The Capital's Mad Chief - 4
I had parted the veil and seen the future, and thus arrived at the truth. Even the Crown Prince, who had been gearing up to thrash me with words, had heard me out and let me go without a fight.
My revolutionary idea must have left him in awe. He had looked a little bewildered, true, but that was only natural when a truth emerged that shattered the old framework of common sense.
Besides, even if it had taken him a while, he had eventually grasped the new truth. For a man who had not won the title of Crown Prince at a poker table, his comprehension was excellent.
I was right after all.
A truth so clear that even the Crown Prince who had slapped me with an emergency summons accepted it. A satisfaction settled over me so complete I almost felt I could close my eyes right then and there.
All the time I had spent clutching my head in agony now seemed like garbage. No—wait. That was wrong. I had only reached this conclusion by enduring that agony, so it was not garbage at all.
Such a simple problem.
My mind felt clear. The world looked different.
Yes—no one had untied the Gordian knot until Alexander cut it. No one had stood Columbus’s egg on end until Columbus showed them how.
A new idiom would be born on this continent. For the act of solving a tangled problem with simple, clean elegance: “Karl’s marriage.”
In that glow of satisfaction I looked up at the sky. The blue expanse and bright sun seemed to wrap around me.
I can head straight back.
And contrary to my expectations, the conversation had ended remarkably quickly. Margeta had probably only just arrived at the vice-president’s office.
Thankfully, I would not have to scale the dormitory walls in the dead of night. I was confident I would not get caught, but if someone did spot me the situation would be far too awkward and embarrassing.
Anyway, better hurry back. This joyful news that even the Crown Prince had accepted—I had to share it with Margeta. Happiness doubles when shared, does it not?
When I stepped into the vice-president’s office I found Margeta looking rather startled. Someone who had said he would be late walking in as if nothing had happened was bound to raise questions.
“Welcome back, Karl. I take it His Highness’s business finished smoothly.”
Still, arriving early was no misfortune, so she greeted me with a smile.
“Yes, it ended without incident.”
“Hehe. That’s a relief. I was worried when you said you’d suddenly been summoned to see His Highness.”
With that, Margeta rose from her seat and casually opened her arms.
By now it was as ordinary as a morning greeting. I smiled faintly and drew her into an embrace; she nuzzled her face against my chest, then gently pulled away.
She used to cling as if she never intended to let go, but familiarity must have taught her the art of stopping at just the right moment.
“It’s getting shorter and shorter.”
I mentioned it with a touch of mischief, and Margeta’s face flushed crimson in an instant.
“I-I’m going to spend my whole life with you, Karl. There’s no need to cling to a short moment.”
She forced herself to sound bold, so I pretended not to notice and let it pass.
Think positively. If Margeta could be this relaxed, it meant she felt no insecurity about our relationship.
“Haha. You’re right.”
I nodded and sat on the sofa; Margeta took the seat opposite. She looked a little restless.
I wondered why, then something belatedly came to mind.
“Come to think of it, Mar. I mentioned yesterday that I’d met with Her Grace the Demon Duke, didn’t I?”
I spoke before Margeta could grow any more anxious.
I had promised to explain what had happened with the Demon Duke. Talking the Crown Prince around had occupied my mind so thoroughly that I had briefly forgotten.
Perhaps the price of arriving at a new truth was a slightly regrettable memory. A sad reality.
“Ah, yes.”
The moment I opened the topic, Margeta’s expression turned serious.
What on earth had transpired with the Demon Duke? What conversation could possibly have made her the first? She must have been curious ever since we last spoke.
“Her Grace made a bit of a mistake, and she apologized to me.”
“…What?”
My brief summary made Margeta blink. A duke’s mistake, and an apology for it. Under ordinary circumstances such a thing could never happen.
A duke stood at the pinnacle of imperial nobility, a pillar supporting the Empire as the Emperor’s right hand. Even if one committed a blunder, no one would dare point it out; they were great personages who had no need to apologize.
Of course, my relationship with the Demon Duke was far from ordinary, so we were the exception.
“You see…”
I continued for a fuller explanation.
How I had sought out the Demon Duke on the Wise Duke’s advice; how the Demon Duke had secretly pursued a life-extension project behind my back; how we had fought so fiercely we nearly overturned the whole board until her apology barely calmed things down; how I had spent the night at her estate and gone to the Magic Tower the next morning hand in hand. Everything, down to the smallest detail.
I held nothing back. I no longer wanted to hide anything from Margeta. I did not want concealment to breed misunderstanding.
“I-I see.”
Fortunately Margeta only looked overwhelmed by the flood of information; she showed neither resentment nor anger at the thought that I had been cozying up to the Demon Duke. Telling her everything really was the right answer.
“Her Grace… did that.”
Margeta murmured softly and let out a small sigh.
Of course she was confused. The wrong of trying to extend my lifespan without permission, and yet the swift apology complete with desperate tears—she must be unsure whether to be angry or sympathetic.
