A Barbaric Proposal

Chapter 59 A Small Gloom

[Mrs. Flambard] “Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

Rienne had never slept in before this, so having this happen for the first time ever, Mrs. Flambard was a little shocked. When Rienne told her that she didn’t want to get out of bed and just played around all morning, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Are you sure you’re not sick? You’re not hiding anything because you don’t want to worry anyone, are you?”

[Rienne] “It’s true. I slept very well and now I feel much better. In fact, I think I have more energy than usual.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “So, what took you so long getting out of bed this morning?”

Ma’am…..I don’t think that needs to be answered.

Rienne coughed, avoiding the answer.

But from Mrs. Flambard’s perspective, this was a question that was completely fair to ask.

A couple or not, it was normal for them to use separate rooms. Unless they were trying to have a child, there was no reason to spend so much time lying around in bed together, just as Rienne had done this morning.

She just thought Black spent the whole morning in Rienne’s room watching over her because she was sick.

[Rienne] “I hope I didn’t trouble anyone by taking a late meal.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “If you’re still not feeling well, you may rest more. Please don’t overdo it, Princess.”

[Rienne] “It’s alright. There’s no need to fuss so much, ma’am. You should know very well that I didn’t actually lose a child.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “Yes, I suppose……But did he force you to rest?”

[Rienne] “No, not exactly…..”

….Please stop asking me.

[Rienne] “….Oh, but I should let you know that I told him the truth.”

Though she was averting her gaze, Rienne turned her head back up in the middle of her thought.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Excuse me? You did what?”

[Rienne] “I told him I was never pregnant. I’ll let others continue to believe I’ve lost a child, but there’s no need to keep lying in front of Lord Tiwakan.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “Oh, that’s wonderful then. What did he say back?”

Thinking about the answer, her heart dropped down in her chest.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Princess?”

[Rienne] “……..He said his heart became lighter.”

And then he swore an oath upon hers—promising never to forget, and never to lose it. Even now, those words were still engraved on her heart.

Though she couldn’t be certain, those words sounded like the proposal that man originally had in mind. If she’d heard those words from the beginning, she would’ve been the happiest bride on the entire continent…

[Mrs. Flambard] “That’s entirely understandable. Even if he was determined to treat the child as his own, they still would have been another man’s baby. How could he look upon them like they were his? So you did very well, Princess. Now, all that’s left is for you to be happy.”

[Rienne] “I hope so.”

So long as she was the only one who kept the truth locked inside of her, everyone could be happy. That’s what Rienne truly believed.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Well then, I’ll go and retrieve your meal, Princess. Once you’ve finished eating, you have some work you need to take care of.”

[Rienne] “Work? I don’t mind doing that first.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “It isn’t urgent, so you should eat beforehand. That man…..Ah, I apologize. I must stop calling your fiancé that, Princess. Rather, Lord Tiwakan requested that I make sure you eat properly.” ⁽¹⁾

[Rienne] “Really? He did?”

Rienne made a strange face, neither smiling nor frowning.

[Rienne] “It’s a little unbelievable…..After everything that happened….He’s still so kind…..Or is that just when it’s us…..?

Looking down at the ground, her expression a little embarrassed, Rienne whispered to herself in both happiness and confusion. Meanwhile, Mrs. Flambard looked on at her with a proud and bubbly face.

[Mrs. Flambard] “There’s nothing a man blinded by love wouldn’t do. And there’s no man incapable of showing that kind of side of himself in front of the one he loves. But in any case, please wait here for a moment. You must be peckish by now, so I will hurry back.”

[Rienne] “No, it’s alright. Take your time.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “I will respectfully ignore that order and return with haste.”

Mrs. Flambard smiled, quickly rushing out of the bedroom.

Watching her leave, Rienne turned back to the mirror, looking at herself as she played with the ends of her hair—freshly trimmed by her caring nanny.

Though things were a little bit rough for her the day before, her lovely blonde hair looked unbelievably beautiful, ethereal in its shade.

…….Is this okay? Will I be okay, standing in front of him now?

Rienne swallowed a sigh, she closed her eyes tightly and then opened them again. Looking into the mirror again, Rienne slowly began to remove the gloom from her expression.

No, I’ve already decided. I have to do this.

I’m going to give him everything he deserves.

But to do that, there was something she needed to take care of.

