12 - Valentina's Paradise
“Of course, since you had nothing, you had nothing to offer. The easiest oath for a penniless beggar would be a vow to give away all his possessions. You have nothing to lose even if you fail.”
Duke Edered's sarcastic voice cut in. Valentina didn't particularly take issue with it. She knew that fact better than anyone else.
“But the Grand Duke's marriage at the time couldn't have been a card to be wasted carelessly, could it?”
Edered was already walking next to Valentina. A gaze that seemed to see right through her mind. Under the bright sunlight, she felt as if her deepest thoughts were being stripped bare. She felt nauseous, as if she were about to throw up.
“That's right. I was the most expensive card left in Regio Florida.”
“……”
“But I didn't waste that card; I invested it.”
“Not gambling?”
Valentina finally smiled as she turned to look at him, who was persistently provoking her. It was quite a talent to provoke someone so much by scratching at their insides.
“Gambling sometimes becomes a very successful investment. As you can see.”
Regio Florida was a sinking ship.
Even when the Holy Empire was established, Regio Florida, located in the center of the continent, was the most powerful and wealthy region. Thanks to the several bridges connecting the north and south, the exchange of people and intermediary trade were active, and goods and gold piled up in the warehouses. The artisans were full of pride, the women were beautiful and cultured, and the artists flourished with the support of nobles and merchants, blossoming into a splendid culture.
But thanks to its location, Florida suffered from numerous invasions from the surrounding areas. In particular, it was not easy to prevent the greed of Terra Lema, the Holy Empire's imperial state. Due to the misgovernment and defeats of the previous Grand Dukes, the territory gradually shrank, and tax revenue was only half of what it had been in its heyday.
During the regency of her mother, Grand Duchess Giulietta, Florida was driven to the brink of collapse. She was the Emperor's cousin and favored pro-imperial nobles. The pro-imperial faction insisted on merging with Terra Lema, and the traditional nobles fought endlessly, claiming the pro-imperial faction should be massacred.
Instead of trying to solve the problem, the Grand Duchess indulged in aesthetic hedonism and decadent love affairs. Strange ingredients, strong liquor, fancy clothes, precious metals, witty clowns, exotic beasts, overly emotional minstrels, love potions, and the like overflowed, and jousting tournaments were held almost every week.
In the meantime, the Grand Duchess committed a decisive accident, refusing the Emperor's call to battle twice during the war with the barbarians. The excuse was that there were no knights to send, but it was a clear act of defiance.
As a result, young Valentina was dragged to Terra Lema and forced to kneel with her mother before the vassals and the people. Once it was a terribly hot day, and once it was a rainy day. Princess Anna Angella's giggling could be heard. Leave them alone, they won't die from getting a little rain. Your Majesty, how about reclaiming the Florida territory while you're at it?
Valentina, who was kneeling, gritted her teeth and made a decision.
I need an alliance with a great lord with a strong military base. An alliance that will not break or waver.
To do that, I have to use myself as bait and form a marriage alliance.
With such a clear conclusion, she bit her lip until it bled.
And at the same moment, her mother seemed to have made the same decision.
“You said marriage with His Majesty, Mother?”
“Yes. Alexius sent an envoy to discuss a marriage proposal with you. It's been quite a while since he lost his second empress.”
Valentina was genuinely shocked. Is that crazy old man out of his mind?
“He's more shameless than I thought. His Majesty is 57 years old now.”
“So? Rejecting the Emperor's marriage proposal because he's old is crazy.”
Valentina thought her mother, who was saying such things, was the one who was crazy.
Her former fiancé, whom she had broken off with before, came to mind. It was absurd that her mother, who had broken off the engagement in a very rude manner because Duke Edered's bloodline was suspicious and he was sickly, was now pushing an old emperor who couldn't even move properly.
“I heard that His Majesty is shaking and can't even control his bowels.”
“Oh, do you believe that word for word? You know that Anna, that viper, spread that rumor. And Valentina, a man can't control his poop and pee, but he still knows how to pounce on a woman and plant his seed.”
“It seems that the story about not being able to control his bowels isn't entirely false.”
“Well, our poor Majesty's body doesn't listen to him very well due to the aftereffects of being hit in the head with a mace in battle. But his mind is clear, and as you know, his ability to swing his lower body is still there. You don't have to worry.”
Grand Duchess Giulietta finally confessed the real reason why she had accepted this absurd marriage.
“If you accept the marriage, he has agreed to cover up the disloyalty we committed. The survival of Florida depends on you.”
