At Erdene’s words, Roellica visibly flinched.
Her face turned pale, and her lips began to tremble.
Erdene taunted Tenek.
“If the Empress has even the slightest intention of embracing you, that is.”
Tenek’s cheek twitched.
He had the habit of twitching his face like that whenever he got angry since he was a child.
Well, it couldn’t be called a habit, as it was something beyond his control…
Despite being so enraged, Tenek maintained a significant distance from Erdene, not taking a single step closer to her.
It was a desperate effort to keep as much distance as possible.
Erdene let out a bitter laugh, wondering how things would have been if her father had been present.
He would have scolded Tenek until his spirit was completely crushed and then thrown away the emperor’s crown that sat on his head.
Tenek bit the inside of his twitching cheek and forced a smile, trying to appear relaxed.
“You have returned victorious from a long war. Shouldn’t you be rewarded instead of just leaving?”
“Wouldn’t the best reward be letting me out of here?”
“That won’t do.”
A triumphant smile spread across Tenek’s lips.
Erdene immediately sensed that he was plotting something, something undoubtedly unpleasant.
He had always been good at tormenting Erdene with cunning tricks, and his expression was exactly the same as when he did so.
That smile, a mix of inferiority and vile triumph.
“Bring it here!”
What is he asking to be brought? Erdene wondered.
Was he calling for a device to bind her and behead her?
Of course, that wasn’t the case.
But as soon as Erdene saw the elaborately decorated chests carried in by the servants, she briefly thought that a device for her execution might have been preferable.
Whatever was inside, it was sure to be something entirely unsuitable for her.
There was no way a chest adorned with lace and ribbons contained a sword forged with the soul of a legendary blacksmith.
Tenek, observing Erdene’s confused and suspicious expression, smiled with great satisfaction.
“To celebrate and encourage your victory, your one and only brother has prepared an unmatched gift.”
With an arrogant voice, he commanded the servants,
“What are you doing? Open it!”
The servants, one by one, opened the lids of the chests while kneeling on one knee, placing the chests on their thighs.
Erdene wondered if she was dreaming as the laces and ribbons were untied, revealing the contents one by one.
Of course, it was not a good dream.
“What is all this…?”
Finally, a groan escaped Erdene’s lips, unable to utter a word due to her astonishment.
Inside the chests that the servants held above their heads were nothing but white and shiny things.
From a veil made of lace that would have taken a full year to weave, to a dress intricately embroidered with fine gold and silver thread without a single gap, diamonds, pearls that were obviously of the highest quality at a glance, and other accessories, formal wear, and shoes.
Among these dazzling and magnificent things, what Erdene found most absurd was a letter.
Just by looking at the decorative script, which had no practical value, and the border pattern, which must have been drawn by hand one line at a time, it was clear that the sender was a person of considerable power.
But none of that mattered…
Erdene’s attention was solely focused on the vivid pattern stamped on the wax seal.
It was the emblem of the Kingdom of Vetor, the most prosperous country among the inland allies, the strong center of the alliance, and a country that might one day engage in the fiercest battle with the Hirschstein Empire.
Erdene raised her head and glared at Tenek.
“What the hell is the meaning of this?”
Tenek’s eyes narrowed like a snake’s.
“Why do you look like that? It’s something to be happy about. Hirschstein has decided to form friendly relations with the various inland countries. As you know, this country is only vast, but it is not easy to grow even a grain of rice, isn’t it?”
At this point, wouldn’t it be okay to kill him? Erdene clenched her fist, about to reach for the sword hilt, and glared at Tenek.
“From what I heard earlier, it seems like you are the one who’s loyal to Hirschstein more than anyone else. Then how about showing your loyalty with your actions? It will be good for you too.”
“Speak clearly, Tenek. What are you talking about now?”
Now, Erdene’s tone was almost the same as when she was a child.
It was no different from when she used to chase after Tenek when he stole or ruined her things and made excuses.
But there was something different.
