Chapter 175 Finding a Mistress Doesn't Matter
"It's about my mother. I'm not sure if you've heard of her." Friedel chose his words carefully. "She has a bad temper and says pretty harsh things. If she finds out we're getting married, she'll probably make a scene. Our marriage won't be affected by her, but what I'm worried about is that her words might hurt you."
"If that really happens, don't worry about my feelings. Just do whatever you think is right. My mother... she's been spoiled too much. It's about time someone put her in her place."
Anne was stunned for a moment. "You and your mother... Lady Selyma, you don't get along?"
Friedel sighed. "I was raised by Queen Mother Smith. I'm closer to her than to my mother."
Anne could tell Friedel had more to say, but right now their relationship was just about dealing with this marriage arrangement. When it came down to it, they weren't close enough to share each other's secrets, so she simply acknowledged it with understanding.Now that they'd achieved their goal, both Friedel and Anne couldn't help but feel relieved. When they looked at each other again, they both found it somewhat amusing.
Anne sighed. "I never thought my second marriage would be with Lord Friedel. If Cynthia found out about this, she'd definitely laugh at me."
"Why?" Friedel looked at Anne's smiling face, feeling peaceful and content, with a sweet sense of getting what he wished for.
"Um... it's nothing important."
Anne certainly didn't dare tell Friedel about Cynthia's joke. What if he thought she'd been plotting to get him all along?
She waved her hand and quickly changed the subject. "Since it's decided, I'll have to trouble Lord Friedel to go see His Majesty and tell him about this."
But Friedel kept looking at her with intense eyes, making Anne feel a bit embarrassed. "What? Is there something on my face?"
"No." Friedel spoke slowly. "Since we've decided to get married, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to keep using formal titles? Hmm, Anne?"
Anne instinctively grabbed the corner of her dress. She wasn't the shy type, and once she understood what Friedel meant, she quickly relaxed. "You're right. I'll just call you Friedel from now on."
Friedel nodded, his eyes full of smiles. "Then I'll go talk to my brother about this as soon as possible. If we drag this out, those people who aren't afraid of death will start coming to Virlet Manor to butter you up."
Anne knew this matter needed to be settled quickly, so she didn't say much more. She walked Friedel to the door and watched his figure disappear in the distance, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
Kyle stood beside Anne. Seeing her like this, he thought something major had happened on the battlefield or in politics, and quickly asked, "Miss, what's wrong?"
Only then did Anne come back to her senses. She called Elisa and Kyle to the study and explained Friedel's purpose and that she had accepted.
"So, so that lord is going to be Miss Anne's husband!?"
Elisa was thrilled—she'd already thought Friedel's handsome face matched Anne perfectly, and now learning he'd proposed and Anne had agreed, she could barely suppress a scream.After getting Anne's confirmation, Elisa quickly stepped forward. She gripped Anne's hands tightly, tears instantly falling. "I trust Miss Anne's choice. Lord Friedel must be someone worth trusting!"
"And His Majesty's requirement is fulfilled too. This way, we don't have to keep worrying about this!"
Anne smiled and wiped Elisa's tears. "Why are you crying? This is the best solution right now. I've made it clear to Friedel that after marriage, I'll still stay at Virlet Manor long-term to handle business. In a way, it's not that different from not being married."
Kyle stood to the side, his expression gradually changing from initial joy to hesitation. After a long while, he finally spoke. "Miss, the fact that he could take over the Lion Knights from Lord Skoda shows he has Lord Skoda's approval. I don't doubt his character or abilities, but he's still royalty!"
Hearing this, Elisa immediately caught on. "Right, if he's royalty, he might find mistresses in the future. What do we do about that?"
Although Elisa wanted to say that with Miss Anne's looks, where could anyone find a woman more beautiful than her?
But thinking of Holden, Elisa's anger was hard to suppress. She looked at Anne worriedly. "Every single royal has mistresses, and quite a few of them. I'm not worried they'll bully Miss Anne, but it's still annoying to just watch it happen."
Anne spoke calmly, "I've already mentioned this. If Friedel wants to find mistresses, I won't stop him."
"After all, we're not getting together because of feelings. To be precise, we're only coming together because we both need to get married. In this matter, I don't need to stop Friedel. But I've also told him that if he does find mistresses in the future, don't let those women come bother me."
Anne sighed at Elisa's angry expression, then gently pinched her cheeks. "I know you're thinking about Holden and Candy, but at the end of the day, this is different."
"When I married Holden, although it was a decision my mother made after careful thought, both Holden and I had feelings for each other. He promised I would be his only woman, so I willingly married him and helped him take care of the Titan family members. Later, Holden used his military achievements to get His Majesty's permission to marry Candy, and brought Candy to provoke me several times. He broke his promise first. I couldn't accept the betrayal, so I chose to leave."
"These two situations are completely different. So no matter how many women Friedel finds, it doesn't count as betraying me. If I had to say something, it would be that if one day his mistresses come to bother me, that would make me a bit unhappy, but not enough to divorce. Do you understand?"
Elisa hung her head sadly. She had originally thought Anne and Friedel being together would be pretty good, but now hearing Anne's analysis and comparison, she didn't feel marrying Friedel would be much better.
"Alright, not bothering each other is already the best outcome. If we don't hope for more, we won't feel bad."
Hearing this, Elisa agreed, and the weight on her heart instantly lifted.