The Duke Desires Marianne

Arrive at Edulis

Yesterday..

I looked at Sassy, who had just finished saying the long reason behind her request with knitted brows. I desperately tried not to smack her head while saying 'You brat! Do you think your idea makes sense, huh? How can I replace you?!' But, instead of saying that, I just showed my charming business smile like usual.

"Sorry Princess, I think the idea that the Princess said just now is an idea that is absolutely impossible to carry out..."

I said while stroking her beautiful hair. Wow, even when she's crying like this, she's still so pretty!

"Impossible? But why? All Mary needed to do was go to Edulis and marry Duke Ellenois in my stead. What's impossible?"

She asked, innocently.

I let out a frustrated sigh. Haha, did she just say what's impossible? OF COURSE EVERYTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE! Did she think she was an ordinary servant or a commoner? Wake up young lady! You are the king's daughter! Princess! I repeat, you are a princess!! How could people be fooled by this ridiculous idea? At one glance, anyone could immediately tell that I was a fake! Even just a fingernail, I bear no resemblance to her!

Ah, before that, let me introduce the world I'm in right now. I'm currently in a world that consists of many kingdoms, for example, like the kingdom I currently live in, namely the kingdom of Airien. There are roughly about 30 kingdoms in this world. And among the many kingdoms, there is one big kingdom that is very famous, namely Edulis, the place of the strongest knights. How do I know about this world? Of course, by searching from various sources until it feels like I will die a second time

The Edulis were renowned for the ruthlessness of their warriors, who wiped out any kingdom that dared to cause trouble with them. And a while ago, I heard that Sassy's father, King Maikel, made a mistake which angered the King of Edulis, Raymod. I don't know the details of the problem, but from the gossip circulating throughout the palace, King Raymond's anger was caused by King Maikel suddenly discussing the issue of premature baldness that King Raymond experienced during the annual meeting which was always held to maintain peace. Hem, I honestly don't think King Edulis is angry over such a trivial matter. I'm sure there was something else that made King Raymond so angry that he finally asked King Mikel to give something very valuable to the kingdom of Edulis, which is the only princess of Airien kingdom. Ah, by the way, if the two kingdoms are compared, then the comparison is like a kitten and a lion, with Airien as the kitten. With just one hit, Edulis could just ruthlessly destroy Airien. That's why, with a heavy heart, he let his favorite daughter marry to one of the higher-ups of Edulis as a sign of apology.

“I beg you, Mary!! I beg you!!"

Sassy tugged at the hem of my shirt with teary eyes. Her face looks very sad, as if she won't see tomorrow if I refuse her request. I took a deep breath

“Princess, has the princess forgotten that you are a princess? There's no way I can use your identity! Everyone will instantly recognize me as a fake one..”

I said calmly, trying to get that simple fact into Sassy's head. Even toddlers who have just run know this simple fact.

"Oh, about that..."

She suddenly grinned widely.

"Don't worry, I've worked with dad to send my fake photo to Edulis. Besides that, no one in Edulis has ever seen my face in person because of my father's overly protective attitude, even the king. You just have to hide in the carriage until you get to Eludis, Mary!”

She said while patting my shoulder. A wry smile forms on the corners of my lips. Why is she the one who calms me down now? Hey lady! Remember, you are the one in trouble right now, not me!

“What if I get caught faking my identity?”

I asked again, inwardly cursing the king Maikel, who casually cooperated with his beloved daughter without thinking first. Just imagining it gave me goosebumps. If caught, my neck would have ended up on the execution knife.

"Oh, that.." Sassy snapped her fingers and said "Don't worry, we just need to announce that you've been my twin who deliberately hid your identity as a servant!" Sassy folded her arms across her chest, nodded her head with a small smile as if proud of the idea she had just said. "So how about it, Mary? Come on Mary! I beg you! I really couldn't live without Alfonso! You know how much I love him, right?" Sassy continued her whining again.

I almost snorted when I heard the name of one of the knights who had always looked after the princess since she was little. Alfonso De Wincez, a Count who gets the honor after defeating the enemy on the battlefield. Even though the enemies they faced couldn't be compared to Edulis.

"Mary?"

But, of course, I stick with my stance. I definitely wouldn't grant her request, unless I was insane.

"Sorry, Princess, but..."

"Are you sure you're going to refuse, Mary?"

