My Dear Husband, Let's Keep It Business-Like! ~Countess Anastasia, Raised in The Downtown, Won't Give Up Her Way~ - Episode 73

What should I do? Isn’t it bad if I find out state secrets!?

When I was flustered, my brother-in-law called out to me with a wry smile.

“It’s okay, Anastasia. The existence of spirit users itself isn’t classified. In fact, I know about it too.”

“Ah, I see. I’m glad…”

Seeing me sigh with relief, Her Highness the Princess apologetically says.

“Sorry for the confusing way of speaking, okay? I never thought there would be a wandering spirit user. How on earth did you learn how to make a contract?”

“Oh, learning directly from these kids…”

“Wow, so there are patterns like that too!”

Indeed, before going to the ball, in the carriage, Kaiya had said, “There are more people in the neighboring country who can see spirits,” but to think that Princess Carmilla is exactly one of them is surprising.

Moreover, is the existence of spirits accepted in Austburg to the extent that there is even a term like “spirit user”?

I want to ask various things, but I’m a bit scared thinking that I might run into state secrets.

“Your Highness, if you would be so kind, could you tell me about the spirits within the limits of confidentiality? As you may know, our country has extremely few legends about spirits.”

My husband asked the questions I wanted to ask on my behalf. I’m grateful. He has really grown into someone who knows exactly what I need.

When I looked at my husband with gratitude, our eyes met as he turned around. Then, he gently smiled at me. Lately, this has become the norm, and the scowling face he had when we first met seems like a lie.

What if my husband stopped smiling at me now? The moment I thought about that, my chest felt as heavy as if I had swallowed lead.

This might be pretty bad.

“Of course, that’s fine. Well, even in Austburg, there are few people who can see spirits. However, the biggest difference from Fairfanville is that most of the citizens ‘believe in the existence of spirits even if they can’t see them.'”

I was startled to realize that Her Highness the Princess had started speaking.

Oh no, oh no, this is an important conversation. I must listen carefully!

“Our country is a multi-religious nation where freedom of religion is recognized, but the most followers are of the Spirit Religion and its derived religions. That probably has some influence as well.”

Amazing. It’s completely different from Fairfanville. It feels like the existence of spirits is just a normal part of life.

“Because of that foundation, the few humans who can see spirits are highly respected. Among those few, only a handful, those with a high affinity for spirits and chosen by them, can become spirit users.”

“Do people who can see spirits have any common traits?”

“I think bloodlines matter because some families are more visibly connected. However, sometimes children with very high affinity are born in places with no apparent relation. In our country, we call such people ‘children of the spirits.'”

The beloved child of the spirits… Those words remind me of my mother, who was always surrounded by spirits. I wonder if my mother would have been cherished if she had been born in Austburg.

Even so, why is it that neighboring countries have such different views on spirits?

“Um, why is the way of thinking about spirits so different between Austburg and Fairfanville?”

“Well… I might be mixing in a bit of speculation about that, is that okay?”

When I silently nod, Her Highness continues speaking as is.

“Actually, Fairfanville was originally a very prosperous country with a stronger bond with the spirits than Austburg. This was hundreds of years ago, but there was another small country called ‘Feyam’ between the two nations. It is said that Fairfanville’s decline, after being forsaken by the spirits, was caused by the downfall of Feyam.”

Feyam! “The Country Loved by Spirits,” huh!

My husband and I couldn’t help but look at each other.

“Did the Feyam actually exist as a country?”

“Yeah, I have no doubt about that. It’s something that’s normally included in textbooks in our country.”

The country called Feyam, which my husband told me about before, was a legendary existence whose reality was questionable. From its very foundation, it was a story-like tale of “a spirit princess who fell in love with a human and manifested in the human world to establish a country,” which only added to its mythical nature. But then, what about that…?

“The story about the spirit princess founding a nation is…”

“There are various theories about that, but for now, that’s the prevailing one. It makes more sense in many ways.”

Wow. What an incredibly romantic story that was.

“So, is it true that Fairfanville was the catalyst for Feyam’s downfall?”

“Regarding that, of course, there are various theories. To put it simply, well, a member of the Fairfanville royal family fell in love with a princess from the Feyam royal family, who is a descendant of the Spirit Princess, and tried to forcibly marry her…”

Seriously, what is the Fairfanville royal family doing……

My favorability towards my country’s royal family is now practically zero.

“So, the angry Spirit King called back the princesses descended from the Spirit Princess to the Spirit Realm, and it is said that the Feyam people were scattered. Some followed to the Spirit Realm, while others remained in their land, but many fled to Austburg. It is said that those in Austburg who are naturally more attuned to spirits are descendants of the Feyam people who fled at that time.”

Somehow, it makes a lot of sense. No wonder Fairfanville was abandoned by the spirits.

“Then, the reason there is extremely little information about spirits in Fairfanville is…”

“It might just be speculation, but don’t you think they hid it because it was inconvenient for their country? And now, I really think they’ve forgotten about it.”

If that’s true, it’s a truly astonishing story, I thought, with a distant look in my eyes.