I really hate it! (4)
Her annoyance grew, piling up like a tower of stones for her. He had said that she was a debauched woman. When she met him face to face, she thought that it was impossible to talk like that. A man with a different face inside out, Lily hated that type of person the most.
Marius had no idea what she was thinking. He muttered, lowering his voice as if trying to convey the truth, “Seeing you weep broke my heart. There is still a woman who respects and cares for her husband and so willingly throws herself into the duel between two men. I can see why the duke is so kind to you.”
The more she listened to him, the more Lily groaned internally. She wanted to scream. He said that she wept and shattered his heart. Wasn’t the reason for everything because he broke into this place to harass Vlad in the first place?
Lily bit her lower lip, then lifted her head.
Ironically, Marius was finally able to see Lily’s face properly. An elegant impression as if painted by an imperial painter with a clean brush stroke. All the features were harmonious without being overdone. A blatant reluctance was shown on her elegant face.
“Your Highness. I have something I would like to ask you.” Lily seemed to have swept away the thought of trying to restrain herself and be polite.
Marius calmly nodded his head. “Ask anything. I will answer honestly and without hiding. I promise.”
“I heard that Your Highness has been hostile to my husband for a long time. I want to ask you what the problem was.”
Marius flinched. It wasn’t long before he realized that it was a question she could have harbored, and he sighed in embarrassment. Having seen that her husband and the prince were not on good terms, it was natural for her to be curious.
He tapped his chin. Lily knew all too well what that habit meant, as she lived with a man who looked like that when choosing his words.
“You promised yourself, so please don’t hide it. Please.”
Marius narrowed his eyebrows tightly, then lowered his arms as if determined. “I oppose the duke’s ideology.”
“…Ideology?”
Lily had difficulty comprehending for a moment. Vlad’s way of governing, as to what Lily saw, was wonderful. As Hans said, it was an innovative government ahead of its time. Of course, it was also true that the other lords were not in agreement. But it was still weird. Did he mean that he was hostile enough to fight a duel and attack the territory just because of a difference in ideology?
“It may be uncomfortable to say to the princess, but I believe that the achievements that are the basis for the reverence of him as a hero by some in the world should be re-evaluated.”
This was more difficult to accept. If Vlad’s knights had heard it, they would have shaken up like an angry bull and disparaged it. But Marius had his reasons.
“Winning a battle using gunpowder is not a victory, but a massacre. He turned the honorable battlefield, where knights compete for martial arts, into a ridiculous fireworks display. It just made the knights who kept traditional values laugh. Also, does he not secretly persecute priests in the realm? I cannot accept him unless he respects the framework that sustains the world.”
“That… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Contrary to Lily’s intention, Marius seemed to have understood her answer in a completely different way.
“It can be a difficult topic to explain in such a short conversation. If you give me time someday, I will teach you slowly from the beginning.”
“No. It’s not like that….”
Marius looked quite excited when she kept answering him, who had kept her mouth shut as if her mouth was stuck. He pushed her to say more. “Then tell me what it is. I will listen to you.”
“The sooner the war ends, the better, isn’t it? My husband ended the war of conquest that devoured half the continent after 15 years. It means that the chain of death ends after 15 years. I can’t understand what’s laughable or wrong about that, Your Highness.”
The longer the war, the more people would die from it. From those who lost husbands and friends, fathers and grandfathers were also taken from them. What kind of nonsense was honor in such a tragedy?
“He loves the citizens. It’s not about persecuting the priests… He was merely punishing those who tried to assassinate him. How did you hate my husband so much only through unfounded rumors? I can’t… I can’t understand, Your Highness.”
Lily realized she was being arrogant—he was still a prince, after all—but she couldn’t find it within herself to care. In fact, if she could, she wanted to say things more fiercely. For such an absurd reason, without knowing it, he had despised Vlad so much. Her stomach was boiling with anger.
“The duchess… You’re a really good woman. I can see why he loves you so much. There is no woman like you in the world.”
Lily frowned more.
Marius looked at her and murmured as if possessed. “I am really sorry. If I had known you before the duke…”
“Hm?”
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