I immediately turned around and bowed respectfully when King Maikel's voice suddenly sounded from behind me. Sure enough, the king was already standing behind me, holding a scroll of paper in his hand. He then walked up to me.

“Keep your head up, Mary! Take a look at this paper and I'm sure you won't refuse our request.."

***

"Ah, falling in love with money is more dangerous than falling in love with humans."

I continued to curse my stupidity which immediately agreed with the crazy idea that Sassy and the king proposed after unrolling the paper. I sighed heavily, how could I be seduced by the king and his daughter just because they promised to give me a land in Pales, the most fertile region in the Airien kingdom? But that's not what became the most powerful weapon to block my logic and ignore the strangeness of their ideas. What made me agree right away was.. I took out a piece of paper from my underwear. Looking at the nominal check that I can cash at Airien's royal bank at any time.

Two hundred thousand gold pieces!

I hugged the paper with a big smile. With this money I could even live as a rich unemployed person for decades! Ah, as I said, falling in love with money is very, very dangerous!

“Your Majesty, we have arrived at Edulis.”

The voice of the knight was heard from outside, made me quickly hide the check back in my underwear. I then cleared my throat, in response to the guard's words just now. As Sassy explained, I just needed to be quiet and silent the whole way through. Quickly, I put on the face covering I'd been wearing for the three days of our trip. Luckily, the guards and maids accompanying me weren't the type to be curious and meddle in other people's affairs. So they let me do whatever I wanted without asking much.

“Be careful when you tread, Your Majesty.”

A soldier whose identity I don't really know reaches out his hand and helps me get off the horse-drawn carriage. I just nodded my head and accepted his outstretched hand. Then I stepped out of the carriage as elegantly as possible. My eyes immediately widened when I saw the palace that stood majestically in front of me. I almost screamed out with admiration, luckily I remembered that I'm currently on a secret mission.

The size of this palace is about ten times larger than the royal palace of Airien. In fact, I was so fascinated by the beauty of this palace, that I forgot to greet the nobles of the Edulis kingdom who were already standing lined up in front of the palace. I just woke up from my admiration after hearing someone's snoring sound.

"Ehem!!"

“Welcome Princess Sassy, welcome to Edulis!” Said a man with a crown around his head. However, even though he was wearing a crown, I could see that his hair was very thin. Just like someone with symptoms of premature baldness. Well, after seeing it in person, it seems I'll believe the ridiculous reason that led to the almost outbreak of war between Edulis and Airien.

"Welcome my beautiful Princess. A princess even more beautiful than a rose! Even though I haven't seen your face in person"

He repeated his words again before finally laughing slyly. Everyone immediately laughed along with the king, as if what the king had just said was amazing. They only stopped laughing when the king stopped. Thankfully, I was wearing a face covering, so I didn't have to show my fake laugh in front of them.

"Well, I really am a disrespectful host for letting the exhausted Princess continue to stand. Let's go inside! Your future husband is already waiting in the hall. He can't welcome you because he has something to discuss with the Crown Prince."

After that, he led me into the palace. Looks like I'm quite lucky today. One of them is, he hasn't asked me to take off my face mask. I followed the king while listening to everything he said. Believe me, I thought that this palace had no end because even after he told me about the history of the kingdom to his love story with the empress, we still hadn't arrived at the assembly hall he was referring to.

I'm really exhausted! After days of sitting and suddenly having to walk a long way with heels like this really drains my energy. I was so tired, I didn't even have time to admire the beauty of the inside of this palace. Though normally, I would admire anything that looked beautiful and start calculating the money I would get if I sold it.

"Here we are!"

I almost jumped for joy when we finally arrived at the assembly hall the king was referring to. But my happiness only lasted a moment because, as soon as the door opened, the figure of a man was already standing at the other end, staring at me with a very sharp gaze.

"He is your future husband, Princess."

The king's whisper in my ear made me tiptoe in surprise. He looked at me with a strange look, making me suddenly remember a very famous gossip in Airien.

"There is one person you must avoid on this earth during a war, namely Duke Elenois of Edulis. The cruelty is truly terrifying! He even burned down a village and its citizens alive!"

Duke Elenois was still looking at me with his piercing gaze. Even after the king spoke and walked towards him. Subconsciously, I raised my hand and grabbed my neck. Damn! Looks like I'll have to fight desperately to keep my head on my neck...