Chapter 13: Chapter 013
"Although you may be young and carefree, good times pass by in the blink of an eye. However, it is also true that you do not have the luxury of meeting nobles often, so wouldn't it be better to take care of this while you are here in Zyro?"
"But...!"
"Choose anyone right here and now."
At the emperor's words, everyone present, including Asha, opened their eyes wide.
Of course, the one who was most surprised and shocked was Asha.
"I am truly fine, Your Majesty! Marriage is a matter for the future, so for the reconstruction of Pervaz...!"
"Oh! You don't have to refuse. It is a promise made by my late father, the great emperor, so any noble family that can contribute to it will be honored. Isn't that right?"
The emperor smiled, but his eyes were cold as he stared at the nobles. The faces of the capital nobles, who had been enjoying themselves teasing the provincial nobles, turned pale.
Asha was also not at all happy with the emperor's proposal.
"Your Majesty, deciding my marriage so suddenly will cause great confusion for the person who will be my partner or their family. Even if I choose someone, they may already be engaged, or their family may refuse."
"In that case, it will be considered a refusal of the emperor's order, and that family will have to pay compensation to the imperial family and you."
Now everyone understood the emperor's intentions. The family that Asha chose at this moment would have to pay the money for Pervaz instead of the emperor.
The hall, which had been filled with a joyful atmosphere, turned into an ice rink in an instant.
The emperor ordered in a stern voice.
"Chamberlain! Bring the list of nobles!"
Then he spoke to Asha kindly.
"You may not be familiar with the names of the capital nobles, so look at the list of nobles and choose the one you like. This is not an opportunity that comes to everyone, so choose carefully."
It was a contradiction to say to choose carefully and then to say to choose right here, right now. However, the emperor was doing exactly that.
'To tell me to choose a good husband based on the name of the family is ridiculous. The chosen family will be in chaos.....'
Asha swallowed dryly as she watched the chamberlain hurriedly bring in the list of nobles. Her companions who were kneeling behind her were also greatly embarrassed.
It was an unimaginable situation, but even at this moment, Asha had to come up with a way to save Pervaz.
"Come on, choose. By the way, the higher the rank of the noble family, the closer they are to the front of the list, so it might be better to look at the front."
The emperor 'kindly explained' with a beaming face, and the chamberlain placed the list of nobles in front of Asha.
The leather-bound book of nobles list was so thick and heavy that it seemed like it would bear down on Asha.
It would be ridiculous to sit on the floor and flip through it page by page to find a marriage partner.
'It must be funny to the emperor to see me looking so embarrassed right now.'
The nobles who had been pointing at her and laughing were now alternating between looking at Asha and the list of nobles. Asha glanced at them and sighed to herself.
'Fine, I'm not in a position to care about others' circumstances right now.'
No one would want to have Pervaz Countess as their relative-in-law.
If Asha had chosen the second or third son, they might have sacrificed one of them and wiped their mouth clean, but Asha couldn't do that. She was determined to choose the eldest son of the family who could unconditionally pay the most 'alimony'.
'The most powerful and wealthy noble…'
Asha didn't even turn the page of the noble list and just stared at it blankly.
Just then, the emperor, who seemed to want the entertainment to start quickly, urged Asha.
"There are many people waiting behind you to pay their respects."
Asha gulped again. She was about to do something that could easily get her head cut off on this spot.
"I thank Your Majesty the Emperor for your generous gift."
"Ahahaha! You can save the thanks for after you've chosen a decent partner. This is really…, even I'm looking forward to it."
"Then...."
Asha's hand went up over the cover of the book of the nobles list. The sound of saliva gulping could be heard here and there as if it would fill the hall. However, Asha did not turn the page of the nobility list. She raised her head and said,
"Duke Carlyle Haven."
At that moment, the hall fell silent again as if it had frozen over.
Everyone had a face that looked like they were wondering if they had heard it wrong, or if there was someone else with the same name.
The emperor, who had been staring at Asha with his eyes wide open and his mouth open, barely came to his senses and asked.
"What, what did you say? Who?"
However, Asha's answer did not change.
"As His Majesty the Emperor said, I have chosen the highest-ranking person among the unmarried nobles."
Asha's words were not wrong in the slightest.
Due to the crown prince's demotion incident that happened just four days ago, Carlyle was now no longer a royal, but 'noble' Duke Carlyle Haven. He was the 'unmarried male' of the highest noble rank on the nobility list.
