Chapter 125: Engagement Ceremony (2)
Chapter 125: Engagement Ceremony (2)
Sorry for the late release again. I’ve been quite busy this past few days. The next chapter will also be long, so expect it to be released on Saturday. Hopefully, I’ll be less busy by next week.
Terms used in this chapter:
Ax disease – Korean slang in which a person believes that everybody has a crush on him/her.
Marriage.
She had never seriously thought about that when she was reincarnated as Cordelia or even in her time as Hong Yoo Hee in her previous life.
Because both were too young to consider marriage seriously.
‘I’ve never had a proper relationship after all!’
I went to an all-girls high school after an all-girls middle school!
Of course, some of my classmates had gone on dates and such.
‘A-anyway!’
Marriage.
Holding hands, hugging, ki-ki… Yes, even kissing!
‘Th-that…’
Cordelia’s face turned red. Because she remembered what Adelia had talked about just then.
Something she had never thought about seriously.
As if it was a faraway fantasy…
But it’s become a reality now?
And that Jude is my partner?
‘Le-let’s imagine.’
Cordelia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
It wasn’t something she should do while on the back of a horse, but she did it anyway.
‘Good, my mind is clear.’
Cordelia first thought of Adelia and Ga?l.
The sight that she had just seen.
Two people who shared a quick kiss while the Jackdaws were watching them.
‘Okay, I remembered it. So…’
If she changed Ga?l to Jude and Adelia to herself…
‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!’
Cordelia silently screamed. Her head went blank again, and she almost fell off her horse.
But was Cordelia after all.
She took pride in her ability to move her body as she pleased, which was not inferior to Jude’s talent brought about by his Cheonmujiche, so she was able to quickly balance herself and not fall off her horse.
But she couldn’t stop the confusion, fear, and other things from her wildly excited mind.
‘No way, no way.’
But contrary to her own will, her imagination continued.
The one Adelia had said just before.
The flirting the two had done.
She replaced it with Jude and herself, and Cordelia silently screamed once again.
‘Aaaaaaah!’
What do I do? What do I do?
Her original fair looking face was now completely burning red.
As if it would explode if she just touched it.
‘No way, no way. That’s right, that’s ridiculous!’
It’s a delusion.
An extreme delusion.
Because the partner is Jude.
Outboxer009!
That evil b*stard who always made fun of me!
That wicked b*stard who made fun of me for being bad at games from the very first time we met!
“Huu, huu.”
Cordelia took slow and deep breaths, and somehow calmed her pounding heart.
‘That’s right, that’s right. No way. Yes, yes, it doesn’t make any sense.’
Jude and me getting married. Hmph, that’s ridiculous~ Yes, yes, so I don’t have to worry about this~
‘F*ck.’
Having an optimistic mindset was not easy.
But Cordelia thought again after calming down her heart with one curse word.
‘Anyway, marriage is between two people, right?’
There was also the situation of the union of two families.
So it was something two parties were involved in.
‘So it’s okay.’
They were Jude and Cordelia.
And in the future, Pleiades was going to be in a huge mess.
When the 7 major calamities began, the whole world and not just the S?len Kingdom would be involved, so the future events would be so bad that it couldn’t get any worse than that.
Thus, there was a possibility that the engagement would somehow be dissolved.
‘Of course, our goal is to prevent the future events from getting any worse.’
Anyway, marriage was still a long way off.
It was not something she should be worried about now.
‘That’s right! I’m young!’
She was still a minor.
Of course, she was legally considered a minor, but marriages between underaged men and women were very common in Pleaides.
‘Good, good. Come to think of it, it’s not something I should worry about alone. If it’s Jude, he’ll definitely find a way to do something.’
If it’s my Jude!
‘Ah, how reassuring.’
One way or another, she seriously felt reassured that he was on her side.
After regaining her peace of mind, Cordelia raised her head and gazed at Jude’s profile again.
She unintentionally thought. No, she fell into thinking.
‘Wait.’
Didn’t we hold hands a lot of times?
It was often enough that I stopped remembering the fact that he held my hand…
Come to think of it, we did that today too.
I think he held my hand more than 10 times today.
‘As for the hugging…’
When they wandered in the wild lands, they had hugged each other and slept together almost every day.
Princess carry, piggyback, princess carry again.
A very natural routine.
‘Wha-what. What is this?’
She was very embarrassed.
Her face turned red again.
‘N-no. It’s okay. It’s okay.’
I didn’t do it consciously. It was because of the environment. Comrade, friend. Yes, yes, something like that.
Cordelia forcefully rationalized her past actions and took a deep breath before looking at Jude, but she ended up turning her head again.
‘Damn! What’s wrong with me?’
Why do I only see his lips?
‘Eueue…it’s Adelia-unnie. Adelia-unnie filled my head with poison!’
Why were you kissing in public where everyone could see you!
