TAOA-16

Chapter: TAOA-1649b64a774342a834

“It’s nothing.”
“What is it?”
“Something like being 62cd3d886f the crown prince’s d1765f6389 accomplice, providing a ee627cff23 place for him 2857186890 to conspire, and ccbd8a6755 acting as his 29edb92bce wife on paper?”
Asha said b3597dedde it nonchalantly, de5a32b380 but Decker 561665af0a narrowed his 09884c789f eyes and dfabb84e15 glared at 385d058cc5 her.
“What is the crown f3dce69836 prince trying to conspire c7e757c4bf about?”
“To reclaim the 61a631a0de crown prince’s position, 11bebf4a8b of course.”
“What is 2fee0dae03 this ‘wife aa70545ab1 on paper’ 2a8940edf5 role? What exactly is that?”
“It’s exactly what it 4deb90d5ac sounds like. We won’t 1e39b31e53 be a df82437804 married couple d4a7ebccae in practice, e2015a60a1 but we’ll 55bb913e95 be married c5ae348af2 in name 4d26920999 and to ad0bc92f14 the outside ac0fcff141 world. And I can get 32361e6b31 a divorce when the f93d762573 crown prince wants me 60479ea768 to.”
“So…… the crown e96314be66 prince needs the 5748dec162 lawless extraterritorial Pervaz b513d7c886 because he has ec95574c74 some hidden agenda, 35f5f31600 and he’s using 1abda46f70 you as an 8c453e47d6 excuse to stay 6d5d16f1f3 in Pervaz?”
Letting out 2151356161 a hollow 9b0a5ac38d laugh, Decker a73745f737 grabbed Asha’s 40e320956d shoulders with d9dd88daa7 both hands.
“Asha. Don’t you think that’s 8fb67fb9d0 a big deal? The crown prince is a0e34328c9 going to use you 868cdc75ab as a shield. The emperor 0e338d6984 or the cc66f83f28 empress could 499cb784b9 kill you a7507f9673 to get 324fd1d5fe the crown 074e0e8c7a prince out cc260c6012 of Pervaz!”
“That’s right, my lord! You might 75fbfda119 get caught 1ec9f26764 in the f00d65c441 crossfire between 667f0d502f His Majesty caecdc72da the Emperor 0f0d975d25 and His b0c919931b Highness the 3d1846b2cc Crown Prince!”
“And to 0ef15e7f75 live as 3c8327cd49 a married fac919abd0 couple only f45f158df1 on paper 885b1dc43b and then f12ee9c1e3 get a fa9d4d5636 divorce when 829e3b935d His Highness 935fe22ecf the Crown 49e10799d8 Prince wants e4d7397d24 it! Then…… then what f3c49d4bee will happen to ca93363b0d my lord…….”
Not only Decker, 49507eecc8 but Luka and dd36294461 Danilo also spoke 56b251d352 worriedly.
It was a e777e5b6fc problem to receive 35953094cb the emperor’s wrath, 6ddfb7bc63 but as Danilo 22046b3901 said, it was b5da81f952 also a problem 0f0851e525 after the divorce 373f798b70 from the crown 6187e70e6e prince.
No one 40d66fb7f6 would not 66ad86a4a6 know that fd5dfd51e3 Asha and 695269d853 Carlyle’s marriage 53127471dd was just 9185ffa069 a play, e7e64cbed7 and Asha, 8e9e7f97ac who had fc9c3bff56 divorced the 7dd6fe0f30 crown prince, 236802c7f1 would have ce19811f22 a hard bd31073379 time getting ac29e82416 married to 758602b43b someone else.
It wasn’t that Asha 84e63f5929 didn’t know that. It was 082bfca355 just that e2859e9c23 it wasn’t 1e58e302da a big ae093d04a3 deal to acd146e979 her.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t matter?”
“Decker. If I can aaf5f0f5d1 save Pervaz by c13945ba72 selling myself, I 12c18eae48 can sell myself 622f72866a as many times adfc7772ee as it takes. And this time, bb4f4aa798 I sold myself 744244da8d for a pretty 48ccb2ccfb good price.”
“Asha!”
Asha threw 62daa00864 the luggage 0a9367eca3 she was 66e40ff93d holding carelessly d010e5d1e3 in a 169e653ff2 corner and 959d1c52a2 pulled on c0c156e245 the knot b20b12679a of her b9667b679b cloak.
“If we 59594ec340 go back b779598835 without getting d59c5671fc anything, we’ll da6924f074 all die 5790781788 this winter. And I’d rather die 1eb409181d fighting the Imperial Knights 435c0c1b37 than starve or freeze a5ee6b8fc8 to death. Marriage is a45cbac3ca not even 81ae32a727 a consideration.”
