Chapter 314: The Kingdom of Teres(4)
Chapter 314: The Kingdom of Teres(4)
Queen Maria entrusted Lara to me and immediately set off to return to the Kingdom of Ters. I suggested she stay and rest for a day, but she declined, saying time was of the essence.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of bitterness as I watched her back while she headed toward the powder keg that was her kingdom. It was a shame that such a virtuous person had to suffer simply because she had met the wrong man.
If King Friedrich had just cleanly admitted his mistake, Queen Maria wouldn't be in this position. That wasn't to say she was perfect, though.
As she herself admitted, she had committed the sin of being a bystander. While she may have pitied Adelia, she never once reached out to help her directly.
Furthermore, even though she knew her own children were bullying Adelia, she merely watched from a distance. No matter the circumstances, a wrong was still a wrong.
Moreover, as I mentioned during our conversation, the fate of the Kingdom of Ters was already out of my hands. What remained would be decided by Friedrich’s choices.
It seemed Queen Maria intended to persuade Friedrich, but the real question was whether she could break that stubbornness of his. After all, Friedrich was a man who had doubled down on his stance in front of everyone.
This experience gave me a lot to think about. I had wielded my power for Adelia’s sake, but I wondered if it was right for someone like Queen Maria to be sacrificed in the process.
King Friedrich was certainly a man devoted to his family, pouring affection upon them. It was just that Adelia had never been included in that circle.
Normally, I would have taken the stance of watching a fire from across the river, but I realized that a careless slip of my pen could cause innocent people to suffer.
It feels like a single tweet making stocks fluctuate.
As the famous saying goes, "SNS is a waste of life." I should probably cut back on the letters if possible.
Unless it was a special case like this, overusing them would only lead to me getting cursed out and those around me getting hurt.
But realizations aside, I intended to keep an eye on the Kingdom of Ters. As Queen Maria said, if they could weather this storm, the kingdom would grow one step further.
King Friedrich’s personality was what it was, but he was a capable ruler with a good reputation among his people. This whole mess only started because he touched the "censorship" nerve.
If he could just set aside that pride of his and clearly state his mistakes, the people would likely understand. He might take some heat, but he needed a country to keep his throne.
"Sir Xenon."
"Yes, Princess Lara. Is something the matter?"
"Is your name Xenon, or is it Isaac?"
Before anything else, I had to take care of the conscience of the Kingdom of Ters—Lara. I looked at her with a puzzled expression as she stared up at me with her clear, sky-blue eyes.
For a moment, I pondered the intent behind her question, but I soon realized its meaning.
"Isaac is my real name. Xenon is my pen name as an author. I would appreciate it if you called me by my real name, Isaac."
"Can I call you Sir Isaac?"
"You may call me whatever you find comfortable, Princess."
"Then... Isaac Oppa?"
"......"
I was momentarily stunned into silence by the sudden "Oppa." Taking that as an opportunity, Lara beamed and spoke with newfound familiarity.
"I'm going to speak casually now, so you should treat me comfortably too, Oppa."
"Uh... right. I understand."
"Can you stop using formal speech and just talk to me normally?"
"...Alright."
When I readily accepted, Lara showed her joy with a wide, toothy grin. She radiated the aura of a late-born child who had grown up surrounded by love.
To put it bluntly, she was a bit naive, but it wasn't annoying; it was actually quite cute.
Moreover, Lara didn't seem to fully grasp who "Xenon" was yet. More specifically, she didn't seem to understand the power that name carried.
Perhaps to Lara, Xenon was simply an author who wrote interesting novels. I leaned down slightly to meet her eye level.
"Lara, you read the Xenon Biography, right?"
"Of course! I don't think there's anyone in our country who hasn't read it."
"Then do you know how famous the Xenon Biography is?"
"Since so many people read it, isn't it super famous?"
Lara replied, placing an index finger against her cheek. I gave an ambiguous smile at her answer.
Royals and nobles like Lara receive various forms of education from a young age to maintain their dignity.
Thus, even at fifteen, she should have shown a more mature side, but there was none of that. In other words, those around her must have treated her like the apple of their eye.
Either that, or this was just her natural personality. Regardless, she maintained a close relationship with Adelia, so it didn't matter.
"Oppa, who did you inherit that hair from?"
"I got it from my father."
"Can I touch it just once? I've never seen red hair before."
Thanks to her personality, the two of us became close in no time without any awkwardness. She showed a particular interest in my red hair.
I could even find her constant chirping like a lark endearing. She really was quite cute.
Lara fiddled with my hair and marveled with a voice full of sincerity.
"It's so soft. Who takes care of it for you, Oppa? It's Big Sister Adel, right? She used to brush my hair a lot back in the day."
"Is that so? No wonder she's so good at it. There was a reason. Then will Big Sister Adel be brushing your hair starting tomorrow, too?"
"Yeah! You heard that, Sister? You have to brush mine starting tomorrow, okay?"
At my question, Lara nodded vigorously and spoke to Adelia. Her tone, filled with anticipation, was quite impressive.
Faced with eyes she couldn't possibly refuse, Adelia gave a wry smile and nodded. Lara blossomed into a happy laugh.
Did she really like Adelia that much? I asked her as she continued to play with my hair.
