Chapter 205: Tiara of Life (1)
Chapter 205: Tiara of Life (1)
Cordelia woke up as the morning sunlight passed through the window, and she raised her upper body with her eyes closed, smiling with a half-asleep face.
She seemed to have had a good dream last night.
And surprisingly, instead of going back to sleep, she did some stretching exercises.
She usually slept a lot in the morning, so until someone woke her up- no, she was someone who didn’t wake up easily even if someone tried to wake her up, but today, she woke up by herself and felt good about it.
“Hehe.”
As she smiled again, Cordelia came down from the bed with her eyes still closed, and she walked as she sniffed with her nose. Just like a beast, it seemed like the warmth and pleasant smell of the sun could replace her sense of sight.
“Umnn… it’s a beautiful morning.”
Cordelia mumbled with her eyes half-closed and stretched her arms as the chirping of birds could be heard from outside.
A day after the merit ceremony.
In the morning.
Cordelia moved her arms up and down before she headed to the table with the washbowl, and instead of calling for anyone, she filled the washbowl with water by herself, and then dipped her hands in the cold water.
“Yes, yes, this is niiice.”
She was still in a good mood just like yesterday.
To be given a title, to be praised… of course, she felt good from that. But the uplifting mood she felt from the fact that they protected people was greater than those.
I have to do better in the future.
I have to work harder.
I have to become stronger.
“Yes, yes, yes.”
Cordelia hummed and then moved her hands as she began to wash her face lightly.
The cold water woke her up every time it touched her face, and she recalled what happened yesterday.
The good things that happened.
It wasn’t just one or two things.
It wasn’t only Cordelia and Jude who attended the merit ceremony.
‘My father-in-law is a Sword Saint.’
Sword Saint of Wind, Count Bayer.
Henry II stripped off all the titles of the traitor, Rhun Froud, and appointed Count Bayer as a new Sword Saint of the kingdom.
In fact, the title of Sword Saint was not something that even the king of the S?len Kingdom, one of the continent’s two big powers, could just freely give.
Because it was a title that could only be used after receiving the approval of many people.
However, no one objected to Henry II’s appointment.
Because Count Bayer already proved his ability by stopping First Sword.
‘The Sword Saint of Wind.’
It sounds so nice.
After she rinsed her face, Cordelia wiped the water off with a towel and began to brush her teeth.
“Brother-in-law.”
Ga?l Bayer.
He woke up after a fierce battle, and although he lost his left arm, his body and soul became much stronger.
It was because of the measure Velkian took, but in addition to that, it was also because of his huge spiritual growth when he escaped from the throes of death.
‘Brother-in-law was totally like a wolf.’
As she recalled the scene at the time when Ga?l woke up, Cordelia’s cheeks slightly turned red. She then rinsed her mouth.
‘Anyway, he and my sister also received a lot of awards.’
His skills greatly improved, and once his prosthetic hand was completed, he would become one of the new Ten Great Swordmasters.
‘There’ll be two great swordmasters in one family?’
No, maybe it will even be three.
Jude will also grow and become stronger in the future.
‘Ah, it’s a bit hard if he gets taller though.’
He’s so tall now that my neck hurts whenever I look at his face.
‘What’s our size difference?’
Around 20 cm?
No, maybe it’s a bit more than that.
Cordelia tilted her head as she spread out her palm to measure the distance, and she quickly laughed.
Because she remembered last night’s Jude.
‘Wasn’t he a bit cute?’
When she enacted her ‘revenge’ after the ceremony, he was struggling as he turned red.
Of course, if Dahlia and Maja who had secretly watched them had heard her thoughts, they would look at her coldly and express concern about her memory’s distortion of reality, but fortunately (or unfortunately), the two were not here right now.
‘Ahem, ahem. Jude. My Jude.’
Cordelia’s lips squirmed once before she looked around for no reason. It was only after she confirmed that no one else was present did she think with a playful expression.
‘At this point, I can be sure now.’
He likes me.
That Outboxer, that Jude is very much in love with me.
‘Yes, yes, that’s right, that’s right. It’s obvious. Otherwise, he wouldn’t act like that.’
As she recalled what happened at the merit ceremony and of last night, Cordelia covered her cheeks with her hands that had turned cold from the water.
Her cold palms and hot cheeks touched each other, giving off a pleasant feeling.
‘Then, what do I do now?’
Jude likes me.
I’m sure he likes me.
‘Hmm… well… if Jude begs me…’
If he begs me to go out with him…should I agree?
After all, he’s my fiancé, right?
‘He’ll say it sooner or later.’
That he likes me.
That he seriously wants to date me.
Then, if I reject him a little, will he implore to me?
“Hehehe.”
Just imagining it gave her a good feeling.
To the point that her shoulders moved up and down without her even realizing.
‘I won, I won.’
I beat Jude.
I beat Jude, right?
I’m number one now, right?
“Yes, yes, yes.”
Jude will ask and beg me to go out with him, and I’ll agree to it since I’m a generous person, and then…
It’ll start with kisses on the cheek and forehead, and then, it’ll be more than that, and then… it’ll be a bit more adult-like… like what brother-in-law and unnie did…
Cordelia covered her face with both hands, so the heat in her face became even hotter, but despite that, she had a deep smile.
