The principality of Bertino
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“What are you doing?
Get her out of here right now!
And bring Albert!”
With a cold voice, Juliet ran to the woman.
The moment she pulled his arm, telling him to get up, his glasses flew away and his face burned in a flash.
There.
She was hit again.
Because of the Prince's women, who hit her cheek as if she were a neighborhood punching bag, Juliet had to think for a moment about this job.
The moment she reflexively rushed to pick up the broken glasses first, she heard a dull 'thump' sound.
As soon as she looked back with her glasses, she saw a woman crying melancholically rolling towards the door.
“Don't think I'll forget this since you're a woman.
How dare you sneak into my bedroom and even touch my maid?
You've gone crazy to die.
Isn't that right?
Is there no one there?”
Killian, who coldly kicked her in anger at his own maid's beating, screamed.
The outside was disturbed by a different scream than before.
The guards ran in and out of the other room, and after a while Sir Albert, who was in his pajamas, entered.
“Your Highness?”
Albert was horrified to see the Prince, who pointed the dagger, Bertino's family treasure, at the woman who was lying down.
“Where is Count Baden?
Did he return to his castle?”
“Oh no.
He said he would see Your Highness in the morning and rented a room at the inn.”
“The entire family he brought must have rooms at the inn.
I told the inn owner not to accept guests while I was staying.
Did you tell the count that breaking my orders was treason?”
“Yes your Majesty.”
“Late at night, sneaking into the room of a potential crown prince must have been a scheme to assassinate me hand in hand with someone.
Arrest everyone staying at the inn except our group.”
Albert opened his eyes to the growing task.
When the prince talked about betrayal earlier, he thought it was about scaring him out of annoying Count Baden.
But he ordered to arrest them all with a straight face.
Once angry, he was in that state where no one could stop him, he felt it now and became restless.
Soon, Count Baden and his companions were arrested and dragged in front of Killian, whose cold silver eyes were shining.
The earl waited for good news and seemed sullen with anger at the sudden turmoil.
“The Count, your daughter secretly attacked me tonight to assassinate me.
When did you start with this plan?”
Count Baden protested in a fit of rage when he accused his daughter, whom he had sent to seduce, of being a murderer.
“Your Highness, what a murder!
I don't even think about it.
It's just an immature act that my daughter committed in love for you.
Since she saw you last year, she has been in love and divorced.
Please forgive her for the crazy thing that stupid child did for love.”
The count laughed inwardly, asking for forgiveness with a somewhat frightened look.
However, he felt bad knowing that the Prince should have done this as he pushed his daughter into the room even after last year.
He looked at his foolish daughter, who failed to attract a man and led him to disgrace.
Killian's sneer was heard by Count Baden's ears, who only thought of slowing down after giving the appropriate affirmation in tone.
“Count Baden, I didn’t let you go because I didn’t know.
Don't you think I knew you were weighing between me and Francis?
Why, if I accept your daughter today, will you betray Francis?”
The count's face hardened as the prince looked at him touching a sharp knife.
Francis, the first prince, was the most likely figure to rise to crown prince, with Killian, the fifth prince, now in sight.
Unlike Killian, who seemed little interested in the crown prince's position, Prince Francis was actively expanding his influence.
Between Francis and Killian, supported by the emperor, the nobles were looking for their footing, as was Count Baden.
Last year, Duke Dudley's family, Francis' mother's side of the family, sent a man to the earl who had been disgraced for pushing his daughter on Killian.Currently, the number one family in the aristocratic hierarchy in Austern without an Empress, was the family of Duke Dudley, the Empress(1).
Faced with such a gesture from the great nobility, the count had no choice but to move.
It was now possible for him to enter the central aristocracy, which he had aspired to for so long.
Four hundred years ago, the current balance of power was established when the long war ended and meetings between countries began regularly.
Thus, in a time when a mutual non-aggression treaty was signed and the war ended between the countries, the status of a margrave was nothing more than that of a nobleman who did not advance to the center, or other similar title.
The Territory of Baden was a city with commercial development due to its geographical characteristics.
It was one of the important channels of foreign trade.
Unlike the two Empires, which established directly connected Magic Squares under mutual consultation, the kingdoms had to cross borders by land.
In order for goods from other countries to go to the Principality of Bertino, the Kingdom of Shurant and the Kingdom of Levatum, they had to cross the border after taking the Magic Square.
Count Baden, who accumulated wealth according to geographical advantages as a key location, was always eager to advance towards the center.
Although they were the same country, the central aristocrats completely banned the local aristocrats.
History has shown that the Kielini family from the neighboring Linden Territory made a great contribution to the reform of the Austern kingdom through war.
The reward led Kielini's family to produce the Empress and quickly widened the gap with Baden's family.
Count Baden, who had always envied Kielini's family, now one of Austern's leading aristocrats, decided to take advantage of his way of gaining status and had been constantly trying to push his daughters to the fifth Prince when passing through the Baden Territory to go to the Principality of Bertino at this time of year.
Count Baden once again examined Killian's gaze, who was staring at him with fierce eyes.
The image of the Prince looking at him with his arms crossed seemed so severe that no needle would go in.
He was nervous because he thought that there would be no chance of him having a chance if the restoration of the broken Bertino Magic Square was completed, and he hadn't been given a proper chance since the fifth Prince hadn't given him any opportunity.
While he was agonizing that it would be his last chance to become the father-in-law of the Austern royal family, Duke Dudley's family approached him.
Count Baden began to roll his head.
His instincts informed him that he should board the prince's fifth boat, but he could not give up the connection with Duke Dudley.
The earl, who decided to send his daughter again today as his last chance, allowed the duke's followers to stay in the castle for weeks in case he failed.
Although he thought that the Prince in front of him would not know all this, the Prince's words hit the nail on the head.
The count's face had lost all color.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know?
The Count, you don't know me very well.
Can't you avoid the sight of His Majesty?
You are so stupid,” said the fifth prince, certain that the emperor had his back.
“Now do you know what a big mistake you made?
I have warned you so many times and forgotten your actions, but you sent your daughter to sneak into my room.
How dare she hit my maid?”
People tilted their heads in unison as some seemingly divergent words came out of the Prince's mouth, who had a very cool, handsome, and unapproachable aura.
Silence fell in the room as everyone thought hard about discovering the truth about the Prince's words.
(1)T/N Sa-chan:
The first empress died, but she has concubines, with the death of the empress the first concubine became the new empress.
Sa-chan
Sa-chan
Thanks for reading.
^-^