What Your Majesty Desires - Chapter 4.3

“Shall we bring in a medic tonight?” Jerome asked quietly, pretending to hold a dish to catch the ash from the end of his cigarette.

“No.” Of course, it was a refusal.

“But if you’re not feeling well, you should take action as soon as possible.”

“…”

“It’s been a long time since your last surgery, and if it takes root like this, Your Highness will only.”

“That’s enough.” Hernis knew what Jerome wanted to say, but he pretended not to know and turned his head the other way. And as if to show off, he brought the pipe to his mouth and exhaled a long stream of smoke.

“The cigarette is better than you.” No nagging allowed.

Two hours of patiently waiting for news. Hernis, who had already smoked the only two cigarettes he had and was sitting idly, suddenly put down his empty pipe.

“I’ve decided.”

“Yes?” What, what is it?

“If the abdication confirmation isn’t found by tomorrow’s trial, I’ll marry her.”

“No, Your Highness, but…!” Hernis ignored Jerome’s surprised eyes and got up indifferently. If the adopted princess had not yet been dethroned, there was still room for a state wedding, and Hernis preferred a wedding that only required him to stand there for a few hours to a treasure hunt that might never end.

“But to proceed with the state wedding again now!”

“There’s no problem with the procedure.” Since there was another princess left to hold the state wedding, all he had to do was have the ceremony. Of course, it was somewhat rude as a son-in-law to hold the state wedding again, since he had already thrown Rodri and Deborah into the basement. Well, there’s no need to have both parents present for a state wedding. Jerome hurriedly followed Hernis as he immediately left the audience chamber.

“Your Highness, that woman is not a real princess.”

“Why not?”

“Isn’t she the woman Rodri adopted? She was supposed to be dethroned tomorrow anyway. Even just by looking at her, she doesn’t have any Dextin royal blood.”

“I don’t care about appearances. If she hasn’t been dethroned, she’s still a princess, and I’ll marry a princess. Then I don’t have to move on to the second option.” It was a conclusion he had reached after careful consideration. But Jerome’s opposition was more extreme than he had expected.

“The Glaire royal family will not approve.” To pass the judgment to the Glaire royal family was a good strategy.

“The only person known as a Dextin princess is Talia. Unless it’s a wedding with Rodri’s own daughter, Glaire will say it’s meaningless.”

“The prophecy said that Glaire and Dextin only need to have a state wedding. It doesn’t necessarily have to be with a real daughter.”

“Legitimacy is already included in the word ‘state wedding.’ A state wedding with the Great Glaire Empire with an adopted princess who might be a commoner? The Glaire nobles, as well as His Majesty Asterion, will not tolerate it.” You’re the one who can’t tolerate it.

“His Majesty will think it’s fortunate that we’re finding another princess to have a state wedding with, rather than going on a treasure hunt that might never end.”

“No. He will feel uneasy.”

“…”

The person closest to him was blocking his path like this.

“If you like the woman, bring her in as a chambermaid. There are plenty of ways to keep a woman close besides marriage.”

“I’m not interested in women. I just want to get things done easily.”

“Your Highness!”

“You’ve always wanted to know what type of woman I like. How about it, do you think you know now?”

“…”

“A chambermaid.” What he’s thinking. Tsk, Hernis clicked his tongue and stopped walking, looking at Jerome. He was suffering because of the ridiculous prophecy, and instead of helping, he was fixated on something strange.

“You don’t have to do anything else regarding the engagement ceremony. Just use the banquet hall that’s already prepared.”

“Your Highness, it’s not right for you to marry such a woman.”

“If you hate it that much, find the abdication confirmation.”

“…”

“If you can’t find the confirmation by tomorrow’s trial, Rodri will become my father-in-law again. It’s too much to be a son-in-law and cut off my father-in-law’s head in front of the people, so the execution will have to be held quietly within the castle.” That would be better from an ethical point of view. Hernis, who had finished tidying up neatly, turned around and walked away first.

“Your Highness.” Jerome, who had been frozen like a stone for a moment, soon turned around and ran to Hernis.

“You don’t have to follow me. Go in and rest now.”

“It’s my first day at Dextin Castle. I’ll be outside all night, just in case.”

He sighed. Jerome seemed to have too many thoughts, but he was also the one who cherished him the most.

“Your Highness, you’ve arrived?” Curtis, who was guarding the front of the bedroom with the soldiers, bowed his head when he saw Hernis.

