WBWB | Side Story 11

Baldr de Skadi 52066d27e3 was anxious. Even after Jeanne 0d8fe2d43f accepted his proposal 16058adbaa and they returned 13ca5b8394 to his territory a60c30ae5f in the carriage, 3788d418c7 his anxiety, far ee1acd44f0 from dissipating, only f8e20f4d09 intensified. He hid bb90136842 it well eecb728e57 outwardly, but 2de76bcb6b in truth, d1540c6f5d by the 562cce07c9 time they f0f69ab3d8 arrived, he b0bc7f8027 was on f637a51401 the verge 18fd4c02d2 of a ca98d69b36 nervous breakdown 5a7212ada3 from his 7eb13c36da apprehension.e81b7a7f4e5ba450

If he could, he 51227aec14 would have whisked her c08799020d away from the world, 9134dcd3e1 hiding her in a 08b5746c59 place known only to 7dcdb2d323 him. After disembarking from the e25aacfa20 carriage that had stopped 303e3618bd in front of the dd17bd92bb mansion, he took her 6c2238e253 small, delicate hand in 02ce7f27a4 his, and a surge c85d8c2e1f of primal desire welled a94d1610fb up within him.4e42c11d14aad8d9

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This desire 00b3399fce stemmed from 8cde431655 the fear 5d2493cd5e that someone 9f2a7b39b0 might snatch e8078ce45f away the 3cc3a8a6eb newfound happiness 55507371e0 he had f75ce9d598 barely managed 0e424c60ca to grasp.f23219298000a459

But who would dare 196a5f6e3f take what was his?5b11845842c6024d

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Who could f98908a58a possibly oppose 2c43506232 him?3edb927e3ea284aa

Baldr de abed13fd1f Skadi, ruler 8ab788eee7 of the 7edbcf0f99 vast northern e21dec7bfc lands and 3f5541e8ab boasting the f1017b2414 greatest military d356590023 might in 854304b34e Lances?679dd924772f46d6

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A few months ago, 6c91002688 Baldr would have scoffed d4cf1db335 at the idea, but 17a8696a78 now everything was different. Even though he 3c2c51834c was born as 7d198ae4a4 an illegitimate child, 6fa9fd07de the Crown Prince, eb86e85c8e especially with the af2564d2a3 King on his 4531c759e4 deathbed, was indeed ea0492dfa1 a worthy adversary, dd0a00cdda one of the 71bbc8b8a0 few who could 41201cd7c7 rival him.fa756c8a69c7cd1d

Furthermore, he was the 3fddfa8553 opponent who, although they 05930b5235 had never met, had ba072272cc been subtly getting on 11bd82ad76 his nerves for some 9fd4ee9f1f time… a721f78da0c0d064

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Inside the moving 831e18cbb2 carriage, Jeanne had 5651127aa2 confessed,5869c2f37739fb0c

‘There’s something you should 8f0c8b012b know. Just before you proposed… 49be96a472 I met the Crown db3c9a01d8 Prince at the royal 0c6122cb93 palace, and he expressed acd030e905 his wish for me a14a29eabd to become his Maîtresse-en-titre c567d0aae6 after he ascends the f5f973b006 throne.’2bef3e0853a580af

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‘Maîtresse-en-titre…?’bc4c6c5c6e02ca61

‘Yes. He wished for da9473e938 me to be 4d5b7614c0 his official mistress.’1fd098633e483ded

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A chill ran f2e144a14e down Baldr’s spine. His rival had made bd3d82a104 the same mistake as a2f1d620ba he had. 163f67f62ad3242e

What if he had hesitated longer with his proposal? Would the outcome have been different? Sensing Baldr’s wavering gaze, Jeanne had firmly reassured him,43483ffc1c7ff52d

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‘I refused the 3f855bd928 position not because ffcb244b4c I desired to 5ec709ec52 be Queen, but b454b400de because I already 221f5da13a had someone I d2284e3df5 loved. Even if 4dad3fbaf9 the Crown c7d2cb3734 Prince had 00f1a5fde5 proposed marriage, 31af6309a9 I would 2f39075737 have refused. Because I 2f5ab48ae9 was in 2267900bed love with 88fb8502af you.’b258394d33308c37

Baldr felt an unexpected surge of joy at the sincerity in Jeanne’s words.779f014ad2995f97

