The Devoted Duke

Jürgen von Reinfeld. Twenty-six years old.

The young head of House Reinfeld, whose territory lies between the eastern and southern regions. In other words, he was a duke.

House Reinfeld's territory was not particularly large. In the first place, it was a relatively new ducal house.

Even so, the house had prospered greatly through trade in local specialties and minerals. In that respect, he had achieved enough to be a suitable match for my sister.

"That said, she's not the sort of person who cares that much about family standing."

I muttered as I looked over the documents.

The problem was the phrase written in the documents Sebas had brought me: he was supposedly poor at martial arts.

My sister was a soldier to the core, and she valued whether someone could be useful on the battlefield. If she were to take a husband, she would probably prefer someone who was simply strong. He could be skilled in martial arts or an excellent commander. In any case, he needed something he could use to stand out on the battlefield.

"Now then, what should I do?"

"Prince Arnold. I have a report for you."

"What is it, Sebas?"

"The Duke of Reinfeld, who is the prospective match for Her Imperial Highness, is apparently in the Imperial Capital in disguise."

"What!? He's a duke, for heaven's sake!"

"I hear he's quite the go-getter, and that he came unofficially to offer His Majesty his thanks."

"His thanks? For accepting the marriage proposal?"

"Well... Apparently, the Duke of Reinfeld has proposed marriage several times. To the First Imperial Princess, that is. For more than ten years now."

...More than ten years?

What was that supposed to mean?

Had he been carrying a torch for her all this time and continued to pursue her?

The fact that the matter had never become public meant that he had kept getting rejected. Knowing Father, there was no way he wouldn't have brought the proposals to my sister. Which meant...

"My sister has been turning down the Duke of Reinfeld for more than ten years!?"

"That would appear to be the case."

"'That would appear to be the case'...? Then he has no chance at all, does he!?"

"There must have been quite a few ducal houses that proposed marriage to the First Imperial Princess. Perhaps His Majesty was moved by the Duke of Reinfeld's persistence in continuing to propose despite being rejected all these years, and decided to take active measures himself."

"He took active measures, got rejected, and dumped the matter on me. Don't dress it up like some touching tale."

This was an unexpectedly tall order.

What kind of person was the Duke of Reinfeld, anyway?

He must have been far outside my sister's preferences.

"It can't be helped. I'll meet him, too."

"That is likely the only option. I imagine His Majesty feels the same way."

The moment he said that, there was a knock at the door.

It was probably a summons from Father.

Well, then. Time to meet my prospective future brother-in-law.

■■■

Oh boy, this was rough.

That was my first impression when I saw Jürgen von Reinfeld.

After Father had met Jürgen in secret, I visited the room where Jürgen was staying.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Prince Arnold. I am Jürgen von Reinfeld. My father passed the title of Duke of Reinfeld on to me a short while ago."

Jürgen said that with a good-natured smile. He was a little shorter than me.

Since I was about average height, that made him somewhat short for an adult man.

The real issue was his width. He definitely weighed more than I did.

His appearance made me think of a small, chubby bear cub. His good-natured smile made him seem kind, but unfortunately, he was the exact opposite of my sister's type.

He wasn't ugly, but he wasn't particularly handsome, either. As far as his appearance went, he was at a serious disadvantage.

"The pleasure is mine. I am Arnold Lakes Adler, the Seventh Prince."

The polite language came naturally because Jürgen had such a good-natured smile and air about him.

I simply couldn't bring myself to act overbearing toward this man.

He was probably just as good a person as he looked. His goodness practically radiated from him.

But still...

"His Majesty told me that Prince Arnold would help bring me together with Princess Lieselotte. Is that true?"

That father of mine had gone and said something unnecessary again...

Lieselotte Lakes Adler.

The First Imperial Princess and a marshal.

The strongest general in the imperial family.

Playing matchmaker between me and someone like her was an absurdly difficult task. Did he understand that?

"Yes, well... His Majesty did order me to do so..."

"Then I am relieved. I have heard that Princess Lieselotte only opens her heart to Princess Krista and you among her siblings."

"...If you don't mind my asking, who told you that?"

"The princess herself, of course."

"...You've been in contact with Sister Liese?"

I had a vaguely ominous feeling.

It was true that, among the imperial family, my sister only trusted me and Krista.

It was unusual for my sister, who was always on the battlefield, to be in the Imperial Capital. That was why she sent me letters fairly often.

She used to send letters to me, Krista, and Leo, but she hadn't sent Leo a single letter in the past three years.

Whenever I asked Leo what had happened, he wouldn't answer, and my sister offered no explanation, either.

Only a very few people knew about this.

What kind of place did this man occupy in her life, if he had heard about it from the princess herself?

"Yes. I've sent her many letters myself. At first, I thought we could start as pen pals, but it has turned out to be surprisingly difficult. I get one reply for every three letters, if that."

