PRKE 05

CHAPTER 05……………………………..

The Madam looked at me as if nothing were wrong, then returned to her embroidery.

“I’m disappointed that you don’t even understand what you did wrong. I thought you might have had enough time to reflect while coming here. Did I overestimate you? How unfortunate. Had you been raised with a competent tutor from childhood, you might’ve grown into something better than this.”

Once, I would have shriveled at those words.

“That truly is such a pity for me as well.”

I murmured under my breath. I felt Madam Emmern cast a quick glance at me. I kept my gaze on the floor and continued in a soft, almost absent tone.

“If only I had been born even as gentry, many things would have been very different.”

“Hmph, so you’ve finally realized the ceiling above you.”

By ceiling, she meant the limits set by one’s birth and status.

Even as the adopted daughter of a count, as long as I was the daughter of a criminal and a maid, I could never be the same as the “true” nobles.

What I meant was that if I had been gentry, I would have never gotten mixed up with this family at all.

“Behave yourself. You’re not an animal—if you’re a person, you should at least understand why you exist. Even if you weren’t born chosen by god like a priest.”

“…”

“Just recently, Master Byran said something. He said that no life is as futile as one that doesn’t know its own purpose. Seeing you today, that seems like advice you desperately need.”

I suppressed the urge to show boredom. My legs already hurt; now my ears threatened to suffer too.

The meaning of existence, the futility of life—why debate such things when even survival is a struggle?

Nobles may shine like gemstones, but when it comes to this sort of thing, they’re unbearably old-fashioned.

And Madam Emmern talked far too much.

She didn’t like studying nor excelled at it, but whenever she heard a good phrase somewhere, she stored it away so she could recite it later to maids or me—feeling secretly pleased with herself.

Completely unaware that the maids giggled behind her back.

“Igraine.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know why you’re allowed to stand there like that?”

I nodded. The moment she asked, the word family came to mind.

As if trained.

“If you truly knew, you wouldn’t have behaved as you did.”

Only then did I realize why she’d called me. Word of the lunch I’d had with Hubert and Aris had reached her.

“Aris was terribly hurt. The Count was displeased as well. The household’s discipline can’t fall into disorder like this.”

“…”

“If it happens again, you’d better be prepared.”

I quietly lowered my head.

Madam Emmern muttered to herself:

“I can’t discipline you the way one does servants, with force… Managing people is such a tiresome task.”

In the past, I never questioned it, but lately, the thought came up often.

Why had I been so obedient to the family in my previous life?

This is why.

They pressed down on me with customs and social hierarchies I could never escape. Again and again, relentlessly—never giving me a chance to lift my head.

My hand curled slowly into a fist.

If I don’t want to be stepped on… must I gain a higher status?

That very day, a letter arrived at the royal palace of Liorrsa.

The king unfolded the letter—and urgently summoned the nobles.

Bang!

The king slammed his fist on the armrest. His faded blond hair trembled.

“That damned imperial crown prince must be insane! A political marriage?! He covets the princess, no question about it. The audacity!”

As the furious king spat his rage, the nobles exchanged troubled looks.

The sealed letter bearing the imperial crown prince’s crest contained a proposal:
A political marriage between the Empire’s 5th prince and the kingdom’s royal princess.

A political marriage with the mighty Empire of Doberacan!

If judged solely by that, it wasn’t bad—actually, it was good.

The Kingdom of Liorrsa had rich fertile land and clean water, but it was small in territory and weak in defense.

Meanwhile, the Empire—Doberacan, the sole empire on the continent—possessed overwhelming military power.

A union through marriage would be the best diplomatic strategy possible.

Yet despite these merits, the atmosphere in the chamber was heavy.

“They say the man doesn’t even like women!”

The king grimaced as if horrified. The others also wore uneasy expressions.

A more rational minister cleared his throat.

“Just a rumor, Your Majesty.”

“Rumors start for a reason! If it weren’t true, why would such talk exist?”

That shut the minister up.

Another official shifted the direction of the conversation.

“The Empire’s intentions are suspicious. Especially since Crown Prince Rodrakki is the one proposing it.”

“Indeed. And why the 5th prince? Not even the crown prince himself?”

“Even the crown prince wouldn’t be acceptable!”

The king, who treasured his daughter excessively, shook his beard in agitation.

Ignoring his emotional outburst, the nobles continued.

“The crown prince must be trying to weaken the 5th prince’s faction—preventing him from gaining the support of powerful families in their own empire.”

“That’s highly possible.”

“So the kingdom is being used as a pawn in the Empire’s succession conflict?”

“First, we must clarify the kingdom’s stance.”

“What stance? Of course we reject it!”

“Is that even possible?”

“We must reject it!”

The ministers were sharply divided.

“If Rodrakki becomes emperor, the first person he cuts down will be—”

“That 5th prince fellow.”

