Yasashī Shinjitsu to Seiryaku Kekkon Volume 1 Chapter 7

Withered bouquet by Schwarz Vogel

Matilda tilted her head, looking at the flowers.

The time they were together was short, but a person who seemed to be rather thoughtful and careful only sends withered flowers, without a note?

It seemed odd. 

It was not that Matilda thought he truly liked her, but she felt that Leandroth is not the one to behave this say. So…

Was he unwell?

Had something happened in his duties?

Matilda felt anxious, so decided to go and visit Leandroth.

She turned to her maid to ask her to request a visit. 

Matilda did not bring her own maids with her from home, so when she was assigned maids, she had been a little nervous. She was always a bit reluctant to ask them to do anything, but the maid was delighted and said, ‘I will go and tell the Emperor’s aide immediately.’ And she rushed off.

Matilda gave an astonished smile at the maid’s behaviour. She looked at the other maids who remained in the room quietly waiting for her requests.

She realised when she arrived in Barenshiaga, the attitude towards her was rather mild. There had been no incident of her being ridiculed or being harassed. 

Although, this was a marriage that Bareshiaga wanted, Icecoreta could only accept. If someone wanted to be derogatory to her, they had plenty of ammunition; Icecoreta was sometimes looked upon as Barenshiaga’s slave, based on their size, position and ratio of the export volume, but no one had said anything unkind to her in the castle.

Everyone seemed rather welcoming. It was surprising. (Zuben: So you've finally pulled your head out of your arse, huh)

Before leaving her home and all she’d known, her father had nothing to say about the Barenshiaga Empire or its Emperor Leandroth.

‘Be happy,’ was all he said. It was strange to think of now.

The princess of another country is usually treated like a diplomat of their country.

Although she was living in her husband’s house, life here was similar to that of her childhood home.

She was in Barenshiaga as a representative of the Icecoreta Kingdom. However, Matilda was treated well and with care. Thankfully.

From what Leandroth told her, it seemed that she had been selected for the position of Empress by a few vassals of the Empire. The idea made her feel honoured. 

But what about the other vassals and lords? There must be other high ranking citizens that would like their daughter to be Empress.

And also the princesses of other neighbouring countries would see “Empress Barenshiaga” as an attractive position.

Thinking objectively, this marriage might be a little out of her league.

First of all, age: it would be nice to have children at a younger age than she was, and therefore look youthful and well for longer.

Secondly, her intelligence and social skills; while she was sure that she was somewhat intelligent, she wasn't as confident in her social skills. She would have liked to befriend her mother-in-law, it would have made blending into the family easier.

Matilda sighed and rested her chin on her hand on the armrest of the wisteria chair.

‘Princess Matilda, are you well?’

One of the maids attending to her looked at her expression worriedly. Matilda smiled at her,

‘I am fine, nothing is wrong.’ She did not know if her smile looked right.

Her thought returned to the random things; she had began to study books that showcased the local produce and crafts of Barenshiaga and a guide of tourist attractions. She had been thinking of going out to play by herself. From the tourist attractions, you can know the distinctive features of an area. From the environment, with animals and plants that grow, and well-known products. In Barenshiaga’s climate, crops grow easily.

While thinking of this and that (Zuben: and other random nonsense that wasn't cohesive¬.¬), the maid she had sent to request an appointment with Leandroth returned. She looked rather worried,

‘What’s the matter?’ Matilda asked.

Her maid’s face grew flushed as she said quite quickly, ‘Princess, the Emperor would like your assistance at his office.’

‘Eh?’ Matilda blinked twice.

But she was a Princess of another country! Foreign royalty does not participate in the political affairs of the country they are visiting. So why then?

She tilted her head (Zuben: Again…), ‘Our Emperor is in a spot of a bother; he has not slept for two days! Princess Matilda, please help.’

It seemed strange to be excited about the turn of events, but Matilda rose from her chair with excitement tickling her belly.

‘Bring me my navy blue dress. I will leave matching accessories to you. A light make up, as well. No strong perfumes because it would be distracting in the office. Also, may I have an hourglass?’

She had started throwing instructions about without thinking. 

They were citizens of the Balenciaga empire; a Princess from another country shouldn't order them about like a matter of course. (Zuben: She must have been very sheltered.)

However, the attendants all together gave a bright and cheerful, ‘Yes!’

Matilda blinked in surprise.

⚔

She changed into her navy blue dress, it had a high collar and silver buttons down the back. Black lace peeked from splits in the shoulders and lined the edges. She looked very smart. Once she was dressed, she went straight to the Emperor’s office.

On entering the room, there was a strange smell. Going through the receiving room and into the office, she found Leandroth buried under mountains of files and paperwork.

‘Mattie,’ his voice was tired. His expression looked like he had been drained of energy, he had dark circles under his eyes. He raised his hand weakly at her,

‘Your Majesty,’

‘Leandroth,’ he replied, he seemed to want to hear her call his name, but the office was not an appropriate place, so she pushed, ‘I will refrain from calling you informally at the office.’ She said primly. She really was not cute. But Leandroth laughed, though sleepily.

He was useless in this state. For now, sleep was the best medicine.

Matilda begins to order the attendants and secretaries in the office.

‘Please, shut all the curtains in the private room. Your Majesty you need to go and have a nap. Someone get a blanket so his Majesty doesn't catch a cold,’

She turned to Leandroth with a bit of an imperious attitude,

‘Your Majesty, please have a nap for now. We will wake you up in a little while.’

‘But…’

He seemed hesitant, but Matilda did not budge,

‘It is useless, if you don’t sleep you will only make more mistakes and it would only be more hassle to untangle.’

Without waiting for Leandroth’s reply, she turned to the maids,

‘Send for two guards. When they arrive, tell them to take the documents to the receiving room. When they are done, we will divide the documents into categories and then go from there,’

‘Mattie?’ Leandroth called. He’d been watching Matilda throw orders here and there

‘Your Majesty, if you don’t go to sleep now,  you will have even less time to rest.'

 Leandro laughed and said, ‘Alright, good luck, future wife,’ he chuckled as he went to his private room.

Outside the window, the sun had just gone past noon.

‘Princess, I have brought the guards.’

Matilda nodded. The guards she presented where a young guard and an older more experienced looking guard.

Just right, she thought. Matilda smiled at them and said,

‘Gentlemen, I need your help to bring the documents from the office to the receiving room. These documents as you know are usually only handled by the Emperor and his aides, therefore, I would like you to watch us for any restless movements.’

‘Restless?’ The elder palace guard asked.

‘If a document goes missing, you can be witness that none of us took anything from these rooms.’

With that said, they began to move the documents to the receiving room.

Zuben:

The next two to three chapters are about Matilda learning about the power climate in Barenshiaga. Leandroth gets his hanky-panky, but the chapters are mostly about Matilda being boss; which is cool.

Index⚔Chapter 8