A Barbaric Proposal Chapter 116

※Colors and Descriptions※

[Secretary] "Yes, Your Highness?"

The Secretary asked, assuming she was speaking to him, but her gaze was fixed on something far away.

[Blini] "Are you saying you cannot do it?"

[Secretary] "Your Highness..."

[Blini] "Or is it that you simply do not wish to?"

[Secretary] "......"

The Secretary fell silent, his face clouded with distress.

[Blini] "What have I done so wrong? I have never treated you poorly."

[Secretary] "......"

Muttering words known only to herself, she lowered her body until she was completely submerged in the water.

[Secretary] "Your—!"

Startled, the Secretary moved to react, but he stopped when he saw one of the maids shaking her head.

Blini looked like someone who needed to be submerged, as if drowning in her own thoughts.

Just before her breath ran out, she rose from the water.

Splash!

Water cascaded from her soaked hair. Through the wet strands, her pale, shimmering skin was visible.

[Blini] "How can I get to the separate palace?"

[Secretary] "Pardon, Your Highness? Ah, that is..."

The Secretary’s expression hardened.

Blini was talking about going to the separate palace to meet the person who claimed to have information about her child. It would require a clandestine entry. She was demanding a way to make it happen.

[Secretary] "It is an extremely dangerous undertaking. If His Majesty the King were to find out..."

[Blini] "All of you. Get out."

Before the Secretary could finish his sentence, Blini dismissed the maids.

The maids remaining in the Prince's Palace were all brought from the Grand Duchy of Alito. This was the reason why the palace's secrets remained so well-guarded.

Thud. The bathroom door closed.

[Blini] "Come here."

She beckoned the Secretary with a flick of her finger. He bit his lip and approached. When Blini held her hand still, he knelt and kissed the back of it.

[Blini] "Not right this moment."

She said, slowly stroking his chin.

[Blini] "If it is dangerous, I will go at night. After the King has fallen asleep."

[Secretary] "If that is the case... then..."

[Blini] "You can make it happen, can't you?"

[Secretary] "...I will ensure it."

[Blini] "Good."

She gave a low, feline purr of a laugh and withdrew her hand.

[Blini] "Remove your shirt. And roll up your trousers."

[Secretary] "......"

As the Secretary took off his shirt, Blini pointed to the soap the maids had left behind.

[Blini] "Since the maids are gone, you shall attend to my bath. Slowly, and gently."

[Secretary] "......Thank you, Your Highness."

The Secretary swallowed hard and reached for the soap.

Blini gave a thin, relieved smile.

Once the King is asleep, another problem would be put to rest.

Black had to come to her eventually; she was making sure of it.

But she was mistaken. The King was far more impatient than she realized.

---

[Head Attendant] "His Majesty the King has sent me because he felt you were taking too long to change. He was concerned that the Prince's Palace might be short-handed."

The King had sent someone. It was the Head Attendant from the main palace, a man with eyes as sharp and cold as a snake.

[Blini] "Tell him I am bathing."

If there was no one there, he should have simply left, yet he insisted on speaking through the closed bathroom door.

The Secretary held his breath, pretending he wasn't there, while Blini made a splashing sound in the water.

[Head Attendant] "I shall convey the message. However, has the Secretary from the main palace visited the Prince's Palace?"

She stopped moving and let out a scoff.

[Blini] "Why do you ask?"

[Head Attendant] "His Majesty is looking for him, but no one has seen him."

[Blini] "Am I now someone who tracks down missing people?"

[Head Attendant] "......My apologies, Your Highness. I shall take my leave then."

The Head Attendant’s footsteps receded. One of the maids knocked on the door to signal that he had completely left the room.

[Blini] "The greed of that elderly."

He shook her head.

[Blini] "He’s doing things he never used to do. A man who couldn't even keep track of his own concubines."

In contrast, the Secretary’s face had turned deathly pale.

As she said, this was unusual behavior. The King, who replaced his mistresses nearly every month, had never cared about the indiscretions of others.

[Secretary] "I... I believe it is best if I leave now, Your Highness."

She looked at him with blatant disdain.

[Blini] "Now of all times?"

[Secretary] "But... His Majesty...?"

She rose slowly from the water and pressed her nail into his shoulder.

[Blini] "Do as you wish. But while you can step out of this tub, you will never be able to step away from me completely. Do not forget. Tonight, after the King is asleep."

[Secretary] "I understand, Your Highness."

The Secretary’s hands trembled as he gathered his clothes.

Regardless of whether he stayed or left, she remained in the lukewarm water.

[Blini] "If he continues to act like that, it will become a nuisance."

She couldn't simply kill the King, as it would make her own position more precarious.

[Blini] "A war should break out at a time like this."

When the palace was in disarray, war was always the best excuse. War would sweep away all internal troubles. It would be even better if the King went to battle and died.

[Blini] "......As I thought."

She should have killed the Princess of Nauk while she was on this soil. It wasn't too late. After all, she was still here.

[Blini] "......"

Blini closed her eyes, lost in thought.

How can I kill the Princess of Nauk?

---

[Liene] "I can hardly believe it. To think Kleinfelter spoke so easily. I expected him to hold out much longer."

Another unique sunset settled over the deserted beach. When the red sun dipped into the blue sea, the colors were so diverse that Liene paused her walk. Behind her, Black draped his warmth over her like a cloak.

[Liene] "And to think you agreed to hand him over to Nauk if he testifies before the King. I didn't expect you to do that."

It would have been a lie to say she hadn't hoped for such words.

[Black] "I believed he would talk quickly if a reward was guaranteed. He seemed like the type to give up easily."

