Princess Shu

“Do you not have any plans for a child? Does your husband not want you to give birth? Or do you not want to give birth? You don’t have to if you don’t want one.”

“No! It’s not like that…”

“Well, okay. Both of you are still young, so if you keep working hard, you will have a child in no time.”

Valia opened her mouth blankly. Her face flamed up like a ripe apple in an instant. Carl chuckled out loud. 

“We’re almost there, you can go back in now.”

“…Don’t go to the east. The war is not quite over yet.”

“I won’t. I’m already old enough. Even if you push me to go there, I won’t even go near the battlefield.”

That was a lie. In the past, Carl was willing to participate in the war to earn money for Valia’s medical expenses. 

Unable to overcome her overwhelming emotions, Valia looked at Carl and hugged him. Carl patted her on the back without saying a word. His right arm was neither harmed nor rotten, and seeing him unharmed made Valia so happy to the point of tears 

Valia let go of Carl.

“You must take care of yourself.”

“Don’t worry. You take care of your health, too. Well, I’m sure the doctor will undoubtedly take care of that matter.”

Carl peeped at the back and whispered softly in Valia’s ear.

“But don’t be too obedient. He’s too overprotective.”

“Actually, I also think so too.”

Valia whispered and chuckled. A smile spread across Carl’s face. No matter whether she had become Duchess Garth of the Gel Empire or not, in Carl’s eyes, Valia was still just his little granddaughter.

“I’m glad you look happy.”

“Do I look happy?”

“Very much so.”

The fresh early summer, where the wind was cool and the sun was bright, in the vast yard of Garth castle. That was where Valia smiled.

“Yes, I think I’m happy.” 

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Leo had been put in temporary imprisonment, and because of his status, almost twenty soldiers had been stationed to guard him. Although, the ‘temporary’ in ‘temporary imprisonment’ was only in name. 

Schuden was visiting Leo. In there was Princess Rudbeckia, holding tightly to the prison bars. 

“Ten minutes will do. Time it, and when it’s been ten minutes, take the princess back with you.”

Schuden ordered with a blank face.

“Yes, sir.”

The knight bowed his head and took his leave. Marquess Joan stroked his chin beside Schuden,

“I didn’t know that Princess Rudbeckia was such a great person. As soon as Viscount Leo Canute came near, she threw a punch on his cheek.”

Princess Rudbeckia had just punched Leo in his face. Marquess Joan and the knights who were nearby were all at loss for words. For a moment, they thought that the Eastern Kingdoms Union had sent the princess to actually kill him. Only Schuden remained calm.

“Those hands of hers are ones that had never wielded a sword before. I don’t think there was much damage.”

“But he was punched right on the large bruise he had… And didn’t you hear him groan right after? The Leo Canute—groaning! Besides, he doesn’t look very well either.”

“It doesn’t matter, she only wanted him to feel pain.”

“But then again, if it’s not life-threatening, it’s none of our business…”

Marquess Joan slurred at the end of his sentence. Actually, both Marquess Joan and Princess Rudbeckia were quite surprised to see the state Leo was in. She even went speechless for a while when she saw Leo lying in the middle of his cell.

Princess Rudbeckia looked back at Schuden. Then, she politely said in a trembling and barely audible voice.

“The King himself has asked not to use torture…”

Leo looked so bad and severe.

But Schuden replied without a moment of hesitation.

[I didn’t torture him.]

There was no lie in what Schuden said. After bringing Leo to prison, Schuden did not torture him at all. He just beat him a little bit in the battle. Besides, three medical officers were treating him all day long, so Leo was much better now. However, no matter how hard they tried, Leo still needed time to heal the bruises on his cheeks and the limbs he broke.

Princess Rudbeckia, who was unaware of the situation, looked confused.

[Why does he look like that if not because of torture? What’s wrong with his face…]

[It’s a wound from the battle. This is common in wars.]

[…I see. I have never participated in war, so I did not know. My apologies.]

Behind Schuden, Marquess Joan and the knights seemed confused. The purpose of war was to kill their opponents, it was all about cutting off the opponent’s head and penetrating their heart. The traces of murder were different from those of violence. However, Leo looked to be in critical condition because of the latter. There were more places that were hit than places that were cut.

‘There being such a wound means that they got into a fistfight…’

Detailed reports had been made on how Leo was captured alive by Gel. The two leaders had a one-on-one battle with Schuden coming out as the victor after six hours.

A one-on-one battle between the opposing leaders was traditional and not uncommon. The Emperor was greatly pleased and the nobles in the grand meeting were excited, Marquess Joan being one of them. No one thought Leo Canute would be in such a state.

‘Did they really have a dirty fight?’

Marquess Joan glanced at Schuden. 

Schuden was presumed to be the one that had reduced Leo Canute to such a ragged state, yet he was still as cool and beautiful as he always was. His red eyes were relaxed, and he was still acting in an aristocratic manner. No matter how many times Marquess Joan looked at Schuden, the image did not match. He shook his head and changed the subject.

“I had wondered why the Eastern King sent Princess Rudbeckia as the representative of the negotiation team, but I understand now. I didn’t expect she would ask to pour cold water on Leo Canute’s head.”

