I stood stunned on the deck and stared at the port town below.
There were many stalls and many people coming and going in this lively town, but the clothes of the people were different from each other in shape, but basically they wore Arab-like clothes.
In addition, they all had brown skin, which made me realize that I was clearly in a foreign country.
“We really came…”
As I stared at the people busily passing by while muttering that in a daze, a black cloth was suddenly placed over my head.
“Huh?”
“This is the port town of Zaira, which is the cornerstone of trade with other countries. Also, unlike the Kingdom of Beizelm, the sunshine is strong. It is better to wear this on your head. And…your beautiful figure, I don’t want to show it to others too much.”
“Huh!”
Prince Alfeld whispered this sweetly and dropped a kiss on my head through the cloth.
“Well, Cecilia, that’s enough of a tour so it’s time to head off.”
“No, if you could, I’d like you to turn around and send me back to the Kingdom of Beizelm…”
“I can’t do that. Well, the servants can’t stay here forever, can they? It can’t be helped, I’ll take you.”
“What? Oh my gosh!”
My feet left the floor as Prince Alfeld picked me up in a sideways hug.
“Ah, Prince Alfeld, please put me down!”
“No, it’s no good. Cecilia…even though you ate when you woke up, your body still isn’t in the right shape, is it? And since you seem to be exhausted from the unfamiliar boat ride, I’m going to take you along like this.”
“It’s fine! And…I’m terribly embarrassed when people see me!”
“You can show me that stuff. Come on, grab onto my chest or you’ll lose your balance, okay?”
So Prince Alfeld grinned and deliberately walked with a wide gait and his body swayed, so I hurriedly grabbed Prince Alfeld’s chest.
“I’m holding on tightly as it is.”
Then Prince Alfeld, laughing happily, picked me up and got off the boat, and put me on the back of a big brown horse that had been prepared for me below.
As soon as he did, Prince Alfeld jumped up behind me and put his arm around my waist and grabbed the reins with his free hand.
“Let’s go!”
When Prince Alfeld said so emphatically, he kicked his horse in the belly and sent it running.
We were followed by many servants on horseback and in wagons.
***
After leaving the port town, we rode for a while in the desert, and finally arrived at our destination.
There was a beautiful fountain built symmetrically to the left and right, and a waterway was threaded through it to connect to it as we went through the magnificent gate.
And above all, what caught my attention was the large white palace.
While I was admiring its beautiful form, we arrived at the entrance of the palace and was taken off the horse by Prince Alfeld.
“What shall we do, Cecilia? You don’t mind if I pick you up again and go inside, do you?”
“No, no, no! No, thank you! I can walk by myself!”
“Well I’m sorry to hear that. But…I’ll hold you up in case you fall down.”
Prince Alfeld said that and put his hand around my waist and kept his body in close contact.
“Hey! Prince Alfeld!”
“Let’s go.”
My protestations were ignored and I walked into the palace at Prince Alfeld’s urging.
I walked along the corridor for a while, receiving glances from the people in the palace, and then arrived at the large door.
Then Prince Alfeld took the cloth from me and handed it to his maid, who was waiting near the door, and without hesitation, opened it and stepped inside.
And of course, I, with his hands around my waist, entered the room with Prince Alfeld as well.
The room was very richly decorated, with gold everywhere, and it is obvious at a glance that this is a room for noblemen.
I also noticed a man and a woman sitting comfortably at the back of the room on a cushioned floor.
The man was brown-skinned and wore the same white scarf as Prince Alfeld, but his black hair was visible through the gaps in the scarf, his eyes were red, and his face was fearless.
Next, the woman sitting next to the man was dressed in a glossy costume made of layers of transparent cloth of various colors and jewelry, and her skin was the same brown color as the man’s. She was a bewitching woman with light blue eyes, whose beautiful, smooth white hair was tied in a loose braid and flowed down from her neck to her chest.
“Father, Mother, we have just returned.”
“Oh, welcome back Alfeld. You’ve returned safely.”
“Welcome back, Alfeld. It’s a relief to see you looking so well.”
After hearing Prince Alfeld’s greeting, they stood up and greeted me with a smile.
I knew from his words that they were the King and Queen of the Molvarado Empire, and the parents of Prince Alfeld.
“Let me quickly introduce you, father and mother. This is Cecilia, the one I’ve been talking about for some time.”
“Oh! So you’re Cecilia! I hear stories about you from Alfeld all the time.”
