The Unattractive Princess' Marriage - Episode 6

“W-what happened…? It seems… well, quite terrifyingly, you appear to be in a very good mood…”

Seven years had passed since Fersen was forcibly appointed as the Crown Prince’s administrative aide by Feldric himself—a job that felt nothing short of torture, despite Fersen’s repeated rejections, both subtle and overt. Far from feeling honored, his daily life had been filled with constant misery, just as he had foreseen. Based on his past experiences, his master, Feldric, had never shown such a smile for good reason.

That’s why Fersen, concealing his usual wariness, questioned Feldric today. Firstly, it was already strange that Feldric was awake so early and diligently handling state affairs without a single complaint.

“Well, I’d say I picked up something better than I expected.” “Picked up…? Are you, by any chance, referring to Her Royal Highness Princess Sophina…?” Fersen barely managed to swallow the words: “How dare you refer to another country’s princess, who is now your wife, as ‘something you picked up’? And it’s only the morning after your wedding night!” He still valued his own life.

Indeed, it was rare to see Feldric in such genuine good spirits in the royal palace—not the artificial smile for social occasions. It usually only happened when his cousin and his wife, or his half-sister Nashuana, were visiting.

“Yes, it seems we might be quite compatible.” Seeing Fersen turn bright red and speechless, Feldric’s smile deepened.

“I would prefer you not touch me.” Sophina’s words from last night were something even Feldric hadn’t anticipated. “…” He stared at the face of his new wife in front of him, but she didn’t seem to be afraid.

Perhaps seeing the question on his face, Sophina continued, “I mean to say, I would prefer that you and I do not have a marital relationship.” After Sophina spoke these words, some of which were clearly difficult for her to utter, Feldric understood their meaning and showed overt scorn. “Didn’t you consent to marry me? I did the same. I chose you because you were a convenient match.” Unconsciously, Feldric’s tone changed.

As the biological child of the late Queen Hydeland and an aide to her elder brother, Crown Prince Celsius, Sophina must have brought considerable benefits to the Kingdom of Hydeland. In fact, in the multilateral treaty on tariffs signed about a year ago, Feldric was, surprisingly, outmaneuvered by her and had to settle for a second-best solution. The woman, seven years his junior, whom he had seen as a mere ornament, had met with all the key foreign dignitaries Feldric had pre-negotiated with, as well as those he deemed unnecessary, and had meticulously laid the groundwork before the conference. Her proposals, which served Hydeland’s national interest while also benefiting many other countries, put Kazak at a disadvantage, forcing them to concede significant parts of their initial plan.

(How can such an utterly plain and unremarkable woman, who negotiated on equal terms with foreign heads of state and their representatives and spoke so logically, utter such childish things at this point…?) With half surprise and half disappointment, Feldric’s face twisted into a sarcastic expression.

“Aren’t you impressed? I went to the trouble of choosing you, after all.” “Please don’t misunderstand.” Perhaps sensing the sting in his words, Sophina’s expression hardened, and while her face paled slightly, she stared directly and sharply at Feldric, who was seven years her senior. It wasn’t bad that she didn’t wail or cry, but her gaze was irritating.

“I married you out of necessity. I believe you did the same. This is a contract between nations. But that doesn’t mean we have to engage in conjugal relations, does it?” With a slight frown, she flatly declared their marriage a contract. If so, she likely understood almost all of Feldric’s calculations for this marriage in Kazak.

His goal was to prevent Hydeland and its western neighbor, Shada, from joining forces, and instead keep them at odds. Shada and Kazak were sworn enemies, but it was not wise to confront Shada until the recently acquired former Domskus territory was stable. If he was going to form an marital alliance with Hydeland anyway, he chose Sophina, the woman before him, to also diminish that country’s power. He believed she possessed the intelligence to understand his intentions and the rationality to accept them. It was precisely because he assumed she had that level of wisdom that Feldric desired her as a contractual partner.

“So, you married because it was necessary, but you don’t want to share a bed?” “…” Even though Sophina blushed for a moment, her plain appearance suggested she was far from accustomed enough to “that” to express such dislike. “Are you afraid? But I am naturally confident in that act as well. I can certainly please you.” “P-pleas…” At Feldric’s words, the unexpectedly childlike woman in front of him turned red not just in the face, but all over. She gasped, moving her mouth without making a sound.

