Chapter 205 - TIARA OF LIFE (1) (1/2)
Cordelia woke up as the morning sunlight passed through the window, and she raised her upper body with her eyes closed, smiling with a half-asleep face.
She seemed to have had a good dream last night.
And surprisingly, instead of going back to sleep, she did some stretching exercises.
She usually slept a lot in the morning, so until someone woke her up- no, she was someone who didn’t wake up easily even if someone tried to wake her up, but today, she woke up by herself and felt good about it.
“Hehe.”
As she smiled again, Cordelia came down from the bed with her eyes still closed, and she walked as she sniffed with her nose. Just like a beast, it seemed like the warmth and pleasant smell of the sun could replace her sense of sight.
“Umnn… it’s a beautiful morning.”
Cordelia mumbled with her eyes half-closed and stretched her arms as the chirping of birds could be heard from outside.
A day after the merit ceremony.
In the morning.
Cordelia moved her arms up and down before she headed to the table with the washbowl, and instead of calling for anyone, she filled the washbowl with water by herself, and then dipped her hands in the cold water.
“Yes, yes, this is niiice.”
She was still in a good mood just like yesterday.
To be given a title, to be praised… of course, she felt good from that. But the uplifting mood she felt from the fact that they protected people was greater than those.
I have to do better in the future.
I have to work harder.
I have to become stronger.
“Yes, yes, yes.”
Cordelia hummed and then moved her hands as she began to wash her face lightly.
The cold water woke her up every time it touched her face, and she recalled what happened yesterday.
The good things that happened.
It wasn’t just one or two things.
It wasn’t only Cordelia and Jude who attended the merit ceremony.
‘My father-in-law is a Sword Saint.’
Sword Saint of Wind, Count Bayer.
Henry II stripped off all the titles of the traitor, Rhun Froud, and appointed Count Bayer as a new Sword Saint of the kingdom.
In fact, the title of Sword Saint was not something that even the king of the Sälen Kingdom, one of the continent’s two big powers, could just freely give.
Because it was a title that could only be used after receiving the approval of many people.
However, no one objected to Henry II’s appointment.
Because Count Bayer already proved his ability by stopping First Sword.
‘The Sword Saint of Wind.’
It sounds so nice.
After she rinsed her face, Cordelia wiped the water off with a towel and began to brush her teeth.
“Brother-in-law.”
Gaël Bayer.
He woke up after a fierce battle, and although he lost his left arm, his body and soul became much stronger.
It was because of the measure Velkian took, but in addition to that, it was also because of his huge spiritual growth when he escaped from the throes of death.
‘Brother-in-law was totally like a wolf.’
As she recalled the scene at the time when Gaël woke up, Cordelia’s cheeks slightly turned red. She then rinsed her mouth.
‘Anyway, he and my sister also received a lot of awards.’
His skills greatly improved, and once his prosthetic hand was completed, he would become one of the new Ten Great Swordmasters.
‘There’ll be two great swordmasters in one family?’
No, maybe it will even be three.
Jude will also grow and become stronger in the future.
‘Ah, it’s a bit hard if he gets taller though.’
He’s so tall now that my neck hurts whenever I look at his face.
‘What’s our size difference?’
Around 20 cm?
No, maybe it’s a bit more than that.
Cordelia tilted her head as she spread out her palm to measure the distance, and she quickly laughed.
Because she remembered last night’s Jude.
‘Wasn’t he a bit cute?’
When she enacted her ‘revenge’ after the ceremony, he was struggling as he turned red.
Of course, if Dahlia and Maja who had secretly watched them had heard her thoughts, they would look at her coldly and express concern about her memory’s distortion of reality, but fortunately (or unfortunately), the two were not here right now.
‘Ahem, ahem. Jude. My Jude.’
Cordelia’s lips squirmed once before she looked around for no reason. It was only after she confirmed that no one else was present did she think with a playful expression.
‘At this point, I can be sure now.’
He likes me.
That Outboxer, that Jude is very much in love with me.
‘Yes, yes, that’s right, that’s right. It’s obvious. Otherwise, he wouldn’t act like that.’
As she recalled what happened at the merit ceremony and of last night, Cordelia covered her cheeks with her hands that had turned cold from the water.
Her cold palms and hot cheeks touched each other, giving off a pleasant feeling.
‘Then, what do I do now?’
Jude likes me.
I’m sure he likes me.
‘Hmm… well… if Jude begs me…’
If he begs me to go out with him…should I agree?
After all, he’s my fiancé, right?
‘He’ll say it sooner or later.’
That he likes me.
That he seriously wants to date me.
Then, if I reject him a little, will he implore to me?
“Hehehe.”
Just imagining it gave her a good feeling.
To the point that her shoulders moved up and down without her even realizing.
‘I won, I won.’
I beat Jude.
I beat Jude, right?
I’m number one now, right?
“Yes, yes, yes.”
Jude will ask and beg me to go out with him, and I’ll agree to it since I’m a generous person, and then…
It’ll start with kisses on the cheek and forehead, and then, it’ll be more than that, and then… it’ll be a bit more adult-like… like what brother-in-law and unnie did…
Cordelia covered her face with both hands, so the heat in her face became even hotter, but despite that, she had a deep smile.
“Ah.”
When will Dahlia come?
How long will it take before she and the maids come in to wake me up?
But instead of lying back on the bed, Cordelia sat in a chair and looked out the window.
As she basked in the warm sunlight, different thoughts came to her mind.
‘Where will our fief be?’
During the merit ceremony, only the title was awarded, and there was no mention of a fief.
It wasn’t because the Sälen royal family suddenly changed their minds, but it was because it took some time to select a territory, and one of the reasons for that was Jude.
‘Because he conveyed to them what we wanted to some extent.’
The fief they wanted to receive.
As Jude had already predicted, the royal family was thinking of giving them a fief in the central region.
And the royal family could do that by giving away some of the territory that were under their direct jurisdiction.
Thus, Jude used his negotiation skills to convey what they wanted to Princess Daphne, and to summarize, it was as follows.
It must be close to the south.
Plains are also fine, but it must be surrounded by mountains.
It must be a place with good traffic to the north.
And a few other details.
‘It seems like he gave a lot of conditions, but if you put it all together, the territory where all his conditions fit is practically limited, right?’
Since the fief would be an important place for their future journey.
‘Ultimate Seven.’
Among those swords was Ultimate One which Jude wanted, and that sword was hidden in a certain place.
‘Which means…’
They wanted their fief to be the place where the ruins of the ancient dwarves were.
Most nobles would want a place with a large population and fertile land, but Jude was different.
The important thing for Jude was not the taxes they would receive in 10 or 20 years, but to solve their immediate problems and bring about a perfect happy ending.
‘But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter at all.’
After she stopped getting excited over it, she then thought that they should build a commercial city by building factories and such, but in any case, that was something for the far future.
‘Because we have to immediately head to the south once our business at the royal capital is over.’
Black Dragon Malekith’s attack.
The three events in the game’s storyline that had destroyed the Sälen Kingdom were different in a certain way.
The barbarian’s invasion in the wild lands and northern region was a war that involved a huge number of troops.
The Lord Protector and demon followers’ plan to annihilate the royal family and the royal capital was a clash between a few but powerful beings.
And the event in the south, the battle against Malekith, could be summed up in two words.
‘Boss Raid.’
It was also against a huge monster.