Chapter 2 - People (1)

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Margrave* Siegfred guarded the Northern Walls for a long time but he was never this disconcerted. It was all because of the crazy Duke who came all the way here once in two months and the Commander of the Wolf Knights who was kneeling in front of him at the moment. 

It’s been a long while since Siegfred was this upset of someone. It has been at least 30 years since the previous Margrave died and he was given the position and responsibility of a Margrave at fifteen. 

But suddenly two people were tormenting him. Actually, to be fair, the Commander wasn’t all that bad. 

She was still unaccustomed to our language so her accents were a little awkward but  Brigitta was a very valuable asset to the Northern Walls. 

It was the Duke that was bad. That was for sure. 

But the Margrave was rather surprised than appalled by the Duke. 

People have different preferences but the charming, elegant, lily the Duke always referred to as was Brigitta, who did not fit those descriptions at all. 

She was as tall as the Margrave himself, her full muscles looked like they could explode any second, and her biceps were as thick as a woman’s thighs. 

And her face. 

According to the First Adviser, She won the most handsome knight competition again this year. The Margrave could not believe such competition existed but he was more shocked that she won the competition with the majority of the votes. 

He could understand descriptions of her as handsome and strong but an elegant lily?

He could not understand. 

“I’m going to the capital.”

“Did the Duke say something to you?”

He was indirectly asking if the Duke threatened her.

“I want to break his black skull but it’s not because of that Sir.”

Margrave wished she was kidding and lightly held the back of his neck to not faint. He must have gotten old since his body could not maintain posture in situations like this. 

“I’ve protected here long enough. Every one of them grew?… improved?. They would not need me anymore. Please give me the permission Sir.” 

Brigitta was serious. The Margrave looked at her golden eyes, which resembled those of the Northern wolves. 

Her eyes were full of trust and kindness. And Siegfried returned her respect by treating Brigitta like his own daughter. 

That’s why when the Duke visited once in a while, he would lie to the Duke that he did not know Brigitta’s whereabouts. But why was she suddenly.. The Margrave worried if Brigitta decided to consider the Duke’s proposal. 

If that was the case, the Margrave was ready to stop her at all costs and to convince her to reconsider. Then, Brigitta’s stern voice stuck to his ears. 

“I want to challenge His Majesty to a duel.”

When Brigitta– the champion of the Most Handsome Knight competition that stole many girls’ hearts, the Commander of the Wolf Knights with shining golden eyes, and the girl he thought of as his daughter– finished speaking, the Margrave fainted for real this time. 

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The Emperor of the Kingdom, Karlos Josef Rumillesa the Second was a man also known as the God of War, the strongest man in the world, God of War, or the Freak of Battlefields. The last nickname was what his opponents or his own cousin called him. 

He had black hair that shined red when the light hit, which was the trait of the Rumillesa Royal family. He also inherited the family’s superior physical ability. But even with those advantages, he started to have mental agony since 3 years ago.

His dear cousin, and Duke, repeatedly ditched on his responsibilities. And because of that Karlos had to cover for the Duke’s abandoned work and had eventually missed the holiday he requested for. He was very unhappy about it. What kind of Emperor takes a holiday by ‘requesting’ for it? 

He was so devastated that he could fight anyone all night. The Chancellor would nag on him again for dancing in the midnight again like a maniac but he stood firm and ignored the Chancellor. 

Even the audacity and indifference to such things ran in the Rumillesa bloodline. 

He thought to himself, as he trained in the midnight to relieve the stress.

He was 32 this year and unlike what people had anticipated, he was quite skilled in governing. 

The Kingdom was in a terrible state because of the war the previous Emperor prolonged for 10 years. And Karlos had to go through so many hardships to put the Kingdom back to normal. 

Thanks to his effort, his reputation was: An Emperor that is kinder than he looks and an Emperor that is smarter than he looks.

He couldn’t understand why the ‘than he lookes’ came along his nicknames. (Which the Chancellor was certain that it was because of his facial expression) He could swear to the Gods that he was not a tyrant. 

And in fact, he felt quite proud of this fact. 

But the Duke was triggering him these 3 years to end that good reputation. 

“I want a holiday too!”

The Emperor swung the sword as he yelled. And another wooden doll was victim to his superhuman strength. 

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“Please allow our marriage.”

“Get your partner’s consent first.”

The Chancellor refused Duke Maximillian’s request without hesitation. 

