What Lorist hadn't expected was for Princess Sylvia to return the moment Fatty Shi departed, looking furious. Lorist was startled; he had assumed the princess wouldn't be back until quite late. At the very least, she should have had dinner with her godmother, Sword Saint Cinti. What could have happened to put her in such a rage?
Princess Sylvia had curled herself up in Lorist's arms, clinging tightly to him and weeping silently, looking as lost and wronged as a wandering child. It broke Lorist's heart. After all, Sylvia's psyche had been wounded before and was still fragile — what he feared most was that she might develop some kind of psychological affliction.
It took a long while of coaxing and comforting before Lorist finally learned the truth from the princess's lips. As it turned out, after reuniting with Princess Sylvia, Sword Saint Cinti had told her that she had taken on the
What Cinti hadn't anticipated was that at the very moment the Second Prince was on the cusp of his advancement to Sword Saint, word arrived that Lorist was about to marry Princess Sylvia. This shocked Cinti to the core. The news she had received the previous year was that the four-family Northland alliance and the Fiesabrun Family's forces had clashed in a great battle, resulting in the fall of the Kingdom of Iberia. Cinti had been delighted, thinking her precious adopted daughter would finally give up. But now Sylvia was marrying Lorist? This was no joke — the wedding invitation had even been delivered to the royal palace.
Cinti racked her brains but could make no sense of it, ultimately concluding that the Norton Family must have coerced the Fiesabrun Family into marrying Sylvia to Lorist through sheer force. At the time, she had been unable to get away, otherwise she would have charged into the Northland to rescue her poor darling from Lorist's clutches. So now, upon seeing Sylvia, Cinti felt mostly regret that the girl had lost the chance to become Queen of Andinac, and frustration that the Fiesabrun Family hadn't been able to hold out just one more year...
But Princess Sylvia was beaming with happiness and couldn't care less about the throne of a queen — being with Lorist was more than enough to satisfy her. Seeing the godmother she had clung to since childhood, she naturally held nothing back, pouring out everything: the cold treatment and bullying she had endured within the family, the soul-crushing feeling of being abandoned when Grand Duke Fiesabrun had given her away to Lorist, and all the ways Lorist had treated her wonderfully — restoring her health and taking her as his wife...
Cinti grew angrier with every word. So it was all that old fossil's doing! She seized Princess Sylvia by the hand and marched off to confront Grand Duke Fiesabrun. Sylvia didn't want to see the Grand Duke, but she was dragged along anyway. Then the two old codgers erupted into a furious quarrel.
Princess Sylvia retreated outside and stood at the entrance of the hall, her heart heavy as she listened to the shouting within. She deliberately moved a bit farther away. It was then that she ran into her cousin, Queen Cici, who was touring the Rose Palace with an entourage. Before the entire crowd, Cici publicly humiliated her and, pulling rank as the Queen of Andinac, demanded that Sylvia perform a full formal kowtow in greeting. Sylvia could stomach no such insult — she slapped Cici across the face on the spot and fled. The more she thought about it on the way back, the more wronged she felt, so she came straight to Lorist to seek comfort.
Lorist burst into laughter after hearing Princess Sylvia's account. "My dear, you didn't come out behind — that's what matters. At the very least, you slapped that queen across the face, so you came out ahead..."
"But... but my cousin is the queen now..." Princess Sylvia said, only now starting to feel the fear.
"So what if she's a queen? A slap's a slap." Lorist couldn't care less. The Second Prince needed the support of the four Northland families to attack the four central duchies — there was no way he would offend Lorist over this. With that cold, ruthless temperament of his, he wouldn't give a damn about Queen Cici. Drawing a sword in a fit of pique over a beauty was not something that king would ever do. Besides, as a mere first-rank Sword Saint, did he even have the right to draw his blade in front of Lorist?
"My Lord, His Majesty the King has arrived," Genorio reported from the doorway.
