Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Minster Kingdom (3)
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"I never imagined you'd already have a political marriage partner."
King Barhan X of the Bakar Kingdom had just finished a light conversation with Eri.
Seated across from us on the sofa before we knew it, he wore a faint smile.
"And of all people, from our Aunt Amelia's bloodline."
"I never expected to meet Your Majesty here either."
Eri smiled demurely as she stroked my shoulder.
Somehow, the office atmosphere had turned into a meet-the-parents gathering.
'How did this happen...?'
'Leave it to me, Warden.'
Eri placed her hand on my thigh to keep the perceptive king from noticing.
She rubbed her fingers delicately and softly, conveying her true feelings to me.
'If you accept a marriage proposal from the Bakar Kingdom here, it'll give them grounds to brand you a traitor. Better for a plain novelist from the Leon Empire like me.'
Her red eyes gleamed calmly from within her pink hair.
'You're right, but I didn't want to put you in an uncomfortable spot, my lady.'
This time, I conveyed my intent against the back of her hand.
In response, the lady furrowed her brow slightly and tilted her head.
As if she couldn't quite make out what I was spelling on her small hand.
Left with no choice, I moved my fingers against her thigh as well.
Using the soft, swollen flesh bulging subtly over her tight nylons as my canvas.
'......'
Eri's face went blank for a moment.
She fiddled with her ear peeking slightly from her hair, then moved her fingers again.
'Ah... Don't worry about that. Compared to all the help you've given me so far, this is nothing.'
'I'm grateful you see it that way.'
To respond, I caressed her thigh again.
That's when I noticed her ears turning as red as her hair.
Even the sharp-eyed King Barhan X noticed.
"It might be rude of me to ask, but when do you plan to hold the ceremony?"
True to form as a national leader, he began suspecting our relationship.
As if sensing a bit of awkwardness unbecoming of an engaged couple.
"It's a royal family matter, after all. How could I not know? I'm just curious."
"Well..."
Eri, who had been handling things smoothly, hesitated in her reply.
Perhaps because it was the first time a man had touched her body like this, she seemed momentarily stunned.
"Soon. My 'wife' is a writer, so she's a bit out of touch with the outside world. I've been looking into it bit by bit after work."
"Ah, right. And being from our side by birth, the empire's nobles must be wary of her too."
As signs of the Bakar King being persuaded emerged, I decided to press the advantage.
Since we were acting, I added a touch more newlywed vibe.
"Exactly. In that sense, we're quite alike."
I gently took Eri's hand, her ears flushed red, and intertwined our fingers.
Gazing at her with tender eyes.
"The persecuted Minster family and the fallen Amelia bloodline. We bonded because we understood each other's situations so well."
"...Y-You... His Majesty is watching. This is improper."
Eri's mature gaze widened into round eyes.
But she didn't seem to hate it, her face blushing.
Exuding the feel of a newlywed still shy about spousal intimacy.
'A novelist through and through—your acting is top-notch. Sorry for putting you through this.'
If we get past this hurdle, I owe her an apology.
What a sight she's in because of me...
How embarrassed must she be for our clasped hands to sweat this much?
Her grip felt scorching hot.
"Heh heh... It reminds me of my own engagement days at twenty. Yes, newlyweds are always shy."
Barhan X nodded, satisfied with Eri's reaction.
But he didn't seem inclined to let it go that easily.
His golden eyes, still in his thirties, emanated an intense aura like that of a Grand Elder.
The seasoned sharpness only those who had weathered countless storms possessed.
The king demanded more detailed proof that we were a couple.
"So, how did you two meet? With such similar tragic backgrounds, your first encounter must have been special."
"......"
As Eri started to speak, I stepped in again.
Adding to our clasped hands by linking arms as well.
"Our first meeting was quite ordinary. I met her in the procession carriage while heading to Berryhill on assignment for the lord."
Barhan X closed his eyes leisurely, as if to say, go on.
And savored the honest tale of what happened between Eri and me.
From how I thwarted the Einz conspiracy and got her novel to win an award.
To the night before the Northern Supreme Sword Selection Tournament, when I was injured.
And how she personally tended to my wounds.
Of course, I omitted the treatment method.
"Feeling her warm touch then, I made a vow myself."
I gazed intently at the woman with pink hair.
With gentle eyes free of dark circles.
"With this person... I might be able to spend the rest of my life together."
Eri's red eyes, meeting mine, quivered faintly.
Her lips parted slightly, as if murmuring softly.
'Prophet...'
"It's like fate."
Regaining her composure at last, she began speaking calmly.
Answering with her signature mature, soothing beauty.
"I believe we were always meant to end up together someday."
"That's right."
I raised our interlocked hands as if praising her renewed calm.
And, like a couple pledging love...
"It was fate."
I pressed my lips to the back of her small, soft hand.
With eyes narrowed even thinner.
"...!"
Eri froze at the moist touch on her hand.
Her red eyes rippled like a lake's surface.
A dream she'd longed for over years felt one step closer.
She exhaled a trembling breath, joyful yet with a pang in her heart.
Recalling the prophet and saintess who met tragic fates in scripture.
