RLAAQ - Chapter 17 < A Rose For You >
Refusing Love As A Queen
The high platform instantly became the focus.
Rumor has it that the Queen's lover and the Queen's fiancé's brother got into a public argument.
Things are extremely delicate.
Rejecting Prince Arthur would be tantamount to severely offending their new ally. But on the other hand, Dalton is the Queen’s newly promoted imperial marshal and a loyal supporter on the surface. If she rejects him, people will have to think more about being loyal to the Queen in the future - if the master cannot give his followers dignity and honor, she will lose the qualification to be supported.
Eyes focused on the Queen with scrutiny.
Adele knew it.
The previous rebellion was certainly due to the difficulty of most people accepting a woman ruling the Empire, but it was more out of contempt and distrust. She was too young, and it was difficult for the shrewd and smooth nobles to believe that she had sophisticated political skills.
Every move she makes will be magnified and measured repeatedly.
No room for error.
Under everyone's gaze, Adele always had a slight smile on her face.
She took off the ribbon embroidered with rose patterns in gold thread from her wrist, then walked down the last step and placed the ribbon in Prince Arthur's hand.
"I sincerely hope that you will be blessed by the goddess of luck. As I so sincerely hope, the friendship between Root and Roland will last forever."
Dalton slowly straightened up and watched without saying a word, the other hand holding the lance suddenly clenched under the iron glove.
Prince Arthur tied the ribbon around his wrist with a bright smile.
"You are my goddess of luck. Nothing can teach people through life and death more than your encouragement and smile."
After the Queen put the ribbon in Prince Arthur's hand at that time, the envoys of the Root Empire had smiles on their faces, while the expressions of Roland's nobles and officials became a little complicated. Some of them breathed a sigh of relief, some of them remained silent, and some of them had angry expressions on their faces.
But before the whispers in Roland's seat became louder, Adele turned around and walked towards Dalton.
There was a dazzling bright line on the edge of Dalton's armor.
He usually uses muskets, and nobles often laugh at him for "knowing nothing about what a knight should have. Once he drops the iron pipe, even a nine-year-old child can knock him off his horse with a wooden stick."
However, today he was fierce. He responded to those taunts - even if it were thrown two hundred years earlier, he could still fight his way through thousands of troops on the battlefield.
Some people are born for war.
The Queen raised her hand, took off a rose-shaped brooch made of gold and rubies from her shoulder, and handed it to Dalton.
"Are you willing to accept this coat of arms?"
Her voice was soft and gentle. Among all the knights present, almost everyone had distinctive and eye-catching coats of arms on their cloaks and armors. Except for Dalton, his cloak was as black as night, and although his armor was dazzling, it was without decoration - this was a bright reminder to everyone that even if he was canonized as a knight by the Queen and became the Marshal of the Empire, his The foundation remains humble.
A commoner who tore his way into the aristocracy.
But when the Queen gave him the rose brooch and said.
"Are you willing to accept this coat of arms?"
Things became completely different.
The coat of arms of the Roland family is the cross of swords and roses.
After the Queen's coronation, she adopted the red rose as her personal symbol. Today, the Queen gave the rose to Dalton, which means that she accepted the Dalton family - if Dalton can take root in the Empire - as a dependent family of the royal family.
Under this meaning, no one can say that the Queen was slighting Dalton by giving Prince Arthur her blessing first.
Dalton took the rose pin and put it on his shoulder.
When he kissed her hand to show his gratitude, Adele moved her lips slightly and said something low and unnoticed.
It took Dalton a moment to straighten up.
The rose on his shoulder was burning like a fire, burning his muscles through the armor, burning his bones, and burning his rational nerve. It should have been the heat of utter bliss, but the Queen's words, which only the two of them could hear clearly, made the fire of joy equally dangerous.
Both happy and angry.
***
“What do you think?”
As Minister of State, Heinrich’s position is the one closest to the Queen except for Prince Arthur.
Adele crossed her fingers and put her arms on the armrests, paying attention to the situation in the competition venue.
After Dalton and Prince Arthur circled the stadium, they entered from two entrances in different directions. This is the most important competition between the two sides so far. If any one of them suffers any real fatal injury, it will cause a series of turbulence.
For this reason, before the game, the attendants of both sides had to check with extreme caution whether their armor fit perfectly.
When the ceremonial official announced the start of the contest, the horses galloped, smoke and dust swirled under the horses' hooves, and the cloaks flew like waves.
"Emperor Root should consider letting his brother become a general instead of an artist."
