279: Marriage (1)

Chapter 279

So here’s how the story goes. Years ago, Elara had Valeria and her husband, who was now deceased, or even existed or didn’t; no one knew, but whatever it was, she had them have a child through the temple. She had the records to prove it.

She adopted that child and hid him away, secretly supplying him with various resources and supporting him to grow his strength.

Now who would that be?

Well, who other than Julian?

The story fit too. Julian had four children, which was impossible for a commoner family, unless they had done so big a service to the crown that the crown would grant them whatever they desired.

Julian hadn’t done anything like that; otherwise, he’d be a noble, so four children didn’t explain it. Elara had taken every question that could be asked about my family, and molded it in a way that it fit her purpose.

So, in a roundabout way to say it, I was Valeria’s grandson.

Lucky.

Anyway, since there was no record of my grandparents from either side, Elara hid that too, making it so nothing could be investigated even if the church or the nobles put all of their resources into it.

And so, I was a hidden weapon of the Carlson family, now soon to be named the Christine family, under Elara’s maiden name. And apparently I was worthy enough to marry the royal princess of the Newmark kingdom.

Point to be noted. She was fifteen.

Damn it.

If she seemed fifteen too, then my lust wouldn’t be awakened.

But not like marrying her was for love. Or sex, in my case. Marrying her was a method for Elara to backdoor her way into this council.

And so, the question was placed in a public setting. Well, not public enough, but before everyone who mattered. And then when it was explained further, a storm erupted as every noble, every prince, and even the church, which had no business getting involved, involved itself. Apparently they wanted the princess to come to the holy land.

Too bad. You snooze, you lose.

Anyway, just because it was proposed, and Elizabeth seemed on Elara’s side, it didn’t mean it was going to happen without any hindrances.

The first hindrance was surprisingly Elizabeth.

“Master.”

“Calm down.”

“But master!”

“Calm down.”

“She’s my daughter! How can I?”

“I know.”

“And still?”

“Would you rather she go to the holy land?”

“…”

That shut Elizabeth up, but not for long, as she glanced at me and asked, “But why him? You have many legitimate grandsons.”

Her point was valid. While I was Elara’s hidden scheme, that didn’t mean I was her legitimate grandson. Elara had sons too. Especially the one next in line to inherit everything. And he had children too. Well, the complication didn’t need to be stated, but long story short, my importance at the moment was squat.

Nothing at all.

“You don’t have to worry about it.” Elara replied, “He’s worthy.”

More like I was someone she could control. Just before coming here, Elara had arranged for my family to be relocated to a safe location. While she was honoring her terms, it was basically a hostage situation.

And not like I was strong enough yet to defy her. I probably won’t be for another five years since my levelling had slowed down considerably.

But again, it wasn’t an issue for me. Mine and Elara’s goals aligned to the point that we never needed to become enemies. She knew that, hence why she hadn’t tried anything, and she might not ever. My family was just insurance for the worst case scenario.

“Haa…” Elizabeth sighed heavily and sat down, looking at me up and down before turning to Elara. “I admit that he wins in terms of grace and usefulness, but that is not enough to become a royal consort.”

Oh, she was mistaken if she thought Elara wanted me to become a royal consort. More like the king. Which was also what I wanted.

“He has what it takes to be in that position,” Elara replied calmly and confidently.

“Alright. Let us assume for one moment that he is worthy of my daughter. What about the others?” Elizabeth asked.

Elara remained silent for a while. Not to come up with an answer, but to let the weight of her silence settle before she asked, “Jack. Do you think you can defeat Crown Prince Galliard?”

“Certainly, my lady.” Best to play according to the role I was assigned. A loyal soldier and a hidden shadow.

“…”

Elizabeth was speechless at my confidence. Sure, if it was like with George, I wouldn’t be able to win, but I wasn’t able to pick up the same feeling in the presence of Galliard, the cardinals, the priest, or the paladin as I did when I faced George.

The feeling of suppression. The bloodline that came from Julian was suppressed in George’s presence, making my battle with him harder than it needed to be. But the same wasn’t the case when it came to the other subjects of the church. My guess: George was special. Given how meticulous and strong he was, there was certainly no doubt he was special. Maybe even more than that.

But Galliard was a different story.

“Very well. You shall prove your worth if it ever came to it. Do you think you can?” Elara informed and then asked, not just in case, but to assure Elizabeth.

“Of course, I can, my lady.” My reply had no less confidence than before.

“Very well.” Elara replied, ignoring the stunned Elizabeth, and said to Valeria, “Have Her Highness, Princess Teresa, summoned.”

While she used proper titles, using the word summoned canceled everything else out. She probably was the only one who could do that in the entire royal castle. Even if the princess in question was powerless to do anything against even the counts of the kingdom.

Valeria bowed and left, and I could hear her telling a servant outside the door to summon the princess. The servant left, but Valeria remained outside. After about ten minutes, during which Elizabeth recovered but still had questions in her eyes regarding Elara’s decision, but remained silent, the princess came along with her knights.

Each one was an S-rank knight. Sure, they were the lowest in the rankings among knights, but they were strong nonetheless. But not like they were there to guard her.

More like to keep tabs on her.

The door opened, and Teresa entered without a word. Her knights were stopped outside, which would have been impossible if not for the entities inside. The queen and Elara were both inside. The knights knew when to stop.

Teresa was tall for her age. Almost my height. About six feet tall. Straight, and even though she was dressed in a frock-type dress, the signs of her physical training couldn’t be hidden.

She was straight, her posture full of determination. Physical warriors show balance through their everyday habits. Teresa’s gait screamed of discipline.

Her chest wasn’t flat like Martha, but it wasn’t big either. She was almost a C cup. Acceptable, but not fully developed. Her hips and ass were hidden by the frock of the dress, so I couldn’t tell.

One thing was for sure: even though she was fifteen, she sure as hell wasn’t as underdeveloped as I had imagined. Still, she was fifteen, and I had morals. I’d be waiting until she was at least sixteen.

Anyway, now the problem at hand was this. After Elizabeth, it was Teresa whose permission mattered.

“I greet Mother and Grandmaster.” She was simple in her greeting, not using the full, formal titles of the two aforementioned people.

“I see you have grown.” Elara replied before she asked, “Have you broken through to the next realm?”

While Elara’s voice was sharp as always, I could sense the softness in her voice, and maybe everyone else in the room could.

Anyway, Elara didn’t care and waited for the princess to reply, “Your teachings have helped greatly, grandmaster, but I have yet to advance into the next realm.”

“Your talent seems insufficient.”

Damn. Even if she cared for her, she sure as hell wasn’t subtle at all.

“I shall strive for more,” Teresa replied, without taking any offense.

“Anyway, that is not why I called you here.” Elara said before she turned to me, “Meet Jack. He could be your husband.”

Right. She was like this.

Teresa froze for a second and turned to me, her eyes scrutinizing me before she turned back to Elara and replied, “I respectfully decline, grandmaster.”

“Why?” Elara asked.

“He’s weak,” Teresa replied without caring for my feelings. Not like they were hurt.

“He’s stronger than you. Probably on par with your mother.” Elara replied.

I wasn’t. I could defeat her mother, not as strong as her. The story would have been different before, when she had yet to recover from her broken and weakened state, but not now.

But that didn’t matter. The room was once again silent. Even Elizabeth assumed her shocked expression all over again.

And Teresa?

“Hahahahahahaha.”

She laughed.

Damn, her laughter was infectious.