Translator: Nox

Chapter 70

70. Relief

It would be a lie to say she wasn't worried about what Mrs. Hinton might be thinking.

“I am worried. But I don’t deserve to be.”

“How can you… how can you say such a thing…”

“I know what the late King… no, I shouldn’t use those words. I know what my late father did. And what I, who inherited that blood, am doing. I was too afraid to confess what my late father had done to that man and ask for forgiveness myself. But… but I think there will come a day when that man will know everything about the past involving the Seven Families.”

“……”

Mrs. Hinton’s face hardened as she listened to Liene’s words.

“At that time, I will probably pay the proper price for my sins. So, worrying about you is meaningless.”

“Are you saying… that it doesn’t matter who kills you since you’re going to die anyway?”

“That’s not what I meant. I just… I mean, there’s no need to struggle so hard to protect my life.”

I just hope this time can be as long as possible. Time to get married safely, to hand over the reins of power safely, to build a home safely, to be happy safely.

“Then think about what you’re going to do. Talk to Sectarian Klima, too. If you stay in the castle, I’d like you to be the Head Maid of Nauk.”

And I hope that the hatred for that man ends with hating me. Because that man was just a little boy back then. As you said, Mrs. Hinton, a child of that age can’t do anything against an adult.

“That’s… that’s strange.”

Klima, who had swallowed the remaining cookie, dusted the crumbs from his mouth and approached.

“What’s strange?”

“I know. Everything.”

“Yes?”

Klima blinked his gentle brown eyes as he looked at Liene.

“Prince Fernand asked me… and I told him everything.”

“Everything… what did you say?”

Liene turned around abruptly without realizing it. Klima flinched at the unexpected rough movement.

“Everything I told you, Princess…”

“What?”

Liene’s green eyes widened as much as they could.

“Then that man… he knows everything…? No, when was this?”

“Yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

Yesterday. That was when he suddenly became quiet and cold.

-Because there’s no way you actually enjoyed anything I forced you to do for my own pleasure.

He turned away when I told him not to, when he was coldly pushing me away.

-I was desperate. Because our feelings might not be the same.

“Yesterday… so yesterday… he found out what the Arsak Family did… that kind of…”

“No.”

Klima shook his head. Sweet cookie crumbs scattered every time his gentle face shook.

“He already knew. Yesterday, he knew that I told you everything I knew.”

“He already knew? How… how…!”

Liene staggered in shock. Mrs. Hinton, who was next to her, got up in a daze and grabbed Liene, as if she was about to fall.

“How… how could he? How? Even though the late King did such a thing? How could he to me…”

“Please… calm down first.”

“How could he to me…”

-I’ve forgotten the past. I just want a home.

Liene said to Mrs. Hinton, groping with wide eyes. It didn’t really matter who she was talking to. It was just that Mrs. Hinton was in front of her right now.

“That man… he knew everything. From the beginning. But he told me he had forgotten everything… that he was glad I had never been taken from him…”

And he said.

-Do what you want, Princess.

“I guess he didn’t like that… he was afraid that I might be afraid of him… that I might be forced to accept him because I didn’t know what he would do to me…”

When I told him that wasn’t the case, he told me to cry more. He told me to cry more, as if I didn’t know how to cry. That I would be able to sleep if I did. Tears welled up in her widened eyes.

-What’s important to me is that you’re the one touching those wounds, and I don’t hurt anymore.

Now I understood the full meaning of those words.

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying. Should I call someone?”

“……No.”

Liene looked at Mrs. Hinton with tearful eyes and smiled brightly.

“Thank you, Mrs. Hinton. And I’m sorry.”

“Out of the blue?”

Liene opened her arms and hugged Mrs. Hinton tightly. Mrs. Hinton was so shocked that she couldn’t even breathe.

“That man knew everything. He came to me knowing everything. I’m so sorry. And thank you.”

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying…”

Making Mrs. Hinton understand was a matter for later. Liene let go of Mrs. Hinton and turned to Klima. And she hugged him as tightly as she had hugged Mrs. Hinton, and then let him go.

“Thank you, Sectarian Klima. And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Thank you.”

“P-Princess… Princess… Prince…”

Klima’s entire face turned bright red, and he continued to stutter until Liene let him go.

“Both of you, please think carefully. What you want to do in the future. How you want to live.”

Liene turned around quickly after speaking. Liene, who had the hem of her skirt rolled up in both hands, revealed her ankles and ran down the stairs like she did when she was five years old. She wanted to cry a lot right now.

-When you want to cry, come to me and cry. Don’t waste it by crying alone.

So she had to go to him. * * * Black was on his way back from the empty mansion south of the river. Fermos was right. If they built proper walls, it would be perfect for a fortress. The location, the view, the terrain, everything was perfect.

“Then we’ll start construction on this side as soon as the temple stairs are finished. Are you going to cover all the costs this time, too?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… it’ll be quite an expense to build it properly.”

“It’s about time Alito Principality sent the gold.”