“Ah.”
When will Dahlia come?
How long will it take before she and the maids come in to wake me up?
But instead of lying back on the bed, Cordelia sat in a chair and looked out the window.
As she basked in the warm sunlight, different thoughts came to her mind.
‘Where will our fief be?’
During the merit ceremony, only the title was awarded, and there was no mention of a fief.
It wasn’t because the S?len royal family suddenly changed their minds, but it was because it took some time to select a territory, and one of the reasons for that was Jude.
‘Because he conveyed to them what we wanted to some extent.’
The fief they wanted to receive.
As Jude had already predicted, the royal family was thinking of giving them a fief in the central region.
And the royal family could do that by giving away some of the territory that were under their direct jurisdiction.
Thus, Jude used his negotiation skills to convey what they wanted to Princess Daphne, and to summarize, it was as follows.
It must be close to the south.
Plains are also fine, but it must be surrounded by mountains.
It must be a place with good traffic to the north.
And a few other details.
‘It seems like he gave a lot of conditions, but if you put it all together, the territory where all his conditions fit is practically limited, right?’
Since the fief would be an important place for their future journey.
‘Ultimate Seven.’
Among those swords was Ultimate One which Jude wanted, and that sword was hidden in a certain place.
‘Which means…’
They wanted their fief to be the place where the ruins of the ancient dwarves were.
Most nobles would want a place with a large population and fertile land, but Jude was different.
The important thing for Jude was not the taxes they would receive in 10 or 20 years, but to solve their immediate problems and bring about a perfect happy ending.
‘But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter at all.’
After she stopped getting excited over it, she then thought that they should build a commercial city by building factories and such, but in any case, that was something for the far future.
‘Because we have to immediately head to the south once our business at the royal capital is over.’
Black Dragon Malekith’s attack.
The three events in the game’s storyline that had destroyed the S?len Kingdom were different in a certain way.
The barbarian’s invasion in the wild lands and northern region was a war that involved a huge number of troops.
The Lord Protector and demon followers’ plan to annihilate the royal family and the royal capital was a clash between a few but powerful beings.
And the event in the south, the battle against Malekith, could be summed up in two words.
‘Boss Raid.’
It was also against a huge monster.
Black Dragon Malekith’s body length reached a whopping 150 meters.
In other words, it was not an opponent that a few people could just face and fight easily.
‘We need an army.’
It was not at a level of a hundred or two hundred people, but should be a large military force in the thousands.
In the wild lands, Jude and Cordelia fought in the front lines, leaving most of the matters regarding the formation of an alliance to Red Gale, but they could not do that this time.
Because for this time, Jude and Cordelia had to be at the center of the alliance.
‘In the game, the forces couldn’t properly unite.’
Although there were some families that were close to each other such as the Bayer and Chase families, the relationship between several families in the 12 northern families were not very good.
Because they were literally competitors that kept each other in check.
But the conflict between some families in the 12 northern families was just child’s play when compared to the ‘strife’ among the 7 southern families.
Unlike the 12 northern families who would just meet and growl a bit at best, the 7 southern families actually drew their swords.
‘Because if you start playing as Kajsa, you’ll be fighting against the 7 southern families first rather than the demon followers.’
Kajsa Ophand.
A playable character from Marquis Ophand’s family, one of the 7 southern families.
From the very start of the prologue, she would already be fighting with their rival family, the Mist family, so Cordelia didn’t need to elaborate more at this point.
‘They can’t get along.’
If even humans who belonged to the same race would fight like that, what more for the other races like dwarves and gnomes?
Moreover, Malekith was a black dragon whose insides were darker than Jude’s.
Because the south was divided and actively fighting against each other, the south could not unite even in the face of a great enemy named Malekith.
‘In the end, what we need to do this time is to become a central point and unite the forces of the south.’
But their personal efforts alone were not enough.
They had to act as heroes of the kingdom, and lords who received the royal family’s trust.
‘Well, Jude will take care of the complicated stuff.’
The right person for the right job.
So Cordelia focused on something else.
‘The final battle against Malekith…’
Although the Ten Great Swordmasters were considered as tactical weapons, they were still swordsmen in the end.
They couldn’t exert that much power in a fight against a huge number of opponents or a huge monster.
Therefore, Jude was also limited in what he could do in this fight.
But Cordelia was a wizard.
She was also a wizard who specialized in large-scale battles.
“I’ll have to do my best.”
I’ll develop my skills to the fullest before our fight against Malekith.
I’ll level up, reinforce my items, and learn new magic spells.
Cordelia clenched her fists as she made a resolve before she glanced at the door.
She was feeling hungry because she had gotten up early.
‘When will they come?’
She could have rang the bell to call them, but she thought that if she called them earlier than usual, it would be a nuisance to the maids.
‘Hmm… let’s just meditate then.’
When the maids arrive, she would wash up, eat breakfast, and go see Jude.
There were a lot of places that they had to go together from this morning onwards.
