Chapter 320
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Fox and Bear
I had married Christina, but I'd only formally met her family once.
So this time, when I went to Bakal with her.
We finally sat down for the meal with her family—the final hurdle.
It should have been a welcoming gathering for a new son-in-law, yet the atmosphere was utterly intimidating.
Even more chilling than when I'd been introduced to Lydia's family.
It was probably due to the rugged aura unique to Bakal's burly men.
“Welcome, Lord Veil.”
At the center of the long table sat a middle-aged man, Great King Bakar.
The aura emanating from him, befitting the leader of a warrior nation, was downright ferocious.
‘His mana isn’t particularly strong, but in terms of raw physical power alone, he’s on par with a werewolf pack leader.’
For a human to exude the presence of a monster on equal footing.
If he were an enemy, even I’d have to approach seriously.
“I greet Your Majesty, Great King.”
“Take a seat, Christina too.”
Tina gave me a gentle nod, urging me to follow her lead.
We sat side by side and faced the royals across from us.
Bakal’s crown prince, Urus.
The youngest son and royal scholar, Virtz.
Shoulders as broad as tabletops, just like their father, they stared at me with menacing glares.
“We don’t have much laid out, but eat your fill.”
At the great king’s gesture with his thick hand, the attendants began serving the dishes.
But the slabs of meat were so enormous, like something out of a novel—huge chunks served whole.
“Is this your first time seeing meat like this? You look stunned.”
Urus asked with a faint smile.
However, thanks to being dragged through countless imperial political games, I instantly recognized it as a perfunctory smile.
“You’d have to cut this up first. How else are you supposed to eat it?”
Unable to stand it any longer, Christina spoke up on my behalf.
Then her youngest brother, Virtz, chuckled and piled on.
“Why? You always picked these up with one hand and ate them before—”
I glanced at Tina, and her face flushed an odd shade of red.
She warned him in a voice as fierce as a polar bear of the tundra.
“Shut up and eat, Virtz?”
“Heh heh heh... I was just teasing because you seemed so tense in front of your husband.”
The cub bear laughed cheekily amid the family’s killing intent.
It seemed she got along quite well with her little brother.
“Veil, I’ll cut it for you. Give me your plate.”
Tina let out a deep sigh and gently took my plate.
She deftly transferred the meat and began slicing it up.
Great King Bakar watched the scene in silence.
But I could instinctively sense it.
His mood was extremely displeased right now.
She’d never once cut meat for her father.
Yet for this fox-like child in front of him, it dripped with honey...
It was as if he were glaring at me with that exact chilling sentiment.
‘Every in-law visit is a brush with death, no matter the family.’
“By the way, Lord Veil. Is it really fine for you to leave the Empire so easily?”
As expected, the great king opened fire.
He took a sip from his dainty wine glass with his thick hand and asked.
“Your wife—well, not just our Tina, but you have five others, don’t you?”
A perfectly pointed question.
“Tina is also one of my precious wives. How could there be any issue with traveling to see her?”
I handled it smoothly.
Bakar seemed eager to press further, but Tina’s bright laughter beside him made him decide to observe for now.
But this was just the beginning.
“By the way, I heard you’re the Empire’s Grand Master—”
The youngest son, Virtz, elegantly brushed back his blue bangs.
With his trademark playful glint in his eyes, he asked me.
“So, how many did you take on in war?”
I waved my hand dismissively at his question.
“No matter how strong I am, how could I face a crowd?”
Christina shot her brother a cold look, telling him to ease up.
But Virtz didn’t care a bit.
As if someone had ordered him to push me like this.
“In our Bakal, a man has to take down ten barehanded in a brawl to become a squad leader.”
“An intriguing system.”
I agreed, noting it was a clear-cut promotion criterion.
The boy raised his bare fist and added.
“I went a bit further and beat thirteen. To take our sister, you’d naturally have more power than that, right?”
It felt like stepping into a tiger’s den as a fox.
Bakal’s men were ganging up on me as a group.
But.
Even amid their onslaught, my expression didn’t change.
As if I’d never had a natural predator, I just wore a sly smile.
“I’ve fought two hundred armed imperial knights, though not barehanded.”
Two hundred armed knights.
At those words, Virtz blinked, wondering if he’d misheard.
“Oh, and three of them were Swordmasters.”
But this was merely the opener.
Swordmasters—talents who could face hundreds alone.
“Then... you essentially took on over a thousand by yourself...”
“Nah—even so, since it wasn’t barehanded, it’s a bit hard to brag about.”
I scratched the back of my head and played it cool.
Virtz stared at me blankly for a moment, then...
“That’s so cool...!!”
Admiration bloomed wildly in eyes that had just been mocking me.
“How did you beat three Swordmasters?”
He transformed from a vicious tundra bear into an adorable cub.
Sending me a gaze pleading for guidance.
