A Barbaric Proposal Side Story 23

※The Consequence of a Vow※

[Klima] "Mmm... she did very, very wicked things."

Klima was naturally compliant, yet even he possessed enough sense to realize that telling children the sordid details of Blini’s life was ill-advised.

[Shellan] "What sort of wicked things?"

As expected, their eyes sparkled with curiosity. Shellan was prone to such displays, but Dief was no different. This was becoming dangerous territory.

[Klima] "Every wicked thing in this world... uh, that is what she did."

[Shellan] "Goodness."

[Dief] "A single person? Is that even possible?"

[Klima] "Yes, it is quite possible."

[Shellan] "Wow... I cannot even imagine it."

[Dief] "Tell us more about what she did."

They grabbed Klima’s arms from both sides. It wasn't an intentional act of aggression, but rather a subconscious reflex born of their intense focus.

Klima felt a surge of genuine alarm. He knew that if these precious royal children continued to plead, his mouth would start moving of its own accord.

[Klima] "I—I really must be going... I need to finish the training session."

[Shellan] "What? You said earlier you didn't have to. Right, Dief?"

[Dief] "Yes! I heard it too."

[Shellan] "See, Sir Renfel? Tell us the rest."

[Dief] "We are absolutely dying to know!"

Klima felt a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. Shellan was not the type to let her prey escape so easily.

[Shellan] "First, tell us why the Princess’ surname is Vasheyd. Isn't Vasheyd the royal name of Sharka?"

[Klima] "I, uh..."

Klima pulled his sleeve down to wipe his brow. And that was only the beginning.

---

[Dief] "Shellan, you see..."

[Shellan] "Not yet. Call me in a moment. I feel terribly dizzy right now."

[Dief] "Ah, I was going to say the same thing. My head is spinning."

[Shellan] "Yes. As their children, there is a limit to how much of our parents' past we can accept."

Both were profoundly shocked, though the nature of their shock differed slightly from what Klima had anticipated.

What horrified the children was not the list of Blini’s crimes, but the revelation that both of their parents had past lovers.

After letting Klima go, they slumped onto a swing chair in the garden, lacking even the strength to return to their rooms.

Intelligent as they were, they were still children. Emotional nuance was a different realm entirely; to them, the idea of their parents having once been with others felt like a forbidden betrayal.

[Shellan] "I genuinely thought they only ever loved each other."

As Shellan murmured to herself with hollow eyes, Dief fought back the urge to burst into tears.

[Dief] "...Me too."

Silence fell between them for a while. Shellan, struggling to make her mind work through the mental fog, suddenly cried out.

[Shellan] "Maybe we have it wrong!"

[Dief] "What?"

He lifted his head, which had been hanging low under the weight of his gloom.

[Shellan] "Sir Renfel. He said he heard those things happened, not that he saw them with his own eyes."

[Dief] "Ah...?"

[Shellan] "So someone might have told him the wrong story."

[Dief] "Then what?"

[Shellan] "We have to ask someone else. Someone who lived through those times and knows the truth."

Right then, a man who undoubtedly knew the truth appeared.

[Fermos] "Oh? What are you two doing here? Is it not time for your lessons?"

It was Fermos. He was arguably the busiest man in Nauk, making his movements nearly impossible to predict. It was unclear where he was coming from now. However, he wore a leather guard on his forearm used for falconry, suggesting he had been checking dispatches or training the messenger birds.

[Shellan] "Lessons were canceled today. We were supposed to go on an outing."

[Fermos] "Ah, I see. But...?"

Fermos, standing with his arms open, tilted his head in confusion.

Her reaction was strange. He was certain that if Princess Shellan had to pick her three favorite people in the world, he would be among them. There were times he felt she liked him even more than Black.

Normally, upon a chance encounter like this, she would come running with joy. His arms, which had been ready to scoop her up for a shoulder ride, now felt awkward hanging in the air.

[Fermos] "Did something unpleasant happen to the two of you?"

It was impossible that Shellan’s affection had vanished or shifted in such a short time. He couldn't allow that. Her favor was a constant source of envy for others; even Black seemed jealous of it occasionally.

Fermos approached them. He kept his arms spread hopefully, but Shellan showed no sign of getting up from the motionless swing.

[Shellan] "Sir Fermos, you knew as well, didn't you?"

The sudden accusation was not a good sign. The look in her eyes was devoid of the warmth and affection he usually received.

[Fermos] "I... I’m afraid I don't follow, Princess."

[Shellan] "Don't play innocent. You knew all about the Princess of Alito. Yet you never said a word to me."

[Fermos] "Gah, how on earth did...?"

Fermos’ mind raced. This outcome had been inevitable since that fool from the Grand Duchy brought a daughter who looked exactly like Blini. A girl as brilliant as Shellan was bound to connect the King's and Queen’s reactions to that face with the past.

The real problem was exactly how much she knew.

[Fermos] "I apologize, but that was not a story for me to tell, Princess."

He started with a cautious apology. His priority was to soothe her anger.