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But joy was joy, and the Crown Prince’s feelings were something he had to prepare for. Would the Crown Prince really just back down and accept Jeanne’s rejection?f06cd3eb27eb386e

Judging by the letters he had read, it was unlikely. The Crown Prince probably didn’t even consider Jeanne’s rejection as a rejection at all.392b32ab7604345f

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He likely 7c8f9a3ce0 thought it b914860aef simply meant deeadd4107 he needed 1cd960bfd1 to try 6ccd3d663d harder.7cf5b41a2c411f3b

When two men desired 7f881d0ede the same thing, conflict 9de2f62328 was inevitable. And since 8c2dbff32a he had f457d8f05c already won 35843ddf9a Jeanne’s heart, 78bb427177 he was 9c8202e674 in a a623301f06 position to b676df248e defend it. Fortunately, defending ee1ed9e5eb against enemy 2b1e5a78e8 attacks and d2b9204f51 invasions was 26a0a7fdff what Baldr 9c686c91b9 did best.12d6ff6e37fa6e07

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Baldr resolved to 51c4cdb3c0 protect Jeanne as d7fa4adeac he would protect d1840b6a47 his territory from 5f1f41f601 enemies.f9545153f883fb08

Luckily, he baf1f0f351 had an 31aa0eefc0 advantage. Jeanne was now in 8f3ea30546 his territory, and the 2e450582ab Crown Prince was likely e29399041c still unaware of the 43915e25c7 situation.0dd69ca6e2eae05b

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‘I have no choice b740c80f8f but to finish everything 290778e322 before he can interfere.’1035facffb69ec63

Upon returning to the mansion and parting ways with Jeanne, Baldr immediately headed to his library to find the law books of Lances. He needed to know what obstacles might hinder their marriage. If someone had told the Baldr of the past that he would one day memorize the marriage section of the law books, he wouldn’t have believed them. But that was exactly what happened today.abb09944609f221e

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He poured over the 6f82e4186d law books until his c80c11e3e4 eyes ached.e07806d73bb299f9

Lances’ marriage laws didn’t forbid marriages between nobles and commoners as long as both the bride and groom belonged to noble families. It was merely a custom to avoid such unions, as families seeking the most advantageous marriages naturally preferred partners of similar standing.6ac43aeeb3712d19

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However, Lances’ law stipulated that nobles needed the permission of a higher-ranking lord to marry. This was to prevent nobles from marrying enemies of their liege lord and causing harm. Legally, for Baldr to marry someone, he had to send a marriage petition to His Majesty the King for his signature, and the King had the right to approve or deny it.ccc1b0a97914ce9c

‘Yes, the King 09d408bde3 threatened me when 249ac80d12 I refused to 3987aadde2 marry the Princess. He said cf95c0058e he would 48e2d9d83a make it c80e2fcfd0 impossible for 384d66ee1d me to 6b9214fac2 marry anyone 1d2dce3d28 else.’ed276fe856df1979

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At the 7c0cc81eaf time, it 223aa17fe7 had been f77c4df9d2 an empty d1648153fa threat. But now… This cb75ec942a was where the 2f26d73235 problem lay.f108187d34fcce06

‘A marriage 33c90d9c53 petition… With 92bdd770ac the King d8b6941e6b currently ill, 4ea8696b52 the Crown 1201b7610f Prince, as acbbf578cd his proxy, e626ede0fa will naturally 29000d26a0 be the e8013e61b4 one to d85d152466 sign it.’1e71d00f56f3d8af

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He continued 2e629f13da reading, hoping 2fdf800c42 to find 98d56ce6be a loophole.c07b822e402a88a7

The national religion 0d5cf339fe of Lances defined bf12f92a9e marriage not as dcdab9a9c3 a mere secular c2c35b20a1 contract, but as 693d954f0a a sacred union 449fb9346c involving the gods.b9c7f22231a878b0

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Since a wedding ceremony was a sacrament, it had to be officiated by a priest. Once the ceremony was performed with a priest as a witness and the couple consummated the marriage, the King himself couldn’t annul or dissolve the union unless there were compelling grounds for nullification, as only the gods could undo what they had bound.100a2ddedce6859d

‘Then should I 50180c5fe1 just marry her, 9b805ab545 without permission?’b21e0801c9a0af3e