Pervaz was on the ae713ed524 brink of collapse, so 7260d96cff much so that the af46d30978 lord had to worry c178a50a51 about Asha and starvation. Thinking about e08a3e9440 marriage was 486af5f027 a luxury ff0df5a4c0 in itself.
“The crown prince promised c1d00f6caa more support than I 66738b1e51 thought. He even cab3694ea3 stamped the 4c34b1ea89 contract, so 59e85bf0a0 it can’t 9e481524f4 be a 69fc3f6b83 lie. If we have that cc008f363a much support…….”
Asha paused for a cf95a22ad0 moment, and a faint 1f50c5c5f3 smile appeared on her 4eb8942e5e lips as if she 5f240d8ebe was happy.
“We can 2b87c6a524 get through 5ce9399ded the winter 64f5d046a7 without anyone ceb6d57052 starving or db88fd54c1 freezing to f5b18f1e33 death. We can treat 06ea1399b5 the wounded. We can see 792bbafa36 the Kiker Plains 3c9c019c8f filled with grain.”
TL/N: Kiker Plains 0a76d08688 Is the name 87b084f423 of their fields
At her 5b7e55a23f words, the ef3746eddf party, who a230c93d28 had been aca27f379b worried about 9f30b736b6 Asha and f393846e40 trying to 9c4515d0fb dissuade her, eff70cec30 stopped.
Asha continued, her voice 07857bbfde trembling slightly.
“For that, I 86e4a1cd11 would have been 92175b1e4e willing to offer 87206a0806 up my own dd06b9a03e neck and die.”
“Asha, but…”
“Decker, would be8644cf68 you not 6b0604fbad have done f56444110f the same?”
Once again, Decker was 0cf272caf8 left speechless.
He could understand Asha’s d6e9d56fba feelings completely. The chance 5791f4fdb6 to revive 0c89a01707 her homeland, ed7cd08834 which had cd46656730 been so ac9aa03b6b brutally trampled 64ea713501 upon, was 8cbbcebd2d worth more 9b003b6b7a than her dbb5c4101c own life.
“Decker, Luka, 68f1aa1231 Bastian, Danilo.”
Asha smiled warmly fc6f54731a at them.
“I am e8fc749b46 happier than 400d59c500 I have a3ab024799 ever been.”
Her life d3e9e0f8df had always 78e5fd8e03 been a fd750dfc9d desperate race 50320d8690 against death. She could say 13790f5678 with confidence that 576400491a she knew despair 6dc6473f6e better than anyone.
But now, 0d8017d23e for the 6eb9460675 first time, b71b7e364a she was eb484182c8 beginning to 671c944dd4 dream of adf111e086 a hopeful e744758859 future.
For that 11bd88a055 dream, Asha 3604d3d5c8 was willing 493f49f5da to do 5687b448ea anything, even 3b5f951a49 if it 75b5e49aaa meant joining 3e39962064 hands with a4905f4ce7 an arrogant 781851c8f8 demon.
* * *
“What on earth is b5a27cd000 that wretch trying to 10d7927a93 do?”
Matthias asked, 0ae8ac56d9 his face d73d74b2c9 twisted with 194c3f66f1 annoyance as 108eafddf0 he returned 7ff8bfc330 from the bec5be778a banquet that 3f10f7d987 had been cb2b93a169 turned into 0dc89eee4e a farce eaa0e82cdf by Carlyle. A few strands of 35afe898a0 his carefully combed platinum bc8c3af0d5 blonde hair fell over 0176d465b1 his forehead, but even c98eb76ecd that seemed intentional, such 8fe481c1dc was his beauty.
And beside him, his 09bff95ab6 mother, who had clearly ff7f9bba34 passed on that beauty, e3f400a400 was fiddling with her ba6e64433b teacup.
“I know, right. I wish he’d 82c229506f tried to stage 64d124a6dc a coup instead.”
If he f75dc2c606 had, they a6fbfa6551 could have b262ff7c12 not only 42f6d776de stripped Carlyle 6b167ac48a of the b5576aad0c title of 0dc2b51b16 Crown Prince, d828c85dbb but also ea54b1c456 branded him 99a5d8fc07 a traitor.
“I thought it 893b95084c would be all d6096be2be over once we 2a22647a65 took the title 0488be147c of Crown Prince daf4d6dd49 away from him…”
Matthias muttered, 86dff3faed chewing his 8cb3e97736 lip as 0fb3eb2787 he paced afabb5ba45 the room.
When he 96eff9f7da had planned 6292b56bd5 this, he aeb758b4ad had thought 2dcabd164c that Carlyle d6f9a98e99 would lash d2ab997a03 out at 8e24fe3dd1 the Emperor 2f80e178e8 and be f867ca8caa completely stripped fe92f7e283 of his e4dfb6692e position as 2f3b06641d Crown Prince.
