Princess Shu

Chapter 9.2 – My Wife

‘When I was young, I even used a mace to break the wall of my house.’

The woman tried to wrest the cuff link from Valia, but Valia thought the woman’s strength was laughable. As evidence of that, Valia’s expression remained set, while the woman’s face gradually turned red from effort.The woman’s hand trembled, but the cuff links didn’t budge an inch, as if fixed on that spot.

“Are you done?” Valia responded calmly.

The woman’s face flushed, and her hands trembled as she put all her force into her hand. “Which—which kingdom’s…lady are you? Are you from the Empire?” she managed to say in a calm voice.

“When asking for someone’s identity, it’s Ghel’s code of etiquette to give yours first.”

Although she was from another kingdom, Valia worked as a maid for all her life in the Ghel Imperial Family. She knew that much.

The woman cleared her throat. “It seems I’ve been rude. I am Cassia Grace Hilden, the Third Princess of Hilden Kingdom.”

If it was the Hilden Kingdom that Valia knew, then it was a kingdom with quite a lot of power. Of course, their power amounted to nothing against the Ghel Empire, but it had more national might than the kingdom where Valia came from. Since the woman was a princess of a decent kingdom, she carried herself with a proud and scornful attitude.

“I am Valia Dean of the Lisa Kingdom,” Valia returned.

“Lisa Kingdom? Ahhh…that small kingdom?” Cassia sneered, raising her voice.

Everyone nearby turned towards the scornful voice to watch the dispute. Sean and Robin looked on helplessly, as they could not restrain a foreign princess. At least the woman did not hurt Valia by force.

Cassia looked down condescendingly. “Dean? I might be ignorant of the nobles of another kingdom. What is your father’s title? Viscount? Or are you a baron?”

“My father is a knight,” Valia answered.

“Knight?” Cassia burst into laughter. “A knight’s daughter is trying to confront me. How interesting.”

“I wasn’t trying to confront you. I just said what I felt was logical.”

“Logic, logic, you’ve only been talking about logic, great then. Let’s reason it out. You definitely would’ve thrown the cuff links into the lake and made a wish. However, wouldn’t it be more effective for me to have it instead?”

“Why do you think I’d throw it into the lake?” Valia asked.

“Wouldn’t you?” Cassia drawled, raising an eyebrow. “A knight’s daughter from a small kingdom couldn’t possibly have a lover in the Empire. Or do you wish to marry a rich old noble as a second mistress? But then again, since you’re the daughter of a knight from a small kingdom, doing so would elevate your status.”

Cassia’s insults crossed the line. Sean was champing at the bit to challenge the princess’ escort knight to a duel, but his master Shuden had ordered him to remain as low-profile as possible. Eventually, he decided that moving Valia elsewhere was the next best option. His face stiffened and he stepped forward when—

“There you are.”

Valia heard a voice. Its tone rang with a sense of authority that grabbed the surrounding area’s attention even though it wasn’t very loud.

Valia turned her head as if bewitched. A man approached, and while he wore neither armor nor helmet, he had a stronger presence than any knight there.

Her heart began pounding for no reason. She had just seen the man a few days ago, so she didn’t know why she felt a thrill in her stomach at seeing him again. Sean and Robin respectfully lowered their heads and took a few steps back. Shuden stood by Valia’s side, as if it were his natural place. His red eyes stared at the hands gripped in confrontation, the cuff links between them the prize.

“I heard a loud commotion. What’s going on?” Shuden asked.

“I had a brief misunderstanding with the princess of the Hilden Kingdom,” Valia answered.

“Hilden’s Princess?”

Only then did Shuden turned his gaze to Cassia. She blinked her eyes and hurriedly spoke.

“We meet again. Your Excellency, Marquis Garth.”

“Do you know me?” he asked.

“What royalty doesn’t recognize Your Excellency? Besides, we just met at a banquet not long ago, and we even exchanged a few words.”

“Is that so? I don’t really have a good memory,” Shuden said, looking bored. In fact, he didn’t even remember Cassia. Shuden turned away from the dumbfounded Cassia, and looked back at Valia. Even amid all this, she held on to the cuff links firmly.

“Did you choose those cuff links so you could give it to me?” he asked.

“Ahh, that…” Valia murmured. Heat crept up on her cheeks. She vaguely expected to exchange some words with Shuden, but she didn’t plan the next step in detail. In the meanwhile, Cassia, who was putting all her effort in pulling away the cuff links without making it obvious, put on puppy dog eyes.

“Mar—My Lord Marquis. With all due respect, that cuff link is something a lady gives to her lover. It’s not just a simple gift…”

“Since it’s for her lover, I should be the one receiving it,” Shuden answered.

He took Valia’s free hand with his firm fingers. He raised her hand and pressed a kiss to it. Valia thought that she heard cries of shock from around her, but her mind had gone blank. What on earth was going on? The kiss was strangely odd.

Shuden tilted his head. “Isn’t that right? My wife.”