Chapter 256
Chapter 256
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 255. Husband Evaluation (1)
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The next day after Lea flushed red in the face like that.
She mounted her white horse once more, back to her charismatic self as the 1st Imperial Princess, as if nothing had happened.
Afterward, she took command of the diplomatic delegation at the forefront and entered the city of Belair in the Hawthorne Kingdom.
Unlike the city ruled by Rosetta, the path into Belair was utterly desolate.
The atmosphere still brimmed with hostility toward the Empire, and the citizens watched us with frightened expressions.
“Welcome, Your Highness Lea. I am Mueller, the Prime Minister of Hawthorne.”
As we passed through the castle gates, a man in black priestly robes greeted us.
He looked seasoned with age, befitting a prime minister, accompanied by only a handful of guards.
“Pleased to meet you, Prime Minister Mueller.”
“If you’ll allow it, I’ll escort you to the government residence. Grand Duke Luke awaits you in the conference room.”
Grand Duke Luke.
He was the illegitimate son of King Hodrian, whom we had mentioned yesterday.
To meet the man who commanded all of the Southern Alliance’s military might, we headed toward the towering government mansion.
And the moment we arrived at the entrance.
Luxurious carriages lined the area, suggesting that heavyweights from across the south had already gathered.
“It seems a large number of participants have joined the conference.”
Lea voiced the very question on my mind to the prime minister.
Posing as an ordinary bodyguard knight, I stayed as silent as possible, guarding her side faithfully.
“Yes, as per your request, we’ve assembled as many key figures from the Hawthorne Kingdom as possible.”
‘As per your request...?’
That meant Lea had summoned all the kings of the south here.
She planned to warn them, right in front of their eyes, not to crawl to Hawthorne since it was now allied with the Empire.
‘As expected of Lea.’
I suppressed the grin tugging at my lips and forced a blank expression.
Only Mago, my companion, looked extremely tense.
Of course, she’d spent her days just looking after kids at the orphanage, so it was no wonder she was on edge in a place like this.
I secretly winked at her with one eye to signal not to worry.
The perceptive witch caught it and nodded silently.
“Let’s head up. Grand Duke Luke is eagerly awaiting Your Highness.”
Lea followed the prime minister gracefully toward the government residence entrance.
When Mago and I tried to accompany her, the guards briefly blocked us.
“And what is your position, sir?”
“She’s my bodyguard knight.”
Lea answered indifferently in a cold voice.
The guards swallowed hard without realizing it under her piercing blue eyes.
“Th-then this one...”
They pointed at Mago, who clearly didn’t look like a knight.
She clutched her staff tightly with both hands and stared up at Lea.
“Hmm...”
The Empire’s 1st Imperial Princess stared down at the petite woman with twin tails.
Then, closing her eyes briefly, she spoke.
“The same goes for her. She’s a powerful sorceress of the Empire.”
“Understood.”
Lea beckoned Mago to follow as well.
Her eyes widened like a cat’s as she nodded.
Then she hurried after us with dainty steps, joining the procession.
“You may enter.”
The prime minister pointed to the massive wooden doors at the top of the stairs.
He opened them himself, ushering us into the conference room.
――――――.
「The 1st Imperial Princess of the Leon Empire, Her Highness Lea Andalusia, enters.」
The Hawthorne prime minister’s voice, no less commanding than Mosian’s, echoed through the vast conference room.
The lords of the various city-states seated in a row along the long table rose to their feet.
――――――.
Applause erupted.
Lea stopped at the end of the table—which was also its center.
Flanking her were the lord of this city, Dyke, and Hawthorne Kingdom’s crown prince, Grand Duke Luke.
“Welcome to Hawthorne, Your Highness Lea.”
He had black hair like mine, swept cleanly back from his forehead.
With eyes sharp as a young eagle’s, he welcomed her amid great cheers.
The princess extended her hand for a shake in response.
“I’ve heard much of your renown, Grand Duke Luke. Pleased to meet you.”
“The honor is mine. Aren’t you the most influential figure in the Empire?”
The grand duke shook her hand with a warm, gentle smile.
Then he gestured for the city lords to return to their seats.
Mago and I stood against the wall near the conference room entrance, silently observing the talks between the two nations.
My childhood friend maintained a rigid posture, her twin tails stiff as boards.
Finding her effort endearing, I chuckled inwardly as I watched Lea alongside her.
