Who Is the Winner? (1)
“Just before I came to this room, I was wearing this underwear when I went over to that guy and told him, ‘If you hadn’t laid a finger on Gesaengquiya, there would have been no way I would have stolen your husband away from you.’ And I even pinned him down by saying, ‘If you marry her, you’ll become brothers and sisters with her, so don’t even dream of getting married.’ The moment he heard that, his face went through the roof. He started crying and throwing a tantrum like crazy. I bet he was regretting like crazy for touching the sacred Gesaengquiya so recklessly. Even if he wasn’t sorry, I hoped he was.”
“It was just a way of educating a daughter who has no manners. Impressive as hell.”
“I just hope Elena has truly learned her lesson from this incident and never again tries to take ancestral treasures into her own hands.”
“She’ll reflect deeply. She won’t do that again.”
Cloud nodded along with Queen Quianas, but in his heart he was cheering for Elena. Thanks to her, he had managed to erase the witch’s power, gain the strength of the High Elves, and even claim Gesaengquiya. No matter what she did, she was simply adorable and beautiful. “Either way, not getting married is a huge relief. Hahaha. The whole thing was just a scheme to teach Elena a lesson?”
Cloud burst out laughing with a satisfied grin, and Queen Quianas tilted her head. “You don’t have to worry about marriage?”
“Y-yes…?”
“I told you already. The bond Gesaengquiya made is a divine command. If you don’t follow it, you and I will both face severe punishment.”
“Me too?”
Cloud pointed at himself with a face that screamed disbelief. Quianas nodded as if it was obvious. “Doesn’t it feel like Elena caused a huge disaster?”
“I clearly said I couldn’t give the kingdom to you earlier…”
“You strip me of every authority a king has and make me do nothing but marry. As long as we prove we’re husband and wife, the gods won’t get angry.”
She said it seriously. “We won’t announce our marriage to the public. We’ll keep it secret from the citizens and only have a very small, intimate ceremony with those close to me. Won’t that be good for you and Elena? After all, you two are supposed to get married later.”
Quianas looked at Cloud’s finger. “What kind of ring is this?”
She pointed at the matching ring she and Lucy wore with curious eyes. “It’s nothing special. Just a couple ring made with the squad members.”
“I see. After you marry me, always wear your wedding ring on your left index finger.”
“A wedding ring too?”
“Of course. Only then will it serve as proof of marriage. The gods will recognize the gift even if we don’t leave a marriage record.”
“Ah, I see… But why the left index finger?”
“Our wedding ring is going to be a magic ring infused with my entire power so it can always be used. It’ll be easier to wear on the left index, right?”
“A, a magic ring?”
Cloud’s face lit up with pure delight. “Even though the marriage happened because of Elena’s mistake, I should still make a proper gift. I realized it should be a ring I can use often, not something I’ll just throw away once.”
She added with a laugh. “Deep down, I’m probably just happy to have a new son-in-law. I didn’t want to make it a normal ring because I was worried you’d take it lightly later. So I’m making one with strong magic on it. So I can find it easily whenever I want.”
“But I don’t have anything to give you…”
“Don’t worry. I’m the queen of a country. Whatever you give me, I’ll act grateful on the surface but won’t be truly satisfied. I already have plenty of material wealth.”
“Ah, I see.”
Cloud nodded slowly. “Then let’s do this instead.” He quickly leaned in and planted a kiss on Queen Quianas’s cheek. “W-what are you doing?”
Quianas jerked back in surprise and touched her own cheek with her hand. Her face turned a bright crimson red in an instant. Cloud smiled faintly. “It’s fine between a son-in-law and mother-in-law, isn’t it?”
“But it startled me so suddenly. If you’d said something first…”
She was pretending to be flustered, but her eyes sparkled with joy. “Is there anything else you want? I suddenly feel great. Tell me what you desire.”
Her entire face was glowing with a smile. The kiss had apparently worked wonders. Confident once more, Cloud spoke with a bold voice. “Just wood is fine. I only need wood. I feel like I have everything in the world already.”
But to his surprise, Queen Quianas gave him an impossible look. “I’ll give you the wood, but only on the condition that you fulfill my demands.”
“Demands? A moment ago you said you’d give me anything.”
“I know. But wood is off the table. That’s the only exception. To keep you locked in here, I’ll need to use the wood somehow.”
