Chapter 147 I looked at him, "You still want to..."
I didn't answer him.
Early in the morning, I had breakfast with Beatrice and told her about Mamboy's proposal.
“He has a wife, my mother mentioned this when she was telling me about the situation in various countries,” Atrist said. “But this wife is mentally challenged, practically a figurehead; the two families only married for mutual benefit. Mamboya is the Grand Chancellor of the North, and the de facto ruler of the North. Besides being intelligent and capable himself, his maternal family is also very powerful. His paternal family is slightly weaker, but not too bad either; they are said to be very wealthy, just not very powerful. His biological father has been abandoned by his paternal family. It is said that he was unfaithful in his youth, which led to the tragic death of his mother. Mamboya, who returned from the land of death, maliciously retaliated. His biological father fled the North with his stepmother, who later died of an illness, supposedly from contaminated soil. Some say it was related to Mamboya, but there is no concrete evidence. His father begged Mamboya for mercy, and people from his paternal family also pleaded with Mamboya. Mamboya placed his father under house arrest, imprisoning him in an abandoned family estate.”
I finished the fruit porridge in front of me. "So, do you think someone like that is sincere in proposing to me?"
“I’m glad you’d ask me for advice, even though I’m just a kid.” Beatrice finished her milk. “Many people look down on children.”
“You’re different,” I said. “You’re very smart. I could tell when I was in the prison in the East.”
Furthermore, her mother's intelligence network has fallen into her hands, and she now knows far more information than I do.
She is almost thirteen years old now, which is close to adulthood on this continent. At fifteen, one can hold a coming-of-age ceremony and get married.
“Alright, let me give you my suggestion.” She sat up straight like a little adult and said, “I suggest you marry him, even if you’re a wife without a marriage certificate. The biggest advantage of marrying him is that you’ll gain access to the resources of the North. He has military power in the North, which is very beneficial to us. Even if we don’t take over the West, taking back the capital city shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Then why would he marry me? I can’t give him the Great City, and it’s not mine anyway,” I said. “Besides, is it really necessary to use the military power of the North? I can lend him Bernot’s army, and we might be able to take back the Great City just the same.”
“Bernot can’t help us now,” she said. “King Midian anticipated his possible intervention and preemptively revised several important trade agreements, likely offering significant concessions to the East. The King of the East won’t easily allow Bernot to intervene.”
I paused for a moment, then said, "You mean, you want me to use marriage to gain the support of the North?"
"Why not? Doesn't he also want the superpowered woman? Wherever the superpowered woman is, that's where the turning point is. He must be facing difficulties in the North, but I haven't received any information about it yet."
I smiled faintly, "What did you mean by 'wife without a marriage certificate' just now?"
“This is common among the powerful and wealthy.” Seeing me smile, Beatrice picked up another slice of white bread and carefully spread butter on it with her silver fork. “Generally speaking, only those with two fathers, like my mother, can have two married partners. But what if you only have one father and want two wives? You can only use something else to replace the marriage certificate, but such a thing is very expensive. It might be from a treasury or an army. Once it is given to you, it is assumed that you have the same status and rights as the wife on the marriage certificate.”
"Is she the chief mistress?" I asked.
"The chief mistress can't get something this precious."
For us, that most likely means the army. Mamboa offered the army in exchange for me returning to the North with him.
I slept all day, and after breakfast I didn't wake up until evening. The armies of the capital and the western border had already fought another battle, which ended in a draw.
I sat at the dinner table, across from Beatrice.
We tacitly avoided mentioning the proposal. As we were finishing our meal, Manberia, dressed in a silver-blue robe, walked in, sat down next to me, and started talking about the war.
After listening for a while, Beatrice got up to leave, when I suddenly said, "I've made up my mind," looking at Mamboya, "I reject your proposal. I'm sorry."
Manberia smiled faintly, as if this was exactly what he had expected.
Beatrice's expression changed slightly. "Sister, won't you reconsider?"
“It’s impossible for me,” I said to Mamboya. “I don’t want to trade my marriage for something of value. I’m naive, but so be it.”
"You can't do it?" Mamboya repeated my words. "What do you mean?"
“It means you deserve a better woman,” I replied.
Mamboa smiled and looked at Beatrice. "You mean, her?"
Beatrice sat back down and watched us silently.
“We have many eligible noblewomen in our capital city,” I said. “You don’t necessarily have to choose me.”
Manberia countered, "If you were me, which would you choose? Do I have to cooperate with a great royal city? Can't I just choose a princess from another kingdom?"
“I no longer have any superpowers,” I said. “My superpowers haven’t appeared for a long time, so there’s no point in you marrying me.”
I'm telling the truth. The battles I guided Di Yaruo to win were based on knowledge I gained in the modern world.
Mamboy stood up and smiled, "You need to think about it again."
After dinner, I replied to the Elf King: "...I hope you can send troops to support me. I don't know what I can give you, but I hope you can give my daughter's mother some support for the sake of my daughter. If there is an opportunity in the future, I am willing to make concessions in important trade."
I put pen to paper, finished writing, took the letter, opened the door, and prepared to hand it to the guard.
The letter between her fingers was snatched away the moment the door opened.
I was startled; the Manberia was already in my hand, and I was reading it at lightning speed.
