255 – Suspicion and Lies (3)
Among nobles, banquets are politics.
Politics in this world is governed by things like hunting instead of golf, war and interest instead of money, and marriage.
As the banquet became more and more heated, I naturally became an outcast.
‘I guess they don’t want to bring up such an important topic because they don’t trust me yet.’
Whether you are an aristocrat, middle school, or high school student, if you are ostracized from the group you belong to, it is difficult to survive within it.
“f*ck, it’s not easy…”
Still, for the sake of Karin, Hilde, and Lucia, I have to endure through evil and be recognized among them…
If you look for opportunities, you will have a chance to gain the trust of these gentlemen.
As I was wandering around the banquet hall alone, Princess Maria walked towards me.
“Her Royal Highness.”
Maria smiled bitterly at those words.
“Call me Maria. “After all, it’s not like anyone is eavesdropping on the conversation between you and me right now, right?”
Trying to close the distance by suddenly striking in with nothing more than a title.
I was impressed by her ability to conduct herself as a princess who survived the terrible political situation of the empire, but…
Ah, I am now living a decent life in this complex political world.
Seeing as how he still retains his habits and thoughts from when he was a mercenary leader, it seems like people don’t change easily.
“Yes, Her Highness Maria.”
“Hmm, okay.”
Maria straightened her shoulders, as if she felt a little rewarded by my changing her title.
Then, her breasts, which were perhaps larger than Lucia’s, seemed quite emphasized.
If I were a bachelor, I would naturally attract attention, but I am not so hungry for women that I cannot manage eye contact in situations like this.
Of course, my eyes were fixed on the princess’s eyes.
If this were to happen in the novel, it would be said like this.
‘Young knights unconsciously notice my breasts, but the Lord is different.’
However, although there may be women who say such things in reality, the princess naturally did not say such things in an ungracious manner.
“You can’t hang out with them either. Well, it’s the same for me too.”
When I heard that, I couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
The center of this power is the princess, so why was she excluded from the banquet?
If I were another noble, I would have tried to somehow bring up a topic that she would like in order to please the princess.
When I revealed her puzzled expression, Maria smiled softly and said,
“When nobles meet each other, the only things they talk about every day are marriage stories, politics, and hunting. “I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but I’m only 20 years old and don’t have any children, so there’s no way I can fit into a story like that.”
The average age of nobles in Prince Otto’s faction and the princess’s faction is in the early 50s.
In particular, in this faction, the youngest person other than me is in his early to mid 40s, so all the nobles over there must have children as old as the princess.
But if we continue to be plagued by stories like that, the country will become dizzy.
There is nothing to talk about when it comes to politics, but the princess, the highest leader of this force, does not need to endure all that and fit into such stories.
If you want to win the favor of the princess, who must be tired of such things, it would be better to show her honest side.
That way, you can definitely take advantage of being in your 20s like the princess.
“That’s right. When I attend meetings of Prince Otto’s faction, don’t the nobles always talk about how the royal family and daughter of one family get along well? When I was doing well, there were many people who would casually send their daughters as concubines for the purpose of forming a political alliance with me. “I was tired of refusing.”
“Was Gyeongdo like that? There are many nobles who often ask me to have a private conversation with their son because he is fine. His face is all smooth, and his knowledge as a knight is quite excellent. “There is no one I like.”
Because I had three wives, including Hilde, I had never experienced nobles leading an open confrontation.
What if other nobles suddenly suggest bringing their daughters and marrying them?
Just thinking about it made me sigh.
“You must have been really embarrassed. “If you reject it incorrectly, it could have negative political implications.”
Maria also nodded her head at those words.
“I thought Kyung, who is of similar age to me, would sympathize. So what can you do? “I just said that ending the civil war is the priority now, so I can’t get married without permission.”
If someone takes over as ‘parent-in-law’ before the civil war is over, another huge conflict will arise from there.
That guy will become the princess’s father-in-law and wield enormous power, so he’ll probably have an inferiority complex and ask why I can’t do it.
In order to prevent that dissatisfaction, he must welcome each and every child of the nobles under his command into his family…
‘This world is polygamous, and it is impossible for one woman to marry multiple men.’
The nobles will also be more aware of this, so we can only hope for it after the civil war is over.
“That’s a wise answer. “Her Majesty Maria.”
“And since I was a child, I am a princess who has done nothing but cultivate all kinds of culture and improve my appearance in order to be loved as someone’s woman. Like the nobles who have learned at least a little bit of Auror, they cannot move their bodies freely even when they go hunting. So it’s difficult to have long, private conversations with them.”
The princess laughed as she finished speaking.
“Is that so, Her Highness Maria?”
“In that sense, I think Gyeong and I can communicate well. “I don’t bring up marriage because I have nothing to say, and I don’t even talk about going hunting.”
