Chương 32: 32. Extortion.
"Young Lord Kreza," Cook's attitude changed in a blink. Although a bow shouldn't be possible with a body like his, Cook's body movements did show similarities.
"It's been a while, Viscount Justin." Not calling the first name was supposed to show respect, but Kreza had no intention of doing it.
"And this must be young Lady Thyra." Kreza grabbed her hand and gently kissed the back of her palm, complimenting, "You are as beautiful as I heard."
Only God knew how much Thyra wanted to punch his face, but she was calm enough to handle the situation. She bowed slightly, saying, "Congratulations, young Lord Kreza."
Kreza was a little surprised, not understanding what Thyra was talking about.
"Oh! Sorry." Thyra was quick to correct herself. "By the way Lord Cook and young Lady Melanie were talking, I thought the young Lord had decided to accept her as your third consort."
'Isn't she heartbroken because Melanie had rejected the marriage?' Kreza wondered when she looked at Thyra.
After all, that was his plan all along. She had rejected him, so he was trying to make her realise the mistake of rejecting him.
Yet, to his utter surprise, Thyra was smiling at him.
"Oh! I might be wrong," Thyra didn't even break the character, continuing, "Let me humbly apologise to you, young lord Kreaza, Lord Cook."
Melanie's previous outburst had already attracted a lot of attention. As Thyra was constantly bowing towards them, almost half of the nobles were curious about the situation.
And that was the case Kreza least wanted to happen. Although he had used her father's name to pursue Baron Cook, Count Thais knew nothing about it.
He was sure his father would have welcomed a friendly relationship with a wealthy noble if the process of doing so didn't sully his reputation.
"I think Young Lady Thyra is misunderstanding something."
"Misunderstanding? Isn't Young Lord Kreza going to marry Young Lady Melanie in the holy coming-of-age ceremony?" Thyra paused and looked towards Baron Cook, "Does that mean esteemed Baron Cook is lying to us?"
"No, Lord Kreza is going to marry me." Melanie was too naive to understand the undercurrent.
She didn't understand why Thyra was overly respectful towards a lower-ranked noble, nor did she notice her father's face.
He had agreed to let his daughter marry Thyra because he thought it would be easy to influence Justin, as Justin greatly loved his daughter. Cook never imagined the ever-so-silent Viscount had a daughter with a vicious tongue.
Right now, his only saving grace is that Kreza still supports him. As long as he has the support of the Count, he has nothing to worry about.
"There is nothing to lie about. Love is a matter of the heart. Nobody can predict how the heart will work." Creza did come to his rescue.
He grabbed Melanie's hand, saying, "You can't blame Lord Cook for the mistake he didn't make. If anyone makes a mistake, then that would be me. I made the mistake of falling in love with my lady, Melanie, at first sight."
The cheesy smile on his face almost made Thyra vomit. Still, he turned towards Thyra, asking, "I think the young Lady Thyra is a little jealous of me."
"Why would I be?" Thyra asked as if she didn't understand anything.
"That I am going to marry the love of my life."
'You already have two partners. How many more loves of your life do you need?' Thyra almost voiced her thoughts but controlled herself.
Kreza continued smiling at Thyra, saying, "I am sorry you failed to marry a wife at the coming-of-age ceremony. But it's my fault. I had pursued Lord Cook to break the engagement. Please give me some face, and don't take the matter to your heart."
Thyra shook her head, saying, "What Lord Kreza had said is correct. Love is a matter of the heart."
Thyra scanned around before she turned towards Cook and said, "What made me unhappy was that Baron Cook had broken the kingdom's rule and dared to break off the engagement with a higher noble. I felt he was disrespecting my father, Viscount Justin Hoax."
Thyra intentionally paused to let the other nobles digest her point. When she saw Cook and Kreza glaring at her, she smiled, adding, "But you don't have to worry about it, Lord Kreza. Baron Cook had already said he would compensate us."
Cook's face was dyed red. He planned to buy some time by saying he would compensate before Kreza took care of the matter. Naturally, he didn't have to pay any money.
However, now that Thyra had exposed his words in front of everyone, he had to pay. And if it wasn't enough, he heard somebody say, "How many gold coins would be sufficient to compensate for the loss of the noble of the Ardour kingdom?"
"We pay respect to the princess." They all bowed in unison.
"Answer me." The princess wasn't in the mood for a simple greeting. The only reason she was here was to hold the coming-of-age ceremony. Now that she had heard Thyra, she couldn't ignore any disrespect to the kingdom.
This was the best-case scenario Thyra had planned for. Even without the princess, she might have been able to extract a hefty sum from Baron Cook. She was sure the result would be much better now.
"Answer me, Baron Cook. How much money would be enough."
Cook quickly accepted the mistake, saying, "Esteemed princess, this subject had sinned…"
"Shut up." The princess had no intention of listening. "How much gold coin?"
Cook quickly fell on his knees and kowtowed, "Please forgive me."
"Useless." The princess cursed before turning towards Thyra and saying, "How much compensation would be enough?"
"Death," Thyra answered without any hesitation. Thyra's words made the entire hall sigh in unison. Even the edge of the princess's eyebrow twitched a little.
"Beheading would be the appropriate punishment for any commoner who insulted a noble." Thyra was quick to add, "But Lord Cook is a noble. He shouldn't be killed. Maybe a hand."
"You want to cut off his hand?" Even the princess wasn't sure she had heard it right.
"Forgive me, your highness. The honour of my father is more valuable than anything else to me. I can forget my loss of honour as I failed to find a partner for my coming-of-age ceremony, but I can't forgive anyone if they disrespect my father."
'You are acting too much,' Thyra, seemingly reading the princess's thoughts, continued, "Your Highness is more knowledgeable than anyone present here." I will humbly request your highness to execute justice for my father."
"5000 gold coins," the princess said.
"I will follow your command." Cook was quick to add.
"And you will also pay the royal treasury a fine of 5,000 gold for disrespecting the kingdom's law."
"I will. I will." Cook didn't even dare to raise his head.
"Remember, there won't be a second time." The princess turned towards Melanie, saying, "You will marry Young Lady Thyra as promised."
"No, I won't," The spoiled brat screamed.
Before anyone could decide how to control the situation, Thyra said, "Your Highness, if I am not being disrespectful, should I say something?"
"Say what you want."
"I don't think it's to break off two people who are in love. Even if she marries me, all I will get is her body, not her heart. Your Highness, please reconsider your decision."
"Yes, yes. Whatever she said," Melanie quickly added, only to be pulled down by her father.
The Princess continued to stare at Thyra before turning towards Cook, "You have an unmarried daughter, don't you?"
"This is my second daughter, Nisa."
"A slave?" The princess said it instinctively.
"Esteemed process, let me marry her." Thyra was eyeing her as soon as she saw her. She never thought she would get such a great chance.
"Do whatever you want." The princess said and left without looking back.
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