Chapter 25: If It Cannot Be Resolved Publicly (1)

At home, my only daughter, Sophia, was preparing dinner.

My wife had passed away five years ago from illness, and since then, it had just been the two of us living together.

“You’re back?”

Sophia greeted me warmly as I opened the door and stepped inside.

In silence, I took off my armor, put it away neatly, and sat down at the dining table.

Noticing that my expression seemed darker than it had been that morning, Sophia asked with concern,

“Did something happen?”

My atmosphere must have seemed unusual even to her.

“Hm… Sophia.”

“Yes, Father? Please, go on.”

Sophia took a seat across from me.

“It’s about you. A marriage proposal has come in for you.”

“A marriage proposal? For me?”

“I wanted to refuse, but… His Majesty, the King himself, arranged it. I told him I’d first ask for your opinion before giving him an answer.”

Even as I explained, I couldn’t hide the troubled look on my face.

Of course, Sophia saw that and immediately understood the position I was in.

“That must have been difficult for you.”

“No, not at all. Why would it be difficult for me? What worries me is that it’s something you have to think about.”

“If I refuse, won’t that put you in an awkward position, Father?”

“You don’t need to think of it that way. This is something important for you, isn’t it? Besides, I know there’s someone you already have feelings for.”

I felt deeply sorry for her.

Because even now, she was thinking of me before herself.

“It’s already been five years. And I haven’t even seen him for one. What’s there left for me to think about anymore?”

I knew very well who that “someone” was.

But Sophia spoke with resignation as she gripped the meat knife on the table tightly.

“He’s always been so free-spirited. Maybe that’s why. And now he’s teaching the prince, isn’t he…”

The man we were talking about was Jade.

In truth, Jade had grown up under my care alongside Sophia since he was eleven.

Naturally, the two of them were close—closer than anyone else—and knew each other best.

Then, after his coming-of-age ceremony, Jade had moved out to live on his own.

For some reason, he began to drift away after that, and now he was barely getting by, teaching swordsmanship to Raion.

“I don’t care! I don’t even want to think about Jade anymore!”

“If I had known things would turn out this way, perhaps I shouldn’t have let him leave.”

“That’s not why!”

Sophia’s usually calm voice began to tremble with emotion.

There was something between them that I didn’t know.

Not understanding the reason, I chose to wait silently before speaking again.

“Regarding His Majesty’s arrangement, I want you to decide based solely on how you feel. There’s no reason for me to face any difficulty at the palace.”

I spoke as seriously as I could, then began eating. Sophia frowned slightly and said,

“That can’t be true, can it? If I refuse the King’s arrangement, the nobles and ministers will lose trust in you! I’m not ignorant, Father—I know enough about how things work!”

“Hrmm… You don’t need to concern yourself with that.”

Sophia had often heard about the palace’s affairs from me.

She had always taken an interest in such matters since childhood, so she couldn’t help but be attentive.

At times, she even helped me with my duties.

But this time, I just wanted her to make a decision for her own sake.

Even so, Sophia still prioritized me over herself.

“Who’s the person His Majesty introduced?”

“Haa… A Count named Diang Oulad. His father, Count Deiran Oulad, passed away from illness not long ago, and the title was just recently passed down to him.”

“I’ve heard of him before. He worked in diplomacy, right?”

Sophia never forgot a name she’d heard or a face she’d seen, not even once.

It was something of a natural talent of hers.

“So you know of him.”

“Only a little. He’s known for being quiet and keeping to himself.”

Most days, Sophia spent her time doing housework or helping out at the nearby bakery.

When she had free time, she’d go to the square to listen to bards’ tales or the latest rumors.

It might not have been the typical life of a 21-year-old young lady, but that was her joy.

“I wish I knew what kind of man he was.”

“I don’t want to marry someone I know nothing about either. I’ll look into him myself first.”

“Alright then.”

With that, the two of us began eating again.

A few days later, on his day off, Trine Diego made his way to Taron’s Palace.

He had been refraining from visiting as much as possible, just as Raion had advised. But this time, he wanted to meet in person to discuss something important.

As Trine entered the palace, Patrick appeared, descending the second-floor staircase as though he’d been waiting.

“Sir Trine. What brings you here?”

At the unexpected visit, Patrick asked, and Trine replied in a heavy tone,

“I came to see the Prince. Where is he now?”

“Since it’s still before lunch, His Highness should be in the annex. I’ll take you there right away.”

When they arrived in front of the annex workshop, Patrick knocked on the door and called out.

Knock, knock―!

“Your Highness, Sir Trine, the Captain of the Royal Knights, is here to see you.”

