Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first? Chapter 854: 6: A Small Reward

Chapter 854: Chapter 6: A Small Reward

At the dinner party, the attendants skillfully sliced the at strips at the long table beside them, cutting the roast suckling pig, ham, and shank into slices, paired with asparagus and black truffle, drizzled with sea salt and lemon juice, and served.

“Lord Aske, where are you from?” Diophano inquired.

“Constantinople,” Aske replied.

This was a question asked with prior knowledge, as Diophano also ca from there. Using this as a conversation starter, this noblewoman feigned surprise, covered her mouth, and laughed:

“Ah, you must be the heir of the Achilles family? I rember now, my niece Theodora seed to have ntioned it…”

She hadn’t finished before Eleanor interrupted:

“Mother!” Eleanor smiled, “You must have forgotten. Earlier, I served in the sa rcenary group with Theodora; at that ti, Aske was our squad leader.”

Little Otto snorted through his nose, as if to say, “rcenary? So this is the so-called Achilles family?”

“Ahem.” Otto II found it hard to maintain his composure.

To be honest, when he initially encountered The Azure Longsword rcenary Corps, he had thoughts similar to his wife and children: rcenaries are rely useful knives, and no proper person would beco a rcenary, would they?

And then he was utterly defeated by his own daughter, who was a rcenary, and fled in panic like a headless chicken; naturally, he wouldn’t confess such an embarrassnt.

“The Azure Longsword rcenary Corps, of course, I rember,” Otto II attempted to assert the majesty of the head of the family, saying sternly, “Lord Mind Dragon and Lord Acid Erosion Dragon also comnded your performance at the ti.”

Diophano was imdiately suspicious. Though her husband was prone to boasting, the endorsents from two Demigods indeed carried weight. If those two Demigods praised The Azure Longsword, then Aske, as the rcenary group’s commander, certainly couldn’t be an empty-headed showboat.

She cast a questioning glance at little Otto, who, sowhat flustered, hurriedly questioned Aske:

“The Azure Longsword rcenary Corps? I’ve certainly never heard of it. Since you have our father’s high esteem, I’d like to learn more from you. Where is your rcenary group’s headquarters? How many mbers do you currently have? And what are your main business areas?”

“Your Majesty.” Eleanor still maintained a smile, yet it sent a shiver down little Otto’s spine, “You ask so many details; are you planning to tax us? As I’ve already said, ‘forrly.’

The verb she just used, in Frankish grammar, is the past perfect tense, aning ‘this was once the case,’ implicitly suggesting ‘but it’s no longer the case now.’

Little Otto, having taken grammar classes, quickly understood his sister’s aning: Both Aske and I were once part of The Azure Longsword rcenary Corps (but are no longer, so why are you even asking?).

He wanted to tough through a few more questions but soon lost the battle under the fierce gaze hidden beneath his sister’s smile. Matilda, however, calmly sipped a spoonful of broth and asked:

“Sister, I’m not questioning your choice of marriage, just purely curious: Since Mr. Aske hails from the Achilles family in Constantinople, why later beco a wandering rcenary?”

“After all, dear sister, you’ve preserved your chastity all these years. We’ve been worried you might choose to remain unmarried for life, ultimately entering a monastery like Sister Adelaide and devoting yourself to God, not realizing you’ve long had feelings for Mr. Aske, waiting six long years in vain…”

“Has Aske been working abroad as a rcenary these past six years without returning once to see our sister?”

This question imdiately stumped the two of them.

Because it was well known that Aske established the rcenary group to fight the Bronze Dragon back ho, sothing that couldn’t be easily explained, even if extensive explanations might lead to the realization:

Oh, so my sister waited for you these past six years because you heartlessly abandoned her six years ago and went ho alone, a cad.

Of course, even substituting ‘working abroad as a rcenary’ would still carry the sa issue:

You haven’t returned once in six years, and now you suddenly show up to marry our princess. Why should we believe your love is genuine? Cad!

“Matilda…” Eleanor’s face darkened, just as she was about to exert her elder sister’s authority to change the topic, Aske voiced his confusion, “The Adelaide sister you ntioned earlier, do you an Bishop Adelaide of the Church Court?”

Upon hearing this, everyone present didn’t look pleased, even Otto II gave Matilda a glare.

The matter wasn’t particularly complicated, as Adelaide, Otto II’s eldest daughter, had always been interested in scientific research since childhood, yet found no interest in noble social and etiquette studies. Eventually, she had a fierce argunt with Otto, Emperor at the ti, packed her bags, and left for the Church Court.

This wasn’t considered a disgrace. In the Divine Luo Empire, where the faith in Solomon Catholicism was prevalent, dedicating oneself to God was rather regarded as an honor.

However, a popular rumor among the empire’s nobles suggested, “It was Emperor Otto who drove his eldest daughter Adelaide to beco a nun, to prevent her future husband from sharing in the Saxon Family’s wealth,” which carried malicious intent.

Therefore, the imperial family mostly avoided ntioning Adelaide. When unavoidable, they’d say perfunctory lines like ‘serving God is her glory,’ and ‘if she changes her mind about returning, Aachen Palace always has open doors.’

“Ahem.” So Otto II coughed, deciding to be truthful with his son-in-law to prevent him from believing unfounded rumors from outside, “Becoming a nun to research sciences was Adelaide’s own choice, one we respect and support; if soday she abandons her scientific pursuits, the Saxon Family will welco her back anyti.”

“I see.” Aske smiled and nodded, “I can actually relate to Bishop Adelaide, given my noble origins but due to personal interests, I chose the rcenary vocation.”

“Indeed.” Eleanor quickly caught on, smiling as she spoke, “At that ti, I also respected and supported his choice. Now that his rcenary dream is mostly realized, I’ve opened my arms to welco his return. Matilda, you should understand your sister, right?”

Matilda: ……….

She silently puts down her spoon, her face looking as if she was hit by a rock. That man truly had a slippery tongue, using Adelaide’s example to lightly brush over his six years of wandering! Worse yet, Sister Sofie actually sided with him!

“Ha ha ha, of course.” Seeing his usually aloof daughter Matilda rendered speechless, Otto II was quite comforted, hastily interjecting to diate, “It’s very normal for young people to have dreams! Rember, as long as you co to your senses and return in ti, the family will always be your warst harbor.”

This made even Diophano’s face look displeased, knowing that her husband’s youthful dream was ‘to sleep with many won, have many children, ensuring at least one child grows up like him.’

Thus, she smiled and agreed with her husband’s words, under the table giving Otto II a hard kick with a pointed boot.

Aske ignored the small actions under the table, nodding to indicate he understood, suddenly feeling a warm hand reaching from across the table, quietly holding his left hand.

Eleanor, smiling, listened to her mother, while her right hand, under the cover of the tabletop, slipped into Aske’s palm, intertwining their fingers intimately.

Because his earlier subject shift and clever responses had greatly satisfied the princess, so she rewarded him with a little token of appreciation.