Princess Shu

Chapter 11.1 – I Will Put My Life On The Line

“Why aren’t you surprised?” Shuden asked.

Valia blinked. “Huh?”

“I think this the first time that I revealed to you that I am Marquis Garth.”

Valia was stunned for a moment, while Shuden pressed on.

“You weren’t fazed in the least. Who tipped you off?”

Valia bit the inside of her lips slightly. She didn’t realize her mistake. As soon as she realized how obviously stupid she was, she quickly began to formulate various responses in her mind.

‘Should I say that I already heard it?’

But over the past few days, Valia encountered too few people in her area of activity. She would get into trouble if Shuden investigated the people around her and found out that she lied. She didn’t want him to have any suspicions. For some reason, she thought that if she gave Shuden a reason to doubt her, she wouldn’t be able to die peacefully.

‘Neither Sean nor the Great Holy Priest have ever directly said that he was Marquis Garth.’

They only ever called Shuden ‘Your Excellency’, but they never called him ‘Your Excellency Marquis Garth’. It would be understandable if she was born in the Ghel Empire, but Valia was an aristocrat from the far-off Lisa Kingdom. She wasn’t even Ghel noble, so if she could recognize that he was Sir Garth just by hearing his title, she would have been a psychic, not a marchioness.

[The one who will be my husband—the Marquis, that is—is he scary?”]

As her previous question to her, she realized that she shouldn’t have mentioned the rank of marquis. At the time she said it without much thought, without realizing that it would lead to this. Valia began to get nervous.

‘Should I just say that I just don’t get surprised easily by nature…?’

She was someone who would be surprised even by broken plates while doing the dishes. The chances of a marchioness having to do dishes in front of a marquis was so low that it was the same as jumping into the battlefield with a baby bottle, but the Valia right now wasn’t in the position to argue that.

“I haven’t been invited to tea parties often,” Valia finally answered.

It was fortunate that she had a talent for improvisation. In addition, it was obvious that she did not receive invitations to the social circles often, so even if Shuden investigated the people, he wouldn’t be able to even find a single breadcrumb. That meant nothing would be revealed even if he investigated.

“So…I’ve never heard of Your Excellency’s reputation before,” she lied.

Of course, it was true that Shuden’s name was never mentioned at tea parties held in small kingdoms, but even the nobles of Lisa Kingdom would know how high the position of the Marquis of Gel Empire was. But what could be done if Valia insisted that she really didn’t know?

“…Should I have been more surprised?” she asked cautiously.

Shuden shook his head. “I was just curious, so there’s no need. It’s not a household that’s great enough to spread to other kingdoms’ social circles.”

Lies, Valia muttered inwardly. Even from the memories of the past, the Garth household had achieved great fame. It was originally known for having tremendous wealth, but in this generation, the household’s reputation increased for its military accomplishments.

The young Marquis Garth. He was truly a prodigious knight. In every war he fought, the Ghel Empire banner waved in victory. He had an amazing resourcefulness and military force that completely devastated the enemy camps. Later, it was said that he even received a promotion to duke, but the Marquis rejected it for some reason.

Was that the reason why there were always many people around him? Even at an Imperial Family banquet, a circle of humans would form centering around his reddish-blond hair.

‘Good.’

Unaware of Valia’s thoughts, Shuden was inwardly happy that she didn’t know much about the Garth household. Ranks were like a double-edged sword—they could hurt oneself by simply wielding it. The position of Marchioness Garth was a position that anyone would covet, especially Valia’s status and position in the social circle, which would become unparalleled. As long as she desired it, she could reign at the top of high society.

Besides, she didn’t have any other proper title other than Marchioness Garth. The only Duchess of the Ghel Empire was twice as old as Valia, so the age gap didn’t match. When Valia would become Marchioness Garth, she would certainly sit at a high position among the noble ladies that were her peers.

Shuden, perhaps out of condescension, did not even consider the other aristocratic wives of the other marquis on the board. Although he knew the families held the same rank as marquis, there was a considerable distance in power between him and them.

In truth, Shuden was usually not interested in the affairs within the social circles. However, if the daughter of a small kingdom’s knight became Marchioness Garth, he guessed that the repercussions would be enormous. Those who subsisted on bream crumbs would be better off than her. The noble’s envy and motivation for conspiracy would be beyond imagination.

‘I can’t see how I’d be able to withstand it.’

His face was as still and calm like the moon reflected on water. Would Valia, the daughter of a small kingdom’s knight, be able to adapt well in the social world where cold power-seeking was rampant?

“Your Excellency?” Valia said apprehensively. She felt the burden of his stare on her, and she called his name.

For a moment, Shuden thought that Valia’s voice was a good fit with her silver-gray eyes, which was reminiscent of a dawn sky.

“Why are you being so formal this time?” he asked. “You called me by my name before.”

“…That’s because—that situation called for that.”

When Valia had looked at the arrogant princess, she noted there were some things she needed to take note of. In the past, there were not just one or two people who looked down on the status of Valia’s father. Ridicule was basic and an insult was a bonus. After going through such hardships, Valia became hardened enough that she wouldn’t burst into tears, but that did not mean that she didn’t feel offended. To be honest, when she saw the princess trembling, she thought that she deserved it.

‘That was a situation that called for it,’ Shuden murmured inwardly to himself and tilted his chin. To others, it looked as if his expression remained unchanged, but it was different for Valia. She could subtly sense that he was amused.

“Then would you only call my name in that kind of situation?” he asked.

“Otherwise, it’d be against formalities…”

“Is it in your nature to follow formalities? That’s why you dressed like that on our first meeting—”

Valia winced. The embarrassing situation replayed in her mind all over again. However, it was confusion that dominated her mind. In her memory, he was a blunt and not talkative man. Even if he didn’t open his mouth, people around him who tried to talk to him would be in a commotion. However, the Shuden she saw up close was very different from what she expected. She thought he’d never made a joke in his life before, except that he made jokes well. Interestingly enough.