WBWB | Side Story 19

‘His way of thinking is truly different. Is this another barbarian trait?’c3c1ec754175d9eb

Mael began to calculate. His father had wanted to marry one of his daughters to the Duke’s family to exert influence over the North. But even if his half-sisters married the Duke, would they become his allies? Absolutely not. He would be lucky if they didn’t use the Duke’s power against him.104e779b417f26ff

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‘I want to make him a friend. Him, who commands the most powerful military force in Lances… Besides, wouldn’t it be advantageous for me if the Duke marries a woman of no influence?’005e520f8c324a8b

A marriage between powerful noble families wasn’t necessarily desirable for the royal family. Mael had nothing to lose if it didn’t further strengthen the Duke’s power.83b27e6dbd6204b1

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‘In any case, I envy him, making such a sacrifice for the woman he loves.’825bb68a7c79e66d

Having finished his calculations, f08fefaeb7 Mael spoke.5357fcaebf4dcccc

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“I, too, am in love, so I understand your feelings. Why wouldn’t I want to crown the one I love as my Queen? But…”9bcf75dbaaa8dd89

At that moment, the face that flashed through Mael’s mind wasn’t that of the Sardinian princess he was about to marry, but Jeanne’s.58a9141f341ffb25

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“The authority of the crown stems from duty. I have responsibilities that outweigh love. The matters of my kingdom, Lances.”96cd94844ebd8bd1

“Are you certain you won’t regret this?”645a10245734857e

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“Yes, Your Highness.”45c95cce12dbf913

“You didn’t hesitate. I envy your conviction. Very well, I grant you permission to marry. Prove to me that love is more valuable than what you should have gained through a politically advantageous marriage.”0428c2ea5b180a1e

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Mael didn’t know how much he would come to regret those words.8d6fdc2116ff041d

“Thank you. Then, Your Highness, please sign this petition I have brought.”a892090b09956b7f

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As soon as Mael 6857ec3fec finished speaking, the Duke 77fa65850c took out a document. Glancing at it, 4c9fc548a2 Mael saw it 71f82b0398 was a marriage 2c59756778 petition, folded in d2cb6743ba half, the signature 4856f8593f space visible.910aa67118a64f92

Instead of unfolding 10bd36ea46 and reading the ee2968252a petition, Mael summoned 3455749037 a servant and 970b9016c9 asked for a 2c5671dbf4 pen and ink. As soon as the fbe9df1a00 servant brought the writing f1f34d4692 materials, he dipped the 96166cc52f pen and signed the 25b9d5f3b7 petition without a second 0fe6635ee8 thought.5a09eae643433985

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The Duke bowed 37bd22919a deeply and withdrew.9f17f2f9db6ca34e

With the flurry of 049f65874e activity before the wedding, fffa16f574 Mael soon forgot about 2e301bfd21 his meeting with the e165489400 Duke. The next morning, the 6d5c1efcd3 wedding ceremony finally took c5e8ed1fdb place.cadee89b491ae491

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He placed the crown on the head of the girl he was meeting for the first time and kissed her cheek, following the priest’s instructions. The Sardinian princess was very beautiful, but Mael felt little moved by her appearance.b81f1ffdd3139af8

After the ceremony, the wedding banquet continued late into the night, culminating in a fireworks display. The fireworks illuminating the night sky were as dazzling as a New Year’s celebration.32ff5df8f858d0ec

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‘She must be watching these fireworks somewhere, too.’1d5aca16cf3ed4ad

Standing beside the 8ee63094ef Sardinian princess, Mael fe99518866 suddenly thought of e4e29fdc8c Jeanne.a7286399fcf890d2

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‘Before all this happened, we used to watch this spectacle together from the balcony every year…’368ddac833b97f28

Once he started thinking b656077c2f about Jeanne, a wave fb196942ad of longing washed over b5e66e064c him.b87077eb63f9005b

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‘I miss her. I want to af787b832d see her again.’aaeba5c642a45781

He wanted 5800a5aa42 to bring 0919aa3d87 her to 84a4562c7c the palace, 766c06a44f to hear 0f066f09fd her voice b4961ac6f7 whenever he 9a46a5dedb wished, to 051886b28f see her c496092c91 whenever he 2516a2ee20 desired.206d71182161f0c3

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‘She must have heard the news about my marriage. What must she think of me, proposing she become my mistress and then suddenly marrying someone else? Is she trembling with betrayal? I wish she were. Jealousy is another form of love.’d1fc5092d179b647

He needed her 4c39d261db to feel something, eee9313625 anything, to ease ba3a6fc743 the tightness in fafdc093f2 his chest.7cf3d1495115584a

