Chapter 77: Why Call Me Elder Brother?

"Lord Koshar. This is King Heinley I of the Western Kingdom."

The escort abandoned his playful manner and introduced King Heinley, and Koshar bowed to Heinley with perfect gentility. The man imagined Koshar to be too much of a ruffian to succeed the Troby family, but when it came to it, Koshar had impeccable manners. The man stared between Koshar and Heinley, in suspense for what kind of conversation they would have.

"Good work. You may go."

Heinley ordered the man to go away, and he was forced to turn around in disappointment.

Koshar watched the scene with a close eye. He remained outwardly calm, but he was still surprised inside. It wasn't because the bandit-looking man offered to introduce him to his sister, but because the Western King seemed to be eagerly anticipating Koshar's arrival.

'This is good, in any case.'

Now that he met the king, he wouldn't have to abandon his vendetta against the concubine.

"Your Majesty."

Koshar opened his mouth to give his formal greeting. Before he could say anything, however, something astonishing happened.

"Elder brother. It is my humble honor."

King Heinley called him 'elder brother'. Koshar blinked in surprise.

"…What?"

Koshar was rendered speechless. He stood as frozen as a statue, and Heinley gave a small chuckle.

"Ah. It seems you don't know how to react."

Actually, Heinley himself was unsure what to do beyond this point as well. He had only been thinking about bringing Navier's brother to the kingdom but hadn't considered any plans beyond that. He simply knew that to gain favor from Navier, he had to gain favor from her family. In Heinley's eyes, Koshar was marked "Priority number one."

Similarly, Koshar, who didn't know the reason for his summons, was stalled on what words to say. Although Koshar had occasional quarrels with Sovieshu since childhood, in an official capacity, he always treated the Emperor with civility. Koshar had taken the same etiquette lessons as Navier, but a king from another country had never called him "elder brother" out of nowhere.

"What is the meaning—"

Heinley gave an "Ah" and pointed at the door with a wide, friendly smile.

"Please enter first. We can talk later after you're refreshed and rested. Are you tired?"

"?"

"You bear a great resemblance to your sister."

"?!"

* * *

The room prepared for Koshar was comfortable, spacious, and luxurious. It had a soft beige interior, and the timber and workmanship on the furniture were of the finest quality. The bathtub was filled with warm water and sprinkled with rose petals, and clothes were prepared that fit his measurements.

'How does he know my size?'

Not knowing that Heinley had prepared clothes of all sizes, Koshar felt like he had been possessed by a ghost.

'If I listen to him, then I'll find out all his reasons.'

After changing his clothes, Koshar was led by a handmaid to King Heinley.

When Koshar entered the room, somehow, Heinley looked worse than before. He was sitting at a table, his expression dark and his forehead crumpled. When he saw Koshar, however, he got up, welcomed him, and called him "brother".

"I thought the color red would suit you, brother."

"Your Majesty. I apologize, but you keep calling me 'brother'…"

"Ah. Let me explain."

Heinley, however, suddenly found it difficult to speak. Koshar waited patiently, and after about five minutes, Heinley confessed.

"In truth, I don't know what to say."

"…About?"

"What is certain is your sister. I promised to marry her."

Koshar had taken a sip of water, and he choked when he heard Heinley's words. Heinley quickly offered him a handkerchief. Koshar held out his hand to accept when he saw the initials embroidered on it.

It had Navier's initials. That meant this handkerchief—

"Ah. This."

Heinley quickly withdrew the handkerchief, then pulled out another one to offer him and smiled awkwardly.

"My apologies. I often take that one out first."

"That handkerchief is…"

"It originally belonged to Empress Navier."

Koshar thought so. That handkerchief was clumsily embroidered by his father's unskilled hand.

"I know. My father gave it to her as a gift."

"Is that so?"

Heinley smiled, turning slightly red in the cheeks.

"So it came from father-in-law."

Koshar was glad he wasn't drinking water this time. He could hardly comprehend everything that the young king had been saying. Father-in-law? No, why does the king have that handkerchief?

"Ah. Empress Navier gave it to me."

Koshar kept staring at it doubtfully.

"She tied it around my neck."

Koshar was caught drinking water again. He coughed roughly into his hand as Heinley knocked him sympathetically on his back. Empress Navier tied her handkerchief to that king's neck?

"It was in secret."

Heinley quickly added to his words, recalling that she had tied it to him when he was a bird.

'She tied him up in secret!'

Koshar gripped his cup more tightly. His head was spinning. What was going on here? Why did Empress Navier tie a handkerchief to the king's neck?

Heinley pressed the handkerchief to his chest and continued with a proud smile on his lips.

"The situation is urgent, so I'll explain first. I promised to marry Empress Navier."

"By chance…"

"I don't know the exact circumstances. But Her Majesty the Empress proposed to me first."

"N-Navier!"

"This is only a guess…but I believe Emperor Sovieshu is preparing to divorce the Empress."

Koshar's face froze in shock.

"What do you mean?"

Koshar's face was quite similar to Navier's, and Heinley found that his heart was pounding.

"As I said, I don't know the details. But she is not the one who would propose to me for no reason."

"…"

"Sadly, she offered me a marriage of convenience."

Navier. Koshar's precious sister, whose only dream was to grow up to become empress. If she planned to marry the Western King, there must be a reason.

"I see."

Koshar nodded. He knew that Sovieshu was deeply in love with his concubine and that she was also pregnant. People in love could leap into doing crazy things. Perhaps Navier heard of Sovieshu's divorce from the concubine. However…

"It seems you accepted the offer. Why?"

