Chapter 4

We put formalities aside and simply sat down at the table to fill out the holy marriage agreement.

Orléans whispered to me in a low voice as I took a pen and scrawled on the paper imbued with permanent magic.

“Your Majesty, let the Crown Prince stay in Spinel first. This is a necessary procedure for getting a head start.”

There were rules in ‘marriage for merger of countries between the highest powers’, like the marriage between the king and another king, and the marriage between the emperor and another emperor.

Since a couple could not be separated after marriage, they would take turns to stay in the other country for a certain period of time.

Usually, the king of a small country would stay over first in a large country.

Orléans was reminding me of that.

I put down the pen.

“I’ll give you more time to write if you want.”

I calmly answered Rixus’ words.

“It’s okay.”

‘Rixus, this is my eighth reign.’

I had a clear picture of what was needed for Spinel and what to ask for from Aktoum.

“Then, we will start negotiating the terms and conditions.”

After accepting each other’s agreement, Orléans declared so.

Rixus and I opened our mouths at the same time.

“I’ll stay in Spinel first.”

“I’ll stay in Aktoum first.”

And our two voices were woven together as one.

The people around us, including Duke Orléans, were startled.

To stay in each other’s country first was like volunteering to be a weaker country.

I spoke without losing momentum.

“Instead, hand over ‘Breathbridge’ to Spinel.”

“The price would be ‘Breathbridge’.”

Rixus and I overlapped again.

For a moment, he raised his eyebrows in admiration, and I narrowed my eyes in a bit of embarrassment.

‘You’re smart, too. You thought the same thing as me, didn’t you?’

I stared at him quietly.

On the other hand, Rixus raised his lips happily and smiled.

“Spinel’s monarch tends to throw away her useless pride and take care of profit. The people will eat well and live well.”

Rixus, it’s the same with him.

The land we wanted to have even if we had to give up our pride, Breathbridge.

It was a ‘neutral country’ that served as a bridge between the Andions continent where Spinel was located and the Romnia continent where Aktoum was located.

The two continents were spread out like the wings of a butterfly, with Breathbridge in the center.

In effect, the two countries were one continent connected by that land.

In ancient times, a unified dynasty existed on this continent, but the ‘Spinel Kingdom’ bloomed due to the rebellion of the princes located in Andions.

Afterwards, it was the ‘Aktoum Empire’ that united the countries of Romnia.

In fact, the two countries were similar in size and power.

Under these circumstances, Breathbridge, which was in an important position in terms of trade routes, was a tactical and profitable land.

“Berylia, you know. If I hand over Breathbridge, my uncle will oppose this marriage.”

Of course I knew.

However, when it comes to negotiating terms, I need to gain momentum in the early stages to get an advantage.

‘I said it knowing you couldn’t do it, Rixus.’

I picked up the teacup and took a sip leisurely.

He would be the one who would regret this marriage, and since I called for unreasonable conditions, it was time to start negotiations in an advantageous way.

“Then offer me the conditions. Something that will attract me.”

Rixus answered as if he had already had it in mind.

“I will give Spinel 14 trillion ferring every year for 10 years, 45% of the Frieze granary harvest, and 100 tons of other food.”

Oh…? That’s nice…?

If it was 14 trillion ferring, it was equivalent to Spinel’s operating costs for a year.

His conditions were generous and overflowing without any refrain.

But I called for more than that.

“Annual support of 20 trillion ferring, 100% of the Frieze granary, and 100 tons of other food including meat.”

“……”

Rixus’ eyes narrowed.

In fact, this exceeded the maximum I could ask for.

These were conditions that would make Aktoum suffer quite a loss.

If negotiations went through under these conditions, the Queen of Spinel would be listed as a genius negotiator in the history books.

There was nothing more that the nobles and the people could do, but to rejoice.

From now on, even if the Spinel yields poorly, the people will not go hungry at all. Everyone will be able to live a happy life without worries in a warm home.

But my demands did not end there.

I added another condition without blinking an eye.

“And blow up the ‘Mavilos Dam’.”

“……”

Rixus slowly clasped his hands and intertwined his fingers.

‘Mavilos Dam’.

It was a dam that controlled the Frieze River, the life line that ran from Romnia to Andions.

When diplomatic relations between the two are broken, Aktoum would trap the water in a dam to dry Andions riverbed. There were dozens of dams, just enough to make it possible.

It was Aktoum’s last diplomatic bastion and the most powerful weapon.

Rixus looked at me with narrowed eyes and said.

“If I say ‘blow up the Mavilos Dam’, there will be protests in the Congress.”

I stood up as if I had nothing more to hear.

“Duke Orléans, the Crown Prince does not seem to have any intention of marrying, so prepare for his return immediately.”

“…Instead, I promise that I will not block the floodgates with my own authority.”

He sat down and made a firm promise to me.

“It’s practically closed.”

There was a great sense of satisfaction in me, but I never expressed it.

It’s done, it’s finally done!

How much trouble had I suffered from that damn ‘Mavilos Dam’?

‘It’s a benefit to get just that Mavilos Dam.’

In fact, even if it was just the money, as much as the 14 trillion ferring originally proposed by Rixus, it would be a complete negotiation.

