Chapter 159 Just what you want

Chapter 159 Just what you want

Chapter 159 Just what you want
This new Duke of Lionheart is really... not very noble...

Looking at Lyon, who was carrying the foaming old butler in the distance and running hurriedly towards the huge carriage, the middle-aged lady couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth in extreme speechlessness.

Although she didn't know what the other party said in the end, which actually made the old housekeeper faint on the spot, she still vaguely heard the previous "either...or..."

At this moment, the only thought in the middle-aged lady's mind was that the Ryan family was really unlucky. After having such an eccentric new duke, the Ryan family was probably in the countdown to its destruction.

Well...if you think about it this way, Her Highness Veronica is actually quite good.

Although she was sometimes not serious enough and couldn't help doing some outrageous things in private, at least she could communicate normally most of the time and would listen to advice in important occasions. She would not torture herself like the Duke of Lionheart did to the old butler...

……

"Haha, this is really the right time to come!"

Unlike some middle-aged noble ladies who would mourn the death of another, after watching the farce up close, Princess Veronica hastily shrank back, then tightly closed the window of the carriage and let out a "rumbling" laugh.

After a long while, when she had almost laughed enough, she raised her hand to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, gently rubbing her flat belly through her dress, and complained:

"Ouch... I'm laughing so hard that my stomach hurts. This new Duke of Lionheart is really a troublemaker... um... but he's not a bad person after all."

Looking back through the air window, she saw that the Ryan family was actually paying compensation, and even helped to straighten the overturned carriages at the request of the new duke. Princess Veronica couldn't help but flash a hint of admiration in her eyes, and then smiled and said to the middle-aged lady:

"To be honest, it would be great if he inherited some other title instead of the Duke of Lionheart. If he was the Marquis of the Marigold or Light Shield family, he might have a chance to become my prince. What a pity~"

???

After hearing the princess' words, the middle-aged lady shuddered violently, and then said stiffly:
"Your Highness? You...you are not kidding me, are you?"

Seeing the frightened expression on the middle-aged lady's face, Princess Veronica couldn't help but smile, then shook her head and replied:
"No, I really think he's great. Apart from anything else, if I had someone like him as my prince, my future life would definitely be very interesting."

"..."

Interesting... I think it's fatal! If he really becomes your prince and passes on his troublemaking habits to you, I will live at least ten or eight years less!
"Your Highness Veronica!"

Looking at the princess's eyes, she found that she seemed to be really interested in the Duke of Lionheart. In order to avoid her fate from being like that of a certain unlucky butler, the middle-aged lady quickly spoke up to remind him:

"He is really not suitable for you! Even if the Ryan family has become a hollow shell, it is still the nominal leader of the old nobles. All the old nobles who have marriage relations with the Ryan family will not tolerate the Ryan family getting close to you!"

"Haha, don't worry, I understand this aspect."

Looking through the air window at the carriage with a lion carved on it with a hint of regret, and looking at the middle-aged lady opposite with a nervous look on her face, Princess Veronica smiled and joked:
"Look how nervous you are... I was just saying that casually. I won't just pick anyone to be my prince casually.

Well... speaking of choosing a prince, my father actually prefers to marry me off rather than letting me choose the prince myself. He has recently mentioned a lot of candidates to me, such as the fourth prince of the Kingdom of Morna, the Grand Duke of the Kingdom of Hesse, or the leader of the Labor Party of the Kingdom of Ålesund.

So if nothing goes wrong, in the end I should choose one of these people... Haha, to be honest, in terms of conditions alone, they may not be as good as the Duke of Lionheart."

"..."

After hearing the princess' words, the middle-aged lady's expression was slightly startled, and then she fell into deep silence.

If Her Highness Veronica were to be married off, not to mention that she would have to leave her homeland and the kingdom, the candidates proposed by His Majesty, although all of them were prestigious nobles with extremely strong power, their average age was close to forty years old.

Moreover, the fourth prince of Mornar had been married, but his wife died in childbirth; the Grand Duke of Hesse became lame after falling off his horse as a child, and his personality seemed to be somewhat extreme and sinister; the leader of the Labor Party in the Kingdom of Ålesund was also said to be a very difficult person to get along with.

Although with Her Highness Veronica's skills, she would most likely not suffer any loss even if she married him. She even had a great chance to turn the tables and guide the forces behind the other party to slowly move closer to the kingdom.

However, this kind of political marriage, which is based on interests and with very different conditions between the two parties, is naturally insulated from happiness. So once she really marries, Her Highness Veronica will probably not live a happy life for the rest of her life...

……

"Hmm? Why are you worried about me now?"

Seeing the worry and reluctance on the middle-aged lady's face, the princess couldn't help but feel a little warm in her eyes, and then smiled and said comfortingly:

"Don't you know my abilities? Not to mention these neighboring kingdoms, where I can borrow power at any time, even if I marry alone across the sea without anyone, I can still live very comfortably, don't worry!"

