Chapter 237
Chapter 237
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 237
It was the same tiresome misunderstanding that always dogged them, but Eulji, who had briefly become Jin-cheon's daughter, soon fell in with Lian Su and began passing the time enjoyably. When the drinks began circling again, Bera Han sidled up to Jin-cheon and made a jest.
"My deepest respect."
"Hm?"
"To have taken so peerless a beauty as your Yeolhu."
"Heh."
What man would not enjoy being admired for having a beautiful wife? Jin-cheon, pleased by the harmless teasing, poured him a drink.
"Is there some secret method?"
"There is."
"What is it?"
Bera Han and Alsein, drawn into that world men keep to themselves, leaned in with anticipation, ears pricked for Jin-cheon's answer.
"Raise her yourself."
"......."
"......."
The two of them froze with their heads still drawn together.
Jin-cheon's great laughter resounded in their ears.
"Ho ho, what is it you find so amusing?"
Perhaps finding the sight of three sovereigns huddling together and whispering entertaining, Lian Su burst out laughing as she called over to them.
"Hm?"
Jin-cheon, the first to turn toward her question, could not help but stiffen like stone, exactly as Alsein and Bera Han had. Lian Su and Eulji were upturning their empty cups over their heads. Seeing this, Bera Han asked out of curiosity.
"What is the meaning of that action?"
"A thing Her Highness the Yeolhu taught me. It is done to prove one's cup is empty, she explained. This is what they call drinking etiquette. Do not the two General Euljis over yonder do the same?"
"Oh! Indeed!"
"Is it not amusing? One can feel the spirit of the Gauri people."
Eulji Buru and Uru, carousing and knocking back drinks on the other side, were likewise upending their cups over their heads whenever they emptied, and among the common folk, too, a great many were shaking out their empty cups above their heads.
Jin-cheon, at that moment, was upending an entire liquor jar straight into his mouth.
* * *
"Elder Sister, forgive me that I could not speak more with you earlier."
"Your Highness, it is no matter. You seem in excellent spirits."
"Ha ha ha, indeed I am. One day, without fail, I will make our Kingdom of Roselin a land brimming with vitality such as this."
Princess Yunias answered King Alsein's vow with a smile.
"But are you unwell?"
"I am not, Your Highness."
"Yet how is it...."
Alsein was not blind to the shadow cast across her face. Turning to follow the path of her gaze, he understood at once the source of the darkness that lay upon it.
Her eyes had fallen upon the scene of Go Jin-cheon wresting the liquor jar away from Eulji, who refused to release it. It was hardly conduct befitting the Yeolje and Yeolhu of a nation, yet even this seemed to suit them perfectly. And from it, happiness radiated from them.
'Elder Sister....'
Alsein, glimpsing Princess Yunias's aching heart, let out a small sigh.
'Do you love His Majesty the Yeolje so deeply, then.'
The flame of her affection had never been extinguished.
* * *
Suffering the aftereffects of the feast that had stretched deep into the night, King Alsein, King Bera Han, and Queen Lian Su did not rise from their beds until nearly noon.
Having finished their late meal, King Alsein walked toward the Imperial Hall, a thoughtful expression fixed upon his face. Looking back at Princess Yunias following behind him, he bit his lip firmly before proceeding to the front of the Imperial Hall.
"His Highness Pamilion Alsein Roselin, King of Roselin, arrives!"
The chamberlain's voice rang through the Imperial Hall, and Alsein slowly entered.
"Ugh. Your Majesty, I believe the child has entered me."
"That is called a hangover."
The sight of Eulji still spouting nonsense, and Jin-cheon sending her a faint smile as he watched, met his eyes.
"Did you sleep well last night?"
"Were you at peace?"
"Mm, did you all sleep well?"
King Bera Han and his queen, who had arrived before Alsein, had already taken seats just below Jin-cheon's throne. Once Alsein and Yunias were seated, the day's business began.
Their discussion focused mainly on how the three kingdoms would combine their strength in response to the empires' future countermoves, and thereafter, with matters of conducting trade.
"Henceforth we must unite our strength against such provocations."
"That is so."
"Then as for those particulars, let the ministers of each nation work out the details later."
"Mm."
Once matters had been discussed to a certain degree, Alsein slowly steadied his breathing, then turned to Jin-cheon and spoke.
"Though the Yeolhu sits beside you, I dare make one request, and so I open my mouth, risking this discourtesy."
"King Alsein, what is it?"
When Jin-cheon asked with a curious expression, Alsein glanced briefly at Yunias sitting quietly beside him, then abruptly rose from his seat and spoke with difficulty.
"Going forward, to firmly strengthen the friendship between the Great Empire of Gauri and our Kingdom of Roselin, I do humbly propose a royal marriage."
"What did you say?"
"I earnestly entreat that you take my sister, Princess Yunias, as your consort. Furthermore, separate from this, I do hereby declare before this assembly that the Kingdom of Roselin shall forevermore revere and serve the Great Gauri as the nation of an elder brother."
