443 – The merry wedding – 2
As the wedding date approached, the mansion turned into a meeting square.
“They say that if you have a companion to walk with you, you can go further, even if it is slower, than if you walk alone. I hope that you and your wife can go further than anyone else.”
“Thank you for your kind words. As expected, I can’t match the age of His Excellency the Marquis.”
“hahahaha, actually, that’s what I heard from my father. It’s a pretty famous proverb in the North.”
Barandi burst out laughing and smiled slightly as he shook hands with the Marquis. Perhaps because the faction leader’s marriage was imminent, faction members, including the Marquis Barandiga, visited my mansion faster than anyone else.
Actually, there is no need to come say hello. If you’re attending the wedding anyway, it doesn’t matter if you say hello then, but it seems that faction members are reluctant to say hello on the day.
‘If it were me, I would have done the same.’
I understand. They are united under the name of a clique, but it would be embarrassing if they greeted others with whom they had no relationship.
“The North is by no means a close place, so I am grateful that you have taken such a valuable step.”
“You don’t have to say anything. It’s not like you don’t have the means to come, and of course you have to attend as a friend of yours.”
That’s why I smiled as gently as possible and greeted each and every member of the faction.
Publicly for encouragement to faction members who greeted me before other nobles, and privately for gratitude to acquaintances who congratulated me on my marriage.
“By the way, I did well receive the gift you sent me. It was such a big gift that I even wondered for a moment if I could accept it.”
After exchanging greetings, the faction members’ expressions brightened when they mentioned the gifts they had sent. This is because they directly expressed that they liked their gift.
Of course, considering the camaraderie of the faction, it is natural to say good things even if you don’t like it, but the gift I received this time was not just a courtesy, it was a truly great gift. I sent him loads of horses, furs, silver, and iron, so how could I treat him as a small gift?
There were even 3,000 horses. Considering the total number of horses in the North, it seems like a small number, but considering that the majority of horses are being sold to the East at this time, it is true that this number was given with the utmost care.
“I received enough money to fill my pockets, so I should repay you. If your family has a happy occasion, I will fill it generously.”
“Gosh, if I had known that would happen, I would have stayed single.”
Other faction members also burst into laughter at Count Kaitana’s joke.
I couldn’t break the mood so we laughed together, but inside I felt a little confused. Come to think of it, I was the only one among the clique that was single.
‘I am too young.’
All the faction members are married and have children, but the faction leader has now taken his first wife. It’s surprising, but I realized that I’ve been behaving like a dog since I was young.
Instead, since you’ve worked hard since you were young, you’ll probably retire a little earlier than others, right?
I believe so.
Unlike the New Year’s wedding, after the faction members who had found a foothold in the system returned to their respective mansions, an unexpected guest visited.
No, to be exact, it was a guest who was supposed to come, but—a guest who I had strangely never seen before came.
“I don’t know how many years it’s been since I’ve seen something this close.”
An old gentleman with his graying hair neatly organized and wearing a golden monocle. And next to him was a gentle-looking lady.
As soon as I checked the appearance of the two guests, I quickly bowed. As he said, it’s been a few years since we’ve had a conversation this close.
If you are not related in any way, it is not strange if you do not see each other for a lifetime, not just for a few years, but if you are close to the old gentleman in front of you, you are close, by no means distant.
“I’m sorry for not being able to visit you for a while, maternal grandfather.”
This person is Count Chemnis, the head of the Count of Arras. In other words, he is my maternal grandfather.
“I said it because I was happy to see you, so there is nothing to be sorry about. What maternal grandfather wouldn’t understand that his grandchild is busy?”
I kept nodding my head towards my maternal grandfather, who answered calmly. No matter how good it is, we are family, but we haven’t seen each other for several years. To be honest, I met Hyeong Hyeong-gong more than my maternal grandfather.
Of course, as my maternal grandfather was a nobleman by title, I saw his face every time he attended the New Year’s wedding, but it was really just a face-to-face meeting. We couldn’t even properly say hello, let alone have an intimate conversation.
“You avoided the sword, so of course you have nothing to be sorry about, right?”
As my grandmother next to my grandfather said, my grandfather was avoiding me.
“Avoiding. I’m just keeping my distance for a while.”
“That’s what I avoided. Just changing the letters doesn’t mean the meaning changes.”
From noble mtl dot com
I smiled quietly while listening to the conversation between the two. Fortunately, the relationship between me and my maternal family is not bad. It is difficult to call it a friendly relationship, but at least it is not at the level of ignoring each other.
However, my maternal grandfather is Hyeong Hyeong-gong’s father-in-law. Just being the duke’s father-in-law is enough to attract attention, but his maternal grandson is the head of the inspection department? It was enough to be harassed by nobles and get caught up in pointless gossip.
That is why my maternal grandfather chose complete neutrality and seclusion. In order to avoid getting caught up in unnecessary commotion, Duke Hyeonjeong and I said, ‘We are too convenient because the Earl of Chemnis is a family member.’ I cut off all contact so that I wouldn’t hear those words.
“Hey, Abdu won’t meet me! Do you think I’m hateful?”