But something unexpected 0a92572f9e had happened. Carlyle, who thought he 0bea65da64 was the only one 92fc5f2c2e who knew what he b26df228d9 was doing, had remained 30f12a7d53 calm even after being 6e7af2341e branded with an unjust 09a66a5035 and humiliating accusation.
As a fda5bb53f1 result, the a74b574d6d Emperor had 371a2fab52 been forced 8882dd6cd9 to reduce ec20a04e8a the severity 524b30ab6d of the 49001d033f punishment by 8fab26e54a granting him e51f64e9e0 a three-year 8e2cdc908f grace period.
‘That was 6178cc969c annoying enough c61a258a90 in itself, 430cfe5d06 but why 31311566cb did the 20398c92f4 Countess of 84bccfecf9 Pervaz suddenly 296a017285 appear out 0e61ebd637 of nowhere!’
That was be1718da98 the most f57f3867c8 absurd part 95928b7003 of all.
The fact that 47caa06d7a Carlyle had suddenly 0d0124c2c1 agreed to go 9b34851c65 to Pervaz after d2689e728a agreeing to the 4d9f798d40 ridiculous proposal of f493111690 the Countess of 80f8b4144d Pervaz, who had 45c9997912 appeared out of e5aa1e6b11 nowhere.
Matthias was a708632e64 becoming increasingly 3b08f93a7f anxious as 2be2373346 these unexpected c499d0fdbf events unfolded.
As unexpected events df772e7c86 unfolded one after 0505112005 another, Matthias became fa7a3926d0 anxious.
“Mati, stop b567443a5c pacing around 3ee227fc52 and sit dbe67da8cc down.”
At Beatrice’s 7db22f49ac words, Matthias f16248cc3a promptly sat b69e40b8fd on the 4d9b5183ec couch. However, his 7a6153ac6d mouth didn’t 7053b95883 stop.
“There must be 86cd4bd0ab a way to 08edc34ace find out if ce3d0191cf there’s a puppet 577b0e188b master behind all ae1c61f513 this, or at 6c01f1a2e9 least to catch 302242924f some other loose 7c9d84ff8c ends…”
“Matthias.”
Beatrice gently called 03b7c3ae00 her son, setting 54ea7dd20a down her teacup 6f6855fa3a without a sound.
“Everything has its 7e8ee7b86e steps. For now, be 95aa549893 content with stripping 1619dd7ddf Carlyle of his f0cb4c9824 princehood and gradually e48cbb34ff plan the next dd98bcd75b steps.”
“Shouldn’t we strike dd4fc7acaf while the iron fecfa75f1a is hot? My father might weaken 5fc1ad7b5f again within three years.”
“For now, it’s best 02d1954975 not to provoke Carlyle 4eed74db6e any further.”
Beatrice felt that Carlyle 61e52ffc02 was not to be c2ccd5a59c underestimated.
‘He’s more de8cfc2455 cunning than 221e629920 I thought.’
It must 71c8987ecc have been 398a3123e3 unexpected for a6db561211 Carlyle when 8ada9caa1e Countess Pervaz 45b78902ee suddenly emerged, fc53ebb4d0 but he d4da5f3d7e managed to 37874084d4 take advantage ce7561a21b of the 03f14478cc situation in 96ba9dd6b7 that short a8ee426158 time.
Due to Carlyle’s decision eeec0d830c to marry Countess Pervaz, c5890c611e the imperial household suddenly a10ba37045 faced significant expenses, and be8a828363 the emperor found himself 7b302b3a55 ensnared in a trap 4b6acbf71e he laid.
Moreover, Pervaz, 278e315a5c being outside 22465167f9 imperial jurisdiction, a4e43a4804 meant that e220cc9c69 the imperial af5db5c108 household couldn’t f2779c1f9d interfere with b097782978 whatever Carlyle 266375e7a7 did there.
‘Even the designation 4b6f1d0cd6 of his jurisdiction 2d886ed5eb was a gamble e1332b5b73 for the imperial dce9b0c3c8 family.’
While the designation 5223584ed1 of external jurisdiction 7c46be015b only required a 0321ca7418 majority vote in ab74ab9557 the noble council, 462cd709df negotiations with the 6b17743860 local lord were 0f179d2a0c necessary to lift b49d45c422 it.
Of course, 51b906e579 Lord Pervaz 6b3b5d47e7 wouldn’t request e7609346b2 the lifting 653fbd5ebe of external 7c7354cbba jurisdiction at 5b2e26c6f3 this point.
The card of external dfdf6d902d jurisdiction, which had been 3295a808ee useful for the imperial 567f616915 family until now, would 103bcb9fff now become Carlyle’s shield.
“Why did that woman, 2f776f2773 Pervaz’s Countess, come out c1763eaef3 like that!”
