Chapter 44
44
"Maria, do you doubt me?"
Gunther looked at Maria with a wronged expression. He himself was proof of his obsession with her, yet now she was questioning the Winter Rite. Really, it wasn't something anyone could pick at.
"That was work. Performing the Winter Rite, hearing the Archwitch's divination, and spending the night together, it's a sacred Ritual."
"Sacred Ritual? It seemed like a convenient excuse to me."
"Convenient excuse?"
"A rationalization for a chance to enjoy other women officially."
He still couldn't forget it. Gunther kissing Samantha as if to show off. Even the sight of his back as he headed to the bedroom with her affectionately was still vivid in his mind.
"How can I trust a man who says he only wants me, but thinks it's okay to sleep with other women because it's work?"
Even Henry at least felt sorry for me when he first cheated with Laurent. But Gunther was confident. In the future, when the Winter Rite returned, he would abandon his woman and officially cheat with her.
"So, the conclusion is..."
Maria accepted that Gunther had saved her life and wanted her for ten years. But liking and trusting him as a man was entirely her responsibility.
"I can't trust men. So, it's better for us to keep a reasonable distance."
That was the way to avoid getting hurt by men anymore. In addition, Maria told Gunther that she would do her best to help Helland develop and would try to be helpful by his side.
"Hey, with that Archwitch...!"
Gunther burst into anger. He hadn't spent the night with Samantha this time. But he was angry and annoyed that he had to make excuses to Maria.
"It was a custom I had to perform as Great King."
"Is that so?"
Maria was silent for a while. So, even if she became his woman, he would continue that awful custom? Then how about explaining it this way?
"Gunther, what if your wife spent the night with a wizard due to custom? Would you still laugh it off and not care?"
"!?"
Gunther's lips only twitched at Maria's retort, and he couldn't say anything more. Rather, he imagined it as she said. Maria kissing another handsome man and mixing bodies hotly. Maria moaning in ecstasy and a man freely devouring her. Soon, Gunther shook his head violently. Even imagining it felt like a hot fireball was rising from his chest.
"I was going to abolish the custom anyway."
He had realized this time that he had only been played by the Witches' tricks, so there was no need to perform the Ritual anymore. Maria listened to Gunther's words seriously and approached him.
"We have a ten-year gap. Let's get to know each other from now on."
"Okay."
It seemed that Maria's heart was now relieved. When Gunther urgently reached out to hug Maria, she stepped back.
"Don't rush. I won't consider you my man until I have faith in Gunther. Of course, no sex either."
Then Gunther, angry, threw things and huffed and puffed. How could Maria not understand his sincerity? Where in the world was there a crazy bastard who only looked at one woman for ten years? That alone was proof enough. She must be trying to weigh him.
"I hate things like this!"
Maria shouted at Gunther. A man who throws things violently like that when things don't go his way. An autocratic man who doesn't respect the other person's wishes at all. Maria moved away from him and headed towards the window. She was also angry at Gunther's rough behavior, heaving her chest and suppressing her anger. Gunther was startled by the sight.
'What am I doing in front of Maria? This damn habit.'
Why do I always have to act so uneducated? Gunther reproached himself and approached Maria, hugging her tightly from behind.
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
Gunther murmured, burying his face in Maria's neck. Soon, she burst into tears. The sweet confession intersected with Henry's demand for a divorce. She never wanted to suffer such a cruel thing again. Of course, she didn't hate Gunther. Rather, she liked him a lot. But she needed courage to accept him as a man and even go as far as love.
"I understand everything you said..."
Gunther hesitated.
"Don't make me wait too long."
* * *
Maria came up to the Stone Tower with Nora. When she told Ero to come with them, he said that Solskjaer was leaving for Landes and he had to go with him, so he was busy preparing.
"Now, only happy things are left, right?"
Nora hummed and asked subtly. But Maria couldn't answer easily. There was still a lot to do to find perfect peace.
"We have to make Helland a strong country."
"Isn't it already strong? It has a lot of money and is good at fighting, so that's enough. How much stronger does it have to be?"
"That's not enough. We have to be able to exert diplomatic power."
"Huh?"