He didn't understand. Navier was in a politically difficult position and had offered a proposal before getting divorced. Why would Heinley accept it out of nowhere? Navier was a lovely woman of course, but marriages between nobility and royalty weren't meant to be romantic. Koshar weighed the advantages and disadvantages. King Heinley must also have a mind full of calculations.

However, Heinley's answer was disarmingly simple.

"I love her."

Koshar blinked his wide eyes. What?

* * *

"Is that true?"

"I love her. So I accepted her offer immediately."

Heinley's proud declaration stunned Koshar, and the latter was forced to reassess his impression of the other man. Heinley transformed from "a scumbag king" to "a king of good taste" in Koshar's eyes. Yes. A sovereign king of a nation should have excellent judgment.

Koshar soon swelled with pride. Come to think of it, the young king had a handsome face and a charismatic atmosphere. He would look good standing next to his younger sister.

However, a sliver of doubt remained inside Koshar. Rumor had it that Heinley was a huge womanizer…

"I'm not a womanizer."

When Koshar's eyes narrowed in suspicion, Heinley quickly noticed what he was thinking.

"I may appear that way, but it was intentional. I've never crossed the line."

"Intentional?"

Heinley did not want to explain this part. There were two reasons why he pretended to be a free lover: one was to blind people's eyes as he prepared for war, and the other was to appear to be relatively less qualified compared to his brother. However, neither reason was worth telling Koshar. The war preparations were confidential, and it would be dishonorable to say he was lesser than his brother.

When Heinley remained silent, Koshar shifted the topic.

"I understand that you promised marriage to Navier. What about the process? What did you decide to do? Are you sure she is getting divorced?"

"That's the problem."

Heinley sighed.

"Oh, listen while you eat, brother."

Koshar wanted to tell him to stop calling him "brother", but he bit his tongue and picked up his fork.

"Alright."

"Originally, Empress Navier and I communicated by messenger bird."

"Messenger bird?"

"Yes. This time as well, we decided to communicate the finer details through messenger birds."

Heinley's face darkened.

"But as I was taking a bath, I received some bad news."

"What news?"

"I believe Emperor Sovieshu noticed that the Empress and I were in communication."

"Ah!"

"We can't communicate directly anymore…and I'm worried. I need to find another way."

"Do you have a plan in mind?"

"I have a friend staying in the capital, so I considered sending a bird through him instead."

Heinley shook his head.

"But I don't believe it will work. Emperor Sovieshu likely will keep a lookout for any suspicious birds from now on."

Heinley's expression was grave. Koshar set down his fork and studied the young king carefully. He didn't know much about Heinley. This was the first time he had met him in person, and the rumor among the social circles was that he was a womanizer, along with Duke Elgy.

However, Heinley did not act like a frivolous man. He even had someone bring Koshar here to the Western Kingdom. The king seemed genuinely concerned for Navier, and even if it was love from a tomcat.

'It's better than being divorced and doing nothing.'

Koshar knew that being empress was not simply holding a seat. He had watched as Navier grew from a child who watched other children playing through the window, to one whose tenacity and passion was only focused on that of becoming empress.

She couldn't play because she had to be the empress.

She couldn't eat because she had to be the empress.

She had to endure this because she had to be empress.

Navier repeated these thoughts to herself, giving up on her childhood for her future dream. Koshar could only imagine how much pain she would experience being ousted from the throne without any wrongdoing.

It was for that that Koshar decided to join hands with the eccentric King Heinley.

"I have found a way."

"What is it?"

"My friend, Marquis Farang, lives right outside the capital. He can accept the letters."

"Ah! I can send letters to that place!"

"He won't look at the contents. You can send messages to Navier through him."

Heinley's face brightened.

* * *

"Although 'that woman's story was published in the newspapers, no one outside is in an uproar."

"Everyone is speaking as if she were a fairy tale character."

There was no good news among the stories gossiped by the ladies-in-waiting.

Rashta would love this. When the people heard that the commoner concubine had found her lost parents, they called her "a living fairy tale." If Rashta were to ascend to the position of an empress, there would be an even greater public fixation. The common people would surely rejoice.

It only hurt me to think about it, so I turned my thoughts to figure out a way to communicate with Heinley. The best plan I had was borrowing Marquis Farang's messenger bird, but that also had its problems. The bird may go straightaway to Heinley, but I didn't know how Heinley's bird could come straight to my room.

Speak of the devil—as I deliberated over my options, the man I had been thinking of came to see me.

"What is it?"

When the ladies-of-waiting left, Marquis Farang smiled and held out a letter.

"I have something to deliver."

To my surprise, it was a letter from Heinley.

"How did you—?"

"I was asked by Koshar."

"Brother!"

"What is it? He asked me not to read it and to deliver it quickly."

I shook my head in wonder and accepted the envelope. I broke open the wax seal and quickly pulled out the letter.

– I'd like to hear more from you. We should make plans together. Do you have time, or do you need to move quickly?

– I met your brother. He looks strikingly similar to you. I miss you.

– What color do you like? What kind of room would you like? Let me know and I'll furnish your room in advance.

When I saw it was Heinley, my worries faded away. I gave a soft chuckle. He had a skill for making me feel at ease, even as I was dealing with these things…

"I don't know what letter it is, but it seems to be a good one."

"Ah. Marquis Farang."

I forgot that he was still standing there. When I belatedly noticed his presence, he gave a playful grin.

"So it's a good letter. You should reply. The messenger bird is still in my home, so I will send it back."

"Was it a blue bird, perhaps?"

"Yes. I put him in a feeder, so he should be eating right now."