Ch-111: Queen Maker (11)

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"…I apologize for the rudeness I showed to you earlier. Please overlook our transgression."

In the wake of the racket, Lorian, who had his head cooled down, sat at the inn table, smiling politely and apologized.

It was Leslie, not Cloud, who responded to his apology.

"As if it wasn't enough that you brought an entire army without any pronouncement, you very well tried to assault Cloud. Even though it was only an attempt… You know it's not an issue that will end with a simple apology, right? You will have to concede a bit in this negotiation."

She fired her points one after another in her characteristic cold tone.

"…the rumors that the new Grand Duchess of the Principality has joined the Cloud's party as his colleague are well met."

"Yeah, right. So, I would like you to look at me as Cloud-sama's colleague, and not as the Grand Duchess of the Principality. The chatter ends here. Let's move on to negotiating the toll."

The reason they had gathered here was not to welcome Lorian and the others as guests. They had gathered to get a reasonable fee from the uninvited guests.

That's why she didn't bother wasting time with useless bluff.

Lorian clasped his hands together and nodded.

"Alright. How much do you want?"

"30 million gold."

The meeting room tinged with silence. The words, 30 million, echoed in their ears.

Lorian's expression hardened.

"You are asking for too much."

"Are we? I think this is meagre compared to the risk our side faces and the potential losses."

Leslie replied with a grin.

"Then I think the risk is overstated. Our army is just commuting through the Kingdom of Prona on the way to support the Kingdom of Alitia."

"The army itself is a big threat to the Kingdom. Especially in times like this."

There was a heated negotiation between Lorian and Leslie to set the toll. While the two were negotiating, neither the Princess nor Cloud offered an opinion.

It had been discussed in advance that Leslie would be entrusted with this negotiation.

It was the same on Lorian's side.

Most of the nobility kept their mouths shut and paid attention to Leslie and Lorian's conversation.

Of course, there were also those who did not.

'Huh…'

Lewis Sentry.

The eldest son of the Sentry family, the acclaimed loser of the Eastern region of Prona, he admired the women sitting across him.

Duchess Leslie handling the negotiations and the downcast princess were also beautiful, but there was another woman who caught his eye.

Lewis tapped the nobleman sitting next to him. When he turned around, he pointed at the woman with his chin and asked.

"Do you know who that knight is?"

"Who are you talking about… oh, you mean Miss Neria?"

"Hoh, so her name is Neria? It's a pretty name…but somehow it's familiar."

"That's natural. She is a member of the Hero's party, Hero Cloud's colleague. Don't you know the Hero's party of your kingdom?"

"Uh, I don't prominently travel outside my manor."

When the aristocrat asked incredulously, Lewis scratched his cheek shyly. Then he looked at Neria again and murmured.

"Right. Neria, huh…"

He was well aware of the rumors about Neria.

* * *

The first seating of negotiations broke down.

It was because Lorian, who had to somehow drag the time, deliberately didn't reach an agreement.

Negotiations broke down and the participants went their separate ways.

Cloud was the same.

He was set for upstairs to discuss the future premises with Leslie.

If only Lorraine hadn't caught on.

Cloud tilted his head at the sight of Lorraine clasping onto his arm.

"What do you have to say?"

"What, what..?!"

Lorraine was momentarily at a loss for words.

After anticipating what he might blabber in his defence, she latched onto him. However, Cloud broke all expectations and showed a brazen attitude.

Did this man have a conscience?

Feeling her heart whine, Lorraine just wanted to scream out loud, but managed to hold it back. If she got angry here, she would only fulfill what he intended.

She wasn't stepping into a trap so easily.

She took a deep breath to calm down and spoke again.

"Duel. We haven't reached an end yet, have we?"

"Didn't I win that already? You have already lost to me over ten times."

"It's not over yet! Who declared it ended?!"

"Then when will it end?"

"Uh…"

'Until I win!' was what Lorraine almost replied, but she shut her mouth timely. All things considered, saying that loud was a quagmire.

"Yeah, when?"

"Sigh, stop being noisy! Shut up and prepare for a duel. Why are you chickening out now? You didn't when you did to me what you go around doing across the continent."

"Did I end up f*cking you too?"

"F*ck you! I'll defeat you this time!"

"Crazy b!tch…"

Lorraine's unnatural obsession with the duels had Cloud fed up.

'This is the precursor to the very annoying nuances coming after.'

As he pondered over what excuse he should give to refuse, he remembered something and smiled.

"Sure. If you want to do that, let's do it. Duel."

"From the very beginning…"

"Instead…"

Cloud clamped his fingers around Lorraine's shoulder. He leaned and whispered into her ear.

"Starting today, this won't end with just kisses. Are you sure about this now?"

Lorraine flinched.

What did he mean it just won't end with kisses?

