A Barbaric Proposal Chapter 47

※Risebury Treaty※

Creeaaak.

Someone pushed open the rusted iron door, which scraped and set teeth on edge.

Squish.

The sound of footsteps was also thick and damp.

The black hair of the figure who entered the room, tilting his head as if the iron door was too narrow, swayed slightly.

[Old Man] “.......”

The man sitting on the floor slowly lifted his head.

Then, his eyes widened in surprise.

[Old Man] “.......”

His single eye probably caused him to feel aggrieved.

The old man, who had been crouching on the floor despite the chair being there, ignored his physical discomfort and tried to spring up.

He needed to see the figure entering more clearly.

[Old Man] “Gai... Gainers... Fer, Fer... Fernand Gainers...”

The beggar old man haltingly spoke a name.

[Black] "You recognized me. Strange. I wasn't wearing this face back then."

The old man, who had half-lifted his posterior, couldn't bear his own weight and plopped back down.

Clunk, clunk.

Black, who had walked up to him, pulled the unused chair closer and sat down.

Their eye levels were now much closer.

[Black] "I remember your face, too."

Slowly spoken words drifted through the still, damp air.

[Black] "Cardinal Manau."

[Manau] “.......!”

Black was not the only one whose identity was revealed. The beggar old man also had a name he needed to keep hidden.

[Black] "Was it twenty years ago that your body ended up like this?"

[Manau] “…….”

[Black] "No, I should ask if it was twenty-one years ago."

Black added the murmur after the old man's silence, who had once been the Cardinal of Nauk.

The old man could not endure any longer and nodded his head in reply.

Twenty-one years ago was the day Black lost his blood relatives and left Nauk.

On that day, the Cardinal Manau lost one eye, one arm, and one leg.

Not to mention the servant—Klima—who also lost his father and a brother who was two years younger.

All these secrets unfolded on the same day.

Manau, whose jaw was trembling, suddenly slammed his head onto the floor.

Thud!

The bone-jarring sound echoed in the basement.

His forehead split open, and blood flowed. Manau's hair was soaked with blood.

[Manau] "Kill me. Please, just kill me..."

His halting speech suddenly became clear. Manau's voice was distinctly audible. He must have deliberately feigned a stammer to conceal his authentic voice.

[Black] "That would be troublesome."

Black watched the former Cardinal, whose body was already half-broken and who was speaking with a tearful voice from his split forehead, without moving.

His expression showed no emotion.

Perhaps ten years ago, he might have felt something. But not now. Just as he had told Liene, he had forgotten most of the emotions rooted in that day, twenty-one years ago.

To him, they were things not worth remembering.

On a battlefield where life and death crossed in the blink of an eye, other things truly mattered. Things more important than emotions that had faded after twenty years.

[Black] "Princess Liene will seek you out. When she does, tell her what you know."

[Manau] “…….”

Manau lifted his head.

[Manau] "What do you mean..."

[Black] "Literally, what you know."

[Manau] “…….”

His wildly shaking eyes seemed to question if Black was being serious.

[Black] "There is something you all misunderstand."

Black slowly articulated his words with an unemotional tone.

[Black] "I came to claim Nauk, not to destroy it. I'm starting to get annoyed because no matter what I say, no one believes me."

[Manau] "Who, who would believe that? That is not possible. There is no way that could be..."

[Black] "That is the reason I have not claimed my birthright name."

[Manau] “…….?”

[Black] "Because if I reveal my name, most people will act just like you."

[Manau] “…….”

Manau endlessly ruminated on Black's words.

[Black] "My name is Tiwakan, and that is sufficient. The name you know should only be Tiwakan as well."

Not seeking his former name meant burying and forgetting his past entirely.

Manau could not comprehend it.

[Manau] "Can you... truly forget it?"

[Black] "I already have."

Thud. Black pushed the chair back and stood up.

[Black] "In my memory, you were not a particularly brilliant man, but surviving for twenty years while hiding your identity shows that your mind functions well.

[Manau] “…….”

Manau knew the consequences if someone revealed Black's name. Likewise, he knew what would happen to Nauk if his own name were revealed.

Manau nodded his head as if dropping something heavy.

[Manau] "I understand."

