chapter 20: the consequences of the war

A week ago, there was no trace of the hopeless situation in the capital of the Moritan Kingdom, or rather, the former Moritan Kingdom; there was even a celebratory atmosphere. Queen Amaya had effectively fallen under the yoke of the Asina Kingdom, and along with that, all the nobles of the Moritan Kingdom had also accepted obedience. In the Thunderbolt War, along with the king, the duke and many nobles had also died. Therefore, this decision was made by their sons. And now, the Moritan Kingdom had been buried in the dusty pages of history and became another lost kingdom.

In addition, the engagement between Princess Eleanor and Ethan had been arranged to take place when Ethan turned eighteen. There were several reasons behind Richard's acceptance of Amaya's proposal. First, it was the easiest way. Second, the former queen was needed to prevent a negative impact on Moritan Kingdom culturally, economically, and socially; after all, she was someone beloved by the people of Moritan. Third, by marrying his son to the Moritan princess, he would have more influence in Moritan and could assimilate more easily. Actually, this marriage was more about holding the princess hostage than a marriage, so the marriage was merely a formality. And finally, this way, other kingdoms wouldn't be able to seize power quickly, and the entire Moritan Kingdom would become a part of the Asina Kingdom.

For now, setting aside these thoughts, Richard continued to enjoy and celebrate the victory.

Princess Eleanor hugged her mother for the last time to bid farewell. Holding Eleanor's hands, her mother looked at her firmly. "My daughter, you must be strong. You are the hope of Moritan," she said in a soft tone. Eleanor nodded her head firmly. Both of them tried not to cry to make this farewell even worse. After getting on the luxurious carriage, Eleanor began to shed tears like a flood. Although she knew she would be safe in the Asina palace for now, the prospect of marrying her brother's killer saddened her greatly at some point.

Her relationship with her brother was never good; he constantly bullied her and made stupid jokes. In Eleanor's eyes, her brother was a arrogant and foolish boy, but still, he was her brother, and she would prefer him over a stranger. Her only hope was that Ethan would act as indifferent towards her as possible.

As Princess Eleanor set off towards the Asina palace, she was filled with mixed emotions. Under dark clouds, she embarked on a journey filled with uncertainties about the future. The prospect of having to marry her brother's killer weighed heavily on her. However, she still tried to console herself by thinking that the Moritan Kingdom would be safe and that her mother would lead her people.

Along the way, past memories and pains came to her mind. The conflicts with her brother, his arrogant attitudes and bullying... Yet, somewhere deep inside, she harbored a hope.

Upon arriving at the Asina palace, she felt lonely amidst the cold and magnificent walls. Nevertheless, she was filled with excitement to start a new life. Leaving behind the dark past, she marched forward with hope for a new beginning.

The palace attendants warmly welcomed Princess Eleanor and showed her the opportunities the palace offered. However, the void and worry within her didn't dissipate. The presence of Ethan bothered her and created more uncertainties about her future.

Eleanor, after withdrawing to her room and being alone for a while, decided to confront her fears with determination. Now she had a choice: to struggle with her past and focus on the future, or to be engulfed by dark thoughts. Princess Eleanor would strive to reveal the strong woman within herself and adapt to her new life with determination.

Meanwhile, Catherine, listening with interest to the latest news at the palace of the Tiamat Empire in the North, was quite astonished. The black-hooded man who gave her this information was part of "Tres," a secret espionage unit serving only the emperor, known only to Catherine, who was the true heir to the throne and had been decided so by the previous emperor's will.

Catherine thanked the spy and instructed them to continue their duties. Catherine already knew that her parents' death was due to the Temerid Empire, she even had evidence, but for now, she decided to remain silent. After all, she was still a child and not sure if she could trust her uncle yet. So she would wait until the right time came.

For now, she redirected her attention to the event that interested the entire continent. "Ethan Lenistark... could be useful," she thought to herself. She believed Ethan had the highest potential among the heirs in the Asina Kingdom. Catherine had already considered the Temerid Empire as an enemy, and she knew that the relationship between the Asina Kingdom and the Temerid Empire was bad. So, in short, the Asina Kingdom was an enemy of her enemy and therefore a perfect ally.

Now, she wanted to learn about Ethan Lenistark's character. After all, she knew that the first Asina prince was foolish and the other prince was arrogant. As for Princess Isabella, she already had a plan for her. But now, she was interested in the unknown prince before her. Besides his abilities and the known event, she had no other information about Ethan. So, the plan she considered to learn about his character was to become pen pals with Ethan without revealing her identity. Although she wasn't sure if he would reply, she had nothing better to do at the moment.

Pen pal correspondence was an old and romantic tradition among nobles in this world. You would write letters only to the woman you were interested in and talk about yourself and your life together. Eventually, the person who wrote the letter would reveal their identity and propose to the woman for a date or even directly for marriage. Although it was usually initiated by the male side, this time Catherine would initiate it.

Ethan, lost in deep thoughts in his room, was scribbling on the pages in front of him meaninglessly. He had received information about his father Richard's victory and his marriage to Eleanor. This situation had given him mixed feelings. Without a doubt, establishing a healthy relationship with Eleanor would be very difficult. Along with all these issues, he had thought about many things about himself as long as he was alone.

He had had many nightmares when he was alone, and the nightmares often fluctuated between his past and present life. He constantly wondered, "Who sent him to this world? Did he have a mission? Should he be Jesus in this new world? or was this some kind of life compensation just because he had experienced bad things in his previous life?" He didn't know what the big fat man above thought, but for now, he chose to live as he wanted. When the door knocked, a servant entered and handed him a letter. "Sir, a letter has arrived for you." Ethan took the letter and examined it. "Who could have written such a letter?" he murmured to himself.

Ethan, eagerly, opened and read the mysterious letter. The letter had a mysterious atmosphere, and the writing was in a tone that intrigued the reader. When he carefully read the lines inside, he couldn't find a clue about who had written it. However, the content of the letter led him into deep thoughts. His communication with this mysterious pen pal, whose identity he didn't know, increased his questions even more.

As Ethan contemplated how to respond to the letter, he had a myriad of questions swirling in his mind. Should he make an effort to understand who this mysterious pen pal was and what their intentions were? Or should he simply view the letter as innocent correspondence and not dwell too much on it? Lost in deep thought, he remained alone in his room.

Taking up his pen to reply to the letter, he wrote down his thoughts and feelings. Addressing Catherine openly and sincerely, he expressed his pleasure at becoming pen pals with her. He provided some information about himself and expressed his curiosity about who Catherine was.

After finishing the letter, he handed it to the servant and eagerly awaited the response from the sender.