At the end of those words, as Alsein bowed deeply to Jin-cheon, Yunias let out a startled cry.
"Your Highness Alsein!"
Silence enveloped the Imperial Hall.
King Alsein's declaration was that momentous.
The matter of Princess Yunias's marriage was weighty in itself, but far greater still was that Roselin had of its own accord proclaimed itself a vassal state. Not by coercion, but by its own will.
Of course, given the present circumstances, it was a situation little different from being a vassal state already, but an official proclamation was an entirely different matter.
King Bera Han, seated across from them, was no less astonished. He had not expected it to be announced so suddenly.
"Erm."
A groan escaped Jin-cheon's lips.
With the kingdom having declared itself a vassal and simultaneously requested a marriage, turning Princess Yunias away would truly put him in a difficult position.
"Is my sister... not to your liking?"
When Alsein asked in a trembling voice, Jin-cheon, his face troubled, looked at Yunias for a moment. Then he slowly turned toward Eulji.
Eulji was smiling.
"I am in favor of accepting Princess Yunias in order to strengthen the friendship between our nations as brother-kingdoms and to render it still more steadfast. Your Majesty."
"Your Highness the Yeolhu!"
It was Yunias who was thrown into confusion by Eulji's clear, ringing voice. Jin-cheon, looking at Eulji smiling toward him, called her name before he knew it.
"Eulji...."
Eulji's voice continued.
"Furthermore, as one who has observed Princess Yunias over this past time, it is a marriage prospect with which I could not be more satisfied. Nay, I think rather it is a marriage that we ourselves ought to have sought."
"Your Highness the Yeolhu...."
Tears welled up in Yunias's eyes.
'Be strong, Sister.'
It was as though Eulji were calling out exactly that. Tears brimmed in her eyes until they spilled down her cheeks.
"Your Majesty, our congratulations!"
"Dae Mu-deok."
As Dae Mu-deok smiled and shouted while bowing, the many ministers cried out as one.
"Your Majesty, our congratulations!"
In a certain light, it might have seemed like the ministers were acting in disregard of the will of Jin-cheon, the Yeolje. But who were they?
Were they not the comrades-in-arms who had fought alongside him through all this time?
Were they not the ones who knew Jin-cheon's disposition better than anyone?
Jin-cheon took his eyes off Eulji and looked at Yunias. Tears continued to spill down her cheeks.
"Will you have no regrets?"
The question was directed at Yunias.
"Even if I were to die this very moment... I would have no regrets."
"Very well."
Jin-cheon approached Alsein, lifted him from his bow, gripped his shoulders firmly, and spoke.
"The king of a nation does not bow so readily."
"Your Majesty."
"Do you understand, brother-in-law?"
"I... I understand. Brother-in-law."
"Your Majesty, our congratulations!"
At their exchange, the ministers roared loud enough to lift the roof of the Imperial Hall. Bera Han, who had been watching the scene, rose from his seat, approached Jin-cheon, and proclaimed:
"The Kingdom of Haian, too, shall forevermore serve the Great Gauri as the nation of an elder brother, and shall share in that purpose."
"King Bera Han."
"Waaaaah!"
The cheers of his ministers resounded behind Bera Han as he bowed. Straightening, Bera Han wore a smile upon his lips and continued speaking.
"However, the sisters I have are all already wed, and I do have one very youngest daughter, but she is but eight years of age this year, so I wonder how that might suit...."
"What?"
Just as Jin-cheon, utterly at a loss, was trying to parse what Bera Han meant, Yeon Hwi-garam's mischievous voice reached him.
"Well, there is the precedent of Her Highness the Yeolhu, and I am sure you could raise her very well—"
"Kehm."
"Pwa-ha-ha-ha!"
As Jin-cheon's face crumpled, Eulji Buru, who had been holding in his laughter, at last burst into a great guffaw. And then, as though a dam had broken, a sea of laughter flooded the Imperial Hall.
Even Dae Mu-deok, who at any ordinary time would have thundered at such an atmosphere, was clutching his stomach and collapsing, convulsing with mirth.
"Hoo. Such an experience, once is enough. Now then! Today, too, is a feast!"
"Whaaat?"
"Prepare the feast at once, and let this news be spread far and wide to all the people!"
Jin-cheon's spirited command descended upon the guffawing ministers. On Princess Yunias's face as she gazed at him, the shadows that had so long lain across it had long since vanished, and only tears of joy flowed. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Eulji whispered quietly.
"I already gave my permission back then, remember?"
"Hic, hic, hic."
At that single remark from Eulji, Yunias burst into tears.
The affection Princess Yunias had carried in her heart since the tender age of eighteen was at last fulfilled after the passage of thirteen years. And from this day forward, Gauri took its place in both name and reality, standing tall as a great empire.