Princess Shu

Chapter 3.2 – I’ve Been Waiting For You

And so it came to this: the Great Priest who visited the Marquis on a daily basis, sometimes exuding an atmosphere of murderous intent. However, he didn’t take any actions. Actually, he didn’t do anything besides be a bother to the Marquis.

In the end, the Marquis accepted the temple’s proposal only after numerous conditions were set that would benefit him. Since the temple would be pitiful anyway, he didn’t have anything to lose.

“Your Excellency, two days ago we sent the first princess recruitment letters to the kingdom we singled out,” the Great Priest stated.

Marquis Garth knew that. It had stirred up a storm of gossip not only in noble society, but throughout the whole Empire as well. If the Marquis had not been the party involved in this, it might have caught his interest as well. But that wasn’t the case right now. He just found the situation bizarre.

“Great Priest. Let’s talk about this openly,” he said.

The Marquis, who was leaning against his back, propped himself up a little. He was not just a handsome man. His red eyes, which were hooded by eyelashes which were of similar color to his hair, were stunningly attractive. It was why countless women longed to wrap themselves around the Marquis’ strong thighs. His red eyes had an alluring beauty to them that evoked images of a passionate love affair.

“So you think there would be a woman who would volunteer for such a mysterious princess selection?” Marquis Garth asked skeptically.

The Great Priest nodded. “You never know. A woman of deep faith who has a noble heart to devote her entire life to God may appear.”

“It would be strange for such a person to see me as a husband,” the Marquis remarked.

“Your Excellency will not have to worry about it since you’re attractive.”

The corners of the Marquis’ lips lifted. “I’m not every woman’s ideal type. I might be for most people, but not all.”

Despite his words, he said it with great arrogance. He knew he was one of the few men who could boast of such a beauty. No, not one of a few, he was probably the only man. Even if the Great Priest was detached from the world, even he had to acknowledge it. Above all, Marquis Garth was the sole master of the Garth family in the Ghel Empire.

“So what brings you to my mansion today, Great Priest?” Marquis Garth inquired. “There’s no way that there’s already been a volunteer for such a mysterious princess recruitment.”

The Great Priest gently set down his teacup. The young handsome Marquis was different from any other nobles. If someone wanted to have a chat, he could have a chat with them within the noble society. If someone wanted to go hunting together with him, he could just meet them at the hunting grounds. Marquis Garth was a man who clearly marked his limits. No matter how brazen a noble was, with a flash from the Marquis’s red eyes, they wouldn’t be able to assert their dominance. One would have to at least be at the Great Priest’s level, who had been training for a long time to detach from the world, to not lose their temper.

“Your Excellency,” the Great Priest said.

The lady shouldn’t have to run away in fear. It was only last night that the temple was contacted. The Great Priest smiled.

“We have a volunteer.”

* * *

Valia sank into the bathwater. The bathtub wasn’t the old wooden one used at home. This bathtub, which was carved with marble, was filled with warm water, and there were even servants attending on the side. They were the ladies-in-waiting of the kingdom’s palace. They foamed up the bath with skillful hands, and the sweet scent of flowers quickly spread like honey in Valia’s mouth.

‘Smells good…’ Valia sighed.

She didn’t have the luxury of plucked flower petals in the water, but the fact that someone else prepared the bath for her was enough luxury for Valia. She lost herself in thought as her body soaked in the water. There were countless things to think about, but there was one question that came to her mind first.

‘In the past, how did the rumours spread so quickly within the noble society?’

The lady-in-waiting, who came to serve Valia, was dressed in plain clothes. She asked Valia a few simple questions, jotted down something, and left, saying she would come back later. Judging from her words, it seemed that the task would take a few days.

Feeling relaxed, Valia recalled the day’s earlier events when she went to the market for the first time in a long while and bought herself a cheese sandwich and lemonade. Having been so frugal all her life, this was the reward she gave herself for doing something impactful.

She had sipped her lemonade as she made her way home. It was just when she reached out her hand for the doorknob when—

[I’ve been waiting for you.]

Valia almost died of a heart attack when a woman suddenly appeared behind her without a sound. Valia forced her thumping heart to calm, then gave the woman a once-over. It was a lady-in-waiting, and she spoke to Valia in a low voice.

[I’ll be back to pick you up tonight, so please be ready by then.]

Valia nodded dazedly. Her heart was still pounding. The lady-in-waiting bowed her head much more politely than before and left.

Valia stood rooted to the ground for a while. It was only after a little while that she came to her senses.

‘Wait, did she say tonight?’