5.1 The Day of Collision~
“Gilbert…I’m sorry to say, but I’ve acknowledged Count Brent’s request.”
“And said request is…?”
“As the king, I am to allow the divorce between you and Anne Marie—which I did.”
Ah, so this is it—my time is up.
“But, but he said—! The Count has bestowed upon me a chance to apologize—! I remember it clearly; he said it just the other day…—”
“Well, he certainly didn’t tell me anything about that. Instead, he firmly said that you shouldn’t grace his sight ever again, nor Anne Marie’s.”
“And the divorce is about to become official…”
I had apologized to Marie many, many times.
Though, to no avail, since it failed to reach the actual Anne Marie, everytime.
“Worry not! For I have gone out of my way to arrange a meeting with the House of Brent—come along side of me. Thereupon, it’ll result in a chance meeting with Anne Marie—that’s when you take your chance and apologize to her!”
…But then, it won’t be Anne Marie I am apologizing to; but ‘Marie’.
And that’ll also indirectly confirm my divorce with her.
To end things as it is…
“But… can that truly be counted as an apology?”
“Come on, now, Gilbert… Considering the agreement made between me and the Count, this is as far as I can go concerning your related matters—and isn’t it plentiful already? Asking more would be too much.” With a tone usually used in coaxing an over-pampered child, my brother admonished me.
Distress could be seen on his face, and I was taken aback by how genuine it was—
–realization struck; Am I not the one causing this?
I hurt Anne Marie, pained my surroundings, and disappointed my brother.
Indeed, it was all me.
“Since the Count and I are pretty busy at the moment, the meeting will be held one week from now. Only then will the Royal Palace be available.”
Truthfully, the Count thought the sooner the better. However, some issues were found once they tried to schedule the appointment.
“One more thing, is it okay to bring Anne Marie to the palace?”
“Even while she still believes she is Maria, I detect no change from her attitude. In another word, she still retains the manner of conduct and grace required of a proper lady. The doctor had also assured us that there wouldn’t be any problem as long she doesn’t come into the vicinity of the scene.”
Well, after a long time of house arrest, visiting the palace now and then might be a good change…
One week. That was the only time left for me and Anne Marie.
“I understand, I accept the Count’s kindness with an utmost gratitude.” –
—honestly, what else could I say?
I was given another chance to apologize—nevertheless, it wasn’t to Anne Marie, but ‘Marie’. After that, never more would I be allowed to see either of ‘them’.
From seeing her, whom laughed with innocence; whom had treated me with kindness blooming from the bottom of her heart—unaware of the grave sin that had dragged her to the current state she was now, committed by none other than me.
Yet, however, if I did apologize as per the official arrangement–
—albeit a little, will it lessen my guilt?
“…’s been quite long since the last time I saw you, Gilbert.”
“Nice to see you too, Sister-in-Law.”
Coincidentally, I encountered Maria right after I left my brother’s room.
For some reason unknown, the sight of this woman I hadn’t met since the recent Royal Party sent chills upon my spine.
Then,
“Do you suppose we can chat a little? It won’t take long, I promise.”
Contrary to the awkwardness I felt, her smile was as gentle and serene as ever; as she invited me to the Queen’s parlor.
After arriving, I immediately went into a daze as I stared at the amber-colored tea that was delivered by the maid. Try as I might, I couldn’t find a word–any word–to be spoken of, and Maria then stole my chance;
“The last time we met, it was in that Ball, wasn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
“Has Anne Marie been doing well?”
“Anne Marie is …uh, well… she–”
—has disappeared.
The only one remaining now; the only one who is smiling now—is Marie.
I didn’t know what to say. My mind, it was completely blank. What I’ve been intending to say had also been erased, assuming the same state as my mind.
Looking at my current state, Maria laughed.
“You do not have to answer that. I’ve heard about the circumstance from Dion.”
Of course she would; that much was unsurprising. And even if she didn’t inquire about it, I am sure my brother would’ve told her all the same…
But still, the smile adorning her comely face—what does it imply?
I knew fully well of her minuscule involvement in this matter, and yet, after hearing the ‘disappearance’ of Anne Marie—
—how could you still smile so gently?
What is it that amuses you so?
“…Sister-in-law?”
Unsure of anything else to say, I blurted out such a foolish-sounding remark.