Cordelia blamed Adelia for a moment, which allowed her to regain her peace of mind.
‘Huu, good. Anyway, if I think about it logically, there’s no law that says that I have to marry Jude. Yes, yes, that’s right.’
Because the future was something no one knew.
‘But what about Jude?’
Did he question it?
It’s a bit annoying, but there’s no way that Jude didn’t think of what I had thought.
Did Jude thought about getting married to me?
What he did he think of when he thought about it?
‘Wait a minute.’
At that moment, Cordelia’s eyes narrowed.
And Cordelia recounted one by one on what had happened with Jude in the wild lands.
Jude became very kind at some point.
Jude was always kind to her.
Jude would ask her if it was hard before giving her a piggyback.
‘He always served me delicious food.’
Hmm.
Hmm.
Hmmmm.
Cordelia’s eyes became narrower.
And after a long time, she activated her woman’s intuition and not her beastly intuition.
‘Maybe…he likes me?’
Jude likes Cordelia.
‘Hahaha! That doesn’t make sense! That’s nonsense! Yes, yes, it’s ridiculous. Hahaha. It’s nonsense, but…?’
Just because he was nice to her didn’t mean he liked her.
Maybe he’s nice to me because he likes me? …That’s such a silly idea.
‘Should I just ask him?’
D-do you like me?
Can I say that?
‘N-no. F*ck. This is no good.’
Cordelia took a deep breath again as a curse naturally came out after a long time.
No matter how much she thought about it, asking him directly was too risky.
‘That’s right, and what if I was wrong?’
If I ask, ‘Do you like me?’ and he answers ‘No, I don’t?’
He’ll seriously treat me as a patient with ax disease.
‘No way. I can’t stand that. I can’t do it. I’m sure he’ll make fun of me for it over and over.’
So she couldn’t directly ask him. She needed to find another way.
‘Okay, then let’s observe and find out.’
I have plenty of time to observe because we’re always together.
‘Yes, yes, that’s right. I’ll figure it out!’
Cordelia’s thoughts seemed to have seriously digressed, but in the first place, her continuing delusions and worries was what led her to do that in order to get rid of her panic.
Since she had come to a conclusion, Cordelia began to work out on a plan for a while.
And in the place right next to her.
Jude was unaware of Cordelia’s dynamic change and her face repeatedly turning red to the point that one would be worried about her blood pressure.
Because he was closely looking at something other than Cordelia’s face.
‘What a shame.’
Her cat ears and tail that swayed every time she moved.
It really suits her.
It’s so cute.
But she can’t go around the S?len Kingdom wearing that.
‘It’s too bad.’
But I’ll still keep it.
Jude didn’t tell Cordelia about it, but he had kept the rabbit headband and tail too.
‘All right! I’ll figure it out!’
‘I’ll ask her to wear it if an opportunity comes in the future.’
Cordelia and Jude were having different thoughts, and Ga?l and Adelia watched the two from a distance before they looked at each other and sweetly smiled.
‘They really get along, right?’
‘Of course. You’re really beautiful, Adelia.’
Just like always, the two were still bad at having a conversation with their eyes.
And the Jackdaws all frowned when they not only saw the actions of Ga?l and Adelia but also that of Jude and Cordelia.
What a nasty world.
What the hell were we fighting for in the north?
The march continued while everyone was lost in their thoughts, and time smoothly passed by.
Two days later.
Jude and Cordelia finally saw the fortress city that the north boasted of as the strongest – Thunderdoom.
***
“Glory be to the victorious Jackdaws!”
“Hurrah!”
The Jackdaws weren’t the only ones who lived in Thunderdoom Fortress.
As a fortress city, the ordinary citizens weren’t a few as tens of thousands of them were enthusiastic of the victorious return of the Jackdaws.
“Long live Count Hr?svelgr!”
“Whooo!”
“Long live the Jackdaws!”
“Yeaaaaah!”
The whole fortress city was filled with a festive atmosphere.
It was natural to show such an enthusiastic reaction since the Jackdaws who always guarded the border had directly crossed it and went on an expedition to the barbaric lands for the first time and even claimed victory.
‘They only had a few festivals to begin with.’
This was a fortress city that was wary of the barbarians since no one knew when they would be attacked.
So there was no way they would miss this opportunity to have a festival in this place where entertainment was lacking.
“Our count was amazing!”
“Ha, you should have seen it. The valiant charge of the lances of our Jackdaws!”
“Those guys were just a bunch of weak demon followers!”
The Jackdaws talked about their exploits everywhere, and the Jackdaws who were unable to participate in the expedition because they had to protect the fortress were struggling in regret.
There was alcohol, music, and delicious food.
The night deepened.
Cordelia wore a white and flowing dress after a long time, and she looked around to her left and right.
‘They’re gone.’
Ga?l and Adelia.
They suddenly disappeared like ghosts at some point.
