Episode 109
Episode 47. Bride of Hugo (5)
Cogg’s food was excellent.
As soon as the group finished their meal, the sun set. Already the faint chill of the night hung in the air. It was a starry night, lightly windy.
In the bonfire, phallic wooden sticks were burning. They were excellent toys to use as a release.
“It looks like desire is burning… Seeing things burning in a campfire makes me want to write poetry.”
Igor spat out a word while drinking the brewed tea. The left spurted the tea they were drinking. Fu!
“What… why do you play differently than this one?”
“Jailism is a pseudonym, but the beauty of the verses in the temple is real. I lived by memorizing scriptures, so I spent a day reading over a thousand poems.”
“Has the sleeping water not drained yet?”
“It can’t be. I usually like poetry. My childhood dream was to be a poet. That is, until you hold the spear.”
Zishka grabbed his stomach and laughed. I had never seen such a funny commoner in my life.
During her short trip, she was realizing the joy of being small. Zishka had a light expression, as if a blade of grass would sprout on her shoulder at any moment.
After eating, the party went to their respective tents. Of course, there was no Igor’s tent. His place was in the luggage compartment of the wagon. Now that most of the toys are gone, I can stretch out and sleep.
From the first day until now, Zishka has never missed a night watch.
Who could have imagined that an imperial princess would do something like that while traveling. Zishka even helped Cog wash the dishes once.
On that day, everyone had to wash dishes at the water’s edge.
“Today, you will have a good night’s sleep.”
“No, today I will stay awake until morning. You all get a good night’s sleep.”
Yuma was about to say that there was no need for that, but nodded.
From her point of view, it was the night sky that might be her last.
It was also the night before she had to ask for a hand in marriage from a man whom she had known only by name and rumors and thought of for the rest of her life as the bane of the empire.
I won’t be able to sleep because I’m thinking too much. There was no better time to empty it than a quiet night and dawn.
The stars shining from the edge of the Empire will endure Zishka’s gaze all night. Tomorrow, the party was scheduled to cross the border and arrive at Matan.
The night was long.
Everyone lying in the tent couldn’t sleep. Only Igor in the luggage compartment was the only one who grumbled. Even that simple cog is somehow bewildered.
Zishka was no ordinary bride.
It was unknown whether Hugo would accept even if he sent an ordinary woman who had no political connection or possibility of war. But what if a war of nerves or negotiations with the empire is a prerequisite?
In fact, it was no different from passing a lump of luggage on the pretext of being a bride. It was a colossal regret.
To marry the traitorous princess of the empire as his wife.
How am I supposed to tell Hugo about that? Yuma’s heart was also mixed up when something happened right in front of him.
No matter how you think about it, it was a request without shame or conscience.
In the meantime, the Black Wolves have shown exceptional favor to Yuma. Hugo could possibly have let Yuma go without fulfilling his contractual obligations to find a bride.
Hugo just liked a boy who was both wild and talented. There were still eight years left in the bride-hunting contract.
To think that such a burden would be passed on to Hugo. If it hadn’t been for Hella’s request, he would never have made this choice.
‘It could have been a better day.
As long as everything goes well, it will be easier to prepare for the future.’
As long as it works out well.
Yuma left the tent and sat next to Zishka, who was looking at the night sky.
“I can’t sleep either.”
The entrance to Natalie’s tent was also removed.
She came out with three pipes. The three of them bit into their pipes and exhaled smoke.
It was a top-notch cigarette, and it tasted very good.
A puff of cigarette smoke rose. Near the border with Matan, it wasn’t too cold at night.
The three of them felt like they had become close friends all the way here.
Actually it was. Except for Winslting, there was no other human being that Zishka had opened up to so much.
As a eunuch, Yuma also had only one friend. New sword Marlon Zach.
There was no human who wanted to have a genuine friendship with Yuma, who was a commoner and even a eunuch. Even when he was favored by Hella.
There were many people who approached for profit. If it was Yuma’s words, it was because Hella was struggling once more. However, Yuma has used that power only once in decades.
It was the time to kill Mero before returning. After hearing Yuma’s story, the empress investigated Mero and executed her. That trash was unforgivable.
‘I heard that he was released from the Order of the Capital, but what is he doing?’
Now, the grudge against Mero has faded. Even when he became Duran’s apprentice, Yuma intended to find Mero and kill him miserably.
To Yuma now, Mero was nothing. He is an insignificant figure that does not come to mind.
He would probably end up miserable by pouring his savings into alcohol and prostitutes. Yuma took a deep breath from his pipe.
“I hope Hugo likes me.”
Zishka said.
It was a problem she had never thought about in her life. How would a man evaluate himself?
“I hope so. If I were a man, just being able to embrace the imperial princess would be quite satisfying.”
Natalie replied.
