What Your Majesty Desires - Chapter 2.2

It seemed he probably couldn’t hear. Seeing his lack of reaction, Marilyn swallowed hard, her throat dry with anxiety.

“I heard that even if you become a prisoner, the lives of noble offspring are spared if they surrender. I heard it’s written in international law…”

It was something she’d heard so long ago, it might have changed by now.

Even as she spoke, Marilyn lacked confidence, her voice constantly sinking to the floor. “He’s the heir of the Lipay baronial family.”

He didn’t seem particularly interested.

“They’re a family with a small territory in the south of Dextin, not favored by the imperial family, ah, a family with no power or ambition. If Your Highness would show mercy, they will surely repay this kindness in the future…”

“You seem to be unaware.”

“Yes?”

“The Gler Empire does not abide by international law.”

Hernis, who had been indifferent the whole time, finally raised his eyes to look at her.

“Ah?”

Marilyn couldn’t easily respond to the somewhat irritable tone in his voice. Could it be that she had mentioned international law in front of the prince, which was not proper etiquette?

“Your Highness, I just…”

Marilyn’s face turned pale, her neck trembling slightly. If her words to save Aiden had instead offended Hernis, she would have no chance to recover. Marilyn hurriedly shook her head at Hernis’s emotionless gaze, which seemed ready to order Aiden’s immediate execution.

She had to change his mind, but what could she do? In desperation, Marilyn hesitantly lowered herself, kneeling on the cold bathroom floor. “Please forgive me if I have been rude.” She knew what it meant for a princess to kneel before a prince of another empire.

She didn’t care if the watching knights laughed at her servility, as long as she could save Aiden.

Despite the humiliating situation, Marilyn continued, tearfully, in front of his tightly laced black military boots. “I will go to the execution ground tomorrow without fail. If I die, that child will have nothing to do, so he will return to his territory and live quietly. If you spare him…”

I will go to the execution ground tomorrow without fail.

The only sentence she could manage was the same as what she had said before. Since she had no other words that he might like, Marilyn looked up at him, high above her, with tearful eyes. No matter how long she waited…

“…”

There was no answer.

The words ‘spare him’ – he had probably heard them countless times by now. His merciless lips, unreadable as to what he was thinking, seemed ready to order Aiden’s breath to be cut off at any moment.

Absolutely not. Thinking she had to do something, Marilyn quickly placed one hand on the stone floor and lowered her forehead. The reason she couldn’t put both hands on the floor was that she couldn’t bear to let go of the bath towel.

“Your Highness, please…”

Please, I beg you.

Tears dripped from her eyes as she lowered her body further. Only when Marilyn’s forehead touched the hard toe of Hernis’s military boot, preventing her from bowing any further, did he reply, as if annoyed, “Let him go.”

As Hernis raised his chin, Curtis, who had been pressing Aiden’s back with his knee the whole time, quickly moved aside.

“Hic.”

At the same time, Aiden’s body, which had almost fainted beneath him, rolled away like dry straw. Aiden, who had been unable to breathe properly because not only his back but also his neck had been pressed down, finally regained consciousness and coughed up a belated fit of coughs.

It was pathetic.

“Aiden!”

Raising her head urgently at Aiden’s groan, she showed no sign of disappointment or resentment towards her incompetent escort knight.

“Heok, cough. Princess…”

“Aiden, don’t overdo it, just stay still.”

Rather, looking at Aiden, whose skin was scraped raw and bloody from the stone floor, she was distraught and didn’t know what to do.

He couldn’t even protect his own life, forcing his master to beg for his life. What was so precious about a guy like that?

Marilyn shed tears even more sorrowfully than before at the sight of Aiden in pain.

Whether the two were particularly close or not, Hernis didn’t care anyway.

He didn’t know why he had to watch someone else’s melodrama in a place like this, but Hernis gave her, who was kneeling before him and unable to go to Aiden yet, one more chance.

“Go see him.”

To your lover.

If you’re so worried, go touch him, hug him, and say cheesy farewells. You’ll be parting ways tomorrow anyway.

By death.

“Thank you for showing mercy.”

There was much to be thankful for.

As soon as Hernis’s permission was given, Marilyn, with tears streaming down her cheeks, repeatedly bowed her head and expressed her gratitude. Even after that, Marilyn’s appearance, hesitating and looking at his face to see if she could really go, was utterly innocent.

Only after Hernis nodded once more did Marilyn hesitantly get up and move towards Aiden.

“Are you alright, Aiden?”

Hernis stared silently at her like that.

He didn’t understand.

Why she cherished him.

“Princess, I’m sorry.”

Even though he seemed so lacking.

“Let me see, what should I do?”

“Hic.”

Marilyn helped Aiden, whose face was covered in blood from being scraped on the stone floor, to sit up.

“Go back to the baronial estate and get treatment first. Never resist these people, and it’s okay if you want to become a knight of the Gler Empire.”

Aiden stared blankly up at Marilyn’s face as she whispered her instructions, as if trying to save her escort knight at all costs.

“Princess, these people will…”

“You must live.”

“…”

Would it be better not to explain, that he couldn’t be saved even if he promised to defect?

According to international law, the offspring of noble families could be ransomed and returned alive even if they became prisoners of war, but the Gler Empire was not a place where such common sense prevailed.

They already had more than enough silver and gold.

And if they were short, they could just take it from neighboring countries.

Barbarians who considered it much easier to put a price on prisoners and trade them than to manage them alive.

The empress had only said very good things about the Gler Empire and Hernis, intending to marry Marilyn off to them instead of Thalia, so Marilyn was completely unaware of the reality.

Well.

“I understand.”

Maybe it was better not to know.

As Aiden readily nodded, Marilyn finally wiped the tears from her face and felt relieved.

“Thank you for taking care of me all this time.”

After saying her final farewell to Aiden, Marilyn got up without wasting any more time.

It was obvious that the hand holding the bath towel was trembling, but she straightened her shoulders quite properly and looked at the knights standing by the door.

“If I follow you like this, it’s okay, right?”

She meant that she would follow them properly, so don’t drag her like a dog.

It was difficult to find fault with her actions, as she deliberately hurried to leave the bathroom before being urged.

Hernis watched her carefully as she took each step cautiously towards the door, with a very displeased look in his eyes.

He simply thought, ‘She’s leaving,’ and had no intention of talking to her at all.

But his body moved on its own. As she was about to disappear from his sight, Hernis sighed and took a long stride towards her, reaching out his arm.

“Ah, Your Highness?”

In an instant, Marilyn, whose waist was wrapped around by Hernis and brought back to stand in front of him, looked up at him with surprised eyes.

“You’re going like that?”

“Yes?”

Are you going like that?

Hernis’s languid eyes slowly moved down, pointing to the bath towel wrapped around her body.

At Hernis’s gaze, Marilyn bit her lip with a troubled expression.

She had willingly followed them to save Aiden, but in fact, she had been worried about her clothes the whole time. If she were to stand on the execution ground tomorrow like this, it would be more shameful for her naked body to be exposed to the world than to die.

“Your Highness, could you, give me time to get dressed?”

To her timid request.

“Granted.”

Hernis answered immediately.

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