Chapter 562: Exactly as Expected

This newly appointed Lionheart Duke is truly... not very aristocratic...

Watching Leon hurry toward that massive carriage while carrying the foaming-at-the-mouth old steward, the middle-aged noblewoman's lips twitched in extreme speechlessness.

Although she didn't know what the other party had said at the end to make that old steward faint on the spot, she had still vaguely heard the "either... or..." from before.

At this moment, the only thought in the middle-aged noblewoman's mind was that the Laien family was truly down on its luck; after landing such an unconventional new Duke, the Laien family was likely already in a countdown to ruin.

Hmm... thinking about it this way, Princess Veronika is actually quite decent.

Although she is sometimes not dignified enough and can't help but do outrageous things in private, at least she can communicate normally most of the time, and she can listen to advice on important occasions. She wouldn't be like the Lionheart Duke, who is torturing that old steward, or rather, torturing himself with all his might...

"Haha, this trip was truly worth it!"

Unlike the middle-aged noblewoman, who felt a sense of sympathy for the fallen, Princess Veronika hurriedly pulled her body back after enjoying this farce at close range. She then forcefully closed the carriage window, letting out a "heaving" laugh.

After a good while, once she had laughed enough, she raised her hand to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes. While gently rubbing her flat lower abdomen through her gown, she complained with an "ouch":

"Ouch... my stomach hurts from laughing. This newly appointed Lionheart Duke really knows how to torment people... Hmm... but he's not a bad person."

Looking backward through the air vent, seeing the Laien family actually paying compensation and even, at the new Duke's request, helping to upright the overturned carriages one by one, a flash of appreciation couldn't help but cross Princess Veronika's eyes. She then smiled and said to the middle-aged noblewoman:

"Seriously, if he hadn't inherited the Lionheart Duke title, but some other title, how great that would be. If he were a Marquis of the Silver Bellflower or Light Shield family, maybe there would be a chance for him to be my Prince Consort. What a pity~"

???

Upon hearing the Princess's words, the middle-aged noblewoman shuddered violently, then said with a somewhat stiff expression:

"Your Highness? You... you aren't joking with me, are you?"

Looking at the middle-aged noblewoman's terrified expression, Princess Veronika couldn't help but smile, then shook her head and replied:

"Not at all. I really think he's quite good. If nothing else, if there were such a person as my Prince Consort, life in the future would definitely be very interesting."

"..."

Interesting... I think it would be life-threatening! If he really became your Prince Consort and passed that habit of tormenting people on to you, I would have to live at least ten or eight years less!

"Princess Veronika!"

Studying the Princess's sparkling eyes and realizing she was truly interested in that Lionheart Duke, the middle-aged noblewoman hurriedly spoke up to warn her, in order to avoid her own fate leaning toward that unlucky steward:

"He really isn't suitable for you! Even if the Laien family becomes an empty shell, they are still the nominal leaders of the old nobility. All the old nobles who have marriage ties with the Laien family will not tolerate the Laien family leaning toward you!"

"Hehe, don't worry, I understand these things."

Looking at the carriage engraved with a lion through the air vent on the back of the two-wheeled carriage with a hint of regret, and seeing the nervous middle-aged noblewoman opposite her, Princess Veronika smiled and teased:

"Look at how nervous you are... those words just now were just said casually. I wouldn't just pick someone to be my Prince Consort so easily.

Hmm... speaking of picking a Prince Consort, compared to letting me pick one myself, Father is actually more inclined to marry me off. Recently, he has mentioned quite a few candidates to me, such as the Fourth Prince of the Morna Kingdom, that Grand Duke of the Hessen Kingdom, or perhaps the leader of the Labor Party of the Auleson Kingdom.

So if nothing goes wrong, it should be one of these few... Hehe, to be honest, just in terms of conditions, they might not necessarily be better than that Lionheart Duke."

"..."

Upon hearing the Princess's words, the middle-aged noblewoman's expression froze slightly, and she fell into deep silence.

If Princess Veronika were married off, leaving her home and the kingdom aside, the candidates proposed by His Majesty, although all famous great nobles with immense power, were on average nearly forty years old.

Moreover, that Morna Fourth Prince had been married before, but his wife died in childbirth; the Grand Duke of Hessen had a limp from falling off a horse when he was young, and his personality seemed somewhat extreme and sinister; that Labor Party leader of the Auleson Kingdom was also said to be a very difficult person to get along with.

Although with Princess Veronika's means, even if she married over, she would likely not suffer a loss, and might even have a great chance to turn the tables and guide the forces behind the other party to lean toward the kingdom.

