An Unexpected Proposal - Chapter 9

TL: Kay (kkrivulet)

「Yes. That’s a good idea. It’s your duty to play along with your brother.」

“I have no intention of losing.”

It was either his desire to win or his unyielding pride.

Regardless, it did not matter. What was certain was that he had always been tough.

Even his attitude towards Gerpenus was unseemly and unpleasant.

So Gerpenus had to find a reason.

Otherwise, it seemed that Gerpenus would not be able to shake off this jarring feeling.

「That’s the same for me. A man will never be bothered by a woman he doesn’t care about.」

Gerpenus grinned and poured wine into his glass.

The cunning emperor’s gaze was on Cabellenus’s thumb, unconsciously touching his lips.

* * *

On a sunny day, it was easy to spend time sitting on a bench.

No matter what Alicia said or did, no one cared.

Alicia was openly Cabellenus’s woman, a separate entity.

Even if she was living a much better life than she used to, she was still a stranger in Neinstein Castle.

Just as water and oil could not mix Alicia could not enter the masses of the common people.

But Alicia was not particularly sad about that.

It was a familiar routine for her.

Rather than sadness, right now, Alicia’s mind was full of wonder.

Alicia touched her lips with dazed eyes.

Even though it was a very short, sharp moment, the warmth of others that she touched for the first time was extremely vivid.

‘It was surprisingly warm.’

It was natural that the living had warmth, but it was extraordinary.

She thought he would be cold because he was a man who did not seem to have a drop of blood, but he was not.

His uncharacteristically bewildered eyes were stuck in her head as if they had been stuffed, and it kept coming to mind.

[T/N: the phrase “stuff (one’s) head with (something) means to be preoccupied with an idea/notion of something.]

‘I shouldn’t have done that.’

Alicia could not bear the unforgettable memory and shut her eyes tightly.

Everything she was going through right now was beyond her imagination, so she did not know what to do.

“You seem to be doing pretty well.”

Alicia slowly raised her head and was met with a stack of blankets that appeared out of nowhere.

She could not see the maid’s face as the sun was behind her, but her voice was familiar.

“And you’re doing well, too.”

Alicia smiled with a look of regret.

Although she was not a maid who usually served Alicia, it was not difficult to recognise her identity.

She was Veilita, a retired old knight who once served the Queen of the Neinstein Royal Family.

“I came here because I needed the help of the princess.”

“I didn’t know until today that you thought I was a princess.”

Alicia’s lips twisted.

Alicia’s thigh still had burn marks from the hot tea poured by the queen.

And Velita was one of the people who laughed at Alicia covered in tea.

Alicia could affirm that when Velita called her, she would have been more likely to use the expression ‘insect’ rather than ‘princess’.

“Even if it’s a princess begging for her life in a filthy way with the invaders, as long as she is a successor with the blood of Neinstein, she must do her part. Isn’t that a reward for the queen who had fed and clothed you? And, thanks to the noble blood flowing through your body?”

“If you’re going to such nonsense, simply disappear from my sight right now.”

Alicia evaded Velita’s gaze with a weary face.

Even though she knew that the queen was dead, her fingertips trembled from just the thought of her.

Everyone said it was benevolent of the queen to accept the princess, who was born as an illegitimate child, but what she did to Alicia was no mercy, but abuse in a mask of mercy.

However, she could not get Velita to understand that.

It was better not to react to anything in case of fuss.

“I also don’t want to waste time with long words. Anyway, the main point I’m going to talk about is very simple.”

Velita smiled confidently.

“The woman who gave birth to you, we have her.”

“Don’t lie.”

Alicia replied quickly.

“You don’t believe me.”

“My mother is dead.”

“It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not.”

Velita took out a pendant from her clothes and threw it at Alicia.

Alicia picked up the pendant that fell on her lap with a nervous face.

It was then.

A familiar voice was heard as Alicia touched the pendant that had opened from the impact of the fall.

Alicia looked up at Velita with confusion.

Velita was already confident of her victory.

“It’s a pendant made from the blood of the woman who gave birth to you. So it only reacts when someone with the same blood touches it. You’ve experienced it before, haven’t you? It’s a necklace that responds to its flesh and blood. The kingdom uses this method to identify lineage.”

“…….”

“It took quite a while to make such a valuable magic tool in this situation, but your reaction shows that it was not in vain.

Velita laughed triumphantly and grabbed Alicia’s chin.

“I’ll say it again. It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not. The important thing is you have no choice but to obey me. If you disobey me, it will not be you who will see blood, it will be that woman.”

“…..What do you want?”

“Cabellenus. Kill him.”

The pupils seen through Velita’s wrinkled eyes glistened under the light.

The eyes showed an indelible madness.

“…… What?”

“Thanks to her blood inheritance, you seem to have a natural talent for enticing men, so let’s use it.”

“I can’t.”

Cabellenus did not even embrace Alicia.

And even if he did, the situation would not change.

Cabellenus was an experienced warrior.

She did not know how to loosen his usual vigilance while he was resting, and there was always a weapon by his bedside.

Attempting to assassinate such a man was nothing but outrageous.

“No. You have to. You want to save her.”

“What if I fail.”

“I told you. She’d see blood. So kill the devil when you say good things.”

“Killing him will not change anything.”

“No. It’ll be over once that killer dies. The Kingdom of Neinstein is not dead yet.”

Velita roughly grinds her teeth while holding Alicia’s shoulders.

Alicia opened her lips to persuade Velita but quickly closed her mouth and bit her lips.

An old knight intoxicated with the glory of the past knew nothing, both in the past and present.

The Neinstein Royal Family was not loved.

It was only the subject of hatred, resentment, and fear.

When the king was beheaded, the tears shed by the majority of the Neinsteins were not grief.