Chapter 10.2 – I Have Something To Ask
As a matter of fact, the reputation of Marquis Garth was slightly different between his own country and in other countries. In his homeland, he was famous for being an impeccable and perfect man, while in other countries, he was often referred to by a terrifying title, the Battlefield Killer. The royalties of each kingdom who saw Shuden at the Imperial Party for the first time would often be puzzled by the gap between rumors and reality. In the banquet hall, there was no other noble as perfect as Marquis Garth.
Nevertheless, fear remained for the ones who knew him as the Killer. In fact, beneath his polite manner, there lurked a murderous intent that was hard for someone to put their finger on. For a woman to casually call a man like that with a pet name! The princesses could only widen their eyes as the ladies whispered frantically to each other.
“The Marquis definitely just called her ‘wife’, right?”
“When on earth did they get married… When we attended the banquet last time, he was definitely still single.”
“I know right. When I return home, I’ll have to ask my father.”
“By the way, it would have been better if I knew that he was Marquis Garth. Then I would’ve at least greeted him.”
But as thoughts of romance wore off, the ladies’ chatter turned to more realistic assessments.
“We can claim that we didn’t know it was him, but Princess Cassia….”
“My knight told me earlier that since the beginning, Princess Cassia tried to start a one-sided dispute. What would she do if the Marchioness was upset?”
“She shouldn’t have been so prideful.”
The gossip between the ladies and the princesses could be heard clearly. Cassia clenched her fist. Her elegant hands went pale with humiliation.
At times like this, if there was a princess from a kingdom weaker than hers, she would have them on her side. Unfortunately for Cassia, there were only princesses from a homeland that were equal to her own. The Ghel Empire made sure that the powers of each country were taken into account when scheduling the royalties’ visit, all because of an incident at the Imperial Palace a few years ago.
A high-standing prince, who was from a wealthy kingdom, persistently harassed the prince of a small kingdom. The afflicted prince eventually tried to commit suicide in the garden, but barely failed in his attempt and lived. Since then, the Ghel Empire had set schedules by grouping royalties of similar national power to prevent any such unforeseen incidents.
Because of that, all the people who visited the temple today were princesses from kingdoms that were of a similar status to Cassia’s. They didn’t have the need to oblige Cassia. Above all, she had a bad reputation for choosing people based on status and ranking.
The other ladies’ and princesses’ gazes remained grim, as they had been directly or indirectly been mistreated by Cassia at least once. However, their attention wasn’t held for long, and they soon became disinterested in her. Right now, the greatest spotlight was on the Marchioness who seemed to have appeared from nowhere.
The Marchioness, who appeared in the temple and not elsewhere, would be a ripple that would affect the society in the future.
***
Shuden and Valia strolled together in the beautiful backyard of the temple, away from other human presence.
Shuden was a head taller than Valia. It was natural that the distance of their strides would also be different. When Valia worked for the Imperial Family in the past, she often had to walk with male knights, who had much better physique than her, and would frequently run out of breath.
Now however, she felt no such distress when walking. She initially thought that the blessing of happiness imparted by the Great Holy Priest improved her stamina, but when she observed closer, she noticed that Shuden was walking slowly. She belatedly realized that he was matching her pace.
Had they been in an ordinary relationship, been ordinary lovers, her heart would have been fluttering. But Valia had an entirely different thought.
‘So this was how he won women’s hearts and had them in the palm of his hand.’
What did he do again earlier? He appeared like a savior, called her his wife without hesitation, then proceeded to kiss the back of her hand with many people watching.
‘Did he also do that to his previous wife in the last life?’
Since Shuden behaved this way to Valia, he probably would have done even more with his other wife, not less. She had been a great beauty. Furthermore, going by the actions of the Great Holy Priest, it seemed that she accepted the unique blessing from the priest to attract people. Shuden must have been many times more affectionate to her than to Valia. And yet, he still fell in love with another woman. Valia tried to shake off his hand in vain.
Shuden looked down at her. “Is it uncomfortable?” he asked. He interpreted Valia’s wriggling hand as a sign that she was in pain.
“No!” Valia exclaimed aloud without realizing it, then gave a hasty cough. “Holding hands like this is a first for me, so it’s awkward.”
“That can’t be helped then. I will be the first and the last, so you have no choice but to get used to it.”
“What? Ah…yes…” she murmured. She barely managed to put out the fire in her cheeks. No matter how she looked at Shuden, this man really was no joke. She looked straight ahead as if nothing had happened, but quietly admitted that he was very handsome.
Shuden glanced over at Valia’s graceful profile. “You did well before. It looks like you don’t get nervous easily.”
Valia shook her head while smiling. “I get nervous easily by nature. It’s just that it was fine just now.”
In the past, Valia was mainly in charge of serving the female royalties, and therefore she often had the opportunity to serve the noble ladies and princesses. The ladies and princesses were more pure than she expected. Contrary to what was often said about them, they were neither jealousy-consumed lovers, nor were they malicious gossipers. They simply were busy living their lives. Most of the ladies who were watching Valia earlier were simply curious. Valia knew that, so she wasn’t intimidated.
However, the man who was standing right next to her was also the reason why she felt reassured, but Valia wasn’t so bold as to be able to say that out loud.
“Valia. I have something to ask,” Shuden said.
“Yes. Please speak,” she permitted.