food this evening? We prepared a great many of your favorites."
While the butler expertly occupied Lady Roent, I slipped out of the banquet hall and into the garden. A cool breeze ruffled my hair. I steadied myself.
Right. Time to run.
The only question was where. Our duchy was an island—one vast island. Still, if I made it to the harbor, something would present itself. Worst case, I would swim.
I could worry about the rest later. Getting out of the castle came first. The main gate was guarded, so that was out. The rear gate would have soldiers too, but I had a method.
There was a gap—a little hole behind the walls past the garden, half-hidden by trees, just wide enough to slip through. If I reached it, I could escape.
Speed was everything. I cut quickly through the garden, past the flowerbeds and the fountain, and before long I had reached the hedge maze.
Time was life, and navigating the maze properly would take far too long. So I simply punched straight through the walls—
"Ah—hnn—kyaa!"
"What the hell—!"
—and found a pair of lovers putting the maze to its intended use. I knocked them both out cold and was about to move on when something made me pause.
Wait. This girl…
Looking more closely at the unconscious young woman, I recognized her as one of the marriage candidates I had greeted earlier. She had been pretty enough to stick in my memory. My resolve to escape only hardened.
Leaving the unconscious couple behind, I pushed through the next maze wall. Fortunately, no one was there this time. I shoved through the next wall, and the next—and then—
"Hyaak!"
A young woman startled so badly she sat down hard on the ground.
"I—I was so startled. Ah, hello?"
Ordinarily I would have knocked her out so she wouldn't interfere with my escape. Or, on any other day, I would have helped a fallen lady to her feet. But I could do neither.
Her hair shone gold. Her face was small and delicate, but her eyes were large and round, gleaming the same golden color as her hair. She had the look of a gentle puppy—the kind that might start whimpering if you teased her even a little.
Sixteen, maybe seventeen?
In short, she was devastatingly beautiful. That face froze me in place.
So talent like this still existed in the Empire. I scrapped the escape plan on the spot.
While I stood staring, she got up on her own.
"My name is Elizabeth Tudor. If it isn't too forward of me… may I ask who you are, my lord?"
The girl who had introduced herself as Elizabeth gathered her skirts lightly as she spoke. It was a proper society greeting, the kind that made it obvious she had been well taught. But when she saw me still standing there blankly, she grew flustered.
"Oh—was that not right…? I—I'm sorry. This is my first banquet, so…"
Her self-esteem seemed rather low. Afraid she might start crying if I stayed silent any longer, I snapped out of it and answered quickly.
"No, not at all. Your manners were perfect. I'm Henry. Henry Vargas."
At my family name, Elizabeth's eyes went wide.
"Ah—so you're Sir Henry! Thank you so much for inviting me to the banquet."
Mildly startled, she offered her thanks the moment she realized I was the host. It really did feel as though she were following a script she had learned for her very first event.
Elizabeth Tudor, though…
She's a princess.
The Tudor dynasty ruled the Lancart Kingdom, which lay to the west of our Empire. The king had recently passed, and Queen Mary Tudor was presumably governing in his stead. I had no idea why a neighboring kingdom's princess had come all the way here for a banquet.
"By the way, what brings you to a place like this?"
I put the question to her with that curiosity in mind, but she seemed to take it differently.
"I—I got lost. The Empire's maze styles are different from our kingdom's. Ahaha…"
She laughed awkwardly, and I said,
"Then please come with me. I'll escort you back to the banquet hall."
"Really? Thank you! I'd be so grateful."
As I walked with her, I thought it over. Did I actually need to take her to the banquet hall?
As far as I remembered, my father had never invited the princess of Lancart. But he had also told me to marry anyone present at this banquet—
So she counts. She's here, after all.
In that case, the bride I had to choose was already decided. It had to be her. No question.
Of course, a marriage outside the Empire might create some political complications, but Father would far rather deal with a minor political headache than watch one of his only two sons vanish into the night.
I began leading Elizabeth in leisurely circles through the maze.
Can't let anyone else see her.
Princess Elizabeth herself had said this was her first banquet. Which meant that, for now, almost no one was competing for this ridiculously beautiful princess. Today was her society debut.
And if I returned to the banquet hall right now, the only person waiting for me was Lady Roent.
Banquets ran through the night and ended at sunrise. It was eight in the evening, so roughly ten hours remained until dawn.
Sorry, but we were going to walk for those ten hours. Was this kidnapping?
Yes. It was.
We began chatting as we went.
"By the way, Miss Tudor—aren't you a princess? How on earth did you end up all the way out here?"
"Well… I was on a ship, and we drifted off course…"
"Pardon?"
The distance from here to the Lancart Kingdom was enormous. How was that even possible?
"Anyway, the castle is so beautiful! What's that over there?"
I could tell she was deliberately changing the subject, but I let it pass.
"That decoration, you mean?"
"Yes! The garlands look lovely!"
"Indeed. Ordinarily those are gallows where we hang deserters' heads, but since it's a banquet today, we put up flowers specially."
"Ah—aha. Th-that looks pretty too!"
Elizabeth pointed at the skulls mounted along the walls.
"Ah, those are favorites of mine as well. Produced during the rebellion a couple of years back, I believe."
Some two thousand people had risen in revolt, which had conveniently produced two thousand skulls. The finished products had been put to good use decorating various corners of the castle.
"I—I meant the flowers next to them…"
"Pardon?"
"Never mind! Th-they're very pretty."
"Aren't they?"
As we talked, I realized she and I got along rather well. Especially when it came to aesthetics. Skull décor was one of my personal favorite styles of interior design.
And so we chatted warmly as the hours slipped by. Before I knew it, two had passed.
"Th-the maze is… rather large, isn't it?"
She shot me a look that said she was starting to get suspicious.
"Of course. Our gardens are simply very extensive."
I brazened it out without a flicker of shame.
Three hours.
"Hah—hahh. We are going the right way, aren't we?"
"Of course."
Four hours.
"…Hahh."
"Are you all right?"
"…Yes. Hic."
And then, around the six-hour mark, she suddenly stopped walking.
"Miss Elizabeth?"
"…I see."
"Pardon?"
"I've been kidnapped, haven't I."
Princess Elizabeth had finally caught on.