Chapter 185 Apology in Person
Friedel paid no more attention to Selyma. He stepped out of the carriage, swung himself back onto his horse, and spoke coldly.
"You all, take the lady back to Atarat Manor, and don't let her run around everywhere after this."
The knights who followed Friedel immediately surrounded the carriage, forcing the cursing Selyma back inside and escorting it away under tight guard.
Friedel didn't look at the departing carriage convoy again. He turned around and rode his horse straight toward Virlet Manor.
He had to make sure whether Anne was still willing to marry him at this moment!
Virlet Manor.
After all the trouble Selyma caused today, Kyle's impression of Friedel hadn't gotten worse, but he did feel that Anne would definitely suffer quite a bit after marrying Friedel.
Anne was more accepting of it. After all, though Selyma's words were harsh, she was clearly just spoiled—unable to understand others' hardships and only seeing things at surface level.
Her thinking was like a child's—black and white with nothing in between. She was much easier to deal with than people like Old Titan Lady who were kind on the surface but dark inside.
Besides, Friedel had told Anne she could do things her own way and didn't need to suffer any grievances.
So when Elisa was muttering quietly beside her, Anne said helplessly, "Alright, my marriage with Friedel is just a mutual arrangement anyway. I don't need to deliberately please anyone. Worst case, after we get married, I'll just keep living at Virlet Manor like I do now."
"As for you, stop muttering. You've still got a pile of documents on your desk."
Elisa groaned and sat up straight again.
As Anne's personal maid, she had studied all the same courses as Anne except for swordsmanship and military strategy. When it came to handling the territory's official business, she could do it perfectly well too.
Just then, a servant suddenly knocked on the study door, saying that Prince Friedel was at the manor gate and had been stopped by the guard captain Kyle.
Anne immediately guessed why Friedel had come. She found Kyle's blocking him both frustrating and amusing, so she had the servant go to the gate and let Friedel in.
Kyle was a bit unhappy when he heard the reply. He glared hard at Friedel before stepping back a few paces to let him through.
Seeing Kyle's attitude, Friedel understood—his mother had completely offended the Virlets, especially Kyle himself. According to Karina, she'd even threatened to cut off his hands and gouge out his eyes. Friedel wanted to sigh.He pressed his lips together and spoke quietly to Kyle, "I'm sorry about what my mother said."
Kyle was actually surprised by this. He hadn't expected Friedel to personally apologize to him. But he wasn't someone who held grudges, so he waved his hand in a casual manner, "Go on in, Miss Anne is waiting for you."
Only then did Friedel hurry into the manor.
Even when he saw Anne, Friedel was still a bit worried. It wasn't that he didn't trust Anne, but he was afraid that Selyma's words had been too hurtful and had upset Anne, and that people around her might persuade her to give up on marrying him.
Fortunately, Anne wasn't so easily hurt. She gave Friedel a simple curtsy, "Why are you looking for me at this hour?"
Friedel pressed his lips together. Seeing that there were no signs of anger or sadness on Anne's face, he finally spoke, "It's about my mother."
"After I finished my work, I got a message from my brother. He intercepted a letter my mother sent to the Virlet family. I didn't expect my mother would actually come out in person to find you, so I had to rush over to check on you and see how you were doing."
Anne smiled and said, "I see. I did meet and talk with Lady Selyma today. Although she seemed to want to make things difficult for me, apart from her harsh words, there wasn't much else. In the end, Uncle Kyle and I scared her a bit, and she actually got frightened and ran off."
Friedel imagined that scene based on Anne's words and couldn't help but smile. "Mother has been spoiled by Queen Mother Smith and the family members to the point where she speaks without thinking. But you don't need to worry. After we get married, she'll continue living at Atarat Manor and won't have much time to bother us. Even if she does come, the people on my estate all listen to us and won't do things according to her orders. You can rest assured."
Anne didn't contradict Friedel's words, though in her view, after marriage the two of them might not live together often anyway. If Selyma came to cause trouble again, Anne would have Uncle Kyle give her a proper "welcome"—one that would keep her away for good.
As for encountering Selyma while staying at Friedel's estate, that would be Friedel's problem, not hers to worry about.
The two chatted and laughed for a few more sentences. Elisa, standing to the side, felt like she was a bit in the way. She could only speak up during a pause in Anne and Friedel's conversation, "Miss Anne, I'll go prepare for Princess Kirenya's invitation then."
Anne nodded, "Go ahead."
Friedel's expression turned somewhat unpleasant when he heard that name.
"Anne, are you going to attend the banquet Princess Kirenya is hosting?"
Anne nodded, "Yes, since I received an invitation, and the princess's estate isn't far from the Virlet family's territory, going there once shouldn't be a big deal."
Hearing this, Friedel couldn't help but furrow his brow tightly.
Anne glanced at Friedel's expression. "Speaking of which, this princess is your aunt, isn't she? What's wrong, you look like you don't want me to go."
She had thought Friedel would find some excuse to deny it, but unexpectedly he immediately nodded, "Indeed, I don't want you to go to her banquet."
Friedel's relationship with Princess Kirenya was just so-so, but as a relative, he understood her character very well.
Princess Kirenya appeared gentle, beautiful, and sociable on the surface, often mingling with noble ladies, but in reality she was cruel and vicious. The previous king had sent her to her estate because he couldn't stand her personality.
Her husband was a weak marquis, and the couple's relationship was bad. After giving birth to a daughter, the two lived separately—the princess kept male lovers, and the marquis found mistresses.
Life went on like this until one of the marquis's mistresses got pregnant. Princess Kirenya immediately sent knights to capture the woman. Nine months later, a female corpse was thrown into the marquis's back garden—her abdomen had been cut open while she was alive and emptied out.