Chapter 143 : Chapter 143

Chapter 143. That Came On a Bit Strong (4)

The royal grand hall.

There, the king dismissed all the other knights and had a private meeting with Marquis Nicola.

And the first thing he said was…

“What do you think?”

That was it.

At the king’s serious question, Marquis Nicola let out a light sigh and said.

“Your Majesty, I am not confident in my judgment of people.”

“My friend. Still, don’t you have a feeling about it?”

“……”

“Then, at least tell me about his level.”

At the king’s question, Marquis Nicola readily answered as if he could talk about that.

“He is a monster.”

“A monster, you say. That’s a generous assessment.”

“In fact, even that is not enough.”

“What if you were to fight him?”

“I cannot win.”

“……?”

“Absolutely not.”

The king was taken aback by Marquis Nicola’s firm, clipped words.

Marquis Nicola was the strongest knight in the kingdom.

He was a 7-star swordsman who had reached the pinnacle, and even among 7-star swordsmen, he was at a considerable level.

And yet he said it so clearly.

That he could not win.

“Is there such a firm difference? Don’t tell me he’s already at the 8-star level?”

At the sight of the king excitedly shifting in his seat, Marquis Nicola crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.

And a moment later, what he said was…

“Actually. I don’t know about that.”

“My friend. What do you mean by that? For you to say such a thing, isn’t it normal to assume he’s an 8-star, beyond the 7-star level?”

At the king’s words, Marquis Nicola spoke as if he himself couldn't understand.

“It is certain that he has reached a level I cannot hope to reach. But if you ask if it is the 8-star level…”

Anguish was written on Marquis Nicola’s face.

After contemplating for a long time, he spoke with difficulty.

“I apologize, but I really don’t know. There is something strange about that young man.”

“Strange?”

“Yes. He is somehow different from us.”

“Us?”

“I meant it to include myself and all those who train with the sword in the normal way.”

The king wore a look of incomprehension.

But Marquis Nicola had explained it to the best of his ability.

In fact, even his own thoughts were not completely organized.

The more he thought about Patrick, the more questions arose.

One honed Aura Blessing to increase their aura, trained their body, and built up their skills to overcome the 7-star wall.

That was the common goal and the right path for the knights of this world.

That was why those who walked the same path could roughly see each other’s level.

If you were behind, you could see how far they had come.

Even the person in front could feel the faint footsteps.

But…

‘I couldn’t see him.’

The Patrick that Marquis Nicola saw was in a completely different place.

The path itself was different.

He was neither in front nor behind.

Just somewhere in a distant fog.

He just felt like he existed somewhere on a high and rugged mountain peak.

That feeling was impossible to express in words.

The fact that he could at least gauge the difference in power was only possible because he was Marquis Nicola.

“The only thing certain was that he was much stronger than me.”

It was something that shouldn't be possible, common-sensically speaking.

Just 16 years old.

A fledgling with soft downy hair surpassed the strongest knight in the kingdom?

This did not make sense according to common sense.

If someone else had said it, the king would never have believed it.

But…

“If you say so, then it must be so.”

The king’s trust in Marquis Nicola was firm enough to overcome the wall of common sense.

‘At least 8-star, perhaps even higher…’

Having estimated Patrick’s level, the king moved on to the next topic.

“Putting aside the matter of his sword level, how do you assess his character?”

“My judgment…”

“Just speak frankly based on your feeling.”

As the king repeatedly asked, Marquis Nicola also spoke.

As honestly as possible.

“He was a madman.”

“I agree wholeheartedly.”

As expected of the kingdom’s real power.

He had an eye for people.

Marquis Nicola shook his head in disbelief and said.

“I never imagined he would dare to lie down and throw a tantrum in the royal grand hall, right in front of Your Majesty.”

The king also agreed.

“I’ve seen all sorts of people while living as a king, but I swear, I’ve never seen a guy like that before.”

“He even ended up getting a considerable number of his demands agreed to.”

“Vicious bastard!”

The king ground his teeth.

Patrick had been granted fifty-five of the seventy-five conditions he had prepared.

There was nothing he could do when he insisted that everything was for the sake of pioneering the Great Forest, which was a great threat to the nation.

The authority Patrick gained as a result was truly immense.

Independent tax collection rights.

Independent diplomatic and trade permits.