Genorio added that the Second Prince looked absolutely furious, though he had only brought two guards with him. Hmm — Lorist reflected — naturally. His wife had been slapped in the face and publicly humiliated. As her husband, no matter how bad their relationship might be, he had to step up. Unable to find Princess Sylvia, he had come to Lorist to settle the score.
Lorist nodded and said to show him in. Then he gave Sylvia's little backside a pat. "Go hide yourself for now. I'll take care of this. But tonight you'd better last long enough to make it up to me properly..."
Princess Sylvia's face flushed crimson. She gave Lorist a sharp pinch and left the study. Before long, the heavy thud of footsteps approached, and the Second Prince strode in.
So let's call this matter settled — what do you think?"
"Uh..." The Second Prince immediately understood what Lorist was getting at. "One hundred carriages, and I'll consider this whole thing never happened."
"Heh." Lorist shook his head with a smile. "Fifty. Your queen isn't worth a hundred carriages."
"No, no matter what, she's the kingdom's queen and my wife. If I don't get a hundred catapults as an apology, won't I look completely humiliated?" The Second Prince insisted.
Lorist withdrew his hand. "Fine, then fifty is off the table too. Lay out your terms and I'll take them head-on. If you want to pick a fight, just say so."
The Second Prince froze, then flew into a rage after a long pause. "Lorist, what do you mean?! Why aren't you playing by the rules?"
"Rules? What rules?" Lorist asked curiously.
"Aren't we supposed to haggle back and forth and then settle on a number in the middle, so both sides save face and can walk away gracefully? How can you just flip the table like that?"
Lorist burst out laughing, then spoke with a serious expression. "Fifty catapults, not a single one more. You should understand — I'm only offering these fifty out of respect for you. Do you think I'd apologize to anyone else?"
"Alright, fifty it is." The Second Prince knew perfectly well this was Lorist's bottom line, but he still couldn't help pushing. "How about you go over there and slap her one more time, and we call it a hundred catapults?"
Lorist let out an involuntary laugh and shook his head. "These fifty catapults, combined with the White Lion Corps' cooperation, are more than enough for you to take several cities and fortress castles in the central four duchies. A man shouldn't be too greedy. Besides, I wouldn't stoop to slapping your wife's face. Speaking of which, you ought to give me a reason — a reason for breaking things off with my cousin..."
The Second Prince sighed and sat down. "Pour me a drink."
Gennorio brought him a bottle of fruit wine, then retreated from the study and closed the door. Lorist took the bottle, poured himself a glass and downed it in one gulp, then handed the rest to the Second Prince. The Second Prince took the bottle, didn't bother with a glass, and tilted his head back against the mouth of the bottle, gulping it all down in one breath. After setting down the bottle, he let out a belch, exhaled a long breath, and finally spoke. "I've wronged Chrisia..."
"You've certainly wronged her. She followed you when she was eighteen — nearly twenty years ago now. She's charged into battle for you, led armies for you, and served you in your bedchamber at night. She gave you the best years of her youth. Even if you're wary of our Norton Family, you should at least recognize how loyal she's been to you. I simply didn't expect you to cast her aside so easily, just like that. I truly despise you, Your Majesty. I can see now that my decision not to cooperate with you was extremely wise — otherwise, once our Norton Family lost its value to you, we'd have been tossed aside like a rag just the same..." Lorist's voice was cold and cutting.
"Don't blame me." The Second Prince countered. Since Lorist had been so blunt, he saw no point in maintaining the mask of pleasantries: "Your Norton Family's military strength is extraordinary — conquering cities and toppling kingdoms is child's play for you. Yet you refuse to help me reunify the former Empire. Tell me, as a king, how could I not be wary of the Norton Family? If you were the king, I suspect your measures would be even harsher. I believe I've been remarkably magnanimous, constantly tolerating you. Tell me honestly — under these circumstances, could I possibly crown Chrisia as queen?"
"But, Your Majesty, our Norton Family has never had any interest in the throne you sit upon — you know that perfectly well. And our family's century-old creed says as much. We're loyal to you precisely because you are the only legitimate heir of the Krisen royal bloodline. You also know I have no grand ambitions — I simply want to develop the family's territories and live a peaceful life. So your suspicion toward us is profoundly unfair..." Lorist frowned as he defended himself.