“…She must be completely smitten with you, Karl.”
After her lips worked for a moment, Margeta spoke with an awkward smile. She had chosen the latter after deliberation.
“Undeservedly so.”
I answered with a faint smile of my own.
In a way Margeta had nearly been hit with a late-life “Your husband is incredible, you know.” Yet she understood the difference of the elven race and the heart behind the Demon Duke’s tearful apology, and she let it go.
Truly more than I deserved. The Demon Duke, Luise, Irina, and the… exaggerated… ones were all more than I deserved, but Margeta’s vast generosity was something I could only be grateful for.
Now.
So I had to deliver the happy news to that same Margeta. I had to tell her that no one—not the Demon Duke, not anyone else—would ever snatch the position of first from her.
“In any case, Her Grace made a bit of a mistake, but please don’t take it too badly. We’re the same first, after all.”
“I understand. The same fir…?”
Margeta had been nodding firmly, then tilted her head as if something felt off.
She was probably wondering whether “same” and “first” could even be used together. I understood. The Crown Prince had been confused at first too.
Still, I had no doubt that once she heard my explanation, Margeta would accept it as well.
“I had been far too trapped in prejudice.”
I laughed as I began. How hard I had struggled, locked inside the prejudice that an order had to be decided.
With a light heart I explained to Margeta everything I had told the Crown Prince. In the end, “first” and “second” were empty labels bound to the order of marriage. Therefore, if we all married at the same time, everyone would be happy.
Margeta was silent for a moment. Then she quietly came to me and held me tight.
“If that’s what you want, Karl, then I’m happy with it too.”
I drew her into my arms in return.
I knew it.
I had believed she would understand. I had believed Margeta would accept it.
Karl, always reliable and trustworthy. He sometimes showed a unique side, yet he was still so very lovable.
I quietly pulled that Karl into my arms. If I looked at his face right now the tears would come, and I did not want to worry him, so I simply held him.
Oh, my poor dear.
Remembering how cheerfully he had spoken made my chest ache. My eyes grew a little hot.
It must have hurt so much.
I held him even tighter. Thinking of how hard Karl must have suffered, I wanted to comfort him even like this.
Looking back, it was only natural. When the Demon Duke confessed to Karl, how much heartache had I myself endured? And Karl had had to concern himself not only with the Demon Duke but with the confessions of the other women as well.
So many burdens had been piled onto Karl’s shoulders. His responsibilities as Audit Department Chief, his role as Academy inspector, observing royalty as advisor to the Baking Club, and on top of all that, those dazzling confessions.
Why had I never thought of it? Under that kind of pressure, even a man with a heart of steel would take damage.
“Every bride will marry from the same position as Her Grace the Demon Duke.”
“Yes. That’s truly wonderful.”
“No one above, no one below.”
“Just thinking about it makes me happy. Thank you.”
I patted Karl’s back as he continued to talk.
Honestly, I had no idea what he was saying. From the moment the words “simultaneous marriage” left his mouth, my brain had refused to understand.
Even so, I could not bring myself to stop him. Karl was not joking, nor was he testing the waters.
He’s serious.
Karl meant it. After fretting and fretting, after suffering and suffering, he had found an answer of his own.
That answer was a little strange, true.
How can I talk him out of it?
Thinking of Karl who had agonized alone, I simply could not. I could not look sternly at the man who believed—no, who thought—he had finally found the solution and say, “I don’t want that.”
Yes. If Karl wanted that method, then doing it that way would be fine. If everyone was first, that was a happy outcome, was it not?
Everyone on equal footing. In a way it was truly dreamlike. Wives of lower family standing would no longer have to watch the higher ones’ faces; they could love Karl without any burden.
“Convincing the parents-in-law will be a bit hard, though…”
Karl’s muttered words drew a soft laugh from me. So he was having that sort of normal worry after all.
“And if there are five brides, we’ll have to pick a venue on a large scale…”
For a moment the hand that had been patting Karl’s back stopped.
Five.
I already knew the number, yet hearing it again left my head blank. I had steeled myself for polygamy, but I had never imagined there would be as many as five.
…No. Five was at least a number you could count on one hand. Compared to the Golden Duke, who needed more than two hands, Karl was still modest.
If the number grew beyond five it would make me a little dizzy, but that too would be Karl’s choice.
“Mar.”
“Yes, Karl.”
“What do we do if one person catches several bouquets?”
At those words I said nothing and simply kept patting his back.
My poor boy.
Now the tears really did feel ready to fall. Because I could sense that something in Karl had broken. Even if he looked fine on the outside, something inside him had gone strange.
I held back the tears that threatened to spill and pulled him even tighter into my arms.
Karl, don’t worry. I’m always on your side.
Right now everything must feel so confusing and painful. Still, I’ll wait until you return to the way you were.
And if you never do… then I’ll do whatever you want.
Because Karl has every right to live the way he wishes.