"Lara, do you like Big Sister Adel that much?"
"Yeah!"
"Why?"
"Everyone else was too busy to play with me, but Big Sister Adel always did. She read me books, walked with me in the palace gardens... anyway, she played with me a lot."
There was a reason she followed Adelia so blindly. After hearing her answer, I shifted my gaze to Adelia.
Perhaps it was a happy memory from her otherwise hellish life in the palace, as Adelia also had a slight smile on her lips.
Her affection for her family likely extended to everyone, not just Lara. Even without looking far, she had poured her affection into Hiriya as well.
It was just that, due to Hiriya's inferiority complex, only cruel contempt had been returned. As for Laos, I had heard he had disliked Adelia from the very beginning.
"But Isaac Oppa. Are you also from a hidden royal line like Big Sister Adel?"
"Huh? Where did that come from?"
"I just feel like you might be. For starters, your hair is red and your eyes are gold. And your face is prettier than mine."
I'd heard I was handsome many times, but this was the first time I'd been called pretty. Still, a compliment was a compliment, so I didn't take it poorly.
"I'm not sure about the rest, but I inherited my face from my mother."
"Oh, really? Anyway, you're not actually royalty, right?"
"Definitely not. Even my father was a case of a commoner being promoted to nobility."
I said that, but I did have my suspicions from time to time. Not that I was a hidden royal like Lara suggested, but perhaps a descendant of a hero.
The reason was my family's unusually high strength. For starters, our basic physical specs were far removed from those of ordinary people.
My father was, without question, one of the top three strongest in the Empire, and Dave and Nicole were skilled enough to join the Navy Knights.
Even I, who supposedly had the least talent, had simply been a late bloomer; I had grown remarkably well considering I'd only received basic training.
Of course, I had to take into account my overwhelming Divine Power. But even considering that, my physical specs remained impressive.
As for Mother...
Let's just move past Mother. As they say, "like husband, like wife," so it wasn't strange for her to become strong. If she were weak, she probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with Father at night.
Anyway, it wasn't as if I hadn't researched red hair. It was so rare that, so far, our family were the only ones who had it.
It would be understandable if we were descendants of a specific ethnic group, but there was nothing like that. There were no such descriptions in books, nor even in the records of the Race War, which had produced countless heroes.
Grandfather was said to be strong too... is there really something there?
My father's martial arts and physical training methods were taught to him by a grandfather I never even met. As time passed, Father passed those arts down to his children, including me.
Above all, unlike most knights who used swords, our family uniquely used the "Battle Axe" as a primary weapon.
It made sense given our natural strength, but it was still a conspicuous style. Even Nicole, who looked slender, could carry around boulders.
Just thinking this far made inspiration well up. A race whose records had completely vanished for a specific reason—it would be a lie to say I wasn't interested.
In fact, hadn't the Elves' "Fusion" recently come to light after its records were suppressed due to its danger?
Of course, I wouldn't put it in the Xenon Biography right away; it would be better for a sequel. Adding settings unnecessarily ran the risk of tangling the plot.
"That's enough of an explanation, right? My family and I are just ordinary nobles."
"I see. I thought you'd know since you're Xenon, Oppa."
"I don't know everything, little one. Contrary to what the world says, I'm neither a sage nor a prophet. I'm just an ordinary author."
"An ordinary author who makes prophecies and saves the world? Mama said lying is bad."
"......"
Lara didn't seem to tire, or perhaps she just had a lot of questions, as she continued to ask one thing after another. I answered each of them with care.
As we spent time like that, dinner was soon upon us. I needed to provide Lara with an indoor dress, so it seemed best to end the conversation here.
"Let's stop here for now. We need to have dinner, and I need to give you some clothes. I wonder if we have anything that fits you?"
"I will go and look."
"Right. Thank you."
"Oh, wait. Isaac Oppa."
"Yes?"
Just as I was about to get up, Lara called my name. When I turned to look at her, she spoke with sparkling eyes.
"Can I sleep with Big Sister Adel tonight? I want to sleep with her for the first time in a long while."
"Hmm..."
I hesitated slightly at the request, which was thick with affection for Adelia. Adelia's working hours were almost over, so if I gave my permission, they could sleep together.
I looked at Adelia with an expression asking if she was okay with it. If she was fine, I intended to allow it.
However, surprisingly, Adelia was hesitating. Normally she would have just bowed her head, but she seemed... restless.
The moment I saw that behavior, I realized. Ah. At least not tonight.
The reason was simple. Until yesterday, Mari had been here, but today she wasn't. In other words, this was a chance for her to have me all to herself for a while.
Though she couldn't express that feeling directly, she was showing it through her actions.
"Sorry. I don't think that'll work tonight."
"Aww. Why? How come?"
I answered Lara, who looked more puzzled than disappointed. I didn't forget to give a sly wink.
"Because she's scheduled to sleep with me tonight."
"Ahem."
At my answer, Adelia's face turned red and she let out a dry cough.
"......Oh my."
If nothing else, Lara must have received a thorough sex education, as she covered her mouth with her hands.
*
Some time later.
[King Friedrich's Shocking Confession: "I Have a Hidden Child."]
Whether Queen Maria's persuasion had worked or not, Friedrich had finally swallowed his pride.