Chapter 176 You Actually Didn't Express Your Feelings?
After Friedel left the Virlet estate, the smile on his face never faded.
Although Anne still seemed to have quite a few concerns, she had agreed to him after all. In the future, whenever anyone mentioned Anne, they would definitely think of him as Anne's husband.
Their names would be recorded side by side in history, and no one could separate them. As for other men trying to court Anne—hmph, he, Friedel, was not someone easy to deal with!
Thinking about his future with Anne, Friedel spurred his horse faster, eager to reach the royal city and have Rolf arrange their marriage immediately.
Upon arriving, he headed straight to the palace. He didn't bother checking Rolf's schedule—their diligent king was surely in his study handling state affairs.Sure enough, when Friedel pushed open the door and walked in, he saw Rolf sitting wearily at his desk, the quill pen in his hand never stopping.
Conor looked up at Friedel first, then laughed out loud, "Prince Friedel, did something good happen? You look very happy."
Friedel walked quickly to the desk and spoke solemnly to Rolf, "Brother, Anne has agreed to me."
Rolf had been considering the military arrangements for the Drogo Mountains in the document. He paused, confused, "Agreed to what?"
After saying this, he immediately realized, "Anne agreed? You actually went so quickly—this doesn't seem like something you would do at all!"
Conor looked helplessly at the two brothers, "Your Majesty, Prince Friedel just took a fall over this matter last time. How could he make the same mistake again?"
Friedel didn't mind Conor's words. He just smiled at Rolf, "Brother, now you can cancel the requirement you placed on Anne."
Rolf was silent for a long while, still hesitating, "Are you really not lying to me? Deceiving the king is a serious crime."
"No, I just figured things out."
Friedel spoke seriously, "Brother, your arrangement this time was meant to force me to face my own heart. I went back and thought it through. Since Anne has already divorced Holden, I can't let her go easily and let someone else take her from me."
"Moreover, as you said, Anne is no longer the same. She's now the Duke of Virlet and commands the Ivy Knights. We must ensure her husband is loyal to the Soth Empire and won't seize the dukedom. I meet all these requirements.""And I have feelings for Anne. I definitely won't wrong her. You can rest assured, can't you, brother?"
Rolf sighed deeply, "If only you had figured this out earlier. When you went to see Lady Sophia back then, you could have stopped by to see Anne and told her how you felt. Maybe there wouldn't have been the obstacle of Holden at all."
"But now that you've both made your feelings clear to each other, as husband and wife getting along well and helping each other, that's pretty good too."
Rolf had thought that after hearing this, Friedel would readily agree. Unexpectedly, his blockhead of a brother's expression changed instantly, and he seemed a bit afraid to meet his eyes.
Rolf immediately felt something was wrong. He asked, "You... what exactly did you say to Anne? Didn't you confess your feelings?"
Friedel smiled bitterly, "I did, but Anne didn't believe me."
"I could only tell her that I didn't want to accept the ladies you introduced as my wife, and I heard that Anne needed to find a suitable husband within three months, so..."
Rolf couldn't help but raise his voice, "So you told her you were just settling!?"
"You're really going to drive me crazy! You've liked her for so long—wouldn't it be better to just tell her everything you're thinking?"
Friedel turned his head away. He said in a low voice, "Anne only just got divorced not long ago. At this time, she probably won't believe any man's sweet talk. Even if I told her my true feelings, would Anne really believe it?"
"She would only think I was lying to her to achieve my goal. Forget about agreeing—she might directly cross me off in her heart and never consider me again. The way things are now is pretty good. What I said wasn't entirely a lie to her. Our marriage is indeed to solve current troubles, and the person I liked did get married a few years ago. As for how things develop later, we'll see after we're married."
"In any case, I won't let Anne be unhappy. I'll find a way to make her understand my feelings—not for scheming or monitoring, but simply because it's her. That's all."
Rolf nodded, "It's rare that you're willing to express yourself bravely for once... Fine, as long as you think there's no problem, as your brother, I definitely support and bless you both."
"You came here now—do you want me to arrange your marriage?"
Friedel thought for a moment, "That's not necessary. If you arrange the marriage, most people now will immediately think of that three-month agreement and think my marriage to Anne is a scheme. I came this time just to have you withdraw the order you gave Anne, and to let you know about mine and Anne's thoughts."
"As for the subsequent wedding arrangements, I'll wait until I talk to Mother..."
Thinking of that person's temper, Friedel paused and frowned irritably. "I'll wait until I explain this matter to Mother, to prevent her from coming to cause trouble at the wedding."
Rolf also thought of Selyma's temper. He didn't like that woman, but Selyma had given birth to Friedel after all, so he couldn't say much.
He could only wave his hand, "She's not that easy to talk to. You'd better think of a way to handle it."
Friedel nodded. He had already thought it through—whether or not Mother accepted Anne, his decision to marry Anne was non-negotiable.
If Mother insisted on stopping it...
Friedel gritted his teeth. Then he could also accept confining Mother to Atarat Manor to live out her retirement in peace.
Atarat Manor, specially selected for Lady Selyma, sat on the royal city's outskirts with mountains, an artificial lake, and pleasant scenery ideal for living.Selyma was lounging lazily on the sofa, planning what things to bring when she went to stay at Friedel's territory for a while, when she heard a servant report that Friedel had come to see her.
Selyma was quite fond of her son Friedel.
After all, among the previous king's most outstanding children, aside from Rolf born to Queen Mother Smith, there was Friedel.
With Friedel around, Selyma had received quite a bit of praise from noble ladies, saying she was very good at raising children.