My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 289

289. Elena and Aria

The Imperial Palace in Darkhan, the capital.

Cyan strode quickly through the corridors of the Imperial Palace.

“Hail!!!”

“Hail!!!”

The Royal Knights he encountered on his walk stopped and saluted.

A sharply angled hand.

A posture without the slightest disorder.

It was too much of a military salute to show to a mere Count.

Even though the Count was a high-ranking noble, this was the Imperial Palace.

It was the center of the Empire, filled with high-ranking nobles.

Especially the Royal Knights were a knighthood that guarded the Empire and the Imperial Family.

They were knights who met members of the Imperial Family every day.

Therefore, the military salute that the Royal Knights were showing now was no different from showing it to a member of the Imperial Family.

However, the Royal Knights did not hesitate.

The war with Ruben and Elantur.

The true champion of the continent that almost everyone on this continent knew.

Cyan was a knight of the realm that all knights longed for.

He was the continent’s number one sword that all the knights in the world looked up to.

“I, I am honored to meet Count Cyan!”

“Honored!”

For the Royal Knights, Cyan was truly an idol they longed for.

“You are working hard.”

Cyan responded to each of the Royal Knights as he passed by.

“Hail!!!”

“Hail!!!”

Every time, the sound of salutes was deafening, but Cyan didn’t care. Or, to be exact, he couldn’t afford to care.

That’s because Cyan’s mind was swirling with a certain thought.

“I’m uneasy. I’m uneasy.”

Cyan was feeling an unknown sense of unease.

And the reason was simple: Kyle’s diary, downloaded from the Arnaise Hall.

Opening the DLC [Downloadable Content] to run Kyle’s diary meant Cyan had to clear the estate quest.

He had to obtain the reward of opening the DLC by exposing Elantur’s misdeeds.

So Cyan looked for Aria.

Aria was needed to expose Elantur’s wickedness mentioned in the quest. To be exact, he needed the help of Aria, the Saintess, to quickly persuade the people of the continent.

So Cyan found Aria, and…

“Why is Aria with the Princess…?”

Soon he was able to find out that Aria was with Elena.

Well, there was nothing strange about it.

It was only right that a member of the Imperial Family would come forward to treat someone like Aria.

However, the Emperor and the Crown Prince were currently busy interrogating Elantur’s vassals.

That’s why it seemed that Princess Elena was welcoming Aria. It was a natural thing. It was a matter of course.

But why?

“Something’s uneasy….”

The dragon’s senses were telling him. That absolute instinct was warning him: something, something uneasy was happening.

Cyan quickened his pace towards where Aria and Elena were.

He wanted to use Mahon Muyoungbo [a technique to move swiftly], but….

“Hail!!”

“Hail!!”

He could only lament the fact that this was the Imperial Palace.

#

Aria couldn’t think of anything.

She was conscious, but no stream of thought continued. Her lips were moving, but no words were uttered. Her thoughts and body did not move as she intended.

She really wondered if she was broken.

And what broke Aria was nothing special. It was not the evil that suppressed the mighty divinity. It was even less the malice of the Demon Lord.

Do you like Cyan?

Just one word.

That one simple question broke and ruined Aria.

Yes, it was a simple question. A question that had no meaning, just thrown out there. She heard that these things were common in noble society.

Aria had never experienced it, but it was said to be a joke that women often made.

Hey, who’s that, isn’t he okay?

What? I don’t think so. Do you like him?

A word that evaluates men as gossip. Ha ha ho ho, a light-hearted conversation. A word that no one cares about.

The reaction that should come out here was decided.

What are you talking about, no way?

It was a question that could be easily passed over like this. No, it was a question that had to be passed over.

“Ah… N-No… I, I….”

However, Aria couldn’t do that. She couldn’t do anything because of her broken thoughts.

“S-Suddenly… What… I….”

Just mumbling and slurring her words. That was the only thing Aria could do.

Elena quietly watched Aria.

“Ah, no. That’s….”

Her flustered and broken appearance was truly innocent. That untainted innocence. A beauty like the goddess of purity.

She could see why men were crazy about her.

Watching Aria, Elena deliberately opened her mouth.

“I like him.”

In an instant, Aria’s body stiffened. Her stiffened head would not move no matter how hard she tried.

“It wasn’t like this at first.”

Elena’s voice was heard again.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I proposed marriage to Count Cyan at our first meeting. At the time, it wasn’t Count Cyan, but Young Master [referring to Cyan’s title before becoming a Count].”

Elena smiled slightly.

“And that marriage proposal was never an emotion of love. Should I say it was a sense of duty as a princess… I thought my existence should be used as a tool for the Imperial Family.”

