Bab 3: One Will Seek Death! Resentment against An Arranged Marriage
Editor: Henyee Translations
Was this not too arrogant?
This person imposed on someone else's territory and acted all high and mighty. He even expressed his disgust for the shabbiness that greeted his eyes.
Sous had never met someone so disrespectful in his previous life. From the memories of his host, he understood how tyrannical the Holy Land was, but everything he saw was from the perspective of a bystander since the memories were not his. It was the first time he had ever witnessed whatever he was watching now with his own eyes.
He had never come across such a sight before.
Not to mention Sous, everyone present was fuming on the inside. All of them were shocked by what the Holy Saint had done.
He had led an entire group of armed people into the Hall; let the leader of the Orcs Tribe bow down to him in respect; and even took his place at the place meant for the Empress. The Empress herself could only stand on one side, and none of the ministers dared to sit. The intruders were simply too oppressive and did not pay any attention to the people before them.
"Region Lord, you must be joking."
The Empress could only grit her teeth and endure. There was nothing she could do. This was the suppression of absolute strength. No matter who you were, even if you were the empress, you had to stand still.
It was in this moment that Sous realized how essential strength and power was in contributing to confidence. This made him even more determined to seek death.
Once he inherited all that power he was promised, he would be able to pay the Holy Land a visit.
The power that he would inherit after his death was not something that the Holy Saint could compete with.
The Holy Saint lapped up the entire scene before him. He casually swept his eyes over the people all with their heads bowed down obediently. However, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.
Such a small country did not require a Region Lord like him. He could just throw the job to his subordinates to take care of it. This was a bore to him. It would have been more worthy of his time if he had stayed put in the Holy Land and trained.
"This is the Empress of the Skalan Empire. So I see she's not that great after all. Your swordsman dares not draw his sword even after seeing his master humiliated."
His ridicule was cutting. In fact, there was no need for him to stoop to this level to say anything. But the Holy Saint felt a sense of satisfaction in doing so.
Back then, the late Emperor of Skalan was a known tyrant. Just one man and his dragon, looking down on everything. Even the Holy Lands avoided his wrath. Now, with his death, there was nothing to fear.
There and then, Sous felt the moment for him to seek death was here. However, the Empress spoke up before he could take any action.
"Are you here to make such cheap talk?"
The Holy Saint smiled calmly. "You're wrong. I'm here to arrange a marriage. If your Skalan Empire and the Skalan Tribe fight to your deaths, both sides will definitely suffer great losses. Why don't you marry the beastmen instead? If you're unwilling, I remember that there are two princesses in the Skalan Empire. You can have one of them take your place."
Empress Kati took a deep breath, her chest heaving.
This was a very direct insult. How could a mere Skalan Tribe defeat the entire Skalan Empire? Everyone knew that this was because the Holy Land was interfering. Now they even wanted to take things further and force the Empress to marry into the tribe. This was a smack in the face to the Skalan Empire.
What were the Orcs? They were only half human. They were neither human nor beast.
As if he were commiserating, the Holy Saint gave the Empress an option, offering to be in agreement of the other princesses taking her place lest she was unwilling.
This was an obvious act of trying to ruin the Empress' reputation. It did not matter that everyone knew that the Empress had been forced and slandered. But could the Empress really allow herself to be married off to those of a lower status than her?
She was the ruler of a country, an empress. If she married into the Skalan Tribe, the entire empire would have to be renamed as the Skalan Tribe instead. This was definitely not possible.
However, if she chose the second option, her reputation would end up in shallows. The two choices that the Holy Man had given her were intended for the Empress to suffer. She also did not want her younger sisters to marry the bastard.
She then looked at the ministers, all of whom had their heads lowered in silence, as if none of them were present. All of the pressure had fallen upon the Empress, and no one was willing to share her burden.
The Empress smiled bitterly at this sight. Everyone wanted to survive, and they were deeply afraid of implicating themselves. Everyone had different thoughts.
Father, what should I do?
Seeing that the Empress was trying hard to suppress her anger, the Chief Swordsman next to Sous trembled violently. He held so much hatred in his heart.
"Chief Swordsman, why don't you go up and kill that person with one strike? Throw away all your frustrations, be fearless and follow your heart. Avenge for whom it is necessary. Wouldn't that be the quickest solution?"
The swordsman's face froze, and he said tightly, "if the late emperor was still alive and the Divine Dragon was awake, there would be no need for any of this."
He said nothing more, and kept his expressions to a minimum.
But what Sous had said had shocked him.
Was this trusted aide of the Empress truly not afraid of death?
Sous could not understand why the Chief Swordsman was hesitating.
It was no wonder he was stagnant. He had too many concerns and hesitation before he could make a decision. Wanting to improve on his skills as a swordsman would definitely be difficult.
He knew that the swordsmen were most wary of their feelings. They did not hold pure intentions, but from the looks of it, the Chief Swordsman truly felt indignance for the Empress.
But what about those ministers? Did they really look as calm as they appeared?
This was the Empress' country, but so was it theirs. Could it be that they were traitors instead?
It was human nature to be afraid of death. To Sous, he did not feel this way.
But to the Empress, and everyone else, they were scared to death. It just so happened that Sous himself had to court death.
Wouldn't he attract too much attention if he jumped out later?
…
No one paid attention to the conversation between Sous and the Chief Swordsman in the corner.
However, the Holy Saint did not care. He chuckled loudly, stalked past the Empress, and said directly to the ministers, "Dear ministers, what do you think of the marriage alliance? After the marriage, the Skalan Tribe will no longer attack the Empire. The kind of life that you had till now shall remain unchanged. But if you disagree…"
The Holy Saint did not finish his sentence. Everyone understood what was coming next. If you agree to this proposal, then the war will be over. If you don't agree… this country will be destroyed.
"The Region Lord is right, I agree to the princess' marriage." the nearest minister hurriedly said. His name was Buck Byron, and the people behind him were all his subordinates.
After making his stance, he stole a glance at the Empress. He had given the Empress a way out. He had suggested offering up the princess instead of the empress.
The rest of the hall echoed.
"The Region Lord is right, I agree to the princess' marriage."
"The Region Lord is right, I agree to the princess' marriage."
…
Hearing this, Queen Kati closed her eyes.
This was it.
Even she did not know how to go up against such a power. She was troubled, but the ministers were right. For the sake of the country's peace, this was the only way.
"Sit down, ministers. Benevolence, you may also sit."
The Holy Saint was delighted. He ordered the ministers to take their seats. Even Benevolence, who had bowed from the moment he entered, was liberated. He found an empty seat and sat down.
"Your Majesty, the ministers have all agreed. What do you think?"
The Empress was still standing, smiling miserably. What else could she say now? Her lips parted slightly. "This matter…"
"Wait!"
At this moment, a person standing in the corner suddenly shouted:
"Ridiculous! How can the safety of a country be resolved by marriage?!!"
-- Hadiah diterima