Episode 40.8

Once upon a time, a fair maiden known as <White Snow Flower Princess> was born as a member of royal family. Her name was Lorecia.

For some reason, the king would not show Princess Lorecia to the public. Of course, royal princesses aren't to be shown to the public easily in the first place, but she never made a public appearance even after she nearly turned 14 years old, nor would the royalty would give permission to high-ranking nobles wanting to see her.

In truth, princess Lorecia was a <Purification> user. As she was a member of royalty, there was never a worry of her getting undue treatment, but the marriage proposals would have been a huge mess and she wouldn't get to live in peace.

But the nobles were getting more and more curious instead due to the secretive nature of it all. Many of them would send spies to paint a picture of Princess Lorecia, but in all the likelihood, none succeeded.

The king who wished the princess to lead a quiet life asked the then present head of Rainzats to take princess Lorecia as their adopted daughter through back channel. As the legal wife of Rainzats's present master was princess Lorecia's aunt, they would keep her safe and Rainzats had always been the house the royalty would rely on.

The king at the time likely also intended to wed princess Lorecia to Rainzats.

But then, the princess fell in love with the heir of Wazrof who was staying long term in Rainzats for a business, to the point that she would not eat her meals.

Head of Rainzats who was at his wit's end consulted with Wazrof's present master. Wazrof's head was bewildered. As his heir already had a legal wife, and he wished not to cause a disturbance in the family.

Even so, as it was a request by House of Rainzats, Wazrof still took princess Lorecia through back channel even if she could not be the legal wife.

On the other hand, there were two houses who wished to take the renowned fair maiden's hand in marriage. Gido Marquisate's House of Indole and Smarc Marquisate's House of Fotos. Both rich territories with good harbors, competing for the wealthiest position in the kingdom, with them asking for <White Snow Flower Princess>'s hand in marriage, all other suitors fell silence.

The relationship between these two territories is such that they sometimes found themselves clashing violently against each other for profit, and sometimes joining hands together against other territories. Both present masters of the houses had a discussion and went to the royal family together, leaving the decision of whom to pick on the royal family.

Princess Lorecia had already been adopted into House of Rainzats by the time these marriage proposals came, but the economic situation of the kingdom at the time was not so good, suffering shortages of many commodity, requiring prompt cooperation from both Gido Marquisate and Smarc Marquisate. That's when the royal family, or the prime minister office to be exact, promised the two family heads that they would get Princess Lorecia back to the royal palace and wed her to either of them. Which of the two would be picked was to be decided after a council between two houses.

The chief secretary of domestic affairs turned dead pale when he heard this. Because they had received a message from Rainzats about how princess Lorecia had been married off to Wazrof, and to make the matter a secret from the surroundings as willed by princess Lorecia himself taking the king's intention into account.

As the prime minister back then was a little brother of Rainzats's family head, the chief secretary believed that he was privy of that information already and thus never brought the matter up to the PM verbally, and instead only put it in a document. However, the prime minister could not recall ever seeing that document. Naturally, he never reported it to the king either. A subordinate must have thought that the document was not worth the PM's time and put it away somewhere.

They immediately summoned Marquis Rainzats, and four of them, including the king, the PM and the chief secretary held an urgent council. They couldn't come up with a solution even after a full night long debate.

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"Let's make her pass away."

It was the prime minister who said that. A private and quiet yet highly formal funeral was held, announcing to Gido, Smarc Marquisates and other high-ranking nobles of the princess's passing due to illness.

House of Wazrof was enraged. Of course they would.

Hiding the marriage was actually quite favorable to Wazrof themselves, but that was only in the sense that it wouldn't be made public, while those who know know and recognize it as a formal marriage. Omitting her from the Royal Family Tree and other noble house family trees would mean there is no record of Lorecia ever being in Wazrof. That's no marriage. It's an illicit union.

However, some relatives of Marquises of Gido and Smarc worked at Department of Genealogy, and anyone could get the permission to inspect family trees with reasonable excuses. The Prime Minister Office wouldn't dare to risk that. The prime minister and Rainzats's present master could only lower their heads apologetically at the enraged head of Wazrof.

Due to these circumstances, House of Wazrof could only treat princess Lorecia as a wife that did not belong to any noble house.

On top of that, the existence of princess Lorecia was to be kept completely confidential to any other noble houses. Therefore, Wazrof family members were given a strict order to treat princess Lorecia as well as her children like they did not exist.