The people I met.
I wish I wasn’t trying to surprise Uncle Fionn after hearing he came visiting. I heard from a maid that Mother and Uncle were in the parlor, where I overheard it when I approached the door.
Father eloped with Anna.
Elopement.
I’ve heard that word recently at Princess’ party. This subject suddenly came up while enjoying tea party with Princess and a few more of her playmates. The one who brought up the topic was a lady from a Marquis’ family that was of the same age as Princess.
This young lady was often of a higher rank than those invited, so she was kind of a leader, and she frequently speaks without thinking first. The person herself didn’t seem to care, though. She liked to act haughty because of her father who was granted the title of the Minister of Finance.
When the Side Consort showed up at the tea party halfway through, she spoke up with the know-it-all air.
“Eloping with someone is amazing, isn’t it? To take the hand of the one you love and run away. Don’t you think love is worth risking your life for, everyone?” She spoke with excitement.
Eloping? As I tilted my head in confusion, “Stop it” the Princess tried to stop her.
The Marquis’ daughter continued, though. “Why? Social status is irrelevant to those in love. Don’t you think so, Young Master Noah?” She asked me.
“What is eloping?” I asked.
“Oh my? You aren’t aware? Even though you are a concerned party?” She responded with something incomprehensible to me.
“It means to oppose your current political marriage set by your parents and ignore your social status and wealth to be with the one you truly love.”
She puffed out her chest proudly. However, it was only up to this point the Marquis’ daughter felt proud. Side Consort who was known for being gentle was raging.
“Leave. Don’t show your face here ever again!”
The Princess also seemed to be angry at her playmate. A maid came over and immediately urged the Marquis’ daughter to leave.
At that moment, the Marquis’ daughter seemed to have noticed her mistake “Please forgive me” she called with tears dripping down her face, but nor the Side Consort neither the Princess were moved by her words.
I heard that the Marquis’ daughter was no longer seen in the palace and that even her father was dismissed from his position.
Side Consort and Princess seemed very angry that time so I did not pursue what “Eloping” truly meant, but I understood that this was what it meant.
Father eloped with Anna. The Marquis’ daughter was making fun of me for that.
It was only natural for people to get married out of political convenience, and it was unthinkable for Father to elope with a servant because of love. That rubbed the Side Consort and Princess the wrong way.
Mother is Side Consort’s younger sister, and she would not want to hurt Mother. Princess understood that well, and mother was kind to Princess too, so the Princess liked Mother very much as well. There’s no way they would allow anyone to scorn her.
Even so, how did the Marquis’ daughter know about it? The other young ladies seemed to be confused by her words. It made me think that only a few people knew of this matter.
Except for the Side Consort, Princess and the Marquis’ daughter, no one else seemed to know.
It’s possible that Grandfather or even His Majesty had forbidden everyone from talking about it. If that were the case, how did the Marquis’ daughter know…?
“Caw, caw…”
There, I heard a bird’s cry and something black jumped in front of me.
“W, what is it? Blacky?”
“Watch out! Young Master Noah!”
When I covered my face in a startle, I heard a familiar girlish voice and felt a strong impact in the back of my head.