“It's Treason.”
‘No. Even though we were suffering from the drought, that damn Duke of Temnes brought up the topic of the territory war without any morality, so I think I lost my senses for a moment and went crazy.'
All of this was because of those shameless, cold-hearted, and inhumane Temnes bastards.
'That's why I made the right choice to send Claudel to Rowen.'
If he hadn't, all of the Valmonde fiefdoms would have starved to death or been killed by Temnes' swords.
Morale is important in the territory war, and Valmonde, who had been suffering from the drought for years and had been deserting the fiefdoms for years, could not possibly defeat the arrogant Temnes.
Claudel was going to die anyway from Herzol.
Didn't she say she would be martyred to save the fiefdoms?
So it wasn't a wrong choice.
He made the best choice he could in each situation.
"The rumors have already spread uncontrollably. I can't be a laughing stock as the King, right?"
But how did it come to this?
“I guess we have no choice but to share the responsibility in Vermont. Isn’t that right, Princess Irena?”
The Duke of Vermont felt his insides burn as he watched his daughter sitting next to him, her face pale and erect, looking only at the tips of her fingers neatly folded over her dress.
“You have no choice but to become my Queen.”
A madman speaks madly.
'No. No. You idiot! My daughter cannot be your Queen until dirt gets in my eyes.'
The voice of his heart, which had blocked his instincts from speaking to survive outside the castle gates, turned his insides roughly.
“It happened in front of all the nobles. Fortunately, it happened before the announcement, so if I say that the original candidate for Queen was Princess Irena, you would believe it.”
The Duke of Vermont also had a moment when he thought that Valquiterre had done this because he had feelings for Claudel.
Now that he looked at it, that wasn’t the case at all. He didn’t feel any resentment at having his woman taken from him after stealing her from another man.
“It would be better if the wedding were as quick as possible.”
His eyes, which had been temporarily lax, became fierce again.
“We’ll have to go to war to punish the traitor.”
Only the stale and stinky emotions of self-esteem, anger, and resentment toward Kaian clung to the King like dregs.
“Ah. Was my eye for people this bad?”
Compared to him, Kaian, who jumped over the railing in the hanging garden with Claudel, was truly a bastard.
At least, he was sincere to the woman he had chosen, and his eyes knew that he would suffer because of that.
At that moment, he forgot that Kaian was the head of the enemy family and the main culprit who caused Claudel to run away, and he was moved. It was frustrating.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
The Duke of Vermont felt his heart sink as he watched Valquiterre urging Irena to answer quickly.
“The reason Valmonde stayed in the same fence with Oberon for so long was because we had faith in the royal family.”
Irena said calmly.
“It was also Your Majesty the King who ordered the marriage between Temnes and Vermont that ended the long drought.”
“I understand.”
“If you order a national marriage, I will naturally comply.”
When she answered positively, the icy air finally thawed a little.
The Duke of Vermont, who had been thinking for a while, stepped forward.
“I am ashamed to say this, Your Majesty. I have a different opinion.”
Valcuiter looked at him as if telling him to speak quickly.
“Wouldn’t this marriage bring Valmonde completely into the Kingdom of Oberon?”
It was regrettable.
In a way, Claudel’s existence was an extra in the Vermont lineage. After all, the Duke of Vermont only had one child, Irena.
So he wanted to bring in a son-in-law to continue the family line, but his daughter was a widow and had not yet found a new husband.
In this situation, there was no way that King Valquiterre could become Vermonte’s son-in-law, and if Irena became Queen and lived in the capital castle, Valmonde itself would naturally be merged into Oberon.
As the lord of Valmonde, that was absolutely unacceptable, but there was no other way right now.
Oberon Castle was an impregnable fortress that was difficult to attack from the outside, but the problem was that it was structurally impossible to escape from the inside.
‘If there had been an emergency exit that the Duke of Temnes had destroyed and left.’
He would have jumped over the railing with Irena.
Since he couldn’t use the same method, what else could he do to survive outside the castle gate?
Historically, there were precedents for imprisoning foreign envoys or disobedient nobles in the castle or not letting them out until they died, so it was even more ominous.
“Isn’t Rowen also your Majesty the King's? Originally, Rowen Castle was also the royal castle during the founding of the nation.”
The Duke of Vermont deliberately showed a greedy look in his eyes.
“After you completely conquer Rowen, hold a national wedding.”
“Are you telling me to go to war first?”
“There has never been a single instance in the history of the Kingdom of Oberon where Valmonde was completely subjugated.”
The kingdom that started in Rowen expanded its power and moved its capital to the center of the Ita Continent.
