Chapter 199: Merit Ceremony (2)
Chapter 199: Merit Ceremony (2)
“How is it? Is it fine with you?”
At Princess Daphne’s room.
When Prince Dion asked her with a voice mixed with tension, Princess Daphne lightly moved her right hand.
After she slowly turned her wrist and folded her fingers one by one, she clenched and opened her fist several times before she held her pen.
The pen felt cold and smooth.
“It feels a bit different but… I think it’s fine.”
Prince Dion breathed in relief at the words of Princess Daphne. No, he didn’t just stop at that as he sank to his knees. Because his legs gave out.
“Haa… that’s a relief.”
“Were you that worried?”
“Should I not worry?”
Princess Daphne giggled at Prince Dion’s question and put down her pen. She originally wanted to try turning the pen, but she didn’t even try it because she was almost certain what Dion would look like if she failed.
‘No, perhaps I’ll be able to do it in the future…’
Her right hand didn’t have much strength. It seemed like she would have no problems with it in her daily life, but it was questionable if she would be able to hold the sword like before.
“Sister?”
“Uh, yes. I’m okay.”
Prince Dion’s face became serious again, and his expression stiffened without him realizing it.
Therefore, Princess Daphne awkwardly smiled and changed the topic.
“How is Darianne?”
“Darianne?”
“Yes, was she scared?”
“Yes, she was very scared. But she wasn’t injured, so there should be no problem.”
“Mentally?”
“Well… she actually didn’t see the corpses.”
Princess Daphne bit her lips at Prince Dion’s words.
Because she recalled the time when she saw the bodies of the other royal family members.
She had seen the bloody corpses of her father’s siblings and concubines, and also her half-siblings.
When she closed her eyes, she could still vividly remember that horrible sight. So instead of closing her eyes, Princess Daphne took a slow and deep breath.
Princess Daphne’s dignified appearance and charisma led her to be regarded as the Lion Princess or the Iron Princess because she was the symbol of a bold and strong woman, but in reality, she wasn’t an iron lady who did not shed blood or tears.
She had an outgoing and bold personality.
But at the same time, she was also rich in emotions since she was very affectionate and would cry often.
‘Rather… the iron one is Dion.’
As his sister, she found Dion a bit problematic.
Because except for Daphne herself, he was surprisingly cold-hearted to others.
He was that indifferent that even when he talked about Princess Darianne, he didn’t seem to care much about her, so what more of the others.
“How is father… I mean, His Majesty?”
“It’s not good. Mother said that… he needed a lot of time.”
At Prince Dion’s words, Princess Daphne unknowingly closed her eyes.
Their father, Henry II, was already shaken by the betrayal and death of the Lord Protector whom he believed and depended on more than anyone else, so he was completely crushed when he saw the wretched state of the royal family’s corpses.
“Father is…”
“Yes, he is pure. That’s why mother loves father.”
He was not competent, but neither was he completely incompetent.
He was aware of his role as a king, and he always made an effort to fulfill his duties as a king.
Therefore, when Henry II saw the corpses of the royal family members, he had no choice but to admit it.
No matter what reason the Lord Protector had, even if it was a really unavoidable reason, the Lord Protector was a traitor.
He was an enemy of the S?len royal family, someone they could never forgive.
Henry II erased the Lord Protector from his heart. It left his heart empty, but he still did it.
“Has he recovered?”
“Perhaps. But you know our father’s personality. Once he recovers to a certain extent, he’ll have to worry about two options, right?”
She understood what Dion was talking about.
As Dion had said, she knew Henry II well.
‘Will he abdicate or not?’
Someone had to take responsibility for this.
It was not an issue that would end just because the concerned person died.
So he had to take full responsibility and abdicate from the throne.
Since the crown princess had become an adult, he could hand the throne over to her and hope that she would be a better monarch.
It was an option that Prince Dion wanted, and was also the best option for Henry II.
But Henry II was not an irresponsible man.