Cloud narrowed his brows in confusion. “Lock me up? In this kingdom?”
“No, in this room.”
“Why?”
“Think about it carefully.”
Quianas opened her mouth again. “If you enter the room with me and leave immediately, will Elena really reflect on her actions? She probably won’t feel anything, so she won’t be truly sorry. That’s why you two must stay together for at least ten hours. Only then will she suffer terribly, regret everything deeply, and learn her lesson.”
Ah, so she’s planning to keep tormenting Elena for ten hours straight. “Ten hours? That long?”
He asked with wide eyes. Then Quianas declared casually with a pleasant smile. “It’s two o’clock in the afternoon now. On the condition that I provide free wood, you’re not allowed to leave this room until tomorrow morning.”
“Hah…”
If he could just take the wood for free without doing anything, it wouldn’t be so bad to stay cooped up for a day or two. But there was one thing Cloud was worried about. He stared with trembling eyes and slowly ran his gaze up and down the slim body of Queen Quianas sitting right beside him. The sleek lines of her legs gave way to a generous hip curve, then the lush, prominent peaks of her breasts were exposed for all to see. “W-with a mother-in-law looking like this, I’m supposed to spend ten hours alone with her?!” Cloud was shaken to the core. Quianas, oblivious to his turmoil, spoke cheerfully. “If we stay together from afternoon until night, she’ll think we’re sharing deep love and she’ll suffer terribly, beating her chest and regretting everything. Then she’ll swear she’ll never be reckless again. It’ll be a real slap to the face for that girl. Hmm! Perfect!”
After that, Cloud was trapped inside the room until morning. Later, when the maids entered to clean the bedroom the two had left, they saw strands of long golden hair scattered across the pillows and sheets, and pressed-in marks on the bedding. They couldn’t help smiling. “The king and queen seem to have a very loving relationship.” “If we’re lucky, Elena-nim might soon have a little brother too, huh?”
Time flew by. A week had passed since Cloud’s duel with Torres. The final winner was now to be decided today. Early in the morning, the training ground was packed with people. Vassals, nobles who had come to watch and cheer, and commoners alike mingled together. On the right side of the divided training ground, stacks of wood rose nearly five stories high. The left side was completely empty. “Ugh, I lost. I lost.” “He ran away, just like I said.” “At least declare you lost like a proper soldier. That would have been cooler.” “Honestly, I’m disappointed in Commander Cloud. I never thought he was this irresponsible. He turned an entire ten-man squad into proper soldiers, so I thought he must be someone else.”
Among the spectators, many were cursing Cloud. They all agreed he was a coward or a weakling and kept shouting at him. The nobles watching were no different. “Lord Torres really solidified his position this time.” “As expected, someone of low birth lacks backbone. If he were a true noble, he probably wouldn’t have fled out of pride.” “If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have treated him to that expensive meal back then! My money! My money! Tsk! What a coward who can’t even spend his coin!”
At the same time, on the opposite side of the cursing crowd, people who were nervously praying for Cloud’s return gathered. Sylvia, Lucy, Vivian, Tess, Tor, Leonard, the ten-man squad members, the minstrel Yuse and Colant who usually didn’t show up, and even Sophia and Cecil who were peeking over the wall despite their inn duties. “Come back, Cloud! Just like always, surprise me!” Sylvia clasped her hands tightly over her chest. On the other side, Lucy was biting her nails and fidgeting restlessly. “If you don’t show up this time, I’ll quit being a soldier and go search for you, you bastard! You only said that and now you’re acting all cowardly? I’ll chase you to the ends of hell and find you! If you don’t want me to follow you for the rest of your life, come out right now!” The guilt had already turned into rage. In yet another corner, Vivian was pressing both hands over her chest and looking up at the sky, praying earnestly. “Goddess Yoronda, please guide the poor lamb who lives without thought, that poor little Cloud, so he can reach here safely…”
At that moment, a soldier standing in the center of the training ground shouted loudly. “Exactly ten minutes remain until ten o’clock in the morning!”
Aaron the Crown Prince stood on the review platform with his vassals, watching the training ground. Below it, Torres was waiting with Vurmir and wore a smug smile, confidently predicting his own victory in this final match. “Heh heh, ten minutes is too long! Come on, time! Hurry up! Ahahaha!”