The Contract Marriage for Attilenta's Revenge - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Atilenta’s Revenge: A Marriage Contract — Episode 20
I surveyed the delegation, led by Herson, who maintained a courteous demeanor, then spoke slowly. Henrik’s low voice followed.
“Your concern does you credit, perhaps excessive though it may be. My bride has already adapted well to our customs here. I should be most pleased if you return to your homeland bearing such positive news.”
Henrik spoke as though indifferent to whatever rumors had spread about him abroad, mentioning only the “cultural differences” that Herson had raised.
The message was clear: this is Bwendofska, and I am the prince consort’s bride. Even a delegation from my homeland must not presume to overstep.
And if Francia were to send representatives again, consider this a warning to be wary.
Herson’s smile deepened. It was a composed response that made him seem anything but frivolous.
“Indeed. We are grateful for both your words. How reassuring it is to see the princess consort adapting so well with our own eyes.”
“Then we have you to thank for that.”
I smiled with a kindness that seemed endless, then grasped Henrik’s hand again, cradling the back of it. I felt the delegation’s gaze settle on me—and on the Black Ring.
The Bwendian Ring, glimmering like some mystical Magic, had proven invaluable. I didn’t know how far Henrik’s calculations had extended when he gave it to me.
At every official banquet, he showed a commitment to our bargain. I too had to offer him appropriate aid in return.
It seemed I would soon have to pay my debt through whatever means lay within my power.

* * *
“Sigh… What a long day.”
That night, after the delegation meeting ended, I finished bathing with Poznan’s assistance and muttered the words in a drowsy haze.
Upon entering the bedchamber, I found Henrik sitting on a sofa beneath bright lamplight, his usual composed face bent over scattered documents as he attended to work.
“You’ve come.”
We shared a bedchamber, so before I could offer even the courtesy of a greeting, Henrik spoke to me in his cool voice.
“What was that about earlier?”
The drowsiness I’d felt soaking in the bath vanished in an instant.
From what I’d observed, at official banquets and delegation meetings where others were present, he displayed the sort of princely magnanimity befitting his station.
Now there was no such quality in his amethyst gaze. Whether outside these walls or within them, Henrik maintained his characteristic composure and dignity.
“Setting salt like gems—that’s a first for me. Mm?”
This was Henrik testing me through the guise of a question. He had always done so from the beginning.
I had never mistaken such exchanges for friendship between us, nor did I now.
“It seemed effective in achieving what I intended. Fortunate, wouldn’t you say?”
“When did you use Magic? I received no report regarding the delegation.”
I had made no deliberate deception to him about today’s affairs, so there was no reason to feel anxious—yet facing Henrik as he truly was sent a chill down my spine regardless.
The bedchamber was warm and intimate in appearance, yet reality seemed to whisper otherwise.
It must have been a long day for him as well, yet no trace of fatigue crossed his features. His cold, penetrating gaze and low, dark voice possessed a power that could stiffen anyone’s resolve.
I was undeniably a tool for his use, bound by Magic to account for everything I did. That was the crux of our contract.
“Your Highness, to speak plainly, my most pressing concern is identifying the spies.”
“Did you prepare all of that alone?”
I thought there was no need to boast, and answered with gentle modesty.
“Alone? It was your doing. You assigned Poznan to me. At the last banquet and today as well—I hadn’t expected you to take such direct action. Truthfully, you had no obligation to do so. I’m deeply grateful.”
Only then did Henrik’s lips curve into a faint smile. Yet seeing that smile did not mean I could let my guard down completely. We were not that sort of pair, after all.
“I consider it an exchange. That was the original bargain, after all.”
I offered my thanks once more with proper courtesy and seated myself across from him. I deliberately reached toward the scattered documents, pretending to tidy them.
“Ah.”
In that moment, my index finger caught the sharp edge of a paper, and blood welled up. The slip must have come from my lingering tension.