"I-I see..."

He was more proactive than I'd expected.

To pursue my sister so aggressively was, in a sense, the mark of a true force to be reckoned with.

I could never imitate him. And if he got one reply for every three letters, that meant two of them were being ignored. I couldn't stand that.

"Has His Majesty told you how Princess Lieselotte and I first met?"

"No, Father hasn't told me anything..."

"It was twenty years ago."

"Twenty years!?"

Twenty years since they had met.

Had this man known my sister since he was around six years old!?

"Yes. When I first came to the Imperial Capital, there was a swordsmanship tournament for the children of nobles. My opponent was older and much larger than me, however. After he defeated me utterly, I cried and complained that it was unfair. Then a small girl came over and told me that it was wrong to try to win without making any effort. Age and physique had nothing to do with it; my opponent's swordsmanship showed that he had put in more effort. That girl jumped into the tournament and went on to win it brilliantly. Only then did I learn that she was Princess Lieselotte, who was five years old at the time. I had been crying while refusing to acknowledge my own shortcomings, and I was terribly ashamed of myself. At the same time, I was completely captivated by Lieselotte-sama. I remember that sight very clearly. She was beautiful. Even now, I believe she is the most beautiful woman in the world."

"...So it was love at first sight?"

"Yes, exactly. My heart was stolen the moment I saw her."

Jürgen said it without a hint of embarrassment.

Was this man even more proactive than I had expected?

"And so, immediately after the tournament, I proposed to her."

"Hm? What? You proposed right there?"

"Yes. I thought she was the only one for me. I felt it in an instant. Of course, she rejected me without mercy. She told me that she would consider it once I became a man worthy of her. So I resolved to become a man who could stand at her side. I started by building up my family's estate. I was hopeless at martial arts, so I studied commerce and made my territory prosperous. Then, when I was around fifteen and my efforts began to bear fruit, I proposed again. That time, I submitted my proposal through His Majesty. But the answer was still no. And so it has continued ever since."

Jürgen gave a wry smile, but I couldn't laugh at all.

Had he really been in love with my sister for twenty years?

Despite myself, I was moved. So there really were admirable people in this world.

Unfortunately, with that many rejections, there was no hope left. My sister wasn't the sort of person who changed her mind.

"I tried sending her personal letters and giving her precious swords, but neither had much effect. I even joined the army myself, but I was kicked out almost immediately. Apparently, word reached Lieselotte-sama. Ever since then, I haven't been allowed anywhere near military grounds."

"...Why would you go that far? Is it because my sister is such an attractive woman?"

"I suppose so. She is beautiful and strong, and she was my ideal woman, so I must have fallen in love with her for that reason. But now, none of that matters. I love Lieselotte-sama herself. I love her. Please lend me your aid. I can love no one else."

H-How intense...

His devotion was overwhelming.

Most people would give up after twenty years of unrequited love.

My sister was something else for continuing to turn him down, but this man was also pretty strange for never giving up.

At present, he was probably the only duke still proposing to my sister. If he gave up, her marriage would be pushed impossibly far into the future. That was probably why Father was in such a hurry to arrange this match and had brought the matter to me.

He was a good man.

I knew that much. As her younger brother, I was happy that someone had loved my sister for twenty years, and it was impressive that he had achieved so much in his efforts to become worthy of her.

If he could turn his attention to anyone besides my sister, he would have no trouble finding a wife.

Even so, this man would look at no one but my sister.

Because he was sincere when he said he loved her.

Sigh... What a difficult situation.

Apparently, I couldn't leave people who tried so hard to fend for themselves.

Perhaps that was simply my nature.

"I understand. I'll do what I can. But don't get your hopes up."

"No, that is truly reassuring! Most of the time, when I receive a reply to one of my letters, it is because I have told her that I am going to the Imperial Capital. Lieselotte-sama wrote that, even if she didn't meet me, she wanted me to find out how you and Princess Krista were doing. You can tell from her words that she is worried about you both."

"I see... So my sister does..."

Leo used to be included among them as well.

If I was going to tackle this problem in earnest, I might have to ask about that as well.

I steeled myself and took a deep breath.

Father probably wouldn't be angry even if I failed. But if he wanted to see my sister in a bridal gown, I wanted to make that happen.

I wanted to help this devoted duke, too.

"Duke of Reinfeld, I will use every means at my disposal to make you look good to my sister. In exchange for that—"

"Your support in the struggle for the imperial throne. Understood. Ever since I heard that Prince Leonart had entered the succession struggle, I assumed that you would join as well, and I intended to offer you my support. Though our aid may be modest, House Reinfeld will support your side. That will not change even if you fail."

"Then this makes things simple. Shall we begin our strategy meeting? My sister is a formidable opponent, after all."

With that, I began a strategy meeting with Jürgen, smiling all the while.