Chapter 137 - Eteria Rodinus 2 (1/2)
She was an intelligent, energetic, determined and beautiful woman.
However, there was no subtle mood between the two of them, and only a few quarrels occurred.
There were differences in each other’s opinions, but fundamentally, they just weren’t compatible.
Nevertheless, they valued each other highly in their minds.
'She’s the most open-minded amongst the saints I've met.'
‘His reason and thoughts are upright despite the fact that he merged with the demon god's ego.'
Though each other’s expectations were quite low from the beginning, which helped out a lot.
“My Lord, I brought those on the list as you asked.”
”Good work.”
Woohyuk, who was sitting with Helena, opened the door and praised Sieg for his hard work.
The reason he was responsible for bringing them was to avoid Rosenkreuz’s suspicion, as well as the fact that an important person was included in the list.
Moreover, his other vassals with demonic energy were currently returning to the Rhine Kingdom on different missions and were unavailable.
Since he had claimed to be a minister of the God of Light, he could not put them on the frontlines for the time being.
“Dad, I missed you!”
Lia jumped into Woohyuk's arms with a bright smile on her face.
Joanna entered while Woohyuk was patting her hair.
”I see that you’re in good health, Your Majesty.”
”Of course. Nothing happened in Blackburn while I was away?”
“Yes, it is so peaceful that it’s boring. But can I really entrust the kingdom to that child and appoint her as the regent?”
The regent in question was Irene.
Woohyuk nodded.
“Irene has no desire for power. And since Aris is now back in Blackburn, she'll help out if something goes wrong.”
Aris was working with Alphone, Lucas and Agnes to set up a magic engineering lab in Blackburn.
They would first analyze the ingredients and materials for the Clipport’s fruit, and then would make several inventions by referring to Jake's research journal obtained from Bronze Rock Mountain. It might not be an easy feat, but Woohyuk believed their abilities would be more than enough.
“I worry that she will accept a marriage proposal of some noble. She doesn’t seem to take romantic relationships seriously...”
“Don’t worry, I told her to make decisions after informing me first.”
Moreover, Irene had been trained to act like a princess in the past, so she was unlikely to spark a controversy amongst the nobles. However, it would be natural for them to feel confused by her appointment as a regent.
As Woohyuk reassured Joanna, King Philip II of Lydia came into the stone chamber as he coughed.
”Father!”
“Oh, Joanna! It's been so long.”
Both of them were worried about the well-being of each other as they feared Aleister's schemes.
“When I received the blackmail, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't do anything...”
“The King of Rhine secretly sent a man to save us. He even defeated the demons himself out of kindness.”
Philip II owed a great debt to them, so he wanted to help Woohyuk out one way or another.
Nonetheless, it was only to see his daughter that he had traveled this far.
“Is the situation in the Lydia kingdom peaceful now?”
“There are still a few things to be dealt with. We have to deal with the epidemic spread by Aleister, and the nobles who joined hands with the demons must be purged. We also have to stop the hordes of monsters coming in from other kingdoms.”
Unlike the Dane Kingdom, which Woohyuk had taken over, the Lydia Kingdom was still in a somewhat confused and chaotic state.
Joanna grabbed King Philip II's hand with a worried expression.
“Please be careful of the demons, Father. They use any means in order to achieve their goals.”
“I know, Joanna. But how long will you stay in the Rhine Kingdom? Return to the Lydia Kingdom if you don't plan to marry again. Not now, of course, but once the country is stabilized.”
King Philip II wanted Joanna to marry Woohyuk.
Woohyuk’s skills and abilities were only excellent, but his character also wasn't bad.
Joanna, who noticed his intentions, looked away as she hesitated.
“I, I…”
“Joanna, it's time to tell him the story.”
Woohyuk, who was listening to the conversation, spoke to the woman.
Then Joanna stared at him in surprise.
“Isn’t it still too early, Your Majesty?”
”No. The more you delay, the more you’ll be embarrassed.”
“…”
Joanna shut her mouth as she pondered.
When he saw that, King Philip II asked her in confusion.
“Do you have any concerns, Joanna? Don’t tell me… do you have an unwanted pregnancy…?”
“N-no! That’s absolutely not the case...”
“Then, don't feel burdened and tell your father.”
”Actually…”
Joanna briefly explained what had happened.
Immediately, King Philip II's eyes widened.
“You became the successor of Queen Iona?”
“We were originally from the Clavis family, Father. That's why I was able to enter her historic site.”
Joanna pulled out Queen Iona's Guardian Cross to show her father. He could no longer refute now that he had seen that evidence.
Philip II looked at her blankly as he had no words to say.
“… .”
“I will stay in Blackburn and try to follow Queen Iona's footsteps. Since she has left artifacts like this behind, there must be other quests or ruins somewhere in the Rhine Kingdom.”
“If you truly believe that, then do as you please. I will support you as much as possible through the King of Rhine.”
In fact, cases where a family line from the past that was lost gets rediscovered by coincidence often happened. Many old surnames would reappear.
Immediately after wars, the royal families of the defeated country would be annihilated or would leave in exile and scatter themselves.
Nobles and ordinary citizens of the kingdom often forgot and lost their surnames after becoming war orphans.
Soon after the conversation ended, Woohyuk asked King Philip II about the situation in the Lydia kingdom in detail.
“How serious is the epidemic that Aleister spread?”
“Many people of my kingdom are dying. Some provinces are empty because there were no survivors.”
It was as if the Black Death was rampant in the kingdom.
Woohyuk looked back at his memories and tried to recall whether there had been a similar epidemic in the past.
'Is it the ghost disease?'