“…” Feldric looked down at her, observing her as if she were a rare creature. As expected, she seemed intelligent, and she wasn’t a daughter trained to blindly obey her husband. Honestly, Feldric had hoped for a rational, calculating, or pragmatic woman with good sense, one who had received an imperial education, as his empress. He had hoped for a woman who, at a minimum, possessed enough intelligence not to interfere with his plans. Feldric frowned, his brow furrowed.

“N-no, it’s not that.” “I believe I’m good at it; no woman dislikes me.” “…………What a terrible personality.” Sophina, speechless, then inadvertently let slip her true feelings, causing Feldric’s eyebrows to shoot up. “Oh, so you genuinely dislike me.” Feldric stared at Sophina, finding this unusual. He couldn’t recall ever meeting anyone, especially a woman, who disliked him. There was only one who could hardly be classified as human, but no one else.

“And after I proposed so passionately.” When he laughed ironically, with a hint of teasing, Sophina’s face became blank. “…I wouldn’t take something like that seriously. I know myself best.” Sophina, who had stared back at Feldric no matter how red she became, now lowered her face. “…” Her voice was terribly flat. The moment Feldric leaned in to get a better look at her expression, she looked directly at him again. The luster of her grey-blue eyes, framed by eyelashes that were not particularly long, was unusually striking.

“I know very well that you feel nothing for me, and I accept that. But, at the risk of sounding childish, if we were to enter into such a relationship, I don’t know if I could accept it.” “…” He had thought her pride was wounded, and she was being childishly stubborn by saying she disliked him. But now, Sophina readily admitted her immaturity. While taken aback, Feldric felt his mood considerably dampen.

“Royal marriages are like that.” In fact, Feldric had merely chosen her from many candidates, pragmatically. “Yes. But that doesn’t mean I have to passively accept it. I asked myself that. And based on that, I am making this request.” Her lips were tightly pressed together, and she still didn’t avert her gaze from him.

While acknowledging the current situation, she wasn’t passively accepting it but trying to examine it—one could call it the behavior of a dreamy child, but her attitude wasn’t bad. “…” Feldric intently stared at the still-youthful face before him. He could somewhat understand what Sophina was trying to say. His own father had bothersome concubines, and neither he nor his mother had ever been free from power struggles.

“What if I can’t accept it? What if I become jealous and try to bring people down, or engage in unproductive activities? There are countless examples where such fruitlessness has impoverished the populace or even destroyed entire nations. I absolutely do not want that.” Her appearance brought back memories of a much younger her, diligently listening during boring meetings.

“I will fulfill all marital duties except ‘that.’ I pride myself on being excellent in both foreign and domestic affairs. Socializing, I apologize, I might not be very good at it. But I will not cause any trouble.” Speaking in one breath without pausing, she seemed not entirely unrealistic after all.

In that case, he would confront her with another reality. “For us, having ‘that kind of relationship’ and producing an heir is also an important ‘job’.” Sophina turned bright red again, and Feldric let out a dry laugh. It wasn’t entirely wrong to say this was a good opportunity for teasing.

“…………W-would it be possible to ask someone else?” “…” Even Feldric was surprised. On his wedding night, he certainly hadn’t expected his new wife to tell him to take a concubine and have children with her. Seeing Feldric at a loss for words, Sophina, thinking this was her chance, continued to press on with a serious, almost tragic expression. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have confidence in being a good wife to you. But as your princess and aide, I will do my utmost to improve this country and the lives of its people.”

In the end, nothing happened. Frankly, she was outside Feldric’s scope anyway, and when she spoke such unromantic things, it was difficult for him to function as a man.

(Seventeen? No, eighteen? Her logic is childish, as if she knows about men and women but doesn’t.) Feldric chuckled, feeling Fersen’s curious gaze on him.

However, precisely because of this, she would be a bit of a pastime. She wasn’t the intelligent, pragmatic, or decisive woman he had expected to simply fulfill a contract, but for Feldric, it wasn’t a significant problem either way.

“…” After signing the last of the piled-up documents he had neglected, Feldric squinted at the spring sunlight streaming through the window behind him and stretched.