“Haha, what a frivolous story. not bad. I never knew that I would be so curious about the evaluation of my prospective husband.”
Originally, no one could carelessly evaluate Zishka, who would become the next empress of the empire.
After she ascended the throne, she was to marry a figure of the House of Jacques. It didn’t matter if it was Jacques who was alienated from the family.
In the process, things like love and crush were not important. It was customary for the Empress of the Empire to marry a member of the three families implicitly.
It is to lower the position of grand duke to a married man and give a portion of the influence of the three families.
Marriage with a horseman or the next head of household created a problem in the balance of power. This is because one family’s dominance system can continue during the reign.
People knew that was the reason Asuka Rose married Winslting Rollmandy.
“Amama and abamama are a little special cases, though.”
Winslting was the man who saved childhood Asuka.
Even compared to Hela, Asuka in her youth was much more introverted and passive. On the other hand, the former empress, Asuka’s mother, had a strong iron fist like Jishukana and current Asuka.
Under such a mother, Asuka grew up with a lot of mental abuse. It was because he had sinners beheaded every day in order to break his weak disposition.
It was harsh for Asuka as a young girl. Even Asuka wasn’t the first heir to the throne.
She was supported by three older sisters.
It was a position where there was no need for emperor classes or personality remodeling. As a result, it could be said that the empress Asuka Rozeni had the right eye for her accession to the throne.
Coincidentally, Asuka, who was crying alone in the corner of the imperial garden, ran into a gentle handsome man. That was Winslting Rollmandy.
Winslting Rollmandy was different from the other great nobles Asuka had seen.
Rather than the arrogance or ambition characteristic of great nobles, he was a man full of soft and warm disposition.
Winslting helped Asuka’s Lord class in a different way than her mother. Not the mother’s way of recklessly pushing, but talking to her and caring for her so that she could understand and accept it.
“Now that I think about it, I wonder if it was an intentional approach. I didn’t know that Obama could be such an asshole.”
It was a bittersweet tone.
“Even if the whole truth is revealed, Momma will not kill Obama. You will put everything on me.”
Winsting was the only human that Asuka absolutely embraced.
That’s not an action for wonselting. It was the result to protect Asuka herself. To Asuka, Winslting was like a line that should not be crossed.
It was the reason why he, a grand duke, survived after giving birth to Cindy Mew, an out-of-wedlock child.
“When Sir Duran beat Abama, I had only heard of an anecdote where Mama slapped Sir Duran on the cheek. To some of the old eunuchs who love to brag about it. They beat me.”
While serving as a eunuch for a long time, Yuma had seen numerous members of the imperial family and nobles.
Both the imperial family and the aristocrats are human after all.
No matter how noble the blood that flows in the body, no human being is without flaws. Humans make mistakes, regret, and forget repeatedly. They attach all sorts of meanings to things from a very long time ago and set up their own rules.
The same was true of the supreme being, Empress Asuka Roze.
“I will not let Archduke Winslting live. Lord Hayes.”
“Don’t do that. At that time, even Mama will not let you go.”
“well. Even if you bring demons into the human world, you must not enjoy your natural life. Not even the Archduke, but anyone else.”
“My revenge has come. I wish you the choices that will make your life longer. You are a human with many things to do for the Empire.”
Yuma was able to kill Winsting without interference from Asuka.
Because I know the date of her death.
Hella Rose took the throne when Yuma was twenty-two. Now that Yuma is eighteen, there are about four years left.
It was enough to kill Winslting brutally then.
Hayes was worried about letting him live.
The old snake-like man fought for the Empire in the Dragon Horse War before returning anyway. The martial arts close to that of a grandmaster aroused fear even among the demons. It was a useful hand in the Dragon Horse War.
But now I had no intention of saving him. Yuma has already returned and many pasts have changed. Depending on Yuma’s choice, the many futures he experienced in his previous life will continue to change.
Rather than relying on the potential of a human like Heize, Yuma thought to prepare for the Dragon Horse War more diligently by gathering talented people.
That is, unless Hugo kills himself for bringing a princess who has lost the honor of the empire as his wife.
“Before arriving in the Egon Mountains tomorrow, we will stop by Cols Village in Matane for a while. Let me choose a traditional Matan dress for you to wear.”
When I left the capital, I couldn’t bring anything but casual clothes and slutty clothes.
It was not a dress suitable for introducing the bride.
“Haha, no need. You’re a merchant, but you don’t know the laws of things.”
“yes?”
The corners of Zishka’s mouth went up.
“I myself shine.”
It was a heartfelt story. But it didn’t sound funny or arrogant.
“No matter how broken I was, my body once had the dignity and dignity of a princess. It doesn’t matter what the clothes are. Shiny things have a border. I’m just worried that Hugo has the eyes to see it.”
The three of them talked and laughed all night. The night that seemed like it would never end passed quickly.
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