“The inside has been cleaned up well. We’re also standing guard by the window across the way, so you can sleep for a long time.”

“Good work.” Hernis briefly praised Curtis’s meticulous preparation and went straight to the bedroom door. He swore he was going to go straight in.

“By the way.”

But he soon stopped walking.

He remembered something when he saw Curtis’s face.

“Did you have a good trip?”

“Y-yes?” Me?

“Ah, yes.” Curtis, who was tilting his head, not understanding the meaning of ‘Did you have a good trip?’, belatedly nodded his head.

“Okay.” It was enough that he had a good trip. Jerome stared blankly at Hernis’s back as he opened the bedroom door without saying anything more. He said no, but he definitely looked at Curtis just now.

“You come in too.”

“Me too?” Why me? Curtis blinked at Jerome’s gesture. Soon, as the two entered Hernis’s bedroom, Hernis, who was handing his coat to another knight, looked at them with a puzzled expression. Why. Jerome skillfully passed Hernis’s gaze, which was asking why they had followed him, to Curtis.

“If you received an order, you should properly report how you handled the task.”

“Ah? Yes, I escorted Princess Marilyn to the underground prison well.” That guy was persistent in some ways. Jerome wanted to see with his own eyes what kind of expression Hernis would have as he listened to Curtis’s report about Marilyn.

“Tell me in detail.” At Jerome’s command, Curtis wrung his head and knelt on one knee on the floor, and Hernis soon sat comfortably and looked at Curtis. It wasn’t that he was particularly curious about her safety, he was just playing along with Jerome.

“I walked slowly on purpose because I thought the princess would start crying on the way.” Unnecessary words.

“But the princess didn’t seem to know the geography of the castle at all. At first, I had the princess walk ahead, but she tried to go in a completely different direction, so I guided her later.” Even more unnecessary words.

“Although she’s a princess, it seems she’s been confined to the stone tower all her life. Otherwise…”

“…” Why am I even listening to this story? A few dresses and old, crude furniture in the closet. Why do I feel like I know everything about how she lived in this castle?

“Um, and, this is too trivial for Your Highness to know.” Hernis stared intently at Curtis’s eyes, who was hesitating to continue speaking. Why are you stopping in the middle of your sentence? At Hernis’s urging, Curtis opened his mouth with a nervous face.

“That is, when I arrived in the underground and put her in the same room as the Empress, she suddenly raised her hand to hit the princess.”

“Raised her hand?” A crease formed on his brow, which had been flat all along. He had heard that the Empress’s personality was not ordinary. He was the one who had made things this way by failing to manage his daughter, so why was she angry at her?

“So I warned the Empress and separated the rooms.”

“…”

“N-not for any other reason, but I was worried that the Empress might harm the princess overnight, and if the princess’s body was injured, it might affect tomorrow’s trial.”

“Okay.”

“Yes? Yes, that’s what happened.” It was impossible to know what Hernis was thinking just from his expressionless face. After a moment of no reaction, Hernis waved his hand.

“I understand, go out now.” As if he had listened to an unimportant story for too long.

“Then, Your Highness. Rest well.” Curtis soon got up and bowed deeply.

“…” Hernis stared blankly at Curtis’s retreating figure. Then, he slowly untied the cravat that he had been wearing around his neck all day and placed it on the table. Jerome stood silently by his side until he had loosened both of his sleeves. He wished Jerome would just leave now.

“Your Highness, the nights in the underground prison are very cold.”

It felt like Jerome was just getting started.

“I heard she has a weak constitution, so for such a princess to spend the night.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that it would be no problem to call that child to your bed tonight and have a talk.”

“That again.” Hernis looked at Jerome with a tired face. He should have given up by now after arguing with him so much, but for some reason, Jerome wanted to put a woman in his bed whenever he had the chance.

“If Your Highness calls her up and lets her sleep comfortably in your bed, the princess will be grateful.”

“Really?”

Hernis chuckled and looked at Jerome.

“I’m sure she would be.” As if letting her sleep in his bed was some kind of honor. She was already terrified because of the trial tomorrow. Moreover, to force a woman who had walked into prison on her own to save her lover’s life to come and sleep with him.

“Your Highness.” Jerome looked at him frustratedly, as he didn’t budge.

“If you hold a woman once, Your Highness, you will change your mind. Didn’t I tell you? A man holding a woman is…”

“That’s enough.”

If it was so good that it couldn’t be explained in words, Hernis had to stay even further away.

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