Over the past two years, there had been constant small frictions between Alterg and Serorida. Now that the clashes were growing more and more intense, the king urgently needed to send a daughter to Alterg as a concubine to stabilize the situation. Freya was the perfect choice!
Not only that, if he could marry Freya off while Lant was still away on his mission in the Dark Night Forest, the side palace would be empty by the time Lant returned. Wouldn’t Lant then become his knight and protect him?
King Serorida found the thought utterly delightful.
Although he had no idea when the Otherworld Demons would awaken, having Lant by his side to protect him would at least bring him great peace of mind.
Recently, a rumor had also been spreading widely throughout the kingdom.
Two years ago, a no-name fortune teller had once predicted the coming of the Hero, the unsealing of the Otherworld Demons, and the end of the world. But no one paid it any attention at the time.
But lately, the number of wild fortune tellers making the same prophecy seems to have suddenly increased. Naturally, some people began to take notice. With the frequent riots in the Dark Night Forest and the king’s uncharacteristically intense recruitment of knights, especially as the legendary tales gained traction, more and more people came to believe it.
Even within the palace, rumors about the Otherworld Demons, the Hero, and the Saintess began to circulate.
Aiden was the intelligence expert in Freya’s side hall. He was responsible for collecting their monthly allowance, as well as Lant’s fixed rewards as a personal knight. Since he interacted with many people, he heard a lot of news.
The moment Aiden heard the rumors about the Otherworld Demons’ unsealing, he immediately informed Freya.
Freya was skeptical at first. But then she suddenly recalled the knight selection tournament that was held in advance two years ago. Why was it held in advance without any warning? There must be something fishy in this!
So Freya began to believe the rumors somewhat and decided to discuss them with Lant once he returned.
Unfortunately, before Lant could come back, Freya received some grim news.
The king had decided to hold her coming-of-age ceremony in just three days. He then issued a decree that she would be sent to the neighboring country of Alterg as a concubine—a marriage to be gifted to Grady, the eldest prince of Alterg.
Aterga had long harbored ambitions against Serorida. This marriage was clearly an act of submission and concession. It was utterly humiliating!
In Freya’s view, Serorida was not incapable of fighting back. Yet they repeatedly missed opportunities and fled from battle. A perfectly good hand had been played to tatters!
And in the king’s eyes, she was nothing more than a dispensable pawn that could be used at any time.
Although no one actually knew the exact date of Freya’s birth, a date had long since been accepted by default. Her coming-of-age ceremony was supposed to be held a month from now. Could it simply be moved up on a whim?
What did he take her for? A joke?
Freya received the royal decree with a cold expression, her hands clenching it until her knuckles turned white.
Lita looked even worse than Freya. Over the past two years, she had come to assume in her heart that Freya should be with Lant. Although it defied rules, Lita herself had always been a rebellious person. She simply didn’t care about such things.
In the yard, Kemi, Tila, Aiden, and Yuna had all set down their work for once. Each of them wore a grim expression as they gathered together.
“Princess, I don’t want you to marry him… That eldest prince doesn’t sound like a good person at all!” Tila’s face was filled with tears.
“That king is such an asshole that he actually wants our princess to be a concubine!” Kemi, forgetting all etiquette, spat viciously and ground his teeth, barely restraining himself from grabbing the big knife in the kitchen.
Aiden rested his chin on his hand gloomily. “You know, I’m suddenly thinking the Otherworld Demons’ unsealing and the end of the world might be better. At least we could run for our lives together. That would be better than this humiliating marriage alliance!”
But Yuna analyzed calmly, “The king is suddenly moving up the princess’s coming-of-age ceremony and sending her off to be married. There’s definitely something behind this! He must have his own selfish motives. Given how he used to keep giving Knight Lant a hard time, I suspect he is trying to exploit a gap in timing to deliberately separate them.”
Lita gasped. “You mean that old thing wants to split up Lant and the princess? Why would he do that? Could it be that he has taken a fancy to Lant or something? Is his sexuality messed up?”
Seeing that Lita was talking more and more nonsense, Freya quickly covered her mouth. “He does want Lant but probably only for his abilities. He must think I’m the most useless of all his daughters, so I’m the most suitable to be sent off for marriage. But he also wants to keep Lant to replace Kane, so that’s why he’s doing this.”
Kemi was so angry he punched the wall. “Can a person really be this shameless?”
Yuna pressed her palms together and offered a silent prayer. “I hope Knight Lant can return safely soon.”
Aiden didn’t know what else to say, so he comforted Freya. “I believe Brother Lant will come back quickly too.”
Lita dropped a bombshell. “Even if Lant comes back, the princess will still have to marry. Why don’t we just run away from marriage?”
Kemi, Yuna, Aiden, Tila: (・o・)
If it were two years ago, Freya would definitely agree with Lita’s decision. But now she was older and more mature. She understood that she could not act on impulse. She was a princess. She bore responsibilities. In many situations, she could not simply do as she pleased.
If she ran away from marriage, whether Alterg truly cared about a concubine sent for a marriage alliance or not, it would still give them enough reason to attack Serorida. By then, the commoners would be the ones suffering the most.
Freya did not think herself capable of being so selfish as to make countless innocent people pay the price for her choice. But she already has someone she loves. She did not want to marry someone she didn’t love!
“I’m sorry. Please let me be alone for a while.” Freya pressed her hand to her head in distress, stood up, and walked despondently towards her room.
The other five all watched her retreating figure with worried eyes.
What could they do…
Their little princess was being forced into a marriage alliance!
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1