Chapter 204 He wasn't the only handsome prince. ...
Bernard seems to be short of money lately, and he has a particularly good relationship with his wife, spending all his time with her. A wealthy woman chuckled and asked me how I felt, and I laughed and said it was good that their relationship was good.
Another noblewoman said, "Fortunately, you are now with Prince Desen, otherwise Prince Bernard would not be able to support you."
“Yes, thankfully I followed Prince Desen,” I said.
The ladies burst into laughter.
"Ha, Prince Benott has lost money on several trades recently. The Southern Territory is suffering from natural disasters and it's been raining non-stop, so he can't deliver salt, seafood, and fruits and vegetables. The Queen of the Southern Territory has given up and isn't going to lose a single penny. Poor Prince Benott had already paid half of the deposit, and now he's lost everything."
"The internal strife in the North is getting worse. The project to build a straight road, which was originally entrusted to Prince Bennot, has been forced to stop. Prince Bennot has invested a lot of money in it, and now he's losing money."
"If you continue to follow Prince Bernard, you won't be able to buy beautiful clothes and expensive jewelry anymore."
Amidst the chatter of the ladies, I made an excuse and hurriedly left.
They probably came specifically to make fun of me.
I quickened my pace, rounded two corridor corners, and a maid carrying a basin of water brushed past me, bowing to me. Just as I was about to continue forward, I heard her whisper behind me, "The Grand Chancellor of the North wishes to bring you back and would like to ask your opinion."
Before I could react, she had already left with the basin of water.
Back in my study, I saw the letter from Mamboya. I quickly read it through; it was basically about missing his daughter and planning to bring her back soon.
The ladies just mentioned that the internal strife in the North is getting worse, and I suspect that Manberia wants to take me back to T to quell the unrest.
I jokingly mentioned the letter during dinner, saying, "Perhaps I'll send Yasmin back to the North in a while; her father misses her very much."
Derson smiled, put down his knife and fork, and said, "Asmin can go back anytime, but you can't."
I laughed too, "We're already married, why would you be afraid I won't come back?"
"Yes." He actually nodded.
You're overthinking it.
"Your engagement to the Grand Master of the North is recognized in the North."
Therefore, he was worried.
I laughed and said, "My engagement to you is recognized throughout the entire continent, while my engagement to Manberia is only recognized in the North. Even a fool would know who to choose."
“The Grand Chancellor of the North only wants to use you. You are a woman with superpowers, so perhaps you can help him quell the internal strife. But after he’s done using you, your life in the North might not be as good as it is in the East.” Derson smiled slightly. “The Grand Chancellor has several lovers with powerful backgrounds, so you probably won’t have a good time there.”
Two days later, while I was still thinking about how to reply to Manboa, King Amur summoned me to the council hall and said, "I have agreed to King Sarga's request."
I was slightly taken aback. "You mean I met him on an island?"
"Yes, it's on an island on the border of the Eastern Sea. It was originally occupied by fishmen. They are ferocious and cunning, and the island would occasionally sink to the bottom of the sea, so we were never able to conquer it. But a couple of days ago, with the help of King Sarga, we drove all the fishmen away. The island now belongs to me and King Sarga, and we each have half. So, when you meet King Sarga there, don't worry about being taken away by him. We also have half of the troops stationed there."
"Why does he want to see me?" I couldn't help but ask that question again.
"Who knows? Maybe your daughter wants to see you, and he'll bring her along."
After this news spread, it was said that Bernot publicly opposed my meeting with King Sarga at the Morning Council, saying that King Sarga was very likely to take me away, which would bring shame to the East. Some nobles agreed with Bernot, while others sided with King Amur, and Desen remained silent.
On the third day of the ongoing dispute, the North sent a challenge, written by Manberia himself. He said that if I could not return to the North or insisted on meeting with King Sarga of the Elven Realm, he would launch a border war between the North and the East, burning down the capital and causing widespread suffering, without hesitation.
The whole country was shocked. Manberia had actually launched a war for me, and the nobles were talking about it.
"How much does he value the superpowered woman?!"
"Or perhaps he doesn't want the Eastern Territory to form an alliance with the Elven Realm?"
What is his real purpose?
Just as the scandal was making headlines, another dramatic incident occurred: Desen and his wife, who had been driven to suicide by King Amur, caught them in bed together. The two were hiding in the garden storeroom, a secluded spot that caught the eye of another couple having an affair. They were preparing to make love when, upon opening the door, they found another couple locked in a passionate encounter—Desen and King Amur's current wife.
Desen stopped in shock, but King Amur's wife was still reluctant to let go, holding him tightly around the neck, almost suffocating him.
This matter caused a huge uproar, and I was so embarrassed that I couldn't even leave the house. The king's son had an affair with his stepmother; this was a scandal everywhere. I stopped all social activities and, apart from my daily walks in the gardens of my small palace, I almost never went out.
Derson was put in jail and only received one meal a day. He reportedly lost a lot of weight in just a few days.
The queen was also imprisoned, in another prison. The king personally interrogated her several times, beating her until her skin was torn and bleeding.
"You don't actually think I like you, do you?!" It is said that the queen showed her backbone for the first time, and even after being beaten to the point of near death, she still angrily rebuked the king, "No one likes a man who takes pleasure in beating women. If my family hadn't forced me to marry you, I would never have married you, even if it meant death!"
The king was furious; had he not been stopped, he would have torn the queen to pieces.
“I heard that Prince Desen caught the Queen when she jumped off the building and comforted her a few times, and that’s how they got together.” Aya told me the information she had gathered. “I also heard a secret rumor that Prince Desen likes mature women with a maternal glow, so the Queen’s type is exactly his type.”
"Really?" Logically, I should be his type, but why do I feel like Denson isn't that infatuated with me?
After Aya left, Hero whispered to me, "It's rumored that Prince Desen also had an ambiguous relationship with the former queen. He must be used to getting benefits from the women around the king, otherwise it would be difficult for an adopted son like him to gain the king's favor."
That's true. He's not the only handsome prince, nor the only considerate prince, nor the only intelligent prince. His birth mother isn't even the king's official woman, so how difficult it is for him to rise to power. The only way is to take an unconventional path.
But this sword strike went a bit too far astray; it would have been one thing if it had gone wrong, but it went wrong with two.
The king was so angry that he couldn't sleep, and in his fury, he decided to fight back—a border war initiated by the North.
He brazenly declared that the Northern Grand Master's instigation of war was merely an excuse; his true intention was to prevent the Eastern Territory from cooperating with the Elven Realm, and that such treacherous individuals must not be allowed to succeed.
Enraged, the king was beyond reproach, and so the epic war between the East and the North began!
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