CH 55

"Recently, however, there have been calls for Mariabelle to become a concubine.  It's nothing but a wild proposition."

"Don't they find it ridiculous to make her a concubine after breaking off the engagement with Mariabelle, who was originally going to be the queen, and then replacing her with a commoner?"

"In the first place, Edward broke off the engagement because he had found true love, didn't he? Where did that love go?"

Renato's question was valid. Mariabelle also did not understand.

"It seems that someone has told His Highness the Crown Prince that Mariabelle loves him and that it is because of this love that she has stepped aside."

"I'm sorry. I don't understand what you mean."

Mariabelle was confused.

"We were definitely together for a long time. It's not that I have no sympathy for Edward at all."

"But it's the feelings of family, childhood friends, and so on."

They were completely different from the feelings she had for Renato.

"That is why I immediately accepted Edward breaking off the engagement."

"They're saying that the engagement with His Highness the Crown Prince was due to my father's ambition, and Mariabelle will become a concubine that cries while thinking of the Crown Prince for the sake of the family."

Mariabelle unintentionally exchanged glances with Renato after hearing such an outrageous story.

"In the first place, why do you want to become Renato's concubine?"

"Brother, why are you talking about me as Renato's concubine? Hasn't the correct story been passed down to the kingdom?"

Mariabelle was at first puzzled by that.

No matter how confused the royal palace is, the deputy ambassador should have come to convey the information. It's impossible to make a mistake, and isn't it disrespectful to the empire?"

"No, the deputy ambassador gave the information accurately. But for reasons that were subsequently brought to my attention, I was told that she would be received as a concubine, not as a lawful wife."

"And the reasons that came afterwards?" Renato asked.

"Yes. I heard that the crown prince of the empire will receive the princess of the Republic of Morvia as a sign of peace... From the looks of it, it seems to be a false report."

Seeing Renato and Mariabelle's amicable relationship, Julian was alone in his conviction.

Renato nodded with an attitude that it was only natural.

"I told Belle, but it's not just this time, it's a story that comes every year, such as the story of the marriage from the Republic of Morvia. It's a country that changes its head as soon as it happens. If the head of state changes, it will be treated the same as the daughter of a noble family, so there is no political advantage."

"The Republic of Morvia is a country born from the collapse of the Holy Empire of Rimuenik, which was descended from an ancient kingdom."

"The Rimuenik Sacred Empire, which claimed to be a more legitimate successor to the ancient kingdom than the Kingdom, fought numerous battles against the Kingdom and the Gallerian Empire in an attempt to gain supremacy over the continent."

"The Rimuenik Empire, which believed that power was everything, was also in a fierce struggle for succession."

"The Holy Emperor, who had a royal palace system and a large number of queens, had many sons. The emperor would appoint the best of his sons as his successor, but in the court of intrigue and treachery, the brothers fought bloody battles, and the land of the Holy Empire was soon left in ruins."

"Concerned, Mikhail, the leader of the Knights of the Holy Empire, rose up, destroyed the imperial families of the Rimuenik Holy Empire, and became the new emperor."

"As emperor, Mikhail ruled the country by listening to the opinions of his subjects."

"He abolished the old palace system as a source of unnecessary strife, but he still had five sons."

"Although the brothers were on good terms with each other, a fierce struggle for succession would eventually break out among them."

"So Mikhail established five families, each with the name of one of his five sons as its surname. The five families discussed and decided to run the country together, and renamed it the Republic of Morvia."

"The brothers who succeeded to Mikhail's legacy ruled the Republic of Morvia by a council system."

"The five families became known as the Five Grand Elders, who in turn assumed the title of head of the Republic of Morvia."

"Ten years ago, a plague had reduced the number of nobles in the kingdom."

"To compensate for this, many offers of marriage came from the Republic."

"However, the head of the Republic was changed from the martial family of Romon to the moderate family of Asher, who took responsibility for losing the war against the Gallerian Empire."

"The daughter of the Romon family, who had been the head of the family, became a mere daughter of a noble family, and the family that had hoped to establish a connection with the Republic was left with disappointment."

"After that, the number of marriages with the Republic declined, and the number of families that entered into political engagement with the remaining nobles increased."

"The engagement proposals in that country are no better than a morning greeting. It is useless to take them seriously. They talk about peace, but they are only asking for our country's cooperation in order to settle domestic disputes."

"Are there any problems within the Republic of Morvia?" Julian asked.

"Don't you know about the Kingdom? There is a dispute between the martial family of Romon and the moderate family of Asher."

Julian was surprised to hear this, but when he saw Mariabelle standing next to Renato looking calm, he thought she also knew about it.

"Which side has the upper hand?"

"The Romon's lost a lot of power ten years ago, but it seems that they have recently regained it. They are a belligerent nation to begin with."

"Even though it changed from the Holy Empire to the Republic, it seems that its nature did not change, and the Republic of Morvia often wages war on the Galleria Empire."

"The central countries, which were established in the confusion of the collapse of the Sacred Empire, have also invaded the Republic of Morvia, refusing to recognize its independence, but the central countries have formed an alliance with the Republic of Morvia and are engaged in a back-and-forth struggle."

"The Republic of Morvia has been at peace for the past ten years, but it is said that there are growing voices within the Republic of Morvia to regain the territory of the central countries and to open the way to the sea."

"Let me ask you again, is it correct that Crown Prince Renato of the Gallerian Empire is to take Mariabelle Berkeley as a legal wife?"

"Of course. Mariabelle is a woman worthy of being Empress, and above all, she is the most important person to me in the world."

"I am relieved to hear that. If that's the case... we may be able to rescue my father."

Saying this, Julian smiled, much like his father James.