The land of Valmonde was practically an independent nation, so rather than being ruled by Oberon, they had a cooperative relationship where they received food and handed over ports and mineral resources.
Even the King of Oberon could not ignore Vermont, so he felt his own situation even more miserable.
“Isn’t that something you should do? It would be better to completely conquer Rowen and block the opposition of other nobles with the celebration of a national wedding.”
“Now that I hear it, that makes sense.”
Valquiterre nodded.
“There is an order to things, so it certainly looks better that way.”
“Of course. Your Majesty.”
“By the way, how many troops can we mobilize from Valmonde?”
Duke Vermont felt like he was climbing mountains one after another.
As he pushed back the national wedding that was right in front of him, the next mountain he had to climb fell before him in an instant.
“As you know, it hasn’t been long since we escaped the drought, so we are running low on food reserves for the military.”
“Don’t worry about that. We took the Pagos region from Kaian, right?”
Valquiterre smiled.
“They managed the Pagos food warehouse so well that they had enough grain to feed the entire nation for several years. That should be enough.”
“Ah. That is so. Haha.”
Duke Vermont felt sweat forming on his forehead.
“Then, for now, I will return to Castle Valmonde.”
“To the north?”
“Yes. Then, wouldn’t we bring in a mercenary group from the Sol Continent and prepare for war?”
“Hmm.”
Valcuiter glared at him.
“I will allow it. But you’d better not think of anything frivolous.”
“Frivolous thoughts! It’s out of the question.”
The Duke of Vermont retreated, flustered.
However, as soon as the door to the King’s office closed, he cursed faintly.
“Did I suffer all this time just to see this?”
Irena let out a small sigh as she watched the Duke of Vermont muttering with a resentful face.
‘It’s frustrating.’
How long will I have to be dragged around like this?
Not being able to decide on even one thing of his own.
It was then.
“There!”
Even in that short moment, a twisted tone of speech that seemed to indicate a hint of intoxication suddenly flew out.
When Irena turned around, Princess Bianque staggered toward her.
“Are you drunk?”
“What? Shouldn’t I greet you first?”
“I greet the Princess.”
The Princess, with her white cheeks and eyes, reddened and her hair disheveled here and there, was completely drunk.
Her dress was disheveled, and with the Princess’s round tiara turned upside down on her head, she looked downright comical.
Judging from the way the Princess’s maids were pacing around helplessly, perhaps worried that they would be scolded far behind her, it seemed like this wouldn’t be a brief incident.
“Ha. This is great. You were fooled by Valquiterre too, weren’t you?”
Princess Bianche smirked.
“I expected you to marry Kaian. Was I the only one who expected it? You expected it too?”
She giggled and looked like she had lost her mind.
“What should I do? Valquiterre is the only one left.”
Irena said to Bianque, who was pointing her finger at her and laughing as if she had just seen such a ridiculous sight.
“What are you doing?”
“What?”
“I asked what you were doing.”
Irena was calm.
“Is this the best you can do?”
“What are you saying?”
Bianque frowned in displeasure.
“It’s a shame to say that Her Majesty Queen Sylvia has been reborn.”
With that, Irena turned around and headed back, but Bianque flared up.
“Hey! Don’t stand there!”
After seeing only a smiling face all the time, facing Valquiterre’s face that had lost its smile, is there such a hardship?
“Isn’t that so?”
Watching Valquiterre pressuring the Duke of Vermont to quickly agree, he chewed over the past.
He was personally realizing why his predecessors, the Vermont, had not been active in the capital’s social circles and had drawn a line.
“To collude with and steal a woman who was to become the Queen at the royal ball.”
That doesn’t seem like something you should say when you’ve stolen a woman who has a husband and is pregnant.
The Duke of Vermont’s eyes were clouded.
The many moments of judgment and choice he made as the lord of Valmont flashed through his mind.
Why did he take Valquiterre’s hand in the first place?
“Isn’t that so?”
Watching Valquiterre pressuring the Duke of Vermont to quickly agree, he chewed over the past.
He was personally realizing why his predecessors, the Vermont, had not been active in the capital’s social circles and had drawn a line.
“To collude with and steal a woman who was to become the Queen at the royal ball.”
That doesn’t seem like something you should say when you’ve stolen a woman who has a husband and is pregnant.
The Duke of Vermont’s eyes were clouded.
The many moments of judgment and choice he made as the lord of Valmont flashed through his mind.
Why did he take Valquiterre’s hand in the first place?
If Valmont hadn’t been suffering from a severe drought...
‘No. Even though we were suffering from the drought, that damn Duke of Temnes brought up the topic of the territory war without any morality, so I think I lost my senses for a moment and went crazy.'