“Oh, no…”
It didn’t escape my gaze, the flicker in Maria’s eyes as I addressed her.
“’Sister-in-law’, from now on, would you kindly refrain from calling me that?”
“Huh? But…”
“As we all know, I indeed married Dion. However, to regard someone as despicable as you as my ‘Brother-in-law’—that’s a different story altogether. Suffice to say, I have no such intention.”
As abrupt as that, silence was forced down my throat.
At that moment, my mind could only catch the light movement of Maria’s lips without the slightest intention to decipher her words.
“Said word suits you the most, doesn’t it? Count Brent has told me everything regarding to the gifts you presented to Anne Marie—and oh, such profound similarities! Is this purely a coincidence? Or, is this the real example of the saying ‘Monkey see, monkey do’?,
“You see, I, myself—as would every other woman—love it when my other half puts effort in making me happy. That’s why I rarely tell Dion anything.
“Hence, Dion goes into a great deals of trouble just figuring my likes and dislikes. Do you think you could just snatch it up, bring it to another woman, and expect her to be happy?
“Not only that, my precious memories of receiving those warm gifts from Dion, needless to say, you’ve tarnished them all–!”
In a haste, Maria went for a bite of her cookie, and then a sip of her tea.
“Hearing what Dion had recounted about his ‘younger-brother-’s-choice-of-gifts’ only adds to my astonishment. Seriously, not only the same color, but the same design as well?! Has your brain short-circuited from too much research?!,
“…Or, could it be, you have some unrequited feelings toward me?”
“—!?”
“Your actual intentions were to present it to the Queen, but you can’t. Since you can’t, you gave it to Anne Marie instead.”
“Preposterous–!”
How many time had I said this already—!?
I have no such intentions—such were the fact—!
Yes, I indeed had an unrequited feeling toward Maria. I consulted my brother about the presents intended for Anne Marie, that was also true. I gave it to Anne Marie, that was true as well!
But that was never the reason.
And if asked for a reason—it was just a single one: I just did not know—
“—Are you sure about that? Are you certain of not knowing what else to give?”
She saw right through my many excuses.
“If that were the case, then why not send some servants to the Household of Brent to inquire about it?,
“Surely for a man of your caliber, this can be done even with both eyes closed?,
“In truth, it’s just your heartlessness, isn’t it?”
Maria gazed straight at me, her eye filled with pity.
“I, I am just…”
I, I am, I…
I wonder what was it, the words I originally meant to say to her.
Didn’t matter; since no words could came out.
The language of this kingdom; the language of the neighbouring kingdom; the language of the distant land; and even the ancient language—I had mastered them all.
And yet, precisely at this moment, not even a single phrase came to mind.
“Here, I’ll share with you my honest feelings—
“—I utterly despise people like you.
“Someone vile, wicked, and despicable—because nothing else would be fit to describe somebody like you: a man who treats his wife as nothing but a substitute for his lost love.”
Indeed, my first love had certainly said all that.
“H-how did you know, about that…?”
Maria’s smile vanished into thin air.
Unfortunately, what I had just said had become a double-edged sword.
“Oh? So you were admitting it? Well, this means that you are also accepting the truth about yourself.” This time, she appeared sickened.
And so my sin was revealed to the last person on Earth I wanted to learn of it.
“No matter how much I thought about it, it’s very strange. For a lady as well educated as Anne Marie to suddenly lose sight of herself like that, something had obviously happened to her, don’t you agree? Something grand.” The words were spoken by Maria without her ever breaking eye contact.
“I firmly advise you to neither approach me nor her again.”
***T/N : Our Queen made her grand appearance!!! And betraying my expectation, she certainly didn’t carry those ‘fuwafuwaufufu’ pinkish vibe wife of the King in other VN usually have! And sorry for the delay since this chapter is a bit longer than usual!
P.S: ehehehe are you still unsatisfied with the length of roasting Our Danna-sama get? Honestly though, how would you ever get yourself out of this, Danna-sama????
Lets go queen! That bastard deserves no mercy. He is disgusting. And he prides himself as a researcher? Isn’t discovering something supposed to be his forte? Its not that he didn’t know, he just didn’t care. He makes all excuses about how a person changes in time, but in reality, he doesn’t give a shit about what Anne Marie likes or dislikes.
