Chapter 76 - More Cautious (1/2)

After Franz announced Mariela's pregnancy the entire palace was in an uproar for over a week. Suddenly the relatively forgotten second princess was the most talked about person in the capital. News spread like wildfire throughout the town.

Al and I found that out while escaping the palace one day for some peace and quiet. No matter how hard we tried, it seemed that we couldn't escape our problems. Whispers about the line of succession followed us wherever we went.

Eventually we were so sick of listening to other people that we headed to the completely empty beach and sat on that rock where we met by chance the day he proposed to me.

”How does Mariela stand it?” I asked.

The poor thing knew she was the subject of much gossip but she was still stuck in her room. Franz never left her side and had guards he trusted personally inspect all of her meals for poison before she consumed them.

Al stared out at the sea glumly. ”She's a princess. She's used to this sort of thing.”

I gathered from his tone that he, as the unwanted third prince, was used to this sort of thing too. Had anyone ever tried to kill Al? I didn't have the courage to ask.

I was technically a princess too but I would never be used to this sort of barbarism. I hadn't been born into the world of royalty and backstabbing though. This was still new to me. Even so, this didn't seem like the sort of thing a person could get used to.

The ocean was a greenish gray today. It seemed colder and more mysterious than usual, matching the dark mood that had befallen us. What would we find across that sea when the time came for us to escape?

The closer the time came the more worried I was about logistics. Would we really be able to get away with it? What would we do when we got there? It probably wouldn't be easy building a life from scratch in a new country.

”Do you really think we'll be able to afford enough books to start a library when we get to Shibatsu?”

Al turned toward me, the ghost of a smile on his face. ”In case you haven't forgotten, your husband is filthy rich. We could survive for years as commoners with a single month's worth of my allowance.”

I hadn't, but Al didn't have access to that money personally most of the time. He had to go through a steward in charge of his expenses if he wanted to purchase something outside of the palace.

Seeing my hesitation, he was quick to reassure me. ”I've been cutting corners by buying cheaper things for us the past few months and having the steward give me the difference.”

I frowned. Wouldn't that look highly suspicious if anyone talked to the steward?

”What if somebody notices you doing that? They'll get suspicious. The steward might talk; you never know who is on Sigmund's side in the palace.”

He shrugged it off. ”You really think someone is going to care enough about me of all people to tell? No one has ever cared what I'm up to before. It is how we're able to get away with going out like this.”