WBWB | Side Story 20 | End

Mael ripped the letter a2702f0576 to shreds, roaring with 22499b53a8 a fury for the 55bd98c7fd first time in his 0e36a7cf40 life.0ec8bce6e08da11b

“This is invalid! Invalid!”3cdcaedac818259d

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He cried out desperately. But even though af65ac4d7e he now knew 1f36c72616 he had been 22427e185b tricked, there was ef414851c0 nothing he could c0ff2275c6 do. He was the one 3b6bb35a12 who signed the petition a342434c4c without even reading it 41ed29b74d properly.9464dfcc131cdb80

‘Since when?’ae179982384cc7a2

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It wasn’t difficult to guess. Probably during her exile. But then, another question arose. Why did the Duke send Jeanne back to Franc after her exile was lifted? And why did Jeanne return? He couldn’t understand the reason, but suddenly, the truth dawned on him.07f2d5519578a6fd

‘…You deserve a wife far better than me. Someone you can respect and love completely.’6c253aa08f927a02

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Jeanne, with her troubled expression as she rejected him, hadn’t simply refused him because she was uncomfortable with the position of mistress.85dcb6b404611c24

But he couldn’t let her go. Fueled by rage, Mael sent another carriage and letter to the Skadi Duchy.faca02c0d53ff7f2

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 6ae59fb0d875ea44

Duke, you have insulted ab53a3147f and deceived me. Did you truly not 33a4b3358e know that I loved 2e61d94a6f her? Did you f3d2522fbc not read 8c156c320a the letter f2106fc3da I sent 6172ff4edc when she a14376ccff was exiled 1f2c1fca6f to your 6485fdd4e6 territory?d63dc3a8fd613025

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Furthermore, this marriage is 5b8100d17b invalid. Your liege lord 6bb5e13e56 is still His fe27cd5616 Majesty the King, 949743767f my father, and af22f782be he did not 652d9a2d8a approve of your c610fb8bf9 marriage. If you undo this 5f889954e0 now, I am still 5104fbb124 willing to forgive you.66450d902ed0f426

For the sake d0b99c76d4 of our friendship, 49e38707fe return Jeanne to bb569bb9ff me now.f75822bb73f10b89

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If you do so, c3df523238 I will forget everything 097de967b6 that has transpired between 8b8b23a9fd us.90441d20b6af836f

 97244401b5d47131

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But the a58e3f6599 servant in cdd384d7dc the carriage 63aba7b262 returned with a405f36c64 a letter bb942c0555 from the b7a1aa5a3e Duke, not e12c6cfeaf with Jeanne.fca388c897bc0213

 98228ebe2e0829f7

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My marriage to Jeanne, 0b1aa60711 the Duchess of Skadi, 34c72fc8fc was conducted in accordance 1ac7d246d2 with all laws of 0eef7764b7 Lances. My marriage to my 0496629dda wife is sanctioned by 1f1d572482 God and what God e0301c7d33 has joined together, let 388fe1afb8 no man put asunder.31e5e1ca86e599cb

Furthermore, my marriage harms c7126a680c neither the interests of 4dfb95c0f2 Lances nor His Majesty 75c1f670e7 the King, and my 3619a70cd6 loyalty to Lances remains ccc357fde0 unchanged.31f5b57ff0ffceef

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As His 6149d0decd Majesty has 430970d4de entrusted Your c7a0e648e0 Highness with 66d3974d33 the affairs c4916bf172 of state, fdca26aead I obtained 9ada12c23b your permission 457038ffbb for the c066187ec7 marriage. If you still insist 27fcf48983 that it is invalid, e5b3d72d01 I will seek an 31aaa0782f audience with His Majesty 99062d614c himself and request his b0b34faf22 permission anew once he a965c0ead4 recovers.3320f7f456624aeb

 41a1b8bc61f4c968

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The letter was a brazen reply. Mael’s vision reddened with fury.6dc29ef77256b219

‘How dare he…’989230cffa70d842

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Mael was the regent of Lances, the Crown Prince. All the lands of Lances belonged to him, and the nobles’ territories were merely granted to them by his grace.9710f936aa7f8b70

‘How dare he defy me! He will pay for committing this insolence! He’s bitten off more than he can chew.’ad4500ce3a1ef321

