My Dear Husband, Let's Keep It Business-Like! ~Countess Anastasia, Raised in The Downtown, Won't Give Up Her Way~ - Episode 71

Receiving the advance notice, a luxurious carriage bearing the crest of the Fairfanville Duke family comes to a stop in front of my husband and me, who are waiting at the entrance for the arrival of my brother-in-law and Princess Carmilla.

Princess Carmilla, escorted by her brother-in-law, descended in a form-fitting black dress with open shoulders.

Since it’s not an official visit, they must be dressed up just a little. The noble aura is off the charts.

I feel like I’ve witnessed the ideal of what royalty should be!

He’s on a completely different level from that lowly prince.

Stepping forward, the husband gives a welcoming greeting.

When I think about it again, the people here are the princess of the neighboring country, the heir of the leading ducal family, and a count who is one of the wealthiest in the country. Isn’t that amazing?

As a former commoner, I was captivated by the crowd’s atmosphere when I suddenly locked eyes with Her Highness the Princess. Instantly, she rushed over and hugged me tightly.

“I’m so glad to see you, Countess Hamilton. You’re the best!”

Oooooooh?

“Your Highness, my sister is surprised. I’m sorry, Anastasia. Everyone from Austburg tends to be a bit too close for comfort.”

“Oh really? The international standard is this way, you know? Of course, I have no intention of denying other countries’ cultures.”

The casual conversation unfolding right in front of me makes my shoulders relax.

“Well, since we’re just standing around chatting, please come inside.”

“Thank you, Count Hamilton. If there’s time before dinner, shall we settle the matter first?”

“Yes, that’s the plan. We have tea prepared in the salon, so let’s head there first.”

We moved to the salon while making small talk, had them prepare some tea, and then cleared the room.

“Well, what should I start with? After all, there was so much going on yesterday… Do you two have anything you want to ask me first?”

After exchanging glances with my husband, I hesitantly raise my right hand.

“Um, may I?”

“Yeah, what’s up, Anastasia?”

“I, um, humbly threw the Crown Prince, Your Highness, but… is he okay?”

Upon hearing that, Her Highness, who was sitting on the single sofa across, burst out laughing.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry! That was truly a masterpiece, wasn’t it? I really felt like I got to see something great! It was worth coming all the way from Austburg.”

I haven’t shown you anything that impressive, but now that I think about it, seeing a prince of a nation being thrown by an ordinary lady is certainly not something you can just witness if you want to.

“Yeah, you can rest assured about that. Probably, this issue won’t be brought up again in the future.”

I see. Even from the crown prince’s side, this is quite pathetic, isn’t it? So, it will be as if it never happened.

“It’s such a hard-earned heroic tale!”

The princess is pouting and complaining. She’s such a lovely person.

But, we don’t need tales of bravery; peace is the most important.

“I broke off the engagement with Prince Alphonse. Thanks to that, I ended up with a lot of good cards in my hand. As a thank you, I’ve made sure that nothing will come back to bite your family, so don’t worry.”

Saying that, the princess smiled sweetly. She made a casual yet significant statement, but was it really okay to break off that engagement?

“Um, I know it’s presumptuous of me to ask this, but is everything alright? Like, the ties between our countries and all…”

“Fairfanville will be troubled, won’t they? The engagement with the Crown Prince was something they begged for, you know? Oh, and by the way, please keep everything we talked about here just between us.”

My husband and I are nodding vigorously, while my brother-in-law is laughing as if he’s given up.

“If the neighboring country gets unruly, it would be quite troublesome. I thought about marrying to bolster Fairfanville, but with the crucial partner being like that… well, you know…”

That’s right. It’s that thing, isn’t it?

“So, Prince Alphonse, who ruined the important engagement that determined the fate of the nation, has been disinherited.”

Another casual major statement!!

“Pl-please wait. In Fairfanville, there shouldn’t be anyone else besides Crown Prince Alphonse with a claim to the throne, right? If you were to depose His Highness…”

“Her Highness the Concubine has given birth to a boy.”

What! Indeed, the consort has been absent from her duties recently due to poor health, but she was pregnant all along…

“From my perspective, that idea is outdated. Fairfanville has Princess Celestia, the younger sister of Prince Alphonse, doesn’t it? It’s only Fairfanville among the neighboring countries that doesn’t grant women the right to inherit the throne, right?”

Is that so…? I thought I had learned quite a bit about domestic politics and economics, but now that I think about it, I realize I never really studied other countries in detail.

In the first place, we don’t teach much about other countries even at the academy, but could this possibly be the policy of this country?

“Yeah. I think there will be proposals for amendments regarding that in the future. After all, it will take quite some time for the newly born Second Prince to be appointed as Crown Prince. If the laws change by then to grant succession rights to women as well, there might be a future where Princess Celestia becomes the Crown Prince.”

Oh!? If I remember correctly, Princess Celestia was engaged to the heir of a different ducal house, not the Fairfanville ducal house. If Princess Celestia were to ascend to the throne, that heir would become the royal consort… right?

Th-this is… either way, the balance of power within the country is bound to change significantly.

I quickly caught wind of some outrageous information, but now that this has happened, I’m starting to worry about issues abroad as well.

“As for the domestic issues, let’s put those aside for now. What will happen regarding the matter of being unable to maintain ties with Augsburg?”

“Th-that’s…”

Suddenly, my brother-in-law starts mumbling.

“His Majesty has requested that I instead marry the heir of the leading duke’s family.”

The heir of the leading duke family… is it… my brother-in-law!?

“Of course, I declined.”

I was instantly rejectedーーー!!??