Princess Shu

A piece of a sweet cake was greatly tempting for the little boy. Schuden was wary of the object given to him and suspected it to be bait, but he was too young to be wary of gifts without reason. 

But the boy who would put food in his mouth if it was in front of him was troubled with the piece of cake in front of him. Eating only a third of the cake was too for him. It would not be enough to satisfy his stomach.

In the end, Schuden decided to give only half to one of his brothers. However, he could not decide who to give it to. So he walked to the sunflower field, planning to give it to the one who showed up first.

[Hey, Schuden! What’s that?]

[The noble Lord gave it to me.]

[That old man? I’m offended, throw it away!]

Throw it away? This precious thing?

Schuden was startled and stopped Leo from smashing the cake. And to keep Leo’s mouth shut, he shoved half of the cake into Leo’s mouth.

Leo was perplexed as sweetness spread through the inside of his mouth. He tried to spit the cake out but could not do so for Schuden’s hand was blocking his mouth. Leo eventually swallowed the cake slowly. It was too sweet for a child to refuse.

After that, their younger brother appeared all of a sudden, and both of them kept their mouths shut. The sweetness of the soft whipped cream mixed with the moist bread was so fantastic that it was hard to forget. Schuden fell asleep thinking that he wanted to eat the cake again.

The next morning, only Schuden and Leo were intact in that village.

He later found out that Marquess Garth had given an order to poison the village wells. And the antidote was put only in the cake that he shared with Leo.

[Oh, Schuden Garth. Didn’t I tell you to ‘share’ it with your brothers? Your little brother died because of your selfishness. I planned to show mercy only to your brothers, you know?]

Marquess Garth’s blue eyes gleamed with joy. He destroyed his opponent in a way that was simple, brutal, and yet, unstoppable. He instilled guilt with demonic whispers even before his opponent could mend his broken heart. That was the way of the former Marquess Garth.

[Your surviving brother is on the verge of going crazy, Schuden Garth.]

Leo crumbled from the outside and Schuden crumbled inside. It was perhaps the difference in their temperaments or the difference in what they had to carry.

“Your scumbag grandfather would not even let me die.”

The Marquess realized early on that Leo was Schuden’s only weakness–and what a good weakness he could not miss. He threatened Schuden with Leo’s life, and every time Leo tried to commit suicide, he had to survive each time.

“Selfish bastards. Both you and your grandfather.”

“Speak of whatever you like.”

Schuden never denied that he was selfish. He was a terribly selfish man. As Leo always cursed, it was perhaps because the blood of Garth was flowing in his body. Still, Schuden wanted Leo to live a little longer. He ardently hoped for Leo to wait a little longer. 

I’m going to cut off my grandfather’s head right before your very eyes, so just wait a little more.

But their relationship was already completely over before that could happen. 

It was after the former Marquess Garth forced Leo with a poison that changed the color of his eyes. Leo tried to kill the Marquess with his bloody, barely sighted eyes. At that time, it was Schuden who stood in Leo’s way.

Leo still remembered. Schuden took his sword, then tied him up so he could not walk and threw him into a room.

That day, Leo gave up all affection and expectations for his brother.

“This time, let’s put an end to it. It will only end when one of us dies.”

“So, you came all the way here to say that.”

“Yeah, I really want to provoke a war with the oh-so-great you. And I want to do it with my own mouth.”

“Isn’t the scale too big considering your personal grudge against me?”

“It is the will of the King. the Eastern Union is already ready for war.”

“Quite noble for a declaration of war. You had so much contempt for nobles. But look at you now, you’re definitely a noble now.”

Schuden scoffed. Leo looked at the red eyes that looked just like his. It’s also a contradiction for them to point their swords at each other even when they had eyes that looked so alike. Something suddenly came to his mind.

“Come to think of it, I’m suddenly remembering that woman.”

“Woman?”

“Black hair. I didn’t look closely at her eye color.”

Schuden’s face hardened for a moment. Black hair was not such a rare hair color. However, there was only one black-haired woman that was meaningful for Schuden–one that he could use and talk about in front of him.

Did he meet Valia? What did he do to her?

For the first time, the relaxed feeling that had flowed through Schuden’s body broke down. The change was clear enough to be seen. Even Leo could feel it.

“I’m saying this just in case. I haven’t seen her since that day.”

“…”

Schuden’s nefarious expression that seemed like it would explode at any moment subsided a little. Even that was weird. All of Schuden’s attitude now did not suit him. Leo looked at Schuden and asked.

“Do women mean anything to you?”

“There is no woman more meaningful to a husband than his wife.”

“Is that so?”

Leo nodded slowly. In fact, he had that thought when he saw Schuden and Valia at the Imperial banquet not long ago. Maybe that guy really was in love.

“Ah right, I forgot for a moment, someone like you doesn’t have a right to love anyone.”

Despite hearing his sharp words, Schuden did not show even the slightest agitation. Leo was puzzled that Schuden did not answer. But he did not ask anymore. It had been a long time since they were in a relationship to ask such things. 

