Shortly after the meeting with the Grand Duke, Eldira came to visit. It seems that they have been together since coming to this castle.
Eldira opened the door and entered and looked at Luke with a bright smile.
“My dear, long time no see!”
“… … .”
“Why? Your expression is strange.”
“Sorry, I was thinking about something else.”
Luke turned around slightly. To be honest, I was stunned for a moment. It was a beautiful face from the beginning, but it was on a different level when it was properly dressed.
‘It’s not for nothing that they say that clothes are wings.’
The white dress that wrapped around her body seemed to have been squeezed out of thick fog, and the jewelry she was wearing shimmered with a soft golden light.
The subdued exposure throughout the dress accentuated the pure beauty of the body rather than the erotic feeling.
If an artist sculpted his ideal type, what would it look like?
“Oh my God, this lady is that girl?”
“… … .”
Bruno also looked at Eldira with an angry expression, and Ray also covered his mouth that was about to open in astonishment. Only Max smiled relatively calmly and bitterly.
“I was also surprised when I first saw it. I’m used to seeing it quite often now.”
“Then it is my failure. Although my goal is to charm even those who see it every day.”
“Even a goddess of beauty would be unable to do that, Princess.”
There was a subtle sense of mischief on Eldira’s face, who spoke naturally. Max, who answered how many times he had already had a conversation, was also not nervous.
Even just looking at it, I could tell that he often visited with the Grand Duke.
“Anyway, you are still not surprised. I thought I’d surprise you since we haven’t seen each other in a while.”
“I’d be surprised enough if it came out decorated.”
“Anything other than that.”
“Something else?”
Luke scratched his cheek. Anything else, the woman said, ‘Has anything changed?’ does it sound the same?
Bruno spoke from the side while he was scrutinizing Eldira and lost in thought.
“Come to think of it, Princess Lee, you speak the imperial language quite fluently, right? The last time I saw you, I only spoke Elvish.”
“ah.”
Only then did Luke come to his senses. It’s a fact that I forgot because there was no problem with communication, but until now, Eldira had been conversing in the imperial language.
At Bruno’s point, Eldira puffed out her chest with a confident smile.
“Well, from my previous experience, I know that there are many troublesome situations when the language is not communicated. While you guys were away, I learned it as a way to pass the time.”
Luke stuck out his tongue. It’s an exaggeration to say that it was just for fun, but it’s been less than a year since the party left from the West.
But in the meantime, how can you learn a language so perfectly?
‘Is it the learning ability of the elves themselves, or is it because of Eldira’s talent?’
Eldira smiled brightly, apparently liking Luke’s surprised expression.
“You noticed now. You have excellent eyesight for your age, but sometimes you are secretly dull.”
“hmm.”
Luke was embarrassed by the friendly teasing. Several conversations followed after that. Most of them were stories of what happened after Eldira and Luke’s party broke up.
“The atmosphere at the court these days is very bright. Before trade with humans started, everyone had a shadow on their faces.”
“That’s good. Are your friends okay?”
“of course! Everyone is talking about what happened back then. It’s hugely popular among our generation. The elders still get angry at me for not coming to their senses.”
It is said that the elves who were caught unexpectedly did not hold much grudge against humans themselves. The biggest reason was the brutal death of Count Valdemar and Luke’s cooperation.
For them, the previous incident seemed like a heroic story of ‘a good human and a good elf joined forces to defeat the greedy human ruler and began to communicate’.
“One of the reasons why the scum had little resentment was that he played a joke with the interpreter. In fact, other humans were simply deceived rather than malicious.”
“Well, that’s not wrong.”
The west is full of monsters. I wouldn’t know if I had been unilaterally attacked by the elves, but if I had known that the elves were the victims, I would have protested to the count.
Why did you do something to make this side suffer damage?
‘Because he knew that, the count also cheated on the interpreter.’
No matter how powerful a family is in the West, the cause is important. If you say ‘just because I’m greedy!’ without any justification, it’s perfect to be attacked from all sides.
Even Count Valdemar, who was holding back the West, couldn’t have avoided the resistance of the four families. That’s why they spread magic tools, made them shut up, and lied to the truth.
‘Funny, thanks to that, I was able to pretend to be a good victim.’
As a result, the hostility of the elves towards the ‘fooled humans’ decreased, and active trade became possible, so it was a stunning butterfly effect.
It must be that you don’t need Aung blindfolded for nothing. After the conversation progressed to some extent, Luke slowly decided to get to the point.
“Come to think of it, didn’t you hear anything from His Highness the Grand Duke before coming here?”
“Did you hear that before you came? Oh, you mean about marriage?”
Then Eldira clapped her hands, as if remembering. It seemed that he had really forgotten. Luke nodded with a serious look.
“If you don’t want to, tell me right here. Don’t worry, I can change the Grand Duke’s thoughts.”
It is Luke who has never lied before. Eldira must have enough trust. Even if he couldn’t go against his father, he would show his sincerity to Luke.
Eldira said Luke’s words with a lot of sincerity.
“I don’t care at all! let’s get married!”
“… … .”
Luke quietly grabbed the back of his neck.
* * *
Bruno’s chin dropped down. In the midst of stirring the glass, Ray’s spoon collided with a ding. Even Max pinched his cheek, forgetting what to say.
To that extent, Eldira’s reaction was embarrassing to everyone.
“Hmm, isn’t everyone’s reaction strange?”
“of course!”
Luke involuntarily shouted. Is this something to be ashamed of without being surprised?
“Hey, what are you doing? Do you know what marriage is all about?”
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Then I will ask you something else. You know I’m human, right?”
“I’m not even blind.”
“No, that… … .”