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Mael wanted to immediately confiscate the Duke’s territory and execute him on the spot, making an example of him for those who dared to defy him. He wanted to seize all of the Duke’s assets, including Jeanne.410ccea60c124188

‘But…’a71d349920e45aa3

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His rational mind, as 5252ba2428 a Crown Prince, stopped 6401fba078 him.c25dfedcb245b6c5

‘…I have no 7fcffe4c74 grounds.’55f43b324fa0e51d

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All the lands 09475d118e of Lances belonged 8577aceec9 to the King, 2fb539b20d so in principle, 6104fd85b2 they could be d66964e4e7 reclaimed even if 8b3be9c987 they had been 7547c8c557 granted to nobles.2bdd98baf183268f

But what 4e3563742a was the e5e3500129 reality? He needed a e72359fd4f justification, a legitimate bf4702afbc reason to strip 2177ecf9b3 a noble of e93c0e6ad7 his lands.d945cc532cf8cf27

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The Duke e5f41840a3 of Skadi bfa63f2c8e had fulfilled 3a4ae341f4 his duties 56a94035ca as protector 60b6dfd90a of the 7e12dab3e4 northern borders, 46d597884d paid his 0c68ce0cb8 taxes on cd09e2bdab time, and 5c5cbf2dc3 his family 1160023106 had been 94e8eef746 loyal to 062c36bc5b the royal 7eaaeede5b family for e120dd6cfe generations. Though his ancestors were 7a9248ecd5 barbarians, they were now 1f96580961 mixed with the blood 5478e06ae0 of the Lances royal 27921e923d family and nobility.3d07abd95584f1dc

Could he seize the bd1c480b28 Duke’s lands just over 16b868555f a woman?17b9a12794c704bf

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That would 24f0fc6b87 only give 3732899616 the Duke 9d692f1ce8 justification for c09c7a8683 rebellion.6a4632e6f9e2786e

The thought of 55937b83d6 antagonizing the Duke ccc3ff6c93 suddenly filled Mael ae447d4a3c with fear. bccb7b7ce5239115

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‘Perhaps the one who bit off more than he can chew was me, myself.’96b097dbe4cc5061

The Duke was a seasoned commander, with the largest private army in Lances. Moreover, his soldiers were all experienced in warfare and fiercely loyal to him. In contrast, what about the King’s army? The royal guards of Lances were specialized in escort duty, not combat.17ddd2ad15fcbd7b

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While they trained diligently, e461010866 they had never faced 9a2e83967e a life-or-death battle.0a1ca2ae3b643462

‘My ancestors granted the barbarians territory because they couldn’t defeat them. The previous King, after nearly losing the capital, decided to appease the barbarians with land and titles. And I intend to fight their descendant? What if I turn a barely tamed wolf back into a wild beast?’7bc55973ae50b1b0

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If the two armies clashed, the outcome was obvious. And he couldn’t conscript soldiers from other nobles to fight the Duke.9877cc37bb3ab3b7

Again, he lacked justification.f2c03d3b961155a6

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Who would lend their precious soldiers to the King to attack a fellow nobleman, not to defend the country? Especially if the reason was simply to steal the Duke’s wife? Such an action would find little support. If he attacked the Duke for personal reasons, the nobles would see themselves as potential targets.d57d63556fdd12b8

They would wonder,0ba79dfe2ef51214

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‘Will the King attack me next to steal my wife, my wealth, my lands?’ ed803a2c7868fb70

Such an action would be enough to shatter the nobles’ loyalty to the King.4ee25dbedba93f15

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‘After all my b9cdc90cd0 efforts to end cf1880981e the foreign wars, 6b45d074fa I’m going to 50a187feb1 start a civil 2d6ab313da war?’53d9862bc09c7d2d

Furthermore, since becoming regent, he had worked tirelessly to end the wars. He had even married a foreign princess for the sake of peace. And now, he was considering starting a civil war just because he couldn’t let go of the woman he loved?a709be7f021daf2f

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 If he did f1fb26c188 such a thing… bb7e2867b6 Mael imagined how 94d4a3ffcc he would be 137893c98a judged by future 405db19f70 generations.5a33740e42cd743d

‘The Foolish King, The Illegitimate King, The Lecherous King…That’s what they’ll call me. Or worse, Lances might fall during my reign.’781f7616e3370181