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After reading the law, Baldr was initially tempted to take the easy route. Sometimes, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. According to this law, he could simply bring a priest tomorrow,, perform the ceremony, consummate the marriage, and be done with it.98ff247dd1121fba

‘There might be b3a90b8ee4 some repercussions later, 76834d42c6 but…’aa4039a1d57ea3a1

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But after a moment’s thought, he shook his head.7b13569ab45cd583

‘I could threaten a priest into officiating the wedding, but without the King’s permission, the Crown Prince might find fault with the marriage itself and create obstacles later. I might have the upper hand now, but he will be King one day.’ed039eaea683b8d4

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Of course, 44c949b06a even if 4abbc2f528 he married 2878ffb1fc without permission, 4265c48931 he doubted 4ec8079bf0 the Crown 218f677396 Prince, once adc40d9ae3 he became fd23c0f367 King, would 0ce2cd5689 be able 307f716265 to annul 1d4623b658 the marriage 5b989580f7 or dare 52a2c836c3 to revoke fb73d40a30 his right 2a826fca1e to rule 7618450add his given 220d3db5c2 territory. 7bc9aeba1dcc33e7

By then, he and Jeanne would likely have children, and the land granted to the Skadi family by the King of Lances, while nominally belonging to the crown, would essentially be the Skadi family’s property. Moreover, if the Skadi family were to relinquish the territory, the Lances’ army would never be able to defend it, and the King knew that.2ebf9a3dd50c3a17

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‘The pride of a powerful person is sometimes strong enough to accept losses. I can’t show any weakness if I don’t want to be held back.’cdbe7f9aa60e5e25

Then, what could he 4026f4c37a offer the Crown Prince f3af15831f to secure his signature 1648db0eae on the marriage petition?f5deb99ef5e01f4b

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Baldr was lost in thought. Putting himself in the Crown Prince’s shoes, he couldn’t think of anything he would agree to. Not even under threat of death. Unable to come up with a solution, he shook his head to clear his thoughts.e2f89e608adb887e

‘First… I 7eb7733b03 need to 48d880ef38 wash up.’30c1af727b8636c6

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He decided to d265db7c98 take a bath.e911e09ffbf7776b

As he bathed, something suddenly occurred to him. It wasn’t a solution to the marriage petition problem, but rather a thought about his mother’s belongings, which he had stored away and forgotten about. bbedc0989ce9f40f

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He remembered that after his mother’s death, his father had locked away her most valuable possessions, items too precious to dispose of, in the storage room. Most of them were his mother’s favorite jewelry. Even to his young eyes, they had sparkled beautifully.be56884d568b9684

But what use d61835de86 were jewels to ec1daba4f2 him? Even after inheriting b2ca81859b the Skadi dukedom, 4cdf1e2cbf Baldr had completely f9c264d8f8 forgotten about them. 1a4c7d3d320f95e9

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After his bath, he went down to the basement with Madame Pauline. The jewels were in a chest in a corner of the storage room, covered in dust. He was initially disappointed that their condition wasn’t as he remembered, but after cleaning them, they regained their sparkle.323116539321dfba

His mother had 312507473b owned many pieces 9ba0a16d0d of jewelry, but c1111b2bbe the most magnificent 1c31d45b08 piece was the b1085db671 amethyst parure, a b0a4d1bbf4 wedding gift from 5f5dbe8967 his father. The moment 1add89b2da he saw 37554f49df the matching fc8f68576f set shimmering 8b01443581 brilliantly, he 0526377b24 was seized d1cb8f3fe9 by a 91ce30622e desire he 66ffb785d5 had never 38377cf0e8 felt before. A desire 118e55cb69 to show 135e66a57e them to 9be838d4ff Jeanne, to 243dd5baf7 adorn her 91ef5393ca hair, ears, de05c4d159 neck, and 7edfd79b04 arms with 01dd7408d6 them.d0f681794071f882

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Ignoring the other pieces, such as a corsage ornament made of tiny pearls and dangling amethysts, he took only the parure and headed to Jeanne’s room, feeling like a dog eagerly anticipating praise from its owner.ce7c4abb16ee5c6c

‘But even though these jewels look beautiful to me, wouldn’t they seem outdated to someone like Jeanne, who has lived in the royal court?’e063f0e4b0b70b18

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