The Lord Protector was dead, but they still had a lot of problems.
The activities of Count Chase and the Royal Guard Knights minimized the damage, but that did not mean that no one was killed or injured.
The deaths of the royal family members.
The deaths of the nobles.
Add to that was the disaster in the royal capital.
The biggest problem was the fact that the Lord Protector was the leader of the royalists.
Naturally, all the people under the command of the Lord Protector who were involved in this ‘rebellion’ were also royalists, so their elimination meant a weakening of the entire royalist faction.
The royal family of the S?len Kingdom had always been strong. And those in the aristocrats faction were obviously not hostile against the royalty just because they were on that side.
Even Duke Balloa who belonged to the hawks was more like a dove wearing the mask of a hawk when one compared it to other countries.
But even if that was the situation, it will still end up complicated if the royalists suddenly lose their power.
The balance of power would be destroyed, and the royal family would greatly suffer.
It was a difficult political situation.
The S?len Kingdom would be greatly shaken, and the empire would take advantage of that and reveal their power again, and the other countries were also likely to show a different attitude.
Would the king then leave his daughter, who had just become an adult, to this hard and difficult position?
Considering Henry II’s personality, it was absolutely impossible.
‘Of course, mother will help me a lot either way.’
If her father abdicates, she will help Princess Daphne, and if he doesn’t abdicate, she will become more involved in politics now.
“My head hurts.”
Prince Dion smiled bitterly at Princess Daphne’s honest words.
“In any case, I’ll help you with the best of my ability.”
“Yes, I feel a bit energized now.”
Dion was different from the Lord Protector.
Because he was an ally who would never betray her, someone whom she could really trust anytime and anywhere.
“Anyway… let’s talk something a bit more positive. After all, we avoided the worst, right? The Lord Protector was killed, and his plot to destroy the barrier was stopped. Even the demon followers who attacked the royal capital were also unable to do anything about it in the end.”
“You’re right.”
The worst situation had indeed been avoided.
And Princess Daphne knew.
That it was because of ‘them’ that they were able to somehow avoid the worst situation.
“It was true.”
The two people of destiny.
The heroes who saved Princess Daphne and Prince Dion, and also the fate of the S?len Kingdom in its moment of crisis.
“If it weren’t for those two…”
“All of us would definitely have been killed by the Lord Protector. The barrier would have been destroyed… and the demon followers would have done some terrible things.”
There were so many troops who had attacked the royal capital.
If the barrier had been destroyed, they would have probably added more troops.
“Would they have opened a Hell Gate?”
“Probably.”
Like what they did in the Paragon Kingdom.
Just imagining it was terrible.
A Hell Gate opening in the royal capital of the S?len Kingdom.
“We owe them so much. It’s something we are really grateful for. So we have to make them even more on our side.”
Princess Daphne had a bitter smile at Prince Dion’s words.
Because she felt bitter at the reality that they were treating their benefactors like this.
“First of all, both of us have decided to give them the count title, right?”
“Yes, because even if their contribution is big, they are not even adults yet, and the two have just become barons. It will be difficult to give them a title that is more than that.”
It was only after the Lord Protector had saved the country for the second time did he get a promotion in his noble title.
The two had originally come from the prestigious 12 northern families, so it was obvious that the existing nobles would protest greatly if they were bestowed a marquis or duke title.
“Instead, we can give them something else.”
“That’s what I’m going to do. We can’t get them on our side if we save on our spending.”
“No, I don’t mean it like that… Ha, fine. Just give them a lot. That’s fine with me.”
Prince Dion smiled a bit at Princess Daphne’s words and took out a piece of paper that had been in his arms.
“What’s that?”
“The bribes I prepared for the two people of destiny. I want you to review it too.”
Prince Dion handed the paper to Princess Daphne, and she laughed at the first line.
“It really is a bribe.”
“Because we have to give our best if we’re giving something, right?”
Princess Daphne laughed again at Prince Dion’s words.