Those who realized this fact belatedly cautiously looked at Carlyle's expression.
He, who had not even bothered to hide his boredom until now, was staring at her as if he was going to cut Asha's throat right away.
"Now all the bullshit is coming up on me."
At the voice mixed with anger and contempt, everyone gathered there expected Asha's death.
However, Asha, who was concerned, spoke with an attitude that had not changed a bit from before.
"If he refuses, his family will have to pay the alimony."
In that moment, those who realized what Asha was aiming for gasped and turned their gazes towards the Emperor.
At that sight, Carlyle, who had been creating a lively atmosphere until just now, burst out laughing.
"Pft!"
It didn't take long for the unexpected laughter to grow louder.
"Hahahahahaha!"
The only sound that echoed in the silent hall was Carlyle's laughter, which seemed almost mad.
This was an unprecedented event in imperial history.
After all, a country bumpkin Countess who had lost her entire family to the Emperor had just played a trick on the Emperor who was trying to trick her.
If the Emperor got angry and forced a different choice here, he would surely be ridiculed and humiliated for years to come.
'How will His Majesty respond?'
Everyone looked at the Emperor, Asha, and Carlyle with eyes full of anticipation.
Feeling the need to somehow sort out this situation, the Grand Chamberlain coughed lightly.
Only then did the Emperor come to his senses, clenched his jaw, glared at Asha, and opened his mouth.
"I will give you one more chance to reconsider."
"The only marriage partner I want is Duke Carlyle Haven. If you give me the compensation money instead of the right to choose my marriage partner, I will withdraw...."
It was when Asha was about to ask for the prize money in moderation.
"No, don't!"
Carlyle, who still had the aftertaste of laughter, interrupted Asha in a loud voice.
"Are you trying to make a fool of His Majesty the Emperor right now? The Emperor's promise is not something that can be overturned so easily!"
Because of Carlyle's words, the Emperor was unable to say anything more.
"Although it is ridiculous to think that I, the eldest son of His Majesty, will marry Countess Pervaz, I cannot take my father's promise lightly either...."
Carlyle shrugged his shoulders as if there was nothing he could do and let out a long sigh.
"Alright, I will accept your proposal."
Everyone gasped and then erupted into exclamations and screams of astonishment.
The marriage of Carlyle, the first prince of the great Chad Empire, no, the crown prince until recently, and who was expected to regain the position of crown prince within 3 years, had been decided in an absurd way.
Then, the imperial aide, who had been watching the Emperor's reaction, hurriedly stepped forward.
"But she is youngest daughter of the former Count of Pervaz, so it will be difficult for her to immediately become the crown princess."
In the imperial family, gold eyes have been considered a symbol of royalty since time immemorial. As such, only women with gold eyes were eligible to become empresses or concubines, and only through marriage between two individuals with gold eyes could children be born with the same trait.
Although Carlyle was aware of this fact, he dismissed it with a nonchalant response.
"Does that matter now? There is a promise between my grandfather and her father, but it's not like there's a law that says I have to marry someone with gold eyes."
"That may be true, but…"
"Don't drag this out any longer. It will make it seem like my father is making excuses to avoid keeping his promise. I will accept the marriage proposal of Countess Pervaz."
The one most surprised by his declaration was Asha.
'What is this? What on earth is his motive?'
She had planned to go along with the emperor's wishes without contradicting him, all the while extracting a war reparations payment from him.
The war reparations were a simple matter—a sum of money that the emperor should rightfully provide, without causing any harm to the nobles.
'This wasn't what I had in mind…!'
For the first time since entering the hall, Asha felt flustered and looked back at her entourage. They, too, wore expressions of even greater surprise than when the emperor had made his outrageous proposal.
Carlyle felt a strange sense of pleasure when he saw the expression of Countess Pervaz, who had been expressionless until now, wavering for the first time.
'To think that the full of justice ragamuffin would be Countess Pervaz.'
He had been a bit surprised when the woman he had met on his first day of secret duty turned out to be the one who had walked out in front of the emperor.
Of course, that was nothing compared to when she had chosen him as her marriage partner and tried to extract a rejection fee from the emperor.
'It's still a beastly end, but she's quite a remarkable human being. To think she would make me realize how to deal with my father.'
No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't come up with a good solution, and he was getting annoyed. But Asha, with her nonchalant expression, had managed to outsmart his father in a truly magnificent way.
What pleased Carlyle the most was that the emperor had fallen for his trick, just as he had wanted.
'Yes, let's join in this play.
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