Adele said.
"He is good at painting, and he is also good at spears and swords."
"Who do you think is stronger?"
Heinrich nrich asked.
This question is actually a bit strange. He seems to be sure that the Queen can keenly distinguish the subtle strength gap between the two sides.
Generally speaking, although Ladies and Young Ladies love to attend duels and competitions, few of them are actually proficient in it.
Adele Laurent is different.
Adele perfectly inherited all the distinctive symbols of the Roland family, whose coat of arms is the cross sword and rose. Although she is a woman, she is proficient in military affairs and has a good understanding of various weapons. She is always very accurate in judging the strength of her opponent.
When she was fourteen years old, she was accused of murdering her father through witchcraft and was exiled for three years.
Although her exile was not as miserable as that of civilians, the rock castle Adele received was in an extremely dangerous location and was often harassed by pirates. In order to ensure that the Princess can survive an unexpected accident, he begins to teach Adele the lessons that originally belonged to the Prince.
Riding, sword, and archery.
Due to her physical limitations, Adele had difficulty using a heavy sword, but at that time her crossbow was always on target. But she followed his advice and never used a bow and arrow in front of others after returning from exile.
In the past, Heinrich also thought that she had completely abandoned the bow and arrow, but now he no longer thinks so.
The world only sees roses, but they don’t realize that there is a cold blade hidden under the rose petals.
"Dalton."
Adele replied crisply.
"He is a sword forged from blood and corpses. There is a difference between Prince Arthur and him after all."
Heinrich wanted to ask her, what does she think? How do he compare to Dalton?
'You must be the best knight, sir.'
If he could go back, would she mind adding a rose and a two-headed snake to the coat of arms of the Heinrich family?
Princess Adele, who was sixteen years old, was sitting on a black rock by the sea. Her exile had made her a lot thinner, and her loose white dress was blown behind her by the sea breeze. She sat there like an elegant ghost orchid blooming on the rocks. Determined, sincere, and hopeful...the Young Princess at that time.
When he heard "The rose is accompanied by the two-headed snake", he could clearly hear his own heartbeat in the thundering waves.
She is a true "Roland".
Then, he realized that the Princess's words were just gratitude, not what he had first reacted to.
That was a long time ago. The Princess only said it once and he never mentioned it. All this time, he felt that he had forgotten it.
But when the rose originally promised to him was worn on the shoulder of another man, the sound of the tide in the Rose Strait returned, and the sea breeze filled his breath.
"It seems that you think Sir Dalton is going to win."
Heinrich said softly, feeling the snake in his heart begins to bite again. Its teeth were extremely sharp, and the jealous and bitter venom surged out from his heart and surged through every blood vessel in his body. He tried to keep his voice calm.
"I'm afraid the Root Empire won't look good on its face."
"No."
Adele's tone was chillingly cold.
"He will lose."
The horses roared and the audience's shouts were deafening. After initially testing each other, Dalton and Prince Arthur quickly charged at each other.
The distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer, and Dalton's face behind the helmet is getting colder and colder.
In the royal tent, Prince Arthur sat next to the Queen. In the studio, the Queen leaned over to watch Prince Arthur paint. They talked intimately, with the same dignity and elegance. In front of the high platform, the Queen took the lead in placing the ribbon in Prince Arthur's hands... All the pictures came together, each one mocking the lingering imprint of his birth.
All the images and sounds converged into the murderous intent on the tip of the gun.
He can win.
If he wins, he can arrogantly declare to everyone that the nobles are nothing more than that in front of the common people.
Prince Arthur is a formidable opponent, but his true fangs lie in the dark.
The frontal charge is the domain of a soldier. When the opponent stabs his shield, he will make the opponent fall from the horse in embarrassment, and the fall must be supported by someone.
He can do it.
But...
"I gave you a rose, are you going to give me a bitter thorn in return?"
The Queen standing on the high platform seemed to see through all the violent emotions in his heart. She said this to him as he kissed the back of her hand.
Prince Arthur is the younger brother of Emperor Root, and he represents Emperor Root in Roland. He lost face when he failed in the duel, which is equivalent to Emperor Root losing face. When it comes time to fight against the Yager Kingdom together, the Queen must ensure that her allies will not have any grudges.
More importantly...
Emperor Root will be her husband.
No reasonable woman would do that by humiliating her future husband's dignity. For the wife, it would be a bitter stab in the throat.
Damn, Root! Damn, Yager!
The rose pin on his shoulder burned like a flame, searing muscle and bone through the armor.
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