CHAPTER 611: THE KING’S ARRANGED MARRIAGE 2

TL: Rui88

“You… what did you say?”

Catherine stood up from the sofa, looking at Rodney XVIII with an expression of disbelief. Her beautiful blue eyes were filled with shock.

Her reaction did not surprise Rodney XVIII.

The king suppressed the awkwardness in his heart and said:

“As I just said, the royal family needs you to marry into the Grayman family.”

His tone was firm and powerful, full of an unquestionable authority. Although he felt a little unsure inside, he hid it well.

After receiving Rodney XVIII’s confirmed reply, a storm raged in Catherine’s heart.

“Why? Why in this way?”

Endless anger, and even some humiliation, surged from her soul.

Her own brother, the king, was telling her to marry a man she had only met once?

With her intelligence, a little thought was all it took to know that someone at the king’s side must have been instigating him to do this.

“Gerd!” she said stiffly, directly using the King of Ordo’s former name.

“Who made you do this? McKee? Or… my uncle?”

“I am the one who made the decision!”

Rodney XVIII’s eyes widened, and he met Catherine’s gaze without flinching.

He adopted the attitude of a monarch towards a subject, not a brother towards a sister.

But his eyes conveyed a message to Catherine… “Many people want you to leave. Only when you have left can they feel at ease.”

Catherine tried hard to suppress her anger, but her tone became icy. “Your decision makes me feel like a tradable property!”

Rodney XVIII nodded. “To the kingdom, we are all property, are we not? Just waiting for a suitable price.”

Catherine asked, “If you want to put your supporters at ease, then why not exile me? Sending me to the Nerodan Valley to defend against the orcs would also be fine, even as an ordinary knight! Why must you use marriage to get rid of me?”

“Catherine!” The king looked her up and down. “Your qualities are so outstanding. If I weren’t your brother, I imagine I too would pursue you fiercely.”

“Someone as outstanding as you can provide more value in the Northwest Bay than in the Nerodan Valley. There are enough knights in the Nerodan Valley, but Alda lacks a mistress, an elegant, noble mistress with royal blood flowing in her veins.”

“According to my knowledge, Paul Grayman has not had a formal marriage with any woman. You know, a man’s first wife often holds an important position in his household, even being equal to her husband in a sense. Honestly, if Grayman already had a wife, I would absolutely not arrange for you to go there and be wronged.”

“Haha!” Catherine laughed with some sarcasm. “My dear king and brother, so you’re saying I should thank you?”

Rodney XVIII said seriously, “Catherine, you are a princess. Yes, in many fairy tales, a princess often signifies a romantic love story. But those are just fairy tales, after all. You have helped our uncle with political affairs since you were young, you have led troops, and you have fought in wars. I believe that at your age, you have already abandoned those unrealistic fantasies.”

“You can go ask those friends of yours who are already married or engaged. Ask them if their husbands are the Prince Charmings of their past fantasies, ask them if their husbands were the objects of their past admiration, and then ask if their marriages are intertwined with family interests.”

Rodney XVIII stared into Catherine’s eyes and said slowly but forcefully, “I think you should have this awareness!”

Catherine sat down, somewhat dejected.

There was no need to ask. She had long known what the king said was true.

For noblewomen, their marriages were often arranged by their families. And even if she were the only one left in her family, her feudal lord could still exert powerful influence over her marriage.

Did those women in poems and novels who dared to break free from the shackles of their families and boldly pursue their own love exist?

They existed, but they were extremely rare. It was precisely because they were rare that literary works based on them were so widely circulated.

There was only one way to escape this kind of arrangement: go to a convent to become a nun, take a vow of lifelong chastity, and serve God for the rest of her life.

Catherine’s faith was certainly devout, but she did not want to spend her life bored in a convent.

“Was it Paul Grayman who made this request to you?”

The princess uttered that name with some resentment.

“No, he did not!” The king shook his head. “But when he first laid eyes on you, I could feel that you… are the type he admires. So, he should cherish and treat you well.”

Rodney XVIII’s heart relaxed slightly. Catherine was initially angry about him arranging her marriage, but now she was shifting her focus to the marriage partner. Although her attitude was negative, it showed she had already halfway compromised.

“Then why him?”

“Our uncle must have told you about the importance of the Northwest Bay before he passed away.”

Catherine instantly recalled the words her father had spoken before his death. “On that land in the kingdom’s northwest, certain changes seem to be quietly taking place.”

She fell into silence, quietly thinking.

She had once sworn to dedicate her life to this country, but why did fate have to arrange it for her in this way?

After a long while, she asked softly but with some indifference, “Then when I arrive in the Northwest Bay, which identity should I prioritize?”

Rodney XVIII raised his head. “What do you mean?”

“The Princess of Rodney? Or the lady of Grayman? Am I loyal to the royal family, or loyal to my husband?”

Her brother raised his eyebrows. “Catherine, that is a difficult question to answer. Why not firmly combine these two identities?”

“Perhaps one day these two identities will be in opposition. Who knows what arrangements fate will make? For example…”

Catherine’s voice remained cold. “Today, I was suddenly informed by my own brother that I am about to have a husband.”

Rodney XVIII did not immediately answer his sister’s words. After a while, he said:

“Logically speaking, a woman should first be loyal to her husband, but you are no ordinary woman, so you…”

He did not continue, seemingly finding it difficult.

After a moment of silence, the king strode to the window, took several deep breaths of fresh air, and then continued:

“Catherine, I know that since you were young, you have been a woman who upholds justice and distinguishes right from wrong, with your own set of standards for judging things.”

“And unprecedented changes are about to happen. Some things that are right now may become wrong in the future, while other things that are wrong now may become right in the future.”

“Regarding the future of the kingdom, I can only strive, but I dare not make a judgment.”

“I can only say, if unfortunately, these two identities do come into conflict… then follow the choice of your own heart. With your wisdom, I believe you will choose the right side.”

Catherine was somewhat surprised. She had not expected the king to say this.

Rodney XVIII’s words seemed to contain some very vague hints, which Catherine tried to grasp but could not.

Changes!

Her father, her brother, both mentioned this word in unison, and both were related to the Northwest Bay.

Perhaps she should go and see that land for herself?