Now, she couldn’t rush at Tenek like she did when she was a child and make him pay for his cowardly deeds.
Whether he was qualified or not, he already held the glory of being an emperor, and it was Erdene herself who had failed to prepare a countermeasure to defend it.
If Erdene laid a finger on him, Tenek would somehow frame her for treason and harm her.
Considering his cowardly and cruel nature, he might even have made excuses to disgrace the commanders of the Knights Order or the military officers under her command.
She could never see such a thing happen…
“The King of Vetor wants to take you as his queen. He has promised to form an alliance with us and to provide us with abundant food from the inland so that the people of the empire will not starve. The time of war is over, Erdene!”
With his last words, Tenek put a stain on Erdene’s whole body and drove a wedge in.
He probably wanted to say, “Your time is over.”
“I’ll give you two days to pack your things. Vetor is a more affluent place than ours anyway, so what more could you take from here? Right?”
Erdene’s vision flashed white and she felt herself wavering and shaking.
Even though she had been through so many wars and crossed countless death lines, this was the first time she had ever felt so dizzy.
* * *
After the knights commander and officers, who had been expressing their indignation and resentment as if their own child was being sold, had all left, Erdene sat alone in her room after sending out her servants.
Even though Tenek had become emperor, the room that received the most sunlight and was warm all day long in the Golden Castle of Hirschstein was still hers.
When she opened the curtains in the morning, she could see the vast northern landscape at a glance, and the mountain range, reminiscent of a legendary dragon, stood guard over her like a wall.
It was a room fit for a successor to the next throne, but now it was all in vain.
‘If I firmly refuse, it will be a fight anyway.’
Erdene was lost in thought, gazing at the sky where the sunset was burning red.
Yes, she could refuse.
Most of them had fallen like fools at Tenek’s clever rhetoric, but the most practical and useful nobles were still loyal to her.
Erdene was confident that she would never be pushed back even if thousands of knights rushed in at once.
But…….
[with the various inland countries. As you know, this country is only vast, but it is not easy to grow even a grain of rice, isn’t it?]
Tenek’s arrogant voice echoed in Erdene’s head like a noisy monkey.
He was not stupid, just physically weak and unable to train in martial arts.
This was evident from the fact that he had accurately grasped that the people’s warlike nature stemmed from their fear of hunger.
‘But then why don’t we take it away? We’ve lived this way so far.’
Erdene clenched her fist and bit her lip tightly.
She didn’t know when Tenek had started reaching out to the inland allies.
But it was clear that he had managed to obtain a satisfactory amount of food from them.
And he must have distributed it to the people, pretending to be a generous monarch.
Erdene once again recalled the sense of incongruity she felt when she entered the capital.
The sound that had been full of vitality and joy was cut off like it had been cut with a knife with the appearance of the knights.
They were not the glorious heros who had returned with the news of victory.
They were nothing more than thugs who had stirred up people who were beginning to settle into a peaceful and well-fed life and might drive them back to the battlefield where lives are lost.
‘No one will fight under the imperial flag anymore.’
A sigh escaped her lips. Who would want to go back to the old days after having tasted the taste of luxury?
I understand. Erdene thought.
It was the duty of royalty and knights like her to devote their lives to the prestige and pride of the empire and the name of Hirschstein.
The people only had to not betray the country. It was not something that could be forced to be loved every day.
But even knowing that, she felt a prickling sensation in one side of her chest as if dust was getting in.
No one will wield a sword for Hirschstein anymore.
There would be no knights who would ride horses and charge with lances.
The knights’ armor would rust due to neglect, and the flags that fluttered in the sky of the battlefield would be left in the warehouse to be eaten by moths, and one day they would be found full of mouse droppings.
“Damn it……”
Erdene slowly closed her eyes.
The red sunset seeped through her thin eyelids, turning her vision a bloody red, and then it soon sank into darkness.
As a princess, she often sat here and leisurely enjoyed the view of the sunset.
But today was the last day for that too.
* * * *
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