Because she felt that Dion was sincerely grateful to the two people of destiny, even though he seemed to be making excuses.
‘Although rather than his own life… it seems he’s more grateful that they saved my life.’
I feel like the person who’ll be his wife in the future will resent me.
Princess Daphne smiled and read the list of bribes prepared by Prince Dion.
***
“A fief? For me and Jude?”
“Yes, a fief.”
Cordelia was literally stunned at Edward’s words.
She had awakened the memories of her previous life, but she had also lived as Cordelia Chase for 17 years.
Thus, as a noble of the S?len Kingdom, Cordelia knew how much a fief would mean to a noble.
“Wooow…”
A fief.
Becoming a countess is like a dream, and now, we’re even getting a fief.
What kind of place is it?
It will not be very big though, right?
A few small villages.
Maybe even a small city?
Maybe even a mountain?
Whatever it is, it will definitely be good.
I will still like it.
‘If it’s a village, we’ll just be building houses and adding structures of this and that…’
If it’s a city, we have to develop commerce, and if it’s a mountain, we’ll have to dig mines in order to gain a source of income.
‘Hehehe, it’s like a game.’
Like the classic games of Sim City, or the Tycoon series.
‘I worked hard in Animal Crossing.’
Her imagination grew more and more distant from the actual management of a fief, but Cordelia did not mind it.
Because Jude would be the one to worry about the real thing anyway.
‘The right person for the right job, the right person for the right job.’
Cordelia laughed ‘hehehe’ again and drew a cute and colorful village in her head, while Edward, Maja, and Dahlia all had the same expression when they saw Cordelia.
‘How cute.’
I want to pinch her cheeks, stroke her head, and kiss her.
Dahlia flinched when she thought that while Edward was snickering before he loudly coughed to break Cordelia’s delusion.
“Anyway, it’s almost a determined fact that a fief will be added to your count title. It’s still a bit of a question on what kind of territory you will get though.”
“Eh? It hasn’t been decided yet?”
“Yes, the situation is a bit complicated.”
There were many reasons why a fief was very important to a noble, and scarcity was one of them.
Land was obviously a limited resource.
The S?len Kingdom was 300 years old, and most of the land there already had owners.
Naturally, there were still quite some land that belonged to the royal family, but it was not possible to give the management to some of them since it was the source of the royalty’s power.
“Well, with this incident, the lands of the Lord Protector and those close to him will be confiscated… But as you know, the lands of those who caused the rebellion are basically managed by the royal family too, right?”
Moreover, if they confiscate all the territories of the Lord Protector and his subordinates, the scale would be truly enormous.
Even if the contribution of the two were big, it was too much to give it all to two new counts.
“Uh… So what you’re saying is…”
“They will have to decide on giving land from those under the royal family’s direct management or from the confiscated lands, so it means that we still don’t know where it will be. Well, in any case, it will most likely be in the central region.”
Whether it was the territory of the Lord Protector or the territories under the royal family, they were all in the center.
“But it may be a fief that is a little far from the royal capital, given that you’ll be given a mansion in the capital. After all, the royal family seems to want you two to live in the royal capital.”
Edward liked to give long explanations, so he continued to say what he wanted to say, but Cordelia didn’t hear much of it.
Because she had already heard the most important content.
“Mansion?”
“Yes, a mansion. It looks like they’ll give you two a house to live in the royal capital. This means that we can narrow down the candidates to some extent, but either way, it will be huge and grand. Adelia’s house will look like a warehouse.”
Edward began to explain again while Cordelia let her imagination flow again like she always did.
Mansion.
House.
Jude and Cordelia’s own home.
The house of us two.
I can somehow feel my face turning red.
My heart is pounding more than when I heard that we’ll be receiving a fief.
‘It reminds me of the guild house.’
Even in Legend of Heroes 2, I worked hard to decorate it.
We should decorate it beautifully this time too, right?
Like bringing in some furniture.
Then, should I go look for some furniture with Jude?