“My guards told me you were writing a letter, and I guess it’s for the Elf King. He’s probably waiting for your letter.” Manberia toyed with my letter, held it in his palm, and then crushed it in an instant.
“You…” I frowned.
"I'm telling you, I won't marry anyone but you."
"Why?!"
“If it’s just an alliance of interests, I would choose Beatrice. We’d get engaged first, and then marry when she comes of age. Marrying her would be more advantageous than marrying you.”
"Then why?"
Mamboya sighed deeply, "Why do you ask so many questions? Why can't you use your brain and think about why I have to marry you?"
“I can’t think of anything,” I said calmly. “I know you’re a man who prioritizes profit, but that’s not your fault. If you couldn’t do that, you would be dead or in a terrible state by now. I can’t think of any benefit I could offer that would tempt you.”
“Of course it’s you,” Mamboa’s eyes shone brighter than the stars in the night sky. “I want you, I want to be with you.”
“You don’t even believe what you’re saying,” I said with a faint laugh.
I still remember a few years ago he was incredibly envious of Bernard for marrying a rich wife, and even told me that every man wants to marry a rich wife.
I believe it's true. How could any man not want to marry a rich woman? Only those who have grown up in wealth and never worried about money could do that. But he wasn't, and neither was Bernard. Although both were of high social standing, they were poor.
“Why don’t you believe me? No one but me can marry you.” Manberia was somewhat displeased. “Bernot has no chance of marrying you. He must marry a wealthy wife, otherwise he will not be able to stand firm in the East. The Elf King also cannot marry you. If he does not marry a wife of noble status, he may not even be able to keep his throne.”
"And why would you possibly marry me?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Why?! Because I already have a wife on a marriage certificate, and all the capable men in her family are dead. Now they can only do everything they can to protect me. My mother's family also has to do everything they can to protect me, otherwise their family interests will be severely damaged. My father's family also has to rely on me now, otherwise their money may end up in the pockets of the top nobles. My position in the North is secure. Without me, the balance of power among the various parties vying for interests may be disrupted."
"So, you're now going to marry me as a wife without a marriage certificate or any legal status?"
"I believe you should know that a wife you marry with a lot of money has the same power and status as the one on the marriage certificate."
"Then Bernard and the Elf King can marry me like that too, so why do you say they won't?"
“Silly girl, this is a marriage law that only exists in the North. It is not recognized in other countries and is only legal in the North.”
I massaged my temples, but my head just started to ache.
"Forget about it. I still don't want to be a man's concubine," I said, closing the door behind me. I didn't care whether he understood the word "concubine." "Go find someone else."
He clearly understood, and became somewhat anxious and agitated. He tried to stop me from closing the door, but I closed it first. "I've already said, she's not a wife of a lower rank," he hurriedly explained, but the door was already closed.
For the next two days, I avoided him at all costs, avoiding meetings with him alone, and avoiding having breakfast or dinner with him. I only met and talked with him in public meetings or during my three-person meetings with Beatrice. I always talked about business, and I always subtly interrupted him when he wanted to talk about personal matters.
I've increased the number of guards at my door to prevent unauthorized intruders from breaking in. If he doesn't want a direct confrontation with me, he'll have no choice but to give up.
I thought that if things cooled down for a while, his enthusiasm would subside, but I didn't expect that things would change so quickly, and the situation changed on the fifth day of the Cold War.
King Midian sent reinforcements again, this time with 5,000 troops. We were clearly at a disadvantage. The new enemy forces were more aggressive and of higher morale, and they routed our army in no time.
To make matters worse, on the seventh day, King Midian summoned mercenaries, the Orc Legion, who drove our army back all the way to the outskirts of the capital.
I was in a complete mess, holding meetings night after night to discuss how to deal with the situation. But the generals were at a loss, looking like they wanted to try but didn't know how.
Yes, they are just generals of the capital, not generals of a great nation. They cannot be the best in strategy and military command. I cannot expect one of them to be a Xiang Yu, a god of war, to lead us to victory against overwhelming odds. I also do not have the ability or charisma to summon such a Xiang Yu.
Manberia had been observing coldly the whole time. I asked him for help with my kindest smile, but he only said, "I will help you, but only within my current capabilities. I will not give you everything I have."
"What's the meaning?"
Manberia looked at me innocently, spreading his hands and asking, "Let me ask you this: would you use all your money to help your friend, your husband, or your parents? If we were lovers, I would send you another five thousand troops, but that would be the limit. Any more and I would be criticized by my subjects. The combined benefits of your capital and Atreus's capital cannot outweigh the benefits the Western Frontier brings us. Offending King Midian is not worthwhile for us, especially since we are not lovers."
“We can be lovers right now.” I quickly tore off my outer robe, revealing a thin white cotton dress underneath.
For the sake of five thousand soldiers and the safety of the capital, I am willing to make a temporary sacrifice.
Manberia smiled slyly and teasingly. He picked up his outer robe from the ground and draped it over my shoulders. "Your affair is nothing more than sleeping together for a few nights. What I want is far more than that."
I looked at him and asked, "Do you still want to force me into marriage?"
He looked at me too, "Why did you say you were forcing me to get married?" His voice was incredibly gentle. "It was a proposal, okay?"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Please also read "Cinderella Wants a Satisfying Novel Script"~~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
