Chapter 171 Clever Troubles
But no matter what, Selyma was Friedel's mother after all. He couldn't just turn her away, so he could only take a deep breath and try to keep his tone calm. "Write back to Atarat Manor and tell my mother that I can prepare dresses and jewelry for her, but I won't follow all her requirements. If she doesn't accept that, she doesn't have to come."
Lain could almost picture the lady throwing a fit. He pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile. "Yes, Your Highness. I'll write the letter shortly. And about your matter with Duke Virlet—should I ask Lady Selyma about it while I'm at it?"
Friedel shook his head. "Don't ask her. This is my own business."
"Besides, I'm still not sure if Anne is willing."
Lain thought for a moment, then said carefully, "Why don't you go ask Duke Virlet directly, Your Highness? If she's willing to consider it, you can ask His Majesty the King to temporarily withdraw the order."
"Part of the reason His Majesty arranged things this way was to help you fulfill your own wishes. If she doesn't object, then His Majesty should understand that you want your union with her to come from both your hearts, not just to secure the Virlet family's power and ensure the Soth Empire's stability."
Lain knew that Friedel must have thought of this already. After all, as his close attendant, he knew perfectly well how genuine Friedel's feelings for Anne were. If such pure feelings and marriage became nothing but scheming under His Majesty's arrangement, how much would that hurt them both?
Friedel sighed. "I asked my brother, but he said he needs to make sure everything goes smoothly. The condition isn't whether Anne is willing or not, but rather, while satisfying my wishes, he needs to make sure no one else can interfere and take the title away from her."
"I don't think Annewould give up her title that easily."
"Neither do I. Anne values the Virlet family very highly. She might even prefer to have another man marry into the family rather than marry out."
"But that kind of marriage wouldn't mean anything. As for me—" Friedel sighed. "If I really ask my brother to withdraw the order about Anne, he probably won't wait three months and will just arrange our marriage directly. I can already think of his reason—that I once asked Lady Sophia to let Anne marry me."
"But Annedidn't marry you back then."
Friedel nodded. "Then everyone in the Soth Empire will think that Lady Sophia looked down on me, that the Virlet family didn't trust me back then. After all that, even if Anne still thinks my brother and I are scheming against her, she'll feel guilty because of the rumors outside and eventually be willing to get along with me."
"My brother thinks that as long as I marry Anne, I'll be satisfied. But he hasn't considered how awkward our marriage will become because of labels like suspicion and scheming."
Friedel sighed. "It's such a headache."
"If only Anne were a bit slower on the uptake, I wouldn't have to think about all this. But she's smart. The moment I go find her, she'll probably guess what I'm thinking and figure out my brother's calculations too."
Lain thought for a moment, then spoke carefully. "Duke Virlet being smart is also a good thing. If Your Highness explains everything clearly to her and makes it clear that none of this was your plan, maybe it won't be as complicated as we think?"
He added,"Either way, Your Highness needs to figure out how to approach her. Don't drag it out until the three months are up and His Majesty arranges the marriage directly. By then, if you want to explain, you'll have missed the best opportunity."
Friedel pressed his lips together. Of course he understood that if he could be honest with Anne from the start, at least in her eyes, he would be the one who came to discuss solutions with her right away, not someone deliberately scheming with the King against her.
As for Lain's earlier mention of Selyma, Friedel knew in his heart that his mother would never like Anne, even though Anne was already a duke and commanded a powerful order of knights.
In Selyma's eyes, women shouldn't be so assertive, and certainly shouldn't stand higher than men—not to mention that Anne was a divorced woman.
Friedel disliked Selyma's prejudice against women but couldn't argue with her, as she might blame Anne for influencing him.
The more he thought about it, the bigger his headache became.
But the most important thing right now was still Anne. Friedel decided to get a good night's sleep first, and as soon as he woke up, he'd go straight to the Virlet family's territory!
Virlet Manor.
Anne had been dealing with all the invitations that kept arriving. Ever since the Titan family made that scene at the marquis's gate, everyone who'd been watching had come out of the woodwork.
Especially those nobles who'd been hesitating about whether to curry favor with Anne—after Dr. Pascal's words that day made it crystal clear that Holden had never touched Anne at all.
They looked into it and sure enough, on the day of Anne and Holden's wedding, Holden had left for the southern battlefield. They hadn't even completed the wedding ceremony. Three years later, when Holden returned to the Titan family, Candy was already by his side, and he treated Anne with complete disdain.
Even though nobles privately fooled around with affairs and orgies, on the surface, at least for the sake of their family's reputation, they hoped their wives' bodies would be reserved for their husbands' enjoyment. If Anne and Holden had never slept together, then she was a chaste woman.
A loyal, pure woman who had risen to the position of duke, and His Majesty the King had personally ordered that Anne could transfer her ducal title to her future husband—such a woman could ignite the passion of every single man.
Even some married men were considering whether to find a way to win Anne's favor first, then "deal with" their wives at home to get a noble new wife in exchange.
Anne was at the center of this whirlpool, and she was well aware of all these undercurrents.
It was in this situation that Kyle sent someone to announce that Friedel, commander of the Lion Knights, had come to visit.
Kyle had initially wanted to say Prince Friedel was visiting, but seeing Friedel's serious expression, and remembering how he'd dismounted and asked if Commander Anne was in—this military way of addressing her gave Kyle a momentary illusion that this famously handsome man of the empire had come to Virlet Manor only to discuss matters related to the knights.