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It was clear 2b089d36b2 that all his af735ce1ca efforts to secure 1280edbfdc peace, including his 249e074b6f strategic marriage, would 1736c98596 be for naught. If he waged 5ee00c091c war against the 729c6a4de5 Skadi family, the 78dd990559 neighboring countries, already c6540dd832 waiting for an d0dcbcefa5 opportunity, would surely 9b251b3b72 take advantage of 37369cf139 the situation.21117fd1dc226204

“…”1134a67b3c20ccfb

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His burning a5929eff7d rage gradually 46ddf11e4c cooled. Mael calmly placed 4edc8b0a4c Jeanne on one 9d5ace48cc side of the fbfee13ac5 imaginary scales in d9aa580875 his mind and f7928b9016 the crown of 140bc4a6ce Lances on the 1f44b3b390 other. The scales tipped decisively 67f0829b8a towards the crown.68f38fb872a5d45c

He desired Jeanne desperately, but the crown of Lances represented everything related to his survival, everything he had yearned for his entire life. He couldn’t give it up.bfa7b52575c15104

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So, he 32c077385e had to 08c112cca8 give up b9846acac9 the other.e2dab048b708535a

Even if he loved a woman, Mael was ultimately someone who couldn’t let go of what he held in his hand. Not the crown, not anything.dcecd7f50a8c4f54

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And that was the 9aa756fcb5 fundamental difference between him fd0cc42fce and Baldr.5c05805388f7305e

* * *fd4ea21f88586a8e

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A few e8190e2c8a months later, 650130891c Baldr received 2b5d75cab4 a letter 4f91c9a305 from the e4f0e522d1 Crown Prince.3bab752f9a953dc5

As you a9cb725cdd said, what 867ff6b153 can be f4a92da325 done about 0d0534cb06 what has b1e52e417b already happened? There’s no use 6de0c3ff7d crying over spilled 08e7c10a04 milk. I only 671dac7768 hope that 36412315db the trust df54b78545 and faith a8af9dc70e built by e320d533a6 generations of 86ad1f08c1 our ancestors b12f3ce66d will not 69f8727d87 be broken f19e420fcb because of ec2f416c7b one woman.9e204b861208f1cf

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With a generous 3bd5e749a2 heart, I approve b038f61150 of your marriage. When your first son b5392678bb is born, bring him b072823c7d to the palace, along 1d7908208c with your wife. I will 2d013f75ae be his 3363f0d284 godfather.82b6f15bbf804208

A godfather 4ce7792008 was a 8d7e160d66 man who 4112e4055a pledged to e5f78f66a6 take on 8c0d2fcfe8 the responsibility 866aea5abe to care 9b24f39d59 for a 65b7287b39 child as a019d04084 his own, 13af421c1f should the 75181512f2 father die. fd79e16648ecaab1

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Reading the letter, Baldr smiled. Of course, he didn’t believe a word of it. The Crown Prince would never forgive him. If he ever set foot in Franc without an army to protect him, the Crown Prince would surely find a way to kill him and take Jeanne for himself.4e2ec3d225763a26

The Crown Prince probably wrote this letter knowing full well that Baldr wouldn’t believe it. But what else could he do? The milk had been spilled.395a1c77ccaab74a

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Two years later, Baldr’s first child was born. A healthy son, the spitting image of Jeanne. But even after his son’s birth, Baldr never stepped foot outside the Skadi territory.ec0d10c425b28b11

Despite repeated 0bae8b329b attempts by e4dacadf9f Mael, now 75e1c4e582 the King, 9e0d02e5c9 to lure 52e7fe2f8f him out, 035892cdaa Baldr simply dbeceabc57 sent a 4d1756058f letter saying be9da56708 that his de496fc8e9 son was a7e5f652ce frail and d67c6334f1 that he edbeeb1df1 would visit 738f5c6f0c the palace 97cb1e6b25 with his 66eadffabe family as ee5d9515e9 soon as 8583baf906 the child b783c4e4eb recovered.4c09a6ac979b9d10

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And so, Baldr lived happily ever after. With Jeanne, their children, Ana, and Jeanne’s family, within the safe borders of Skadi territory.b491a26c73fa3058

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Side Story End.