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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Betrothal Ceremony
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At the same time Chloe was feeling relieved that her marriage to Calius was confirmed.
In Calius’s rented mansion, his men had gathered in the dining hall, pouring out their worries and complaints.
“Marriage, all of a sudden? To a woman from Arental, and a princess at that?”
“What in the world is our lord thinking?”
“Those Arental bastards despise us, commoner and noble alike...”
“The Idellian Imperial Family must be plotting something. There’s no way they’d plan anything good for us. Could our lord have been threatened without our knowledge?”
The men didn’t believe that Calius had been the one to propose to Chloe.
And why would they? To the people of Ronheim, Arental was an invading nation, and the Idellian Imperial Family was their sworn enemy.
No one thought Calius would commit such a mad act as to choose a bride from the family of his enemy.
Their lord must have some untold reason.
“Whatever it is, the Idellian Imperial Family must have forced, coerced, or threatened our lord into marrying the princess for some nefarious purpose.”
“Aren't all three of those the same thing?”
“I'm just saying there's no other possibility.”
Calius's men suspected that their lord, who would do anything for Ronheim, was once again about to make a great sacrifice all by himself.
Another man interjected into the conversation between the two leading the discussion.
“Empress Cavalla might have bewitched our lord with her sorcery.”
At the mention of Cavalla, the men’s expressions collectively soured.
They shuddered as if the very thought of her was repulsive.
“Did you see how she looks younger than her own son? I heard she's nearly sixty, but she doesn't look a day over twenty.”
“I hear she uses sorcery to maintain her youth. Isn't that a bit creepy?”
“Rumor has it she bewitched the Emperor, too.”
“They say the former empress started losing her mind right after the new empress appeared, didn't they?”
After a moment of muttering, however, the men shook their heads, dismissing the hypothesis that Calius could have fallen victim to sorcery.
“Still, sorcery is ineffective against our lord, so even if the Empress tried something, it wouldn't have worked.”
“That's true.”
Calius had inherited the special blood of a Ronheim Saintess.
The blood of healing and purification, passed down from his mother, flowed through his veins.
It was faint, but it still gave him resistance to most poisons and sorcery.
“It must be a threat.”
At someone's murmur, everyone nodded in unison.
Ever since Ronheim had been subjugated by Arental, the Idellian Imperial Family had continuously made unreasonable demands of Calius.
The damage to Ronheim had been immense.
Ronheim, already struggling with a harsh environment, food shortages, and material poverty, had been slapped with excessive taxes, plunging it into a financial crisis that had lasted for over a decade.
The people of Ronheim were surviving by hunting and even digging through the frozen ground to eat tree roots.
Had it not been for the weed-like resilience of the Ronheim people, who could take root even on barren rock, they would never have endured.
Not only that, but the Idellian Imperial Family also conscripted troops from Ronheim for every border dispute.
Ronheim, weakened by a prolonged financial downturn, had no proper soldiers to spare.
As a result, Calius and his men had to be deployed directly to the front lines.
Their current visit to the capital was to report the results of a battle after being deployed to defend the border on the Emperor's orders.
Given these circumstances, it was no wonder his men were hostile toward the marriage between Calius and Chloe, the Emperor's daughter.
But what could they do?
Ronheim lacked the power to defy the tyranny of the Idellian Imperial Family.
“Damn it.”
It can't be stopped.
All they could do was submit.
The people of a powerless nation are bound to suffer.
The faces of the men muttering curses grew grim.
Just then, a man with short-cropped red hair stormed into the dining hall where they were gathered.
“So this is where you all were!”
He had a small ring piercing the end of his left eyebrow, giving him a very fierce impression.
“Did you hear? That princess—Cluer or Chloe or whatever her name is—threw away the gift our lord sent!”
The men all turned to look at him.
“What, Alex? Who said that?”
Alex sullenly recounted what had happened at the imperial palace, where he had accompanied Calius and Brentian to finalize the marriage negotiations.