[Black] "Just be vague. Perhaps use the name I used when I left Nauk."

[Manau] "I will do so."

Having received the answer, Black turned without another word.

Just as the wet footsteps ceased at the door, Manau shouted.

[Manau] "But do not kill him!"

[Black] "......Who?"

He briefly turned his head.

[Manau] "Klima. He hid his name by becoming a relative, but he is Henton’s first son."

Black's face, which had been impassive until now, faintly twisted.

[Manau] "He has been swayed by Kleinfelter and has blood on his hands... but Gainers' son must not kill him."

[Black] "I will handle it myself."

Black merely said that and left the basement.

A moment later, Tiwakan mercenaries entered and helped Manau up.

Manau remained there, burying his face in his hands and weeping endlessly.

---

[Fermos] "Ah, my Lord went himself?"

Fermos had been examining the royal archives in the King's study the entire time, keeping his promise to Liene to find the culprit.

He had discovered an interesting fact. In truth, it was more surprising that Liene hadn't known it.

Though he had no intention of breaking his promise, Fermos was cautious.

He thought he should discuss the matter with Black before telling Liene.

So, when he sought him, he was told his Lord had gone personally to retrieve the old man.

[Fermos] "Hmm, he intends to speak to him privately... No, no. I shouldn't presume even this much. I understand. You may go. Ah, wait. The matter of finding the servant? Did you find him?"

[Mercenary] "No. He knows the roads too well, so we are struggling."

[Fermos] "Ugh, you idiots. Why didn't you learn the roads in the meantime?"

[Mercenary] "Don't be so harsh. We all tried. But how can we compare to a man who has lived here his whole life? Besides, he's wearing a priest's robe. People who don't know why he's being chased sometimes hide him."

[Fermos] "Damn it. It will take much longer."

[Mercenary] "Indeed. Wouldn't it be better to put a bounty on his head?"

[Fermos] "We can't do that. That is too much our style. Since he is a man wearing a priest's robe, as you say, rough handling in public will bring disgrace upon our Lord."

The mercenary sighed irritably.

[Mercenary] "Matters here always seem complicated."

[Fermos] "What can we do? Even in a place as small as this, a mercenary commander and a royal are different... Ah, wait a moment."

[Mercenary] "......Sir?"

Fermos, who had paused mid-sentence, quickly shook his head as if nothing happened.

[Fermos] "Ah, no. Never mind. Just capture him quickly."

[Mercenary] "We will run until our shoes wear out."

[Fermos] "Please do."

Fermos waved the mercenary away.

[Fermos] "Royal, huh..."

His gaze, filled with deep thought, drifted from the air to the old royal archives.

[Fermos] "The records just before the coronation, that very year, are precisely the ones that vanished. And my Lord said Nauk originally belonged to him."

Fermos' finger tapped the page Liene had mentioned was missing.

[Fermos] "One plus one equals two. The missing records must be about my Lord. Should I tell Princess Liene about this? My Lord doesn't want it to be known. What should I do..."

Complicated thoughts crossed his face as he muttered to himself.

---

[Liene] "Ah... I can't stand it anymore."

Pretending to constantly lie in bed was unbearable.

Her back was starting to hurt, so she finally threw off the covers and got up.

Madam Flambard, who was neatly folding and putting away the freshly boiled and ironed linens in the closet, jumped.

[Flambard] "Aren't there men guarding outside, Your Highness?"

[Liene] "This much is fine. They won't know unless you raise your voice too much, Madam."

Madam Flambard glanced nervously at the well-closed door with an embarrassed look.

[Flambard] "I will be careful. But aren't you having any stomach pains?"

[Liene] "I feel much better than usual. The medicine seems to be working."

[Flambard] "Who knows what kind of medicine it is?"

[Liene] "Seeing as my body feels drowsy, it's probably a sedative or something. Thanks to it, I've been doing nothing but idling since this morning. I don't know how long it's been since I had this much free time."

[Flambard] "......Setting aside everything else, that was one thing he did well. The Princess has lost more weight lately."

[Liene] "Nonsense. Perhaps I've grown a little taller."

Though she sometimes felt her wrists looked thinner when she saw her loose sleeves, Liene suppressed the urge to complain.