It was a very explicit statement. To express the princess as a tool was no different from insulting the Imperial Family. Even if it came from Elena herself, calling a member of the Imperial Family a tool was insulting the entire Imperial Family beyond herself.

However, Elena did not hesitate.

“If you are a Saintess… I think you can understand what I mean a little bit.”

Elena asked quietly.

Aria nodded vaguely.

The Holy Empire and the Charlotte Empire. Saintess and Princess. Aria and Elena. Two people in similar positions but in different environments.

Aria had received many things as a Saintess. Elena had received many things as a Princess. Just because they were Saintess and Princess.

However, the rights they received were followed by obligations.

“So I made a proposal to Count Cyan. It wasn’t a proposal, it was a suggestion. When I saw him, Count Cyan was talented enough to help the Imperial Family. And….”

Elena lowered her gaze slightly and smiled.

“I was rejected miserably. He didn’t even think about it.”

To be honest, my pride was a little hurt at that time, Elena said quietly.

“I didn’t think much about it after being rejected like that. In the first place, I didn’t feel love, and I thought love was a luxury for me.”

But from some point on… I don’t know when that moment was.

Was it when Cyan kicked her out of Ruben without hesitation? Was it after the incident in the North, when they met alone and had a conversation? Or was it when she visited Ruben again?

And at that time, when she saw him working day and night for the people of the estate and falling asleep, maybe it was all those moments.

“From some point on… I wanted to be with Count Cyan a little more. I started to feel excited when I heard the news that Count Cyan was coming to the Imperial Palace.”

She was so happy when Cyan ate the food Elena made and said, ‘It’s delicious.’ She started doing things she didn’t do because of Cyan. She started thinking thoughts she didn’t have because of Cyan.

And so.

“I sincerely want to marry Count Cyan. Not a political marriage, not a tool of the Imperial Family. As a woman named Elena.”

Elena quietly raised her eyes and looked at Aria. Aria still couldn’t raise her stiffened head.

“I am going to formally propose to Count Cyan. It is impossible for a woman, especially a princess, to propose first in the Empire. But… Even so, I am going to propose first on my side.”

Because I like Count Cyan so much, and I don’t want to miss him.

“I know that the Saintess has a deep friendship with Count Cyan. And I also know that you have some emotional feelings for the Count. But if that’s not sincere….”

Elena looked at Aria and did not finish her sentence. Perhaps she was thirsty from the long story, she picked up the teacup and sipped it.

Aria… couldn’t say anything. She really couldn’t say anything. A dazed mind. Broken thoughts.

Aria had received many proposals from men as a Saintess. To be exact, she had received countless proposals from men because of her transcendent beauty.

But Aria had never liked anyone. She had never had the feeling of liking someone.

So this was the first time, and that was probably the same for Elena.

Elena was also a woman of beauty no less than Aria. Her status as a noble princess was no less than Aria.

So Elena and Aria had a lot in common. They were in different positions as Princess and Saintess, but the rights they enjoyed were similar. Therefore, the obligations they had were similar.

It was also the first time to like someone.

Maybe she could have been good friends with Elena.

But Elena had one thing that was different from Aria. Elena had something that Aria didn’t have.

Elena was taking courage. She was taking courage to hold on to the person she liked.

And Aria was… Her thoughts are still stiff and do not flow. She still doesn’t know what to do.

Maybe… maybe… Really maybe… Wasn’t Muriel like this, missing Kyle?

The conversation with Leia in Ruben in the past. An event that happened a thousand years ago. Muriel had liked Kyle, but Muriel didn’t show any signs of it. She just suppressed her feelings inside, so she couldn’t hold on. She couldn’t hold on to Kyle who was leaving.

Of course, Leia also couldn’t hold on to Kyle. However, unlike Muriel, Leia took courage. She confessed her honest feelings to Kyle. In the end, she captured Kyle’s heart and even got engaged.

At that time… what was Muriel’s state of mind? Looking at Leia, who was engaged to Kyle, watching her close friend, who was like a sister, with the man she liked, what was Muriel feeling?

Did she sincerely congratulate her? Or did she curse her inside?

It was impossible to know because it was a thousand years ago. Also, Aria was not Muriel, so she could not know.

But maybe… she would have congratulated her. As Leia said, Muriel was a benevolent Saintess and Goddess. Unlike Aria, her personality and nature were not bad.

And in fact… Aria seemed like she would too.

Muriel and Aria. The two were quite similar somewhere. And it wasn’t just Muriel and Aria.

Leia and Elena.

These two also resembled each other quite a bit.

Charlotte’s younger sister, Leia.

Conrad’s younger sister, Elena.

There was only a thousand-year gap between them.

