Chapter 134
The Dreadnought Ship and Clendor-class battleship engaged in a naval battle.
It was a location far from the harbor.
Since they decided to conduct training that simulated real combat, they moved out to the middle of the sea to avoid any repercussions from the training.
“I’ll just stop by my territory for a moment.”
However, it was also close to Edgar’s territory.
Edgar, who already knew he would win, intentionally designated the training site near his own territory.
“…I suppose so.”
Thus, Bianca readily accepted the excuse to stop by the territory for maintenance.
She was also curious about what Edgar’s territory looked like.
“………Huh.”
As soon as she stepped off the battleship and saw Edgar’s territory, she froze in place.
The grand steelworks and shipyard that soared majestically.
The scale and magnificence felt like looking at a castle made of steel.
The technological gap was so absurd that it made her chuckle.
“Lord!”
“Welcome, my Lord! We’ve heard the news!”
Additionally, the workers here looked nothing like the laborers she knew.
Their unique cheerful atmosphere and the expressions overflowing with leisure.
A strong faith and respect for their lord.
Having lived as a princess surrounded by all things extravagant, this feeling of clarity was something she had never experienced before.
Everything she observed here was a new stimulation for her.
“Shall we talk as we walk for a bit?”
“…Ah, yes.”
In due course, the princess followed Edgar across the vast factory grounds.
The construction workers equipped with wearable robots and the structures she had never seen before were fascinating, but what caught her eye the most was Edgar’s face.
A flawlessly handsome face, as if crafted by a god.
To be honest, if he grew his hair out, he might look even prettier than her.
“…Have you thought well about my suggestion?”
At that moment, Edgar finally got to the point.
He proposed making Bianca the next queen of Clendor.
In return, she must give up her status as a princess and serve the Empire as its sole emperor in the future.
“………”
Bianca hesitated in her response.
To abandon the status of a princess and serve the Empire as the sole emperor would be akin to forsaking Clendor’s self-esteem.
‘…But.’
In reality, accepting his proposal might be the best course of action.
If Edgar Fix’s battleship pushed into Clendor, the outcome would be all too predictable.
“Just look around. If you want, I can make a few more battleships.”
However, as Bianca hesitated to answer, Edgar’s eyes glinted sharply, and he spoke in a half-threatening manner.
In the end, Bianca swallowed hard before responding.
“…Is this a threat?”
“I’m just helping everyone make a good choice.”
“…Heh. This is amusing. Your way of helping seems roundabout.”
With a faint smile, Bianca replied to Edgar’s words.
However, noticing Bianca’s calm demeanor, Edgar’s expression hardened, and he stopped walking.
At that moment, sensing the change in Edgar’s demeanor, Bianca turned to face him and froze.
She felt a sense of dread from his stiff expression.
Edgar spoke.
“Do you think my proposal is a joke? I suppose I need to make myself clearer.”
“………”
“Honestly, I’m pressed for time. I don’t have the luxury to wage war. So if a war does break out, I will choose the most extreme method to end it as quickly as possible. A decisive blow that could inflict devastating damage and end the war.”
As he said this, Edgar projected a hologram.
The hologram depicted an atomic bomb dropping on the Imperial Palace of Clendor, obliterating everything in its vicinity into dust.
The video and sound were so realistic that Bianca’s face quickly drained of color.
“…But, I would prefer not to use this method if possible. There’s too much to sacrifice to develop such a senseless weapon of mass slaughter. Time, money, people. All that could be sacrificed for a chance at a better future.”
As he spoke, Edgar projected another hologram.
It showed countless people happily laughing in a city that had achieved civilization.
“I desire peace. I want the Empire and Clendor to prosper together. I’m sincere.”
Bianca looked at Edgar’s face.
A sincere expression that seemed devoid of any falsehood.
In reality, Edgar wanted peace and prosperity for both nations more than anyone else.
Ultimately, the enemies in this world were demons, and humans needed to unite.
Thus, Edgar did not want to waste time on pointless wars.
Killing each other in a time when they should be uniting was the most nonsensical war of attrition in the world.
“…What is the most important thing to you?”
Having read the sincerity in Edgar’s gaze, Bianca asked a question.
What value is most important to him?
Edgar answered.
“I told you. Peace.”
“………”
Peace.
Could there be a more absurd statement?
Bianca knew that the desire to achieve peace was a common saying among warmongers.
Paradoxically, doing something for peace often meant engaging in war.
“…I will give you my answer tonight.”
Thus, Bianca reserved her decision until tonight.
While she could sense that Edgar’s words were sincere, she decided to be cautious in making a decision that would determine her fate and the fate of her country.
“Very well. I will await your highness’s answer until tonight.”
With those words, Edgar left to attend to his duties.
Duties as a lord and development of suits as a player who must protect this world.
He moved toward his container to handle all of that.
“………”
Bianca watched his back.
His shoulders looked heavy, as if bearing a great burden.
Having built such a grand city, why couldn’t he stop?
If it were another noble, they would have succumbed to their achievements, indulging in pleasure and self-satisfaction.
“…I should find out.”
Bianca muttered to herself and began to walk.
To truly understand a person, it is said one should talk to the people around them rather than the person himself.
By asking Edgar Fix’s subordinates and the people of the territory about him, she hoped to uncover some truth.
So Bianca changed her clothes to disguise her identity.
Establishing her status as a refugee accepted within Edgar’s territory, she roamed the factories and the territory, asking about the lord here.
“They accepted you into our territory? You must be very lucky!”
“Oh! The lord is our savior! Our savior!”
“Ha ha ha ha! You mean our lord? Let me tell you how amazing our lord is…”
“Looks like you haven’t been here long, huh? Come! Sit right there! Our lord is… a blessing sent from heaven…”
After questioning several people about Edgar Fix, everyone gave the same answer.
