.jpg)
Having heard this story as soon as he arrived in the capital, Herbert's anger flared even more.
Yet, ‘that person’ remained perfectly composed.
‘Do not worry too much. That is not the only thing we have prepared.’
‘Stop threatening me by saying that's not all you've prepared and show me the results!’
‘Haste is worse than nothing….’
‘You've been saying that for twenty years! How long am I supposed to wait!’
At Herbert's shout, ‘that person’ fell silent as if slightly offended, then spoke.
‘But did you not seize what you desired as our first gift?’
Since it had been a very long time since ‘that person’ mentioned that matter, Herbert was also taken aback. But he couldn't afford to back down. Herbert remained stubborn.
‘But the finish wasn't perfect, was it? Do you not know what I am going through right now?’
In the end, it was the opponent who stepped back.
‘…Very well. If you put it that way, we cannot remain still, even for the sake of our pride. We will surely bring you good news.’
Having said that, they vanished. However, Herbert felt that he could no longer rely solely on them. They had guaranteed success, yet they had been soundly defeated by Rahan Norwich.
Thus, as soon as morning came, he had pleaded with Prince Elio to nullify Iris Achen's marriage.
Whether Prince Elio knew Herbert's inner thoughts or not, he just kept bragging about his own achievements.
“My father seems to want to seat Iris Achen as the head of House Achen. Consider it a blessing that I stopped that much.”
Stopped what! Blood rushed to his head. But he couldn't lash out at the Prince.
Even an Elector has a line they must not cross. Herbert Achen clenched his fists and breathed heavily. Seeing this, Prince Elio gave a stupid shrug.
“I suppose Duke Achen isn't that happy either. I understand.”
And then, he insisted on adding one more word.
“I did tell you that Philod Ahen was not the right choice.”
Is this Prince brat determined to make my heart explode?
Herbert suppressed the urge to glare at Prince Elio.
As soon as the news of the Achen marriage had spread, Prince Elio had written a letter to Herbert via carrier pigeon, saying that the marriage didn't seem very good.
But it was a family matter. It wasn't for a Prince to interfere. Moreover, Herbert had already divorced Philod.
Thus, he hadn't paid much attention to it, but now Prince Elio was digging up that incident to scratch at Herbert's nerves.
“Then what should be done?”
Herbert asked Prince Elio while enduring. It meant: If you're going to act so superior, are you saying you can solve this situation?
If Iris Achen came to the capital, it would inevitably become difficult to lay a hand on her. The Emperor would not directly interfere in the affairs of an Elector's house, but there would be many eyes watching.
Either getting Iris Achen under his thumb or getting rid of her entirely—both were difficult.
However, unexpectedly, Prince Elio answered nonchalantly.
“How about this? I marry Iris Achen.”
Herbert was stunned. What nonsense was this brat talking?
But soon, he realized that these were the words Prince Elio had been waiting to say.
“Unfortunately, my wife passed away last year. The position of the Prince's consort is not meant to be left vacant for long.”
It was known that Prince Elio's consort had died of illness last year. But in truth, that death was the work of Elio, who was enraged that his consort had conspired with the first prince.
The family of the consort, who had married their daughter to Prince Elio only to receive the corpse of a daughter carrying a bastard child, had not been able to utter a single word until now.
And there was no way Herbert didn't know that Prince Elio had been carefully choosing who to put in that position.
“It's just a passing thought, but the more I think about it, the better it seems! Don't you agree, Duke Achen?”
“Why do you think so?”
“Well, I've heard a rumor. According to the rumor, Iris Achen was very uncomfortable with this marriage. A twenty-year-old lady and Philod Ahen, who is nearly fifty. It's understandable she'd be reluctant.”
“It is twenty and forty-two. And Iris Achen… my niece accepted that marriage willingly.”
“Ah, was that so? Anyway, such a rumor did circulate.”
Prince Elio, who had turned twenty-six this year, smiled thinly.
“Regardless, although her marriage was carried out in such a hasty manner, divorce is a matter where the individual's will is most heavily reflected.”
But in the current situation, would Iris Achen actually try to divorce? It was clear she had acted out of a desire to avoid falling into the grip of House Achen. And the hand of Grand Duke Lacheize was reaching out.
“I can give Iris Achen what my sister cannot.”
“….”
Herbert intensified his gaze as he looked at Prince Elio.
You fox-like bastard.
Since the death of the first prince, Prince Elio had constantly suspected House Achen, which had immediately turned toward him. His thought was that if a house could change its supporter as easily as flipping a palm, it would be just as easy for them to abandon him.
Therefore, it wasn't strange that he sought to solidify the support of House Achen through marriage to Iris Achen.
Of course, it wasn't a losing deal for Herbert either. The title of Elector was not something like a Count or Duke that one could take with them after marriage.
