A Bride in Uniform
Seeing Chloe wearing her military uniform even on the day she should have looked her most beautiful in her entire life made Ezra wonder, Is this really right?
His head had been aching ever since that evening. It felt as if someone had thoroughly tangled the threads inside his mind. Why did she choose a man like that? No, did she even choose him at all?
For a newlywed bride and groom to share a bed was an absolute law of nature, beyond mere common sense. Like water flowing downward, or the sun rising in the east. But regardless of that law, there was no need for what happened in a newlyweds' bed to be made public. It was the most intimate of private matters, deserving of absolute respect.
Yet Chloe Amboise had received no such respect. Simply because she had chosen that man.
Some women in the world were unfortunate enough to marry without ever knowing their husband's violent or malicious nature. After all, humans were capable of lying. But Chloe didn't even fall into that category. Had Curtis Shan Berk ever been the type of man to hide his violence, ruthlessness, or severity?
Of course, even if he didn't hide it, other women who only looked at his face might harbor romantic fantasies. But Chloe, as his aide, was surely the one who knew the man's harshness better than anyone.
Why on earth did you do it? He wanted to ask.
"Have you heard anything from Chloe?" Ezra asked, his voice suddenly dropping low.
Georges rubbed his mouth and looked up. "Do you think I would? You haven't either?"
"...No."
"Wow, that girl. She really kept their relationship a total secret."
A secret relationship. That man and Chloe. Hearing those words associated with their names felt incredibly bizarre.
"You jerk. Don't come begging me to tell you our love story later when you're crying."
Chloe had said that as she brushed past him, dragging the hem of her dress. It was absurd. A love story? I just wanted to ask if you were really okay...
But he hadn't been able to ask. Wait, was I even in a position to ask something like that in the first place?
He had thought they were close. To be precise, he believed that if she was dating that man, they were close enough for her to tell him that much. Yet Chloe hadn't breathed a single word to him. He felt somehow pushed aside.
No, wait. Was "pushed aside" even the right way to describe it? Unfortunately, Ezra was not a delicate enough person to fully understand his own heart, so he had simply grown awkward. Thus, he had distanced himself from Chloe. He wished he hadn't.
Because of that, Ezra had stood there blankly like a useless sack of barley when Chloe was being insulted by Agathe Montpis, and even when he himself had babbled on without realizing Curtis Shan Berk was right there. In the end, he was chased away by Grand Duke Berk like an extra whose time on stage was up.
Her Highness the Grand Duchess. Crazy bastard. Ezra wanted to tear his hair out.
"Excuse me..."
Just then, someone cautiously approached the two of them. Georges looked up, his face lighting up with a bright smile. "Oh!"
Sarah de Tornier. She was the administrative officer in charge of the Royal Guard's magic-stone supplies. She was also the beauty Georges had been harboring a one-sided crush on for the past year.
"Miss Sarah! Please, sit. Have you come to eat? Join us!"
"You can speak comfortably, First Squad Leader. And I've actually just finished my meal."
Sarah smiled gently and waved her hand as Georges leaped up to pull out a chair for her.
"Then what brings you..."
"I wanted to ask you something. By any chance..." Sarah sat down next to Georges, glancing around cautiously. The tips of Georges's ears flushed bright red. "I know you're close with Her Highness the Grand Duchess. I hope you don't mind me asking something a bit personal, but would that be alright?"
"Ah, close? Of course, of course! Just say the word!"
Sarah gave an awkward smile and whispered softly, "Well, the thing is... my mother wants to invite Her Highness to a gathering..."
"Ah, that..."
Georges, who looked ready to pluck out his own liver and gallbladder for her, rolled his eyes awkwardly. That alone seemed enough for Sarah to guess the situation.
"I'm sorry. I've put you in a difficult position..."
"No, it's not that. Hey." It was Ezra who cut in between them. "Her Highness is currently declining all invitations, so you can just tell your mother she isn't the only one."
Ezra crossed his arms, looking displeased as he spoke to Sarah. Georges barked, "Hey! Can't you speak politely to a lady?" but it was no use. Sarah's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Ah, is that so..."
"Miss Sarah! Please don't pay any mind to that arrogant jerk. Ah, but what he said is actually true. Even my own mother's invitation was declined," Georges hastily interjected.
Sarah's eyes widened. "Really?"
"You see..."
What is the very first thing noble ladies do when they hear that the young woman their son kept mentioning as 'really funny' whenever he came home has suddenly become the Grand Duchess Berk? Georges's mother, Madame Renard, had scribbled down a tea party invitation like a whirlwind. Naturally, it was a letter inviting Chloe to the Renard estate.
"She was more agile than I've ever seen her in my entire life."
"For a guy lecturing me about being polite to ladies, calling your own mother 'agile' is rich," Ezra sneered.
Georges pretended not to hear and continued his explanation. Normally, noble families of lower standing rarely send invitations to high-ranking nobles they have never met. However, Madame Renard's rascal of a son, Georges de Renard, had miraculously managed to build a solid friendship with the new Grand Duchess! "You magnificent bastard! Well done!" For the record, Georges had failed to figure out whether his mother's words were a compliment or an insult.
At any rate, the invitation Madame Renard sent to the Berk Ducal Residence contained about fifty lines—with a bit of exaggeration mixed in—emphasizing the close friendship between Georges and Chloe. "My foolish son is actually useful for once!"
This was because the Renard family was neither part of the Royalist Faction nor central court nobles, meaning they were always desperate for connections with high society. Of course, they weren't the only ones. Numerous families who had failed to catch the King's eye—or who simply wanted to curry favor with the Grand Duke—had sent similar invitations. Yet, every single one of them had been rejected.
"Georges! Were you lying about being close with the Grand Duchess?"
When his suspicious mother asked this, Georges boasted that the amount of alcohol he and Chloe had downed together could fill ten whole oak barrels, only to get smacked on the back. Along with a scolding: "As if drinking that much is something to be proud of!"
In any case, the reason written in the mass-produced rejection letters sent from the ducal residence was simple. They claimed that since she had not yet properly paid her respects to His Majesty the King, she could not go around merrily drinking tea at other people's houses. In a way, it made sense, but it was a bit rich coming from someone who had pushed through a marriage the King had explicitly opposed.
Returning from his brief trip down memory lane, Georges spoke again. "Actually, because of that, I've just received a special mission from my mother."
"A special mission?"
"Since Her Highness is returning to work today, she told me to go and secure an appointment."
"Ah..." Sarah gave an awkward smile as she looked at Georges, who was grinning like a good-natured fool. "I actually came for the same reason..."
"Oh dear. Her Highness was summoned by Grand Marshal Victor the moment she arrived today. But who am I? Georges Renard, the Grand Duchess's best friend!"
"Bullshit," Ezra muttered under his breath, watching Georges thump his chest. Georges paid him no mind.
"If I manage to secure an appointment with Her Highness, I will be sure to pass along your request, Miss Sarah. Or, how about this? What if you and your mother join us for a tea party at our estate..."
"Ah, that's a bit..."
"Your ulterior motives are showing, you lunatic," Ezra scoffed.
Georges struck a suave pose and gently lifted Sarah's right hand. His dark intentions were glaringly obvious: he wanted to use this opportunity to make a good impression on his crush's mother.
"Second Squad Leader! How dare you distort the pure goodwill of Georges Renard like that!" Georges cried out in an exaggerated voice.
Needless to say, poor Miss Sarah was left caught in the middle, thoroughly embarrassed.