Well, the way he phrased it was not technically not a refusal but he surely meant it as one. 

He was already rejected for the 83rd– no 85th time? The Chancellor still believed the Duke was a masochist for that. 

“Isn’t it good for you too if I marry? They say a person stabilizes when he has made a family. Then that means I won’t be leaving work as much as I do now, and you won’t have to rebuild towers when I destroy one of them while experimenting weird things.” 

The Chancellor thought the Duke was despicable for knowing what his weird experiments cost but he calmed himself, planning to force the Duke to pay for everything he caused. 

Why were the Rumillesas all so reckless?

Well, honestly, whenever the Duke came back rejected, the Chancellor felt great satisfaction and pleasure that he could gift the Commander massive amounts of gold. 

Then he felt like he was a sadist for thinking that but he didn’t deny it. The Chancellor placed his teacup on the table. 

“There are three gates you blew up because you were in a ‘hurry’. Five wounded soldiers you bashed with magic because they tried to stop you. And among them, one is severely injured. It’s not life-threatening but he still can’t move properly. ”

“How much?”

The Duke asked the Chancellor, casually reaching for his checkbook. The Chancellor scoffed loudly at that and shook his head. 

“Forget the money. Just help me when I request for your help in His Majesty’s love life.”  

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The Chancellor said that as if he was joking– and the Duke understood is as a joke– but the Chancellor was in fact very serious. 

He made himself another cup of tea and looked out at the window. 

The Emperor was now 32. It was already Fall so he was going to be 33 next year. And he is alone. 

If he was simply alone his age would not matter yet but His Majesty did not even have concubines nor lovers not to mention his clean record of romantic scandals. 

That’s right. His Majesty was single all his life and the whole Kingdom knew. And frankly, all of the neighboring countries probably knew as well. 

His Majesty’s appearance was not that bad. 

He had a big build but his muscles weren’t too big like the Royal Commander’s that women would dislike. His muscles were in fact, one that looked like it formed from daily life–and it was true. 

To begin with, the Rumillesa Family was not a bloodline that had plain appearances. 

And according to the Head Maid, there were many ladies that secretly had a crush on him. Unless those ladies’ had a very strange taste for men, it was reasonable to conclude that His Majesty was handsome. 

Black hair and sharp eyes that gleamed purple. His eyes were definitely something that the Chancellor had to admit was beautiful. 

But what was the point if he can’t look at women in their eyes?

The Chancellor was aware of that before he read the Emperor’s pitiful letter. It would be impossible to not notice that after all these years the Chancellor served by his side. 

To others, it would look like he was looking away, uninterested, but the Chancellor knew that it was because he was to shy to look at them.

And because of that, he was famous for his cold attitude and even worse no one was aware of his beautiful eyes. 

The Chancellor could not help him with that. So, he tried to arrange a marriage for the Emperor but, the romance-novel-obsessed Emperor refused, freaking out that it wasn’t true love. 

The Chancellor wished he could smack the bastard’s head. But saying that out loud or carrying it out would be treason, so he kept the thought to himself. 

In the meantime, the Duke was causing him so much trouble that the Chancellor started worrying about balding from all the angry hair pulling. 

The two of them really tired him. 

One of them was the strongest man in the world and the other one was a powerful mage. So it drove him crazy that he couldn’t do anything by force. 

….He really wished he could just hit them each once. 

The story wandered off a bit but anyway the Chancellor was more concerned recently. The House of Lords was starting to pressure His Majesty’s wedding. 

Of course, they would. All the Rumillesa kin died from war except the Emperor and his cousin Duke. Their sudden deaths were not a concern since they were both strong and healthy but the concern was about extending the Rumillesa bloodline. 

Everyone believed it was better for the Emperor to fulfill that than the crazy Duke since the Emperor actually listened. 

So it was the Chancellor who got all the pressure to wed him, since the Emperor couldn’t care less.

So, he came to a resolution,

that he would surely wed the Emperor this time. 

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TL NOTE: 

hey readers! here are some name clarifications to avoid confusion!

Margrave: a person, specifically a Count, who is in charge of guarding a border/territory. Siegfred is the name of the Margrave of the Northern Walls.

Duke Maximilien is the Duke that loves the Commander of the Wolf Knights and also a cousin of Karlos. He is also a mage. 

Brigitta: Commander of the Wolf Knights. She is not fluent in the language of the Western Kingdom. Thus the “grew? improved?” line to indicate she isn’t fluent.