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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 41: The Princess’ Dilemma
The news of Hadem’s downfall spread across the continent like wildfire.
As a lord, Hadem was trash—but as a warrior, no one dared to dismiss his strength.
He was a former champion of the『Imperial Martial Rite』, held on the Emperor’s birthday—a competition reserved for the empire’s most elite warriors.
He ranked among the top when it came to brute strength, and his knight order was so formidable in frontal assault that many said they could go toe-to-toe with the famed Golden Knights.
So when such a powerhouse was completely humiliated, unable to even land a proper strike, it sent shockwaves through the ruling class.
Many factions had their eyes on the growing Cron family.
Still, they saw them as upstarts—lucky noobs who’d stumbled into major territory.
Cron’s true power remained a mystery, and no one really thought they were major players in the battle for the throne.
But that assumption was about to get laughed out of the room.
The Cron family came out swinging—showcasing strategy that toyed with Hadem, sheer force that crushed him, and political savvy that kept other powers out by positioning themselves under the direct command of a prince.
Every move showed off overwhelming capability—not something you'd expect from a lord barely in his twenties.
And of course, the news made its way to ”her”.
At the Imperial Capital, Novaresia, in her palace chambers, the Second Imperial Princess, Selenia Lily Novarens, was lounging on her bed, reading the report on Hadem’s fall.
“He took down Hadem… Calyx, huh. Not bad.”
Lately, her favorite pastime was reading news about Calyx.
Unlike all the other lords—predictable, greedy, and utterly boring—Calyx’s stories always defied expectations.
They felt like something out of a fairytale she read as a child.
Still, this time left a bitter taste in her mouth.
He had taken down Hadem under orders from her brother, the prince.
“So if he acted on Brother’s orders… Does that mean Lord Calyx is siding with him?”
Selenia murmured, her face unreadable as she skimmed the report.
Her right-hand woman, Lumiel, the head maid, adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses and responded.
“I don’t believe so, Princess. Lord Calyx has continued maintaining ties with Lord Zeras, and through Lana, he’s sent word asking for your understanding—that he had no choice.”
Calyx had used Lana as a messenger, telling the princess that this wasn’t his preferred move.
If he truly had joined the Prince’s faction, he wouldn’t have needed to go about it this roundabout way.
Still, that didn’t make it sit right with Selenia.
“I mean, sure, the political finesse is impressive… but come on, he’s clearly just playing both sides!”
“To be blunt… Yes, Princess.”
Calyx’s maneuver could be seen as masterclass politicking—or as plain old fence-sitting.
Dragging out a final decision until the last moment might raise his value in the power game, but to Selenia? It was downright infuriating.
She’d even gone so far as to send him Lana, someone dear to her.
And yet, he was still testing the waters?
“He still hasn’t laid a hand on Lana?”
“No, according to her, aside from the kiss during that bet, he hasn’t touched her since.”
That…
That was what Selenia found hardest to believe.
Calyx, even now, hadn’t touched Lana.
This was something extraordinary.
Because, to her memory, Calyx was the first man who had ever not touched the "gift" she had sent.
“Haa… Lumiel, have there been any other lords who didn’t lay a hand on the gifts we sent?”
“To my recollection… none, Princess Selenia.”
Some lords had outright rejected her gifts, citing their alignment with the Prince’s faction—but accepting the gift and then not touching it? That had never happened.
And yet Calyx had accepted Lana—and still hadn’t laid a hand on her.
It wasn’t that he mistreated her either. On the contrary, he treated Lana with remarkable care and respect.
Judging by the tone in Lana’s letters, Selenia could only conclude: Lana already felt like one of Calyx’s own.
“Wait a minute. Don’t tell me… Is Lord Calyx impotent?”
Her first thought was sexual dysfunction.
If Calyx were incapable, then his restraint toward Lana would make sense.
“According to Lana, he shows normal… male reactions in the mornings. And he has expressed that he’s attracted to her. By all accounts, he appears heterosexual.”
“Then what’s with the ironclad defenses? He’s so stonewalled, we can’t even get the story started!”
