My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 148
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Side Story 1 — HER LOVER IS THE ARCHMAGE!
Austin and Rachel's wedding went well.
And now it’s time for their honeymoon. Before they climb into their carriage, they bow, a little shy, to me, my parents, and the Duke and Duchess of Soli.
“Have a safe trip.”
“Enjoy yourselves until summer.”
The Duke and Duchess of Soli smile as they wish them farewell. My parents also congratulate them on their new beginning.
But… in a strange way.
“Austin, you know you're supposed to be two people when you go, but three when you come back, right?”
“Uh… we're already three.” Austin stammers, squeezing Rachel’s hand. She blushes and rubs her stomach.
My father chuckles. “Oh, right, I forgot. Must be because of my age.”
“Aging means growing more wisdom, sir.” Austin says, as someone who has led an exemplary life as a butler to our duchy.
But my father seems to have taken it quite literally. “Haha! You're right. At my age, with a wife like my flower girl to keep me company night after night, I'm pretty wise, don't you think, Duchess?”
My mother cups her cheeks with her hands and shakes head. “Oh, I’m not too sure. Would you mind giving me a kiss so I can answer you?”
She giggles and falls into his arms, making them melt into a puddle of affection.
‘....’
The other people on the scene are melting and dying in a different sense.
My mother runs a finger across his chin. “Duke, now that the mansion is without a butler for the time being, I suppose there are fewer eyes on you, so you don't mind if I go out a little less at night, do you?”
“Of course, my sweetheart….”
Then the gap between their lips starts to shrink.
Huek!
Standing behind Duke Soli, Hubert spits out the orange juice he’s drinking. Luckily, he turns his head the other way exactly 0.3 seconds before the liquid spews out, so no one gets splashed.
I hastily defuse the tense atmosphere. “Austin, Rachel. You've been through a lot with the wedding, get going.”
“Yes, as you say, I'll be off, my lady….”
“Thank you for getting us out of here….”
And just like that, they’re off on their honeymoon, leaving behind the middle-aged love affair they never wanted to see. Once I’m sure the carriage is gone, I jerk my head around. “Mother, Father, what do you think you’re doing?”
“What?”
“What do you mean?”
My parents, hugging each other as tightly as vines growing over an old city wall, stare at me.
I judge them with a sour expression. “What are you doing in front of people who just got married? Are you trying to bring our reputation into disrepute?”
My parents begin to stammer.
“Well, we didn't mean to do that!”
“I just love your mother so much…!”’
But to me, who has already suffered the brunt of my parents' PDA, they all sound like lame excuses.
“There are so many ways to show love besides physically expressing it, why do you always have to denigrate other people's visual freedom like this?”
My parents gasp and swallow at my rebuttal.
“Oh my god, our wooden doll-like daughter has started discussing love!”
“Our iceberg, Skyla, is finally starting to melt and have a heart-to-heart with Lancer!”
“Stop saying weird things. Sigh… I'm going to go now.”
“Where are you going, my dear?”
“Where my parents aren't.” I press a hand to my forehead and gesture to Lancer, standing next to Hubert. “Let's go, Lancer.”
“Alright.” Lancer steps to my side and takes my hand. He escorts me out.
“Where shall we go? To your duchy?” Ticef, waiting for me with Phoebe, asks.
I shake my head. “No, to the Soli Duchy.”
I’m fed up with my parents' behaviour, which has become more severe with each passing day, and so I sought out the Soli Duchy more than I have in the past. Whatever the reason, Lancer seems pleased to hear that.
“Would you like to sleep over tonight?” He asks in the rattling carriage.
He's making dangerous comments again. Crossing my arms, I glare at him, then poke him in the cheek with one hand.
“Ouch.” He makes an unnecessarily pained sound, even though it probably doesn't hurt. I find the reaction vaguely amusing, so I poke him in the cheek some more.
“I told you you shouldn’t say that.”
“But I want to cuddle you and sleep with you….”’ He wraps his arms around me and hugs me tightly. Yet his touch is gentle, as if he’s handling a precious treasure.
“...Don't you want that too?” Looking down at me, his eyes sparkle, reflecting the setting sun.
I can’t lie in front of them. “...Of course I do.”
