Another Life, Another Me

71. Strawberry-Colored

"Good afternoon, Lady Cyllia. It's lovely to be able to meet you like this again," the Marquis smiled as he gave me a small bow.

"There's no need for formalities, Marquis Scott. Please, feel free to get straight to the point. As you can see, I am not in the best condition for long, drawn-out meetings," I said as I gestured to my immobile body underneath my blankets.

"Hahaha~ Lady Cyllia! You misunderstand us. We are here to visit our sick princess, not because we have some business with you," the Marquess, who stood by the Marquis with her arm looped with his, laughed.

 "...Bullsh-t," Grey muttered from behind the two of them.

I almost started laughing at Grey's remark and the Marquis and Marquess awkwardly coughed in reply.

"It seems that you need to retrain some of your servants, Lady Cyllia. They do not know how to behave properly," the Marquess laughed to me as her eyes squinted a little at the rude remark.

"There's no need, Marquess. Grey is definitely the most capable servant in the kingdom and I can attest to it. And he knows exactly which people are deserving of his respect," I chuckled.

"Haha...Of course, Lady Cyllia. But, truly, we are only here to express our sincere feelings of concern to our country's princess..." the Marquis said as he took a seat in front of my bed.

"Please, Marquis, I am not the princess of this country yet. There is no need for you to call me by that title," I said.

"Oh, but we were informed a few days ago that all noble families were to consider you as our princess," the Marquis said.

...What?

Since when?

"And who was the one who gave you that order?" I asked, my voice turning colder.

"Why...it was none other than your fiancé, the crown prince, of course," the Marquis answered with a laugh.

I was speechless.

I mean, I know I'm Florence's fiancé and all, but I'm only engaged to him.

Only until the day after I am officially married to him would I ever be considered this country's princess.

Besides, who knows? 

One day Florence might choose to annul his engagement with me like he did in the original otome game...

"I...see. Please disregard his order. If anyone is to call me by that title in the future, please inform them of my discomfort over this matter," I sighed.

Darn it.

What was going on...?

These days, I can't understand what is going through Florence's mind.

It's like he's hiding something from me.

"Of course, Lady Cyllia. We will listen to your request," the Marquis smiled.

"Oh, and before we forget, my husband and I would love to give our sincerest blessings to Duke Cyllia and his bride for their upcoming wedding. I hear it is a marriage out of love?" the Marquess asked with a pitched giggle.

"You should be telling this to my father and his fiance in person. But, yes, it is most definitely not a political marriage," I forced a smile back at them.

"Really~? Did you know the Marquis and I married out of love as well?" the Marquess laughed as she looked to her husband.

I internally cringed.