All of this was because of those shameless, cold-hearted, and inhumane Temnes bastards.
'That's why I made the right choice to send Claudel to Rowen.'
If he hadn't, all of the Valmonde fiefdoms would have starved to death or been killed by Temnes' swords.
Morale is important in the territory war, and Valmonde, who had been suffering from the drought for years and had been deserting the fiefdoms for years, could not possibly defeat the arrogant Temnes.
Claudel was going to die anyway from Herzol.
Didn't she say she would be martyred to save the fiefdoms?
So it wasn't a wrong choice.
He made the best choice he could in each situation.
"The rumors have already spread uncontrollably. I can't be a laughing stock as the King, right?"
But how did it come to this?
“I guess we have no choice but to share the responsibility in Vermont. Isn’t that right, Princess Irena?”
The Duke of Vermont felt his insides burn as he watched his daughter sitting next to him, her face pale and erect, looking only at the tips of her fingers neatly folded over her dress.
“You have no choice but to become my Queen.”
A madman speaks madly.
'No. No. You idiot! My daughter cannot be your Queen until dirt gets in my eyes.'
The voice of his heart, which had blocked his instincts from speaking to survive outside the castle gates, turned his insides roughly.
“It happened in front of all the nobles. Fortunately, it happened before the announcement, so if I say that the original candidate for Queen was Princess Irena, you would believe it.”
The Duke of Vermont also had a moment when he thought that Valquiterre had done this because he had feelings for Claudel.
Now that he looked at it, that wasn’t the case at all. He didn’t feel any resentment at having his woman taken from him after stealing her from another man.
“It would be better if the wedding were as quick as possible.”
His eyes, which had been temporarily lax, became fierce again.
“We’ll have to go to war to punish the traitor.”
Only the stale and stinky emotions of self-esteem, anger, and resentment toward Kaian clung to the King like dregs.
“Ah. Was my eye for people this bad?”
Compared to him, Kaian, who jumped over the railing in the hanging garden with Claudel, was truly a bastard.
At least, he was sincere to the woman he had chosen, and his eyes knew that he would suffer because of that.
At that moment, he forgot that Kaian was the head of the enemy family and the main culprit who caused Claudel to run away, and he was moved. It was frustrating.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
The Duke of Vermont felt his heart sink as he watched Valquiterre urging Irena to answer quickly.
“The reason Valmonde stayed in the same fence with Oberon for so long was because we had faith in the royal family.”
Irena said calmly.
“It was also Your Majesty the King who ordered the marriage between Temnes and Vermont that ended the long drought.”
“I understand.”
“If you order a national marriage, I will naturally comply.”
When she answered positively, the icy air finally thawed a little.
The Duke of Vermont, who had been thinking for a while, stepped forward.
“I am ashamed to say this, Your Majesty. I have a different opinion.”
Valcuiter looked at him as if telling him to speak quickly.
“Wouldn’t this marriage bring Valmonde completely into the Kingdom of Oberon?”
It was regrettable.
In a way, Claudel’s existence was an extra in the Vermont lineage. After all, the Duke of Vermont only had one child, Irena.
So he wanted to bring in a son-in-law to continue the family line, but his daughter was a widow and had not yet found a new husband.
In this situation, there was no way that King Valquiterre could become Vermonte’s son-in-law, and if Irena became Queen and lived in the capital castle, Valmonde itself would naturally be merged into Oberon.
As the lord of Valmonde, that was absolutely unacceptable, but there was no other way right now.
Oberon Castle was an impregnable fortress that was difficult to attack from the outside, but the problem was that it was structurally impossible to escape from the inside.
‘If there had been an emergency exit that the Duke of Temnes had destroyed and left.’
He would have jumped over the railing with Irena.
Since he couldn’t use the same method, what else could he do to survive outside the castle gate?
Historically, there were precedents for imprisoning foreign envoys or disobedient nobles in the castle or not letting them out until they died, so it was even more ominous.
“Isn’t Rowen also your Majesty the King's? Originally, Rowen Castle was also the royal castle during the founding of the nation.”
The Duke of Vermont deliberately showed a greedy look in his eyes.
“After you completely conquer Rowen, hold a national wedding.”
“Are you telling me to go to war first?”
“There has never been a single instance in the history of the Kingdom of Oberon where Valmonde was completely subjugated.”
The kingdom that started in Rowen expanded its power and moved its capital to the center of the Ita Continent.
The land of Valmonde was practically an independent nation, so rather than being ruled by Oberon, they had a cooperative relationship where they received food and handed over ports and mineral resources.