But Rixus added.

“I will accept the conditions about the money and food as you suggested. Twenty trillion ferring.”

“!”

I was surprised enough to break my expressionless face for a moment.

What, what. Why was he giving me so much…?

It was almost more generous than the tree who gave generously.(TL/N: reference to the children’s book – ‘the giving tree’.)

The man I knew was by no means an easy man on the battlefield or at the negotiating table. He was always a strategist who brought out the best conditions for himself.

‘Do you have any other intentions?’

It was such an unbelievable situation. Maybe it was said with the intention of overturning the promise that Mavilos Dam would be closed?

Without sitting down, I looked down at him with a suspicious gaze and asked coldly.

“Apart from money and resources, how can I believe in the closing of Mavilos Dam?”

“I’ll give you faith.”

“How?”

Rixus looked at me with his strange blue-violet eyes under his black hair, and then moved his lips.

“With my life.”

…With his life?

Before I could ask any questions, one of the attendants cautiously approached me. He was the one I appointed to serve Rixus.

The attendant, who had come carrying something wrapped in a red cloth with a tense face, finally took off the cloth.

“!”

Everyone who saw the contents was shocked.

It was a ‘Spirit Stone’.

It was a dangerous magic stone used to swear at the risk of one’s heart, but there was usually only one case where one would swear with it.

When the other person bets their ‘life’ on the promise they made.

If the promise is broken, the heart of the person who made the oath will die.

The spirit stone usually had the color of the eyes of the person who swore the oath. And the one brought by the servant seemed to have been removed from the sky at dawn… It was an intense blue-violet color.

At present, only Rixus had such blue-purple pupils, the symbol of the Aktoum imperial family.

Except for the emperor, who was already nothing more than a corpse.

I looked at him with a chilled heart.

‘He came here risking his life… He was serious.’

I was curious about this now. What did this marriage mean to him?

It was a marriage he wanted to achieve even if it meant dedicating his heart to it… It felt like I was being weighed down by that pressure.

“I think we have enough trust, so let’s continue the negotiations.”

At Rixus’ suggestion, I finally came to my senses and sat down.

Now, all I had to do was fill out the agreement with overflowing conditions.

But I felt strange.

Throughout the process of finalizing the marriage agreement, I did not know the identity of that feeling, but belatedly realized it.

It was the unfamiliarity I felt because my relationship with Rixus had changed.

I couldn’t believe he wanted to marry me, even at the risk of his life.

Our relationship was not one that would promise each other a future. Because we were each other’s antagonist.

“Your Majesty, now only your seal remains.”

Then, Duke Orléans announced my turn.

I got my seal and became serious. The first marriage in my eight years of life… Marriage to Rixus?

In my previous lives, that man pierced my chest and I died.

I wondered about my own sanity again. This was crazy.

‘…Rixus, is it really okay? Even if you marry me?’

With an Odd-Eye leading to bad luck, the notorious monarch of the enemy country. I, Berylia Spinel, had never been a prospective bride to him.

I took the seal and threatened him.

“I’ll never lose even if we’re married, Rixus.”

Without even blinking an eye at my threat, Rixus touched his chin and responded smoothly.

“It’s been my dream to support my wife for the rest of my life and live in a respectful way.”

……I had nothing to say about my modest dreams of having a husband.

So this time, I attacked in such a way that he had no choice but to be shaken.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of my ‘special harem’…?”

Like a wicked woman, I had all kinds of rumors.

One of them was the rumor that my harem was filled with beautiful and energetic men, and I tasted it every night.

Rixus, picking the fresh purple grapes with his long fingers, said,

“It’s okay.”

It was a loveless marriage, so it didn’t matter?

When my thoughts reached that point, Rixus licked the grapes with his tongue and popped them between his white teeth to chew them. Then he looked at me and whispered.

“I can do better.”

My neck was burning hot and it turned red.

“!”

The maids around us were at a loss and shouted, “Oh my, oh my!” and out of embarrassment, everyone looked for a place to turn their eyes to.

Duke Orléans put his fist over his mouth and cleared his throat, “Ahem, hmm”.

The guards, too, desperately pretended not to hear, so their eyes went up towards the ceiling.

“In Aktoum, the relationship between husband and wife is very important.”

“……”

“Berylia, you’re always welcome. You can try this body before marriage.”

“…I don’t want to try it!”

He was not recommending that I try a bite before I buy it…

…Am I a tasting spoon?(TL/N: it’s ‘not recommending’ rather than ‘recommending’ as she’s already going to marry him, and rather than having a taste test, she’s saying she’s the spoon itself ^^;)

I shook my head and slammed the seal.

It was hard to find an excuse to not get married anymore when he said he didn’t care about my terrible rumors or personality, generously gave into my conditions, and even pledged his life to this marriage.

We shared a holy marriage agreement written with the same content.

At that moment, Rixus held out the spirit stone.

“Hold it tight.”

The spirit stone, Rixus’ heart, was burning coldly.

“So that I can be imprinted on you.”

At that moment, I felt my heart sink. If I held his heart… I had a strong feeling that I would never be able to go back.

‘Is this really okay?’

My hand, which barely touched the spirit stone, trembled.