But this kind of political marriage, where the conditions of both sides are vastly different and maintained purely by interests, is naturally insulated from happiness. Therefore, once she really married over, Princess Veronika's second half of life would likely not be very happy...

"Hmm? Why are you worrying for me as we talk?"

Looking at the worry and reluctance on the middle-aged noblewoman's face, the Princess felt a slight warmth in her eyes, then smiled and spoke to comfort her:

"Don't you know my abilities? Let alone these neighboring kingdoms where it's convenient to borrow power at any time, even if I didn't bring a single person and married far across the sea, I could still live very comfortably. Don't worry!"

Yes... you can live well wherever you go, but... will you be happy?

Looking at the Princess, whose face carried a smile but whose eyes appeared calm and indifferent, the middle-aged noblewoman gritted her teeth and asked in a low voice:

"Your Highness, must you marry abroad? Can't you stay? Even... even if it's that Lionheart Duke, it would be better."

"It's not about whether I want to marry abroad, but about what Father thinks. After all, this kind of thing was never something I could decide from the beginning."

Upon hearing the middle-aged noblewoman's question, the Princess's eyebrows lifted slightly, and she said with a calm expression:

"After the failure to seize the Ministry of Finance, although Father seems to no longer manage affairs and has handed the royal family's manpower to me, he has never given up the idea of completely controlling the kingdom.

And to control the kingdom, it's nothing more than legislation, personnel, military power, and financial power. Watching Watching Qiaoshuya's mother happens to be the sister of the Minister of Finance. In a few years, when he grows up, as long as he promises to let him inherit the throne, the Minister of Finance will very likely lean toward the royal family.

In addition, by that time, no matter whether the reforms I preside over succeed or fail, they should completely enrage the old nobility and the House of Commons. As long as Father announces the cancellation of my qualification to inherit the throne and marries me directly abroad, he can easily quell everyone's anger.

Doing this can not only take over most of the power I snatched from the old nobility at the lowest cost, obtain strong support from outside the kingdom, and pave the way for Watching Watching Qiaoshuya to succeed to the throne, but also make the Minister of Finance lean toward the royal family, thereby completely controlling the Ministry of Finance.

Hehe, just a failed marriage of his eldest daughter can obtain so many tangible and intangible benefits. Knowing Father as I do, he will absolutely not let go of such a good opportunity." "This... how can it be like this?!"

After hearing the Princess's deduction, the middle-aged noblewoman stood up abruptly, her eyes full of indignation as she said:

"You have done so much for the kingdom all these years! Even if His Majesty doesn't let you inherit the throne in the end, he shouldn't treat you like this! And! If someone else inherited the throne, that would be one thing, but Prince Watching Watching Qiaoshuya, he simply... um... in short, this is too much!"

"This isn't a matter of whether it's too much or not."

Princess Veronika shook her head and said with a smile:

"As the King's daughter, before I was even born, I already possessed everything that 99.9% of the people in this country dream of. But as a price, I will also lose some things.

Besides, you don't actually need to feel sad for me. I've only lost the right to choose my own marriage. Watching Watching Qiaoshuya is the one who is truly pitiful. Because of Father's excessive doting on him, Watching Watching Qiaoshuya has even lost his mind. Isn't he more miserable than me?"

"What time is it, and you're still saying such witty remarks!"

Looking at the Princess, who seemed to have accepted her fate and was even in the mood to tease her, the middle-aged noblewoman couldn't help but stomp her feet and say:

"Your Highness! Why aren't you angry at all! Could it be that you are just going to accept it like this?"

"If I don't accept it, what else can I do?"

Upon hearing this, the Princess's eyes flickered twice, and she asked back with a calm face:

"If I want to refuse this kind of future, should I immediately tear everything down and go all out to befriend the old nobility? Or should I try to lean toward the Prime Minister in the assembly and let those so-called 'economic bills' that wantonly exploit ordinary people be passed?

Or perhaps offer a huge reward and hire someone to assassinate my brother? Or simply launch a coup, take the people from the military department, storm into the Wang Gong, and hang my father on the gallows with my own hands?"

"..."

Looking at the Princess, whose expression was calm to the point of indifference and whose eyes revealed deep exhaustion, the middle-aged noblewoman, who had been asked until she was speechless, felt a soreness in her nose, and the vision before her suddenly blurred.

She had taken care of the Princess for so many years. When she was a child, she was clearly a very lively child, playing wildly everywhere in the Wang Gong garden all day long, often covered in mud, and even when scolded, she wouldn't be sad, with a smile as bright as the sun always hanging on her face.