The imperial dignity of the royal who had handled every negotiation after the Emperor himself.
“Contrary to the welcome, everyone’s faces look grim.”
Sure enough, Lea asserted control over the lords from the very start.
A beastly glint flashed in the shadowed face beneath her uniformed cap.
“Is our Empire’s conference so disconcerting for you?”
An aura unbelievable for her 22 years.
The lords exchanged uneasy glances.
Then, stepping in like a relief pitcher, was Hawthorne’s regent, Grand Duke Luke.
“Honestly, we were puzzled at first.”
The grand duke, Lea’s contemporary, flashed a bright smile.
He spoke leisurely, exuding royal nonchalance.
“After all, the Empire—currently in a cold war with us—suddenly proposed an alliance.”
Alliance.
In truth, the alliance proposal between Hawthorne and Leon was information known only to the two nations.
Yet here he was, stating it outright on first meeting.
Grand Duke Luke hoped the Empire would publicly commit to aiding Hawthorne before everyone.
“Could you perhaps explain the reason, as the Empire’s representative?”
Lea offered no reply to his bold demand.
The conference room fell into an icy silence.
“...”
The grand duke met the dark lioness’s fierce gaze head-on.
Like a young eagle facing a lion.
If the lion ruled the land, he was king of the skies—their confidence matched each other.
Yet Lea still didn’t continue.
The suffocating quiet deepened.
Finally, the first to speak was Dyke, lord of the border city adjoining the Empire.
If tensions soured between the two nations, he’d suffer most, so he added his piece.
“Indeed. Perhaps you intend to swallow our Hawthorne Kingdom whole.”
But he soon regretted it.
The moment he’d prodded the lion’s back with a claw.
The beast she’d been waiting for struck with seasoned precision, seizing its prey.
“Is our Empire after ‘mere’ Hawthorne?”
The Empire’s 1st Imperial Princess scoffed at Luke’s question.
Her face turned icy as she continued.
“This southern scrap of land means nothing to our Empire.”
The city lords’ faces paled at Lea’s cynical remark.
Mago’s eyes widened like a startled cat’s.
“...”
Grand Duke Luke remained relatively composed.
But the most shocked was Dyke, lord of Belair, the city bordering the Empire.
His black pupils trembled in alarm.
“A-are you insulting our alliance?”
Some lords raised their voices in protest.
Offended by her words as rude, they demanded basic courtesy.
But that was precisely what Lea wanted.
Basic courtesy.
They had violated it first—the Southern Alliance.
“Well said.”
Lea crossed her long legs clad in black stockings.
With an even more menacing expression than at first glance, she addressed them.
“Daring to unleash sorcerers to hypnotize our Empire’s crown prince—is that southern etiquette?”
“...!”
The lords fell speechless at the princess’s question.
They’d thought they could overwhelm a woman, even a royal, with sheer presence.
That’s why so many lords filled this long table, each vying to assert dominance.
Lea had instead summoned them all to crush them utterly.
“You seem to be under some delusion...”
The Empire’s 1st Imperial Princess drew a handkerchief from her taut uniform pocket.
She wiped her delicate hands nonchalantly as she spoke to the alliance.
“By the etiquette you so cherish, this city would already be ashes.”
Lea wiped her fingers as if the city were worth less than her handkerchief.
Gently, between each knuckle.
“And yet, we offer you this chance for one reason alone.”
The 1st Imperial Princess stared intently at Luke’s now-serious face.
With emotionless eyes, she declared.
“We hold Hawthorne Kingdom in high regard for its ability to rein in these insolent cities.”
Lea shook the freshly wiped handkerchief in the air.
I stepped forward to take it and tucked it into my back pocket.
“Your value is exactly that—neither more nor less—so I advise against testing our patience further.”
Lea spoke in a voice cold enough to suggest she could raze the place at any moment.
In that instant, Emperor Leonhardt’s shadow seemed to overlay her.
“Your Highness, you’re terrifying...”
Mago murmured softly.
The same woman who’d blushed at the market yesterday showed a completely different side here—it fascinated her.
“Isn’t she?”
I agreed.
Though for a slightly different reason...
She brimmed with charisma at the table like that, but under it...
Just recalling that made saliva pool in my mouth.
“...”
The alliance lords swallowed deeply too.
They could only stare at Luke, the only one who could match the dark lioness.
“I understand your words, Your Highness.”
Reluctantly, the grand duke spoke.