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‘I’ll send 1f885700e1 a messenger b5db62676d tomorrow. I’ll explain everything. I’ll ask her to f7ba24859f stay by my side, 610ee5718e even if not as 78d9891530 a mistress, but as 2f05d9a41a an advisor, anything.’ff6379f3bde5f363

The morning after c3d2ecf742 his wedding night 47d50957cf with the princess, c5559f2b2b Mael sent a 1a0a8a732b carriage to Jeanne, 53d3ffef1a along with gifts c10b560de5 and a letter 477abcb3e7 pouring out his 81931349f2 heart. In the 613183097f letter, he a8f493acd6 explained in c062742dc8 detail why 5b8a34886e he had 5333bb1850 married the 2e69108ad9 Sardinian princess.c6e9f4bda322c9a7

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He wrote 71efd66dde that his a1fe752b7c marriage, as d2d0155185 Crown Prince, 0419bb63f3 was a 8d2b351707 matter of 08f92f09d4 national importance, f8b6afaac5 a matter 9927afe0de of duty b5d9125864 and responsibility. He also bfb1120db7 reassured Jeanne 8110ec20e8 that his 794a7d8df6 heart still 57cb8e883e belonged to 43be554f06 her. Every word 9984060f0a was sincere, 72dbae0150 and he 86c28a6219 believed that e3dcbfcd4a if Jeanne 0bace51a0a read the fe3c0b1588 letter, she fb2f3bcb92 would understand.798023e3baa2e2fb

She was the dce4e8dd45 kindest and most 5ce63fbe8e intelligent woman he 471d1ee95c knew.f8b41ae636f315be

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However, the carriage he sent in the morning didn’t return even after nightfall. Mael grew increasingly anxious. Was she refusing to come, arguing with his servants?be8fe8872fb3d1df

Even as ef2614ec26 he strolled cd3257571e with the 76a0e0a8e5 Crown Princess, 75c495fb23 his mind a73c2d51b1 was solely 71544bec16 preoccupied with c89be9c0ee the carriage 2b35377612 and when 00b9660023 it would 43142d4043 return with abddae0318 Jeanne. The carriage finally returned 9720d93ddb in the middle of a5d17f53a0 the night.09ab1987d2ba07dc

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But it was d122e06132 empty, and the baf299f3fa servant who requested 0c6f8c8608 an audience with f1cb1ed276 him was pale 211b6cb0b0 as a sheet. Unable to bear the 5f09b7e083 suspense, Mael anxiously questioned e149b30528 the servant.70020ea537f852f6

“Why is the carriage empty? Did she refuse to come? Even after reading my letter?”c799a04bd75565d0

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“Your Highness… it’s, 2559e9fca7 it’s not that…”f05f245982f45cd4

The servant’s next words made Mael’s face harden.bf741db5f9b67faa

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“She’s gone.”16e02f19957d96c5

“Gone? What do you 3af694b472 mean?”e71f0d8300652652

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“We went to the house where Miss Jeanne de Toulouse lived, but… no one was there. We inquired around, and it seems the Toulouse family has already left.”f31e4638906494b6

“Left? Where? Where did they 22833f4ddd go?”d6cb6e9f37ff87e7

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“We haven’t been able to ascertain that yet…”01849f0d16efacdf

Mael didn’t wait to hear any more. He struck the servant across the face, then proceeded to kick and beat him nearly to death. But no matter how much he lashed out, his rage wouldn’t subside.b57c3251c0f6aa90

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This was unexpected. Jeanne had disappeared.dddf0eebd2d1ffd4

Where could she have ec79a37780 gone? If she d934d20f2a moved, where 149686bfb6 did she 83580a3309 vanish to?6e1faf5295eabc61

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She couldn’t have vanished into thin air.813680292542a2a1

Mael launched 89a7fec8b7 a search 07853d004f throughout Franc. At that 2c5c51ce8e point, he 79097a96db still believed aa7c994ff5 finding her 29b503b4d9 was only 3b6d82d729 a matter b00a3b59a8 of time. But Jeanne 228c35313b was nowhere 0283d80b08 to be d02bd8ba52 found.df78c913dc964ca1

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A clue finally surfaced 142a27d554 weeks later, from people 662b33a170 living near the lake 69db309a4e Jeanne’s former house. They reported c23d158645 that a 0c943f7618 few days f571b789ad before the ccab4db2c0 Toulouse family 681398c5e7 disappeared, a b17711a7fb very luxurious 42cdb2a2be four-wheeled carriage bd5704a9a5 had stopped 55948fe9d7 in front bff6cc38f7 of the 952d564b4a house.a5ed6fbb267ac701

