Chapter 162

“A way to live?”

Santia Hostanio asked, flustered.

“It sounds as if we’re going to die otherwise, Zionis.”

“You heard correctly.”

There was a strange power in Shion’s words.

Even without any basis, it pierced the heart with a strange persuasiveness.

“Why are you all here?”

Cornelius and Santia tilted their heads.

Shion’s words did not immediately register.

“Was that too abstract? I’m asking what reason the Empire had for sending you here.”

“To build a relationship with the Guidone family, I suppose.”

“Why Guidone?”

“Why, you ask? Because the Guidones are descendants of the unified Bururade Kingdom. They are still a noble family worthy of representing the Bururade Peninsula.”

“So, you’re saying the Cordis Empire would covet something of that level?”

“…I suppose not.”

Santia touched her lips.

The Guidone family and the Cordis Imperial Family.

The gap was so wide it was embarrassing to compare.

Until now, she had sought the reason for this marriage in the poor treatment she received at the imperial court.

I am useless to the Imperial Family, so it is worth selling me off to gain something like the Guidone family.

Santia Hostanio had always thought this way.

However, the name of Emperor Continua’s daughter was much bigger than she thought.

“It must be part of a pro-Western policy.”

Cornelius interjected, stroking his mustache.

No matter how much he had been pushed aside, he was still the dean of the Imperial Academy of Magic.

His knowledge and learning had depth.

“Hasn’t His Majesty Ferbias been striving to improve relations with the West since his accession?”

“What does the Empire gain from being friendly with the West?”

“…Well, the West’s special products or technology?”

“That’s just a delusion of the Westerners.”

Shion shook his head.

“You should know, Western civilization is not at a level the Empire would covet.”

“Then, um… world peace……?”

“Isn’t it funny even as you say it? Emperor Ferbias and world peace.”

Cornelius scratched his head in embarrassment.

What Ferbias Caseptus wanted most was to prove himself.

He was desperate to prove that he was no less than the Great Emperor, perhaps even greater.

On the outside, he pretended not to be.

He pretended to want the well-being of the Empire, and even the fair peace of the whole world, and to some extent, he even deceived himself.

But those who had seen him up close knew what kind of man Ferbias was.

He was as terribly selfish as he thought himself to be altruistic.

“The reason Ferbias sent you is very simple.”

Shion put a finger to his lips.

“A pretext.”

Santia Hostanio couldn’t help but ask.

She felt a sense of dread at the answer she had already guessed, but she slowly parted her lips.

“…What kind of pretext?”

“A pretext for war. A fitting scapegoat to signal the declaration of war.”

“……!!!”

Both Cornelius and Santia were aghast.

Their eyes widened and their breath caught for a moment.

Shion paid them no mind and continued.

“The daughter of the Great Emperor died due to a mistake by the West, or a deliberate attack. A very appropriate and sufficient pretext. You are all bait.”

“W-wait……”

Cornelius Merhes quickly interjected.

“Me too……?”

“If you die, they can draw in Hermai Merhes. As one of the Empire’s top military powers and the Great Emperor’s closest aide, he would have been an irresistible prize for Ferbias.”

Hermai Merhes, the six-star mage.

If Sen Sorti was the greatest of mages, then Hermai was the next.

Considering that Sen Sorti's identity was not human but the 'last mage', Hermai Merhes was, in name and in reality, the greatest human mage.

Moreover, gaining the cooperation of Hermai, Emperor Continua’s closest confidant, would add legitimacy to Ferbias’s throne.

The Cordis Empire still adored Emperor Continua fervently.

“Th-this……!”

Cornelius Merhes gritted his teeth.

“I’ve heard enough!”

A blue-green light bloomed.

Imbued with the anger of the four-star mage, the blue-green light began to fill the space.

“There’s a limit to nonsense! It’s all just speculation!”

Shion shrugged.

He did not find Cornelius’s anger strange.

