Chapter 94 – 9. The Story of the Years Gone by (4)
Dominion of Tarn.
The territory ruled by the Archduke was quite far from Limousin. The city, which is also called the capital of southern culture, is indeed worthy of its name, and it is easy to see why it is considered one of the best resorts in Gaul.
“This is Melanie Tarn.”
“This is Romuald Dior.”
Palm trees planted at every corner, passers-by in western robes, buildings built with open structures without windows, the beach shining in the color of jade, and the weather was comfortable and not humid, befitting a region belonging to a temperate climate.
“I heard from my father. He said he was the one who made a big contribution this time.”
“It is overrated. It’s just that his father bought me high…”
“You are not stingy with compliments, are you? But I am not one to make up nonsense.”
The grand duke’s mansion, like a palace, was located on the best site along the coast. In the days when it was an old southern powerhouse, it was not only a real palace, but the two people who met lightly on the white sandy beach continued their conversation in a very good atmosphere.
“There are already rumors about the knight who saved Limousin in the world.”
“I was lucky. That’s all.”
A warm breeze blew in his face, and gentle waves rolled under his feet.
“I like humble people. He’s not burdened and comfortable when he’s having a conversation.”
Melanie covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled. She was indeed beautiful, with silvery white hair like the color of her sandy beach her. As if it was not called the summer stone of the south for nothing, even the eyes reminiscent of the sea were the color of jade on the tarn beach.
“But please don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s hard to properly thank you. No matter what you say, the knight is a hero who protected my hometown. He is the one who made it possible for my more precious father to come back safely.”
“I made a mistake.”
Rom lightly bowed his head. The Grand Duke’s daughter, who was impressive with her fair skin and fair skin as her own hair, looked at him with a calm smile. He added to the article who might be my husband with a clear look in his eyes.
“Do you think she would make a good wife?”
“What are you talking about…”
“My father, who rarely introduces himself, asked me to meet the driver. Even though I grew up like a flower in a greenhouse, that doesn’t mean I don’t know the world at all.”
The plain dress made of thin silk emphasized her mature body to the fullest. Melanie was a woman with a very impressive appearance, as if the off-white color representing a country and a region did not refer only to her silky face her.
“I like it. She knows it could be rude, but if you dare. Since you have always struggled despite your low status, we will raise you as much as you like in our Tarn family.”
“Instead of becoming the grand duke’s son-in-law? But I’ve never thought of myself as a good husband. My father must have taken notice of my military service and provided me with such a good place, but I don’t know why the young lady looks at me favorably.”
“Me too. I’ve never thought of myself as a true bride. But then how about it? Where in the world is there such a thing as a perfect person? We are learning step by step, one by one. In that sense, I liked the gentle knight.”
Rome listened to her words with a silent expression. She felt that if she didn’t, she would be caught looking fiercely bewildered. Melanie’s comments her after that were kind enough to melt the frozen knight’s heart.
“I was sure that if it was your personality, it would support me when I was having a hard time.”
“Is that so…”
The Grand Duke was a realistic person. He was a high-ranking aristocrat and a man with grand ambitions befitting a provincial baron. Arranging his daughter for Rom must have been an action that ultimately stemmed from the desire to establish Tarn as the hegemon of the continent.
Yes, because the marriage of all heirs is determined by politics.
Rom knew that too. Even so, she accepted the meeting because she wanted to be treated as much as her abilities without the label of low birth. Even though she was prepared to be treated with cold or contempt by her reluctant introduction to her, she did.
“If you do, what do you think, young lady?”
Melanie Tarn, Grand Duchess, was a good person.
“Do you think I would make a good husband?”
The woman with the jade-colored sea and the silver-white sky in her body her nodded. She brushed her hair, which was blowing in the warm wind on a clear day, behind her ears her, her face flushed with embarrassment, and she opened her mouth.
“Are you willing to become my life partner?”
“I would like to do it if it is an undeserved honor.”
“Then let’s go talk to your father together.”
Ever since the Archduke’s troops returned to the Dominion, the city has been in a festive mood every day. In the streets, lively crowds poured, drank, and feasted, and from wandering clowns to minstrels to the top, stalls were open and doing business.
Rom and Melanie spent time for fellowship as they roamed the streets. We couldn’t talk much because neither of them talked much, but it was a fun time nonetheless.
It only lasted for half a day, but it was because the sympathy between the two was deep. At first, the atmosphere was awkward and face-to-face, but by the time the sun went down, they had become quite sincere and were able to treat each other. So, by the time they returned home to the Grand Duke’s sister-in-law, they were able to hold hands like fresh lovers.
“You’re late, Romuald.”
My frozen heart during my unfortunate growth period had already melted like snow, but at the moment I wondered if I could finally open the closed door and accept someone into my heart.
“… Brother Charles?”
On a southern night that was hotter than the day, he faced the Grand Duke and a blonde man standing next to him smoking a cigarette. Although not as tall as the knight himself, he was a fairly tall man with a sharp look under his curly hair.
Charles Dior, second son of the duke and middle earl.
And even many years after his father passed away, he is still an ambitious man who competes with the eldest son for the title of head of the family.