It was true that the easiest way to wake up a fainted person was by pouring water. However, what they did not take into account was that it was a little unsophisticated for the refined royal family to use it. Moreover, she was in the enemy camp. Marquess Joan learned that Princess Rudbeckia was no ordinary type.

“The actual negotiations will be led by those who come with her. A royal being at the negotiation table has no meaning other than a symbolic one.”

“Well, yes.”

Marquess Joan nodded. He then had another question. Seeing that Schuden was talking about the negotiation, it did not seem like he had lost interest. So why did he hand over the matter to someone else?

‘Is it because he thinks the negotiations will be difficult? No. Duke Garth is not someone who backs out because of things like that.’

Negotiations this time would take a long time, and it would not be easy to reach an agreement. The time required for negotiations to end the war would become shorter when one side lost unilaterally. The war on the Rief Plain was clearly a victory for Gel, but it was difficult to say that the East was completely defeated.

Because Schuden had only done that much.

They captured the enemy leader and suppressed enemy troops. Yet they did not occupy enemy barracks nor did they kill them all. Relatively little blood was shed. Upon hearing the details, the Emperor said.

“The Canute guy must have been really great, but Marquess Garth, who has captured such a man alive, is even greater.”

Being a war hero in the East, Leo Canute was quite famous, so no one doubted Schuden. The same went for the second-in-commands who went to the battlefield together. 

For Schuden, the war had been an unusual experience in many ways, and the only ones who noticed this were the knights of Garth, who participated in the war until the end. They also did not know the real reason why Schuden acted like that. They just thought their liege must have his own plan and moved on.

But it was a bit different for Shaun.

He was wondering if the Leo whom his liege went to meet with in the annex every late night without the former Marquess knowing and the Leo who was the head of the Eastern army was the same person. Even considering that it was a common name, there remained an unknown heaviness throughout.

And seeing that Schuden led the war differently than usual and even wanted to have a one-on-one battle with the head of the East’s army, Shaun’s strange curiosity drew to a new conclusion. The two might be the same person.

‘If the East were to suffer a crushing defeat, Leo Canute will inevitably have to undergo a severe interrogation as their leader. He only needed a reasonable level of victory. Considering that, I can understand why my liege did what he did.’

A knight’s intuition was terrifying. The knight who had served Schuden for the longest time asked the question alone and answered it alone. Of course, there were also people who could not find the answer by intuition like Shaun.

‘Why did he delegate all the negotiating authority to me?’

Marquess Joan wondered for a long time. Every time he tried to ask, something would come up in bad timing. In the end, it would exactly be a week later until Marquess Joan finally found an answer to his question.

The soldiers of the Eastern Kingdoms Union and the soldiers of the Gel Empire completely withdrew after cleaning up the battlefield. Gel’s soldiers went up to the capital to pass through the triumphal arch, while volunteer soldiers were selected to guard the border and protect the barracks. Appropriate consolation money and rewards were naturally given to the volunteer soldiers.

Marquess Joan also remained on Rief Plain. It was a continental tradition to hold the negotiation in the victor’s barracks. Marquess Joan heard the news at the barracks where Schuden had left.

“Duke Garth immediately went down to the Duchy?”

Duchess Garth was in the southern territory, so considering the honey-dripping relationship the Duke and Duchess Garth had, what Duke Garth did up to this point was predictable. Everyone thought that Schuden would attend the three-day triumphal banquet and then go to the Duchy right away.

“Yes. He attended the first day of the triumphal banquet for exactly 30 minutes and then went to the Duchy immediately. He even used the road warp…”

“…”

Marquess Joan silently flipped through the negotiations document, which was drawn in red lines. It was only then that he realized why Schuden had delegated all authority to him. His Imperial Majesty the Emperor was not at all wrong.

‘That’s love. That’s definitely love.’

Duke Garth obviously missed his wife and had gone as if flying. Marquess Joan was determined to tell Diana the story when he returned to the capital.   

Valia was reading in the study. Before this, she had no affection for anywhere in the castle except for the bedroom that Sarah had redecorated. But after the reconstruction, she felt comfortable wherever she went. These days, Valia would often leave her bedroom, she would read books and handle her business while drinking tea all over the castle.

A warm gust of wind blew through the window that the maid had left open. Valia was very amazed and pleased with the weather in the southern territory. As it was not very cold in the winter, it was only normal for the weather to be hot in summer. But it was not as hot as she expected, rather, it was very windy and cool.

Valia leaned back comfortably on the fluffy chair. Then, she opened the book she was reading and lightly placed it on her cheeks and mouth. Her silvery-gray eyes rolled round and round.

‘Today is probably the first day of the triumphal banquet, right?’

It was yesterday that Schuden passed through the triumphal arch. That was what she heard.

‘He must be looking great.’

His reddish-blonde hair would have been dazzling under the light, his red eyes looking around the crowd would have been relaxed and carefree. Valia wondered how handsome Schuden would be in a ceremonial uniform. If she had seen him, she would not be able to take her eyes off him.

‘It’s too bad that I can’t see him.’

Before he went to the battlefield, Valia made a promise to wait for Schuden in their territory. And so, Valia did not go to the capital, nor did Schuden send a messenger asking her to go to the capital. He would go to the territory after the banquet anyway. She would see him in a few more days.

‘He said he has something to tell me when he gets back.’