Chapter 21

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 21

Chapter Title: Like a Reckless Tyrant

-----------------------------------------------------------------

“Please don’t cut off food supplies to Valmond territory, even if I die.”

Clodel uttered the words that had clawed at her more painfully than the illness tormenting her for months, night after night.

“I beg you. The children are starving.”

She wanted him to promise not to wage war on Valmond territory.

But she couldn’t dare bring it up lightly to a man furious over a marriage born of deception, so this was her best effort.

“What a saint you are.”

His response was a sharp jab of sarcasm.

Clodel looked up at the man sneering down at her.

“Impressive. Selling yourself to the enemy for the sake of some starving kids.”

“......”

He said it with genuine astonishment and amusement, his face still cold and angry.

But now that the words were out, she couldn’t back down.

She had to get some kind of confirmation from him somehow.

Once she did, a man who valued honor wouldn’t break his word.

“The children are so pitiful. They’re at the age where they should be growing, yet they’re starving...”

“Fine. I won’t.”

His unexpectedly straightforward agreement left Clodel staring up at him in a daze.

“R-Really?”

“Yes.”

But the words that followed froze her solid.

“No need to look so thrilled. It means I’ll buy you, just as you want.”

“What... did you say?”

Kaiyan reached out, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes.

“Ten carriages’ worth at once.”

“......”

“What? Too low a price?”

Clodel trembled.

She dropped her head heavily.

The unbearable humiliation felt like it was shattering her soul.

But as Kaiyan released her chin and pulled away, she grabbed him with both hands.

“Do it now.”

Clodel closed her eyes.

The familiar heat soon crept over her body.

Kaiyan carefully dressed the seemingly lifeless Clodel.

In the process, the phrase “seemingly lifeless” grated on him, stirring a hot knot of emotion in his chest.

This wasn’t what I intended.

He hadn’t meant to ravage a sick woman like he was tearing her apart.

He’d just been so confused, so maddened, that he wanted to at least see her for a moment.

What was different about Clodel collapsing?

Not everyone who’d lost their lives to his sword on the battlefield had been armed enemies.

Sometimes, striking at the enemy’s weakness meant smashing what they held dear and protected.

Under the name of tactics, he’d mercilessly slaughtered the weak and young alike.

All to offer the glory of victory to the kingdom!

As long as the blood flowing beneath the fluttering flag wasn’t his allies’, it was fine.

The kings of both nations declared war, yet it was the lives of remote border villages that were sacrificed.

But their blood felt different from Clodel’s.

On the battlefield, everyone moved like gelded humans, driven by one thought: protect the kingdom from invasion.

Like worker ants controlled by a single queen.

So there was no guilt, no remorse.

His subordinates, who’d taken countless enemy lives, returned to their territories after the war ended and laughed joyfully upon learning their once-hungry wives had given birth to plump babies in their absence.

That was natural, expected.

So why did seeing blood—something he was so accustomed to—shock him like this? Kaiyan was bewildered.

He’d only wanted to see Clodel.

The woman who’d looked so ill yesterday—he wanted to check if she was any better today.

Every time he saw her, she seemed to shrink smaller, and today she looked even tinier than before.

Was the illness eating her away day by day like that?

His sinking mood had been pierced by unexpected words.

Please don’t cut off food supplies to Valmond territory, even if I die.

His fraying patience snapped amid the whirlwind of chaotic emotions.

Even now, she was thinking only of others?

What about me?

Shouldn’t she apologize to me first, say something like that?

The anger he’d been suppressing erupted as vicious words poured onto her.

Clodel. You make me act like a reckless tyrant.

Kaiyan felt like she was manipulating him.

Do it now.

He couldn’t defy those words, couldn’t push away the fading woman, and instead held her close, roaring like a beast.

“You can’t die.”

Kaiyan gazed at the serene Clodel.

“Not without my permission.”

As he rose from the bed, a tiny droplet formed at the corner of her eye.

Turning away, Kaiyan didn’t see it.

The Shen River, sprawling wide around the royal castle, was a sight to behold today.

Dozens of ships with colorful sails docked at the capital’s port, turning the great river into a tapestry of vibrant hues.

The harbor buzzed with festival energy.

Market alleys overflowed with crowds eager to see and sample exotic wares from foreign lands.

The merry atmosphere extended inside the castle.

The grand hall overflowed with piles of rare medicines, delicacies, and silks dyed in precious colors.

This was the third year. The trade fair, started after the war as a gesture of reconciliation, had been proposed by King Valquiter of Oberon.

“Heh heh. Everyone’s in a frenzy again this year.”

“Indeed they are.”

Envoys from foreign lands, who’d brought abundant goods for the second year running, clinked glasses with satisfied smiles.