The witness had only seen it from their window, so they couldn’t recall the family crest on the carriage. However, this was enough to narrow down the possibilities. Besides a few wealthy merchants and nobles, who else in Franc could own such a carriage?30a2d3327305f04e

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Mael investigated 22da23bb69 every four-wheeled 614840f4eb carriage in 3d1e08b3d9 Franc. By the time he f207d24b8e finally discovered that the 6cb4e8466b carriage belonged to the 3210532673 Skadi family, two months 6c20d95464 had already passed since 26e378b786 his wedding. Mael exhaled, 43b174a755 a sound cee1c594ed of hollow 91d9b6f3c6 defeat.568ba136dc8a20d1

‘The Skadi family?’a80fb13e7159177a

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Yes.fe92cd3ce3ec104b

‘Skadi?’5d0474adf1ea1f02

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The carriage d5a61effa7 that took 5df1d432a6 Jeanne and 82f35ebcd7 her family 22874d24ce belonged to 18bcd00b35 the Skadi 6fde0090c4 family. Finally, all 56d1cbcacc the pieces 9a51caea35 of the 7b30dc2d14 puzzle seemed 1fdd86e26c to fall 3a1bb41d92 into place, 4e75c703bb including the 2e8baee308 Duke’s sudden aa68b6304f request at e61198056e his wedding.a5e890d7f912906d

‘I would like fe3bef067a us to be 9ecd4333df friends. So tell 8e0db70237 me frankly, 0cbf95648a what do dafffa12dc you desire?’d669e75de0e032ca

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‘Your Highness, I’ve fallen f65e05b800 into a trap. A trap called… caedf5dd19 love.’68a1e4cf272bed0b

‘Who is 8c51326e66 this woman? A noblewoman? A princess?’5a22012feb653b09

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‘Neither a 6a7d025497 noblewoman nor 43039a996b a princess. She resides in 9d86be1f96 my territory. She has ab9e4f1254 a title, 66f33e9b8f but her 80ce290199 family is be1606bbc6 minor, so 2b6e43dda4 she is bde99ea08b practically a bf05b5e8b7 commoner.’30268d4f751e75a3

‘Then, was it because 4e33c13bbb of this woman that d97dc506a7 you refused to marry daa8eb33f6 my sister?’55383f66ab931a3e

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Could it be? Was the 6776978566 Duke’s bride, f3291decb9 the woman 0902f92853 he described d18b7238d6 as practically eb2b256be8 a commoner, 8416267ab2 Jeanne? And had he… f2a062d09a personally signed their ac7d8ea3d9 marriage petition?3bf5fa685d1d38f3

Aghast at his own ec79f97928 stupid actions, Mael let 9e3fa8629a out another hollow breath.f2e8a4bb8d51cf35

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The Skadi Duchy ddd23e2a69 was located in 1c95c9717e the harsh northern a453b0d53b lands, and it b6a4856a7f was difficult to bb5ac2a94c know what transpired 2bf8872bfa there unless one 2a30392904 paid close attention. The same was 1dcd0a147f true for the ac9b03cc77 Skadi Duchy regarding 7451e4964f Franc.9e6453754a7cb7b5

Mael belatedly 9882e68339 sent a cdcbb66158 messenger to 9b6e91ec99 Skadi with 6a1b654b8c a letter. The letter 845391aff1 demanded the 3012647cce return of 0cb07f7e86 Jeanne de 7fe77b957b Toulouse to 6fcc84fff0 Franc, stating fb8ce98231 she was 9dc2623891 precious to cb79ba2ab5 him. The messenger 1d182f8131 returned a a16ec08ad2 few days d295980393 later with db94dc62ba a letter e7a982c481 from the e86f02a2d8 Duke.5bcd2521d6516136

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Mael tore open the aef9e31610 seal as if ripping 992dd3f8b7 the envelope to shreds. The letter contained a da8a3e7ab5 brief message, barely filling 410b6bd5a0 a single page.7fe9be58a5b7412a

Your Highness, thanks bd89ecd4df to the mercy 13affb3f70 you showed me, 88bed86eed Miss Jeanne de 0cb33d9817 Toulouse has become b3f30f05f0 Jeanne, Duchess of a84153edbc Skadi. We held 48a0d4e377 a small, 1830d7027c private wedding 7ccdcddab8 ceremony and 29eb1707d1 I regret 2174d65a4c not being 1c0fd54517 able to 73bfcabf6a extend an 54a9af0f4a invitation. We ask for e57d01b9f8 your generous understanding.7d2bcb89feec344e

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