Unwanted Marriage Proposal (1)
"Get lost."
"……."
"D-Duke!"
"How dare you speak such nonsense to Bishop Harkan…!"
The bishop managing the Fernin branch of the Vesta Temple had attended the court meeting to report on the handling of the necromancer and assess the damage to provincial territories and small villages, discussing future measures. That was when Abros's fury ignited.
"What a joke. Did you really think I'd calmly accept your brazen demand to take my daughter?"
The proposal that Bishop Harkan Gerens of the Vesta Temple's Fernin branch had presented to Abros was a political marriage between Elenoa and Harkan's son. In exchange, Harkan would donate a massive sum of temple funds to the Armitas ducal family and pledge unconditional priestly support for the kingdom's troublesome incidents.
From one perspective, it was a card that could solidify support from Helena Consort and Prince Evan's faction in the crown prince selection contest—temple backing was something to welcome with open arms.
If only it weren't for Bishop Harkan's ulterior motives in demanding his own daughter as the price, Abros might have accepted.
With a voice and face twisted in rage, he unleashed killing intent as if he might slay the Vesta Temple bishop on the spot for his outrageous demand.
Yet despite Abros's wrath, Bishop Harkan—who oversaw Fernin's Vesta Temple—maintained his oily smile and pressed on.
"Of course, I understand Your Grace's reaction. But surely you know, Duke—Lady Elenoa's talent as a priestess is truly exceptional. How could we in the temple ignore such a remarkable woman? We only wish to welcome Lady Elenoa into the Vesta Temple and support her on an even greater path as a priestess."
"And that means marrying her off to your son? What utter nonsense."
"Does it displease you?"
"I know your black heart. I'd sooner marry my daughter to some commoner than hand her to your son."
Abros's blunt insult sent murmurs rippling through the attending nobles, who glanced around nervously, gauging reactions.
Harkan, the target of the slur, remained utterly unfazed, his slimy smile unchanged.
His scheme was painfully obvious.
When Riod, captain of the expeditionary force and knight order assembled to combat the menacing beasts, requested priestly support, Bishop Harkan had sent only four low-level priests for show—demonstrating utter insincerity by dispatching no key personnel.
'I thought that expedition would fail….'
The temple priests, already informed and scrambling to save their own skins, had forced Harkan—who couldn't outright ignore Artia's request—to scrape together a mid-rank and three low-rank priests just to make it look good.
Internally, he'd anticipated failure.
But Artia's expedition succeeded without fatalities—only severe injuries—and during it, the Vesta priests had done nothing but treat and tend the wounded after battles ended.
The only priest who shone in combat was Elenoa alone. With an immense number of blessing prayers, she'd buffed the entire expedition, skyrocketing morale in an instant—a feat that would awe fellow priests.
And in the final moments, her purification spell had cleansed every humanoid chimera, turning the battlefield into her solo stage.
'This is my chance!'
From the reports of the returning temple priests, Bishop Harkan had gauged Elenoa's rank and naturally grown greedy.
He craved the woman dubbed "Fernin's Flower," brimming with high-quality holy power that could aim for upper priest ranks at a young age. If he could formally draw her into the temple through a political marriage with his son, her growth and exploits would naturally elevate his own status and fame.
Thus, he continued pressing Abros, ensuring the duke couldn't refuse.
"Would that really be alright with you?"
"No need. I'll handle my daughter's affairs myself."
"You'll regret it."
"Are you threatening me now?"
"Threaten Your Grace? Perish the thought. I'm merely warning out of concern that rejecting this offer now might lead to greater regrets later."
In other words: Accept the temple's support graciously now and hand over Elenoa.
Abros's face twisted further as the implication sank in.
"How dare you threaten me, the head of this kingdom's ducal house."
"D-Duke!"
"No!"
Abros shot to his feet, slamming his fist on the table. Several nobles flinched and rose to restrain him.
"Quiet!"
As a ferocious atmosphere formed—like he might actually strike Bishop Harkan—Dianne, the queen regent, calmed the rowdy court meeting.
"Bishop Harkan, this is a place to discuss kingdom affairs. Keep personal matters out of it."
"My apologies—I unwittingly broached an unfit topic. I'll discuss this 'personally' with the duke at a later visit."
"……."
Dianne's eyebrow twitched at Harkan's polite bow and apology.
From her position—eager to crown her son Damian as crown prince and pass the throne to him—the Armitas duke's house, backing Helena Consort and Prince Evan, forging ties with Vesta Temple forces would only strengthen their base. It was the last thing she wanted.
Why would Harkan so boldly declare before her his intent to politically marry Elenoa to his son?
Dianne knew well that Harkan hadn't risen to bishop through clean image or good deeds alone.
Considering his personality—ruthlessly calculating political gains and hating losses—she dissected his motives.
'From the bishop's view, he wouldn't care who becomes crown prince. If he truly backed Evan, he wouldn't raise this here. This is… a proposal to me. A threat, too.'
Dianne knew Harkan was targeting Elenoa, who had firmly asserted her presence through the humanoid chimera incident.