“It’s His Majesty’s keen eye for quality.”

Valquiter smiled faintly as he raised his glass to the flattery.

“It’s thanks to your hard work in sourcing goods fit for our standards.”

“You honor us.”

As warm praises flowed, a castle servant approached Valquiter and whispered something. The young king’s handsome face grew slightly grave.

“Is something the matter?”

The foreign minister couldn’t hold back his curiosity, but Valquiter waved it off.

“Ah, just something I need to check myself. I’ll be right back. See to the envoys’ comfort without fail.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

With a serious nod to his bowing retainers, Valquiter left the banquet hall.

“Finally, news from Rowen. I can’t wait.”

Judging by importance, he was far more curious about Kaiyan’s situation than entertaining foreign envoys.

His stern expression vanished, replaced by a boyish grin as he chuckled to himself.

Heading to his study, he found a black envelope on the desk.

It was from the regular informant on Rowen territory.

Slouching in his chair, Valquiter slit the thick paper with a letter knife, producing a crisp tear, and pulled out the contents.

His eager expression turned to audible laughter as he read.

“Ha. Haha. What a spectacle. The duke’s daughter crippled in an accident.”

He’d hoped Kaiyan’s marriage would be a disastrous mess.

And now this stroke of luck on top.

Kaiyan might seem hot-blooded and straightforward, but he was actually highly methodical and principled.

His inflexibility didn’t stand out because he was so competent—he never failed.

Infuriatingly, the man seemed blessed by the gods of victory and success.

Valquiter, who’d always envied that, wanted to make Kaiyan suffer somehow. An unwanted marriage where the bride was now lame? A perfectionist like Kaiyan must be plunged into despair—he didn’t need to see it to know.

“He’ll probably kill her with his own hands soon enough.”

A reasonable suspicion.

Kaiyan was so superior and perfect that he imposed his standards on everyone around him—a rotten trait.

He despised anything flawed lingering nearby.

He only felt at ease with the pristine, the flawless, the absolute best by his side.

But as crown prince, Valquiter believed the kingdom’s finest should rightfully be his. Whenever Kaiyan acquired something exceptional, it felt like his own rightful prize slipping away.

And with that intense possessiveness, he never lent or yielded anything, no matter the request.

Valquiter blamed their mothers for that.

Even as cousins, they should’ve instilled a clear lord-vassal dynamic.

Raised like close brothers despite being peers, Kaiyan obeyed Valquiter’s orders but never with the total devotion a true liege deserved.

“Wonder how Duke Vermonte’s taking it.”

He was the one who’d leaked to Duke Vermonte that Kaiyan was preparing for territorial war.

Cousins or not, letting a pillar of the kingdom crumble wouldn’t do. When Valquiter suggested a royal decree for marriage and reconciliation, Duke Vermonte had bowed with “I am deeply grateful,” flames of murderous intent toward House Temneth burning in his eyes.

Vermonte, parched by long drought, lacked the power to strike Temneth.

Spending northern mine wealth on mercenaries would only funnel it back to Valquiter through guilds.

If Vermonte failed and faced annihilation, Valquiter could claim Valmond’s northern trade port—a long-held desire.

And if Temneth won, Kaiyan’s life would end at Vermonte’s hands—good either way.

“A fight where neither side loses? How boring.”

Spectators like him always felt shortchanged.

“You only see it from above.”

He burned the letter and called for Court Viscount Makie.

“Prepare for a visit to Rowen next month.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Valquiter returned to the banquet hall, content, where the envoys awaited.

Clodel spent her days more peacefully than expected.

Kaiyan visited occasionally, but without the initial anger or harsh words.

Though it sometimes felt like the calm before a storm.

Facing death head-on was remarkable.

It stripped away all fear.

“Could I maybe change my burial spot?”

One day, upon seeing Kaiyan’s face, she asked outright, and he immediately scowled.

“I thought that spot in the cemetery would suit the new duchess.”

“You seemed awfully fond of that tombstone.”

Though sarcastic and mocking, he answered earnestly enough.

“Can’t have everything I like.”

She could say anything to Kaiyan now.

No more secrets meant her once-sealed lips were free.

With nothing left to hide or fear being discovered, Clodel chattered away at him.

Part of it was dread that he might suddenly ship her off to a convent or hospital.

Another part was the terror of dying alone—now that someone knew her fate, she wanted to unburden all the words she’d bottled up inside.

“That place with the white flowers blooming. Under the tree. That was beautiful. I’d love to be buried there.”

Kaiyan shot to his feet, unable to hold back any longer, shouting.

“You talk about dying so casually. Do you think Kaiyan of House Temneth can’t procure some damn medicine?”

Clodel’s eyes widened.

“......Medicine?”