Exemption from tolls for domestic merchant guilds.

Development grants for the pioneered territory.

No restrictions on raising private soldiers.

Besides these, he had received many other very useful rights.

The current Baron Schneider was practically an independent nation.

‘No, in a sense, it’s worse than an independent nation.’

While gaining as much independent authority as possible, he had also been promised massive support from the central government.

Thinking about it, the enraged king burst out in frustration.

“Damned bastard, am I some kind of giving tree?”

“……”

“Now that it’s come to this, I will make him my son-in-law by any means necessary. Otherwise, the accounts won’t balance.”

“Your Majesty…”

‘You still want to make him your son-in-law after seeing that?’

Marquis Nicola thought.

Indeed, being a king was not a job for just anyone.

* * *

Patrick moved to change his clothes for the time being.

He had to announce his engagement to Princess Isabella in the great hall soon, and he couldn’t do it in the clothes that had gotten dirty from rolling around.

As Patrick was about to change, he spoke to Isabella.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“……”

“Gasp. A pervert.”

At Patrick’s joke, Isabella smiled faintly and said.

“I will attend to you.”

“…You, senior?”

“Yes.”

“Attend to me?”

“Yes.”

Isabella, politely lifting the hem of her skirt, spoke to the dumbfounded Patrick.

“I am only doing what I must as the woman who will become your wife.”

“……”

“Though I am lacking, I will do my best not to be a shameful wife in the future. Please look upon me kindly.”

“……”

Patrick reached his hand towards Isabella’s face.

And then…

Streeeetch.

“…Wha ahe you doin?”

“I was just wondering if this neighborhood also has human-skin masks.”

Even when he pulled her cheek, all he felt was her soft skin.

Letting go of her cheek, Patrick spoke in a blunt tone.

“Don’t worry. The engagement was just for necessity. I’ll cancel it for you later.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“What is it? Don’t tell me you want to marry me, senior.”

“Yes. That is correct.”

“…Really?”

At Patrick’s words, Isabella smiled brightly and said.

“I love you.”

“Hooo? Is that so?”

“Of course.”

“Since when?”

“Since our first meeting.”

“Do you even remember what our first meeting was like?”

[Is that alcohol?]

[Hohoho. This is not alcohol, but grain tea.]

Isabella stealthily turned her head away.

“I mean, I’d have to see something to fall for to believe it.”

“……”

Patrick continued to speak indifferently.

“You don’t have to force yourself. Whatever His Majesty the King says, I can cover for you.”

“……”

“We’ll go through with the engagement for now, but it’s just a formality. You can freely meet a good man and date. On top of that, I’ll break off the engagement once I’m more established.”

“……”

“Still, it won’t affect your marriage prospects, right? In fact, it’s not even a marriage, so breaking off an engagement is a common thing, isn’t it?”

“A royal engagement being broken is not that common. …yo.”

“Huh? In the novels my mom reads, princes break up with their fiancées all the time and meet new women?”

“……”

What is your mother reading?

That thought crossed Isabella’s mind, but she soon let out a heavy sigh.

She could not back down here.

‘Everything is for Mother.’

Having hardened her resolve, she now pleaded with Patrick in a desperate voice.

“I’m begging you. Please marry me.”

“Ah, why? It’s a bother…”

“If you reject me here, my mother will…”

“What about your mother, senior?”

“……”

“I can’t help you if you don’t explain the situation.”

At Patrick’s words, Isabella bit her lower lip and finally explained her circumstances.

* * *

Isabella Black Atronia.

A princess of the Kingdom of Atronia and a brilliant talent who achieved excellent grades at the Academy on her own.

Her beauty was so great that she was considered the most beautiful in the kingdom, and there were so many young men in White Town who admired her and wanted to exchange just a word with her that they were a dime a dozen.

Seen this way, she seemed like just a glamorous princess, but her reality was a little different.

Her mother, Rose Jaynova, was originally a maid in the royal palace, not a noble or anything of the sort.

Then she caught the king’s eye, became pregnant with his child, received the name Jaynova, and became the 7th queen of the royal palace.

A king’s woman with no background or power.

This was a very precarious position.

Her life might be luxurious, but if she caught the eye of other queens or royals, her life was like that of a fly, not knowing when she might die.

So the 7th queen had lived her life by desperately humbling herself to protect herself and her daughter.

