The Princess on the Brink of Engagement (1)
Elizaveta had repeatedly and fiercely opposed the marriage talks, but the reason she ultimately accepted them was simple: she didn’t want to burden her family with worry. However, she had no genuine intention of actually getting married. It was nothing more than a temporary performance to ease their concerns.
She scanned the list of suitors her father had handed her, but none of them appealed to her in the slightest. Her standards had grown impossibly high after her former fiancé, Maximilian.
As if to prove the point, Elizaveta let out a heavy sigh every time she glanced at the list of prospective grooms.
“No matter how many photos I look at, none of them catch my eye! They all just look like ugly squids! Not a single one is better than Maximilian in any way!”
“......”
The male lead from the romance fantasy novel White Blessing of the Lady truly possessed an overwhelming stature. His appearance was that of an unparalleled nobleman, handsome enough to melt the hearts of countless noblewomen and young ladies. His ability spoke for itself—he was the hero who had slain the Demon King, humanity’s ancient nemesis. His bloodline marked him as the eldest son of a prestigious family representing the empire. Though now considered in decline, it still boasted tremendous renown as the house of a founding hero. His fame was universal; there was no one, regardless of race or nationality, who didn’t know Maximilian’s name. Even a baby just beginning to babble and toddle would have heard of the Saintess Party’s renown.
A superhuman perfect man without a single flaw in any category—how on earth had his personality turned out to be such utter garbage? Even though he checked every single box, that one damned trait had reduced him to all flash and no substance. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became.
“Maybe I should just ask to have Edanant as my fiancé? My sister recommended him, after all. He resembles Maximilian in a lot of ways! Hmm, that might actually be a good idea.”
The beautiful villainess, known as the Empire’s Greatest Beauty, had begun spouting complete nonsense. Treating her own brother as a substitute for her sister’s man—it reminded me of the old custom where a man marries his deceased brother’s widow.
I let out a deep sigh as I watched Elizaveta’s shameless display.
“I’m just kidding. Edanant is my sister’s lover, right? No matter how greedy I am, I’m not so ill-bred that I’d steal my own sister’s man. I’m not some Beatrice wench who stole another woman’s fiancé.”
“......”
Public opinion had already decided that I was the Second Princess’s lover. The hero who had defended the imperial capital—didn’t he make a perfectly suitable partner for her? Countless gossips and newspaper reporters had piled on until the scandal was all but official. Denying it now would only earn me condemnation from the masses. If Ludmila herself denied the rumors, public opinion might shift, but she never did. Instead, she maintained a consistent silence that seemed to affirm the scandal.
“It might be a little early, but… can I call you brother-in-law?”
“Absolutely not.”
Elizaveta poked my side with a mischievous grin, looking every bit the little devil. I squeezed my eyes shut and answered her playful jab.
“Did you hear? Starting tomorrow, you’ll be having matchmaking meetings with the suitors. They say actually meeting face-to-face and talking will spark affection or something… Father wants this settled quickly.”
“You mean I’ll be meeting them one after another? That’s going to be an absolute forced march.”
“Exactly. It’s incredibly annoying. If I’d known this would happen, I would have just kept playing dumb. I’ve basically dug my own grave.”
“Let’s try to think positively. I’ll help with anything I possibly can.”
Elizaveta was the villainess who had been thoroughly sacrificed for the dramatic romance between the heroine and the male lead. That was why I always felt a pang of pity for her. I had vowed to protect her—so she could escape the cruel fate of a villainess. Even if the death flags waiting for her threatened her very life.
“Really? You’ll help me no matter what unreasonable demands I make?!”
“......”
“I’ve got your word now, so no take-backs later!”
“Sigh… understood.”
I had spoken as clearly as rice cakes, yet she’d understood it like dog shit. Regret was already flooding in. Could I truly serve this villainess properly? I found myself doubting it.
Despite those worries, Elizaveta hummed a cheerful tune and pulled me along. She laughed brightly, as if she had found a friend her own age who actually understood her.
Well, it’s still better than seeing her sunk in depression.
I smiled bitterly, recalling for a moment how she had looked when she was suffering from the pain of unrequited love. As expected, a beauty looks best when she smiles. And Elizaveta was no ordinary beauty—she was the peerless woman known as the Empire’s Greatest Beauty. I hoped she would keep smiling like this from now on.
Suddenly, that thought occurred to me.
