The Youngest Prince Of The English Royalty House [EN]: Chapter 134

134. Someone’s Sister (2)

—Champagne County, Kingdom of France—

The Champagne County, which had been governed by Princess Marie as regent for some time, was bustling. Today was the day their lord was returning.

The knight, who had received reports from nearby territories, spoke with a solemn face.

“Our lord will return soon. Prepare thoroughly.”

Not long after, the flags of Champagne County and England fluttered before the castle gates.

Their lord appeared.

“The Count of Champagne has arrived!”

“Open the gates!”

Thus, the castle gates opened.

The Count of Champagne arrived with his knights.

“Thank you all for your hard work. Where is my mother?”

“She is in the detached palace.”

“I see.”

The Count of Champagne, looking hurried, went straight to find his mother.

“Could it be….”

As he feared, his mother was bedridden.

“Henri, you’ve finally come.”

“Please, lie still, Mother.”

In truth, though she didn’t show it, Princess Marie had been gradually deteriorating since her husband’s death.

Was it because she had lost her partner, the late Count of Champagne? She became so mentally exhausted that it reminded her of the ‘misfortune’ she had suffered in the Capet royal family as a child. Her heart ached, and her body gradually began to fail.

Seeing his mother feebly call his given name, not his title, for the first time in a long while, the Count of Champagne barely swallowed his tears and said,

“I am so sorry for returning so late. I didn’t realize you were this ill.”

“You must have worked hard for a long time to end the civil war. Don’t worry, my son; I only became bedridden recently.”

Princess Marie smiled brightly. As a princess born into the Capet royal family, she understood her son’s feelings.

“Son, come closer.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Princess Marie looked proudly at her son, who had come closer, and said,

“You’ve grown so much. I haven’t taken good care of you, but you’ve grown into a fine nobleman. Son, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Just a moment.”

After turning her head to cough, Princess Marie said,

“Congratulations, my son. Your gamble has succeeded.”

Marie’s son, the Count of Champagne, had taken a gamble by serving Prince Richard of England, not King Philip II of France. He had gone from being a nobleman with an unstable position to a powerful, high-ranking noble.

By making his lord Richard the heir to the English throne, he had finally succeeded in his gamble.

‘If our son becomes a vassal who helped his lord win the civil war, he will not be ruined, at least as long as England continues to prosper.’

Marie was proud of her son, and also sorry. The reason was simple.

“If I had been born a man, you would have been a crown prince, not someone’s vassal, wouldn’t you?”

If Princess Marie herself had been Prince Louis, inheriting her father’s title instead of being Princess Marie, her son would not have had to suffer like this.

“Mother… please don’t say such things.”

The Count of Champagne knew very well that his mother, Princess Marie, was the firstborn of Louis VII and Eleanor, and had endured a cursed fate.

But even so, Princess Marie did not despair. She managed the territory smoothly with the late Count of Champagne and gained many advantages in the fierce political battles.

“But still, thank you, Henri. Still, I am fortunate to have you as my son. You have at least been a filial son to this mother.”

Born as the eldest daughter of Louis VII and Eleanor, Princess Marie’s life was not easy. Rather, she felt that marrying the late Count of Champagne was a liberation.

[Didn’t you promise to give me a son? Haven’t you seen what happened to Matilda (Henry II’s mother)? If there is no boy, our France will be shaken.]

Because she was the cause of the conflict.

“However, I could not be a filial daughter to my parents for various reasons.”

The Count of Champagne knew very well what his mother, who had given birth to him, felt when she said those words.

Although he was a half-sibling who was not cooperative with Philip II, unlike his sister Alys, he still felt a subtle unease.

Because the son born from the princess of the Kingdom of France became a staff officer who crushed the army of the Kingdom of France, or more precisely, the army of Philip II.

Since nationalism had not yet emerged and the ‘contract’ of feudalism was more important, nationality was merely a flag.

So, the Count of Champagne bet everything on Prince Richard, not the Kingdom of France, and eventually succeeded.

“Still, I am so proud.”

“Pardon?”

“Despite having such complicated feelings.”

Honestly.

There is no family in the European royal families that isn’t messed up.

In the first place, power is like sweet honey, and there are many people who want to take that honey, but only a limited number of people can eat it. Those belonging to the royal family fought and fought again for limited power.

The French royal family was no different.

The Capet dynasty, although started by Hugh Capet through compromise with the nobles, gradually created the status of being the nobles of nobles and inheriting the legitimacy of Charlemagne as a true descendant of the Franks.

But one couple’s divorce changed the history of Western Europe.

With the divorce of Louis VII and Eleanor, the Kingdom of France lost power, and England became stronger.

Considering the outrageous difficulty of royal divorces managed by the Pope in the Middle Ages, it was unusual, but when you think about it, it wasn’t necessarily so.

The reason is simple. Marie and Alys, born to King Louis VII and Queen Eleanor, were not men.

“Son, if I had been born a male and had the title of Louis VIII, what would have happened? Then my mother would not have divorced my father, and Aquitaine would have remained in the arms of the Kingdom of France.”

“Mother… you don’t have to feel sorry. Rather, I am only grateful for your grace, Mother, who made me a great nobleman.”