I don’t know about other families, but within our family, the Barons of Cologne, we value getting married when we see eye to eye rather than an arranged marriage.
Hunting is something only nobles enjoy, but bragging about your wife while drinking alcohol is considered the best entertainment.
From Noble mtl dot com
If it’s a banquet held only within the baron’s house, no matter how formal it may be, it ends up with people hugging each other’s shoulders, drinking alcohol as brothers and sisters, and going out to meet prostitutes.
At least there is no f*cking pretentiousness, in our family.
Maria shed her quite easy-going appearance and asked seriously.
“I feel like what we just shared isn’t enough, so I’ll ask. “Why on earth do you fight?”
As a princess of an empire, it’s amazing how she changes her mood quickly, as if she cares about masks.
But we cannot miss this golden opportunity.
Now, I must be as honest as possible and give the answer that the princess I have seen so far wants.
These two premises are very contradictory, but so what?
If you want to survive and get ahead, you have to overcome this adversity.
“Just like the nobles over there. “I want to become successful, so I decided to serve Prince Otto.”
“I see.”
“And I want to protect the women I love and make their dreams come true.”
When Maria heard me, her eyes lit up.
“You speak something unique. I want to make a woman’s dream come true. “I’ve never seen anyone among the imperial nobles say something like that sincerely.”
It seems like he’s maintaining a cool demeanor in the hopes of testing me…
The distance that was more than 60cm from me has suddenly decreased to about 50cm, and sometimes I can see one corner of his mouth twitching.
No matter how close this world is to men over women, it would be good for women to have someone who recognizes women as independent beings.
The story that the princess might like the most right now is… I guess it’s Hilde’s story, right?
So, I carefully unfolded the story between Hilde and me.
At first, we met as enemies at Villa Hora Castle and fought to the death, and in the end, I used a ruse to make her master abandon Hilde.
Then, I made a bet to buy Hilde, who had been abandoned, with all my money and respect her personality and pride…
The story is that although he was called a fool by many people, he eventually succeeded in opening her heart, and is now fulfilling his role as a loyal lord and her beloved husband, just as Hilde had hoped.
After Maria heard all that, she couldn’t continue pretending to be a cold-hearted person.
As if he was showing interest, the distance between him and me suddenly got closer to about 20cm.
20Cm, I mean 20cm.
As a result of dealing with three women, including Hilde, so far, it has been revealed that the closer the physical distance between a man and a woman is, the stronger the affection becomes.
If both parties didn’t feel awkward at this distance, it was possible to gain rational favor by taking three steps forward, right…?
“Hilde will give me the same loyalty and love as ever, even if I completely fall, even if I end up in the same situation as a serf. So, just as she devotes herself to me, I should do my best to make her dream come true. “Because that is love.”
When the princess, a girl in her late teens, heard that it was her love, she could not contain her excitement.
“It’s love, I see. Until now, I thought it only came from bards, plays, and books I often read.”
It’s not something I would say as a noble, but 99.9% Of daughters from noble families die without knowing what love is unless they have an affair somewhere.
This is because the marriage is a completely arranged marriage from the beginning, and the husband is usually busy giving attention to the pretty and charming concubine rather than the wife, who has to be watched over by her wife.
Especially for someone like a princess, even when she was young, she must have received a lot of education that love is an illusion.
“It’s a lot more interesting than I thought.”
“So, like other nobles, I didn’t pay attention to prostitutes.”
Maria chuckled after hearing what I said.
“Did you say Hilde? She must be a happier woman than anyone else. “Please do your best to make her happy in the future.”
“Yes, Her Highness Maria.”
This level is enough for her to gain Maria’s trust, but…
Whether I end up backstabbing Maria or surrender to her faction with the Barony of Cologne, the only thing I can rely on is her favor.
So, we should go one step further.
“I will remain loyal to Her Majesty Maria from now on. So I dare to swear.”
Maria looked at me with her interested eyes.
“What are you going to swear?”
“I will do my best to ensure that Her Majesty Mary, who gave me, Hilde, my other wives and vassals, a place to live, feels truly happy. “Both before she became Empress and even after she became Empress.”
These words did not include any desire to make Maria my woman or to use her power as empress to gain greater territory.
If you put something like that in, Maria, who deals with countless greedy nobles like she breathes, will definitely see through it.
If I do that, the pure kindness I have built up so far toward myself in Maria will turn into hostility.
As soon as I finished saying this, I heard the sound of the banquet ending.
The nobles laughed and walked away.
“hehehehe, then, why don’t we have a drink at my mansion?”
And then, as soon as the banquet was over, Maria’s eyes did not leave me as she retreated.
I think I achieved some pretty good results.