Even the King of Oberon could not ignore Vermont, so he felt his own situation even more miserable.
“Isn’t that something you should do? It would be better to completely conquer Rowen and block the opposition of other nobles with the celebration of a national wedding.”
“Now that I hear it, that makes sense.”
Valquiterre nodded.
“There is an order to things, so it certainly looks better that way.”
“Of course. Your Majesty.”
“By the way, how many troops can we mobilize from Valmonde?”
Duke Vermont felt like he was climbing mountains one after another.
As he pushed back the national wedding that was right in front of him, the next mountain he had to climb fell before him in an instant.
“As you know, it hasn’t been long since we escaped the drought, so we are running low on food reserves for the military.”
“Don’t worry about that. We took the Pagos region from Kaian, right?”
Valquiterre smiled.
“They managed the Pagos food warehouse so well that they had enough grain to feed the entire nation for several years. That should be enough.”
“Ah. That is so. Haha.”
Duke Vermont felt sweat forming on his forehead.
“Then, for now, I will return to Castle Valmonde.”
“To the north?”
“Yes. Then, wouldn’t we bring in a mercenary group from the Sol Continent and prepare for war?”
“Hmm.”
Valcuiter glared at him.
“I will allow it. But you’d better not think of anything frivolous.”
“Frivolous thoughts! It’s out of the question.”
The Duke of Vermont retreated, flustered.
However, as soon as the door to the King’s office closed, he cursed faintly.
“Did I suffer all this time just to see this?”
Irena let out a small sigh as she watched the Duke of Vermont muttering with a resentful face.
‘It’s frustrating.’
How long will I have to be dragged around like this?
Not being able to decide on even one thing of his own.
It was then.
“There!”
Even in that short moment, a twisted tone of speech that seemed to indicate a hint of intoxication suddenly flew out.
When Irena turned around, Princess Bianque staggered toward her.
“Are you drunk?”
“What? Shouldn’t I greet you first?”
“I greet the Princess.”
The Princess, with her white cheeks and eyes, reddened and her hair disheveled here and there, was completely drunk.
Her dress was disheveled, and with the Princess’s round tiara turned upside down on her head, she looked downright comical.
Judging from the way the Princess’s maids were pacing around helplessly, perhaps worried that they would be scolded far behind her, it seemed like this wouldn’t be a brief incident.
“Ha. This is great. You were fooled by Valquiterre too, weren’t you?”
Princess Bianche smirked.
“I expected you to marry Kaian. Was I the only one who expected it? You expected it too?”
She giggled and looked like she had lost her mind.
“What should I do? Valquiterre is the only one left.”
Irena said to Bianque, who was pointing her finger at her and laughing as if she had just seen such a ridiculous sight.
“What are you doing?”
“What?”
“I asked what you were doing.”
Irena was calm.
“Is this the best you can do?”
“What are you saying?”
Bianque frowned in displeasure.
“It’s a shame to say that Her Majesty Queen Sylvia has been reborn.”
With that, Irena turned around and headed back, but Bianque flared up.
“Hey! Don’t stand there!”
“Princess. Calm down.”
“Wait a minute! Come here!”
“You're about to become Her Majesty the Queen. If you do this, it’ll be difficult…”
“Let go of this!”
Ignoring the commotion behind her, Irena headed out with the Duke of Vermont.
“Haa .”
Only after the carriage pulled out of the castle gate did she finally catch her breath.
***
I tried to eat and drink eagerly. I ate the soup that had been boiled a little thicker, my face looking much better, perhaps because I had drank water after waking up.
“Look at this. Didn’t you ask if she was feeling weak because she didn’t eat?”
The doctor felt sorry for Kaian, who was so proud.
“You should take good care of yourself. The future is important.”
“Don’t worry. There’s medicine that’s good for her.”
He decided that when he returned to the castle this time, he would have to catch a wild buffalo calf that had been released under the moat.
“How big does a calf have to be?”
He wondered if the medicine would still be effective, but if necessary, it might be a good idea to go hunting again.
“Aren’t we here yet?”
I asked him anxiously.
“We’ll be there soon.”
They had docked their boat at the first dock in the Rowen territory and were waiting for Hannah and her party to arrive. The dock was lined with armed Temnes soldiers. Not a single mouse could approach the boat without Kaian’s permission. At that moment, the soldiers who had been lined up split left and right, and a carriage slowly slowed down and approached. But as the carriage drew near, a long spear was seen stuck in it. The carriage looked to be in dire straits as if it had been attacked.
I asked in a trembling voice.
“Kaian. What the hell happened to that?”
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