“I’m getting old, talking about such useless things.”

The Count of Champagne looked at his mother, Princess Marie. Although her face was wrinkled, she was still a beautiful mother.

“My siblings from the same womb were all special. You know that, right?”

“I know it well.”

Marie, the eldest daughter born to Eleanor in her youth, knew her biological sister Alys and her siblings from different ‘seeds’—more precisely, all the children born directly to the great woman Eleanor.

Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. All the children she bore from Louis VII and Henry II were capable. All of them were influential figures who impacted a country significantly.

‘But the real standouts are Richard and John.’

Richard is a brother like a burning summer, and John is a man like a cold winter.

Perhaps among the children born to Mother Eleanor, they are the most outstanding.

“Henri.”

“Speak, Mother. I will listen to anything.”

“Once you have sworn allegiance to Prince Richard, give everything to the end. Half-hearted loyalty will only bring disaster. I’m getting tired. I want to sleep.”

Right then.

“The King of France has entered.”

Philip II had arrived in Champagne.

* * *

After grasping the situation, Philip II went straight to Champagne County. He had already sent a letter to the Count of Champagne.

In fact, after becoming the Crown Prince of France, family was not something that resonated with him. Even his sisters were merely political obstacles.

For him, who had become the King of France and was leading Europe, the only family was his predecessor, King Louis VII, and he really thought that was it.

But this time it was different. Philip II, who had been trying to live as an iron-blooded monarch, suddenly felt familial love.

The moment he sensed the approaching death of his elder sister, he came to Champagne Castle faster than anyone else.

‘I… to be afraid of the death of my sister Marie.’

“It’s been a while, nephew. But you’ve become a formidable nephew, unlike before.”

“Your Majesty, that is….”

“Yes, I am not your lord. You don’t have to pay respects. Ah, and I have something to say to my sister alone, so please leave.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Thus, Philip II, guided by the Count of Champagne, quickly saw his elder sister.

“Sister.”

He unknowingly uttered the title ‘Sister.’

“You must be busy with state affairs. Why did you come to see this haggard woman, Your Majesty?”

Philip II was rather disappointed at Marie’s gesture of showing respect to the King of France.

Of course, in ordinary moments, no matter how close they are, they must not forget that their status is ‘King,’ but it was uncomfortable to see her politely paying respects even at the moment when her sick sister was dying.

Philip II came to this place not as the King of France, but as a half-brother.

“Aren’t you my sister?”

“I have never shown affection to Your Majesty, not even once, because I was jealous.”

Marie gave a bitter smile.

To Marie, her younger brother Philip was such an existence—a child who took the blessing of ‘gender.’ This child was the Crown Prince of France from birth.

But Marie, who was already an adult when Philip was born, was 20 years old, and in a sense, she thought of her half-brother as a nephew. So, Princess Marie unknowingly… helped her late younger brother through various methods.

“In fact, I resented Sister Marie. Wasn’t it Sister who unknowingly helped that damn John?”

“That’s right. I wanted John, that child, to keep Your Majesty in check.”

Philip smiled at Princess Marie’s honest answer.

“It was Sister who fostered the adversary John, but isn’t that even for me? Unlike Sister Alys, Sister Marie didn’t want anything from me.”

“You misunderstand. I was just trying to put my birth mother in England in debt.”

“I don’t think so. I became the Crown Prince and became the King, and I forgot for a while. Sister Marie was like a mother to me. Sister, it’s not time yet. Please don’t cross the Jordan River [a metaphor for death]. I, the King of France, will somehow restore my sister.”

Philip II was surprised at the words he had just uttered. His unknown sincerity was conveyed.

At that moment, Princess Marie smiled brightly. And she looked at the air and said.

“Then I won the bet with the late King (Louis VII).”

“Sister, what do you mean?”

—Thud.

But he couldn’t get an answer.

* * *

—1193 England, Duchy of Aquitaine—

The news that Princess Marie had died in front of Philip II spread throughout Europe, and the news was also known in our territory.

‘Sister Marie….’

Now that I think about it, Sister Marie was a burdensome presence. In the first place, how could my relationship with my half-sister be close? Besides, I felt a sense of déjà vu that subtly supporting me was not necessarily for my sake.

That’s why, even though the Count of Champagne is on our side, I don’t visit him often.

“Ha….”

A sigh escaped me.

To be honest, my feelings are complicated because my older sister, whom I have only met a handful of times, is like a mother to me.

Our mother has a lot of karma to receive even if she suffers, but still, the feeling of losing her child for the second time before her is not comfortable.

‘The first was the eldest son born to my father and mother… my deceased brother Guillaume.’

I must be a petty human being. Still, a sister born from the same womb died, and I feel resentment first.

No matter how much I am born as the youngest prince of a dysfunctional family, seeing the dysfunctional family members dying one by one makes me feel like I am swallowing hard sweet potatoes.

At that time.

A familiar voice was heard.

“My wife is here, so cheer up!”

My wife came over, kissed me on the cheek, and looked at my face and said.

“John, are you sad? Or are you relieved?”

“I don’t know.”

“Anyway, you’re still going to the funeral mass, right? It seems like it will be a special mass.”

“I have to go….”

Even for the sake of my sister’s last moments in the coffin.