^_*

* * *

After finishing her usual breakfast, Rienne needed to save Mrs. Flambard’s work for later. There was something she needed to do before that.

But luckily, whatever higher power that was watching over her granted her a bit of luck, and the work Rienne needed to take care of came to her all on its own.

[Phermos] “Did you finish your meal well? I hope I didn’t interrupt you.”

[Rienne] “No, your timing is impeccable, Lord Phermos. Please, have a seat.”

[Phermos] “Of course, Princess.”

Phermos sat down in the chair pointed out by Rienne, habitually pushing up his monocle with his free hand.

[Phermos] “As you know, my Lord will be away for a while, but if you’re uncomfortable dealing with me alone, I can come back later.”

And Phermos’ timing was especially perfect considering this was right when Black was away from the castle.

[Rienne] “It’s alright, I’m not uncomfortable. Though, I thank you for considering that. Now please, tell me what you’ve learned.”

[Phermos] “Yes. The lost royal records. The ones you suspected me of stealing.”

In order to prove his own innocence, Phermos had determined himself to find the true culprit and inform Rienne of the truth.

[Rienne] “Did you find out who did it?”

[Phermos] “Unfortunately, no. But I found something else out instead.”

[Rienne] “Something else?”

[Phermos] “Truthfully, there is no way to know who the culprit is.”

As if she’d heard a terrible joke, Rienne pinched the bridge of her nose.

[Rienne] “Well, I don’t think you’re the kind of man who would say something like that in jest. But you can’t expect me to let this go with that sort of explanation. Would you mind going into detail?”

[Phermos] “……When you say that, I really can’t slack for even a moment. In that way, you are very straightforward and relentless, Princess. Just like my Lord.”

[Rienne] “I’ve never heard that about me before. But if you’re saying I’m similar to him, then I’ll take that as a compliment. So, would you tell me what you mean by saying finding the culprit is impossible?”

Phermos raised his eyebrow, smiling for a moment before his expression quickly straightened out.

[Phermos] “I mean that in the most direct way possible. The loss of those records isn’t a recent development. They’ve actually been missing for a long time now.”

[Rienne] “……? Is that true?”

[Phermos] “Yes. I have some skill when it comes to recording and sorting through data, so I’m also familiar with recognizing the bindings, and the royal records are no different from a historical archive.”

As the advisor of the Tiwakan, he was a clever and knowledgeable man in many ways. Knowing that, Rienne was a bit confused as to what would compel him to roam a battlefield for so long rather than a library.

[Phermos] “Well, aside from bragging about myself, I noticed that the thread binding the records was very old. Maybe around twenty years by now. If the records had been recently tampered with, the binding would have to be redone, so it would be newer.”

[Rienne] “Did you say twenty years?”

[Phermos] “Yes. Of that, I’m certain.”

[Rienne] “. . .”

Then, if that was the case, it was obvious who the person responsible was.

It was her father.

He didn’t want the truth to come out about the last king of the Gainers family, but he would have known that Rienne would’ve read into the records sometime in the future. So, he probably thought he should try and hide it.

The truth behind the treason instigated by the seven families, the disappearance of Prince Fernand, as well as the marriage arrangement between the Gainers and Arsak families.

[Rienne] “Alright. Good work, Lord Phermos.”

[Phermos] “Hm? You believe what I said?”

[Rienne] “I believe you’re telling me the truth.”

[Phermos] “Well, yes, but….”

Phermos was a clever man.

Already, he was trying to understand the reason behind Rienne’s subdued reaction. He thought she’d have more of a response after he told her.

[Phermos] “If I were you, Princess, I would’ve been more shocked than that. It’s proof that something happened twenty years ago that you didn’t know about. But you’re not surprised at all, so maybe you already knew about it?”

Rienne felt her breath hitch in her throat, and she quickly pulled back her changing expression.

[Rienne] “…….If it’s twenty years ago we’re talking about, then that was a long time ago. It simply doesn’t interest me.”

[Phermos] “True, but you were never one to be so lax about these kinds of things in the past, Princess.”

[Rienne] “Even I want to just let things go sometimes. But I will applaud you for keeping your promise. In return, I will forgive your offense by closing my eyes to your unauthorized presence in the King’s Office.”

[Phermos] “Well, that’s an unexpected generosity. Thank you, Princess.”

Rienne turned away, her voice quiet as she spoke onward.

[Rienne] “Actually, I have something I’d like to tell you.”