“Tsk tsk, is it possible for a born-again illegitimate child to wander around with the daughter of a precious family until such a late hour?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Why? Did you come to a place where I couldn’t come?”
The thumping attitude was familiar, as usual. My older brother, who had neglected him since childhood, insulted him with unspeakable words even after he was recognized as a member of the family after numerous feats of martial arts.
“I don’t know if you’ll just run amok, but from my point of view, there are a lot of things to calculate.”
The part where Rom felt a sense of incongruity was not from the second son of a poor family, but from the Grand Duke standing next to him in silence. From the sight of the knight holding hands with his daughter, he realized that the two had become close, but it was Tarn who chose to observe quietly.
“Furthermore, it is a political strategy, but a marriage proposal is an important procedure. A lowly person like you wouldn’t know.”
“Did you just say marriage proposal?”
“Okay, I just finished talking with the Grand Duke. Our Dior will now form an alliance with Tarn to become a rich country and strong military. I’m different from my older brother who withdrew. I will not allow this land to be trampled upon by a man so blinded by private feelings as the lunatic Albenis.”
Only then did I realize
“Didn’t you prove that right away with this incident?”
No, to be honest, from the moment I saw him, I felt it to some extent. He just denied it because he didn’t want to admit it. Days with the grand duke who was willing to accept me as a member of his family his, albeit calculatedly, and the kind young lady.
I don’t want to lose that future.
“Greetings formally to the other lady. He will be your sister-in-law and the future hostess of our family.”
“…”
“Ah, I almost forgot my older brother’s message. It seems that a commotion has broken out in the countryside of Fontaine, one of the eastern provinces. He told us to start and quell it as soon as we received the order. Go and seduce the traitors who are against Your Majesty.”
It would be a lie if he said he did not hate his older brother who blatantly rejects him. But what was even more savage for Rom was the Grand Duke who was silent even as he watched all of this. And it was my real existence as a knight, a youngborn who couldn’t even offer any words of comfort to the young lady who couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
“You have to do your job, brother?”
That day, Rom, who had to leave his older brother laughing bitterly, thought about it.
A truly lonely life, a helpless human being.
The knight who was called invincible.
* * *
After leaving the South, it was all about wandering.
Rom traveled all over the country for nearly a year and made a feat. The winner of a continental swordsmanship contest and called the invincible knight of Lumiere, he was no longer just a wanderer. He was the man who defeated the mad king of Aragon, Al Venice, and was recognized by everyone as a hero of Limousin.
“Hey, did you hear about the second unrest in Fontaine?”
“Ah, it seems that the taxes in the direct jurisdiction have risen steeply. It seems that the impatient king started managing his pockets first. However, faraway places like Fontaine have less influence, so it often happens with them…”
“That is a thing of the past now. The hero of Limousin did one more thing. He beat dozens of ringleaders with his bare fists without even wearing armor. Thanks to that, they say that the direct jurisdictions all over the country are paying taxes to the royal family.”
While suppressing the riots in the eastern edge on two occasions.
“I heard that Count Charles Dior officially married Melanie Tarn, summer stone of the south. As for the officiating ceremony, it seems that Bishop Hu Ravel, a powerful man in the west, personally attended.”
“That’s right, the prestige of the Duke of Dior is skyrocketing. Even so, in Grande Mande, the territory of the post-bishopric, Romuald, her youngest son her, single-handedly defeated the sultan who pushed through the re-invasion?”
“Is it true that the heroes of Limousin are invincible at sea?”
He repulsed Sultan, who was aiming for the West, at Grand Mande.
“Recently, there have been nasty rumors going around. Rumors circulated that someone who was a collateral royal in the center rebelled.”
“Oh, is that one of the ladies of Aquitaine?”
“It doesn’t look like that. The royal family thoroughly covered up the rumors, but if that was the case, there must have been a story that was passed on. If I wait a little longer, I think the detailed outline will be revealed.”
“Unexpected. Alphonse de Gaulia is not an easy man.”
“Wars are raging everywhere. At times like this, knights who have no enemies will be happy. It’s because it’s enough to lead a mercenary group and easily accept money. We are also considering whether to invest our money there if possible.”
He suppressed a rebellion in Saint-Yves, a city near Lumiere, the capital.
“I heard rumors in Northern Lemoang that the Confederation of Camag tribes are trying to invade the border again. I heard that a large army numbering in the tens of thousands will move south within this month.”
“Has the Great Warrior Tamir returned?”
“I don’t know. Today’s Gaul is truly a lantern placed in front of the wind.”
“Ruth, Aragorn, and Nasr aren’t enough, so now you mean Kamag?”
With such a high name, when he was young, he was invited by the northern part of the country, which he longed for because of the stories he heard from the nanny and butler who raised him.
“The Margrave of Lemoen became a messy land after the death of the lord Gerard. Maybe there will be a bigger disturbance than what happened in Limousin in the southwest.”
“Well, that probably won’t be the case.”
“Well? Why do you think so?”
“It is an intelligence that the wife who replaced him invited the hero of Limousin.”
Now the knight headed north.