Although she still liked to smile after growing up, she didn't know when it started, but her smile had secretly changed its flavor: a gentle smile, a helpless smile, a self-deprecating smile, an exhausted smile... It seemed there were no more smiles from the heart like when she was a child.

In her memory, when was the last time she showed such a bright smile? Three years ago? Five years ago? Or even longer?

"Oh my! Look at you! Why are you getting so emotional as we talk?

Everything I said just now was just a guess. Even if it happens, it will be a long time from now, and there might be other turning points in these few years~"

Looking at the middle-aged noblewoman, whose eyes were slightly red after hearing her words and whose lips were beginning to uncontrollably turn downward, as if she wanted to pounce over and hug her and cry, the Princess couldn't help but smile and teased:

"For example, that Lionheart Duke, if he were captivated after seeing me one day and insisted on resisting the pressure of all the marriage families, using the entire Laien family as a dowry to propose to me, then the situation would be completely reversed.

Faced with the opportunity to completely control the Ministry of Road Administration and the military department, Father would likely arrange for Watching Watching Qiaoshuya to marry a female monkey, then kick him across the sea, and weld the throne to my butt~"

"Pfft!"

Hearing the cold joke told by the Princess, the middle-aged noblewoman couldn't help but laugh through her tears. Then, for once, she didn't pay attention to her demeanor and directly reached out to pinch the Princess's waist hard, then glared at her still-red eyes and complained:

"You have the nerve to say that! That Lionheart Duke isn't even twenty this year, and you are already twenty..."

"Oh my!"

Seeing that some top-secret information of the kingdom that could not be revealed was about to slip out of the middle-aged noblewoman's mouth, the Princess, who had always appeared quite calm, finally panicked. She hurriedly pounced over to cover her mouth, then threatened through gritted teeth:

"It was agreed not to mention this! If you dare to mention this again, I will take you with me to marry across the sea! When crossing the sea, I will tie you to a fishing rod to catch sharks!"

"Mmph... I won't mention it! Won't it be enough if I don't mention it? You... you move your chest away a bit... you're pressing me so I can't breathe..."

The two in the carriage seemed to have reached some kind of consensus, avoiding the topic of future marriage and instead relaxing and playing around.

And the carriage engraved with a lion in the back, after stopping for more than twenty minutes, finally started moving again, quickly passing through the road cleared by small merchants, carrying a certain reluctant Duke, and driving toward the Laien Manor at the end of the Red Cedar Avenue.

After that luxuriously excessive Lionheart carriage left, the two in the two-wheeled carriage calculated the time for the title succession ceremony and found that they seemed to be about to miss the opening, so they drove from the cargo lane to the driveway reserved for nobles.

Under the coachman's constant acceleration, this two-wheeled sightseeing carriage sped all the way, the wheels almost shaking apart, and only then did they barely drive into the gate of the Laien Manor before the sun had completely risen.

"It's okay, it's okay! It's just starting here!"

Stepping off the carriage on the footstool and handing the invitation with a fake identity to a maid, looking at the main gate of the manor that hadn't been closed yet, the Princess, anxious to watch the fun, hurriedly lifted her skirt and ran, ignoring the middle-aged noblewoman's repeated dissuasion.

"I'm going over first! You run faster too!"

"You! You wait!"

Looking at the Princess in front, who was running fast while lifting her skirt without any demeanor, and even with the cover of a shawl, still running "magnificently," the middle-aged noblewoman couldn't help but stomp her feet in anger, wishing she could pull her back and give her a dozen more etiquette lessons.

But seeing Princess Veronika running further and further away, and worrying that her identity would be recognized, the middle-aged noblewoman could only sigh secretly about her own hard life, then followed suit, lifting her skirt and running behind, reminding her while out of breath:

"Ve... Vinnie! Demeanor! Pay attention to demeanor... hmm?"

Looking at the Princess who suddenly stopped after running to the door and stood blankly outside the door, the middle-aged noblewoman couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart, thinking that Princess Veronika's identity had been exposed, so she hurriedly ran over, wanting to help cover it up, however...

"Slap!"

In the hall of the main building, an incomparably loud slap sound came out.

The middle-aged noblewoman who rushed to the Princess's side discovered with incomparable horror that a certain newly appointed Duke, who should have been accepting congratulations from guests, was actually holding Prince Watching Watching Qiaoshuya up with one hand, spitting hard on his swollen face, and then sneered:

"Make me unable to be this Duke? Fine! You'd better do what you say!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 563 =====