Chapter 259
The silence didn’t last for long .
But it felt like quite the contrary .
Everyone was being suffocated by the heaviness of the serious atmosphere .
“All right . If we can treat this as part of the reparations . ”
In this atmosphere, he finally sighed and said the above .
I quietly stifled my reactions of relief .
Imdiately Tanya handed us the two docunts, and we signed on them .
“Done . But...there’s also items on this list that have imposed tariffs to limit their export?”
“We’ve also had several items on our side with lowered tariffs . Don’t you think this is a situation beneficial to us both in the long run?”
“Yes...but you’ve beat to it . There were several items I wanted to open up when marrying you . So shall I treat this as your response?”
“Yes . Although I appreciate your good intentions, I must refuse . ”
“Can you tell the reason why?”
“First, it’s far too large of a burden to beco a queen . As for the reason, you should understand that better than . ”
Although he had obtained the throne, his position was still unstable .
Unlike our nation’s first prince’s decisive tactics, he still had factions he’d yet to deal with .
As for other countries...although plucking a bride from the Tasria Kingdom was a generally effective way of helping his nation develop, what he needed more right now was dostic peace .
This was the conclusion I ca to through Tanya’s reports .
But since I didn’t want to discuss the matter of interfering in national politics, I remained silent on that point .
...Although to be quite frank, it was a little late for that .
“Yes, I understand . Even though I understand, I still want you . If I can have you, I’m willing to shoulder that burden . ”
His gaze pierced through .
It made feel as though he genuinely wanted .
I didn’t know if it was out of love or convenience, but he was telling the truth .
When he had proposed to in the beginning, he already had designs to win the throne for himself .
Perhaps he’d already foreseen this situation .
Even so, he still formally asked for my hand, aning he had genuine interest in .
Considering this, I was quite honestly scared to et him here .
“Even though you say that...the second reason is that even if we use this opportunity to marry, what we gain will be negligible . I can’t give any other benefits than the ones listed in this contract . Of course, if a marriage could bring further benefits to my territory, then that would be a different matter . ”
His only response was an exasperated smile .
“You’re just raising the roof here,” he must be thinking .
Of course, I wasn’t one to deny that .
“Well then, let’s forget it . At this point, I think we’ve concluded the peace negotiations between the Acacia Kingdom and the Tasria Kingdom . ”
“Yes, we’ll hand Sir Jalal back to you, please take care of him . Shall I take you to him?”
“No, just lead the people waiting for outside to his location . ”
“Yes, your majesty . ”
“Lady Iris, now we’re just having a friendly personal discussion . How do you feel about that?”
“I feel quite good . Having a good relationship with your nation is not just good for , but also my country . ”
“Under the assumption that we’re having a private discussion, may I ask you a question?”
“If it’s sothing I can answer . ”
“What is the truth behind your rejection of my proposal?”
The question he asked with a smile, left dumbfounded in an instant .
Honestly I hadn’t expected him to just ask the question outright .
Looking at as I bit my lip, debating how to respond, his smile only deepened .
Even if he knew the truth already, he was quite the villain for tornting for the sake of it .
“We’ve already confird this is a private discussion, right? No matter what you say to , I won’t be angry . Just treat it as the final desperate plea from a difficult man who’s had a proposal to his dream lady denied . ”
“What an irritating question . ”
I exhaled . My mother, sitting by , was still smiling .
“Isn’t marriage your duty? This is sothing that your country...no, any country treats as the duty of the nobility? Right now you can’t have better prospects than , correct?” Prince Majid said .
“Yes . I won’t deny that . Right now there aren’t any other noble parties near my age . If after rejecting your proposal I don’t manage to find a suitable candidate, I think I’ll eventually depart from Duke Arnia’s family and live on my own, running the rchants’ guild for a living . Helping out at the orphanage would be quite fulfilling too . ”
“Iris...”
My mother said this worriedly . I looked at her with a smile .
I had already made my decisions . After ending my engagent with Edward and returning ho, I had realized I wouldn’t be able to marry anyone .
Although the situation had changed...if I didn’t want to get married my only choice was to leave ho .
I couldn’t inherit the territory . If Bern ended up getting married and inheriting our land, I would just be an irritating presence .
“But even so I wouldn’t have married you . Because Prince Majid...you struck out against us, didn’t you? Attacking our territory . ”
“Oh...so you did realize . ”
I only smiled in reaction to his words .
This was the intel we’d gathered from interrogating the first prince, plus what I’d learned from Tanya .
Because we didn’t have direct proof, there was a high risk of ntioning this information during the actual negotiations . But it seed like we were right after all .
The person who ordered the eastern invasions was indeed Prince Majid .
“Soone who hurt my beloved people...how could I marry soone like that? Even if I have to leave this ho, I’ll still be . Even if I turn into just Iris, all alone, I’ll still work for the developnt of this land . ”
I glared at him .
He responded in kind .
And so we stayed like that, neither of us speaking .
It was as if we were trying to read each other’s hearts .
“Well, it’s my loss then . Let’s remain good neighbors, then . ”
Finally he stood up, saying this with a sigh .
“Thank you . The feeling is mutual . ”
To escort him away, I stood up as well .
“Although I’m departing this ti, this doesn’t an I’ve given up . The mont you show a hint of weakness, I’ll be here to take you away . ”
He grabbed my hands when he said this .
“Ah, how scary . But this is encouragent for . I’ll try my best to beco independent in my own territory . ”
He smiled bitterly and left the room .
Reviews
All reviews (0)