His leering smile conveyed: Let me have her, and promises or not, I'll find ways to aid you.
Narrowing her eyes at him, Dianne grasped his intent and spoke.
"Duke, consider this matter calmly. What matters is whether it benefits the kingdom."
"…Under…stood."
Unable to openly defy the queen regent and undermine her authority after her words, Abros ground his teeth and answered with effort.
The rest of the court meeting covered reports on damages from black magic and necromancy, countermeasures for affected areas, and future plans.
"Hoo…."
"Are you alright?"
As Abros rose to leave, Riod followed and spoke.
"Far from it. I expected some scheme, but a political marriage? Makes my blood boil."
"What will you do?"
"No plans to act on my end. It's that man's mess anyway—he'll clean it up."
"…You trust Eunhyeon quite a bit."
"I'm just betting on the confidence he showed when he boldly vowed to take responsibility."
Riod nodded in understanding.
"You were looking for me?"
"Yes."
"…What for?"
Guided secretly out of the palace by Alex and into the Armitas Duke Mansion, Yuria eyed Eunhyeon waiting there with suspicion.
It was absurd enough that Alex—the new sub-duke—had accepted a request from Eunhyeon, ostensibly a commoner, to summon her here.
"Princess, how much do you know about this incident?"
"…Eunhyeon? What do you mean?"
Alex stiffened at the direct question and shot back.
"Exactly what I said. There's one thing I want to know, Princess. Was this incident in that 'prophecy' inside your head?"
"Pro…phecy?"
"Prophecy?"
The Armitas siblings stared at Yuria in bewilderment at the out-of-nowhere topic.
Catching their gazes, Yuria scowled, glaring at Eunhyeon for betraying their implicit pact.
"Hey. We agreed not to tell anyone…."
"It's time to reveal the truth and ask for help rather than hide. Or do you not trust Alex, Princess? Is he unreliable?"
"That's not it! Who'd believe this absurd story…."
"Princess."
"Ah, Alex…."
Yuria faltered at Alex's calm call of her name.
"It's fine. No matter how outlandish, I won't mock or dismiss your words. So please, tell me your secret too."
Alex was no longer Yuria's knight.
With Ashton's fall, as the new ducal heir, balancing Cracir duties with close protection of Yuria and family affairs was impossible.
He'd had to leave the knights to inherit the house, regrets aside.
But his feelings for Yuria hadn't changed.
Alex harbored Yuria in his heart and still hoped she'd rely on him first and foremost.
Thus, this moment—bridged by Eunhyeon—was his opportunity.
"…Absolutely no laughing. And… never tell anyone."
"Of course."
"Understood."
"Hooo…."
Yuria took a deep breath and finally opened up before the Armitas siblings, spilling secrets she'd thought she'd never reveal.
Skipping vague concepts like another world called Earth or webnovels, she tailored it to fit Eunhyeon's "prophecy" keyword, laying out the plotlines in her mind. Alex and Elenoa listened intently to her "prophecy" contents.
"Memories of a past life from ancient times… visions of future scenes flashing in your head… even your own fate… Is that why you planned the Arkys Great Labyrinth expedition? To avert a marriage to foreign nobility?"
"I wanted a life not controlled by others—to grow myself, rack up achievements, and demand freedom legitimately. Even if it ended in a pretty failure…."
Yuria gave a bitter, self-mocking smile, recalling her past complacency and near-fatal mistake that almost doomed Alex's group.
"Hmm…."
"It's… too hard to believe, right?"
"No. If anyone else told it, I wouldn't buy it. I'm just sorting how to process this in my head."
"You're… calmer than I expected…?"
Expecting ridicule or denial, Yuria was instead flustered by their serious, pondering faces.
"I believed you for two reasons."
Eunhyeon, who had listened silently, spoke up.
"First, you knew the Arkys Great Labyrinth's location—unknown to anyone in the kingdom. Second, you knew fragments of Erin's future."
"Erin's future? What…."
"Erin was originally supposed to fall to the demon's temptation in that noble raid and burn all of Fernin to the ground."
"W-What…?!"
Elenoa gaped in shock at Eunhyeon casually dropping the bombshell.
"I see."
Alex, who had been with Erin then, recalled the succubus that attacked the nobles approaching her, trying to seduce her.
- Come with me. It's revenge against this country that made Elvin suffer.
It had stoked her feelings for her brother, sublimating them into vengeance to endanger the whole nation through brainwashing.
Setting aside doubts on Erin's latent power, it was plausible she might have fallen for it and sought revenge.
- Follow me. I'll show you the way.
And Alex understood who had twisted that possible future, turning to Eunhyeon.
- The one showing me the way isn't you.
Erin hadn't just shaken off the succubus's brainwashing—she'd pierced its throat and eliminated it. The one who'd guided her to that power was none other than Eunhyeon.
Eunhyeon eyed Yuria, who had finished speaking, and continued.
"I can't explain the principle or phenomenon, but you have fragments of info on future events. From Arkys Great Labyrinth to Erin—so I have to ask."
Yuria swallowed quietly, awaiting his words.
"Princess, was the necromancer incident in your prophecy?"