"I apologize for showing you such an unsightly face. I am unable to annul this engagement from my end, so I will try to pass the time by hiding my face as much as possible."
Margrave Reebel's side could not turn down the engagement this time since Otou-sama, i.e. the royal family, initiated it.
A smile appeared on my face at his kindness for considering my possible disgust for his face.
"No, it's fine. It was just my impression as a healer that had slipped out. Well, let's finish this quickly, 一ー«Search» «Antidote» «Regeneration»!"
I detoxified the poison after confirming the condition of his face and then healed the melted face skin, the contorted bones, and the cloudy and drooping eyes with the regeneration magic.
I was facing downward for a while as I was focused on using my magic and when I raised my head after healing was done, a young man with a calm and extremely normal face was sitting in front of me.
'He seems like a kind person.' While it wasn't love at first sight like the recently trending romance novel written on paper made with the vegetation of this world, that was what I thought after looking at his face.
"How is it? Can my face be healed? Or will it stay like this, unable to be healed?"
He apparently wasn't able to use his healed eyesight well yet since I had just finished using recovery magic on him so he was making an apologetic expression with a crease forming between his eyebrows.
"Yes, I'm done. You should be able to use your eyes after a while."
I quietly got up and gave Weiss-sama some space as I was previously near him to heal him.
Then Weiss-sama's retainer checked Weiss-sama's face as if to change places with me. Tears welled up in his eyes from joy when he saw his master's face back to normal.
Weiss-sama turned his face to me as if asking for help since his vision was still hazy. I could only let out a troubled smile.
After that, I had many opportunities to meet with Weiss-sama.
Our friendship deepened as he started living in his residence in the royal capital instead of the frontier territory since he now had a fiancee, went to the academy in the royal capital to learn about territory management, and mingled with the knights for training to secure the necessary military power needed as a Margrave.
We would also meet once a month for a tea party, ask about each other's recent situation and also receive letters or presents from each other once every two weeks.
In the beginning, I was troubled by the frequent delivery of jewels or expensive dresses.
"Well, I don't have much interest in jewels or dresses......"
If I have to state what I personally prefer, then it has to be delicious snacks and scholarly books.
After I revealed my thoughts to him once at a tea party, I began to receive simple yet beautiful flower bouquets, sweets from the famous shops of the royal capital, and all sorts of books collected from foreign countries.
"Ah, Weiss-sama is really considering my preference."
On the one hand, I was happy to receive different presents. When I once again glanced at the jewels and dresses on the side, I found out that all of them were subdued but refined articles matching the color of my hair and eyes.
I quickly understood from the changing of his gifts and the bi-weekly letter exchange that Weiss-sama had a straightforward personality as he wasn't just imposing his preference upon me.
"I think I am also having fun interacting with Weiss-sama."
The distance between Weiss-sama and I had greatly shortened after that.
In fact, I also had Weiss-sama teach me horseback riding which I had an interest in for a long time and I even rode Weiss-sama's beloved horse together with him.
We also did other things like going out after receiving an invitation for a drama but that drama was about a love story.
It was personally recommended to me by my friend, a noble young lady, so I read it but if I had to be honest, I like the heroic tales that young boys or men prefer the most.
I wasn't quite fond of making roundabout talk about something so Weiss-sama was surprised when I frankly told him about my preference. In fact, Weiss-sama also liked dramas for men so both of our interests coincidentally matched.
And at the same time, I also battle Weiss-sama in a match using «Body Hardening» taught to me by Teto onee-chan. I'm not even sure how it turned into this situation.
I just talked about how I was capable of defending myself and decided to show Weiss-sama to what extent I could do so while he offered to be my opponent.
The phrase 'I hate strong women, let's break this engagement off' echoed in my mind...... I broke out in cold sweat internally but,
"I will become even stronger and protect you, Seleneril-sama!"
After saying that, Weiss-sama plunged himself into even more intense training with newfound motivation, and he got stronger by thoroughly mastering swordsmanship and «Body Hardening». Even the knights acknowledged his effort and he finally acquired adequate strength as the eldest son of the Margrave.
"To be honest, I hadn't expected this type of development...... All's well that ends well, I guess?"
My gaze drifted to the faraway sky when I remembered that time.
Chise okaa-san, Teto onee-chan. I really wish you had raised me to be a bit more like a girl when I was young.
Sometimes, I also felt anxious that my fiance might fall out of love with me.
With such feelings swirling within me, I spent three years nurturing my affection for Weiss-sama...... or so I would like to say. It felt more like spending my days with a like-minded friend.
However, I also had thoughts like 'It might not be bad to marry him' when I played with the idea of marrying Weiss-sama in my head.
He agreed to me continuing my volunteer work in the church; our interests were more or less in line with each other. Actually, Weiss-sama held a bias against dressing extravagantly since his former fiancee smelled intense of perfume so I think he also liked me as I dress moderately 一一 that being said, it was more like I left my fashion up to the maids since I didn't have any interest in it.
