The Age Of Arrogance

“Let the wedding ceremony of His Excellency, Carlyle Kendrick Ivelina Bondel Evaristo, the first prince of the Chad Empire, and Countess Asha Amir del Pervaz, the lord of Pervaz, be held with these witnesses present.”

 

As High Priest Gabriel’s clear voice echoed, the bustling hall quieted down instantly.

 

“May the god Libato, the god of balance and harmony, Apodelis, the god of love, Jonas, the god of joy, and Eldris, the god of discipline, be present in this place, witness the sacred promise of these two, and bless them…”

 

The High Priest began the ceremony. Now, the marriage of Carlyle and Asha has become unbreakable.

 

However, what people were curious about was not which gods bestowed what blessings or how heavy a responsibility this oath entailed.

 

Everyone was waiting for a different sequence.

 

“Please exchange the rings.”

 

Only then did the eyes of those who were slowly getting bored flicker open. Everyone craned their necks and chuckled to see Carlyle’s wedding ring.

 

This is the fun of witnessing a royal wedding: the exorbitantly expensive wedding rings and the bride’s dazzling dress, things that even moderately wealthy nobles wouldn’t dare to create.

 

Glancing at the nobles, Carlyle slided the ruby ring, designed to match Asha’s necklace, into her finger and whispered.

 

“When you sell this later, don’t take it to a jeweler, but to an auction house. It’ll fetch a much higher price.”

 

At that, Asha widened her eyes as if she had received crucial information and lightly nodded.

 

Carlyle felt like bursting into laughter but tried his best to hold it in.

 

‘Do these people know? That this ring is just emergency funds for the bride.’

 

Asha must be thinking about how to use the money from selling the necklace and ring she is currently wearing to manipulate something in her territory.

 

Sparkling stones meant nothing to her. Carlyle found that strangely exhilarating.

 

‘I should give Asha Pervaz the nickname ‘revolutionary.’

 

It would be a shame if this revolutionary spirit was simply due to regional limitations and was changing from now on.

 

Even as Carlyle thought such thoughts, the ceremony continued. After a long prayer, Gabriel sprinkled holy water on the two and blessed them, receiving their signatures on the marriage certificate.

 

The Emperor, who had been wearing a very displeased expression, reluctantly stamped the marriage certificate handed to him by Gabriel. Once the High Priest’s seal was added, the main ceremony was almost over.

 

“Thus, the marriage of these two individuals has been recognized by the imperial law, the law of the Chad Empire, and the law of Elahe. No one can deny this relationship, and both parties must uphold this promise with great responsibility and faithful love.”

 

At those words, several people clenched their teeth invisibly.

 

In fact, there were quite a few of Carlyle’s people among them, but Carlyle himself was feeling surprisingly good.

 

After all, the threats of the Elahe priests were nothing more than barking dogs, and the marriage to Asha felt like something suffocating, finally starting to loosen.

 

“Now, please complete the vows with your first kiss as a married couple.”

 

Therefore, intrigued by the first kiss of the couple, which should normally be devoid of any emotion, he gently pulled Asha’s waist towards him and savored her slightly parted lips.

 

“Oh my!”

 

“Gasp!”

 

Surprised gasps echoed from around.

 

Asha was clearly surprised too, but that made Carlyle even more amused. Above all, Asha Pervaz’s lips were unexpectedly delicious.

 

He wanted to savor them for a little longer, if only she hadn’t bitten him.

 

“Ouch.”

 

“Take it easy, Your Highness.”

 

The sight of Asha wiping her lips with the back of her hand and glaring at him was quite stimulating as well.

 

“What am I supposed to do if there’s no fun doing this?”

 

He chuckled, but Gabriel’s expression, as he looked down on them, seemed disapproving at first glance. From Gabriel’s perspective, turning the supposed ‘first kiss,’ a chaste and careful touch of lips, into something so suggestive was no different from blasphemy.

 

“Lord Libato is watching over us. You should be more pure in body and mind.”

 

“Lord Libato will understand the passion of a newly married couple, High Priest.”

 

Gabriel’s expression hardened even further at Carlyle’s response. And that made Carlyle feel even better.