"No, no..." The Second Prince shook his head repeatedly. "Lorist, I know you have no ambitions, but I still have to be on guard. If I married Chrisia as queen, then as the most powerful Grand Duke in the kingdom — the Lord of Northland — you would inevitably be drawn into meddling in royal affairs. As Chrisia's closest kin, the Norton Family would become her backing no matter what. You can guarantee your own loyalty to the kingdom, but you can guarantee the loyalty of your descendants and your subordinates — nor can you guarantee that they won't harbor ambitions of their own toward the throne. As a king, I must look further ahead and think more deeply..."
"So you married a woman from the Fasabulen Family as queen, hoping to use the Fasablens to counterbalance us? Rather than Chrisia, who followed you for nearly twenty years?" Lorist asked in a quiet, almost detached tone.
The Second Prince let out a bitter laugh. "I won't deny that thought crossed my mind. But the real reason was to bring the Fasabulen Family back into the kingdom, and with them, reclaim two border provinces from the former Empire's territory. Plus, I need the Fasablens to send troops to fight the four central duchies for me. Lorist, you know my dream — my only wish — is to rebuild a powerful Empire, reunify the old Krisen Empire, and carve my name into history.
Marrying a Fasabulen woman was the condition Sword Saint Cindy demanded of me. Only then could she convince the Duke Fasabulen. The original queen candidate was Princess Sylvia, but I didn't expect you to act so quickly, so I simply chose someone at random — I didn't care who she was. This isn't love. I told Chrisia as much: it's a price paid for reunifying the Empire. If she was willing, I could have taken her as a consort instead. But she refused, and she left me.
Since I can't destroy the four central duchies on my own, I must rely on outside forces. The Fasabulen Family is deploying two legions this time, and combined with the forces from your Northland Four-Family Alliance, the destruction of the four central duchies is more than assured. Once I reclaim those eleven provinces and govern well for three years, I'll be able to wrest back the territories seized by the Mercantile Alliance."
"Alas..." Lorist sighed. In that moment, he suddenly felt the Second Prince was somewhat pitiable — consumed to the point of obsession by his dream of reunification, willing to bear infamy and slaughter the nobles who had betrayed him, sacrificing his own love simply to secure the Fasabulen Family's support. But they walked different paths, and different paths could not converge. If not for the sake of the Northland Four-Family Alliance, he truly would have preferred not to send a single soldier. Fine — he would help one last time.
"Very well. I'll help you attack the four central duchies this time and put your vendetta to rest. But I have one condition — you will not meddle in the strategies of our Northland Four-Family Alliance. How we conduct the campaign is our decision to make. I can only promise that we won't avoid battle or miss opportunities, and I expect the same from you — don't hold us back," Lorist said.
The Second Prince laughed, raising his palm to clap against Lorist's: "It's a deal!"
This visit left the Second Prince very satisfied with his gains. He politely declined Lorist's invitation to share dinner, saying he needed to return to the Rose Palace to comfort Queen Cissy, who had been slapped. As he was leaving, Lorist finally couldn't help but ask him one more question: "Do you really think you can tame that old fox Fasabulen?"
The Second Prince's smile was bright as sunshine: "With the Norton Family around, why would I need to worry about that problem..."
Watching the Second Prince's retreating silhouette, Lorist shook his head with a bitter smile. None of these were easy people to deal with — they calculated everything down to the last detail. The Second Prince knew perfectly well that Lorist's biggest concern was Grand Duke Fasabulen, which was why he had so freely let the Fasabulen Family operate unchecked. After all, he understood in his heart that if the Fasabulen Family tried to rise up, Lorist would inevitably slap them back down hard. So for now, the Fasabulen Family had to cling firmly to Lorist's thigh just to hold on to a sliver of hope for resurgence. Without even realizing it, he had become a knife in the Second Prince's hand — a knife used specifically to threaten the Fasabulen Family...