Chapter 20. The Wedding I Forgot
***
With a sigh that deepened his bitterness, Torres leaned back in his chair. What had happened to the wedding that was supposed to cement the unity of their allies, the Remzi Empire. First, he must make sure that the Grand Prince compensates for the fact that he disappeared first.
And------.
'Why did Riley suddenly stab me in the back? What's wrong?'
For whatever reason, he thought, she must have run away.
She had spent most of her life in the palace. It would be obvious where the child with limited vision would hide.
He was confident that a child who had known nothing but clean, good things would not hide in a dirty, dingy place.
If he focused his search on the favorite haunts of the nobles she befriended, he should be able to find her quickly.
He must capture her and insist that the Lopez empire was blameless in the canceled wedding.
Torres wished this could be done quietly.
But controlling a secret that had already been discovered by several people was not easy.
Word of Riley's disappearance had begun to spread by word of mouth, especially among the nobles at the wedding.
***
The coachman Bordeaux had arranged was a good man.
He listened to all my requests, never questioned me, and, above all, drove the carriage safely.
I did not encounter any bandits, as one might expect on a long journey. I never had to draw the dagger Bordeaux had given me.
It took me only two days to reach Vermont.
Arriving at the Vermont boulevard just before sunset, we said goodbye.
"Thank you, sir. How much should I pay you?"
The coachman waved his hand with a gentle smile.
"No! The master has already paid."
"Bordeaux?"
"Bordeaux? Ah, yes. He paid me."
The coachman's demeanor made it even more obvious that Bordeaux was not his real name.
"But still....................."
"That's all right, lady, and I wish you well wherever you're going."
The coachman, seemingly unwilling to take my money, quickly climbed into the carriage and drove away.
Left standing, I stared after the carriage.
By the way, I thought, even the coachman knew my real destination wasn't Vermont.
Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind if the savvy Bordeaux found out. I decided to consider it a small price to pay for his help.
I planned to stay here for a day to freshen up and then head to Ezra early tomorrow.
Fortunately, it was easy to find an inn here.
Unlike the capital, it's not as crowded, and it's not a commercial city.
The inn I ended up staying at was just like any other in town.
After unpacking my luggage in my second-floor room for the night, I walked down to the ground floor.
I could hear people in the lobby talking.
"..................Well, I guess that's why the wedding at the Lopez Empire was canceled."
The wedding at the Lopez Empire was canceled.
The words scared me and reminded me of something I had forgotten for days.
‘Oh, wait. I had a wedding, didn't I? I hope everything is okay with Matilda...................'
I had left a letter for her, and one for my brother Francis, asking for her safety.
My father would be angry, but he was not one to blame a maid.
'A man who cares about appearances,' she thought, 'will not do anything that will bring him into disrepute.’
Instead, he was more likely to follow Matilda and keep an eye on her for a long time.
I hated the word 'tyrant' before his name.
Even though I knew Matilda was safe, I couldn't help but worry.
Naturally, I wanted to explain the situation to Matilda and bring her back, but I really wanted to cut my ties with the imperial court.
To do that, I didn't want anyone to know about my escape. Even if it was Matilda, whom I trusted the most.
In the meantime, wondering what happened to my wedding, I casually sat down on an empty couch in the lobby.
A total of three people were chatting, and they happened to mention something I was curious about.
"The two must have been drinking at night, otherwise there's no reason for the prince and princess to disappear at the same time on the wedding day."
"What, they both disappeared?”
I was surprised to realize that I wasn't the only one who disappeared.
Even Gran was hoping to marry me, so his disappearance was hard to believe. I listened to their story a little longer.
"But if that theory is correct, why would they run away before the wedding? Why not just get married and live happily ever after?"
"I see..................."
Before I realized it, I was talking to them, unable to contain my curiosity.
"Hey, I'm sorry if I interrupted you, but can I listen to what you just said?"
The gossipers nodded. Like it wasn't really a big secret.
A few minutes later, I walked back up to my room and flopped down on my bed.
I had gone down to the first floor to get something to eat, but my hunger was gone after hearing the rumors.
"Gran's gone, and the place is in even more chaos."
According to other guests at the inn, Gran had disappeared just before the wedding, just like me.
No one knew where he had gone or why.
It was said to have caused the Remzi Empire great embarrassment.
It was even planned that the Emperor of the Remzi Empire would travel to the Lopez Empire to apologize in person.
However, the plan never materialized.
My father's secret was discovered.
".................. The Emperor of the Lopez Empire was hiding the fact that the princess was missing at first, but it was quickly discovered. I can't believe he would blame the Remzi Empire for the cancellation of the wedding."
The guest cursed the Lopez Empire from the perspective of the Remzi people. I joined in vehemently, criticizing the Lopez Empire and my father.
Although I am a Lopezian, I did not want to defend my father.
Anyway, as soon as my absence became known, my father, who had been hiding the truth, was said to be in trouble.
The tables have turned, and this time he may have to come here to apologize to the Emperor of the Remzi Empire.
My father must be very angry. But the disgrace he's suffered now was nothing compared to what he did to my child.
I felt strangely relieved, not worried.
I remembered the cloudy day of Eddie's funeral.
Still, I decided that revenge was enough.
I had returned to the past to save Eddie's life, not to exact revenge.
That fact hadn't changed.
As I thought about it, I had a question.
"But why did Prince Gran really disappear?"
Gran was not visibly depressed.
He was born as the second prince, far from the throne, and seemed to have given up the throne early on and lived his life doing what he wanted.
Perhaps he knew no hardship, sorrow, or worry in life.
Maybe he was looking at this harsh world as a flower garden.
Maybe he agreed to marry me just because I was pretty.
It was hard to believe that the man whose head was a field of flowers had disappeared before the wedding.
Was there another woman he loved, and could he refuse to marry me because the imperial court had arranged it?
I'm sure there were things he couldn't tell me, too.
But that didn't stop me from wondering about Gran's story.
After all, his flight had shattered our wedding.
To me, that seemed like a good thing.
***
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Write a comment
Toti (Thursday, 11 July 2024 07:35)
I don't know but..... Shaman + Gran+ Servant= is the same person �.....