Free Web NovelChapter 27: The Cursed One⁴
She sat elegantly on the sofa opposite, gazing at him coldly.
"What a bleak future awaits the North and the West; their lord will be a man who bows to the powerful and bullies the weak."
Was this her revenge? Was she taunting him for being the Emperor’s prisoner? Well, she’d got it all wrong... Although the Emperor had imprisoned him in this palace under the pretext of hospitality, he wasn’t really angry and didn’t care whether he was staying at the Askelund’s palace or in the royal residence, for both were in this repulsive land called the capital; and although it was the end of the year, the weather was hot, disgusting and uncomfortable
And since she hadn’t bothered with pleasantries, he didn’t bother either.
"Please get to the point. If you’ve come to chat, I’m afraid I don’t have time for that."
The butler served him juice and her tea, but how could she drink tea in this heat... Don’t ask him, because he’ll never understand the mindset of southerners.
"the Emperor father, has agreed to the marriage. I’ve come to tell you that I won’t be leaving the capital, so don’t you dare play any tricks. You may have forgotten, but I am still the Imperial Princess."
"Never mind. I have no intention of taking a spy home with me."
"What do you northerners want from this marriage? Is using women the only thing you’re good at when you’re utterly useless, despite all your arrogance as men? The days of using marriage to stop trouble between Askelund and Estella and my imperial family are long gone."
He looked at her calmly without a word, and her lips curled in displeasure
" Look, we Imperial princesses have no part in the war for the throne or in politics because of you two dukes. You caused such a law to be enacted in Highreich since the Second Emperor, and from that time until this day we have always been like this. Even the privileges we receive as Imperial princesses are negligible, and we won’t even receive a noble title once one of our brothers inherits the throne. The only right we have in our lives is to choose our life partners—unless, of course, you and Estella meddle and ruin our lives, trampling on our only right."
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He looked at her calmly without speaking.
In truth, even he did not like the idea of his wife being an imperial princess. For even if he set aside his personal preferences, as well as cultural differences—from the greatest matters such as religion and culture to the smallest, such as how to greet people and table manners—
Marrying an imperial princess simply meant bringing a spy into your home.
He did not truly understand the reason behind his father’s decision regarding this marriage, and even if he set aside his own wishes, he could not even comprehend the political rationale or what could be gained from this union. For the Eichenheim family simply lacked the power to do anything for the Askelund family
"Lord Cassian... I am not begging you here; in fact, I am threatening you, because this marriage will not take place. For if I find myself with no way out, I shall simply take my own life and ruin your reputation as well. Hmph! If you think suicide is difficult because I am a princess, you are dreaming, for believe me, death is closer to us than tomorrow’s dawn. All I have to do is open the door to any assassin or villain targeting my imperial family, or even you. I don’t even need to bother trying myself."
".... Hah. Princess, if you have any objections, please go to the Emperor and tell him, and complain to him. Besides, it’s not as if I or my family, the Askelund, have appointed any princess. You, Princess, are twenty-four and a widow; besides you, there is the fourth princess, aged twenty, who is unmarried, and the fifth princess, aged nineteen, who is also unmarried."
"Estella has sent a marriage proposal to my second sister. Her husband was assassinated last night and she returned to the palace this morning. Stop this bloody madness, YOU LUNATICS!" she shouted at the end of her words, looking truly miserable in her anger.
".... "
Huh... it seems things have escalated
"As I said,... if the princess has any grievances, please go to the Emperor, for I have no intention of disobeying the orders of my father, Lord of Askelund."
She looked at him in frustration and her eyes filled with tears for a moment, but she swallowed them down with force, then calmed herself. Within seconds, her breathing returned to normal and her gaze became calm and dignified. She then gestured to her maid, who stepped forward holding some papers and placed them before him
it is the marriage contract; it seemed the Emperor had sent her to him for this very reason.
"I will not back down on a single clause. If you don’t like it, that’s your problem. Sign it now," she ordered coldly and rudely.
But he ignored her completely as he looked over the papers.
In fact, he had to admit that she really knew how to cause trouble, and it seemed the Emperor had not intervened to see what his response would be, so as to gauge the extent of Askelund’s desperation regarding this marriage.
As for the dowry, she demanded
two knights from the RequiemKnights
a palace in the capital in her name
a thousand northern horses
a million gold
the Ice Breath Flower, considered one of the rarest plant species and growing in the depths of the frozen sea
To his knowledge, there are only about twenty of these flowers in the entire Askelund treasury, and Askelund has never sold any of them.
The first Duke of Askelund gifted one to second Emperor of Highreich on the occasion of his accession to the throne, and after that, no matter how much the Eichenheim begged, they never obtained another one. Nor did anyone else
As for her demands, she demanded the right to choose her own residence after marriage, and that all her servants and knights would remain by her side; she would not be forced to adopt the traditions, culture or religion of Askelund, and the future Duchess and the Duke’s heirs would be her own children, even if Cassian fathered a child with another woman
What the... Is this a deliberate loophole? In her demands, she specified her children in general terms and did not limit them to her children by him.
Although it is not known whether she has children from her former husband, it would not be difficult for the Emperor to pick up any child from the street, raise him, and attribute him to her in order to steal the inheritance of Askelund.
It doesn’t matter; others may not know this, but in fact he had already noticed it ten years ago. His father did not seem to intend to die without ending this farce that had lasted for three centuries, and even if his father did nothing, he would do it himself.
So he took the pen and signed in the designated place.
