They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 99

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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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They say age gaps of nnn years don’t even bother checking compatibility.
Chapter 99
“And?”
“That should suffice.”
“There must be something else you need.”
“…?”
“What about this child?”
I glanced back and forth between the King of Bardia and Elhart.
Elhart’s bewilderment was plainly written across his face.
“What are you saying, Father?”
Elhart stepped toward the King of Bardia, his massive frame blocking my view entirely.
He was likely protesting vigorously with his eyes and the shape of his mouth.
A moment passed.
The King of Bardia let out a hollow laugh.
“Boy, that’s not what I meant… I was asking if you intended to take her with you.”
“…!”
Elhart’s shoulders stiffened abruptly.
Even from behind, I could see his ears burning crimson.
‘Oh, dear.’
I seized his rigid arm and pulled him back to my side.
My view cleared, and the King of Bardia’s gaze fixed directly upon me.
I sensed a subtle shift in his expression and the light in his eyes.
I hesitated briefly before speaking.
“Your thoughts are likely correct.”
“Truly? Does this child really intend to…?”
“Yes. I proposed to the Prince.”
I felt Elhart’s gaze upon me.
Yet I kept my eyes on the King of Bardia.
From the moment I resolved to meet him, I had intended to reveal my relationship with Elhart.
He would learn of it eventually, and I could not allow him to hear such news from another’s lips.
‘He will oppose it, surely.’
Even if he did not immediately demand I cease, he would at least be troubled.
Though in terms of years lived, Elhart and I differed little, he was still a man from three hundred years past.
As a king and as a father, this was hardly a welcome development.
“What?”
The King of Bardia’s eyes widened as expected.
Then he exclaimed:
“You mean that wretch wasn’t chasing after you alone?!”
Elhart shifted uncomfortably, his gaze darting between me and the King of Bardia.
“No, Father. As I explained, it was entirely one-sided on my part…”
I wondered why he was trying to meet the King of Bardia alone first, but it seemed he’d said quite a lot.
His attitude toward me had felt slightly off for some reason.
“If I were to accept a consort, it would only be you, Prince.”
“…!”
“…!!”
Father and son stared at me with identical expressions of shock.
Elhart, barely managing to open his mouth, spoke.
“It wasn’t just an act… was it?”
His trembling voice and gaze betrayed the depths of his emotions.
“Who would agree to bear twelve children for a man she doesn’t even like?”
“It was all just practice, I said…”
“Of course it was an excuse.”
There are truths one only understands after the fact.
There are feelings one only recognizes after admitting them.
“If I hadn’t cared for you, I wouldn’t have stayed by your side.”
If my goal were to extract information from the Empire, there would be no need to pose as a maid to a hostage prince.
It would have been far more effective to disguise myself in some inconspicuous role and move quietly in the shadows.
Extracting information would have been easier that way.
But back then… my priority was protecting Elhart from the traitor’s violence, verbal abuse, and all manner of unfair treatment.
‘I must have cared for Elhart from the very beginning.’
Setting aside his appeal as a man, his mana resonance matched Mikhail’s, and his gentle nature shone through in his words and actions.
“However… that doesn’t mean I’m insisting on marrying you, Prince.”
I spoke again, turning my gaze to the King of Bardia.
“If Bardia requires choosing another as queen, then naturally that is what must be done.”
As someone who wished for Elhart to become king, I could only hide behind the word ‘act’.
A king of a nation is not someone who can do whatever he desires.
“Ser Brin.”
Elhart seized my hand urgently.
“I won’t become king if it means I can’t marry you.”
“Don’t say such foolish things. You promised to be the people’s fortress.”
“Then what about me?”
Elhart’s breathing became noticeably ragged.
“My fortress is you, Ser Brin.”
The hand holding me was desperate.
“Elhart…”
I swallowed a sigh and spoke to him.
“I’m not saying we should break up now—I’m talking about what comes later. After you become king…”
Seeing his expression contort, my resolve weakened and my words trailed off.
With my gaze averted, I was pondering how to console him when—
“There’s no need for that.”
The King’s words made both Elhart and me turn to look at him simultaneously.
“When the Crown Prince of Cradian came seeking me out, I never told you why I had no choice but to follow his will.”
“…There was a reason? Beyond the pressure from the nobles?”
“There was.”
The King withdrew a thin, elongated box from his robes.
He opened it before Elhart and me as we watched.
Inside lay a single document, carefully folded.
It was paper bearing the unmistakable marks of time’s passage.
“This is a testament left behind by Bardia’s third King.”
“Max’s…?”
I accepted the paper from the King and carefully unfolded it.
I was curious what command Max, who had witnessed both Mikhail’s disappearance and Kailyb’s tyranny, had left for his descendants.
However.
“What is this…?”
The further I read through the document’s contents, the more bewildered I became.
“The message is simple.”
The King, who had already read the document countless times and memorized its contents, spoke.
“As the second Knight Commander, I merely held the throne temporarily while my lord was away. The throne of Bardia is not ours to keep.”
The King’s gaze was fixed directly upon me.
“When the Founding King’s long absence ends, or when the first Knight Commander, Airwain, returns, you must restore the throne to them.”
Silence descended.
‘Max…’
I scanned through the document once more.
The King had not lied.
The document, written in Max’s own hand, bore his signature and the King’s seal clearly imprinted upon it.
“Did Auriel claim to be Mikhail himself?”
“He never said so directly. However, he did say that when the time came, he would come to reclaim what is his. Along with Airwain.”
“…!”
“Yes, I have been waiting. I knew that soon the Founding King would return with the first Knight Commander to reclaim Bardia’s throne.”
So the Crown Prince truly…
‘He knew that Elhart was the key to the Expedition Team’s return.’
Knowing everything, yet brazenly.
He dared seduce me with Mikhail’s face, right before Elhart.
It was all calculation, and not a shred of coincidence existed.
“From your reaction, it seems the Crown Prince’s true identity is not the Founding King.”
“Half correct, half incorrect.”
I rubbed my forehead and read through the document once more, meticulously.
“The Crown Prince’s body belongs to Mikhail. Therefore, the sacred magic that proves existence would declare him the Founding King.”
“What on earth does that mean?”
“The second King, Kailyb, deceived Mikhail and stole his body. In other words, the one inhabiting Mikhail’s body is…”
I spat out his identity as though chewing on the words.
“Archmage Kailyb.”
The King’s eyes trembled violently in shock.
“That’s… impossible….”
The King’s hand, gripping his staff, shook.
The document contained no specification of whether Mikhail or I was more suited to claim the throne.
‘That much is fortunate, at least.’
But in any case, I had no claim to the throne whatsoever.
Moreover, Kailyb had erased every portrait and official record pertaining to me, so in the minds of people in this era, my image could only remain obscured.
‘In the worst case, this becomes a matter of legitimacy.’
I carefully folded the paper and handed it back to the King.
“The Crown Prince will have no capacity to come to Bardia for some time.”
The King, still reeling from the shock, asked.
“I’ve heard of what transpired at the Imperial Palace. Are you involved in this?”
“I’d say I’m responsible for about half of it. The other half was brought upon themselves by the Emperor.”
Had the Emperor and the Crown Princess not concocted such a sinister scheme together, he would not have died that day.
The calamity that befell the Imperial House was one they summoned upon themselves.
“So I must act swiftly.”
I had intended to focus on thoroughly eliminating all traitors, but I needed to finish matters before Kailyb made his move.
“The throne of Bardia is not his.”

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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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