Risou no Himo Seikatsu - Volume 15 - Chapter 3.1

Chapter 3 — Ability and Preference

Several days after Zenjirou returned from Uppasala, there was a major evening event held in the royal palace to welcome a foreign royal.

The chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings were adorned with a multitude of candles, and each table hosted a finely made candlestick that cast a reddish glow around the area. There was a recent addition of more lighting as well—instead of the naturally wavering candlelight, there were globes of fire (magic tools) completely motionless on several tables.

The common lighting in the Twin Kingdoms of Sharou-Gilbelle had, of course, been provided by Francesco and Bona. The tools using light magic itself were valuable even within the Twin Kingdoms, so they didn’t have any of those present, but even the static flames were far better than natural fire. The event was just a little brighter than usual thanks to those magic tools, and the couple hosting the event stood in the extra light across from the guest of honor.

“I bid you welcome to Capua once again, Prince Yngvi. This banquet is our reception for you, and I would be pleased if you would enjoy yourself,” Zenjirou said in greeting.

“It is an honor, Your Majesty,” the prince answered formally.

“I likewise hope you enjoy your night, Prince Yngvi,” Freya, as Zenjirou’s partner, added with her hand on Zenjirou’s arm, treating Yngvi like a stranger.

“My thanks, Lady Freya,” their guest of honor replied with a smile.

Even after all this time, Zenjirou still marveled at how similar Yngvi’s smile was to Freya’s. His words and the way he carried himself were the very model of what was expected between foreign royals, but his expression and tone made it obvious how close they were.

As Zenjirou stood next to the two while they spoke, it made him feel a little jealous. Although he wasn’t childish enough to truly envy his wife’s brother, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of it as he watched someone more in tune with her than he was.

“We have included food and drink more common here in accordance with your fondness for new things, Your Highness. I hope they are to your taste,” Zenjirou continued.

“Thank you for the consideration, Your Majesty. Based on the last several days, I believe they should be.”

The prince had been in the country for several days, so he had already sampled the local cuisine several times before the banquet. The meat came from drakes rather than goats, and the seasoning with salt was common between both countries. However, Capua barely used any herbs and instead used plenty of spices. Some dishes also contained a large amount of sugar. Even the fruits and vegetables were wildly different from what he was used to. Yngvi had, just as Zenjirou’s comments would imply, given no sign of avoiding the alien foods.

“While this is also true of the food, I must admit that I find the clothing here fascinating. I am already familiar with your outfit, Your Majesty, but it is the first time I have seen Lady Freya in its like.”

Indeed, Zenjirou was wearing his familiar third uniform. Freya was wearing a matching outfit, a native set of clothes using red as its base. Marrying Zenjirou had made her part of the Capuan royal family, and much of their outfits had red foundations, although the majority of them were dresses. This was the first time she’d worn the traditional Capuan clothing in an official capacity.

“Indeed. I was interested for quite some time, and I finally feel that I wear it well enough to do so in public,” Freya replied, the smile on her face just as confident as her words.

Unlike dresses—which were made to fit the body—the traditional Capuan clothing took practice to don. It was a long piece of cloth wrapped around you, folded and layered before being fixed with ties, so wearing it without practice could cause a careless movement to ruin the outfit. In a regular person’s day-to-day life, an outfit slipping a little wouldn’t be an issue, but it would be a huge gaffe for a royal. That was why it had taken so long for Freya to debut her traditional outfit.

“It works well. Even you look ladylike in such attire, Lady Freya.”

“Oh, and in what way do you mean that?”

“In precisely the way you think, I suppose?”

The light glare on Freya’s face along with Yngvi’s simple shrug prompted stifled chuckles from the onlookers, showing their friendly teasing.

Zenjirou laughed slightly exaggeratedly. “You are certainly related. Freya wears many new expressions in front of you, Prince Yngvi,” he said, tacitly approving the conversation.

They spent a little while longer talking politely, speaking on food, clothing, drakes, and even the weather. Although it wasn’t pointless, none of it was what Zenjirou really wanted to talk about.

His topics of choice were more about Utgard, the priest and mercenary, how the church was reacting, and how the main countries that followed the religion were acting. None of those were things they could discuss in a place like this.

Above all, the main—albeit unofficial—reason for the banquet tonight was to gather candidates to marry Prince Yngvi, the heir apparent to the throne of Uppasala. Therefore even several of the inner palace maids were participating, along with many of the other noble girls.

In order to achieve their goal, Zenjirou and Freya, hosts or not, could hardly monopolize all of Yngvi’s time.

“Enjoy yourself then,” Zenjirou concluded.

“Excuse us, Prince Yngvi,” Freya added.

With that, the two moved away from the prince, arm in arm. Immediately, people began to step in. Some of them were moving to greet the hosts of the party. There was no real unifying feature to them. Meanwhile, there were those who moved towards the guest of honor. They had a commonality, though, being escorted by a parent or guardian, unmarried and young.

The news had been spread before the event that Yngvi was looking for a second bride. Among the escorts were those responsible for several young women. Of course, there were parents who had multiple unwed children, but there were also people escorting those from subordinate families.

In any case, it was the status of those being introduced to the prince that was important, regardless of whether they were escorted by a parent, a superior, a guardian, or even a conservator. The events unfolding seemed just like a marriage interview, but with multiple people on one side.