Was there something he could do more than kisses?

What could be more than a kiss?

Suddenly, the contents of the sex education she had received in her childhood came to her mind.

Lorraine's eyes trembled incessantly.

'I-I don't think this is alright…'

More than a kiss? No, how could she. Even the thought was atrocious.

'Yeah, this can't be wagered.'

Let's not do it, she urged herself.

Just when Lorraine opened her mouth to say no, Cloud smirked as if expecting her answer. The moment she saw that expression, something exploded, something in her that held her up broke.

"You are done for today! Grab your sword and follow me!"

So she crossed the river from which she would never return.

* * *

It was already late night when negotiations broke down. Neria looked up at the night sky and sighed.

As Cloud's colleague, she liked being part of the negotiations.

But that took up too much of her time.

Neria trailed her way to the gymnasium with subdued steps. As she expected, there was no one present in the gymnasium.

It seemed the knights had retired for today.

Well, not like they had to stay and train all the time. Training results were highly efficient when accompanied with proper rest.

Neria mused and picked up her wooden sword and shield that sat in the corner of the gymnasium.

She brandished her sword and shield to test her skills.

When that was over, she created an imaginary enemy to fight.

She took no breaks in between.

She pushed her body to the limit to be better than yesterday.

For nearly a year, her training routine had been like this.

In addition, she did not fall asleep no matter how late it was if she did not finish the training allotted for the day.

If her training ended early, she would do extra training until it was time to fall asleep.

As a result, her complexion became haggard compared to her past self. To the extent that Cloud, who was worse off, forced her to bed, admonishing her to rest. No matter what she was doing, when he forced her to bed, she took a break.

And the next day she continued to train as before.

Nobody could understand her, comprehend her actions; they questioned internally why she pushed herself so hard.

But Neria had her own reasons.

'I have to be stronger to stay by Cloud's side,' Neria would think.

In the past, she was weak.

She swore to protect him, but she didn't have the strength to do so. That's why she had to leave the seat next to him, and that seat was taken by another woman.

The only thing left for her now was a complimentary position by his side.

She was in such a humble position compared to before, but she was afraid of losing even that.

So she swung the sword ardently.

She braced her shield.

Her whole body screamed, but it mattered little.

As strenuous as it was, the fear and anxiety that gnawed at her heart disappeared along with.

So she continued and continued, and did so all again.

"Ah, I wondered from where such sounds were coming in the middle of the night, so it's Miss Neria training."

Lewis Sentry walked into the gymnasium with two of his escort knights.

Neria looked at him for a moment, then returned to her training.

Lewis was slightly offended by the blatant disregard, but he didn't bother showing it on his face.

He smiled softly and spoke to her.

"I was at the table across you during the negotiations earlier, do you remember?"

"…"

"Looks like you didn't notice me. It's okay. Because I saw you."

"…"

Neria ignored Lewis' attempt at conversation and silently swung her sword.

Every time the sword cut through the air, a loud whipping boom sounded in the ears of Lewis and his escort knights.

As the knights admired her neat swordsmanship and the power behind her swings, Lewis approached her, schooling his smile.

He had calculated that if he got close, he might get hit, so she would stop swinging her sword and shield, and then she wouldn't be able to ignore him anymore.

"Miss Neria. Will you please take a break from training and talk to me—Woah?!"

As the practice sword buzzed right across his face, Lewis fell backwards, flabbergasted.

"Young Master! Are you alright?!"

The escort knights who arrived belatedly tried to raise him up, but he jerked out of their grasp roughly and stared at Neria, reclining on the floor.

She was still wielding her sword and shield.

Swinging down without fail. She didn't care.

The face that had been filled with a smile distorted.

Lewis was the eldest son of the House of Count Sentry.

In the eastern region of the Kingdom of Prona, no one dared raising their voice in front of him.

Having never been ignored, he wasn't used to this kind of neglect, so he couldn't help his wrath unbridled.

If the individual who angered him this much had been an ordinary person, he would have completely crushed them under his heel.

Both physically and mentally.

But the individual here was no ordinary character.

She was a colleague of Cloud, the Hero of the Kingdom of Prona.

Nothing good would come from being hasty.

In the end, Lewis couldn't do anything he wanted, and even had to leave with a stain on his honor.

If it was up to this, it would have ended then and there.

"Acts like a slave to Gis and exhibits aloofness at others."

The problem was that his high self-esteem did not allow him to just leave, and the words he sarcastically said were, of course, reactive.

Her sword and shield, which had never stopped since Lewis came, drooped in her pause.

Neria stretched out her arms, hoisting her practice sword and shield slowly, very slowly.

She slowly turned her head to stare at Lewis.

"What did you say..?"

With a freezing cold gaze.

You can read fully translated chapters, including the last chapter, for $20.

p(a)treon.com/Daoist02