Merchant Noble is out (1/3 chapters for today)
Marie and Festival (2)
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“Oh, it’s you, Marie-oneechan.” (Arc)
Upon hearing this, Marie looked down in embarrassment.
“Oh, come on. I thought you’d let go of the matter regarding the orphanage.” (Marie)
“Well, my sister was quite angry about it.” (Minerva)
As Arc spoke, he began to think.
Why is Marie here? If she’s here, could she really be a noble’s daughter? No, she had mentioned she frequently visits the orphanage. It’s unlikely for a noble’s daughter to be constantly in the provinces. Others present here are… the royal family. Hmm? Now that I think about it, the name of the king’s second daughter is also Marie. No way. But thinking about it, she does exude an air of nobility and wears a beautiful dress with elegance.
Marie, the princess, was behind the king earlier, but Arc hadn’t really looked at her. Though the name might be common, the Marie in front of him is highly likely to be Princess Marie. The more Arc considered the possibility that Marie was the king’s second daughter, the more the various situations started to make sense, and he grew increasingly pale.
This is bad. Did Minerva pick a fight with royalty?
Though Arc was internally sweating, he maintained a calm demeanor on the surface.
“By the way, congratulations on your engagement, Princess Marie.” (Arc)
Marie was slightly surprised at being addressed as a princess but quickly grasped her dress and gave a grateful bow.
“Oh, did you know my true identity?” (Marie)
“Of course.” (Arc)
Arc responded as if it was obvious.
“Yesterday, you and your sister criticized my thoughts.” (Marie)
Marie said with a teasing laugh.
This is bad, bad, bad.
While Arc smiled and sweated, he wondered if arguing with royalty was considered treason.
Is there a chance of royal family treason? But, Minerva had actually been the one to argue with Marie, so maybe just his sister should be blamed. No, surely the brother also shares some responsibility.
However, despite Arc’s internal turmoil, Marie seemed unconcerned as she began speaking.
“But I was actually pleased.” (Marie)
“Pleased?” (Arc)
“Yes. I rarely get to experience being treated on equal footing.” (Marie)
Although it was because he didn’t know he was speaking to royalty at the time, Arc decided to let the convenient interpretation stand. Before long, Marie’s expression grew slightly cloudy.
“Everyone thinks of me as a doll. They praise me for being cute and expect me to move according to their wishes.” (Marie)
“Princess Marie, do you dislike the palace?” (Arc)
“Hehe.” (Marie)
Marie gave a slight laugh at Arc’s simple question, as if she had been waiting for this particular inquiry.
“It’s a common perception in the noble world that ‘the second daughter Marie is a good girl’.” (Marie)
This was a well-known fact among nobles, even to someone like Arc who had never met her. However, it seems that maintaining the image of being a ‘good girl’ comes with its own set of troubles. Marie’s complaints about the unrealistic expectations from those around her reminded Arc a bit of her sister, Casablanca.
“I’ve wronged those children. My visits to the orphanage were not to save them but to save myself. I deceived those children.” (Marie)
Marie laughed self-deprecatingly.
“Still, I believe they would have been saved.” (Marie)
Marie seemed to feel a great deal of guilt about the fact that her charitable actions, which were motivated by her desire to escape from the palace rather than to genuinely help the children, were not entirely sincere. Despite the nature of her motives, what she did was indeed commendable, and Arc reassured her that there was no need to feel blamed.
Yet, Marie’s expression remained somber. It appeared that she found living in the palace quite difficult, almost as if she felt trapped in a tragic role where she could never escape the confines of the palace.
“Princess Marie, right now there’s a huge festival in the town below. It’s many times more enjoyable than the noble banquet.” (Arc)
Arc suggested, hoping to offer a change of pace.
“Would you like to sneak out with me?” (Arc)
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