Because of the nature of the position, it was a title that had to be handed over to another the moment one merged with the Imperial Family.
Thus, if Iris Achen married Prince Elio, House Achen would naturally receive the Elector title back.
Prince Elio's blue eyes shone with amusement as he watched the hesitating Herbert Achen.
“Wouldn't it be better for her to be a Prince's consort, or perhaps even the Empress, rather than the wife of a demon bastard?”
“Which means….”
“I’m thinking of meeting your nephew. After all, the only one the Grand Duke exiled was that one fellow, Rahan Norwich.”
“….”
The Prince already knew that Herbert would dislike his proposal. He gave a thin smile.
“Of course, the one who dared to interfere with the affairs of House Achen must be given an appropriate punishment.”
“What do you….”
“Write a letter. It should be interesting.”
What on earth was that man thinking now? Herbert looked at Prince Elio with anxiety.
But that lasted only a moment. As he listened to Prince Elio's words, color returned to Herbert's face.
“Will you try it?”
Prince Elio smiled brightly. Herbert Achen forced a smile in return. There was absolutely no reason for him to refuse Prince Elio's proposal.
He really was a fox of a man.
* * *
It had been a few days since returning from the hot springs.
“Let’s go together.”
“No, I can go by myself.”
Today, as well, Rahan declined Iris's offer and left the house alone. He was heading to the Sanctuary. Iris sighed as she watched Rahan through the window.
“Sigh.”
He still had a long way to go before he fully recovered. He seemed to have a naturally sturdy constitution, but it would be taxing for him to move around like that alone so suddenly.
Since the first day at the Sanctuary, Rahan had been blatantly avoiding Iris. The reason was obvious.
That day.
‘Should we go back for now?’
Having said that, Rahan had suddenly stepped away from her. He claimed it was because they couldn't do such things in the Sanctuary, but it wasn't a matter of location.
He had even changed the subject, claiming he was hungry. However, it wasn't because he was actually hungry; Iris could feel quite clearly that he was avoiding her.
Eventually, Iris pouted and loosened the strings of her top to look inside.
Upon her fair, budding skin, the hickeys left by the man were scattered here and there. Perhaps because time had passed, most of the red marks had turned into yellow bruises.
“Am I… not very attractive?”
Iris gloomily stroked her clothes. The outfit she wore today had also been bought by Rahan. Unlike the clothes she wore at the monastery, the fabric was soft and comfortable. Above all, they were new.
“Would someone buy things like this for an unattractive person….”
She trudged over and opened the floor of the hut to retrieve the venison she had bought from the hunter.
Although it was a hut used by the field hand, it had a fairly decent underground cellar built in to survive the summer.
As she cut the meat and cooked, Iris became even more depressed. Delicious dishes like the ones Rahan made did not come from her own hands.
She could cut the meat and boil a warm stew, but even to Iris, it looked ordinary.
For the past few days, Iris had been the one cooking for Rahan's recovery. Rahan had said he could do it himself, but Iris had practically begged to take charge of the meals.
However, the things that came from her hands were not sweet, soft, or—well, mysterious—like the things he had made for her.
“He’s so mean, really.”
She glanced at the window repeatedly, but Rahan had not returned by the time the stew was finished.
That was because Rahan was overwhelmed by self-loathing and was trying to soothe himself, unable to bring himself to look at Iris's face, but there was no way Iris could know that.
Thus, Iris felt sorrowful for no reason. He bought her nice things, made her delicious food, and even saved her life.
And yet, how could he push her away like this? Iris had truly summoned a great deal of courage.
Iris crouched in front of the hearth to stoke the fire and added more water to the stew. While waiting for Rahan, she chewed over many things.
She had stood up to Priest Vera. She had said the potato fields of Arnsberg were diseased. A massive magical beast had appeared, and a knight of House Achen had died.
In the past, all of those things would have weighed heavily on Iris. But for some reason, it all felt trivial now.
‘What is this feeling?’
She was curious. At the same time, she recalled the sight of Rahan's back as he ran, having pushed her into a wild raspberry thicket while telling her, ‘Endure it even if it hurts.’
If you're going to push me away like this, do you really need to be that cool?
“Too much.”
Her lips pouted. Iris buried her face in her knees.
Rahan was so wonderful, while she, sitting in front of a mere stew, felt far too shabby.
‘I want to be a wonderful person like that too.’
They said she was the daughter of a noble house, yet she was only stained by the dust of the secular world.
The words Priest Vera had said came back to her. Right. They said she was the daughter of a noble house.
The daughter of the Achen Ducal House. The highest priority successor to the title of Elector. But strangely, those words failed to resonate in Iris's heart. Such things weren't particularly cool.
‘Divorce.’
Iris suddenly remembered the conversation Rahan had with his companions a while ago.
.jpg)