“I see. It must be for a wedding then.” [Ryouma]
Rurutia is the Goddess of Love. She rules over human relationships. Kufo and Willieris are of life and land respectively. These three are gods that are prayed to during marriage to bless the health of a married coupled and the birth of a new life.
“It’s exactly as you’ve inferred. I believe you’ve heard of it already, but we plan to hold a wedding here.” [Reinhart]
“The bride has been serving us for a long time and she always takes her work seriously…” [Elize]
“So we wanted to hold the ceremony for her.” [Reinhart]
“That’s right.” [Elize]
I heard about it from Arone-san in the waiting room earlier.
That maid has been working for the duke’s family for a long time and was deeply trusted by everyone around her. But she was always focused on her work, and despite being of age already, she still didn’t have any lovers. …At least, that’s what everyone thought, but then all of the sudden, last month, she announced that she was getting married.
But all of her friends are servants. Even if they tried to hold a ceremony, not everyone could make it. If they tried to force it, they would only cause trouble for the duke’s family. So it seems she wasn’t planning on holding a ceremony and was just going to save the money that would have otherwise gone into it.
By the way, the way Arone-san talked about her was like that of a mother worrying over her daughter.
“That child is always working, but she puts her work over her own wellbeing too much.” [Elize]
“If she doesn’t want to hold a ceremony herself, then we figured we’d hold it for her and surprise her. Her coworkers have also expressed their intentions of wanting to hold one for her. It’s not just Ryouma-kun. Serge, Pioro, if you’re willing to help us with the decorations and the food, that would help us out a lot.” [Reinhart]
The two accepted the job with a smile. I’d love to help too, but…
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be making the statues when it’s such an important celebration?” [Ryouma]
It’s going to be a memory that the bride and the groom will remember for the rest of their lives, so I can’t help but be concerned.
But Reinhart-san just laughed.
“It’s fine. It’s fine. Actually, while we were planning, the plan leaked to the person herself, so it’s not a surprise anymore and we’re preparing the ceremony while getting her input. The person herself said that something you’ve made will do.” [Reinhart]
“If you’re so worried, why not try talking to her? She wanted to talk with you too.” [Elize]
As soon as she said that, she rang the bell under the table.
“You called, Madam?” [Maid]
The maid with cat ears from before appeared.
“We’re talking about your wedding, Rurunez.” [Elize]
“Huh?” [Rurunez]
So she’s the maid getting married?
Now that I look at her again, she’s smartly dressed with a pair of glasses on. She looks like a career woman or a secretary, but she’s a beauty no doubt. She seems like the serious sort. But when she found out that we were talking about her wedding, her cheeks suddenly turned beet red.
…Yeah. I bet she’s popular among the men. Wouldn’t be a surprise if the groom becomes the object of envy.
“Thank you so much, my lords.” [Rurunez]
“There’s no need to hold back. We’re planning on entrusting the statues of the gods to Ryouma-kun. You’re fine with that, right?” [Elize]
When the madam asked her that, she nodded.
“Of course, Madam. Takebayashi-sama’s skills have been acknowledged by none other than Your Grace and His Grace. He is a benefactor to us, husband and wife. My husband has repeatedly expressed his desire for Takebayashi-sama to make the statues. And I personally prefer to have them crafted instead of bought ready-made from the stores. Of course, only if it won’t trouble you, Takebayashi-sama.” [Rurunez]
“Of course not! It’s no trouble at all! If you’re happy to have me make it, then by all means, please let me.” [Ryouma]
But there’s another question bothering me.
“You mentioned your husband talking about me. Could he be someone I know? And since he says I’m his benefactor then…” [Ryouma]
When I asked that, Rurunez-san adorably inclined her head.
“…He hasn’t talked to you about it? I heard he met with you yesterday, though.” [Rurunez]
“Yesterday?” [Ryouma]
“Yes. He’s always saying that he’ll talk to you about it when he meets you next, so when he said that he brought you to your inn last night—” [Rurunez]
I thought for sure he’d explained things to you properly. Me too. Same.
At this point, the voices of the maid and the ducal couple suddenly became strangely distant.
Benefactor. Someone who knows my skill in making statues. Someone I met yesterday. Led me to the inn…
When those keywords were inputted into my brain, my brain’s search engine came up with a result.
“Could you be talking about… Hyuzu-san!?” [Ryouma]
“Y-Yes. My husband is indeed Hyuzu…” [Rurunez]
The cat-eared beauty became even redder.
Hyuzu-san is a good guy and all, but I never thought he’d actually marry. I’m shocked.
I know it’s not strange given his age, but… So he’s going to be marrying this person, huh?
It’s something to be happy about, I know. But as someone with no connection to the word ‘love’, I think I’m about to explode.
Somehow, the audience with the duke’s family ended with me feeling complicated