Chapter 26: The Wedding

A year had passed since Harid and Livia became engaged.
It had also been half a year since the fake Electra was invited into the mansion.

Since then, unbelievably, the fake Electra had continued living in the mansion.

Livia did not constantly involve herself with her.
However, whenever something happened, she would visit the fake Electra and report what had occurred at the time, as if giving an update.

Because of this situation, Harid was unable to drive the fake Electra out of the mansion.

“…Hey, Sayed.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Why does Livia keep going to see that woman so often?”
“Well, that would be…”
“Has Livia told you anything?”
“No, Lady Livia has not said anything to me.”
“Then do you have any idea?”
“…Only speculation.”
“Tell me.”
“…I am very sorry.
It would be a conjecture that demeans Lady Livia, so I would prefer to refrain.”

Harid widened his eyes.

The head butler bowed apologetically.

“A conjecture that demeans Livia?
Say it anyway.”
“…The reason Lady Livia goes to see that ‘Lady Electra’ may be psychological.”
“Psychological…”
“Whether my lord would find that ‘endearing’ or not is beyond my ability to judge.”
“…It’s fine.
Tell me.”

The head butler straightened and spoke clearly.

“Lady Livia may wish to boast of her current situation to Lady Electra… the ‘former wife.’
Or perhaps she wishes to belittle her, to place her beneath herself.
That may be her temperament.”

Harid furrowed his brow, suppressing the anger welling up inside him.

She was the woman he loved.
He did not want to hear her spoken of badly.

However, over the course of the past year spent with her, aside from the affection he felt, another feeling had gradually accumulated.

There were points where he simply could not understand what Livia was thinking.

“If the person staying here were the real one, I must say that her words and actions would be far too excessive.
At best, it would be a lack of moral sense, but… if it continues to that extent, it can only be intentional malice.
All of the servants are troubled by her behavior.
However, since the other party is only a ‘fake,’ and no harm is coming to the ‘real’ one, we have not spoken strongly to Lady Livia.”
“…That much?”

After a year, even feelings once filled with passion cool slightly, allowing one to think more calmly.

Especially since it had been a year since leaving the battlefield.

Love cultivated within that unique atmosphere of war does not last forever.

Still, there should also be love that deepens through daily life together, and Harid did feel that as well, but…

“Are you perhaps troubled about your marriage to her?”
“No, that is…”
“My lord has earned the fame of a ‘hero,’ and Lady Livia is called a ‘saint.’
It should be a union blessed by the people.
You are not marrying a lady born and raised as a noble.
I believe it would be best to accept that difference beforehand.”
“…You’re right.”

In truth, Livia was unable to handle the work of a viscount’s household.

That was only natural.

She was an orphan, and what she had learned consisted mainly of service work such as healing magic.

Of course, the church must have provided basic education to orphans.

But such education could hardly be said to prepare one for the duties of a noble wife.

It was simply enough to ensure she could survive as a commoner.

However, Harid had known this from the beginning.

He had chosen to be with her despite knowing she came from an orphan background.

Therefore, if Livia could not handle the viscount household’s duties, Harid would have to shoulder them himself.

Although he was raised as a knight, Harid had been a noble since birth.

…………

Harid recalled his past.

Originally, he had married Electra, a neighboring viscount’s daughter, for political reasons.

If not for the two-year royal conscription, he might have lived quietly and modestly with her, never becoming a hero.

They might have lived as an ordinary, unremarkable couple of a minor noble house.

It was not that he had been dissatisfied with Electra.

She had been properly educated in administrative matters, and in fact, she had supported the household during the two years he was away.

He had never heard a single servant speak ill of her.

Nor had he been dissatisfied with her as a woman.

Though it was not something to compare, her appearance was by no means inferior to other noble ladies.

When she proposed a chaste marriage, his confusion, irritation, and disappointment had stemmed partly from that.

He had found Electra appealing as a woman.

“At that time…”
“Yes, my lord.”
“…No.”