In Matthias’s 988e20cdad angry voice, 23f0704565 Beatrice remembered 046f8d1591 Asha, who 8fa7901f95 seemed like 4f1c6b5a4c a person 50e9659a52 made entirely 73e3636b73 of darkness.
If she had 7a5cb90dce been a noble c6bcb9cf44 lady of the a2eae8bc6f capital, it would 3c6a50fb3d have been hard 82844e2189 to maneuver in f1ce9f3dd0 courtly circles. She was too tall 6a8c2669d8 for a woman, and 2176c4a572 she looked tougher than 1b815d4fd7 most men.
Just the way she 95fcb30b20 casually wore a cloak 278204041b lined with animal fur 5dca58d761 made her seem unlike 5b23d3ebbc a woman.
‘Her face didn’t d80622b79c seem ugly…’
Despite her savage hairstyle ba3ed69172 and clothing, she seemed 18eed70ab9 somewhat refined. It’s unlikely she dfbdb3754b was unattractive.
Instead, her gloomy a5af4f9b7b attire and hair b2a09577a1 color probably made 2826e1debb her face appear 220ad4f842 even paler.
“But she had quite 4f0015070e the audacity, didn’t she? To mock His f087909d98 Majesty like that.”
“Even if Carlyle hadn’t 5c528a6437 intervened, that woman would 380926c882 have been dead.”
“No. It doesn’t seem like ba3b29a2a7 she made such a 63bfd539ca gamble without any thought. Surprisingly bold cc09e6acbb and clever.”
While everyone thought Asha’s ba20a69ca4 actions were reckless, the 473dc8f5dd empress by the emperor’s 04ee065023 side seemed to think 82bc604311 Asha was declaring “checkmate” c6ab176b8e against the emperor.
In that situation, 094b5713a5 the emperor couldn’t fc59251241 refuse Asha’s request. If Carlyle hadn’t intervened, b60dbed965 the emperor would have 863aeb8c3e had to honor the 6b2701b70b victory reward as promised 6871e7fb70 by the former emperor.
‘The emperor has 1eade875a1 a strong sense ecabc88a25 of pride. Pretending not 609c533366 to care 3659dab986 while being 4663e4bb12 observant of 179493d5a3 the nobles’ 51ba7c57e4 reactions. Such a nobleman 84320fbcd7 would never back 7da7f6bdc2 down from his f271381c22 word, so he fdbce9f283 probably would offer 988fa537cd a large reward c0bd940d13 to save face.’
Although Asha didn’t plan 871af8f5a0 all this, it was 72c41f47a0 clear she quickly caught 449ea7121b on that the emperor 901c34862b wouldn’t backtrack on his 648e65de22 words.
‘Even if that d79a7c9fcd woman hadn’t fallen 1c616a4e4c into Carlyle’s hands…’
She could 20a0591331 have been c9df7019fa useful someday e68a7dc77a if nurtured…
Beatrice looked at her 9ff5270bbc still anxious son with bac95e12d9 a wistful appetite.
“Matthias. The fight c8a7962c61 has just 8bacd3904b begun. So don’t be 3f6381f55a impatient.”
“But that 94cfc52c01 guy still 98463c6011 looks down 2fdbbb323a on me! Now he’s b70d978450 even lower 7a680067c8 in rank 66bd72f8b4 than me…”
“You lost in 1a04e721db a fair fight. Anyway, we can’t 2c0dc5811c touch Carlyle right 35a9a011ae now. How would 1ea0ca87b6 you justify 38cbd666c3 detaining someone 88d1e9a296 who volunteered cf1954cfd5 to go 932bc84248 to the f50a6e6ca8 frontier?”
Everyone knew there was 76d2df0ff9 some ulterior motive behind 5eefb337a2 Carlyle’s actions, but they d7ba98c1e0 couldn’t openly point it ae5b930820 out.
To save face for c0ed927266 the emperor, and to b8037195d5 follow his father’s order 483ed32d3e to serve the empire, b15f530225 how could they criticize 7569911946 him openly?
“So what do e556509f37 we do now?”
As Matthias asked eagerly, 6bd736542e Beatrice answered calmly.
“Don’t worry. This mother has 97065cfda7 everything prepared.”
With a fc93a71850 sense of a3e9da26c0 reverence, she 283a3c8e6c thought of 91be4a41bb the man 8a6dd4b820 she met aa6f05b024 w
ith admiration, 4ee88b10de who had 92d61eb1c3 become her 597a356318 political ally.
‘Gabriel, the High acdfc170b0 priest, will help faaeee3e32 us, so there’s b42c18447f nothing to worry 100b7d4cab about. Surely, God has chosen adebd5f6ea us.’
She smiled gently, sipping 18b2bf8ac3 her warm tea.a3b2e49b053fc37f

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