Chapter 66: 65

“Welcome, grand prince. Thank you for accepting my sudden invitation.”

“Greetings to the pinnacle of the noblest blood. May the blessings of nature be with you.”

“Haha. You don’t have to be so polite. Today I want to meet you as the Prince’s father, not the Emperor…… So come over here and sit comfortably.”

With a low laugh, Tristan gestured for Khalid to come closer. When Khalid sat across from Tristan, Caleb came in with the refreshments he had prepared beforehand.

“It’s tea made from a flower that only grows in the fairies’ forest, and it has a very nice scent, so take your time to savor it.”

“Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”

Tristan looked at Khalid with a complicated gaze as the man drank tea with proper and disciplined gestures.

Black hair with curly strands, spotless skin that was uncharacteristic of a knight, clear long eyes with ruby-bright red irises, a sharp nose bridge and firm lips, a thick yet sleek jawline, a smooth and solid-looking neck, and a body with strong muscles.

Tristan also had this thought when he first met him, but the man was truly a tall and handsome young man. Tristan took a sip of hot tea, admiring Khalid’s looks inwardly.

Apart from Khalid being a dominant Alpha who was coveted by everyone in terms of appearance and ability as a knight, the fact that the man was his son’s contractual marriage partner brought about a strange sense of complexity in him. Maybe because of that, even though the sweet tea water filled his mouth, he still felt bitter.

“As you may have guessed, the reason I wanted to see you today is that sooner or later we will belong to the same family. Before that, I wanted to have a proper conversation with you, so I called you here.”

“Please speak comfortably. And you don’t have to use honorifics towards me, Your Majesty. As you said, we are going to belong to the same family soon.”

“……Then I will speak comfortably.” (Eve’s note: From this part, Tristan switched from a semi-formal speech to a more casual speech that’s usually used for children-in-law)

Tristan paused for a moment when he saw Khalid being polite to him, and then began to talk casually. He decided that it would be better to be close than to be formal because they would meet frequently in the future. Perhaps Khalid was also thinking the same when he said that Tristan didn’t have to use honorifics.

“I have already heard about the details from the Prince. Did you finish signing the marriage contract?”

“That’s right.”

“Viscount Roman came to me a few days ago and complained. He asked how that kind of contract could be made.”

Tristan slightly smiled, recalling what had happened a few days ago. Viscount Roman, who helped Renato write the marriage contract, visited Tristan and talked about how unreasonable the contract was. He seemed to want Tristan to stop Renato even now.

However, Tristan said that he respected Renato’s wishes and sent Viscount Roman back. It wasn’t that he had no worries about the contract, but he had no choice because he decided to let Renato do this as he wanted.

“I will not deny that this is an advantageous contract for me. However, I would not have accepted it if I hadn’t had any good feelings towards His Imperial Highness.”

“I know that. I also know you refused at first.”

Tristan lightly nodded and looked at Khalid. According to what he knew from the imperial informants, it was difficult to say that Khalid’s life was good even in empty words.

Tristan had to hold back several sighs when he read the report detailing the circumstances in which Khalid grew up.

Although the specific situations were different, reading about the stories of young Khalid being persecuted as an illegitimate child reminded him of Renato. The way the two of them lived was so different, yet strangely similar.

Nevertheless, Khalid confidently seized power with the current Queen’s full support and his own ability. The way Khalid overcame his unhappy childhood and proudly became a knight with amazing achievements made Tristan admire him.

Tristan was also someone who walked the path of the sword, so he knew it. Khalid was a natural genius. A genius who sincerely worked hard, and also had the potential to develop further in the future.

The more Tristan knew about Khalid, the more he understood why Renato had chosen him. It was not that he didn’t trust the Imperial Knights Order, but considering the possibility of an all-out war with Marquis Medus, he needed Khalid’s power.

Although the man was currently under Khan nobles’ control, it did not affect his activities in the Empire. Being an illegitimate child was a flaw in the kingdom, but it was not a big deal in the Empire.

“I heard that you will depart for the Khan Kingdom as soon as your sister, the Queen, grants her permission.”

“That is what we plan to do. The engagement ceremony in our kingdom ends with offering greetings at the ancestral tablets of successive Kings and Queens. A simple festival will be held at night, but…… there is not much to prepare.”

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“Is that so?”