“Oh, is it already that time?”

Near Alito Principality, there was a gold mine that Black had taken ownership of in lieu of war reparations. Tiwakan was leasing the gold mining rights to the principality and taking half of the profits every year. Fermos was probably the only one on the continent who knew the exact scale of Tiwakan’s wealth. His wealth was scattered everywhere, and there were many large assets that could not be moved, such as land and mines. There was only one gold mine, but there were several iron and salt mines. Tiwakan earned an amount equivalent to the annual budget of a small principality just from the profits from the salt mines. Whether they were the winners or the losers, everyone suffered a great financial loss when they waged war. Only the mercenaries made money. Tiwakan, with the force of Black and the brains of Fermos, had diligently swept up the stray money flowing out of the continent over the past decade.

“There’s no way you didn’t know that.”

Black glanced at Fermos. Fermos shrugged his shoulders as if embarrassed.

“I can’t fool you, my lord. I was going to say that building a fortress is just the beginning. Nauk is a bottomless pit, my lord. As you know.”

“I know.”

“But you still intend to pour money into it.”

“I can earn money. It’s not like I have nothing.”

“Well, yes… well, your wealth is so large that it will be maintained. If we run short, I’ll run a trading company and work hard to make money.”

“The drought will end someday.”

“Yes?”

Fermos blinked his eyes because Black spoke so definitively.

“Do you know something?”

“It’s unnatural for a drought to last for 20 years. Unless the entire climate has changed, it doesn’t make sense that only Nauk is like this.”

“Well, yes, but…”

“I need people who have studied the climate. I’m thinking of bringing in scholars soon. If we know the cause of the drought, we’ll find a solution.”

“Ah, I see.”

Indeed, his Monarch had a broad vision. Even while entertaining the insane idea of feeding an entire kingdom, he had plans for the future.

"Lord, you've truly decided to settle down in this land. …But, if I may ask, didn't you say you were only planning to stay for a while when you came? When did you change your mind?"

Black glanced back at Fermos again. His subtly narrowed eyes made Fermos feel like he was being treated like an idiot, so he tilted his head.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I did then.”

It was a tone as if he were chewing on something. Fermos thought that was the only human side his Monarch revealed. It was a tone that came out when he didn't really want to respond, but his mouth opened on its own.

“I was going to leave after I made it mine.”

“Like the other mines.”

Only the ownership would have changed, and Nauk would have continued to function as it had even after he left. He, who wasn't particularly dissatisfied with his mercenary life, had planned to live as he had even after the marriage.

“But Princess Liene was in Nauk, and the Princess happened to be that kind of person… Well, that's how it happened.”

Fermos muttered to himself and nodded. While riding his horse, he suddenly looked around and said this.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea.”

“What?”

“Settling down, I mean. You would make a pretty good King.”

At those words, Black shook his head without a second thought.

“I have no intention of becoming King. Nauk already has a Monarch beyond compare.”

“Well, um… I admit that Princess Liene is a wonderful Monarch, but isn't the political situation in Nauk too precarious for her?”

“That’s what makes her great. And yet, she has maintained her rule until now.”

“That's because she's been squandering the royal treasury.”

“That’s what has protected the Princess’s rule. Nauk would not have accepted any other Monarch than Princess Liene.”

That was why Kleinfelter hadn't been able to seize power by force until now. Rebellion would have been simple. But he couldn't do it. The people of Nauk loved Liene, who hadn't yet had her coronation due to the opposition of the six families and was simply called Princess. The wealth Liene had spent had become such a solid foundation of support.

“Hmm… She certainly is an ideal Monarch. But the problem is that there are limits, isn't it? The Princess's wealth is almost gone now. Even if the Princess can't do anything, will people's support be as strong as it is now?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Fermos twitched his lips.

“You mean you’re going to take on that role now.”

“I can do it. That much. That’s my role.”

“……Well, if you say so.”

Fermos shrugged and turned his head forward. Black or Liene. In his eyes, there wasn't much difference. The act of pouring out what they had for others was the same, and that was something that not just any Monarch could do. Ah, maybe the intentions are a little different. The Princess did it for Nauk, but you would do it for the Princess. Seeing that, the two of them really met well. There couldn't be such an ideal couple. Anyway, if Black had decided on his role, that also meant that his role had been decided. This would also be interesting. Turning a small, failing country into a wealthy nation with two pretty good Monarchs. Fermos nodded to himself and changed the subject.

“Then all we have to do is finish the Grand Council. Kleinfelter will be taken care of for sure, so we can just put the remaining ones on a leash and tighten it as we go.”

“I’m looking forward to the Grand Council.”

Black had prepared a small device for the Grand Council. Fermos, who understood what Black was saying, grinned mischievously.

“I agree, Lord.”

As they talked, Nauk Castle was rapidly approaching. After passing the drawbridge, Black passed through the castle gate and headed to Masa, and met the person waiting for him.

“Lord Tiwakan!”