Without thinking, I bit my lip and lowered my gaze. Then it happened.
“Is this not a type you’re accustomed to handling?”
Before I could register his movement, he was at my side, drawing the long sleeve of his white coat across my injured finger in one swift motion.
Finding my hand suddenly grasped by him, I swallowed dryly. His voice was cold, yet his hand felt warm—like… the touch I had known before.
“The papers I usually handle are different, it’s true. You’ve been kind to me, Your Highness, and so I wished to assist with your work.”
“Yes, you could well do so.”
Henrik let out a faint laugh. I managed my expression and tried to meet his steady amethyst eyes.
No matter how he judged my careless mistake just now, my best course was to remain composed. Besides, I already knew Henrik would steer the conversation toward other matters regarding today’s events.
“So, what did you discern? Tell me.”
Henrik had remained at my side throughout the banquet for the delegation. He would know the facts as well as I did, yet he was still testing me. I answered calmly with what I had concluded.
“They seem intent on establishing a connection with a northern kingdom. Based on what they said earlier…”
Thus I carefully recounted the small details I had gleaned from my various conversations with the delegation and offered my own analysis and conclusions.
Already having released my hand, Henrik listened to what I said attentively.
“As you say, they seem to be planning to establish relations with Arad as well.”
After that grand dinner ended, I had conversed with the delegation in the cozy atmosphere created by the Royal Orchestra, whom Henrik had summoned to perform soft melodies.
‘The banquet commemorating the prince and Princess Atilenta’s marriage must have been quite splendid. Did other foreign guests attend, perhaps?’
‘You would have seen them had you come yourself.’
‘Alas, we regret we could not. Your Highness, we simply wish to continue strengthening ties with the north based on this promising connection.’
As Henrik responded with unusual restraint, the delegation’s representative smiled broadly and launched into hopeful remarks, but I found myself considering what lay beneath the surface.
It seemed Francia’s king intended to use this marriage agreement with Bwendofska as a stepping stone to establish relations with other northern powers as well.
The north of this land was vast enough to accommodate other kingdoms—the Kingdom of Arad, the Kingdom of Brasov, and others—each holding their own considerable territory.
Henrik’s renown, which had reached all the way to the continent’s center, was formidable indeed, but the other northern kingdoms were hardly insignificant either. All the more so if Francia was ambitious enough to extend its reach this far north.
Even Antonio, whom I knew, harbored considerable ambition. He paid lip service to peace now, but whether it was Francia’s king or Antonio with his celebrated accomplishments, both were surely accounting for the possibility of other conflicts that might arise later.
And Henrik, for his part, had surely grasped every layer of these hidden intentions.
“Tomorrow the delegation will speak with other members of the Royal family, I presume.”
“That is customary.”
“Your Highness, before that, I shall verify matters once more through Magic.”
I spoke with absolute confidence, as though it were the simplest thing in the world. Before Henrik, I could never afford to let slip that using my magical abilities would strain me beyond my limits.
Not to him—nor, in truth, did I intend to mention such a thing to anyone else. I had already hidden from him the blood I’d coughed up.
Pushing myself this time was unavoidable. After all, I had planned to use Magic to verify the delegation on the previous occasion as well. My body would recover well enough with a full night’s rest.
But if Francia’s king harbored some hidden intention and reached further into the north…
Any disruption to Henrik’s future was a risk I could not allow.
“Also, from what I heard from Herson just now…”
I relayed several pieces of information I had gleaned through my conversation with the delegation. Henrik, who had been listening quietly, leaned his chin on his hand and responded at leisure.
“Your efforts will make this matter far smoother for us.”
“I am aware that Your Highness is perfectly capable of handling such things, but I am grateful for your kind words nonetheless.”
This time, I accepted his praise without false modesty. Humility alone did not serve to elevate one’s worth.
Henrik regarded me for a long moment, then slowly parted his lips.
“You are quite the unusual intelligence agent, I must say.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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