Chapter 25
25. Requiem (5)
“What did you say?”
Postpone the wedding? What on earth was he talking about? Did he believe that was even possible?
“The wedding cannot proceed until the God of Nauk has purified all their sins. If you disregard the will of God, a great disaster will surely follow.”
“Are you even listening to yourself?”
Liene clenched her fist and retorted. The Cardinal glanced at Liene's fist. Still, he said what he had to say.
“Princess, you must understand the strength of God's will.”
“It is Milode who is using the name of God to insult the Royal Palace.”
At the calm sarcasm, the Cardinal huffed.
“I am God's representative and speak His words, Daughter of Arsak.”
“What exactly did God say? Did he appear in your dreams and tell you to disrupt my wedding?”
“Hmph…! How dare you be so irreverent before God? Now I see that the trials of Nauk are a revelation from God to punish the Daughter of Arsak!”
In the past, the Cardinal would not have dared to say such things. But something was off now. He felt cornered and desperate. Liene sensed that Kleinfelter was pushing the Cardinal to somehow prevent her marriage to Lord Tiwakan. That was why he was talking about the wedding date instead of the stairs being repaired.
“Watch your mouth, Cardinal. This is not a temple, but the Royal Palace.”
Liene, who had maintained a calm face despite clenching her fists, could no longer hold back her anger.
“The Royal Palace is governed by secular law. I have the right to punish those who insult the royal family by cutting off their tongues.”
“Y-you still cannot proceed with the wedding without God's permission…”
That was as far as the Cardinal got.
“Too late.”
Bang! The door to the reception room slammed open with a loud noise. Black was entering, pushing the doors open with both hands.
* * *
“Th-th-that…”
The Cardinal's face turned pale yellow.
“Th-th-that, h-how can a m-mercenary enter the reception room as he pleases…”
Liene almost sighed. Come to think of it, she was surprised the Cardinal hadn't noticed sooner. Kleinfelter must have been pushing him, making up nonsense about how a mercenary couldn't enter the reception room.
“Welcome, Lord Tiwakan. Come here.”
Instead of kindly correcting the Cardinal's mistaken beliefs, Liene called Black to her side. This was to announce that he was currently the fiancé of the royal family and the new head of the Arsak Guardian Knights. Black quickly understood Liene's intentions. Without a word, he sat next to Liene on the seat of honor. Because he said nothing, it felt all the more natural.
“Where were we? Ah, you said God was trying to disrupt my wedding. So, until when exactly should I postpone it?”
“Th-that…”
The Cardinal, who had been speaking so confidently, stopped and rolled his eyes around. He couldn't even glance at Black sitting next to Liene. …The effect is good. Liene smiled wryly without realizing it. It was satisfying to see the Cardinal squirm, but she was also sick of the obvious change in attitude. It meant that she looked so weak and easy to take advantage of.
“So, until God a-approves of the Princess's marriage partner…”
“How will I know if God approves?”
“W-well, He will speak through me, His representative…”
“So, you're saying the problem is that mouth.”
“Ugh… Hup?”
The Cardinal gasped. Black tapped the armrest of the chair with his finger, and the Cardinal reflexively looked up. When their eyes met, he froze.
“I'll give you a choice. You can sell me that mouth, or I can open it for you.”
“……”
Whether he didn't understand, or was shocked by the complete lack of respect shown to a Cardinal, his jaw seemed to be frozen.
“'Open' must be too polite a word. Let me rephrase. You can open that mouth yourself, or I can tear it open.”
“Wh-what kind of!”
The Cardinal finally spoke. His voice was loud enough to echo through the reception room. But he couldn't say anything more. Black tapped the armrest again.
“Quiet.”
“……?”
“Don't be rude. Before royalty.”
“…….”
“Just choose. Opening, or tearing.”
“…….”
His jaw wasn't really frozen. He had just become unable to speak. Because he was afraid of the low voice that resonated through the space.
“If you don't choose, I will.”
Tap. Black tapped the armrest as if counting. Tap. Two. Tap. The moment the third sound was heard, the Cardinal squeezed out a voice.
“Y-you can't do this. You can't do this to God's representative…!”
But that was his last act of defiance. As Black's gesture stopped with a tap, the doors to the reception room slammed shut as if on cue.
“Ugh! This can't be happening!”
The Cardinal and his entourage hurriedly turned around, but that didn't make the closed doors open again.
“Princess! Please open the door!”
Liene was the only one the Cardinal could cling to. He couldn't reason with a barbarian, but Liene was different. The ruler of Nauk could not disregard someone created by the God of Nauk himself.
“Princess!”
“I will open them if you tell me to.”
Black spoke slowly in his usual emotionless voice. It was impossible to know what he was thinking, but at least one thing was clear. Liene was the only one who could control the leader of Tiwakan.
“…Thank you for saying that. But since we are still in the middle of a conversation, it would be good to keep them closed until we finish.”