‘Eueueu…’
What are they doing that they had to leave?
Cordelia tried to calm herself as her face turned red, before she threw a sharp gaze at her target.
Jude Bayer.
Cordelia’s own fiancé who was sharing a glass of juice with Lucas instead of a glass of alcohol.
‘Let’s sound him out.’
Not to the point of…seduction, but anyway, let’s find out if he likes me or not!
Cordelia steeled her mind and headed to Jude with a pounding heart.
But when she got closer, the atmosphere between Jude and Lucas was strange.
“May I ask you for the favor?”
“You mean now?”
“Yes, I know it’s a rude request…but I can’t wait any longer. All I can think of is Mr. Jude.”
‘What?!’
The last one was Cordelia, and fortunately, she only shouted in her mind.
‘W-what? Lucas only thinks of Jude?’
Why? Why is that?
N-no way?
Around the time when Cordelia’s delusional thoughts were about to run wild…
Jude stood up and called Cordelia.
“Cordelia.”
“Huh? Ah! Yes!”
Cordelia quickly replied and ran to Jude who then said with a slightly awkward smile.
“Lord Lucas has asked me to spar with him…so we’re thinking of going to the training area now.”
“Spar? Ah! Sparring! Aha, so it was like that, huh?”
What a relief.
Jude was puzzled when Cordelia sighed in relief, but he soon went back to the main topic.
“Moving on, since we’re going to the training area, would you like to go with us there?”
Cordelia immediately nodded at Jude’s suggestion.
“Yes, I’ll go. Can I come with you, Lord Lucas?”
“No problem.”
Lucas responded with a slightly stiff face.
Not because he was dissatisfied with Cordelia coming along, but because he was nervous about the fact that he was going to spar with Jude.
“Let’s go then.”
Jude said with a smile as he naturally took Cordelia’s hand and began to escort her. Cordelia would have normally walked without thinking, but her eyes narrowed for a moment.
And Lucas followed behind the two.
‘I think I’ll go easy on him.’
‘You mean you’ll easily defeat him?’
‘Easily defeat? Is Lucas a mob?’
‘Eh? Oh, Lucas. Umm. Go easy on him, do it gently.’
The two had a conversation with their eyes for some time.
The three then arrived at the training area located in the basement of Thunderdoom Fortress.
There was also an outdoor training area, but he didn’t want their match to be seen by others.
‘This would be better for Lucas.’
He said he would go easy, but Lucas was still a sword genius.
Lucas would notice it if he didn’t seriously fight.
So he must go easy but not hide his strength at the same time.
And if that happened…
‘Lucas will be crushed.’
It would be quite a mess.
So he couldn’t let others see it.
They had to spar in a quiet place.
‘I hope it will be a chance for him to break from his shell.’
That was what they did to Red Wind.
She cried and was frustrated by their difference in power, but she soon got up and trained harder.
The magic sphere lighted up the darkness.
Lucas stood on the stone floor of the training area and took a deep breath.
‘I’m going.’
‘Good luck. Fighting!’
Cordelia spontaneously cheered with her eyes before she went to a corner, and Jude headed to Lucas.
But it was the moment when the two faced each other.
They sensed the presence of someone.
They hadn’t felt it until now, but they suddenly felt a strong presence at that moment.
Jude and Lucas reflexively turned and saw Count Hr?svelgr standing on one side of the training area.
One of the ten swordmasters of the S?len Kingdom.
Lucas’ father and a user of the Sage King’s Cross Sword.
“Do not mind me. Just start.”
He spoke in a low voice and stood next to Cordelia who unconsciously flinched and looked at Jude.
And Jude had a bitter smile.
This was Thunderdoom Fortress. Since it was the nest of the Jackdaws, it was impossible to do something without Count Hr?svelgr knowing about it.
‘Count Hr?svelgr.’
One of the Northern Sagang.
A swordsman at his peak who was said to be evenly matched with Count Bayer.
Does he want to compare Lucas and me, or perhaps he wants to gauge the power of Count Bayer through me?
‘Maybe it’s just pure curiosity.’
Jude got rid of the complicated thoughts that filled his mind.
Lucas and Count Hr?svelgr were both their allies.
Especially Lucas who was like a pure child.
So it would be better to think of it as pure curiosity.
“Shall we begin?”
Lucas was startled at Jude’s question. He was already nervous so when Count Hr?svelgr appeared, he seemed to have completely frozen.
But he was still Lucas.
As one of the best playable characters with a talent for the sword, his mood changed when he held his sword.
His shook off his tension with one breath.
“Let’s begin.”
Lucas said, and Jude clenched his fists after worrying a bit. He wrapped his arms with the energy of the black dragon and then faced Lucas.
A spar with Lucas.
And perhaps the next person would be-
‘Count Hr?svelgr.’
Jude cut off his thoughts. With a cry, he raised his fist and rushed towards Lucas.