Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 67
67. Engagement - Lena, I’m Sorry
Lena survived.
Right after capturing the Noguhwa, the warriors came rushing. Seeing Lena’s condition, they fetched a sled used for carrying prey and hurriedly transported her.
Afterwards,
“Listen up! You foolish boy!”
Back at home, Leo was not only beaten with a stick by Noel Dexter but also punished with carrying a large water bucket.
“You risked your life to catch that thing?!”
Noel, unable to calm down, paced back and forth in front of his kneeling son, incessantly scolding him.
“A knight who loses sight of his own life out of a sense of glory! How foolish. What a knight must uphold is the right beliefs, not such petty honor!”
“Isn’t that enough? That’s enough. And it might not be important to you as a knight... but for our tribe, it’s a great achievement.”
Although he defended Leo, he did not smile as usual, reflecting his complex feelings.
In truth, Leo had also been scolded by Dehor. Before Lena was urgently transported, Dehor, hearing that the children had recklessly hunted a beast and gotten into trouble, was furious.
Hanging his head low, Leo, feeling like a criminal, was struck by Dehor on the spot.
Lena, gravely injured and lying on the sled, was almost kicked by her father, who couldn’t control his temper, but the tribesmen intervened and stopped him.
“Great Warrior! Please calm down. Though they broke the rules, let’s treat her first and then scold them.”
“Yes, and this is a great achievement. It’s like passing the Great Warrior’s Trial... I’m sorry.”
One of the warriors, who was trying to stop him, flinched under Dehor’s glare.
The Great Warrior’s Trial.
Not only the Ainar tribe but many northern barbarian tribes had what was called the ‘Great Warrior’s Trial.’
It was a deadly challenge undertaken by a few young warriors recognized by the tribe, risking their lives.
The participants, numbering no more than five, had to hunt a beast without any external help, relying solely on their strength. Naturally, using poison was prohibited (who would eat prey caught with poison?), and traps were also forbidden, as it was a ‘trial.’
Dehor himself had undergone the Great Warrior’s Trial in the past.
Starting with five, only three returned.
The three survivors became the Great Warriors representing the Ainar tribe, and they always set aside a glass for their fallen comrades whenever they drank together.
The trial was extremely dangerous.
Often, the five warriors who set out would disappear without a trace. Yet, such a barbaric tradition continued with clear rules due to northern superstitions.
Despite not breeding, beasts naturally appeared from nowhere.
Northern barbarians believed this was a test from the gods. Hence, some sought to become great warriors by testing their fate with a small group.
Those recognized as Great Warriors for hunting a beast did not hunt more beasts. They left the glory for future great warriors.
The reason why Great Warriors like Dehor didn’t often participate in hunting or butchering yet led hunting teams was similar. It was to allow warriors who hadn’t undergone the trial a chance to participate in a great test when encountering a beast.
The trial held great significance for the warriors.
Noel spoke.
“Stand up.”
Leo, watching his father’s mood, slowly got up. His leg, still sore from his father’s beating, wobbled.
Noel Dexter, still stern-faced, turned and asked Dehor about Lena’s condition.
Dehor informed him that she was safe but would need to recuperate in the church for a while, signaling to Leo.
Understanding Leo’s anxious state of mind, Dehor spoke.
Leo nodded and left. Heading towards the church, he heard the tribespeople murmuring.
Lena and Leo were not recognized as Great Warriors. Though they had caught a beast with just the two of them, they had broken the rule against using traps.
The Ainar warriors who saw the valley where the fierce battle had taken place whispered, "Still, doesn’t this warrant recognition as Great Warriors?"
The traces of the fox, which had rampaged everywhere, spilling blood, were impressive.
Leo didn’t care about any of that. He found Lena in the church infirmary.
She was asleep.
The priest's healing was effective. Though they had left the bruises to heal naturally over time, her broken limbs were already firmly mended.
However, her ribcage was slightly misaligned, making her left chest noticeably sunken.
‘Lena, I’m sorry.’
Looking over her body, Leo sat by her bedside. He lamented his situation, feeling guilty.
To avoid the war, this was necessary.
But that excuse offered no comfort to injured Lena.
The large, dark bruise covering her left cheek. How painful it must have been. Her shoulder had also been shattered... it was a miracle she was healed.
‘Lena, I’m sorry.’
After successfully completing the {Hunt} event and with Lena’s severe injuries, a new route opened in the betrothal scenario.
What would happen in the future was still unknown. What awaited us now that we were avoiding the war? And what could we do?
Leo had long planned what to do after the {Hunt} event, once avoiding the war. To clear this scenario...
‘Lena, I’m sorry.’
According to {Noble Society} information, there were three ways to make Lena a princess.
[The Prince's Obsessive Love] or {Bloodline} Event or becoming 'King' oneself, but in the betrothal scenario without a noble bloodline, there were only two options.
However, a rebellion in the Kingdom of Astin was close to impossible.
A dozen years ago, the northern kingdom underwent a bloody civil war and was divided into two kingdoms: Astin and Aster.
That devastating civil war left the Kingdom of Astin with poverty, the great swordmaster Baron Arpen Albacete, and a centralized system.
During the ‘Nine Days War,’ many nobles perished.
Unlike knights, nobles had to openly declare which faction they supported, and nobles were easy targets.
They became the targets of hidden knights, and an immense number of nobles were ambushed and killed.
Moreover, it was an era when it was unknown that the west would become the Kingdom of Astin and the east the Kingdom of Aster.
Nobles who held lands in the west but supported the Kingdom of Aster mostly died or, if they survived, had their lands confiscated. This was the same in the Kingdom of Astin.