The crazy Grand Duchess, who had ignored the most important duty of a vassal, the duty to participate in war, had nonchalantly lumped that mistake together as 'our disloyalty.' No wonder. No matter how much of an emperor he was, there had to be a reason for pushing such a crazy marriage proposal on her, of all people.
“You sold me too cheaply.”
“You fool, don't you know this is all for you?”
“How is this for me? It's just cleaning up the mess you made, Mother.”
“If you become empress and have a son, the world will be yours from then on.”
“All I see is an ending where I take care of a bedridden old man and then get chased out by Anna Angella after becoming a young widow.”
The Grand Duchess coaxed her in an uncharacteristically affectionate voice.
“Honey, all you have to do is go and have a son. Then the Lema-Florida alliance will belong to that child, and Anna will be so jealous she'll die. When your son becomes emperor, you'll have a great life.”
Valentina, who had been listening to her mother's long-winded speech, interrupted.
“Mother, did you really think I would want to marry the Emperor?”
“What does it matter what you want? I'm the one who decides your marriage. I have no intention of handing over Florida's best jewel to just anyone. I'd rather lock you up in a convent.”
Giulietta sneered at her daughter mercilessly.
“If you really hate it that much, will you go to Johannes of Terra Technica? He sent an envoy saying he wanted to remarry you, even though he was exposed as a homosexual and jilted by the Princess? Or should I poke Nebulosa's bastard, who was exposed as a cuckoo and locked in a tower, about getting married again?”
“Either way, it's better than an old man who can't control his bowels. To have to get a son from such an old man, wasn't that something even you, Mother, who had a much younger and healthier husband, couldn't do until the end?”
You bitch. Her mother spat out a curse and then snapped sharply.
“Then go to Terra Technica right now and live every night in the cold wind, twisting your waist in solitary confinement. Even if he's a confirmed homosexual, there are rumors that he's tall and has a good foundation, so he'll be good to look at.”
Her old and shameless mother was disgusting. It wasn't particularly surprising, but that didn't mean she could tolerate it. No matter how sexually open Florida was, her mother's appearance, having completely let go of even shame, was terribly awful.
“You're probably infatuated with some handsome knight, aren't you? Of course, it's a natural instinct for a woman to be captivated by a young and beautiful man. But Edgar, that beggar, is out of the question. I'll take good care of him here and make him as pretty as possible, so you can take him with you and pamper him as much as you want when your husband dies.”
Did she know about her conversation with Edgar? Her head turned white with anger.
“Let's stop talking about this.”
“Yes. There's nothing more to say. You should shut up and prepare to enter the Imperial Palace. It would be best if you stayed in your room for the time being.”
That day, the Grand Duchess confined her daughter to the tower, and Sir William and the servant Edgar were banished from the castle. It was a winter that seemed to freeze even her breath.
And that night, Valentina escaped through the window with Pepe. Valentina, who had ridden her horse all night to follow the two, finally found Edgar in the Black Forest and hastily held a wedding ceremony.
The next day, Grand Duchess Valentina and the clown slept in until lunchtime with the door locked. The Grand Duchess, who broke down the door and entered, found a gold ring engraved with the initials of the two in the hand of her daughter, who was just getting up and stretching. The Grand Duchess slapped her daughter on the cheek and ordered all the accomplices to be beaten to death.
The priest Antonio, who had officiated the secret wedding, ran away to the inviolable archbishopric of Terra Lema, and the clown Pepe, who was a witness, was whipped until his back was peeled off. Fortunately, Pepe managed to escape while the Romani gypsy entertainers gathered and caused a riot by releasing animals, and he succeeded in fleeing to his hometown of Ora Shahara.
The marriage proposal with the old Emperor was thus suspended. Fortunately, there was no retaliation from the Emperor. Not long after, he lost consciousness and collapsed, and his only daughter, Princess Anna Angella, began to rule as regent.
Princess Anna, who had strongly opposed her father's third marriage, happily accepted the Grand Duchess's letter rejecting the marriage proposal.
On her nineteenth birthday, Valentina began her personal rule. The Grand Duchess, who did not want to give up power, held out in the Grand Council Chamber with her lovers, young knights. Valentina led the soldiers, broke down the door, and bound them all, forcing them to kneel. The Grand Duchess screamed, "I'll tell the Emperor to drag you down." Valentina personally took an ax in front of her and chopped off the heads of her lovers. When three heads had been severed, the Grand Duchess wept and surrendered.
Valentina confined the Grand Duchess to a separate palace. The Grand Duchess lived in a drunken stupor of alcohol, aphrodisiacs, and men, and died the following year. The cause of death was not disclosed, but rumors spread that she had died of exhaustion during an orgy.
And Valentina has not responded to any marriage proposals to this day.