[Fermos] "The past belongs to their Majesties, and I would not dare—"

[Shellan] "Are you confessing that they ordered you to stay silent?"

[Fermos] "No, a confession? That is something only a guilty man does."

[Shellan] "You betrayed the trust I placed in you, so that is indeed a crime."

[Fermos] "Oh, Princess! Please, take back those words. The trust you have bestowed upon me remains as steadfast as ever!"

[Shellan] "I cannot believe you."

[Fermos] "It is true! I would swear it before the Nine Waterfalls!"

[Shellan] "Then prove it."

[Fermos] "Pardon?"

In that moment, Fermos had an epiphany: children grow up much faster than one expects. The two sovereigns would no longer be able to keep secrets from them, even if those secrets were meant for their protection.

[Shellan] "Was Father truly the lover of the Princess of Alito?"

[Fermos] "..."

There are moments when a child’s growth becomes exceptionally inconvenient for the adults watching over them.

---

[Shellan] "How... how could he! How!"

[Dief] "It makes no sense..."

Finally, they burst into tears. Fermos turned pale, trying desperately to comfort them.

[Fermos] "No, well... Princess, please stop crying. They were involved once, but that is no longer the case. It ended a long time ago, before your parents even met. It was nothing—just a passing breeze..."

[Shellan] "But they were lovers! That means they loved each other!"

[Fermos] "Well, 'lovers' might be a strong word—"

Dief, who had been sobbing, suddenly sniffled and spoke up.

[Dief] "What? He gave her a ring even though they weren't lovers?"

[Fermos] "No, that..."

[Dief] "It's strange... when a man gives a ring, it’s a proposal."

Shellan’s wails intensified.

[Shellan] "He even proposed! He loved her! And it wasn't Mother!"

Fermos waved his hands in a panic.

[Fermos] "No! He never loved her!"

[Shellan] "Don't lie! How can you say it wasn't love when they were lovers, and he proposed?"

[Fermos] "That's..."

Following Klima’s lead, Fermos began to sweat profusely.

If he wasn't careful, Black would be cast as a man who gave a ring to a woman he didn't love after a few days of dating, but without proposing—a man the world would call a "scoundrel."

[Fermos] "It... it might have looked like he gave her the ring, but in reality, it was closer to it being stolen."

Fermos decided to tell a small lie to protect his lord’s honor.

[Shellan] "Ah...? The Princess stole the ring...?"

[Dief] "Father didn't give it to her?"

[Fermos] "Th-that’s right. I wasn't there, so I didn't see it with my own eyes, but...You both learned last year that the ring is a secret heirloom of the Gainers royal family, did you not?"

The children rubbed their wet eyes and nodded.

[Shellan] "Yes."

[Dief] "Yes, Mother told us."

[Fermos] "One does not simply give such a ring away. It must have been stolen."

[Shellan] "Then he didn't propose?"

[Fermos] "Of course not. Proposing to that cra—ahem, to that Princess? Absolutely impossible."

[Dief] "Then was Sir Renfel wrong?"

[Fermos] "Certainly! That fellow wasn't even at Blue Warren back then! He was talking about things he knows nothing about!"

In his desperation, Fermos threw Klima under the bus. But it was a mistake. Shellan stopped crying. Her blue eyes, wet with tears, turned an even sharper shade of sapphire.

[Shellan] "Liar."

[Fermos] "P-pardon? Princess, how can you say such an unfair thing?"

[Shellan] "Sir Renfel does not lie. If he doesn't know something, he says so."

[Fermos] "I... I am hurt, Princess. You trust him but not me?"

[Shellan] "Your stories are different. That means one of you is lying. And if I have to pick who is more likely to lie between you and Sir Renfel, it is you."

Fermos clutched his chest.

[Fermos] "That is a piercing remark, Princess. I have even sworn before the Nine Waterfalls."

[Shellan] "Then tell the truth. Was the ring really stolen? A royal heirloom? It’s so precious, yet it took six years to find? And by Father, of all people? If the Princess stole it, it’s even more odd. Father has been sworn brothers with the Prince of Alito since before he came to Nauk. They were so close, yet he didn't know she stole it. For six years?"

[Fermos] "That is..."

[Shellan] "And most of all, there must have been a reason. Why would she steal it? Unless she was a kleptomaniac, she had no reason to steal a ring she could have just bought."

[Fermos] "..."

He was speechless. Fermos muttered to himself internally.

I’m sorry, my Lord. This is all because the Princess is too brilliant... no, it’s because you met just anyone in your youth. You’ll have to settle this yourself...

[Fermos] "I apologize, Princess. I have nothing more to—"

[Shellan] "If you lie to me now, I will never play chess with you again. That ring wasn't stolen, was it? Just as Sir Renfel said, Father and the Princess of Alito were lovers, weren't they?"

That meant Fermos was about to lose his spot in her top three favorite people. He opened his mouth instantly.

[Fermos] "Yes. She did not steal it. My Lord gave it to her as a gift."

A crisis had begun to descend upon the Kingdom of Nauk, which had been peaceful and serene for the eight years of the twins' lives.

Prev

Chapters

Next