NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 141
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With the astronomical amount as the condition for repayment, I signed the marriage registration that the Princess and the Saintess handed me.
As soon as the news spread, whoosh, Father rushed over in a panic.
“E-Edan…! You signed the marriage registration! Is that true?”
“It happened.”
I already knew.
This wasn’t something to just brush off.
Welcoming both the Princess and the Saintess as daughters-in-law at the same time was huge! It was only natural for Father to rush over with a pale face to my office. Now that I had signed the marriage registration, taking in Ludmilla and Zebeline as daughters-in-law was a done deal.
“I’ve known for a while that you have feelings for both Lady Ludmilla and Lady Zebeline… but isn’t this a bit sudden?”
“It’s an astronomical sum presented by the Magic Tower that I’m repaying. Naturally, I have to pay the corresponding price to the Valtarian Empire and the Gael Holy Kingdom.”
“So the price is marriage.”
“I’m fine with it. After all, I intended to take the Princess and the Saintess as my wives someday.”
The astronomical sum indicated by the Master of the Magic Tower was at a level that even the leading Empire and Holy Kingdom would find hard to accept.
Repaying without conditions was impossible.
No matter how much the Second Princess and the First Saintess decided, the Empire and Holy Kingdom wouldn’t just accept that.
That’s why I chose marriage as collateral.
If the Earth Mother’s chosen hero became a son-in-law, even if I had to repay the astronomical sum, it would be a significant gain for both the Valtarian Empire and the Gael Holy Kingdom. Knowing this, Ludmilla and Zebeline must have suddenly thrown the marriage registration at me.
Perhaps it was just a choice driven by desire.
“This is unacceptable! You can’t just decide on a marriage as a condition for repayment!”
“Father?”
“It’s unthinkable to send off my precious son as if he were being sold, even if it’s a debt that would take a lifetime to pay off!”
“Are you sure it’s okay? The Magic Tower is demanding 5,000 pounds of gold.”
5,000 pounds of gold?
That was over 2.2 tons!
Since the Master of the Magic Tower requested gold, it surely had to be paid in ingots issued by the Empire or the Holy Kingdom.
“…”
“…”
When Father realized the weight of that astronomical sum, he fell silent. There was no way a noble from the outskirts could handle an amount that even the Emperor ruling the Empire would find burdensome.
“Now that I think about it, if we were to welcome the Princess and the Saintess as daughters-in-law, wouldn’t it be a lifetime glory for the Hohenberc family? You said you signed the marriage registration? Well done, Edan!”
“…”
What a quick turnaround.
I never thought he’d flip his stance in less than a second.
I watched as my father shook with regretful glances, making jokes.
*
The ministers and bishops from the Empire and the Holy Kingdom attended the signing of the marriage registration as representatives.
I could hardly breathe.
This was truly the scene of an unequal treaty!
But without the means to pay the 5,000 pounds of gold, they ultimately signed.
“Edanant von Hohenberc”
There’s never been a more intense and terrifying signature than this. And there probably won’t be.
I filled out the signature in front of the Princess and the Saintess with the ministers and bishops watching.
The fateful moment filled with cold sweat ended. The ministers and bishops, dispatched from the Empire and the Holy Kingdom, reviewed the marriage registration multiple times before placing it in an envelope and sealing it.
Anyone watching would think I was being dragged onto a high-seas fishing boat….
Actually, it might not be an incorrect comparison.
The ‘marriage’ that determines the turning point of life was just finalized with that signature.
“I’ll head back to the Imperial City. I’m sure His Majesty the Emperor will be pleased.”
“The merciful Earth Mother will bless the woman and man who formed a bond today.”
The ministers and bishops held the envelope containing the marriage registration with both hands and quickly exited the office. They looked like scam artists fleeing urgently to avoid any sudden change of heart.
Once the witnesses left, Ludmilla and Zebeline blushed and fluttered their lips.
“Dear… no, I should probably stop using such rough terms now.”
“It’s only natural that our titles change now that we are officially a couple. It’s a bit embarrassing, though.”
So, is it through the wedding ceremony that we become a couple?
Or is it through the marriage registration?
It’s a tricky situation.
Is it a case of which came first, the chicken or the egg?
For the record, I think the chicken came first. Because chickens are tastier than eggs.