If Calyx had made a move on Lana, Selenia could’ve used that as leverage—to coax him, persuade him, and slowly bring him into her camp.
Selenia, who had been thoroughly trained by her mother in using a woman’s charms for political maneuvering, felt utterly exasperated.
The trap had been perfectly laid—yet the target was just standing there, staring at it, refusing to move.
Lumiel gave it some serious thought before speaking again.
“My guess, Princess, is that Lord Calyx has the personality of an ‘aechŏga’.”
“Aechŏga?”
[TL/N: It refers to a man who is deeply devoted to his spouse, often to the point of ignoring all other romantic or sexual interests. “one-woman man”]
Selenia blinked. It was a word she’d never heard in her life.
Lumiel, ever composed, explained calmly.
“Yes. I’ve heard of men like that. Men who remain completely devoted to their wives. They don’t take concubines. They stay loyal to the one woman they love.”
“You mean… like Zeras?”
Selenia thought of Zeras Silla—one of the lords most delighted by her gifts.
So delighted, in fact, that he had defied his family elders and accepted the woman Selenia sent as his official wife.
Technically, the marriage had begun as a political arrangement—but it eventually turned into something resembling true love. That made things a little complicated to define, but Lumiel nodded anyway.
“It’s a bit different, but similar in spirit.”
Selenia’s mind finally began to piece things together.
So Calyx must place a very high value on his own honor.
Touching a maid before marriage? That would sully his name—and he wasn’t about to let that happen.
With that in mind, his refusal to lay a hand on Lana—and his overall actions—suddenly made sense.
So the real question was—How do you win over a man who values honor above all else?
As she thought, an idea struck her.
“Hmm… Then what if we arranged a marriage for him?”
“A marriage arrangement?”
If he was the kind of man who could only love someone after marriage—then all they had to do was get him married.
And as it happened, Calyx Cron was still single.
So the plan was simple.
“Exactly. We arrange a match between one of our allied lord’s daughters and Calyx. If we set it up ourselves—bam!—he becomes our guy, just like that.”
“That’s… certainly a possibility…”
Lumiel looked astonished.
Every now and then, the Princess would come up with a solution that Lumiel never saw coming.
If the Princess herself acted as the matchmaker, just like Calyx hadn’t been able to reject Lana, he probably wouldn’t be able to turn this down either.
Of course, it had to be someone Calyx would actually like—he had free will, after all.
Fortunately, this was the Imperial Princess’s private domain, where reports on every noble-born beauty in the Empire passed through here.
Surely, they could find someone who matched his taste.
“If we go this route, I believe we can bring Lord Calyx over to our side.”
“Right? I knew it. Proceed with the plan, Lumiel. And make sure you understand—I’ll be handling this one myself.”
“You, Princess!?”
Lumiel was visibly shocked.
Selenia was usually proactive when it came to recruiting talent—but almost never took the lead personally.
If she stepped in, it would be difficult for any lord to refuse her… but if she failed, the blow to her reputation could be severe.
“Calyx seems like he’s worth it. So get everything ready, okay?”
“At your command, Princess Selenia.”
Lumiel swore to herself that she would make this work.
No matter what, she’d get Lord Calyx married and take that burden off her lady’s heart.
＊ ＊ ＊
Chills—!
I just felt something cold crawl down my spine.
A deadly aura? No, it was something different—an ominous energy targeting me.
As I touched the back of my neck, where the chill lingered, Nova, who had been working with me in the office, spoke up.
“My Lord, are you alright?”
“Ah… I’m fine, Nova. Must’ve just been a slight breeze.”
At my words, Lana raised a questioning look and began checking the windows and doors.
After inspecting every door, Lana spoke.
“That’s strange. All the doors are locked.”
At Lana’s words, Azelle stared closely at my face.
Seeing her now, Azelle was just as beautiful as Lana or Nova.
After examining my expression, Azelle spoke.
“My Lord, you seem very tired.”
“Is that so? Maybe you’re right.”
After the fight with Hadem, I was busy handling all the aftermath.
It was understandable that fatigue I wasn’t aware of had built up.