The path to success he thought he had grasped again was cut off, he was told that the talk of Emperor Continua was a lie, and now he was even told that the Empire would use him as a scapegoat.

It was understandable that he found it hard to believe.

No, he probably didn't want to believe it.

Shion let the mustached mage ramble on.

If he was going to be used as a pawn, it was more convenient to let him vent his useless emotions himself.

“In the first place, you! Are you even His Highness Zionis? With words you picked up somewhere……”

“Cornelius.”

Santia Hostanio said quietly.

“That man is Zionis. You know that.”

“Your Highness the Princess……”

With Santia saying that, Cornelius could no longer be angry.

The blue-green light subsided and the mustached mage lowered his head.

It was strange that his loyalty to the Imperial Family remained even after being exiled.

“It’s a hard story to believe, Zionis.”

“The truth is always like that.”

“…And yet, for it to be so easily convincing, it’s truly strange.”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

That Ferbias, her half-brother, would abandon her for the sake of a pretext for war.

It was so like Ferbias, such a familiar tactic, that it was rather relieving.

“I have faith in you.”

“Even though I suddenly appeared and spouted such ghastly things?”

“You went out of your way to appear and tell me of my crisis.”

Shion exclaimed inwardly.

The same old Santia Hostanio.

Just as she always was, seven years ago and before the regression, easily trusting people, so unlike a Cordis imperial, so very human, his half-sister.

“I am bewildered, but I want to hear more.”

Santia extended a hand to Shion.

“What would you have us do?”

“Wait.”

Shion said.

“Wait for the right time, pretending you know nothing. Focus only on the marriage before you, you as the bride, and Cornelius as the head of the delegation.”

“When do you say the right time?”

“I will let you know. I will be here, under the name of Shion of Merion.”

“Alright. I will do so.”

Santia decided to act like a bride.

The mustached mage also decided to act like the head of the marriage delegation.

They decided to forget all about the Fifth Prince Zionis and the pretext for war.

The reason was simple.

They wanted to live.

“But one thing.”

The regressed prince said.

“What’s most important is that our secret does not get out. The Cordis intelligence agency will have planted people throughout the delegation. Be careful, and be careful again, not to let a word slip out by mistake.”

Shion glanced sideways.

“Especially you, Cornelius. If you want to live, watch your mouth.”

“…Ahem. I understand, Your Highness. I apologize for just now.”

Cornelius bowed his head and Shion waved his hand.

“Oh, and sister.”

“Yes……?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to get close to the man who will be your husband.”

***

Gwaemos Gustav Guidone.

The current head of the Guidone family.

The man engaged to Santia Hostanio lingered in front of the mirror for a long time.

Neat hair, a perfectly fitting formal suit, and as always, handsome features.

There was nothing lacking on the outside, yet he was strangely anxious.

“Tectus, do I look alright?”

“I have told you for the seventeenth time that you look fine.”

“No. I think I should part my bangs just a little to the side……”

Tectus Tatium sighed.

“Lord Gwaemos, even if I am cooperating with you, it is troublesome to be treated like a butler. I am, after all, a senior agent of the intelligence agency……”

“Help me with my belt!”

“…This mission is truly arduous.”

Tectus helped Gwaemos with his belt.

It was something he would never have done if his superiors at the intelligence agency had not ordered him to assist Gwaemos.

Gwaemos adjusted his clothes.

It was the seventh time.

Tectus let out a sigh for what felt like the hundredth time.

“I’m sorry, Tectus. But today’s the day, isn’t it? Hmm? It’s the first time I’m seeing the person who will be my wife, so I should look my best.”

Gwaemos Gustav Guidone adjusted his bow tie.

His appearance, which he was usually so confident in, seemed lacking today.

It was to the point where he thought it might be better to cover his face entirely.

“Will Princess Santia take a liking to me?”

Tectus did not answer.

Gwaemos hadn’t really expected an answer either. He muttered in front of the mirror.