After all, it’s a house that the two of us will live in together.
Live in together…
‘We’ll live together?!’
With Jude?
Jude and I will live in the same house?
No, the two of us are somehow living together already, but still.
But if we live in the same house.
Yes, yes, it’s still just an engagement between us.
We haven’t even had a proper engagement ceremony…
Cordelia’s face became redder and redder, and her imagination grew worse and worse as if it wanted to keep its pace with her red face.
And Edward couldn’t stand it anymore and pinched Cordelia’s cheek.
“My goodness, my youngest sibling. I can see what you’re imagining.”
“W-what are you talking about? Don’t tell me you saw me imagining that I went with Jude to see furniture?”
“Yes, I did. I saw you imagine going to see furniture with him. Isn’t that completely a newlywed’s house?”
“N-newlywed’s house…”
Cordelia’s eyes widened.
Her face was already red and burning, and Edward pulled her cheeks straight, but she didn’t say anything.
“Hmm… you’re cute, but I hate that Jude now.”
I have to give such a cute younger sister to him.
Dahlia nodded her head as if agreeing, and Maja narrowed her eyes with a bit of an angry face.
And a few seconds later.
Edward chuckled as he watched Cordelia, but he suddenly stood up from his seat.
“Young master?”
Edward responded to Dahlia’s question with a hand gesture and then went through his chest pocket and pulled out a magic device that looked like a round pocket watch, and soon, he brightly smiled.
“My sister, can you move now? We’re just going to the room across this.”
As Edward pulled her hand and asked, Cordelia came to her senses and questioned him as she stood up.
“We’re moving? To where?”
“Ga?l’s room. It looks like Ga?l woke up.”
Edward’s words brightened up Maja’s face.
Cordelia also quickly nodded and replied.
“Let’s go then.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Edward hurriedly opened the door.
***
“Adelia! Ga?l is awake…”
“Unnie! Brother-in-law Ga?l is…”
That was it.
Edward opened the door and was about to rejoice in the recovery of one of his few friends, and Cordelia was about to say congratulations to her sister, but her face that had barely calmed down turned red again.
The scene in front of them.
Ga?l had woken up.
That was right, but the scene in front of them was very different from the sight they had imagined.
It was completely different from the scene they had imagined of Ga?l smiling even though he had a completely sick face while lying in the bed, and of Adelia shedding tears of emotion as she held Ga?l’s hand.
Dahlia instantly moved her hand to cover Cordelia’s eyes, and Edward began to act before Cordelia even reacted. He grabbed Cordelia by her waist, carrying her as they left the room like that.
“Ahem, ahem, ahem.”
The flustered Edward just coughed while Cordelia was panting.
And Edward spoke again.
“First of all… I don’t think we need to worry about his health.”
“Yeah.”
Cordelia agreed with him. Because rather than looking sick, he seemed to be full of energy.
“Well… let’s go back first. Dahlia, don’t let anyone go in for a while. Do you understand?”
“Yes, young master.”
Dahlia nodded with a red face, and quickly called a person to guard the door.
“Cordelia, this older brother of yours will be going to see our father now. Do you want to take a rest now? It’s late, so I’ll share you the details tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Cordelia stiffly nodded her head like a wooden doll, and she unknowingly returned to Jude’s room while trying to calm herself down.
She also had an option to just go back to her room and rest, but her feet headed to Jude’s room without her realizing it.
“Lady Cordelia?”
Maja, who was in the room, was surprised at Cordelia’s quick return and asked, so Dahlia spoke on behalf of Cordelia.
“Young master Ga?l has woken up. He seems to be very… very healthy. Yeah.”
“What? What are you…”
As Maja tilted her head, Dahlia repeatedly stamped her feet before she approached Maja and began to whisper in her ear.
And Maja’s reaction that followed.
Even though she was called the ‘Ice Princess,’ her cheeks began to heat up.
The three women were silent for a while, and as the air turned awkward, Cordelia opened her mouth first.