“Yes, I think it would take about a month and a half to two months to go there and return. I apologize for being absent after just becoming the diplomatic ambassador not long ago.”

“No. It’s because of your engagement, so…… It should be better if you have a relaxed trip. Ah, when are you going to get married?”

“Considering His Imperial Highness’ circumstances, I think it would be better to complete the marriage as soon as possible. May I ask what you think, Your Majesty?”

“In a typical political marriage, it is common to have an engagement ceremony and spend all four seasons together before getting married, but…… You two will be known as having a love marriage, so a little quicker should be okay too.”

Usually, the union of two families required various preparations. Furthermore, Renato and Khalid’s marriage was a combination between the imperial family and the royal family. Therefore, it shouldn’t be prepared carelessly. Tristan wanted to hold a grand wedding ceremony if possible.

“I don’t mind any time. But His Imperial Highness seemed to want the wedding to take place within the summer.”

“Summer…… Even if we prepare from now on, time will be tight. Personally, I would like to do it in about six months, but our situation is not good……”

Tristan’s voice became quieter. Along with that, his expression also became disturbed. In reality, he knew that it would be good for the two to get married as soon as possible to create a reason for Khalid to interfere in imperial politics, but he kept feeling regretful.

“You don’t have to make it grand. I don’t know what it is like in the Empire, but in our kingdom, even royal weddings are rather simple. To celebrate the wedding, the national treasury will be opened, and alcohol and meat will be distributed to every household in the capital. And in the countryside, wheat and beef will be sent out.”

“Uhm, in our case, we have a ceremony in the Mayflower Square in the capital connected to the Imperial Palace, and then we go to the imperial tomb in the fairies’ forest and make marriage vows. A festival will be held in the capital before and after the wedding ceremony……”

Tristan, who was explaining the Empire’s wedding ceremony to Khalid, suddenly closed his mouth. Talking about Renato’s marriage in detail brought back the sense of shame that he had forgotten for a while.

Thinking that this would not have happened had he been in good health, his haggard face darkened even more.

While Tristan collapsed to the extent that he couldn’t properly take care of state affairs over the past few years, Marquis Medus gradually increased his power and gained influence. As the person who should be in the center was weakened and the person who should support him was trying to rise above, the political circle was in extreme chaos.

When Tristan came to his senses belatedly and tried to rectify the situation, the Emperor’s authority had already fallen to the ground.

When the ruler of a country was ill, his power would be weakened. However, in Tristan’s case, his power weakened much faster than expected. Ironically, it was because he had the blood of the Fairy King.

To the Empire’s citizens, the imperial family, especially the Emperor who was considered to be chosen and blessed by the Fairy King, was recognized as special beings different from ordinary people. Tristan lived up to that expectation and was revered as a hero who saved the Empire from crises several times. Because of that, his downfall caused great disappointment in people.

The disappointment when the person they looked up to had collapsed in an instant, and the thought that noble blood was no different made people like Marquis Medus greedy for a position they had never dared to cross.

“Huu.”

Feeling a heavy burden in his chest, Tristan let out a low breath. It was all his fault for being foolish and weak. He was confident of being stronger than anyone else, but in reality, he was nothing more than an ornamental plant in the greenhouse that collapsed with one kick.

As he had always been successful, he had never experienced any failures. Because of that, Tristan, who had always lived an easy life, could not overcome his first ordeal and collapsed.

On the other hand, what about Renato?

Despite being ridiculed by everyone as a sidekick Prince, despite having nothing compared to others, he somehow found a way to steadily pave his own path.

What if he had been in the same situation as Renato? Wouldn’t his mind have collapsed and his will to live vanished a long time ago?

Renato was a great person just by persisting so far. Tristan thought that Renato was much stronger than he was.

So he was more worried. Knowing that Renato had favorable feelings for Khalid, Tristan kept worrying that this marriage, which had been set to end from the beginning, would remain a scar for him.

“……Grand prince, I have a favor to ask of you.”

After hesitating for a while, Tristan carefully spoke up. He had something he really wanted to say when meeting Khalid today.

“I know how unhappy a marriage without love is. Because I experienced it myself through my political marriage with the Empress. That’s why……”

Unable to easily continue his words, Tristan’s lips quivered. When Renato said that he was going to marry Khalid through a contract, he recalled his relationship with Blanche.

Tristan married Blanche not because of his will, but because of the promise between the late Emperor and Marquis Medus.

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