Savior.
They all said the failing territory regained its vitality thanks to him.
That tale sounded almost like a founding myth and was quite fascinating.
‘…He has this much trust…’
This was a first for her.
The sight of the territory’s people bragging about their lord as if they were boasting about their own children.
Typically, they would be expected to vent their frustrations and complaints.
Most lords were too absorbed in filling their own pockets.
At best, a lord who pretended to care about the people was considered good.
‘…He’s different.’
But what about Edgar Fix?
He was different.
There was definitely something distinct about him.
He seemed to be inherently different from others.
If he had been born in Clendor, he would undoubtedly have ushered in an era of peace.
He would be hailed as the greatest monarch in history.
She could only think that he was limited to this extent simply because he was born into the noble family of a count.
“Was he a commoner?”
But that was not the case.
He was originally a commoner.
A spontaneous chuckle escaped her lips.
A person born with the qualities of a ruler had been born as a commoner.
‘What if that person had been Clendorian…’
Thus, Bianca suddenly imagined this.
What if he had been born in Clendor?
What if she had taken him in upon realizing his potential?
What if she had married him?
She would become his woman, serving him, while he would become the most excellent leader in history, reforming Clendor.
Watching his great achievements while being cared for by him.
A happy wife loved by a man she could respect.
A joyful daily life filled with warmth, nurturing a child that resembles him.
“…Ha.”
But that was just a delusion.
Hadn’t she just faced his chilling threat?
He was, after all, a noble of the Empire, while she was a princess of Clendor.
Their fates could never align.
‘…What a foolish girl.’
What had she done?
As she walked alongside him, feeling her heart flutter, she casually responded to his proposal.
Feeling excitement between a man and a woman in a conversation about significant inter-country affairs led her to commit such a foolish mistake.
How could she jest in response to a serious matter?
“Phew…”
Anyway, what happened has happened.
Now that she had firmly resolved her heart.
Bianca decided to deliver her answer.
At 10 PM.
She made her way to Edgar’s lodging.
***
“Very well thought out.”
At Edgar’s lodging.
As Bianca conveyed her intentions, Edgar greeted her with a wide smile.
She had decided to rise to queen, beating her brothers with the help of the Empire.
“…I apologize for this morning. I shouldn’t have spoken to the princess that way.”
As Bianca accepted the proposal, Edgar immediately apologized for his earlier behavior.
Once he felt she was on his side, he gauged Bianca’s mood to ease her unease.
Bianca smiled bitterly as she observed Edgar’s demeanor.
‘Yes… I only become valuable to you, and then you start being kind.’
The tone of Edgar’s voice changed the moment she agreed to the proposal.
Where previously a wall had felt palpable, it now seemed to have crumbled.
Before, he only spoke necessary words and didn’t engage in much personal conversation. But now, the personal discussions multiplied, and his energy felt different.
“Would you like a glass of wine? We do have much to discuss.”
Finally, Edgar fetched some wine with a grin on his face.
That smile was so captivating that Bianca couldn’t help but smile back.
-Cheers.
After toasting, Edgar and Bianca sipped their wine.
As they enjoyed a drink or two, Bianca’s eyes suddenly lit upon seeing Edgar’s room.
Edgar’s lodging, filled with all sorts of machines and equipment, was now finally coming into view.
“Haha. Apologies. It’s quite messy, isn’t it?”
Edgar scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly.
His embarrassed demeanor was charming, which she found appealing.
“No, it’s charming and nice.”
In the dark room.
With an orange standard lamp illuminating both of them.
Bianca felt immersed in an unusual atmosphere.
Despite the odd mix of smells of solder and oil, being with Edgar made even that pleasant.
“…Charming? Haha. What a funny joke.”
However, to Edgar, who was accustomed to a messy environment, he took Bianca’s words as a jest.
As Bianca took another sip of wine, she remarked.
“By the way, for a lord’s lodging… it is rather small, isn’t it? I heard you use this place as your office?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“So you work, sleep, and develop machines here?”
“Yes.”
Bianca looked around Edgar’s workspace, which served as his office as well.
It was messy, but she could sense his passion from it.
A diligent man, and discovering that he was embarrassed by a messy room was incredibly enticing.
Suddenly, a thought surged through her mind—she wanted to pounce on him.
“………”
Was it the wine?
His balanced, toned body caught her attention.
His build, transitioning from boyhood to young adulthood.
Surely he had a sculpted physique hidden beneath that linen shirt; what must his body look like?
She wanted to monopolize every moment of his daily growth.
Imagining that his stamina and athletic abilities in his prime would wear her out, naughty thoughts danced in her head.
This was the first time she wished to be conquered and left in disarray by someone.
“Ah. Would you like to see something fun?”
At that moment, Edgar started picking up some scattered equipment from the floor and began to show her.
The toys Edgar had created.
Some were merely made out of boredom, while others were intended for future sale.
Bianca beamed brightly as she watched Edgar proudly display what he had created.
‘He seems so pure from this perspective…’
He was like a boy showcasing what he loves.
Bianca felt a desire to protect this innocent side of Edgar.
Perhaps her maternal instincts were stirred; earlier, she had thought of wanting to be treated roughly, but now she wanted to embrace him freely.
Imagining him, hurt and sobbing, curling up to her made her blush.
“Ahem. How about we discuss the ‘great undertaking’?”
Then, Edgar cleared his throat, shifting the atmosphere.
While Bianca gazed at him with deep, contemplative eyes, Edgar calmly broached the delicate topic.
“I will take care of Prince Ian. The issue is with the younger brother, Luke; is it alright if I spare him?”