“Exactly. Prince Giovanni. If we marry the princess to him and he loses in the succession battles, we’ll suffer consequences as well.”

“It could give the Empire an excuse to attack the kingdom.”

“They might defeat the 5th prince and turn our kingdom into their vassal state entirely.”

“But in another sense, this is also an opportunity. If we can secure the empire’s army, the kingdom could want nothing more.”

While the nobles argued passionately, King Hermannon slowly calmed. Leaning against the armrest, he sank deep into thought.

“So we can’t refuse outright. True, rejecting a political marriage without justification would offend them. With that temper of theirs, they’d jump at any excuse.”

Doberacan was undeniably the strongest power on the continent—aggressive to the core.

For now, they were focused on internal stability due to the Khan’s health issues. But once the succession concluded, their blades would turn outward.

The king and nobles feared the day those blades pointed toward Liorrsa.

As everyone simmered in thought, a young minister stepped forward. The king’s gaze fell upon him.

“You have something to say?”

“Your Majesty is correct. We must not refuse without cause. However—neither must we reject it outright.”

“What do you mean?”

Under the king’s testy glare, the minister chose his words with care.

“There is a better method than searching for a justification to refuse.”

“…”

“His Highness the Crown Prince mentioned a political marriage with Prince Giovanni.”

“That’s why we’ve gathered. Why repeat what we know?”

“But he did not specify with whom.”

“…Hm?”

The king’s irritated eyes widened suddenly. The minister nodded vigorously, as if to say Exactly that.

“We don’t necessarily have to put forward Princess Laratou.”

The king’s long-warped expression brightened for the first time.

“What’s the method? You must have one in mind.”

“Yes. If the empire wants a royal marriage, we can give them one—just with a new princess.”

“What do you mean? A new princess? And for the record, I’ve fathered no other children besides Laratou. I don’t have any secret children hidden among the commoners!”

Assuming the remark implied an illegitimate child, the king quickly clarified. Unbothered, the minister continued with a pleasant smile.

“Your Majesty, have you studied the kingdom’s old law codes?”

The king said nothing. His lack of academic enthusiasm was well known.

The minister continued, unsurprised.

“Statute 259—the Procedure for Bestowing Princess Rank.”

“The procedure for… appointing a princess?”

“Yes. In the past, when the kingdom was weak, the royal family would sometimes bestow the title of princess upon daughters of noble houses to strengthen alliances. It is the law covering that practice.”

“Heh! So that option exists!”

Muttering to himself, the king brightened.
Yes, they could simply create another princess.

“And who would be suitable?”

As he looked over the nobles, those with daughters instinctively avoided his gaze. The king’s eyebrows twitched irritably again.

Just as his expression grew cold, Hubert Lorenst—who alone remained calm—met the king’s eyes.

A sudden gleam appeared in the king’s gaze.

Hubert, unlike the others, had no daughter of his own—thus he hadn’t flinched earlier. Now his shoulders stiffened.

“Count Lorenst.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Who do you think would be suitable?”

He was being asked for a recommendation.

Hubert closed his eyes briefly, then opened them—his composed gaze meeting the king’s.

“I’ve heard the Empire’s 5th prince is a barbarian hardened on the battlefield.”

“That is correct.”

“If his spirit is formidable, then the lady chosen must be one who matches him.”

“That makes sense. And who?”

“I have heard rumors that the young lady of House Demestia is quite the formidable woman.”

Several ministers made sour faces.

Calling her “formidable” was putting it kindly—she acted entirely on impulse, a wild troublemaker.

Her father, Viscount Demestia, had been desperately searching for someone—anyone—to marry her off to.

It was a clever suggestion, but the viscount did not see it as such.

“That is impossible!”

The viscount at the far end exclaimed in horror.

He had sent matchmakers everywhere, but never—not in his worst nightmares—would he send his daughter to marry a barbarian prince.

The king’s slanted gaze turned icy.

“What do you mean impossible, Viscount?”

He reacted like an eagle ruffling its feathers to protect its chick.

Sweating profusely, the viscount struggled. He couldn’t marry his daughter off to a barbarian… but offending the king was equally dangerous.

Then a convenient excuse came to him. Bowing deeply, he confessed:

“It is true my daughter is bold… but her unpredictability is beyond even a father’s control. I believe Your Majesty is aware of the recent incident involving the young lord of House Thorne’s broken nose.”

“Ah, yes. I know of that absurd event. Don’t tell me…”

“Embarrassingly, it was my daughter’s doing.”

His face flushed red. Admitting his own daughter’s faults was humiliating.

Still better than having her life end by marrying the 5th prince.

Grinding his teeth, the viscount shot Hubert a discreet glare, then suddenly brightened—an idea hitting him—and he looked toward the king.

“Ah yes, now that I recall—there is also a suitable young lady in the Count’s household, is there not?”

This time, Hubert’s eyes flew wide open.