Liene also realized that. To be precise, she knew that Black was trying to show that side of himself to the Cardinal. Now, as long as Tiwakan was present, the Cardinal would no longer be able to raise his voice at Liene, invoking God as he had done before. No, it was more than that. He was now in a situation where he needed Liene's protection to get out of here safely. The leader of Tiwakan would never open the door unless Liene asked him to.
“Then let's continue our conversation. Why do you say the wedding should be delayed?”
“…….”
The Cardinal's face was as stiff as lead. The words that the wedding should be postponed because God would not tolerate an impure being were never spoken again. * * * The conversation ended smoothly. The Cardinal became a completely different person, obediently nodding and leaving. Of course, it wasn't free. Black generously offered to pay for all the costs of repairing the temple stairs. With that, the wedding vows and ceremony that the Cardinal had to perform were all set. The interrupted funeral was to be completed this evening in the chapel of Nauk Castle. The task of moving the coffins fell to the Tiwakan mercenaries. With this, the Cardinal could never again say that Tiwakan was an impure being that God would not tolerate. Impure beings could not carry coffins, and if that were the case, the corpses would rot inside the temple until the stairs were repaired. It was Liene's first time negotiating and getting everything she wanted without making any concessions, so she was a bit dazed.
“I didn't expect this.”
After the Cardinal and his entourage fled, only Liene and Black remained in the reception room.
“I didn't know the Cardinal was such a coward.”
Liene's wry smile reflected the many things she had had to endure.
“I'm glad you're pleased with the result.”
She didn't know if she could just say she was pleased with this. She felt like she should use a more impressive expression.
“But you spent too much money.”
Liene added quietly, looking at Black. It had been bothering her.
“You didn't have to pay for all of it. Even if you hadn't, the Cardinal wouldn't have kept insisting on postponing the wedding.”
“I have enough to spend as I please, so it's fine.”
“Still.”
It was too much money to say so lightly.
“Would it be rude of me to tell you not to worry about money in the future?”
Liene thought for a moment before answering.
“……No.”
Nauk's financial difficulties were too old a story to be proud of. She didn't know how much longer they could last. She could only get through each day by praying to God that it would rain more this year.
“I don't think so.”
“Then don't worry.”
She was amazed at how easily he said it. That's why she felt like she was going to be mistaken. That he was just a good person. Like a reliable supporter who would solve anything. What was he trying to gain from this marriage that he was willing to take on so much loss?
“…If that's okay with you.”
Liene hid her true feelings and nodded. In any case, once Weroz returned, Black's hidden intentions would be revealed. Until then... wouldn't it be alright to cherish this reassuring feeling, just a little? It wouldn't be long.
“Thank you, Lord Tiwakan. The funeral and the wedding were both resolved smoothly thanks to Lord Tiwakan.”
“……”
Liene greeted Black. Her words of gratitude were sincere. However, instead of accepting the greeting, Black remained silent and stared intently at Liene.
“Why… are you doing that?”
“I’m curious.”
“About what?”
“No, I should rephrase that. I want to know if you’re being sincere.”
Was my greeting insufficient?
“I am very grateful. I’m not just saying it for show.”
“I’m not talking about that, but about the wedding date.”
“Is there a problem with the wedding date?”
“Is it Princess’s true desire not to postpone it?”
“Well, of course... Ah.”
Liene realized the meaning behind Black's words a beat late. Somewhere along the line, she had taken her marriage to Black for granted. Black scrutinized Liene, who had stopped speaking and opened her mouth, as if he were searching for fragments of lies hidden on her face.
“Of course?”
“Of course… that’s what I meant.”
“……”
Black paused briefly at Liene's answer, then stretched his lips sideways. Ah... This time, it was Liene's turn to freeze. That was... a smile. It was a subtle change, but it felt enormous to Liene. I've never seen it before. That expression.
“The money wasn’t wasted, then.”
Black said with a face from which the smile slowly disappeared. That man says such things while smiling. It sounded like he was that happy about his marriage to her, and Liene felt strange. I might be mistaken. That he's just a good person. That he just likes me. The wedding was now nine days away. * * *
“Have you ever seen such a fool!”
Bang! Lyndon Kleinfelter, unable to contain his anger, slammed his fist on the table. The ink bottle shook, spilling ink in a surge. Laffite glanced at the staining table, but that was all. Eventually, Lyndon Kleinfelter gritted his teeth and righted the fallen ink bottle.
“He can’t even handle the simple task of postponing the wedding? And he holds the position of Cardinal with that kind of ability?”
Creak! Lyndon Kleinfelter shoved the ink-soaked table away and paced around the room.
“This won’t do. I’ll have to find someone else useful.”
The absurd idea of replacing the Cardinal was spoken without a second thought. Laffite, who had been lost in thought with a frown, suddenly raised his head.
“What did you say, Uncle?”
“He’s no good. He’s already been compromised. We won’t be able to use him for anything in the future.”
“How are you going to replace the Cardinal?”
“What are you talking about? Do you think our family can’t even do that much?”
The Cardinal of Nauk was a lifetime position. Only when one died was the next Cardinal selected. What Lyndon Kleinfelter was saying now meant that he would kill the current Cardinal, and it also meant that he had done the same thing sometime in the past.
