I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 206
“When Prince Tarek and the officials were busy holding drinking parties, Lord Rufus never missed a single day to look after us.”
“When my fellow doctor, Fertina, was nearly harassed by Prince Tarek, Lord Rufus stepped in and saved her. Because of that, Lord Rufus later endured severe punishment, but he never once frowned in front of us.”
The squad members and doctors who had returned to their hometowns spared no praise for Rufus.
As the saying goes, words travel a thousand miles without feet. It was a fitting proverb. After the subjugation war ended, those who had dispersed across the kingdom continued to sing Rufus’s praises. Some quietly hoped that Rufus might enter politics to advocate for policies benefiting commoners.
So, many commoners were secretly heartbroken at the news that Rufus would not remain in the capital but would instead return to the remote Inferna Barony.
In contrast, the nobles reacted with disdain towards Rufus.
“I thought Lord Rufus would stay in the capital to build his power, but that’s not the case.”
“Indeed. For someone from a low noble house, who managed to gain the title of a war hero, he should have seized the opportunity, not simply abandon it and flee. What a disgrace.”
“It seems Lord Rufus is a small-minded man lacking ambition.”
The nobles’ ridicule continued unabated at the news that Rufus, having fought hard for his honor, would return to the barren land of Inferna.
However, the nobles’ mocking tone quickly cooled upon hearing the second piece of news.
“They say Saintess Sarubia is going to the Inferna Barony.”
Indeed.
Saintess Sarubia, who had appeared like a comet, had chosen her final residence, and it was none other than the Inferna Barony.
“What good could possibly come from the Inferna Barony!”
“Why on earth would the Saintess, of all the noble families she could choose from, select such a worthless barony?”
Many were astonished. It was a decision that defied logic. Saintess Sarubia could certainly have received support from a more influential noble family. Not just any noble family, either—if she wished, she could have stayed in the royal palace and wielded significant power.
And yet, the Inferna Barony?
“It seems she must have fallen for Lord Rufus.”
“I heard that when they went to find Prince Tarek, they even stayed under the same tent.”
“The love story between a hero and a saintess—how romantic!”
As rumors spread that Saintess Sarubia was following Rufus to the Inferna territory, a third piece of news arrived unexpectedly.
“What? What did you say?”
Princess Sordid blinked her large eyes in shock. Her thick lashes quivered like pine needles caught in a spider’s web.
The scene was set in the king’s office. The king sat upon a wooden chair crafted from the finest mahogany, and before him stood Princess Sordid.
The princess’s face was overwhelmed with confusion. The king, who had been so devastated by the loss of his two sons that he could neither lie down properly nor eat, had finally regained his vigor. Yet, the first thing he chose to do wasn’t to address the backlog of affairs or issue orders to strengthen the kingdom.
“The date has been set. In fifteen days, you will marry Prince Erius of the Empire, Sordid.”
The king commanded the princess to marry.
“But Father… The soil over my two brothers’ graves hasn’t even dried yet. How could I…”
“That’s precisely the reason.”
With a hardened expression, the king continued speaking slowly.
“Sordid, since the deaths of Camus and Tarek, the royal family’s authority has been wavering. If this continues, public support for the royal family might vanish before Viren even ascends the throne. So…”
So…
The king didn’t finish his sentence, but the princess could roughly guess what he meant. The king intended to use Prince Erius to solidify the royal family’s authority once again.
Although the princess lived only within the palace, she wasn’t so isolated as to be completely blind to the rumors among the people. She was well aware that dissatisfaction with the royal family was rising daily among the populace.
It was too late to trace where things had gone wrong or to determine blame.
The demon subjugation campaign, initially meant to drive out the demons from the borderlands, had only amplified the people’s resentment, and Prince Tarek’s incompetence had earned the bitter resentment of the common soldiers.
Moreover, Princess Sordid, originally promised to Rufus, had been betrothed to the imperial prince, and amidst it all, there was an outcry over how poorly the hero of the war was being treated.
To make matters worse, a baseless rumor circulated that the king was mistreating Saintess Sarubia.
In extreme terms, the royal family was experiencing unprecedented rejection from the people. The only one still garnering public support was Prince Erius. The king intended to leverage Prince Erius’s reputation to regain the people’s favor.
The princess clenched the hem of her gown, sewn with gold thread.
‘Am I nothing more than a tool to my father?’
It wasn’t that she disliked Prince Erius. As a fiancé, he was perfectly suitable, and spending her life with him wouldn’t be a terrible fate. However, she didn’t want to be rushed into such a hasty marriage.
“Father, no matter what, a wedding in just fifteen days is a bit…”
“Sordid!”
The king’s sharp voice thundered above the princess’s head like a bolt of lightning.
“Don’t act like a child! Do you even understand the current situation, and yet you dare to whine! Don’t make me angrier!”
Startled, the princess instinctively took a step back. There was none of the gentle tone her father used when he usually cajoled and soothed her.
Left on the throne was an old man, gaunt and half like a skeleton from the trials he had endured. Only upon seeing this sight did the princess realize.
Everything had already deteriorated beyond repair.