Leo got up.

“It would be nice to let the Emperor know that the East has declared war after we cross the border. It is clear that the Emperor of Gel is going to run rampant.”

“Since you’re begging like this, I will keep quiet for three days.”

Once the delegation crossed Gel’s border, the Eastern Kingdoms Union would properly make a declaration of war. Of course, if Schuden told the Emperor before they did, Leo would be dead right away, but he did not worry about that. Leo whispered softly with his back against the rain-dropping sky.

“See you on the battlefield then, Marquess Garth.”

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

“Oh my, it’s raining.”

“The sky was clear before…”

“It’s raining quite a lot.”

Though an overhang was placed in advance, it was not enough to block the heavy rain. If they were in a noble’s manor, the guests would have moved to the annex. But in the Imperial Palace, they had to get permission a few days in advance to use the detached palace.

“If I had known that it would rain so much, I would have pitched a tent.”

A noblewoman was disappointed, but it was unavoidable.

“My apologies, but we have to break it up here today.”

“I had a pleasant time.”

“I hope to see the ladies today again next time.”

Valia blinked her eyes at teatime, which ended earlier than expected. Today, she entered the palace alongside Schuden. It was not an everyday thing for a wife to match her schedule and location with her husband. Seeing Valia amazed, Schuden grinned.

[My schedule seems to have ended a little earlier. So I will go pick you up.]

Schuden said that he would come to pick her up, but Valia thought it would be better to pick him up herself than to wait here. Her heart was pounding for nothing because she had never picked him up before.

“Oh, I will go with His Grace. You ladies go first.”

“Oh my, I see, Marchioness Garth.”

“Be careful.”

Valia sent the noblewomen away first and asked the attendant.

“Do you know where Marquess Garth is?”

“Please wait a moment.”

The attendants for the Imperial Palace were systematic. It did not take long for Valia to hear about where Schuden was. He was in the drawing-room of the main palace, a little far from the garden where Valia was. The attendant personally guided Valia to the main palace.

“Marchioness Garth?”

Valia blinked at the person he met by chance. 

Leo Canute. 

His red eyes were looking at her.

Valia did not expect to meet him in the hallway leading to the drawing-room of the main palace. He had a tougher face than the last time she had seen him. A young noble would have taken a step back without even realizing it. Had it not been for her past as an escort lady-in-waiting, Valia would certainly have been frightened too.

“Viscount Canute, I didn’t expect to meet you here.”

Valia answered calmly. Leo then relaxed his face a little.

“Are you on your way to meet Marquess Garth?”

“…Oh, yes.”

How did he know?

 Before Valia even had doubts, Leo said.

“It seems that you’re heading to the drawing-room in the main palace, but Marquess Garth is not there.”

“Oh… So he’s not there.”

Leo looked back at the attendant who was following him. He was the attendant who was keeping up with him from the garden all the way.

“But this attendant knows where he is, so go along with him.”

“Pardon? But Viscount, then you…”

“It’s okay. I’m not stupid enough to get lost after walking this same road for a few days.”

Valia thought Leo’s tone was a bit stiff. It was not rude, however, it felt somewhat different from the tone of an ordinary noble. It was less refined. It felt like he was a successful mercenary.

Maybe it was his original personality but Valia put more weight on the fact that he came from a special place. The Eastern Kingdoms Union was at war with the North. And war was an optimal place for people who were not nobles to contribute to the nation and build their name. When Valia thanked him moderately and tried to leave, Leo called her.

“Marchioness Garth.”

“Yes?”

“We could not shake hands last time.”

Leo reached out his hand. Valia hesitated for a moment. Schuden told her not to talk to Leo for long. However, she could not think of anything to refuse when he asked for a handshake. As Valia stared, Leo raised both hands and exclaimed.

“There’s no poison or whatever so you don’t have to doubt me.”

“…I didn’t have such suspicions, Viscount Canute.”

“In the East, shaking hands is just a greeting. I’m leaving Gel soon. You can think of it as saying goodbye.”

She could not think of a justification to refuse when Leo said that. Valia eventually reached out her hand carefully. Leo held her hand pleasantly and shook it lightly.

‘He has a lot of calluses.’

Though Valia did not know at first glance, she could tell for sure when she grabbed his hand. Calluses and old blisters remained in the hand of Viscount Canute.

‘He’s as much a fighter as he is.’

Maybe it was because their eye colors were similar. Or perhaps because he had hands with many scars left, unlike other nobles. But Schuden’s appearance overlapped with Leo.

“Viiissscouuuunt Ca! Nute!”

A loud noise was heard from Leo’s back. Leo turned his head. Walking quickly from behind was a knight in charge of attending him.

“I have been looking for you for a long time! We were all ready, but we could not see you. So everyone has been flipping over!”

Each word rang as loud as the beating sound of the battlefield. The angry knight saw Valia a beat later.

“Who is this lady?”

“She’s Marchioness Garth.”