 

***

 

Immediately after attending the wedding ceremony of Carlyle and Asha, Decker and his party packed their belongings and headed towards Pervaz. Their goal was to deliver the shocking news to those waiting in Pervaz beforehand.

 

Despite consistently ignoring them, Carlyle actually sent his knights to accompany them upon their departure. His explanation was that

 

[The probability of my beautiful mother targeting you guys is very high. And there is also a need to send urgent supplies first.]

 

Carlyle handed Decker the most urgent medicines and bandages for Pervaz. As a result, even Decker, who was annoyed by Asha’s disregard, had no choice but to head towards Pervaz.

 

Exactly as Carlyle predicted, they were attacked by unidentified attackers as soon as they left the capital.

 

“Just how far can these superiors anticipate?”

 

Decker’s party muttered in annoyance, having drawn their swords but unable to make a single swing as they were “protected” by Carlyle’s knights. The knights, as if it were a natural occurrence, dealt with the situation without any sign of panic. The attackers, upon realizing they were dealing with Carlyle’s knights, pretended to fight for a bit and then retreated.

 

“Even with plenty of money and food, I wouldn’t want to live in the palace.”

 

“Me neither. Why should someone like me get assassinated without even knowing why?”

 

As Bastian and Danilo shook their heads in disapproval, Decker beside them sighed.

 

“But Asha is now trapped in that gap.”

 

His words were met with expressions mirroring Decker’s among the party.

 

“Is the lord really alright?”

 

“Honestly, I still don’t understand what’s going on. What am I supposed to explain when we get back to Pervaz?”

 

Decker found himself speechless to that question. He was also troubled.

 

Gazing into the empty space, lost in thought, Decker spoke heavily.

 

“I don’t know what’s what, but one thing is clear. We… we sold our lord.”

 

At the same time, he looked at the box of medicines and bandages they guarded like their lives.

 

With just those, they could somehow save the critically ill. Meanwhile, Carlyle would arrive in Pervaz with more supplies, allowing Pervaz to not only overcome their worst crisis but also experience unprecedented abundance.

 

“So… Count Amir, Dominic and Noah, Vincent… they must have all shared Asha’s feelings…”

 

“But they would have told her not to do it, wouldn’t they?”

 

“Yes, they would have.”

 

The Pervaz County family wasn’t known for outward affection or displays of sentiment, but Decker could guarantee one thing: they would have opposed their only daughter and youngest child, Asha, selling herself to an unknown Crown Prince.

 

“If only the Emperor had kept his promise, this wouldn’t have happened.”

 

Decker gritted his teeth at Luca’s words. It was ultimately the Emperor who had driven Asha into this situation. Even with just one meeting, it was easy to see his greed and vulgarity.

 

If he had kept his promise to Decker’s father and sent food and medicine, Asha wouldn’t have been treated like this.

 

“What’s the point of thinking about it now? We should just pray that it ends up as a transactional relationship like Asha mentioned, where she gets money and a room.”

 

Decker calmed his party with those words and headed towards Pervaz. However, upon arrival, he was met with a headache.

 

“Who are those people?”

 

He first needed to explain why they were accompanied by the Crown Prince’s knights, facing the wary gazes of the people following Decker’s party.

 

And then, the questions began pouring in like a flood.

 

“What? The lord married the Crown Prince?”

 

“Our lord became the Crown Princess?”

 

“No? Is the Crown Prince coming to live in Pervaz? Why?”

 

“He’s going to divorce in three years? What does that mean? What will happen to our lord?”

 

“You just watched all that happen, Decker?”

 

Several people simultaneously shouted questions and accusations, making him overwhelmed. However, the situation wouldn’t change.

 

“The Crown Prince has his own personal business in Pervaz, which has extraterritorial jurisdiction, and we need supplies to rebuild the territory. This is what happened because our interests matched… Just think of it as hosting the Crown Prince for three years.”

 

Decker Donovan, the second-in-command of Pervaz, silenced everyone with his words, but they didn’t look convinced.

 

Hector, who had found gold nuggets after searching Lure corpses and given them to Asha, muttered as he passed by.

 

“I told her to get some food… but a Crown Prince…”

 

****

 

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