[Liene] "Mm... from what I know, he was never particularly persistent."

[Black] "It’s for the best. The King will sever ties with the Princess Consort all the sooner."

[Liene] "You’re right. Thanks to that, our return to Nauk might be even sooner than expected."

The sea breeze was still unfamiliar. It was cold, damp, and filled with various scents, stirring a strangely poignant emotion within her.

[Black] "Do you miss Nauk already?"

[Liene] "A little? But it’s still bearable. However, if I had come here alone without you, I would have wanted to return long ago."

He smiled and stroked her hair.

[Black] "I am quite enjoying myself right now. It truly feels like a journey."

[Liene] "Once the water returns to Nauk and I have less to worry about, I want to visit other countries as well."

[Black] "Then we shall. I will look for other beautiful places."

[Liene] "Wow. How do you always say exactly what I want to hear?"

She spun around and pulled him into a tight embrace. Black couldn't find a moment to stop smiling; his lips remained curved upward.

[Liene] "Still, to get the ring back, I will eventually have to meet the Princess Consort, won't I?"

[Black] "Would you dislike that?"

[Liene] "I can't say I’d enjoy it."

[Black] "Then I will send someone else."

[Liene] "Hmm... would that be possible?"

She doubted Princess Blini would surrender the ring so easily. If she were that cooperative, they wouldn't have had to come all the way to Sharka.

[Liene] "The ring is more important than anything else, so I will set my personal feelings aside. Instead, if circumstances allow, I want to be present when you meet her."

[Black] "I’m not fond of that idea."

[Liene] "Why?"

He briefly covered her eyes as she looked up at him.

[Black] "She is a woman whose actions are unpredictable."

[Liene] "If that makes her dangerous, then it is the same for you."

[Black] "I don't necessarily mean she will try to cause physical harm. The Princess Consort is..."

He chose his words carefully.

[Black] "She is someone who can make others feel unpleasant with great ease."

To Black, Blini was like a miniature painting depicting hell. From a distance, it was a brilliant, striking piece of art that caught the eye, but as one drew closer, the horrific descriptions hidden beneath the vibrant colors began to emerge.

When he had met her years ago in Blue Warren, she was a blur of dazzling colors; when they met again in Alito, the grim details had become clear.

Even if one didn't believe in hell, staring at such a painting for too long would make one feel as though something inside them was being crushed.

[T/N: Black says Blini is like the "descriptions” of a painting of Hell. This description refers to Blini's true nature—her manipulative, cruel, and soul-damaging character and actions—which are hidden beneath her outwardly colorful facade.]

There was no reason for Liene to experience that. Being a person of goodness, it would be even harder for her to endure than for most.

[Liene] "That makes her sound... quite terrible."

Instead of answering, Black combed through her wind-ruffled hair with his fingers.

[Black] "You do not need to know that such people exist."

Just as a living soul did not need to peer into the depths of hell.

[Liene] "It’s quite different from what I thought. To me, the Princess Consort was vaguely just your former lover."

[Black] "I will not deny that we spent time together. However, I want that fact to remain entirely separate from you."

[Liene] "Mm... if you’re worried I might be hurt, it’s alright. Laffit is an equally wretched human being, after all."

He let out a soft sigh.

[Black] "If she were only at his level, I wouldn't be saying this."

[Liene] "Ah... now I’m even more worried. Kleinfelter did quite a lot of things. He even forced me onto a wagon."

Suddenly, she felt a wave of concern. Blini was many times more horrific and tenacious than Kleinfelter.

[Black] "Shall we head back? The nights by the sea are cold."

Black turned her around.

Although there were no signs of anyone nearby, this location was too exposed. If someone were hiding behind the inn’s wall and fired an arrow, it would be hard to see in the dark.

[Liene] "Yes. The sun has completely set."

He held her protectively as they left the beach.

It was a wise decision—more of a premonition than a mere thought. Indeed, at that very moment, someone was hiding behind the wall of the inn.

Holding a bow.

---

[Klima] "Gah!"

The moment Klima spotted the person with the bow, he lunged and threw a punch. His mind was racing too fast to think. The punch, delivered with desperate force, shattered the man’s front teeth.

[Assassin] "Ugh, urgh..."

The man, likely an assassin, staggered while spitting blood.

Klima’s senses returned when he saw the arrow fall to the ground. Calmly, he locked his arm around the assassin’s neck from behind.

[Assassin] "Ghk!"

[Klima] "Who sent you?"

[Assassin] "C-can’t... breathe..."

[Klima] "If you don't speak, I’ll break it."

The assassin struggled.

Using his massive frame, Klima held him down without much difficulty. However, the assassin had a hidden dagger. In his struggle, he pulled the blade from its sheath on his inner thigh and stabbed Klima.

[Klima] "......It hurts."

Klima winced as the blade pierced his side. Sensing an opportunity, the assassin shoved him with all his might.

[Klima] "No."

Ignoring the pain from the stab wound, Klima gripped the assassin tightly.

[Klima] I lost her once... the Princess disappeared. Never again... I won't let it happen again...

[Assassin] "Let go! Where did this half-wit come from!"

In a fit of rage, the assassin twisted the blade buried in Klima’s side.

[Klima] "......Nngh."

Klima let out a small cry of pain.

[Assassin] "Let go!"

[Klima] "I won't..."

Klima knew the assassin was trying to fire the arrow. With the memory of failing to protect Liene driving him, he gripped the man even tighter. His side throbbed with agony, and his vision began to blur. Strength was slowly draining from his hands.

[Tiwakan] "......Hey, who’s there!"

By some stroke of luck, someone discovered them. It was a Tiwakan member guarding the backyard.

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