Chapter 145
TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!
Sponsored chapter by our Patreon. Enjoy~
ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 145 – Refusal & Amulet
“…I apologize.”
The third day of the meeting.
Finally, Ralph, King of Heim, bowed his head.
With a look of utter humiliation on his face, he bowed to Ishtalika.
Ishtalika felt a sense of disappointment because he would bow as soon as he was in danger.
“…I-I apologize as well.”
After Ralph bowed, Tigre apologized next.
In his case, it was even more obvious than Ralph’s, and it made his face flush red.
In front of the two men who said this, there were the heavyweights of Ishtalika.
There were Sylvird and Ain, as well as Warren and Lloyd, and Krone and Chris.
Of course, the Royal Knights were behind them.
As for Tigre, bowing in front of Krone was the most humiliating thing he could have done.
“I accept your apology. It was a weight off my shoulders to hear that before the complete breakdown of diplomatic relations.”
Hearing this, Sylvird spoke on their behalf.
It was obvious that they had no apology in their hearts anyway, so it was good that they made them look frustrated.
When Sylvird accepted the apology, the two men immediately took their seats.
At first glance, it was obvious that both of them were gritting their teeth.
They had probably never experienced such humiliation in their lives.
But Tigre, perhaps not ready to give up on Krone, continued to stare at her.
“He’s really staring at you…”
When Ain gave a dry smile, Krone kicked Ain’s leg under the desk.
It was a small show of emotion because she couldn’t show her displeasure.
Krone might make some snide remarks later, but they’ll be cute.
The fact that Ain pretended it was someone else’s problem made her a little unhappy.
“Then about the non-aggression pact with Euro, is it true that it will be signed in Euro at a later date?”
Elena opened her mouth as the two royals sat down.
Even Elena, who had been treated a bit coldly, was now in a situation where Tigre and the others had no choice but to rely on her.
If this was going to happen, they should have left it to her from the beginning. That was how Elena felt, but now it was too late.
“Yes. I will let you know about the schedule via Euro. Basically, you can consider the signing of the treaty in Euro as our last exchange.”
Hearing Elena’s words, Krone replied.
It was a bit sad that the exchange between mother and daughter was like this.
“From now on, according to the treaty, we will stop all exchanges.”
Tigre continued to look at Krone with a bitter look on his face as if it was still painful to be told by someone he had feelings for.
…This was the moment when Tigre’s longtime love came to an end, as it was practically a farewell now.
“K-Krone… Are you really not going to come to Heim anymore?”
——This kind of talk again?
He should at least respect the time and place, but it’s also true that if he misses this moment, he wouldn’t have the opportunity to ask.
Krone remained calm and opened her mouth like a person from Ishtalika.
“I don’t think that’s relevant right now.”
Even for Krone, someone who can continue to love someone wholeheartedly was beautiful, but it’s already too late for that.
The person she loves… was the very reason Krone crossed over to Ishtalika.
“But let me give you one last answer.”
If she didn’t express herself, Tigre wouldn’t be satisfied.
Therefore, Krone finally decided to tell him.
Even though it was the only way to end the relationship, it felt bad not to make things clear.
“I will not be your wife. I am honored that you have feelings for me, but please forget me.”
For the first time during this meeting, she made eye contact with Tigre.
For a moment, Tigre was pleased that they had eye contact, but the words that were spoken were one of ruthlessness.
Forgetting to answer, he just stood there in a daze.
He didn’t want to realize it, but it was clear that he had been rejected.
As if he had lost his bloodlust, his complexion turned from red to white.
Grint wanted to utter a single word of complaint that his prince had been told this, but given his position and the situation, he managed to hold it in.
“…Then I guess that’s all for the meeting. Despite the short duration of the three-day meeting, we, Ishtalika, are pleased that it was a ‘meaningful’ time”.
Krone then turned her attention to Heim’s leaders.
If this is how it ends, so be it. If it ends as Warren expected, they will just do what they discussed yesterday…
“Wait. How about one last thing, a friendly fight?”
It was not a smile that could be called vulgar, but it was not a smile that was pleasant to look at either.
Ralph, with such a face, raised his voice to Ishtalika.
On the other hand, Krone, as one could imagine, thought… and sighed slightly.
“Friendly fight?”
“No, it’s no big deal. Your marshal and our great general. It would not be a bad idea to end the meeting with them showing off their fighting skills, would it?”
Even though he thought about how to say it, in the end he wanted to give Logas a chance… and that’s all he wanted to do.
Krone looked at Elena for a moment, and Elena nodded slightly.
Maybe Elena had thought of these words.
“You mean not using a real weapon, but a dummy weapon?”
“Of course. We don’t want to get hurt either.”
“In that case, we have two conditions.”
“Conditions…?”
Ralph, who was about to show his displeasure, somehow managed to suppress it.
“Yes, two conditions. One is that we will not send Lloyd-sama, but Guard Dill instead.”
“Do you think a single bodyguard will be able to stand up to our general?”
“Logas-dono is a well-known general. However, the Crown Prince’s bodyguard is also powerful enough that no royal knights can compete with him. The odds may be against us, but I think we will have a good fight.”
Ralph wondered what to do and looked at Elena.
“Why is the Marshal not participating?”
Elena asked for Ralph.
“The truth is that Lloyd-sama’s wrist is not in the best of shape. So, considering the possibility of injury, we would like to refrain him from participating.”
When Krone mentioned this, Lloyd, who was standing at Sylvird’s side, bowed his head gently.
