Predatory Marriage - Chapter 55

Chapter 55 – The King Akin to a Child 

Leah drew a tight smile. She found Melissa to be adorable with the way she changed how she used to call them: from Barbarians to Kurkans. In response, she only gave a soft smile. 

“Please relay that I will attend.” 

She knows she couldn’t just confine herself to the palace, even when she had ample excuse to do so. 

The agreement was already at its final stage. The peace treaty was not something that would happen overnight, nor resolved easily. Before they could fully enter the treaty in full confidence, she needed more information. 

While she was confined in her quarters, she was sending and receiving news through Count Valtein. He would be too busy with his own duties as of the moment to even attend to her. 

She also received some news from Laurent of the finance ministry. He informed her that he was ready to propose a new tax reform plan at the next Cabinet meeting. 

It was clear that the nobles, including Byung Gyongbaek, would fiercely protest against this new plan. Leah did not expect that the bill would be easily approved.
 

That’s why she intended to combine the peace treaty with the reform plan. 

Byun Gyongbaek held the pivotal role among the aristocrats who were opposing the plans. Once the peace treaty is approved, Byun Gyongbaek’s influence would waver. That’s why he was pressed not to let the peace treaty happen. 

This is the best course of action as of now. 

Leah and Countess Melissa were talking about the peace treaty when a maid soon entered the office, announcing an item’s arrival. 

“It seemed that Byun Gyongbaek sent another gift.” Countess Melissa muttered in irritation and told her that she would come back later. She then left the room, and Leah, who was left alone, went to stare outside the windows. 

Leah was curious about the tuberose in the garden. Every night, the attractive flowers would be in full bloom, and she wanted to see if the tuberose in the Princess’ quarters would also be like that. 

Now that she remembered it, Leah realized that she had not seen him for some time now. But she knew that this was the right step in the relationship between them. It is only natural that they would not see each other in any circumstance aside from public gatherings. 

However… 

Leah continued to stare at the window in silence. She didn’t have the luxury to be absorbed in her nonsense thoughts. She then turned to stare at the pile of documents on her desk when suddenly the door opened. 

“Princess….!” Countess Melissa exclaimed when she came in. In her hands, she held something.
 

It was a tuberose, around three or four of them, all cut neatly and tied matching white ribbons. As soon as they caught her attention, she found she couldn’t avert her gaze away from them. 

Giving Melissa a puzzled look, the Countess placed the bouquet on her desk, and drew something from underneath it before handing it over to Leah. 

It was a Kurkan-style dress made of purple silk with colorful patterns. 

And with it, a simple note. 

Are you alright? It’s been hard to meet you. 

It was written in the continental language, the strokes of the letters looked crooked and rough. Leah let out a soft gasp in surprise as she brought her hand up to her lips as she looked at the note. 

The message was soft, and the words looked like a child’s scrawl, but she found herself smiling. She could just imagine Ishakan’s thick brows crossed as he held ink and paper on his large hands, trying with all his might to scribble comprehensible letters. 

Conscious of someone who might see her reaction, she quickly schooled her features. However, it was too late, for she had already caught the eyes of the maids around her. 

Granting her some courtesy, they averted their gazes and pretended to not have noticed anything. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said to Baroness Cinael, who certainly made a fuss out of the fabric. 

“Oh my God! It’s a dress of purple silk! The purple silk of the robes worn by the barbarians that time were so beautiful that the nobles were all talking about it… Everybody has been looking for the same thing.” She gasped in obvious envy. 

She even asked if she could touch the dress only once, her lips agape in anticipation, almost as if she would end up drooling about it. She only regained her senses when Countess Melissa gave her a side glance accompanied with a scowl on her face. 

Leah only got the note and flowers and handed back the dress to Countess Melissa. 

“Please return the dress.” she immediately said, and a gasp of shock was heard. 

“Princess!” Baroness Cinael stomped her feet on the ground, obviously indignant of her decision, but Leah couldn’t afford to accept something so expensive. Especially with the ongoing negotiation, it would look too much like a bribe. But even Countess Melissa refused to take the dress from her. 

“But princess, the messenger who brought the gift said that should any of the gifts be returned…” She gulped, looking nervously as she spoke the next words, “Then the king would not attend the banquet any further.”