“T-that’s right. Maja, why don’t you take a break too? I’ll keep an eye on Jude.”
Because given Maja’s personality, she definitely stayed besides Jude for the past two days.
‘I don’t think she has slept at all.’
Even if she did, her fair face was now at the point of looking pale, and Cordelia also felt uncomfortable to see the blacks under Maja’s eyes.
“But…”
“Wouldn’t Jude be very worried if he sees you with such a face when he wakes up?”
“She’s right, Maja. You know Lord Jude’s personality.”
When Dahlia added on to Cordelia’s words, Maja finally nodded her head.
“Then go and rest. Get some sleep. I’ll be next to Jude. I’m not sleepy at all because I’ve slept for the past two days.”
Maja ended up smiling at Cordelia’s words mixed with a little playfulness.
“I understand. Please take care of him, my lady.”
“Yes, yes.”
Maja left the room while still hesitating, and Dahlia went out with her as if to see her off. But instead of re-entering the room, Dahlia took a seat next to the Bayer family knight who was standing in front of the door.
Her action was unexpected, but it was because she wanted to make time for the two inside.
“Uh, Dame Dahlia. What happened?”
The Bayer family knight who was guarding the door, Jun, asked Dahlia, and she just awkwardly smiled at him since they had only met a few times enough for a short chat.
And inside the room.
Cordelia was left alone. She sat down besides Jude’s bed and stared at him.
‘You’re handsome if you keep your mouth shut.’
In fact, he was also handsome when he opened his mouth, but he always said some cheeky things when he did that.
‘And yet…’
Cordelia drew her face a bit closer to Jude.
Like before, he was asleep with a sickly-looking face, but after she saw Ga?l, she was strangely relieved.
Because even in that bad condition, Ga?l still woke up.
So Jude will wake up in the same way too.
He’ll wake up in the same way…
‘N-no. Because Jude is different from brother-in-law Ga?l. Yes, yes, they’re different.’
When the door was opened, she saw Ga?l and Adelia exchanging intense kisses.
Unlike the one that she last saw at the engagement ceremony, the kisses were so intense that it unconsciously reminded her of the word ‘beast.’
‘S-still, the brothers resembles each other.’
Maybe when Jude wakes up…
Cordelia looked at Jude’s lips without realizing it, and she quickly shook her head.
Because their situation was different.
Their relationship was also different, and there were many things that were different too.
“Ha, seriously.”
Even though she was all alone, Cordelia looked around her before she gently held Jude’s hand. She put her left hand on top of his right hand, and slowly interlaced her fingers with his hand.
He had a big hand and long fingers.
His skin was soft like a baby due to his metamorphosis.
“Haa.”
Many thoughts that lingered in her head naturally flew away.
As she silently looked at Jude, only one thought came to her mind.
‘I wish that you’ll quickly wake up.’
If you wake up soon.
Then, you’ll be boasting again with that handsome yet sly face.
‘The smell of Jude.’
Anyway, Cordelia was still tired.
Contrary to what she said to Maja, Cordelia began to doze off, closing her eyes with her head lying down by the bedside. She fell into a deep sleep as her hand twitched while clasping his hand.
And just like that, one minute, two minutes passed… and when the time kept passing and the night got deeper.
Cordelia slowly opened her eyes as she heard a voice in her ears.
She listened to the voice, blinking her eyes as she was still half-asleep.
A gentle tone.
A pleasant voice.
The voice she welcomed the most in the world.
“Cordelia.”
She didn’t hear it wrong.
It wasn’t a dream.
“Jude.”
She raised her head as she called him.
And Cordelia could see it.
The sly smile on his face that she expected.
“My princess.”
The black-hearted man who always boasted about his good looks and would always say embarrassing words casually, that man who was cheeky yet reliable too.
Cordelia widely smiled and hugged the man, and he hugged her back. She began to cry, and he patted her back.
Three days from the decisive battle in the royal capital.
Jude woke up.