It was such a complete disconnect that Hyeonmyeong-gong was whimpering in front of me. How dare there be nobles who do not know that the Count of Arras stands between me and Duke Hyeonjeong?
My grandfather, who had kept his silence so thoroughly, appeared before me for the first time in a long time. To celebrate my grandson’s marriage.
“I’m fine. I know very well what my grandfather meant by keeping his distance.”
At my words, my grandmother glanced at my grandfather for a moment and kept her mouth shut. Since I, the person involved, said that I understood my maternal grandfather, it was difficult to punish him further.
“Still, I’m glad to see you after so long. I hope we have more opportunities to say hello in the future.”
I thought that if it ended like this, my grandmother would end up feeling disappointed, so I cautiously added, and she also smiled secretly.
Thank goodness. This is the correct answer.
– Knock knock
“Carl, it’s me.”
Soon, a knock was heard and Mar’s voice was heard. As soon as they heard that my maternal grandparents were in her reception room, they wasted a lot of time checking her clothes, and it looks like they have already finished it.
‘I came at just the right time.’
It would have been ambiguous if it had been a little earlier or later. It seems like Enen is helping Mar.
“Her wife said she would like to say hello to you two. Can you let me in?”
“That’s right. We want to go and see my grandson-in-law’s face too.”
Her maternal grandfather silently nodded his head in response to her maternal grandmother’s willing acceptance.
It was needless to say that Marr, who entered her reception room afterwards, received intense cuteness.
I sat on the sofa next to Mar and stared blankly at her ceiling. It was already getting close to evening, so there would be no more customers. She says let’s stay like this for a while.
“I made a good impression, right?”
In the meantime, I heard a low muttering and turned her head to the side to see Marr looking a bit tired.
“Yes. It looks like you’re very pretty.”
As she spoke while stroking Marr’s head, Marr smiled brightly and rested her head on her shoulder.
“I was a little nervous. I’ve seen my father and mother often, but this was my first time seeing them.”
She seemed to know the emotional burden Mar felt, so she just quietly stroked her head.
Her soon-to-be daughter-in-law was nervous about meeting her parents-in-law, but she suddenly got to see her out-of-town grandparents. If you’re a human being, it’s definitely something to be nervous about. In particular, her maternal grandmother was the one who made her mother-in-law in her shoes. Her intimidation must have been enormous.
“…Count Chemnis is a person who rarely engages in external activities. It has been a long time since his successor took on the responsibility of acting externally.”
“So you got to meet someone precious?”
“That’s right. I was scared because I didn’t know what kind of personality he was.”
Both I and Marr burst into laughter at those words.
There is quite a bit of information known in the social world about her father, who is active as a member of the Imperial Assembly, and her mother, who is the mistress of the Imperial Baek family. For Mar, it is possible to come up with a ‘strategy to attack the in-laws’.
However, since the people I met this time had little information, Mar could only mutter. Because she was dealing with a boss she had never seen before without any strategy.
“But it was still nice. Even though it was my first time meeting them, I could feel that they cared about me and Carl.”
“There is no way there is someone who hates Mar.”
After saying that, he kissed Mar on the lips.
Let’s just stay like this until the butler finds us.
***
A report has been posted that all preparations for the wedding have been completed.
“It’s perfect. Thank you for your hard work, Imperial Director.”
“I salute you, Your Majesty.”
When I inspected the interior of St. Paronas Cathedral under the guidance of the head of the Imperial Household Department, all I could say was that it was absolutely perfect.
I could feel that attention was paid to every little detail of the seating arrangement. She created a decoration that brought out the splendor and warmth of the wedding without compromising the atmosphere inside the cathedral.
She finished her evaluation by patting the imperial manager’s shoulder as he bowed down to her.
‘It’s trustworthy.’
The head of the Imperial Household Department is a talent that can be used for a long time.
Since she was the person recommended as a successor by the former imperial deputy when he was promoted to minister of palace affairs, she must have the ability, but she left this job to determine more details.
The results are satisfactory. As the head of the imperial household, she was in charge of the wedding of a noble rather than a member of the imperial family, but she did not show any dissatisfaction. She has the integrity to strictly follow the emperor’s orders and the flexibility to consider that the minister is a favored subject of the imperial family.
She also performed her wedding duties perfectly, which was far from her own experience. This means that, unless the Imperial Director himself found her unexpected aptitude, he listened to the advice of her external experts.
‘He would be perfect to be the next Minister of the Palace of Internal Affairs.’
The Minister of the Imperial Palace serves only one emperor, but the Emperor may have multiple Ministers of the Imperial Palace. It is natural that if the Minister of the Imperial Household passes away before the Emperor, the vacuum must be filled.
And since the current Minister of the Palace of Internal Affairs is older than me, I inevitably have to consider a second Minister of the Palace of Internal Affairs.
“I will continue to trust the head of the Imperial Household Department and entrust him with many tasks.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! I will definitely repay your trust!”
I also liked the booming voice.
As long as the imperial minister lives long, her chances of becoming the next palace minister will increase infinitely.