No, I respectfully disagree. I think that line was necessary.
This incident doesn’t just affect the two of them. It involves everyone around them. Now all of her precious gifts from her husband, who painstakingly discovered her favorite things, all will remind her of Gilbert’s transgressions.
The Queen is understandably livid. Her relationship with her husband may never be the same again. Because of this traumatic event, I’m sure she will never want to look upon those items, or anything like them. She will probably like drastically different things from now on. Gilbert’s actions have affected her life in ways that he could never have imagined. He needs to know exactly what he did. This line is just touching on that.
YES Maria is such a queen. For once, I agree with every description in this WN about her–what a perfect lady. Damn. completely eviscerated him with words
Thank for the chapter ^^
And truely thank for it ^^
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAaaa
Ay este hombre me da asco
Even if he denied about the gifts, but to intentionally called Anne Marie as Maria each time they copulated, that is totally undeniable!!!
Slay ‘im, Queen!
I was wondering why the king and queen weren’t extremely disturbed Gilbert basically mind broke his wife to turn her into a copy if his SIL. That is super creepy, and you’d want to keep him far, far away.
Thank you for the chapter~
Idk, it was her in person who told him what t buy Anne Mary, now she pretends to be innocent…
I think you need to reread the story. The queen did not tell him anything to buy for her instead he asked what she would like (as a reference) but he took it as it is and did not consider Anne Marie’s preference.
“Not only that, my precious memories of receiving those warm gifts from Dion, needless to say, you’ve tarnished them all–!”
As much as Gilbert needs the Queen’s roasting slap in the face to finally face reality, I feel like this one line was the only one that had nothing to actually do with him… As shitty as he is, his gifts were to his own wife, not you, your husband gifts were to you, these two things are the only things that shouldn’t be related.
Many thanks.
He deserves it and more. The Stupid guy.
I really like the Queen, she’s probably my favorite character, and one of the most important in the grand scheme of things. Only she could say these words, given her position as the Queen, and only her saying these words would wake him up, to a certain extent, given her position in his heart. I was waiting for this chapter since the start of the series, and boy, it didn’t disappoint me at all. I was hoping some tea in the face, but that would not be appropriate…
Good job Queen. Go and tell that scum how terrible of a person he is!
Thank you for this chapter and, oh girl, I did not expect the queen to got off like a bomb O_O
I wonder, if they all want Anne Marie back, why wouldn’t they consider showing her the ball hall (or whereever the attack happened)? I don’t know much about psychology and therapy, but couldn’t exposing the amnesiac to something, that was prominently present at the point of time of them forgetting (like the room she was in), help with recovering their memory?
Not necessarily. You could cause more harm than good in bringing her back to the place where everything changed. You could send her into shock, cause a mental breakdown, or worse. People in traumatic situations can also become violent in their confusion. Besides she wouldn’t be in her current mental state if she was capable of handling it emotionally/mentally. Turing into “Maria”, is her way of coping with all that has happened.
What would be the point in making her re-live, essentially the worst day of her life again? In my opinion, if she were to remember everything I think, it would only make her suffer needlessly. She’s been hiding what her husband has been doing to her, in part because of her “pride” or etiquette/upbringing as a noble, a part due to shame/not feeling worthy, and a part due to being okay with it as she loved Gilbert. There is need to make her suffer more, which is why her family is okay with how she is now. Plus if she were to remember, Gilbert would be the only one who would benefit. As she would be “fine/fixed”, he could give her an “apology” and he could be “absolved” of his guilt.
Or it would lead to severe mental breakdown she would never be able to recover from :/ its all about timing and her mental readiness, actually.
Since shes not amnesiac but severely traumatized as well :/
Seeing the man being roasted is interesting but also makes me sad. I can already picture him falling into ruin and becoming homeless and/or dying. Or he will just stay alone in his mansion for the rest of his life.
I wonder and hope if author would be nice enough to bring a nice save to the story and have it have a happy ending (even when i re-think about it ML doesn’t really deserve it).
Sooooooooooooooooo… (i have read previous novel and read only the recent/last chapters of this one) from this chapter can we say with certitude that the ML trully had a crush with the Queen ? or is it a really twisted plot twist misunderstanding that i can’t see ?