The Fugh Kingdom was nothing more than a minor nation on the northern frontier. With a population of only fifty thousand, it was smaller than most city-states. It was called a kingdom in name alone; in truth, it ranked below even a typical city-state.
It possessed neither fertile plains nor abundant underground resources, so it had long been dismissed as worthless wasteland. Thanks to that lack of prestige, no power had ever bothered to invade. There was simply too little profit to be gained.
However, everything began to change after the emergence of the Sword Saint, a member of the Saintess Party. The third-rate nation built upon barren land gradually became known as the homeland of Sword Saint Madvey. The Fugh Kingdom fully exploited his fame to draw attention and secure the funds a remote third-rate country needed to survive.
“If the urgent report is accurate… the Fugh Kingdom won’t last a single day.”
No matter how one looked at it, there was no room for possibility. That was the conclusion the Valtaria Empire’s leadership had reached.
“But it hasn’t been definitively confirmed, has it? The moment the racial war ended, countless nations united for a massive extermination campaign. How could those filthy cultists possibly have risen again!”
The Valtaria Empire, the Gael Holy Kingdom, and many other nations had shown no mercy to the cult forces that had cooperated with the Demon King’s army under the banner of evil’s ascension. They hunted them to the last and killed them all, even at the cost of innocent lives. Those who had sold humanity to the demons deserved death. It was only natural.
The nobles gathered in the conference hall shuddered as they recalled once more the monster who had ravaged the battlefield wielding the protection of the forgotten gods. Hatred and fear were plain on their faces.
“Lord Bertrand’s opinion does have merit.”
“It is too early to jump to conclusions. We must first gather detailed information on these demons.”
Though the demons’ notoriety and danger were mentioned repeatedly, no one suggested sending military aid. The distance was too great. Even if troops were dispatched, it was doubtful they would arrive in time. That was merely an excuse. The truth was that the Fugh Kingdom held no strategic importance whatsoever. The current reality was not naïve enough to send soldiers all the way to the northern border simply because a worthless nation was under attack—especially not for the Valtaria Empire, which had already lost so many troops during the total war that the racial conflict had become.
Still, a minimum of goodwill remained. They planned to at least provide military escort so that the royal family and nobles facing absolute crisis could migrate to safety.
“Your Majesty, what if I were to lead the expedition? Grant me half a day, and I will annihilate every last group that reveres those cults and return.”
Ludmila, who had been quietly listening to the nobles’ opinions, finally spoke. Half a day. Just half a day would be enough. She offered the advice to her father on the throne as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
It was an incredibly arrogant boast, but when the speaker was the empire’s Red Dragon, the story changed entirely. The nobles in the conference hall swallowed dryly and nodded. Their reaction showed absolute faith in the Red Dragon’s valor.
“You intend to go yourself?”
“Please temporarily entrust the defense of the imperial capital to the Valtaria Seven Generals and their knight orders. And though I hate to admit it… the Holy Kingdom’s White Dragon is currently in the capital as well.”
The Valtaria Seven Generals—the seven knights who represented the empire. They needed forces to cover the temporary gap. Accordingly, Ludmila advised recalling the peerless knights who had been deployed across the empire. Until now they had responded with lax measures, but after the bombing incident in the capital, the Valtaria Empire demanded stricter security than ever before. They stationed numerous troops around the capital as if the empire had entered a state of war, preparing for any contingency.
“The mobilization order has already been issued. They should be arriving shortly.”
“And… please entrust an important duty to Lord Edanant. He will surely prove to be a great help.”
Ludmila hesitated for a moment before mentioning Edanant. He could be trusted. Hadn’t he already protected the imperial capital from cruel and merciless villains? Even if another tragedy occurred, Edanant would undoubtedly respond with quick thinking and adaptability. If he was given a critical responsibility, she felt she could leave her post without the slightest hesitation.
“…You’re already looking after your husband.”
“She must be laying the groundwork to secure him as her son-in-law.”
Was there a single person in the imperial palace who didn’t know Edanant? Of course not. If there were, they would surely be a spy. Even a newspaper lying on the street would have mentioned the top candidate for son-in-law.
The nobles couldn’t help but admire Ludmila’s shrewd judgment in subtly trying to install Edanant in a key position. To make such a blatant request. Like a spinster who had finally caught the spring breeze late in life, she had begun revealing her true colors the moment she fell in love.