There are many countries on the continent, and there are large and small alliances. Just having a lot of money doesn't mean you're treated like a country. Even a slightly smaller country with a long history is not diplomatically excluded. How long are we going to remain a country that makes a living from usury? We have to trade fairly with foreign countries and become a productive country.
"Maria can become Queen Consort and make it happen, right?"
"Yes?"
Nora said simply and clearly.
"Becoming Queen Consort... Honestly, I can't trust men."
Maria told Nora honestly. There was no reason to hide her feelings from her, and Nora had already seen through her heart. She was afraid of whether she, who had been abandoned by her ex-husband and didn't believe in love, could truly love someone again.
However, it was not right to use Gunther without love. It might have been possible when she didn't know about her relationship with him, but now the situation was different. Gunther Paisley was a man who shouldn't be treated like a pushover by anyone.
"You don't have to worry."
Nora fully understood what Maria was worried about. Everything was explained by the title 'Deposed Empress, Maria'.
"Yes? What do you mean?"
"You're worried about the Great King sleeping with that Witch, right? Are you worried that it will happen again in the future?"
Nora surprised Maria with her unexpected words.
"..."
"Let's go, I'll show you something."
Nora took Maria's hand and went down the Stone Tower. It was wiser to show her once than to say it a hundred times. After walking for an hour to a very remote place in the Royal Palace, a place appeared that was quite different from the atmosphere of the splendid Royal Palace. It was hard to believe that there was such a gloomy place in the same location.
'It's the execution ground.'
In any palace, there is yin and yang, so behind the splendid main building, there are prisons and execution grounds. Then a stench stung her nose. And Maria saw the head of a woman hanging on a long pole.
"Oh my god!"
Recognizing her face, Maria covered her mouth with both hands.
'The Archwitch!'
Not only that, but the bodies of Witches covered in rags were lined up in a row.
"The Great King ordered them all to be killed. The guys who tried to kill Maria were related to the Witches."
That's why he said he wouldn't perform the Winter Rite in the future.
"Don't doubt the Great King."
* * *
After returning from the desert, a mountain of unfinished work piled up. Since it was mostly ledgers related to money, it was impossible to do it carelessly. Above all, it was almost impossible to do it alone. Just in time, Solskjaer reminded him of a presence he had temporarily forgotten.
[Isn't there a man who is Maria's cousin?]
Aiden, who was talented but had been put on hold for a while because he liked Maria, came to mind.
[Correct his habits well and use him.]
[It would be good if he was corrected well, but it would be a problem if he only had a head and no sense.]
In an instant, various thoughts crossed Gunther's mind.
A few days later, Gunther called Aiden to his office to simultaneously coax and threaten him. Aiden felt suffocated by Gunther's gaze, which only glared at him menacingly after calling him in. He was a presence that made people feel exhausted just by facing him.
"Do you like Maria? No, do you want to remarry her?"
"Yes?"
Aiden looked at Gunther with a half-dazed face and slowly began to relax his hardened expression.
"She's nothing more than a cousin."
He knew what he had to do to keep himself and Elisabeth safe. Also, after seeing Gunther's gaze towards Maria before, he had given up early on.
"Are you sure?"
"Great King, I have something else that is most important to me."
"What is it?"
"No matter how much I like a woman, she is not more precious than my daughter. I only have one wish: to settle down in Helland with Elisabeth and live well."
Aiden's voice was very serious. It was true that he had liked Maria for a while, but he knew that she could not be his person.
"Okay, I'll have you work as my aide from today."
Aiden was quick-witted and had a clear head, but he was not overly greedy. He knew that people of this type would not easily betray him if he recognized their abilities and gave them reasonable compensation for them. So, he chose him as his aide without hesitation. Above all, he was currently the most educated and administratively skilled person among the immigrants in Helland. Apart from Maria, he was a talent that was too good to miss.
"Yes...? Thank you, Great King."
"I'll have you stay in the Royal Palace. You have to come running whenever I call you. And you'll have a lot of work to do."
"I will serve the Great King with all my heart, no, with all my best."
"But you know."
Gunther scratched his head with his index finger and hesitated. It wasn't that he was trying to show off, but he wanted someone to know about his decision.
"I will not forget the grace that the Great King has bestowed upon me. And I will definitely tell Maria."
"People with good heads are different."
Gunther smiled contentedly.