“I’ll teach you the training method later.”
As Virtz fell for the fox’s sway, the exasperated eldest son stepped in.
He cleared his throat and asked me politely.
“Of course, a man’s worth lies in his martial prowess.”
Urus, who’d once briefly crushed on Leah only to get nicely rejected.
He’d prepared even sharper questions, knowing I’d claimed her.
“But to be with our Tina, you need wisdom as well.”
Bakal’s eldest bore eyes identical to his father’s.
And he posed the question.
“Are you an alumnus of the Imperial Academy too?”
This time, it was an attack on credentials.
He surely knew I was an orphan, yet asking in front of the great king.
I offered no immediate reply to his question.
Then, looking toward the great king, I answered honestly.
“I’m an orphan. My birth father was a border count, but after he passed, I was sent there.”
“...!”
Was that info beyond what they knew?
Urus was speechless, having unwittingly dragged out the story of my late father.
“It’s true that due to my hardships, I couldn’t attend a fine school. However...”
But I didn’t relinquish the momentum I’d seized.
I countered right away.
“Thanks to that, I gained vast field experience and achievements, earning me a professorship at the Imperial Academy.”
Skipping the student track entirely, straight to professor via combat merit.
Even the warrior king’s great ruler took interest.
“What students learn from books are the accomplishments of those who’ve lived it in battle.”
“Indeed. Our great deeds become history for posterity to study.”
The emperor chuckled in agreement and took a sip.
Even the elite-track Urus had to concede.
“Certainly professor material. You’ve got a silver tongue, lad.”
Bakal’s king heartily stroked his chiseled jaw.
He seemed pleased with my demeanor, nodding repeatedly.
“You honor me, Your Majesty.”
Tina, her heart eased, gazed at me steadily with her blue eyes.
She even poked my side lightly in praise.
But.
The greatest hurdle remained.
Great King Bakar stepped up last.
Unlike his sons, he hadn’t even begun his real probing.
Soon the emperor recomposed his stern expression.
He handed me a golden goblet and drew his own weapon.
“But, while I know your abilities are exceptional...”
His final blow to test if I could protect Tina.
“There’s something even more important.”
Most important.
The vast royal dining hall fell silent at those words.
“With six wives, can you swear that our Tina is the one you love most?”
In the suffocating hush, the great king asked.
With a question so blunt it put anyone in a tough spot.
“......”
For the first time, a truly hard attack landed.
Of course, I could shout “Tina!” right here.
But would a ruler who pierced all things with insight be satisfied with such flattery?
‘No way.’
He was testing if I could protect Tina through any crisis.
Probing my quick wit and wisdom.
“Too tough a question? Well, with multiple wives, making each one happy must be its own puzzle.”
Bakar spoke with icy composure.
His sons—and even Tina—watched me tensely.
In that moment.
I calmly set down my fork and knife.
Then, facing the emperor, I spoke.
My eyes reflecting a life lived twice, both times tumultuous.
“I know no words of mine will convince you easily.”
I raised my index finger.
And declared boldly to Bakar.
“But this one thing, I can promise without doubt.”
Promise.
The emperor lifted his thick jaw as if to say, “Go on, speak.”
Tina’s eyes held a wistful shadow, fearing she might not be my top love.
But.
“My other wives came to me on their own, so I never had to seek them out.”
Both father and daughter’s faces went slack in unison.
“But Christina is the only wife I go out of my way to visit.”
In an instant, I turned the difference into her advantage.
“I will always make the effort to see her, and on days she comes, I’ll clear my schedule perfectly.”
I stood tall before the emperor dominating the continent’s north.
Placing my hand over my left chest, I vowed.
“Believe me, Father-in-law.”
Bakar of silver hair and blue eyes.
He silently met my dull black gaze.
Then, he let out a deep sigh.
“Indeed, a Grand Master isn’t just about might.”
The emperor gestured for me to sit.
Pouring my cup himself, he said.
“I believe you, Veil.”
I dazedly accepted the drink from the continent’s second-in-command.
Gazing at my reflection in its surface.
Soon, a woman’s face appeared beside it.
Christina Bakar.
The silver-haired, blue-eyed woman smiled at me sincerely.
Silently mouthing to me.
‘Thank you, Veil.’
At those quiet words, I turned to Tina.
In that instant.
“......!”
The princess of the north kissed my lips.
Boldly, before everyone’s eyes.
A display of love befitting Bakal’s daughter.
The emperor stared blankly at his daughter.
He’d raised her to live with unyielding confidence, but seeing this...
His eyes twitched faintly.
“It won’t do after all...”
Bakar shot up from his seat.
Gone was the stern facade; he exploded in fury.
“Over my dead body will I hand my daughter to a fox with five wives!!”
I startled at the roaring massive bear and grabbed Tina’s hand.
Amid the surging calamity, we fled in haste.
Laughing brightly together.