“Let him in!”

Creak……!

As the door opened, Trine stepped inside.

There, sitting at his work desk, was Raion, whose physique had grown far larger than when Trine had last seen him.

“Y–Your Highness?”

Raion looked so completely different from before that Trine couldn’t help but be startled.

“It’s been a while, Sir Trine. Have you been well?”

When Raion stood up from his chair, Trine saw that his height had increased dramatically as well.

The boy who had once been short for his age was now nowhere to be seen.

“I–I’ve been well enough, Your Highness. But you’ve changed so much.”

“It’s thanks to diligent training. But what brings you here today? Shall I call Jade for you?”

“No, Your Highness. I came because there’s something I wished to discuss privately.”

It was about the marriage proposal that had come for Sophia.

He was afraid that if he spoke of it to others, it might sound like a complaint against the King.

But since Raion had little contact with the outside world, Trine felt it would be safe to speak with him.

“Please, go ahead. What is it?”

“In truth… a marriage proposal has come for my only daughter. And it was arranged personally by His Majesty.”

“What? For Sophia?”

Raion’s eyes widened in surprise.

Although he already knew of this from the future, he hadn’t realized that the time for it had already come.

“How do you know my daughter’s name, Your Highness?”

Until now, Trine had never introduced his daughter to the Prince.

Naturally, Raion shouldn’t have known her name.

“Ah… I heard it from Jade.”

“I see. Then, you must also know what kind of relationship they had?”

Of course, Raion knew very well what would happen if things continued as they had before.

‘The noble who was arranged to marry Sophia was Count Diang Oulad, wasn’t he? But for it to be happening already…’

He had been so focused on training and his abilities that he hadn’t noticed how much time had passed.

And unlike in 21st-century Korea, this world had no electronic devices, so keeping track of future events was difficult.

“I’ve heard roughly. They grew up together, didn’t they? But their relationship soured later on.”

“That’s right. To be honest, I was hoping Sophia would marry Jade.”

But neither of them ever showed their feelings openly.

Because of that, Trine had been frustrated, not knowing what kind of relationship they still had after Jade left home.

In the original timeline, Trine never discussed this matter with anyone.

And in the end, Sophia married Diang Oulad.

The result that followed only brought misery to both Trine and Jade.

‘After Sophia died, the two of them left the Canel Kingdom right away.’

Later, Jade spent several years wandering and became known as both a Sword Master and a famed mercenary.

But Raion intended to prevent that future.

“Have you ever spoken to Jade about this?”

“To be honest, not even once.”

“I think it’s best that you talk to him properly. You can’t resolve things if you just keep letting the distance grow.”

“Do you think that’ll really work?”

“When a rift runs deep, the simplest approach is often the best. As for Diang Oulad, I’ll handle that myself.”

Raion’s expression turned meaningful.

Something about it made Trine uneasy.

“What exactly do you intend to do with Count Diang Oulad, Your Highness?”

“I only wish to help you, Sir Trine. And to make sure Sophia doesn’t make a wrong choice.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“For now, go and have a talk with Jade.”

Accepting Raion’s suggestion, Trine left the room.

Afterward, Raion immediately called for Patrick.

“Do you have any orders, Your Highness?”

“Do you know of Count Diang Oulad?”

“You mean the newly appointed Count from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who inherited his title not long ago?”

“You seem to know quite a bit.”

“It’s only natural for your butler to be well-informed, Your Highness.”

Raion was curious about Patrick’s information network but decided not to press the matter.

“From now on, I don’t want you to question anything I tell you.”

“There’s no reason I would, Your Highness. Please, give me any command you wish.”

Raion fully trusted Patrick’s sincere response.

“I want you to investigate everything about Diang Oulad—especially anything unfavorable. If necessary, you may use Eye of the Moon.”

“Understood. I’ll see to it at once.”

With that, Patrick left the room.

Left alone, Raion began thinking about the future that was supposed to happen.

“I don’t know why Sophia ended up dying, but… I’ll start by finding out about her husband, Diang.”

At that time, Raion had merely been a young prince with no authority.

Naturally, he hadn’t known much about what truly happened.

He only remembered hearing that the daughter of the Captain of the Royal Knights had died in an accident after getting married.

But he also recalled the rumors that had spread after Trine left the royal palace.

[They say that Count had women everywhere.]

[Apparently, he sneaks out at night to meet them, too!]

There had been countless rumors—most of them bad—about Count Diang Oulad.

And there was no smoke without fire.

Of course, it was possible Sophia had died for another reason, but just in case, Raion intended to start by looking into Count Diang Oulad.