“Well then, from now on… I’ll call you husband.”
“I’ll call you dear! That’s alright, right, dear?”
Husband. Dear.
What truly embarrassing terms they are.
When the new brides called me with their soft voices, a wave of awkwardness washed over me.
“Ludmilla. Zebeline. I have something to tell you. How should I put this…? I’ve been thinking about how to say this, but… now, I will.”
clears throat
I organized my thoughts, taking a moment to gather my voice.
Ludmilla and Zebeline waited eagerly, expecting a romantic proposal for marriage again, perhaps.
But unfortunately, what I was about to say was not the proposal they were hoping for.
“The Saintess Party that resurrected Death’s Disaster probably returned to the demon realm. I want to go directly to the demon realm and negotiate with those who turned against humanity.”
This was the decision I made after much contemplation since returning to the Hohenberc family.
I was heading to the demon realm.
And I would subdue the resurrected Death’s Disaster and the Saintess Party again.
The Holy Kingdom had not yet officially recognized the Saintess Party. Just as they were keeping silent about the identities of those who had ambushed the Holy Sanctuary. But if the Saintess Party were to invade the continent together with the fully revived Death’s Disaster, even the Earth Mother would undoubtedly have to command a holy war.
“Don’t say you’re going to head to the demon realm recklessly all by yourself.”
“…”
“Are you planning to make your new bride a widow right away? Even the kindest Saintess has her limits when she gets genuinely angry! And this is exactly that time.”
“…Hmm.”
I heard news from Querisa Nesserhane, who had come to the Hohenberc family to demand a payment, that the Second Saintess Beatrice clashed with the avatars of the Creator Deity while being possessed by Death’s Disaster.
Beatrice had fallen to become the apostle of Death.
And all the members of the Saintess Party had turned into followers of Death.
The news from the Master of the Magic Tower was like a notification that the situation had deteriorated to its worst.
The results chosen by the heroes who fought alongside me on the battlefield pierced deep into my gut like sharp knives.
“P-Please help me.”
I forced my stiff mouth to open, squeezing the words out.
Ludmilla and Zebeline responded with faint smiles on their beautiful faces.
*
Early in the morning.
Wagons loaded with gold ingots appeared.
The golden double-headed eagle symbolizing the Empire.
The three-tiered crown and two keys symbolizing the Holy Kingdom.
Through the signing of the marriage registration, we were now legally husband and wife. The Empire and the Holy Kingdom had come to fulfill their promise by handing over gold ingots amounting to 5,000 pounds in a single payment.
“Woohooo!!”
A woman with deep green hair down to her back shouted in joy, jumping around the metallic boxes that the elite soldiers of the Empire and Holy Kingdom set down.
Inside the solid metal boxes were glittering gold ingots stacked to the brim.
It was nothing short of a treasure chest.
The emblems of the double-headed eagle and the three-tiered crown were engraved on the gold ingots. This marked them as authentic, officially minted by the mints of the Empire and the Holy Kingdom.
Upon confirming the authenticity with keen eyes, Querisa caressed the gold ingots while drooling.
“What a shallow materialist blinded by gold. Can the Master of the Magic Tower really do this?”
“How much money is needed for magical research! To continue humanity’s advancement and the ultimate pursuit of magic, we need a safe source of funding.”
“There’s no more money to siphon from our ally, the Holy Kingdom, so now we’re relying on the Disaster’s convenience… That’s a level of ruthless loyalty even demons would despise.”
“Gold is just gold. Where it comes from and who it comes from isn’t particularly important.”
This can only be described as an extreme form of golden materialism.
If Madbay had seen this side of his adoptive mother, he would have just sighed in despair.
Sigh She was sending the boxes full of gold ingots into an alternate space while humming a tune. I let out a heavy sigh.
“Now that the payment has been made, can I give you orders as your employer?”
“Of course. The Magic Tower will never disappoint its employer, as long as the employer keeps promising financial support.”
I nodded at Querisa’s words.
Then I spoke.
“Open a portal to the demon realm within one week.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m going to fight against Death’s Disaster and the Saintess Party in the demon realm. I’d like the Magic Tower to take the lead.”
“…”
The Master of the Magic Tower stared at her space, greedily munching away at the gold ingots, as if contemplating whether she should spit out the payment now.