[Phermos] “Hm? To me?”

By now, Rienne knew well how quickly the gears in Phermos’ head turned. She knew that if she spoke to him, she couldn’t expect him to hide any of their conversation from Black.

So Rienne looked back at him, approaching her words as if she were taking a gamble.

[Rienne] “It’s about the servant, Klimah. I told you that I saw him bleeding, but now that I think about it, it was likely because he was being beaten with a cane. So I don’t think he was the one who killed the High Priest.”

[Phermos] “I see…….”

But Phermos was not so easily lied to.

[Phermos] “It seems like you want to save him, Princess. Is that correct?”

[Rienne] “…..Yes.”

[Phermos] “You must have your reasons.”

Rienne didn’t know this, but Black had already decided to spare Klimah. Phermos was there the moment he passed the order as well.

[Rienne] “He is no criminal, so I don’t think it would be apt to call him such.”

[Phermos] “Even if that’s the case, did he not kidnap you, Princess? You can’t pretend that didn’t happen, can you?”

[Rienne] “Like I said before…. it may not have been him. I didn’t see the face of the person who took me, nor the face of the one who set the fires. By the time I regained consciousness, I was alone until Lord Tiwakan came to save me.”

[Phermos] “Hm.”

Phermos let out a vague huff of air. It didn’t sound like a laugh, but it wasn’t a sigh, either.

[Phermos] “I’m afraid you aren’t a very good liar, Princess.”

[Rienne] “. . .”

Well, I must be at least a passable liar, considering how you all fell for my pregnancy lie.

Rienne held back those words, her face looking rather embarrassed as he held the fabric of her dress in her hands.

[Rienne] “That doesn’t mean I’m lying. Besides, there’s no evidence I’m lying about my own kidnapping, is there?”

[Phermos] “…….That is true.”

[Rienne] “Then take my words as they are. Klimah is not the one responsible. And if Lord Tiwakan doesn’t agree, I will speak with him privately.”

[Phermos] “Ah….well, regardless of what I say, if you ask his lordship to forgive the servant, he will not refuse you, Princess.”

Phermos narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening as he muttered.

[Phermos] “That’s probably even truer today. Now that you’ve returned safely, Princess, he looked like he was in such a good mood, he terrified the rest of us…..”

[Rienne] “Then I think we’re done discussing Klimah.”

[Phermos] “There’s only one problem, Princess.”

Now Phermos was certain the servant couldn’t be killed. Black mentioned this as well.

Black didn’t say anything more on the matter, but Phermos was able to learn a lot from the short conversation he witnessed between Black and Mrs. Henton.

As soon as Black saw that woman’s face, he suddenly mentioned her son. That meant Black was not only acquainted with the servant, but with his mother as well. The same was true of the woman. She recognized Black as well, though she didn’t seem happy to see him.

Rather, her eyes were filled with a sense of unresolved resentment towards him.

And, she also mentioned the phrase, ‘I can’t go through the same thing twice’.

That could only mean that the woman had another child that died because of Black.

Was it because of a past sin or debt that Black promised he would spare the one who had laid a hand on Princess Rienne? All without settling the situation any further?

But Phermos could only guess at whatever this past debt could be.

Black wasn’t saying anything to him, but he didn’t tell Phermos not to notice the things that were clearly being set before him. Mrs. Henton mentioned ‘the nine waterfalls’, and Black was able to understand what that meant without any difficulty.

Considering the nine waterfalls were once a symbol of Nauk back when it was known as the wealthiest among the southern kingdoms, it wasn’t unreasonable to believe that Black was likely the blood of the previous royal family.

But now, he was curious what the connection was between Black and Rienne.

It went without saying that Black was sincere when it came to Rienne, but what about her?

And for what reason did Black wish to keep those he owed a debt to alive?

* * *

^{T/N: (1) Rienne refers to Black with the title “Lord Tiwakan” which is a transliteration of the original Korean. Meanwhile, Mrs. Flambard refers to Black with the honorific of “공”, which is a highly respectful term, usually denoting reverence or deep honor. “Lord-Prince” or “(His) Eminence” would be appropriate translations as well, but for the sake of a smooth reading experience, we’ve decided to stick with “Lord” since that is the most direct understanding. Just putting a note here so that readers know that there is ‘technically’ a difference in these two terms, even if they would be translated the same.}