Chapter 22: The Lion Began The Hunting
“Even though I did what you told me, she still doesn’t trust me.”
The Lion King, Razie, was frustrated to death. He had waited a year to meet Adeline, but she showed no interest in his feelings. When he first heard her story, he thought he would eventually go to Marma and meet her. However, the more he learned about her, the more he felt the need to win her over. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Razie understood that Adeline harbored a terrible distrust of people, just as Aizen, the King of Nova, had said. Given her past, her distrust of humanity was natural. Still, Razie wanted to win her heart sooner. He called his subordinates and addressed them as if giving an important order.
“If you want to stay alive, think of a way quickly.”
The subordinates, who liked to wear dark clothing like the Lion King himself, gathered together with serious expressions and shared their opinions. However, the desert warriors, who had spent their entire lives training their physiques, had no idea how to persuade a woman with a heart as fortified as Adeline’s. The same was true for the adjutant, who was said to be the smartest among them.
Razie let out a low sigh when he received no satisfactory answers from his subordinates.
“I really don’t know.”
“Let’s not rush into this. What kind of woman in the world would agree to marry a man she has never met before, especially when that man is this tall and dark? Any woman would be wary and suspicious. And the woman we’re talking about is a princess, who is twice as powerful as everyone else.”
“I know! That’s why I’m telling you to think of a way, you idiot.”
“Is she really that pretty?” the adjutant asked. They had heard that the Lion of Baltica, whom they respected, could only stand in front of her, frowning, unable to smile or even speak to her. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“Don’t talk nonsense. She’s not pretty at all,” The Lion King Razie replied, frowning. To him, Adeline was a strange woman. Her white hair was like clouds—very unusual. Her eyes, which shimmered with different lights every time he saw them, were also peculiar. Each time she opened her mouth, sharp words tumbled out, and when she laughed, she had a knack for suffocating those who watched her. Her moderately high, hoarse voice echoed in his ears like the sound of rain falling on a dry desert.
“She’s not pretty,” he repeated, as if convincing himself.
“What if the princess doesn’t accept Baltica in the end? Are you just going to charge ahead from the southern border?” one of the subordinates asked.
The answer came not from Razie’s mouth, but from the adjutant’s. “You fool! What do we know about Marma?”
“Well…someone will know.”
“Do you know more than the princess?”
“Didn’t you say she was sold to another country for eleven years?”
“Oh, you idiot!” the adjutant snapped. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
This time, Razie spoke on behalf of the adjutant. “It’s said that she’s been preparing her plan for ten years.”
“What do you mean?”
“Her revenge,” he replied, his voice low.
Razie was the youngest of the warriors among them but had the deepest voice. When he let out a heavy sigh, the nosy warriors all fell silent, listening to their king. He continued, “It is said that she has been sharpening her sword for revenge every single day for ten years, just waiting for the day of her return. If I were the King of Marma, I would never be able to sleep peacefully knowing that.”
‘So, I have to make her my ally,’ he reaffirmed his resolution.
**
“How was Marma’s party?” At the end of the meeting, the adjutant approached and asked. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Razie thought for a moment and smiled slightly. “I saw something amusing.”
“What was it?”
“A lot of parrots and poisonous toads gathered together, shouting, ‘Long Live the Emperor!’ At the same time, that man subtly looked down on me but kept avoiding eye contact. I had no idea what he was doing.”
“Parrots and poisonous toads… that sounds terrifying.”
The ball would be an event remembered in Marma’s history, but the Lion King’s evaluation was quite harsh. The adjutant, who had been laughing with him, asked again, “Was the princess there?”
“No, she said she was going to be sick.”
“Hasn’t it been a few days since the ball ended? Did you get any news?”
“Ah, I heard that she moved to another palace today.”
The palace assigned to Adeline was located in the most remote forest of the expansive imperial zone, reminiscent of a small city. Unlike the main palace, which was protected by three layers of walls, it had only one outer wall surrounding it, resembling a place for prisoners.
The adjutant, listening to Razie, stopped walking with a serious expression. “Go visit her immediately.”
In some ways, those words weren’t unusual. The adjutant scratched his white hair and added, “Well, you know, the radical forces who don’t want Nova and Marma to coexist peacefully want to kill the princess.”
“I know.”
Adeline had been attacked by assassins several times on her way back to Marma. If she died in one of those attempts, Marma would announce that it was Nova’s doing, while Nova would protest, claiming Marma framed them. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
The two countries had a long-standing rocky relationship, so much so that even a small spark could ignite a war. Adeline Vita was a woman who had stopped the war with her own body. Thus, those who sought war between the two nations desperately wanted her dead.
“A person like that is trapped alone in a remote palace. She just moved in today, so the defenses would be the most lax right now. If I were the assassin targeting her, I wouldn’t miss this opportunity.”
Razie’s hand was already on the handle of his sword before the adjutant finished speaking. “I’ll go.”
“Aren’t you taking them with you?”
“I’m better off alone. It would just create chaos with those attackers. Marma’s royal family are all cowards.”
‘Except for her, of course.’
Razie covered his mouth with a black cloth around his neck and then lightly jumped out the window. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
**
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