“The princess's maids were gossiping and laughing at us!”
He ground his teeth, recalling the mocking stares he had received at the palace today.
“This is why I didn't want to go!”
Knowing they would not be treated well at the imperial palace, Calius’s men avoided going there.
So, whenever a trip to the palace was necessary, everyone except his aide, Brentian, would draw lots to decide who would accompany Calius. Today, Alex had been the one chosen.
“From what I heard, the princess slammed the gift our lord sent onto the floor, saying, 'Are you trying to make a fool of me with this pathetic gift?' Even if she didn't like it, isn't that taking disrespect for our lord too far?”
Alex stomped his foot on the innocent wooden floor, as if he could hardly contain his fury.
At his words, the faces of everyone in the dining hall hardened.
The men believed Chloe had deliberately instructed her maids to insult Calius.
Completely unaware of Chloe's situation, they couldn't imagine that maids who neither respected nor feared their mistress would so brazenly distort her intentions and spread such words.
How could they possibly guess that a legitimate princess of the Idellian Imperial Family was being treated so poorly?
“Damn it, how dare she insult our lord?”
“Next time we go to the palace, I'm going. Let's see that high-and-mighty princess's face for myself.”
“I'm going too.”
“Me too, me too!”
That day, the animosity toward Chloe among Calius's men swelled to a level rivaling their hatred for Empress Cavalla.
***
“Haaa...”
I let out a small sigh as I looked at my reflection in the mirror.
The me in the mirror wore an awkward, stiff expression.
It was because of the dangling ornaments all over my body, the ornate and heavy dress, and the thick makeup that felt like a mask—all of it was terribly uncomfortable.
Today was the betrothal ceremony, where the engaged couple would meet in person and promise to marry before witnesses.
Once both parties verbally expressed their consent to the marriage, it would be finalized.
This meant that if either one of them did not agree, the marriage could be called off on the spot.
*Of course, for a member of the imperial family, the betrothal ceremony is just a formality, so that would never happen.*
An imperial descendant, who marries whomever the emperor chooses based on political interests, has no right to refuse in the first place.
Still, to go through with the procedure, I had to meet Calius as the ‘beloved princess of the imperial family’.
*Cavalla wants to appear to the public as if she cherishes me like her own daughter, after all.*
That was why, for the first time in my life, I was dressed in such a lavish and awkward manner.
I gazed at the stranger in the mirror and steeled my heart.
*It's just a formality. All I have to do is say I agree to the marriage in front of the Emperor. Then, it's goodbye to this wretched palace forever.*
It was a simple task, but the thought of standing before people was overwhelming.
For me, who had lived confined to my quarters, attending an official event like this was a strange and difficult ordeal.
The day I went to the party to meet Calius was an exception.
I had been so desperate and pressed for time that day, I didn't have a moment to feel overwhelmed.
*Besides, I wanted to seem like a madwoman, so I had nothing to lose.*
But today was different.
*I want to make a good impression on Calius and his people.*
I hoped this marriage wouldn't be as painful and lonely as the one in my past life.
I wanted to live well in Ronheim.
To do that, it would be best to show Calius's party a good side of me.
I was trembling like a young lady about to make her debut.
Just then, I heard a welcome voice.
“Nervous?”
“Kal!”
Outside, Kal was leaning on the windowsill, looking at me with a playful expression.
“I had a feeling you'd be like this, so I came to check on you.”
My face lit up, and I went over to him.
“Do something. I feel like my legs are about to give out.”
Kal chuckled.
“You want to impress Marquis Rodrian that badly?”
“It's not so much that...”
*I just hope this married life won't be dreadful.*
As I swallowed those words and smiled bitterly, Kal came closer and touched his forehead to mine.
“Don't tremble so much. Every blizzard comes to an end.”
It was a blessing, a promise that the difficult times would pass and good things would take their place.
“Okay.”
His gentle warmth seeped powerfully into my heart.