What if they had met as ordinary man and woman, free of religious ties?
Then, in this moment, she could have melted into simple newlywed bliss.
Eri bit her lip lightly, tasting sweet yet bitter emotions.
That rich expression was fully visible to King Barhan X.
"Hm."
The Bakar king's face shifted to a peculiar blankness.
As if sensing a snag in his plans, he let out a short sigh.
"I see. Your reactions let me sort out my intentions too."
He looked first to Eri.
"I'm no expert on women, but I read expressions well."
A captivating face rare even in Bakar.
Eyes that seemed not to yield easily to anyone, now trembling wistfully.
Barhan X caught it instantly.
And realized.
The snake-like man before him might not fully grasp it yet, but the woman at least was reacting just as a newlywed should.
"Your expression reminds me of the portraits of our late queen and her husband."
His face softened into fatherly kindness.
Stroking his chin slowly, he ultimately acknowledged her.
"Queen Christina gazing longingly at Prince Veil. She looked just like a woman in love."
The aforementioned Christina was famed as a cool-headed, charismatic monarch.
Yet her famous anecdote told of her femininity before her husband, Lord Veil.
Eri, aware of this, covered her mouth with her hand.
"Oh, really? To be compared to Her Majesty is a great honor."
The Bakar king nodded slowly.
The man he'd been watching seemed set to marry a woman of their bloodline after all.
And their expressions befitted true newlyweds.
This was enough to set his mind at ease for now.
"Good. I hope I haven't taken too much of a public servant's time."
"Not at all. Even as a king of another nation, receiving guidance from one so esteemed is always a joy."
I placed a hand on my chest and bowed politely.
Barhan X, satisfied with the etiquette, arched one eyebrow.
'King of another nation.'
The title seemed to irk him slightly.
"No need to be so formal. With Eri being royalty, aren't we in-laws?"
"Not yet, so I felt etiquette was in order."
The Bakar king rose first from the sofa.
As Eri and I followed, he patted my shoulder lightly.
"Don't be so distant. Your expressions tell me the marriage won't fall through."
He waved to his distant advisor.
The man who had impersonated the king at our first meeting approached with crisp precision.
Then, he presented a wristwatch symbolizing Bakar royalty.
"Be sure to send the invitation. I'll attend personally."
He began fastening it to my wrist himself.
"Even if it's on imperial soil."
Undoubtedly a great honor.
Yet for some reason...
The watch felt as heavy as a collar.
The Bakar king's vow to cross borders for the wedding...
Meant declaring me his in front of the emperor.
'Things keep escalating... This won't do.'
"It's fine, Your Majesty. Coming to imperial territory yourself would invite suspicions all around. Your sentiment is enough."
"Heh heh, no. I'm personally curious about your path too."
The black-haired man fixed ambitious eyes on me.
He was asking.
"How far you'll ultimately climb."
"That's not something I can say myself."
The black-haired man smirked like a cunning black fox.
People of that lineage had always possessed a strange knack for winning hearts.
"Of course. You're 'still' an imperial merit subject."
He emphasized with a single raised finger.
"But remember this. I'm not telling you to betray the empire and swear loyalty to me."
The ambitious man aiming to turn Bakar into an empire spoke slyly.
"I just want a buffer zone between Leon and Bakar. A sturdy bulwark holding firm neutrality between them."
"Powerless neutrals never meet good ends."
"Don't you have the assets you seized from the Walter Group and our connections?"
"You're acknowledging Eri as legitimate royalty?"
I countered with an icy expression.
The king burst into laughter at my defiant attitude.
"I misspoke. Of course."
Barhan X turned to Eri thoughtfully.
With eyes like a father-in-law embracing the role.
"Unlike my father, I don't betray our bloodline."
Eri bowed lightly to the king.
Masking her expression, a faint smile played on her lips.
She was no longer just a novelist, nor a Holy See figure with a ruined image.
Not even the terrifying Red Saintess who brainwashed the masses.
"I'll live up to your expectations, Your Majesty."
A proper lady with an emerging holy nation's king as her uncle.
The picture of an officially recognized royal couple.
Watching this, Clea went pale for the first time.
"......"
Even the clever her hadn't imagined this new board emerging above water.
A crisis dawned: her superior might abandon this nation entirely.
Yet one felt an even greater crisis than her.
"Right now... you're running from me to found a new nation?"
Princess Camillia Andalusia, monitoring via crystal orbs placed throughout the prison.
"Our vow to build a household together...?"
Myoran, watching from afar after sensing Barhan X's overwhelming presence.
"Oh dear... He might get snatched by another country at this rate."
Even the Grand Elder, leisurely observing his young niece's struggle.
They were aghast at the pink flower-snake clamping onto the warden's nape, ready to flee beyond the eternal snow mountains.
Only one person smiled in the room.
"We'd be delighted if Your Majesty attends the wedding."
Her eerie gaze flashed from her pink hair.
Eri's face shone radiantly, like a bride veiled in lace.
Yet for some reason...
"We'd love your blessings on our union."
Gazing at that beautiful face, my nape inexplicably itched.
As if I'd been dragged into a deep cave.