Princess Shu

‘They seem to be on good terms.’

The Emperor was well aware of Schuden’s personality. He was the center of the nobles and the owner of the House of Garth that held the financial world, there were always people around him. However, Schuden was a cold person who never showed affection to others. Though his coldness did not do him any favors in his noble life, it served him well as a militaristic soldier. That was the essence of Schuden.

‘If Marquess Garth, who is known for such a personality, is taking care of her that much, then that should be enough.’

Valia was a temple princess, she hailed from a foreign country and was chosen by an oracle. Because of this, the Emperor did not expect much of her, but to his surprise, she and Schuden seemed to get along well. If Marchioness Garth had not become overly obsessive or restraining, it seemed that a peaceful marriage would prevail. The Emperor’s thoughts were overturned in a few tens of minutes.

“I have something to talk about with the Marquess for a moment. A delegation has come from the Eastern Kingdoms Union.”

It was near the end of tea time. Valia responded politely without showing any signs of bewilderment.

“Then, I will take my leave first.”

“It was a great time meeting you, Marchioness Garth.”

“I am much obliged. Thank you for your precious time, Your Imperial Majesty.”

With a satisfied smile, the Emperor called the chief lady-in-waiting who was standing in the audience chamber to take Valia out.

“I will go now, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Valia greeted the Emperor with courtesy. After raising her head with an impeccable face, Schuden said to her.

“I will be right there, my dear.”

“Yes, take your time.”

Schuden’s red eyes were fixed on Valia until she stepped out of the audience chamber. The Emperor was really interested in the new fact that he found out while watching Marquess Garth without much thought.

‘Huh?’  

After Valia completely left, the door to the audience chamber closed again. The Emperor asked in a passing tone.

“You’re very affectionate to your wife.”

“You’re the one who emphasizes harmony between couples.”

I don’t think your harmony is just for the sake of formality though.

He had only seen them for a short time to judge carefully. The Emperor burst into laughter and brought up another topic.

“Seeing how you’re so sweet to your wife, I think I know why the ladies were so hung up on you. You remember, right? The fact that so many ladies loved you before you got married. The Marchioness is from another country so she may not know about the rumor. Does she know?”

“She’s not the type to pay attention to useless rumors.”

Schuden responded with an expressionless face, but he began to be concerned. He definitely had women he dated in the past. It was not a lot, but it was not a small number either.

Schuden was cynical. He did not understand the love of men and women nor did he know where to find such affection. And so, he tried dating a few times. It was a temporary interest. He had never been in a deep relationship, but his rumors were never as clean-cut as apple pie.

‘She would not mind that.’

Schuden could not understand why he was so focused on thinking about that. His mood was slightly lowered but the Emperor did not notice. The Emperor did not bring up the subject to offend Schuden in the first place. Shaun must be the only one in the whole Empire who could guess that Schuden cared so much about Valia.

Still in the stage of interest, the Emperor was not aware of Schuden’s emotional changes and mentioned his business.

“Marquess Garth, a delegation came from the Eastern Kingdoms Union a few days ago.”

Schuden looked at the Emperor.

“Because of that, I have to postpone your audience for a few days. As you know, they are not an existence that can be easily overlooked these days.”

It was as the Emperor said. If he had to pick the most troublesome place for Gel these days, it was definitely the Eastern Kingdoms Union. 

The only Empire in the continent, Gel, occupied a wide area in the center of the land, and its power which occupied the main area was beyond imagination. The other kingdoms did not dare to challenge Gel. It was only recently that the Eastern Kingdoms Union began to slowly walk over to take liberties.

“They weren’t like this a few decades ago. They have been running rampant recently like a vicious tiger.”

“They do actually have a tiger.”

Schuden replied flatly.

“Are you referring to Viscount Leo Canute of the Eastern Kingdoms Unions?”

“Has he already been given the title of Viscount?”

“As you know, he is a great man.”

Schuden nodded indifferently.

“At the beginning, the Eastern, Western, and Northern Kingdoms Unions were about the same in strength. But Leo Canute contributed a lot to the rapid increase in power of the union.”

“I have the same opinion.”

It was not long ago that the Eastern Kingdoms Union assimilated half of the Northern Kingdom. It was a very big war and the casualties were enormous. Since the regional war was still going on, the war was not completely eradicated.

“Their momentum will go up further as they have occupied the north’s quality ores.”

“Tsk tsk. The northern guys made a mistake. A war that prevailed for decades does not mean that the end will be drawn.”

The war between the Northern Union and the Eastern Union lasted more than a decade. At first, the north was a little more dominant. However, their slight dominance over the east was not enough to win at once.

A prolonged war, resulting in many deaths, costing money to kill and destroy. In addition to the Northern Kingdoms Union and Eastern Kingdoms Union, mercenaries and knights from each country on the continent also came to participate in the war. It was a period of meaningless consumption. A war in which the national power grew weak and of the once-prosperous land drying up. And the one to bring the never-ending war to an end was Leo Canute.