'This world surely held a lot of mysterious coincidences in its bag' ー一 this thought came to my mind at a certain point in my life.
"What, so the foster mother of Selene-sama is the 'Ogre Killer' Chise and her partner!?"
It turned out that the guard of Weiss-sama, a former adventurer, knew about okaa-san's earlier days of adventuring. I was astonished to hear the wild tale of okaa-san and onee-chan killing a group of Ogres that had appeared out of the forest.
Furthermore, there was a person I met through the introduction of Weiss-sama who came to me to sell the specialty of a certain village一ー
"What, you were raised by Chise-san? Oh oh, please take this much too!"
In the past, Chise okaa-san once accepted a request and helped develop a reclaimed village and the high-quality soap they manufactured from the soap leaves Chise okaa-san was carrying became a precious source of income for that village.
The scent of that high-quality soap reminded me of the soap I used to use in the bath in my days in that parched wilderness.
I listened to the stories about okaa-san in that reclaimed village and that night, I slept surrounded by the smell of soap leaves.
And finally, an event on the eve of my wedding一一
"It's been a long time, Princess Seleneril."
"It's been a while, Prince Gyunton."
Prince Gyunton, the third prince of Gard Beastkin Nation and also its diplomat, came to greet me when I was having a pleasant discussion with my fiance, Weiss-sama.
"It's really a joyous occasion, the little girl from that time turned into a fine lady."
"Thank you for your compliment."
"Besides, I was also happy to hear a woman like you who doesn't differentiate between beastkin and humans is marrying into the family of Margrave Reebel."
After saying that, Prince Gyunton, whose young tigerkin face belies his true age, looked at us with a gentle expression.
"It's about Chise-dono after that......"
Weiss-sama tightly held my hand, which I was about to hold in front of my chest, seeing Prince Gyunton whisper in a low voice.
I hadn't heard anything about what Chise okaa-san and Teto onee-chan were doing since I thought I shouldn't search for them when they already entrusted me to Otou-sama but I couldn't deny that I had wanted to hear about them.
"After returning you, Princess Seleneril, to your rightful place, they stayed in the wilderness for one year, and, after that, they were sighted flying into the Beastkin Nation for requests. I heard they made a lot of noise everywhere they went."
I abruptly lost all my nervousness thinking it was just so like okaa-san at the words of Prince Gyunton who said so with a troubled smile.
And since they're in the Gard Beastkin Nation, they might not be able to come to my wedding tomorrow.
Late in the night, I couldn't sleep on the eve of my wedding and so I stood in front of the transfer gate.
The transfer gate in the royal villa was destroyed after they left and even the other transfer gate installed in their residence in the royal capital was retrieved.
Occasionally, I would dream of the broken transfer gate once again connecting, and Chise okaa-san and Teto onee-chan waiting for me in that house from my childhood.
"Chise okaa-san, Teto onee-chan, I really want to meet you....."
I also wanted them to see my wedding.
I faced the transfer gate that no longer connected to them and let out a whine while thinking about them. I prayed while holding the ring left behind by Chise okaa-san in my left hand and the Unicorn and Mithril ring which was the memento of Elise Okaa-sama in my right hand.
If possible, I really wanted to meet them.
However, there wasn't any spell to call okaa-san when I don't even know where she might be and I also couldn't meet her on a whim considering my position.
At last, I welcomed the day of my wedding.
"Albert Otou-sama, Aria Gibo-sama. I am getting married today." (T/N : Gibo-sama - step mother)
I went out to greet Otou-sama and others at the wedding hall.
Even as I received the blessings of many people, a part of my heart couldn't stop feeling lonely.
Our wedding proceeded smoothly as I put a lid on my feelings.
But just as we were walking on the carpet in the church as our last act, a large number of flowers showered us from the sky.
"A flower shower?"
I stretched my hand to them, wondering if we even had such an event planned but they slipped through my palm. Apparently, these flowers were illusions.
I turned my gaze to look at the source of this illusion and found my eyes glued to a girl dressed in a familiar triangular black hat and robe with a wand in her hand from where the flower illusions were coming from and a healthy brown-skinned woman near the bell.
"...... Okaa-san? Teto onee-chan?"
My fiance...... No, my now husband hugged my waist when I muttered so, and then a gust of wind passed by my ears as we both stared at the place where the bell was hanging.
「Selene, congratulations on your wedding.」
「Congrtaulations-nanodesu.」
Okaa-san passed on their words of congratulations that reached only my ears.
"I'm glad you came, okaa-san, onee-chan."
I guess my words reached them, I thought so as the smiling okaa-san and onee-chan teleported from that place and went back.
I had hoped for them to look over my wedding until it ended, but there was also the feeling of not wanting to act spoiled inside me.
It was the best day of my life, and I couldn't have asked for more.
"Okaa-san, onee-chan, I love you."