Just as Aria was called Muriel’s reincarnation.

Elena could be called Leia’s reincarnation.

Of course, it wasn’t a real reincarnation.

But they resembled each other so much that it was easy to think so.

And now.

Just as Leia held onto Kyle, Elena was trying to hold onto Cyan.

Just as Muriel couldn’t hold onto Kyle, Aria couldn’t say anything.

Was history repeating itself? Was fate repeating itself?

Just like the demons that were constantly resurrected, was this fate inescapable?

I… I…

Knock knock.

The sound of knocking came at that moment.

Before I could wonder who it was.

-May I come in for a moment?

Cyan’s voice was heard from outside the door.

#

Cyan knocked and waited for a moment.

With a click, the door to the VIP room opened.

What appeared through the opened doorway were two women.

“Oh my? What brings you here so suddenly, Count?”

Elena opened the door.

“……”

And Aria was sitting in her seat with a dazed expression.

Rather than dazed… she looked like something was broken.

Cyan looked back and forth between Elena and Aria.

A strange atmosphere was flowing in the room.

It seemed like something had happened between them…

But he couldn’t tell what it was.

“I came to see Aria.”

“Is that so?”

Elena looked slightly surprised at Cyan’s words.

Aria also looked slightly surprised at this.

Cyan said he came to see Aria, not Elena.

Just now, Aria had heard Elena’s words.

From Elena’s point of view, those words must have felt very disappointing.

But Elena didn’t care at all.

“It would be uncomfortable if I were here. You two can talk comfortably.”

Rather, Elena was just making way.

Elena opened the door that Cyan had entered through and went outside the VIP room.

Cyan frowned, watching Elena pass by.

She looked subtly different from her usual self.

Before long, Elena disappeared from sight, and Cyan strode into the VIP room.

And he spoke to Aria, who was still broken.

“Hey. Don’t tell me you told the Princess?”

“……”

But Aria didn’t give any particular answer.

As if she was really broken, she just stared blankly at the spot where Elena had left.

He wondered why she was like this for a moment.

“Cyan.”

“What.”

“What do you think of the Princess?”

Cyan tilted his head, surprised by the question.

“The Princess? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Just because. I was curious about what kind of person the Princess is.”

He didn’t know why she was curious about that.

More than anything, he didn’t know why she was asking him.

“Well… she’s a good person, right?”

Cyan gave an answer after a moment of thought.

Elena was a pretty good person from Cyan’s perspective.

Of course, there were aspects where her thinking was a bit off.

The sense of duty as a princess.

The thought of treating herself as a tool.

But that was just a thought created by her environment.

The environment of being a princess.

Part of the responsibility for the authority she enjoyed.

In other words, she didn’t think of her background as her own ability.

She knew that the rights she enjoyed and the background she had were not created by herself.

She didn’t overlook the sacrifices that were made to create that background.

That was really not an easy thing to do.

Even the children of ordinary noble families call themselves noble.

They call commoners lowly and act arrogantly.

Because they have grown up like that since birth.

The rights they enjoy have always been like that.

What more could be said if they were a member of the most noble imperial family in the empire?

It was really not easy to have such thoughts in that kind of background.

That’s why Elena, even though she might be a little off, could be said to be a pretty good person from Cyan’s perspective.

“Then, if the Princess asks you to marry her, will you do it?”

“What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Cyan made an absurd expression.

There’s a limit to being out of the blue.

“Really, what nonsense are you talking about?”

“Ah, I don’t know! Just answer me!”

Then Aria shouted, bursting out.

At the same time, a wave of divinity burst out throughout the VIP room.

It contained quite a strong divinity, enough to slightly shake Cyan’s magic.

Anyway, what’s with that temper.

More than that, did she eat an ogre’s liver in Ruben [referring to her sudden change in temperament]?

Cyan shook his head slightly and slowly opened his mouth.

“Not really…? I’ve never seriously thought about marriage.”

“Why? The Princess is pretty enough, isn’t she?”

“What does being pretty have to do with marriage?”

“Why doesn’t it matter? It’s good to marry a pretty woman. Don’t all men… think that way?”

Aria asked cautiously.

Cyan didn’t particularly show any intention of denying it.

“Well, it’s good if she’s pretty, but marriage is a bit different, right?”

“What’s different?”

“Becoming a family is not something to be taken lightly. More than anything, I’m the lord of Ruben. If you marry me, you become the lady of Ruben, so it’s a bit much to marry just based on looks…”

Then Aria flinched.

She rolled her eyes as if she felt guilty for no reason.

“Then what about the Princess? Does the good person you mentioned mean she’s qualified to be the lady of Ruben?”