If only he had not accepted the chaste marriage she proposed.

If they had properly spent their wedding night, and if she had borne him a child.

Would his life have turned out differently?

No, even if a child had been born…

He had still brought Livia back from the battlefield.

How many times over the past six months had he recalled the words spoken by that fake Electra?

He wanted to keep Electra close at hand, despite having no intention of letting Livia go.

He had been seen through when he thought, ‘if only she were the real one.’

“…Hey, Sayed.
Just who is that woman, really?”

Harid repeated the question he had asked countless times over the past half year.

“She is an actress we hired through connections.
I did not expect her to be that kind of woman either…”

The fake Electra had not caused any major trouble.

If anything, over the past six months, she had skillfully deflected Livia’s words, reducing the burden on the servants.

That was likely possible precisely because she was not the real one.

As the head butler said, if Livia truly was saying things that would be unbearable to hear, then for the real Electra, it might have been intolerable.

But for a fake, Livia’s words held no meaning at all.

She likely knew little about Harid himself, felt no jealousy, and would only respond with a wry smile when Livia boasted of becoming the wife of someone she never loved in the first place.

“…The wedding with Livia is coming soon.”
“Yes, my lord.”

After a one-year engagement, Harid and Livia, now called the Hero and the Saint, would finally hold their wedding ceremony.

The Count of Grandra and Harid’s former fellow knights would come to celebrate them.

It would surely be a grand and splendid ceremony.

After being elevated to a viscount, while he had not gained additional territory, he had received several preferential treatments from the kingdom.

Though not permanent, these benefits placed the Carlson household in a favorable position.

Everything was prepared for the perfect wedding.

Harid and Livia should, without question, become happy.

And yet…

Somehow, an indescribable unease still lingered in Harid’s heart.

Time passed, indifferent to Harid’s feelings.

At last, the wedding day drew near.

“Harid-sama… no, Harid.
We’re finally getting married.”
“Yes, Livia.
I’ve waited so long for this day.”
“But… Harid, you had a wedding with your previous wife, didn’t you?
This is my first one.”
“Hm?
You didn’t know?
I didn’t hold a wedding with her, with Electra.”
“Really?”
“Yes.
Just before the wedding, I received a royal order to join the fighting in the Grandra domain.
So we only completed the paperwork and never held a ceremony.”
“I see!
Then this will be your first wedding too, Harid!”
“That’s right.
And this time, starting with the Count of Grandra, many nobles will attend.
The wedding will be held at a church in the capital.”

Yes.
Their wedding was to be held in the capital.

With increased support and a larger guest list, it had become a capital ceremony.

Rumors of the wedding between the ‘Hero’ and the ‘Saint’ had spread even among the common people.

Until now, Livia had rarely appeared at tea parties or social gatherings.

Her grasp of etiquette was poor, so she had declined such invitations.

That was why the wedding drew attention as an opportunity to finally see the saint who had remained unseen.

“Then, Harid.
I’m looking forward to it.”
“Yes, Livia.”

After parting with Livia, Harid felt a sudden curiosity and asked the head maid about her condition instead of the head butler.

The answer he received was…

“Lady Livia was apologizing to ‘Lady Electra.’”
“…Apologizing?
Livia?”

For what, exactly?

“She apologized for being able to hold a wedding with my lord.
She said she had heard that ‘Lady Electra’ never had one.
I believe this was something Lady Livia had mentioned before as well.”
“That is…”

Why would she bring that up now?

As Harid thought this, he remembered the head butler’s words.

‘If she were the real Electra.’

…Livia’s words could hardly be called polite.

Rather, they were downright spiteful.

To deliberately bring up the fact that Electra never had a wedding with him.

The person Livia apologized to was not the real one.

Therefore, even if such words were spoken, they would not matter at all.

It was only because she was a fake that this fragile balance was maintained.

Why, exactly, did Livia do such things?

…………

A deep, heavy unease spread once more through Harid’s chest.