Maintaining his smile—whether from prior admiration for Lea—he replied calmly.
“However, your words and actions feel rather aggressive for someone proposing an alliance.”
“Because we’re confident.”
The princess replied instantly, as if anticipating it.
“The Leon Empire is currently the strongest nation on the continent. When such a power extends a hand in alliance to Hawthorne Kingdom, it’s only natural to feel affronted by your suspicions.”
Lea removed her uniform cap.
She brushed her lustrous golden hair back from her forehead, revealing her earnest face as she drove the point home.
“Is there any greater show of respect than forgiving your sins and offering alliance?”
Strength entered Lea’s voice.
She raised a finger imperiously.
“And yet you complain that our words are aggressive—what nonsense.”
Her finger pointed straight at Grand Duke Luke.
With eyes sparkling like ocean ripples, she asserted.
“The Empire does not abandon its allies.”
After founding the Empire, Leonhardt had never absorbed another nation.
The peace that followed, along with premium prices paid for allied exports, spoke to their strong ties.
Sarmad Kingdom was a prime example.
“That is our mark of respect for the kingdom.”
The grand duke pursed his lips at Lea’s words.
Then his eyes flashed at her bold follow-up.
“If Hawthorne Kingdom seals this alliance with the Empire here, we promise an unbreakable friendship no ‘foreign power’ can covet.”
Foreign power.
Meaning all these gathered city-states.
Promising Hawthorne an impregnable alliance right before them.
Grand Duke Luke, Hawthorne’s crown prince, covered his mouth with his hand, moved.
“...”
But the lords listening wore grimaces of despair.
Some had dreamed of breaking from the alliance for war—now they looked lost.
Luke could barely hide his smirking lips.
“Understood. We humbly beg forgiveness for failing to recognize how highly the Empire values our kingdom.”
“Please forgive us.”
Even Dyke, enraptured, added fervently.
He bowed his head in gratitude.
The two nations’ representatives, beaming, ordered their aides to fetch the contracts.
They proceeded with the verbal alliance procedure, grinning broadly.
True to Lea’s straightforward nature, the conference wrapped up swiftly.
「――――――」
After the conference ended.
The dejected lords filed out into the corridor and returned to their cities.
Some, treating the verbal agreement as binding, resumed their subservience.
How much time passed?
Once everyone had left the conference room, only Grand Duke Luke, Lea, Mago, and I remained.
We turned to head back to our half-scale carriage, but Luke stopped Lea.
“Um... Your Highness Lea. Do you have a moment?”
“Speak here.”
Lea replied, arms crossed alone in the conference room.
Luke glanced warily at Mago and me, then swallowed hard.
“I wanted to discuss the alliance a bit more.”
“No need to worry. Even verbally, it’s approved by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor—effectively finalized.”
The princess waved dismissively with an indifferent expression.
But Luke shook his head—it wasn’t that.
“It’s something else.”
The grand duke fixed Lea with earnest black eyes.
Cautiously, he said.
“Nations often maintain close ties for firmer alliances, don’t they?”
Lea tilted her head at his words.
Her abundant golden locks danced lightly.
“So, I wanted to ask your thoughts on a ‘political marriage.’”
Political marriage.
Lea’s brow twitched at the term.
I scowled too—it wasn’t pleasing to hear.
“I’ve heard Your Highness has kept men at bay thus far... If you’re open to it, are you interested in our side?”
He hadn’t singled himself out, but it was tantamount to a confession.
Come to think of it, Luke had watched Lea intently from the conference’s start.
But Lea merely chuckled at the grand duke’s words.
And then...
Ignoring Luke, she approached me leisurely.
The curves of her beautiful figure swayed with each step.
Until entering the conference room, she’d been the picture of rigid military poise.
Reaching my side, Lea gently hooked her arm through mine.
Casually violating her own “ordinary bodyguard” ruse.
“That won’t do, Grand Duke.”
Lea’s ample bosom brushed softly against my arm.
Then, resting her face slowly on my shoulder, she bestowed the fresh, radiant smile she’d never shown other men.
“The man who will be my husband is already spoken for.”
Luke, witnessing it full-on, went pale as a ghost.
Frozen like a statue, utterly immobile.
But he wasn’t the only one stunned.
Mago, watching intently from the side, matched him.
Her twin-tailed eyes bulged at her childhood friend declaring the crown prince would claim her.