“I hope so. Yes, that would be really great. But she would have no reason to……”

Gwaemos became dejected.

He couldn’t think of a single reason why a Cordis princess would take a liking to him.

Gwaemos was a man who believed his only strength was his family, and he knew how small the Guidone family was in front of the Cordis Imperial Family.

No matter how much he tried to be confident, he couldn’t.

“Lord Gwaemos, that’s enough.”

Tectus Tatium said in a low voice.

There was news transmitted through the communication magic device in his ear.

“Let’s go in. Her Highness the Princess has already arrived.”

“…Is that so? Then I should go in. It wouldn’t look good to make her wait on our first meeting.”

Gwaemos hurried out of the room.

He was in such a hurry that the bangs he had put so much effort into became disheveled.

He felt his heart beating fast, but he didn’t know why.

Excitement, anticipation?

Or anxiety and fear?

Perhaps all of them.

He didn’t know the ratio in which they were mixed, but it wasn’t so painful, and he even felt a little excited.

‘Santia, Santia Hostanio…….’

He repeated the name of the person who would be his wife in his mind.

She was beyond the door.

He didn’t even know her face yet, but he couldn’t understand why he felt this way.

Was it going too far to think that even her name was beautiful?

‘…To think that this Gwaemos is acting like a young girl.’

He took a deep breath.

He couldn’t open the door where Santia was waiting with ordinary resolve.

In fact, taking a deep breath wasn’t enough, and in the end, Tectus, who was next to him, raised his voice.

“Can’t you even open one door, Lord Gwaemos?”

“No, wait! Let me go back and fix my bangs one last time……!”

“No.”

Tectus Tatium threw the door open.

Gwaemos unknowingly struck a ridiculous pose.

It couldn’t be helped, as he was trying to hide his disheveled bangs and clothes.

“Tectus! I told you to wait a moment……!”

“Oh my.”

He thought he had heard a lark sing.

The voice that came from beyond the palm covering his eyes sounded so lovely.

“You must be Lord Gwaemos?”

“…Ah, yes, that’s me. I am Gwaemos Gustav Guidone.”

“Why are you standing like that?”

Santia giggled at Gwaemos’s ridiculous appearance.

Her laughter was so innocent that his heart trembled.

“I can’t see your face if you cover your eyes like that.”

“…I can’t see Your Majesty Santia’s face either.”

“Your Majesty? You speak words that could get you in trouble.”

“Ah? Ah! Your Highness, that is, Your Highness Santia……”

“You are an interesting person.”

Unlike what she had heard.

Santia laughed repeatedly.

Gwaemos found himself wanting to keep hearing that laughter. He realized he was captivated, and so he was afraid to lower his hand.

What if he lowered his hand and was met with an unexpected sight?

“Are you going to keep your hand like that? Please show me your face now.”

“Ah, yes, ahaha……”

He laughed awkwardly, and Tectus Tatium came closer and poked him in the back.

It was a sign not to be rude to a imperial.

Gwaemos had no choice but to lower his hand.

He had to remove the hand covering his eyes and look at Santia, the person who would be his wife.

“……”

Three deep breaths. Inhale, and exhale. Inhale, and exhale, and inhale again, and exhale again.

At his slow demeanor, Tectus sighed again and Santia giggled again.

He slowly lowered his hand.

He saw Santia Hostanio.

He dropped the comb in his hand, but he didn’t even realize it.

“Oh……”

At first, he saw her golden hair.

It was beautifully straight, not curly.

Her blue eyes were clear and her nose was smooth and above all, her smile was lovely.

The innocent smile she held like a young girl… it was unbearable for him…….

“…Your Highness Santia.”

“Yes, please speak, Lord Gwaemos.”

Gwaemos Gustav Guidone was suddenly right in front of Santia.

Santia, though flustered, did not hold back her laughter.

Gwaemos carefully placed a kiss on her hand.

“Please marry me.”