“Well…”

Well, if you’re talking about qualifications, she’s qualified enough.

In the first place, what qualifications are there to discuss for the position of a princess?

And as he said, Elena, as Cyan saw her, was a good person, even if she was a bit off.

He could trust her to take charge of the internal affairs as the lady of Ruben.

“I haven’t thought about it seriously?”

But as expected, Cyan didn’t have any particular thoughts.

“As I said before, I’ve never seriously thought about marriage. No, that’s not the point. Why are you asking this all of a sudden? Don’t tell me the Princess is going to marry me?”

“You… knew?”

Then Aria asked in a trembling voice.

Cyan chuckled at Aria’s appearance.

“And here I was wondering what it was. The Princess asks me to marry her like it’s a habit. She’s been asking me to marry her since our first meeting.”

“But at that time…!”

Aria shouted as if she had something to say.

But with a hesitant look, she soon lowered her head.

She seemed like she was going to say something…

Aria’s mouth didn’t open in the end.

‘Why is she like that?’

Cyan wondered why Aria was like that.

Aria’s attitude was quite different from usual.

Did something really happen with the Princess?

Cyan was about to ask about it.

“Stop talking nonsense, I need to clear a quest, okay? So help me.”

He didn’t ask separately because there was something more urgent than that right now.

#

After the war between Ruben and Elan Dur.

That shocking news still turned the entire continent upside down.

A rumor naturally fades away as time passes.

But this time, instead of fading away, it gradually grew in size.

Everywhere in the empire. Everywhere on the continent.

The story about Cyan and Ruben never ended.

How many weeks had passed like that?

The shock of the news had not yet subsided.

“Elan Dur was in league with demons…?”

Shocking news came from the imperial palace.

“Wh, what? What are you talking about?”

“It’s just as it sounds. Elan Dur was in league with demons.”

“What the…”

The shocking news once again struck the entire continent beyond the empire.

It spread quickly, adding astonishment to the shock that had not yet subsided.

And most of the reactions were this.

“Hey, that’s ridiculous.”

“Demons? It’s not like a child’s play, what nonsense is that?”

Demons were evil that had already disappeared as mythical beings.

Frankly, it was dubious that they even existed a thousand years ago.

But suddenly, Elan Dur is in league with demons?

“Someone must have spread a false rumor.”

“Maybe Ruben deliberately created a rumor.”

People naturally didn’t believe that fact.

“No, wait a minute. Listen. This is not something to be taken lightly, okay?”

But not everyone in the world was like that.

“The evidence to support that rumor is too clear to be simply dismissed as a false rumor.”

Because the evidence supporting the rumor was clear.

First of all, the source of the rumor was none other than the imperial palace.

“Elan Dur’s vassals all testified in unison.”

And those who could be said to be the leaders of Elan Dur testified the same.

“The Saintess of the Holy Empire also publicly declared Elan Dur to be a den of demons.”

Most of all, the Saintess of the Holy Empire publicly declared it.

“What? Is that true?”

“Yes. The Holy Empire is also moving in relation to this.”

“It is said that they will cooperate with the Charlotte Empire to investigate Elan Dur soon.”

Only then did people begin to believe the rumors.

To be exact, it wasn’t that they started to believe it.

But they began to think that it wasn’t just a false rumor.

Nevertheless, the thought that it was still a false rumor was dominant.

Because Elan Dur had built up an image for hundreds of years.

But the news that came later was a fatal blow.

“It’s not over here. Ruben has revealed all the wrongdoings that Elan Dur has committed so far.”

Numerous wrongdoings of Elan Dur revealed by Ruben.

Numerous criminal acts that Elan Dur had committed in the shadows over the past few decades.

“H, hey. Isn’t this that incident back then…?”

“Wait, could this be…?”

It was related to countless people in the empire.

Starting with the commoners, countless families in the empire were involved.

“Our… our father…!”

“Ah…”

Parents and siblings who suddenly disappeared.

People of the family who died suddenly.

Things that could not be understood at the time.

The puzzles of all those things were put together one by one, and Elan Dur’s image was completely overturned.

From the two families that support the empire.

“Elan Dur…! You devilish bastards!”

“They’re not even worth grinding to powder!”

To the public enemy of the empire.

While the story about Elan Dur turned the continent upside down like that.

VIP waiting room located in the imperial palace.

Ting!

『[Territory Quest] – ‘That Elan Dur, they’re all bad guys!’ (Clear!)

▶The truth of Elan Dur hidden behind the veil.

Uncover that truth and reveal the ugliness of Elan Dur to the whole world!!』

-Reward: DLC unlocked.

.

.

Cyan could hear the cheerful notification sound of his smartphone.