She showed a respectful attitude of bowing her head and obeying not only the queens of higher status than herself but also other royals who were her children’s age.

Isabella had grown up watching her mother like that since she was a child.

She had even witnessed her mother bowing her head and begging for forgiveness at the tantrum of an older sister who was not much older than her.

At that time, as a young girl, she had clenched her fists and made a resolution.

That when she grew up, she would definitely protect her mother.

To avoid giving any weakness to the other queens or her half-siblings, she cultivated a habit of not revealing her emotions as much as possible.

And when she turned 16, she took up the sword and entered the Academy.

She thought that if she achieved excellent results in the Knight Faculty, her mother might be able to breathe a little easier.

She tried desperately.

Thus, as a woman, she managed to take the top spot in her year at the Academy, and within the Academy, a number of young noblemen who admired her emerged.

But that was far from enough.

To protect her mother, she needed greater strength and achievements.

And this Arcana.

Isabella won on behalf of the royal family.

Considering the humiliation of the past, the fact that she, a member of the royal family, had won Arcana was a very encouraging event.

Now she thought her mother’s position would also improve a little.

But when she returned and checked, her mother’s position had not changed at all.

She still had to be called whenever the other queens or princesses summoned her, pour tea, obey, and bow her head.

The other royals completely ignored and isolated her.

She was so isolated that she only learned that her own daughter had won Arcana when Isabella came and told her herself.

‘What on earth am I supposed to do?’

Isabella felt her strength drain away.

When would she ever be able to be a source of strength for her mother?

If she tried and tried and one day reached the 7-star realm, would she finally be a source of strength for her mother then?

How many years would that take?

She was in despair at the indefinite vastness of it.

But the king said to her.

[How is your relationship with Patrick Schneider?]

[I do not quite understand the meaning of your words.]

[I intend to marry you to him. Does he by any chance dislike you?]

In that moment, she realized.

What if it was Patrick?

If Patrick, who had reached the 7-star realm at the age of 16 and even had the career of an Arcana winner, became her husband?

“I might be able to make Mother a little freer.”

* * *

Isabella bowed her head deeply towards Patrick and said.

“Please. I’ll do anything. I’ll do whatever I can.”

Tears dripped and fell from under her bowed head.

She, who rarely showed her emotions, cast aside her pride and pleaded earnestly.

Patrick stared at her blankly for a moment before speaking.

“A mother…”

If it had been the Radiant Dragon Great Master, Jin Cheon, from his previous life, he would have listened with indifference.

He did not know the existence of a mother.

He knew it in his head, but he could not understand it with his heart.

But Patrick Schneider was different.

Reborn, he knew Maternal Love.

He understood how great a mother’s love, which gives unconditional trust and love, was.

This was something that even his Master in his previous life had not taught him.

“Raise your head.”

“……”

“I’ll ask you one thing, it’s not something like making your mother a real power or influential figure in the royal palace, is it?”

“No. It’s enough if she can just live comfortably and freely.”

“In that case, alright.”

“Patrick…”

“I’ll protect her.”

It was a short phrase, but to Isabella, it was as if the world had brightened.

They were a mother and daughter who had struggled to protect themselves in a cold world.

Their father was cold, and their siblings were no different from enemies.

In such a world, a reliable person who said he would protect her mother had appeared for the first time.

Isabella felt an indescribable emotion towards Patrick.

It was as if she had endured all these years just to meet this person at this moment.

Isabella wiped away her tears and approached Patrick.

And resting her forehead against his chest, she said.

“Thank you. I’ll be really good to you.”

“Well, don’t worry about it too much.”

“No. I really…”

“I’m not exactly asking you to marry me. I’m just purely granting your request.”

“…Huh?”

“Geez, senior, why are you only telling me this now? If you had told me sooner, do you think I wouldn’t have helped?”

“……”

“We have a bond of loyalty we’ve built up over time. Don’t we?”

“…Loyalty?”

“Yes. So don’t worry. I… what? Why?”

Isabella’s forehead lifted from Patrick’s chest.

And Isabella’s expression, now three steps further away, was coated in a layer of ice as usual.

In that state, she stared at Patrick for a moment and then said one word.

“Son of a bitch.”

“Huh?”

Patrick felt wronged.

He was trying to do a good deed for once, so why was he being cursed at?

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