I Am Sought After by Everyone in a Different World Where the Power and Chastity of Men and Women Are Reversed - 82

Chapter 82: Back to Annick

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“Souma-dono, we are very grateful for your help in this visit. Please, feel free to visit the capital anytime you want.”

“Souma-sama, I want to apologize on behalf of Deva-sama for not being able to see you off. We truly appreciate everything you’ve done here.”

“Me too. Thank you for everyone’s help. Please take care of yourself and please tell Deva-san to not push himself too much. He needs to take care of his health first.””

His Majesty and her guard, Jennie-san, came all the way to the gate of the capital to see us off. Never in my wildest dream I would’ve imagined that the king herself would come to see us off. 

We ended up staying in the capital longer than we originally planned, but today we finally departed for Annic. A lot of things had happened but overall, our time in the capital had become a very valuable experience for us all. I even learned how to use ‘recovery’. I had promised I would visit the capital regularly too, so this wouldn’t be our last meeting. 

“Come to think of it… Caroline-san is not here?”

Right. After receiving words that sounded more like a proposal rather than a confession after touring the capital together with Caroline-san, Caroline-san ran off before I could say anything. Even now, Caroline-san was nowhere to be seen. It seemed she refused to see me off. 

“Hm. About that… Yesterday, she suddenly told me that she wants to become Souma-dono’s wife. After that, she begun showing great enthusiasm in her studies and about this kingdom’s affair too.”

“…..”

“If I may be honest, I would much prefer it if Caroline can get married to Souma-dono. However, I truly didn’t expect Caroline would… Harbor such a strong feeling toward Souma-dono. I swear, this is my first time seeing my daughter showing such interest in a man. As the second princess, my daughter has plenty of opportunities to meet noble and influential men, but she hardly shows any interest in them. I’m genuinely curious to know just what Souma-dono has done to capture her heart like that…”

“No! I really haven’t done anything! We only toured the capital together and did some shopping and then… We went to the orphanage to make some donations. That’s all!”

I hadn’t done anything suspicious at all! Besides, we always had knights around us. There was no way I could do anything weird to Caroline-san!

“Hm… The knights also told me the same thing. Well, this is my daughter’s first time meeting a man like Souma-dono after all.”

Right. Being of royal blood, the men Caroline-san used to meet were either noble or influential men. She never met someone like me, so I guess my existence might seem peculiar to her, like a breath of fresh air perhaps… I guess she was only attracted to me because of the novelty of my existence. 

“Well, in any case, for me, I’d be glad if Caroline can end up together with Souma-dono. Even if you two don’t end up together, I’m still grateful anyway because Caroline looks really enthusiastic now. As Souma-dono already knows, she’s quite eccentric for a girl, but her talent is exceptional. I would appreciate it if Souma-dono would consider her as your potential wife, even just a little bit.”

“….It’s only been two days since I first met Caroline-san, so I’m afraid I can’t say anything yet as of today.”

“That means it’s not that Souma-dono is not interested in her. I’m glad to hear that.”

Considering I had only just met Caroline-san two days ago, there was no way I could be thinking about marrying her yet. Besides, maybe it was normal for people in this world to marry young, but I felt like I was still far too young for marriage… Her personality really suited my taste though.

“Now then, I’ll be waiting for Souma-dono’s next visit to the capital. Until then, I shall proceed with testing the new potion and share the result to other kingdoms.”

“Thank you very much. I’ll be sure to return to the capital again soon. Once again, thank you for everything!”

“The pleasure was mine. Souma-dono, please don’t hesitate to contact us immediately if you need something.”

“Souma-sama, I hope you will have a pleasant and safe trip.”

And so, we boarded the carriage and waved goodbye to the king and Jennie-san.

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“Souma, do you want to get married to Caroline-sama?”

“No, no! What are you talking about, Flora?! It’s only been two days since I first met Caroline-san!”

Inside the rattling carriage, Flora suddenly asked me that question. Just like on our way to the capital, I was riding in the same carriage with Elmie and the others. Tia-san and her group were riding on the carriage driven by Ilei-san.

Both Caroline-san and the king were being so casual when talking about marriage. But still, marrying someone right after meeting them sounded way too absurd for me. I couldn’t possibly consider marriage right off the bat. Besides, Caroline-san never had a proper conversation with someone outside her noble circle before. I was the first commoner she ever talked to. To be honest, I felt she was only attracted to the novelty of my status, almost like a chick imprinting on its mother. After the rush had passed, Caroline-san would surely be able to think more rationally. After all, two days! It had only been two days since we first met!

“Two days is nothing. It’s common for nobles and royals to get married without ever meeting each other before.”

Elmie chimed in. Back in my original world, we also had outdated customs like arranged marriage. Considering this world still pertains to the culture of royalty and noble, political marriage might be common here. 

“In my world, there’s no way someone would get married only after meeting two days ago. Besides, people in my original world generally don’t get married at my age. We mostly get married when we were much older and mature. I don’t have any intention of getting married, at least for now.”

The carriage was making quite a lot of noise so I doubt Paula-san could hear us even if I were to speak normally. However, since I didn’t want Paula-san to know that I came from another world, I still spoke in a low voice just to be safe. 

In the end, it wasn’t about whether I liked Caroline-san or not. I still had so many things I wanted to do and I was still not accustomed to this world either. At the very least, I wasn’t keen on the idea of getting married into royalty.

“Oh, I see! So in Souma’s world, people don’t get married right after meeting for the first time, huh?”

“That princess… She’s quite unusual for a woman too. But yes, it’s still too early for Souma to be thinking of marriage!”

“That’s right. There’s no need to force yourself to get married early just because that’s the norm in this world.”

“….”

I guess I shouldn’t mention that I found Caroline-san’s feminine behavior to be adorable.

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T/N: Tbh I also don’t want big responsibility. If I get isekai-ed, I also don’t want to get married into royalty ¯_(ツ)_/¯