Chapter 1.3

The Airugans all took a breath simultaneously.

The words from Aristine’s mouth were incredible.

Durante’s face was also quite impressive.

They all responded as if they had seen explosives being planted in front of them.

“Ahem,” Durante coughed and cleared up the atmosphere.

“It’s not like that, the hunt’s for luck.”

So this was how he wanted to escape. Aristine understood this situation.

I guess it wasn’t just a hunt but also for luck.

Then it would be understandable if the wife was absent when the husband returned right?

Yes, that’s right. He didn’t lie to me.

Aristine looked at Durante and the corner of her mouth curled slightly.

“It’s fine for you to tell lies, but you’re not deceiving anyone.”

Because it was their first time meeting and the opponents were wary of her, it might be better to present herself in a more friendly manner.

She smiled lightly..

First impressions are important.

Here was different from the Empire.

Now that she was out of that damn place, Aristine was going to move around freely in Airugo.

Now, I am done hiding.

If they allowed it in their first meeting, both parties would continue to convey misleading information. She had to be clear about this from the start.

These people were wary of her and hated her.

In other words, she didn’t expect anything from herself, so why did she have to worry about what others expected of her?

“Just telling me half the truth and leading me on to the wrong idea is cheating.”

For the first time, Durante’s eyes faltered as the Princess hinted at deception.

Aristine watched them, her eyes conveying her orders.

Durante stopped breathing.

Her face, which was covered in dirt and smeared with sweat and dust, was strangely the face of a princess.

Her eyes were purple, shining like the dawn sky.

“I hope you do not fool me in the future.”

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * .

Durante suggested to Aristine to wash herself and change her clothes before she went to the palace.

The Silvanian envoy immediately rose up in arms.

〈 How dare you call our princess ‘dirty’! 〉

〈 For what reasons are you trying to take her away from us before she meets the king?! 〉

Until then, they didn’t care about her, but to start all of a sudden was just absurd.

This is ridiculous.

Several arguments broke out, and the Silvanians, who the warriors knew next to nothing about, were no rush to concede. Durante eventually stepped down, since he couldn’t cause a dispute in the absence of the prince.

“Can I really take you to the palace in such a state?”

“There is no other way.”

“I cannot listen to the Silvanians.”

“In the midst of a political marriage, you want to create a national conflict? Would you be willing to take care of the fallout?”

“If you look at a map of the land, it’s the Silvanians who invaded us, not the other way around..”

That was true.

It was obvious that the king of Airugo would think he was insulted upon seeing the princess and her delegation. The king wanted a complete end to the war, so the political courtship wouldn’t be broken, but there would be a controversy.

And that controversy would fall on the prince.

The Silvanians’ rudeness was clearly premeditated, and they were probing for conflict.

“No matter what, we were not the ones who started it.”

The warriors shut up at that.

In the end, Durante could only hope that nobody would be in Tarkhan’s palace when they arrived.

Those hopes will be in vain, huh?

However, there was a slight chance that the king would be taking a walk by himself.

. * . * . * . * . * . * . * .

“But, I didn’t think she was that type of woman.”

Everyone knew that the words held no cruelty, but-

“I’m not joking. I imagined her to be vastly different.”

“Master. Big. Shy…just like a dog!”

A wave of laughter spread through the warriors.

When they first heard it, they were scared because it seemed to fit so well, but the more they mulled over it, the more they laughed.

The only one who could say such things about the prince was the princess.

“I like it.”

“I like it too.”

“Yes, she’s much better than I imagined. When I first saw her, I was surprised at how different she was from the other Silvanians.”

Durante turned to the carriage carrying the princess as he listened to the lions’ ramblings.