“There’s a condition first put forward in writing by the Eastern Union.”

“What is it?”

“In writing, they want to terminate the defense treaty between the Gel Empire and the Northern Kingdoms.”

Not all of the Northern Kingdom’s territory belonged to the Northern Kingdoms Union. Some of these countries entered into defense treaties instead of paying tribute to the Gel Empire in the form of a vassal state. As long as there was this treaty, the Eastern Kingdoms Union could not fully take over the North. In addition, due to geographical requirements, it was difficult to wage war with the Western Kingdoms Union.

“Are you going to listen to their request?”

“That’s ridiculous. I’m just curious, they must know that the negotiation is doomed to fail, but still, the representative of the delegation is extraordinary.”

Schuden’s red eyes looked at the Emperor. He could roughly guess the answer.

“It seems that you already guessed it. Yes, it’s Leo Canute. It is said that he would come representing the delegation of the Eastern Unions Kingdom.”

“The man who used to only hold swords on the battlefield will come as a delegate? That’s very gutsy of them to do.”

Schuden hummed and raised his head.

“I think there’s a reason why you said that to me.”

“Your guess is right, Marquess Garth.”

The Emperor nodded.

“Leo Canute requests you as the negotiator. I haven’t sent a definite answer yet. I want to hear your opinion first.”

Schuden tilted his chin slightly, his reddish-blonde hair dazzlingly bouncing off sunlight.

[Live until I rip out your heart and swallow it, soon-to-be Marquess Schuden Garth.]

“Your Imperial Majesty.”

The corners of Schuden’s mouth went up a little. At the same time, his eyes deepened dangerously, looking bloody at first glance.

“I will take care of it.”

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

After leaving the audience chamber, the chief lady-in-waiting suggested to Valia.

“Marchioness Garth, would you like to tour the garden?”

“It’s fine. I don’t know when the lord will come out so I don’t want to miss each other on the way.”

“Then, why don’t we go to the drawing-room and have a cup of tea?”

“Sure.”

Valia walked slowly following the chief lady-in-waiting. For every step she took, she looked at the brooch once, and with every two steps she took, she glanced at the brooch again. She knew the pin was sturdy, but as she put an expensive object on her body, her nerves kept going that way.

‘By the way, if only Marchioness Garth could wear this brooch…’

It meant that Schuden’s mother could not have worn it. Valia had yet to hear from Schuden about his ancestry. She felt that he would probably not be the first to talk unless she asked first.

‘But I don’t feel like poking around.’

Though she was curious, she did not want to dig into his silence. Valia regarded that as being courteous to people.

“This way, Marchioness.”

While deep in thought, Valia entered the building with the drawing-room. It was a gorgeous and huge building with more than 20 rooms attached. She had just entered the great hall that encompassed them all. Because of the time, there were no other nobles, and only the attendants were busy walking around.

“Wa, wait a minute.”

If it had not been for the voice calling Valia at that time, she would have gone straight into the drawing-room. Valia turned her head at the call of a woman of a similar age to her. A young noblewoman was approaching her. When Valia blinked her eyes, the noblewoman greeted her somewhat modestly.

“I’m Marchioness Joan. Are you Marchioness Garth?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Oh my.”

Marchioness Joan, who had her blonde hair neatly pleated, looked no more than a few years older than Valia. She had her eyes twinkling with a look full of affection. She had a pure impression that was hard to find in social circles. Especially among high-ranking nobles.

“If it’s okay, would you like to have a cup of tea with me?”

“If you’re fine with me, why not?”

Marchioness Joan’s face brightened. The ladies-in-waiting who were standing next to them quickly prepared the drawing-room and brewed the tea. The rich and sweet scent of black tea and colorful snacks matching the dignity of the Imperial Palace were beautifully presented.

“I attended your wedding ceremony. It was such a beautiful wedding.”

“Thank you.”

Valia smiled softly. She was good at observing the faces of nobles because of her past experience as an escort lady-in-waiting. She said in a plain tone.

“Your dress was so beautiful that I used the same design, Marchioness Joan.”

Actually, the design was chosen because of the tight schedule, but Marchioness Joan would never know if a few people kept their mouths shut.

“Oh my, that’s such a high praise.”

With her cheeks turning red, Marchioness Joan rejoiced like a little girl. As Valia had somehow guessed, choosing Marchioness Joan’s wedding dress for her own wedding led to Marchioness Joan having a great impression of her.

“But your wedding dress was really beautiful, Marchioness Garth.”

“Thank you for seeing it in a good light.”

“For real. You have yet to make your first public appearance but when people were about to forget about the dress at the tea party, the story comes up again. The lace decorations were beautiful.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. Up until now, everyone had either only attached a little lace to the ribbon or only to the sleeves or skirt hem.”

‘Come to think of it…’