I decided to finish work early for once.
“How about we go to the Crimson Inn tonight? It’s been a while.”
Sharon, who had fully settled in Cron, had been busy with all sorts of tasks.
One of them was brewing.
Sharon had traveled to many regions to learn brewing techniques.
However, since she hadn’t settled down until now, there was no place to put those skills to use—until now, here in Cron.
She made some liquor for the first time and asked us to taste it.
The liquor Sharon brewed was incredibly delicious, so I used my personal funds to open an inn—for my knights and for myself.
That became Sharon’s Crimson Inn.
Nova, Lana, and Azelle responded happily to my suggestion.
“Sounds great!”
“I’m always ready.”
“Wherever the lord goes is where I’m headed!”
I also asked Hart.
“How about you, Hart?”
“Given my age, I’m feeling tired, so I’ll head back early.”
Hart looked at me and the others with a warm smile, like a grandfather watching over his grandchildren.
Then, quietly to me, he said—
“Have a good time with everyone. You don’t need to come back to the castle tonight.”
“H-Hart!”
With that, Hart left for the evening.
I headed with everyone to Sharon’s inn.
Night was falling, and lanterns were lighting up all around.
Thinking back to when I first became Calyx, this place, Cron, had become truly prosperous.
But it still held that warm feeling unique to here—and I liked that.
Sharon’s inn was not far from the castle, and when we arrived, many were already drinking and chatting.
“My Lord!”
“Is Ayla here? And Sharon?”
Ayla greeted us as we entered.
Ayla was the mother Sharon had saved, and both had been stationed in my territory.
She practically managed the Crimson Inn.
“Sharon went to help at the infirmary and hasn’t returned yet. She’ll be back soon.”
“Mom! I’ll go get Sharon!”
Ayla’s daughter, Laila, dashed outside like lightning to find Sharon.
You could tell Laila was getting quicker by the day—must be the youth.
We took seats on the second-floor terrace, which had basically become our reserved spot.
Looking down, we could see everyone noisily drinking below, and just watching that lively scene lifted my spirits.
“To the lord!”
“To the lord!”
Some workers raised their glasses to me.
It was a little embarrassing but not unpleasant.
Just as the party was getting started, there was a knock at the second-floor window.
Knock. Knock.
Lana opened it, and there was Sharon, arriving via flying magic.
“Sharon’s here!”
“Long time no see, everyone!”
She climbed through the window onto the terrace just as wine, bacon, and snacks arrived, completing the gathering.
“You flew all this way using magic? You must’ve been in a hurry.”
“Of course! How often do we get to drink together? I wasn’t going to miss it.”
I’d learned that Sharon was quite the drinker—she loved alcohol and seized every chance to enjoy it.
Since I liked drinking too, we naturally became drinking buddies.
Cheers—!
With a light clink, the drinking began.
One glass after another, before long everyone was tipsy and drunk.
One thing I noticed about everyone here was a shared “trait”—they all got clingy with me when drunk.
“My Lord... please don’t go anywhere.”
“I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.”
Nova was the weakest drinker and would crawl into my arms half-asleep.
Lana clung to my back.
“You can go anywhere, but please take me with you.”
Azelle, being a guard, didn’t drink much but followed me even more openly at the inn.
“I must follow you wherever you go. That’s my duty.”
Only Sharon and I remained sober, sipping quietly.
Sharon smiled happily and spoke.
“Our lord is quite popular, huh?”
“Popular? Nah, it’s just that everyone has a weird drunk habit.”
They were all amazing women to me.
Honestly, I felt I’d already gotten everything I wanted in this life.
Things I couldn’t have achieved in my past life, I’d already gained.
To want more now would be greed.
I wanted to live peacefully here with them—and die here.
I wanted to get married someday.
Not now, with the chaos going on, but once everything settled, I hoped to marry one of them.
Dreaming of that happy ending, I spent the night drinking with everyone—especially Sharon, who stayed till the end.
Then, a few days later, the Imperial Princess’s faction’s Lord Zeras from the Silla family sent me an invitation.
Something else was about to happen.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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