Hearing this, Elena did not feel bad.
After all, if the opponent was Lloyd, Ralph and the others would be in a bad mood depending on how they lost.
Therefore, she wanted to continue as before, but she continued the conversation as if she were negotiating with Ralph and Tigre, taking their feelings into consideration.
“Well, what about the commander of the royal knights?”
Elena asked, looking at Chris.
“I am sorry, but Chris-sama also serves as the Crown Prince’s bodyguard. So, for security reasons, we would prefer that she not participate.”
The same went for Lloyd, but Elena doesn’t point that out.
Elena looked pensive and turned to Ralph.
“Your Majesty. I think it is good. To lend the heart of the great general of Heim to Ishtalika’s bodyguard… If you look at it that way, it’s not so bad, is it?”
“That’s one way to look at it. I see, it doesn’t seem so bad then.”
If she spoke in Heim’s favor, Ralph’s mood would not get worse.
And when he was satisfied with what Elena had told him, she told Ishtalika.
“This is good. We will send Logas-dono, and you will send the Crown Prince’s bodyguard. Let’s have a friendly fight between them.”
“Then we will start at dusk. We’ll use the square outside. …Then we’ll meet again around that time.”
Hearing that Ralph was satisfied, Krone replied in detail.
Thus, as Warren had predicted, the battle was decided.
＊＊＊
A few dozen minutes after the battle with Logas had been decided.
Lloyd had visited Dill to tell him.
“…That’s why I’m going to let you fight Logas-dono…but what are you doing?”
“It’s all too sudden for me to understand, but I understand that I’m going to fight.”
Lloyd joined Princess Katima and came to the place where he had heard Dill was.
Dill, who was on the deck where the sea breeze was pleasant, was carrying a certain object on his back.
“Nya? Isn’t that Lloyd, what are you doing here-nya?”
“Y-yes. I have a job for Dill, and I’ve come to tell him about it… But what are you doing, Katima-sama?”
——What was she doing on Dill’s back?
He wanted to ask her but was a little hesitant to put it into words.
“His gaze is high and interesting. His body isn’t unnecessarily bulky, so he’s not too uncomfortable to ride.”
“As one would expect, His Majesty would be upset to see you like this, wouldn’t he?”
Even though she’s a Caith Sith, Katima was the First Princess.
Even though there were only a few of them, it was not a figure that should be shown to the knights very often.
“You shouldn’t worry about such a small thing-nya. In general, Father has given me permission to do so-nya.”
Being the guardian of the first princess seemed like an honor if that’s all you ask for.
But there was no denying that looking at the two of them now, they were somewhat relaxed.
“Dill, is it true…?”
“Yes.”
“Are you doubting me-nya? It’s true-nya. Father told it-nya. He told Dill to keep me company so I wouldn’t get into trouble-nya.”
Despite the proud look on her face, Sylvird’s words were indescribable.
But since it was confirmed that there was no disrespect, Lloyd had no intention of saying anything about it.
“All right-nya… and.”
Katima then got off Dill’s back as if to slip away.
“Since it sounds like work, I’m going to my room to read a book-nya.”
Katima hummed as she left, looking concerned.
The Glacier father and son left behind looked at each other and laughed.
“You’ve come a long way to carry the First Princess on your back, haven’t you?”
“With His Majesty’s permission, you know.”
Dill smiles at Lloyd’s words.
“Good heavens… you’ve grown into a fine young man.”
Lloyd pats Dill’s head hard and then says.
“…By the way, what in the world did you mean when you said I was going to fight Logas-dono?”
“Oh, that’s what I was talking about.”
What they talked about in the meeting.
In line with that, he told Dill the story that Warren told him yesterday.
It was a short story, so telling it to Dill was a quick process.
Dill nodded several times as he listened.
“I think if I were to take it on, I could bring shame to Ishtalika’s face…”
“That could make a big difference as a knight. But as luck would have it, it’s not a bad compatibility.”
“Compatibility?”
“Yes. After all, Logas-dono uses a sword of a very similar style to mine. Then you know the rest, don’t you?”
Hearing this, Dill also seemed to agree and smiled.
“I see. That means, if I want to win against you, father, I have to…”
“That’s what I mean. If you want to beat me, you can at least try to beat Logas-dono.”
Dill understood, even if he did not put it into words.
Logas would probably be close to a lesser version of Lloyd.
If that was the case, Dill would have to change his mind.
Fortunately, he had such an opponent before his goal of defeating his father.
“I’ve been blessed with this opportunity. I should look at it that way.”
“Yes. That is right. Fighting with people from other countries will be an important experience for Dill.
Ishtalika was the only nation on the continent of Ishtar.
In other words, the opportunity to fight with other nations was basically non-existent.
“But I am surprised. I would have thought that you would have persuaded Warren-sama to participate instead.”
“N-no… There is no way I can convince Warren-dono.”
Dill heard the answer and laughed happily.
He does not see his father like this very often.
“Then, father. I need to warm up, will you help me?”
It might be a tough fight, but Dill was determined to win all three matches.
It was important for him to prepare his body for that.
“Yes, leave it to me. Can you come to the White King after you get your equipment ready?”
“No problem. I will also inform Katima-sama of this, so please go ahead and wait for me.”
Then Dill ran off to get ready.
Watching him, Lloyd couldn’t help but look forward to their fight.
He couldn’t wait to see his son fight the man known as Logas.
There was a part of him that looked forward to watching Dill fight rather than fighting himself.
In that sense, this outcome didn’t seem so bad.
If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!