Outaishihi ni Nante Naritakunai!! Chapter 307

―― Three days before the wedding ceremony. Today is finally the start of the marriage rituals.

"Princess Consort. Please change into these."
"Yeah."

When I returned to the room after breakfast, Clara and her subordinates were already fully prepared.
A silken pure-white dress different from the wedding dress was prepared for me. It was long enough to reach the ground, its countless folds overlapped.

"Your Highness, prepare as well."
"Yeah."

Other court ladies came to call for Freed. He nodded and directed his gaze at me.

"See you later, Lidi."
"… Yup."

Our schedules afterwards are different. We will eventually join up, but I wasn't taught the details. The ritual seems to be so secret only royalty knows about it, so I was only taught the gist of it.
I only heard that for the next three days I will seclude myself somewhere and continue praying to God, and that Freed will join part way through.
The dress put on me was a plain one with no embroidery. However, the plentiful use of fabric made it drape beautifully. The neckline was v-shaped, drawing attention to the Royal Flower. There were large buttons on the shoulders that fixed the fabric in place. The sleeves were long, however the design exposed shoulders. The silky fabric felt pleasant to wear and was surprisingly light. On top of it, a beautiful white lace shawl was put on.

"Lidi, are you ready?"
"Yes."

After preparations finished, Mother-in-law came. She was wearing a similar brilliant-white dress and holding a golden candlestick in her hand. Only royalty can set foot in the place where I will go now, so Mother-in-law will guide me.

"We will be waiting for you in three days. I pray for your good fortune."

Seen off by Clara and her subordinates, I left the room with Mother-in-law. The soldiers in the corridor outside the room saw us off with a respectful bow. We went down the stairs, and Mother-in-law headed deep inside the royalty quarter. I silently followed her.

From the ground floor we entered a courtyard and were met with a fence fastened by a lock. All it took was Mother-in-law touching the lock and it came off.

"… This lock only reacts to women who have the Royal Flower. I was brought here three days before the wedding ceremony by the previous Queen as well."
"Yes…"
"Enter inside."

At Mother-in-law's urging, I moved forward. The inside looked like the continuation of the courtyard. Regardless of the season, beautiful flowers were in full bloom.

"Here."

Mother-in-law stopped walking in front of a low three-story tower surrounded by trees. It would take only five adults to surround it, it made me want to suspect whether it really was our destination. Mother-in-law stood in front of that tower, and while handing me the candlestick, said.

"Enter inside. Once you enter, follow the path to your destination. After spending three days there, you will be finished."
"… Yes."
"The details will be explained by the person inside. This is as far as I go. Lidi, the next time we meet, you will be my daughter-in-law. I am looking forward to it."
"Yes, thank you very much. Mother-in-law."

Mother-in-law touched the door. With a click, the door opened. Mother-in-law turned to me and lit the candlestick with magic. Pressed by her gaze to go, I went through the door.

―― Click.

The door closed with the sound similar to before. Probably it became locked. Somehow feeling like it was a one-way entrance, I stopped myself from confirming and decided to move forward.

"… Eh?"

When I looked up inside the small three-story tower, I only saw small windows near the top illuminating the place. The inside was completely hollow. Surprisingly it wasn't floored, the grass grew just like outside. However, in front of me were white stairs leading to the basement.

"Follow the path… That's down the stairs, right?"

There was no other path. But, inside was dark, so my eyes turned to the candlestick handed me by Mother-in-law.

"I see. The candlestick is for this."

Then I'm sure I must go down the stairs. Anyway, there's no other place to go. I resolved myself and step by step went down the stairs. I paid special attention, afraid of stepping on the hem of my clothes. When I got down, in front of me laid a long narrow passage. The passage was made of whitish stone and about the width of my spread arms. The ceiling was slightly taller than my height. There were candlesticks on the walls at regular intervals, they all lit up at once when I looked into the passage.

"Oooh…"

With my heart thumping, I advanced. I got a little excited by the atmosphere of a secret ritual. Come to think of it, it's a secret ceremony of the country with Dragon God ancestor. Things like this must be countless.

"Waa… Waa…"

Thanks to the light of candlesticks, I didn't find the dim passage scary. The path didn't branch out, so I was able to proceed with peace of mind. But I walked and walked and still hadn't arrived at the destination. I feel like I've walked for thirty minutes already.
What's going on? While I was slowly getting tired, I finally saw something like an exit in front of me.
I saw a yellow glow, perhaps of a room or something. I quickened my pace and went forward.

"Ah! Dazzling…"

I'd been walking through a dim place, so when I left the passage, I was dazzled by the light.

It was a very vast room. In front of my eyes was a huge bed, next to it was an elegant couch and table. The couch seemed comfortable, beneath it was a round carpet, giving the place a relaxing feel. On the table was a platter with fresh fruit. The ceiling was high, and there were no lamps. And yet, for some reason the room was as bright as day.
On the walls numerous scenes from the time of Wilhelm Kingdom founding were depicted. I knew some of them, but there were also scenes I didn't know of.
There were no windows, instead I saw three door-like objects. For the time being I placed the candlestick on the table and checked the doors one by one. Toilet, bathroom, and a small pantry. Inside there was enough food for a week.

"After all this is the destination, huh. I wonder if I'll spend three days here…"

There was a closet, so I tried opening it. In it were three dresses just like the one I was wearing, underwear, and night clothes. And for some reason, men's clothes. I wondered if there were any books, but I couldn't see any bookshelf. Three days without anything. While thinking that even if the room is vast, three days might be a little harsh mentally, I looked at the entrance wall. In front depicted was a huge dragon and a woman reaching out her hand to the dragon.
On the woman's chest engraved was the same large blue rose as on my chest.

"… The same as mine?"

For some reason I reached out my hand to the blue rose. When I was about to touch it, I heard a voice.

"Don't touch it, Lidi."

Chapter end