‘Because we received a lot of invitations.’
A lot of people wanted to meet the new heroes of the kingdom, and even if meeting all of those heroes was impossible, these people still wanted to meet some of the heroes.
‘It’s not today, but I also have to go see the mansion and furniture.’
The mansion that the royal family had decided to give to them, and the furniture that they would decorate it with.
Their stay in the royal capital wouldn’t be that long since they had to go to the south afterwards, but still, she wanted to decorate the bedroom properly.
‘Hmmm… no, I have to meditate, meditate. I have to meditate.’
Cordelia shook her head and corrected her posture, but she still failed to meditate.
Because she remembered the most important schedule for tonight.
‘Necromancer Velkian.’
They would meet him who was one of the five heroes in the first episode of Legend of Heroes.
Jude and Cordelia had already sent the Rogue Master’s notice to his accommodation.
I’ll visit you tonight with the Tiara of Life.
-Rogue Master – Pink Bomb
After all, Velkian came to the royal capital to look for Pink Bomb and not Cordelia Chase.
‘Hmm… To begin with, he said that Pink Bomb was Velkian’s favorite character.’
I’ve never thought that the stern-looking grandfather-like person would read a novel with a character named ‘Pink Bomb,’ but it’s probably true since Jude had said so. After all, JudeWiki is amazing.
‘However, will Velkian think that I’m cosplaying?’
That’s somehow embarrassing…
‘Eueueue, I don’t know. It’ll work out somehow.’
The important thing was to meet Velkian.
Cordelia cleared away her thoughts and began her meditation this time.
***The sun rose, and now, the sun set.
The moon rose above the curtain of the night.
Almost a day had passed, and it was deep at night, but Cordelia got up from her bed and changed her clothes.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t developed any kind of transformation spell.
So she wore the long boots herself, tied her hair up, and put on the butterfly mask.
She then equipped the rabbit set consisting of a rabbit tail and rabbit ears.
‘Uh, this is a bit too much whenever I see it.’
Rabbit ears and tail together with a butterfly mask.
‘Anyway, his taste is bizarre.’
After she slightly criticized Jude, Cordelia sneaked out of her room.
And she reached a small pavilion located a bit far away from the palace.
[You’re here?]
As soon as she arrived, she heard the magic and turned her head. She then saw Jude dressed in all-black.
Black Cloak’s outfit consisted of a black suit, a black hat, a black mask, and a black cloak, so he was really dressed in all-black.
Cordelia stared at such a Jude, narrowing her eyes slightly before she sent a magic.
[I’ve been thinking about this before.]
[Huh?]
[Wouldn’t it be better if I just make my outfit all-black too?]
She couldn’t help but say that since her hair was dyed pink and the white rabbit ears and tail were too eye-catching.
[Well, what you’re saying is reasonable.]
[Eh? Really?]
[Yes, the white color is too eye-catching when seen in the middle of the night.]
Cordelia blinked her eyes in surprise at Jude’s words.
[Shall I remove it then? The rabbit set?]
Cordelia lightly shook the rabbit ears as she said that, and Jude readily nodded his head.
[Yes, you can do so.]
Wow, what the hell is going on?
I thought Jude was obsessed with the rabbit set?
Cordelia quickly removed the rabbit set even though she was curious. But it was at that moment.
[Now, here. The cat set.]
Jude smiled and showed her the black cat ears and tail, and Cordelia’s eyes turned cold.
[Hey, Mr. Black Cloak?]
[Your identity is important.]
Jude shamelessly spoke and pushed the cat set towards her again, and Cordelia was confused for a moment before her eyes widened in surprise.
[Wait, isn’t this what we wore in our last battle in the wild lands? Don’t tell me you’ve been keeping it?]
[Yes, isn’t that natural?]
No, what do you mean by natural?
That isn’t natural, okay?
Cordelia was momentarily speechless before she quickly smiled and nodded her head.
Well… I’ll wear it if you like it that much. It’s not something I could just wear anywhere, after all.
[Okay, are you satisfied now?]
[Yes, very satisfied. I love it.]
After Cordelia wore the cat set and turned around, Jude brightly smiled and raised his thumb, and in that short time, Cordelia seriously thought about her relationship with Jude again.
[Anyway, shall we go now?]
Cordelia nodded her head at Jude’s words, and she jumped up and climbed on Jude’s back.
She didn’t forget to shout her merging lines like always.
“Nighttime merge! JuDeli- wait, why is your expression like that?”
“Uh…nothing. It’s your taste, so I’ll respect it. Yes, I should respect it.”
“Hey, what are you talking abou-”
That was it.
Jude already knew what Cordelia was going to say, so he chose to kick the ground instead of listening more to her words, while Cordelia hugged Jude’s neck in her surprise at his sudden movement.
“To Velkian.”
To meet one of the five heroes of the Paragon Kingdom, and one of the main characters of the first episode of Legend of Heroes.
Jude and Cordelia became like the wind.
They became one with the dark night as they passed over the walls of the royal palace.
We get an introduction to the third big arc of this series, but it will take around 30 more chapters before that arc begins.