As a result, the number of nobles in both countries drastically decreased. The lands they owned became the property of the kings, significantly increasing royal power.
But this wasn’t a normal transition of power.
It wasn’t that the administrative system had developed to the point where the king could rule the entire nation and its people alone, nor was there a new power group replacing the nobles.
Ultimately, it was a rehash of the old system under the guise of a new one.
The power was transferred to the second sons, who couldn't inherit the family but were still proper nobles, and to the despised illegitimate children. They were sent out as the king's deputies to the vacant lands. This place, Avril Castle, was no exception.
Second sons and illegitimate children, who had inherited nothing but their family name from their parents, gladly accepted this and pledged their loyalty to the king.
Because of this, the royal power of the Kingdoms of Astin and Aster became as strong as the emperor of the ancient Arcaea Empire.
Of course, over time, they would use every means to ensure the inheritance of their assigned lands, gradually reverting to the original noble society. But for now, they faithfully followed the king’s orders as his deputies.
This is why the Kingdom of Astin could openly ‘conscript’ soldiers in the betrothal scenario.
Most of the land and the common people belonged to the king.
The situation was entirely different in the Kingdom of Bellita, where the noble society still functioned properly. The royal family had to ‘recruit’ soldiers.
In the lands owned by the royal family, conscription was possible, but in the lands owned by nobles, it was not.
Thus, the royal family had to seek the lords' consent, recruit soldiers, and most of the money spent on the soldiers was collected as taxes by the nobles of that land.
‘Lena, I’m sorry.’
Overturning this temporarily centralized Kingdom of Astin was not an easy task.
Given Lena’s age and the engagement, he couldn’t spend many years planning a rebellion, so he had to seek other methods, but there was nothing significant.
In the case of the Kingdom of Orun, which is the starting point of the childhood friend scenario (not centralized and also oppressed the barbarians), there was at least that possibility.
But here, there were officially no barbarians at all.
The northern kingdoms had accepted the barbarians as citizens long ago.
So the remaining method was...
Leo firmly grasped Lena’s hand.
‘I’m sorry.’
The betrothal scenario had economic abundance and the strongest Leo among the three Leos, but it was the most difficult scenario to become king, filled with significant contradictions.
The contradiction in the betrothal scenario was that the day to break the ‘engagement’ had to come.
He planned to break off his engagement with Lena.
[ Achievement: Beast Hunt - ‘1’, your body is faintly imbued with mana. ]
He had considered just gaining strength in this scenario to aid in the other scenarios since hunting beasts opened a path to gaining power.
But,
'Will it really be over by clearing just one of the three scenarios?'
A chilling question that haunted him at the start of every scenario.
Would this cruel game be satisfied with merely restoring the {Bloodline} of the beggar siblings?
The conclusion was negative.
This game would almost certainly force him to clear all three scenarios.
Minseo had enough sense to realize that.
[ You have died. 2/3 ]
[ Achievement: Second Death - The player’s assimilation with Leo slows down. ]
Therefore, with two deaths, he could significantly influence Leo for a long time, and now, at the 11th iteration, it was the last chance to attempt a breakup. The real Leo Dexter would never, ever want to break up with Lena.
‘Lena, I’m really sorry.’
Leo let go of Lena’s hand.
In fact, he had been preparing for this moment since the day the betrothal scenario started.
On the first day, when Lena hid the stolen beer and came running up the stairs. She had begged to drink together, but Leo refused.
Even after being acknowledged by his father, while frequenting the blacksmith’s, he never visited the empty lot.
He couldn't grow attached. From now on, he had to treat Lena harshly.
Leo frowned, his face contorted.
From now on, he would have to ignore Lena’s cheerful morning greetings. When she teased him playfully, he would have to chide her for acting childish, embarrassing her.
He had to make Lena dislike him.
So that when he brought up the breakup, she would be less hurt and less sad.
Of course, he could have stayed friendly with Lena until he found a prince. He could have hidden his intention to break up and chatted and laughed with her.
But Leo couldn’t do that.
He wasn’t that cunning. In fact, he thought that would be mocking Lena.
He didn’t want to suddenly stab her in the back when she firmly believed they would become knights together and marry.
Though forced into thinking about separating from Lena, he wanted her to be a little less sad in the end.
So... he would slowly distance himself. Until her feelings settled.
Tears streamed down Leo’s cheeks. His clenched fists trembled.
He resented the gods. He hated whoever made this wretched thing a game.
And... he hated himself even more.
A game that cruelly squeezed humans like toys. And here he was, not boldly declaring to become king, but choosing the easier path of breaking off the engagement to make Lena a princess.
Yet, a king.
Someone who would plant his flag on this vast continent, revered by many subjects, ruling over cunning nobles.
That was not an easily attainable goal for someone who had never been class president among less than forty kids in middle school, let alone a president.
As Leo wiped his tears, the sunset cast its glow through the window. He gazed endlessly at Lena, illuminated like a leaf in the fall light.
Her brittle yet abundant straw-like hair, softly high nose, thick and straight eyebrows, ears cutely folded in a triangle, lips usually stubbornly closed but slightly parted when sleeping...
And her low, regular breathing.
He meticulously took in Lena’s appearance. This was the last moment he could look at her properly.
From now on, he would have to avoid her eyes, feigning false emotions.
Leo suddenly stood up.
‘I shouldn’t even be doing this.’
He steeled himself and left the infirmary with shaky steps.
“Hum nya. Caught the fox... Neo nang...”
Lena mumbled in her sleep.