“My goodness! How beautiful you are! To tell you the truth, I’ve been hearing about you so much from Alfeld, so I’ve been looking forward to meeting you!”
“Yes, nice to meet you. My name is Cecilia de Heinz…”
I’m not sure if it’s because of the fact that the two of them were trying to get a hold of me, but I picked up the hem of my skirt and bowed deeply to the royalty.
“You have perfect manners. I am Alfeld’s father, Clive, and I am the king of this country.”
“I’m Alfeld’s mother, Sharondia, the queen.”
Then they gazed at me with a smile.
“Speaking of which, father, how are the preparations I asked for going on?”
“Of course it’s all set.”
“Wonderful. Thank you.”
“Hmm. All we need to do now is to prepare you guys, but…you just got back home. So in the meantime, you guys have a good night’s rest today.”
“Yes. I will do so.”
“Oh yes, Cecilia, you’re going to be in a new country and you must have a lot of confusion, so if you ever need help with anything, you can talk to me about it. Because soon you will be my daughter.”
Then Queen Sharondia smiled bewitchingly at me with a beautiful face just like Prince Alfeld’s.”
I stared at her face and spoke to her with all my heart.
“Please! Let me return to the Kingdom of Beizelm!”
“…Well, why is that?”
“I…was forcibly brought to you by Prince Alfeld! And I have no intention of marrying Prince Alfeld at all!”
“…”
When I told Queen Sharondia of my feelings, she fell silent and her smile deepened into a bewitching smile.
“Well, that’s all right. You can’t help but feel that way now, but eventually you’ll be glad that Alfeld took you away.”
“What?”
“Because…I was originally taken away by Clive from another city far away from here, and married him. I was terrified at the time, and I kept wanting to go home. But…Clive’s love changed my mind. And now I’m so happy. So I’m sure you can change too!” (***lmao, this whole family is crazy. Alfeld’s personality now makes a lot of sense)
“…”
I had a twitch in my cheek at Queen Sharondia’s words.
…Ah, no. This country was originally made up of bandits in the first place, so the people living here naturally cultivated a feeling of acceptance towards robbing to obtain desires
When I thought that, I realized that no matter how much I appealed to them, it was useless.
I was also somewhat convinced by the fact that Prince Alfeld, who had been laughing happily, and had not tried to stop me from saying anything, and was enjoying himself.
Then he left the King and Queen’s room with me and we moved on to another location.
“Come on, Cecilia, this is your room.”
“No, no, no. You didn’t have to go to the trouble of getting a room…”
“Then you’ll have to room with me. Well, I still don’t mind at all, though?”
“I will use this gratefully!”
“Hmm, that’s too bad. Well, once we move to the detached palace, I’ll be in the room with you the whole time.”
“What?”
“So, for now…let’s get you changed into the clothes of this country.”
“What? No…no, no, no! I’m fine in this dress!”
“But it’s hot in this country in that dress, isn’t it? And you already look like you’re sweating on your forehead.”
Prince Alfeld said that and took a towel from a nearby attendant and wiped the sweat off my forehead.
“But…”
“Come on, don’t be stubborn…ask Mara for help.”
“Yes. I can help.”
The middle-aged maid who had just handed Prince Alfeld a cloth was apparently named Mara, and she approached me with the other maids in tow.
“I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that Mara is my nanny and the head maid. She’s a bit strict in some ways, but she’s a good person, so you can count on her.”
“My name is Mara. It’s nice to meet you. Now, Cecilia-sama, let’s bathe first and then change your clothes.”
“Yeah, no, I really don’t want to…”
“No! It is Prince Alfeld’s instructions!”
“Fufu, well then, I will go change my clothes in my room and then come back when I’m ready.”
“Hey! Prince Alfeld!”
Prince Alfeld walked out of the room without turning around at my call.
No, no, no, no, no! This means that my clothes will be a revealing outfit for sure! You can’t do that!!!!
While screaming in my heart, I looked in horror at the group of maids who approached him in their fluttery dancing clothes.
What do I do! What do I do? I…Yeah! I’ve got to get out of here!
As soon as I made up my mind to do so, I lifted the hem of my dress and ran out at once.
“Huh? Please wait, Lady Cecilia!”
“No one is stupid enough to wait just because they’re told to!”
While shouting this, I managed to escape from the hands of the maids and opened the door and ran out into the corridor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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