[Flambard] "It would be strange if you hadn't lost weight. But what shall we do? Because of today's incident, it has become even harder to disclose the truth about the child."

[Liene] "......I suppose so."

Liene was having the same thought.

After deceiving him this much, the sense of betrayal would be even more severe when he learned the truth later.

[Liene] "It would be better not to tell him."

Her voice was as soft as a whisper to herself.

[Flambard] "We cannot know that, Your Highness."

[Liene] "You were involved in the deception, too. His anger won't just fall on me."

[Flambard] "That... What difference does it make if someone like me gets implicated? However, I feel sorry for the Princess... and I feel a bit sorry for him, too."

[Liene] "......"

When Liene remained silent, the Madam carefully continued, watching her expression.

[Flambard] "He seemed to have made up his mind completely. No man in the world would speak of another man's child like that, Your Highness."

[Liene] "I know."

[Flambard] "That is why I..."

[Liene] "That is why I am afraid."

[Flambard] "That he is more... What? What do you mean?"

[Liene] "What he intends to gain by going to such lengths."

[Flambard] "Your Highness..."

The Madam blinked, as if she had never considered such a thought.

[Liene] "I worry about what he will do once all of that accumulates, and I fully open my heart to him."

[Flambard] "How could you... think such terrible thoughts?"

[Liene] "Don't you think so, Madam? You saw his subordinate tamper with the writings on the ground yourself."

[Flambard] "Well... perhaps the subordinate did it on his own initiative? Or perhaps my old eyes saw something incorrectly."

[Liene] "......"

Liene laughed silently.

She couldn't understand why the Madam was speaking the same thoughts as her own.

I want to believe that my suspicion is just overly deep.

I want to believe that he has done nothing wrong, and it is only because my heart is narrow and dark that I cannot trust him.

[Liene] "The old man in front of the Temple will surely tell me something."

[Flambard] "I hope he does not speak the kind of things the Princess is imagining."

Me too.

Desperately.

Knock, knock.

That was when the sound of knocking came.

[Guard] "Your Highness. Someone is requesting an audience."

That loud, clear knock was a habit of the Tiwakan mercenaries.

Startled, Liene gave a bitter laugh and shook her head.

[Liene] "Go open the door. I will pretend to be lying down."

[Flambard] "Of course. Please lie down quickly."

But there was no need to lie down.

The people who had come to see her were those she could not possibly receive while lying in bed.

---

[Liene] "Please excuse me for receiving you in the audience hall rather than the audience chamber. I am feeling unwell."

[Noble 1] "We understand. To be carrying the beast's child in that small frame. You must be terribly exhausted."

[Liene] "......"

Her face, which she had tried to keep placid, momentarily twisted as if to crack.

Right, these are those kinds of people.

The visitors today were two of the six families who had signed the Risebury Treaty.

Those six families, though varying in degree among themselves, were fundamentally extensions of the Kleinfelter family.

[Liene] "It seems that a foul way of speaking, lacking in respect for rank, has become a virtue of the Grand Council Elders without my knowledge. Or is it a new way to mourn Lyndon Kleinfelter?"

[Ellaroyden] "Wh-what did you say?"

The head of the Ellaroyden family raised his voice sharply.

[Ellaroyden] "How dare you speak with such a tone...!"

The last time the Grand Council was convened in Nauk was a few years ago. Liene had just been crowned and sat on the throne. Having to suddenly shoulder everything, she appeared frightened and withdrawn.

It had been taxing for her just to look directly at the six nobles who had pressured her, demanding that one of them be the regent.

The Liene they remembered was probably just a young girl who could only manage to say in a trembling voice that she would protect her crown, struggling to hold back tears welling in her eyes.

Therefore, they could not easily accept Liene, who sat composedly on the high seat and returned their words.

[Liene] "I will return those words to you. Perhaps you should first consider who spoke offensively first."

[Ellaroyden] "Ha...! Just in a few years...!"

He glared at her fiercely.

But he was not threatening in the slightest.

[Tiwakan] "Your Highness. Did you call?"

That was thanks to the Tiwakan, who immediately appeared and were ready with a drawn sword at the slightest commotion.

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