“Really? Then let’s go to bed together tonight.”
“But…” I can’t finish that sentence. I’ve been exposed to my parents' careless PDA from an early age. Of course, a happy couple can celebrate, but I often witness the mansion's servants gossiping amongst themselves and expressing their disapproval of their behaviour. So I’m not yet comfortable with expressions of romantic love.
Whether he knows that or not, Lancer keeps trying to convince me. “My bed is big and comfortable.”
“Yeah, my bed is big and comfortable, too.”
“But my pillow is better, it's got goose feathers and it's so fluffy, you can fall asleep right away if you put your head on it. You should try it.”
“Why are you trying to sell me your pillow…? I can always lie on your… arm.” I avert my gaze, stumbling over my words. I want to say, ‘why would I want to use your pillow when I have your arms?’
Lancer tilts his head. “What?”
“I put my head where I want it, do you have a problem with that?” I huff, flustered.
He grins. “No, I don't.”
He bends his head down to make eye contact with me. “I'll do whatever you want.”
Leaning down toward me, his face is right in front of mine. I see my reflection in his eyes. “So can’t you stay the night?”
“You…” If I continue to stare into his jewel-like eyes, I know I will be blindsided by his words. So I look away.
But that’s a big mistake. I thought I could just look away from Lancer's face, but that wasn't the case.
As my gaze darts from his prominent nose down his strong jawline to his broad shoulders, I’m at a loss for words. He’s always been good at everything physical, so his body is becoming more and more toned by the day.
In the winter, I’ve been able to get away with it because his body is hidden under his clothes, but as the weather warms in the spring, his clothes become thinner, and I feel increasingly tested.
“...Fast thoughts, good thoughts.” I swallow dryly. Since we had officially announced our relationship to the public, Lancer has been very aggressively flirting with me.
No, that’s wrong.
Lancer has always been flirting with me. It's just that I misunderstood it and didn't take it in the right way.
“I want to cuddle you every day, Skyla.” Lancer's arm slips around my waist. “I'll always embrace you, and I'll never let go.”
My heart pounds. My hands clench in my lap. Right now, all I want to do is wrap my arms around him and collapse onto the carriage seat with him…
Huh?
What was I thinking?
You're crazy, Skyla!
I can’t believe that just a few moments ago, an outlandish thought had crossed my mind.
“I hope the Crown Prince will grant us a marriage licence soon. Don't you hope so too, Skyla?” Lancer murmurs, burying his face in the nape of my neck.
I stiffen before nodding. “...I hope His Highness will grant us permission soon.”
I think of Prince Ryan, who’s probably hard at work in the palace right now.
Needless to say, marriages for nobles are tricky. It's not just a matter of two people seeing eye-to-eye, especially in the imperial court. Once two nobles announce their intention to marry to the imperial court, the imperial court will begin the process of ensuring that the two noble families are in good standing. This is to ensure that the marriage would not result in one family's heir passing to the other, thus breaking the line.
Marriage licences are first reviewed by the crown prince, then by the empress, and finally by the emperor. The emperor's seal is the final approval, because the emperor usually did not interfere with marriages approved by the crown prince.
In other words, the crown prince is the one who actually decides the marriages of the nobility in this country. Of course, I would inherit the title of Duke of Kaerun as it is, and Lancer is the third son of the Duke of Soli, so there was no reason for the family line to be broken. So when I applied to the imperial court for a marriage licence at the beginning of the year, I thought things would move quickly.
But…
Three long months have passed and there’s still no marriage licence granted by the imperial court.
How on earth does the crown prince of this country handle public affairs!
I heard from Aronia that other ladies and gentlemen who applied for marriage licences even later than us had already received the documents with the stamp of approval. They've already had their ceremonies and started their families.
But me and Lancer? When the hell are we going to get our marriage licence? Me and Lancer are still only holding hands because the imperial court hasn't given us permission.
It's so weird. The crown prince I knew was not an incompetent man. In fact, he was so efficient that his aides and scribes couldn't keep up with him.
Then why is he taking so long to process my marriage licence to Lancer?
Is it because he still has feelings for me? No way. No…
Is he deliberately dragging out the process because he doesn't want me to marry Lancer?