(1) Chapter 20: Conversation!

Chapter 20: Conversation!

"So, do you want to marry me?" Ryan asked Hillary straight away.

Hillary was caught off guard, not expecting Ryan to ask such a direct question. She then cowardly nodded since her father wanted her to impress Ryan, and unlike Ryan, she didn't have a say in the choice.

A smile spread across Ryan's face upon seeing her nod. Suddenly, the smile disappeared, and his aura changed. All the brutality he had stored in him over these years erupted at once.

Hillary's face turned white and drained of blood, and she was forced to take two steps back. She felt as if she was going to die when she looked at Ryan, who looked like a monster walking in the guise of a human.

Ryan didn't stop there as he took a step forward and slightly bent, his face only an inch away from Hillary's. The terror in Hillary's heart grew, and she wanted to move back, but suddenly a large hand came and grabbed her waist, stopping her from going any further.

"Do you want to marry me?" Ryan asked again and further moved his face. His breath touched Hillary's face. She felt as if someone was pouring hot lava on her face.

"No," Hillary reflexively replied, shaking her head with vigor when she heard the question.

The next moment, Ryan returned to normal. He left Hillary and moved backward, maintaining a meter's distance from her.

When Ryan left her, she almost fell, but Ryan rushed and saved her from falling. He then returned to the distance after Hillary's footing had become stable.

"Why don't you want to marry me?" That time, his tone was gentle, as if what Hillary had seen a moment earlier was a figment of her imagination.

Hillary still looked shocked at the scene, so Ryan didn't force her to answer right away and waited for her to calm down. Once she had calmed down, Ryan asked the question again.

A helpless expression appeared on Hillary's face as things were going beyond her expectations. She had come here believing that Ryan would ask minor questions and then say yes to the marriage since she was confident in her appearance.

But since she didn't want to experience the same thing again, she honestly answered, "I don't want to marry a King who will have more wives in the future."

It was common for a King to have multiple wives because more offspring meant more rivalry for the throne and better talent for the next King. Only one woman got the title of wife, while the others became concubines, but still, the marriage was officially sanctioned by priests.

Hillary didn't want that to happen in her married life, but alas, the powerful decided the fate of the weak. She only got an order from her father, the King of the Great Eagle Kingdom, that she needed to marry Ryan Vechnos. There was also the option of Ryan rejecting her, but that would make her life even more miserable. Any noble family on the continent would never accept a rejected princess, leaving Hillary to wed commoners.

When Ryan heard Hillary's reasoning, he nodded since it was a fair one. Not many women could accept sharing their husbands.

"What if I only marry you and no one else?" Ryan asked, and the next moment, he himself was taken aback by his question.

Hillary had the same reaction as she looked at Ryan with an astonished expression.

Both of them stared at each other, making the moment awkward. The next moment, Hillary looked down, her cheeks red like tomatoes.

***

The next day, a piece of joyous news spread across the Vechnos Kingdom.

Ryan was going to marry Hillary, and the marriage was only three days away. The hurry in marriage alerted many of the people since whenever there was a marriage between royalties, it was usually announced several months earlier, and the entire Kingdom celebrated.

Three days passed in a flash, and that day, the royal palace in the Vechnos Kingdom was decorated.

Henry and Loraine were standing at the gate of the palace with several guards behind them. The next moment, a fleet of carriages appeared, traveling in the direction of the palace.

The carriage in the middle belonged to the King of the Great Eagle Kingdom. There were two people in the carriage, the King and the Crown Prince.

Even though it was Hillary's marriage, neither of the two seemed happy.

"Are we sure about the credibility of the news?" The King asked with a deep frown.

"Yes, Father, our spies saw the scene with their own eyes," The crown prince responded with a grave face.

The crown prince was going to replace the King in the next three years, but the situation had taken an ugly turn for the Kingdom. The speed at which the three Kingdoms got conquered and then the news of the assassination of Chris the Fourth made the prince curse his fortune for having the title in that situation on the continent.

Similarly, at the gate, Henry, who was smiling due to his son's marriage, had a frown spread across his face when Victor came and whispered the news to him.

According to the information received from Victor, the Turing Empire had waged war on the Geratin Empire.

Things shouldn't look that bad to Henry, but since the Kingdoms were tributaries to the Turing Empire, it was certain that the Empire would order the Kingdoms to join its war against the Geratin Empire.

'Let's focus on what is ahead today,' Henry took a deep breath since it was Ryan's marriage today, and it was extremely consequential since the two enemies' Kingdoms would become allies from that day on.

***

"Welcome to the Vechnos Kingdom, my friend!" Henry heartily laughed and welcomed Carl, the King of the Great Eagle Kingdom.

"Thank you for having us!" Carl responded. Both parties could see the gloom in each other's eyes, but they also knew the importance of the day's events, so they decided to focus on the marriage for now.

***

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