Eldira put her hand on her waist, looking a little angry. Luke, who hesitated for a while, scratched his head. No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way to turn it around.
“In general, don’t elves hate it when they marry humans?”
“I guess so. There have been a few exceptions, but not very often.”
“But you said you would marry me? Why are you so reluctant?”
“Um, did that surprise you?”
Eldira shook her head as if she finally understood.
“You seem to be mistaken about something.”
“mistaken?”
“A normal human wouldn’t know, but if you’re an exception, that’s enough.”
Eldira said as she folded her fingers one by one.
“First of all, you are not a pure human being. I got dragon’s blood With this alone, we do not hear that we are inferior to us in terms of rank.”
It doesn’t sound like that exactly. In the days when the old dragon was fine, it was an elf who lived under it for the rest of his life. But look down on those who inherited the blood of ancient dragons?
It’s like spitting in your own face. If you look at the ancient dragon’s blood lightly, what does the elf who was oppressed by the ancient dragon become?
“Secondly, you are the one who led the revival of the elves. For that feat alone, many of your countrymen view you favorably.”
As for the naive elders, the generation that doesn’t know much about humans has a pretty good opinion of Luke. The saga spread by Eldira’s friends is a bonus.
In other words, the internal backlash is much less than Luke thought.
“Finally, there is a growing sense of crisis among the elders. My father’s concerns are a bit exaggerated, but there are more people with similar concerns than I thought.”
I don’t like humans. I don’t like Luke either. However, there is a widespread concern among conservatives that if they continue like this, they will be eaten by real people.
So, even the writers who would normally oppose it said, ‘I can’t help it this time. I really hate it, but I can’t help it’ and move on.
“There are several other reasons, but aren’t these enough?”
“What is your opinion as a party?”
“You mean me? As I said before, it doesn’t matter at all.”
Eldira shrugged and said.
“Anyway, as long as I am a princess, an arranged marriage is inevitable. I’d rather be with you than with an elven aristocrat with whom I haven’t spoken properly.”
“… … .”
My head was pounding. This was completely unexpected. I thought we had a relationship like good friends, but I didn’t think there would be this much resistance.
“I have one more question, what about the child?”
“kid?”
“What is that, a child born between you and me?”
Luke brought up a topic with his last hope. Mixed blood with different races gives a sense of mystery, but sometimes gives a severe sense of heterogeneity.
Even to mothers with children. Wouldn’t she also have a bit of aversion to mixed blood?
“If we had a child, it would be neither an elf nor a human. What do you think? Mixed races haven’t happened in hundreds of years.”
“Hmm, you and my child.”
After thinking for a moment, Eldira smiled.
“Good!”
“what?”
“I am a child of dragon and elf blood! Isn’t it really the lineage of the ruler! Not bad, not really bad!”
I had never thought about it, but when I thought about it, the reaction was that it was better. Rather, it seemed that they were even proud of the fact that they were creating a great lineage.
Crackle.
With the sound of breaking glass, the handle of the teacup that Ray was holding dropped. For some reason, a strange aura seemed to float around Ray.
“sorry. The teacup is a bit weak.”
From noble mtl dot com
“… … .”
The voice is frozen, but somehow the surroundings seem to be burning. Bruno and Max slipped away near Ray.
Only Eldira blinked, completely oblivious to the searing atmosphere.
“Oh, are you hurt? Unless you’re careful.”
“It looks like I’ve gained strength without even realizing it.”
“Strength is a warrior’s virtue, but modesty is a woman’s virtue. I know you are a prosecutor, but since you are a woman, you should take care of your charm as a woman.”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
“yes! If I end up with Luke, it wouldn’t hurt to teach you how to behave as a woman. Even if you look like this, you have confidence in etiquette.”
Ray’s hands trembled at the sight of Eldira speaking with an innocent face. Except for Luke, the two of them screamed inwardly, hoping the time would pass.
* * *
The day after the conversation with Eldira, Luke visited Archduke Arathion again.
“What did Eldyra say? Did you reject it?”
“They readily accepted it.”
“It’s a face I didn’t expect.”
At Arathion’s smile, Luke couldn’t find the words to reply. Even now, after hearing all the reasons, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling of embarrassment.
“Don’t think too hard. After all, a princess’s marriage is a political strategy, and love is to be nurtured after it is established. He just knew that a long time ago.”
“It’s not that I don’t understand, but… … .”
“Hmm, by the way, you seem strangely reluctant. Are there any other reasons for rejecting the marriage?”
Luke kept his mouth shut. there is no such thing as To be precise, I didn’t really think about marriage itself.
If you want to move freely, something like marriage is a shackle. He wanted to come up with an excuse somehow, put it off, and marry the woman he had chosen.
And recently, a woman was slowly starting to come into my eyes.
“Are you a woman?”
“That’s not it.”
“A woman. Not a lover, were you just trying to put your mind to it?”
“… … .”
The words stopped for a moment. Not because I hit the mark, but because I thought it was ambiguous to affirm or deny.
After thinking for a while, Arathion spoke.
“Can’t you be a concubine?”
“It’s not possible.”
“An immediate answer.”
“Before my heart, my status itself is like that.”
“Then the answer is simple. Both of them are bound to be dutifully beaten.”
“How is that possible?”
Luke frowned. All nobles have one wife. Even the king can only have one maid.
The only exception is when the ex-wife dies and a new wife comes in.
“Are you trying to change the imperial law? Even if it were possible, it would face a massive backlash.”
“You don’t have to. Isn’t there already a place for several wives?”
A position where even the wife of the royal family has to serve as a servant. That’s why he’s an absolute being who can’t stop anyone from taking on multiple wives.
An opponent that even those who reign as kings must kneel and pay respect.
“If you become emperor, there will be no problems.”