Yeah…you’ll be fine wherever you go, but…will you be happy?

Looking at the princess, who had a smile on her face but a calm and indifferent look in her eyes, the middle-aged lady gritted her teeth and then lowered her voice to ask:

"Your Highness, you must marry someone else and not stay? Even...even if it's the Duke of Lionheart."

"It's not about whether I want to get married or not, but it depends on what my father thinks. After all, this kind of thing is not something I can decide from the beginning."

After hearing the middle-aged lady's question, the princess couldn't help but raise her eyebrows slightly, and then said calmly:

“After the failure of the fight for the Treasury, although my father seemed to no longer be in charge and handed over all the royal personnel to me, he never gave up the idea of ​​completely controlling the kingdom.

To control the kingdom, one needs to have control over legislation, personnel, military power, and financial power. Joshua's mother happens to be the sister of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. When he grows up in a few years, as long as the Chancellor of the Exchequer agrees to let him inherit the throne, there is a high possibility that he will side with the royal family.

In addition, by that time, whether the reforms I preside over succeed or fail, they will completely infuriate the old nobles and the House of Commons. My father can easily calm everyone's anger by simply announcing the cancellation of my eligibility to inherit the throne and marrying me abroad.

By doing this, not only can I take over most of the power I snatched from the old nobles at the lowest cost, obtain strong support from outside the kingdom, and pave the way for Joshua to succeed to the throne, but I can also make the Chancellor of the Exchequer turn to the royal family and completely control the Ministry of Finance.

Haha, just a failed marriage for the eldest daughter can bring so many tangible and intangible benefits. From what I know about my father, he will definitely not let go of such a good opportunity." "How can this be?!"

After hearing the princess's inference, the middle-aged lady suddenly stood up and said angrily:
"You've done so much for the kingdom over the years! Even if His Majesty doesn't want you to inherit the throne, he shouldn't treat you like this! Also! If someone else inherited the throne, it would be fine, but His Highness Joshua simply... well... anyway, this is too much!"

“It’s not about being excessive or not.”

Princess Veronica shook her head and said with a smile:
“As the daughter of the king, I already had everything that 99% of the people in this country dreamed of before I was even born, but as a price, I also lost something.

Besides, you don't have to feel sad for me. I just lost the right to choose my own marriage. Joshua is the one who is really pitiful. Because of his father's excessive doting on him, Joshua even lost his brain. Isn't he more miserable than me?"

"It's such a strange time, why are you still saying such jokes!"

Looking at the princess in front of her who seemed to have accepted her fate and was even in the mood to joke with her, the middle-aged lady couldn't help stamping her feet and said:
"Your Highness! How come you are not angry at all? Are you ready to admit it?"

"What else can I do if I don't admit it?"

The princess' eyes flickered twice when she heard this, and then she asked calmly:
"If I want to reject this future, should I immediately throw away everything and make friends with the old aristocracy with all my strength? Or should I try to get close to the Prime Minister in Parliament and allow the so-called "economic bills" that wantonly exploit ordinary people to be passed?

Or offer a large reward and hire someone to assassinate my brother? Or simply launch a coup, bring the military into the palace, and hang my father on the gallows yourself? "

"..."

Looking at the princess, whose expression was calm and almost indifferent, and whose eyes revealed deep fatigue, the middle-aged lady who was speechless felt her nose sore and her vision suddenly blurred.

I have taken care of the princess for so many years. She was obviously a very lively child when she was young. She played around in the palace garden all day long, often getting covered in mud. She was not sad even if she was scolded, and there was always a smile as bright as the sun on her face.

Although she still likes to laugh after growing up, she doesn't know when her smile started to change. It becomes a gentle smile, a helpless smile, a self-deprecating smile, a tired smile... It seems that she no longer has the smile that comes from the heart like when she was a child.

As far as he could remember, when was the last time she smiled so brightly? Three years ago? Five years ago? Or even longer?
"Oh my! Look at you! Why are you getting excited while talking?

What I just said is just speculation. Even if it happens, it will be a long time in the future, and there may be other turning points in the next few years~"

Seeing the middle-aged noblewoman's eyes slightly reddened after hearing what she said, and the corners of her mouth began to turn down uncontrollably, as if she wanted to rush over to hug her and cry, the princess couldn't help but smile, and then she joked:
“For example, if the Duke of Lionheart was fascinated by me after meeting me one day, and proposed to me with the entire Ryan family as a betrothal gift despite the pressure from all my in-laws, then the situation would be completely reversed.

Faced with the opportunity to completely control the Ministry of Highways and the Military, my father would probably arrange for Joshua to marry a female monkey, then kick him across the sea and weld the throne to my ass~"

"Pfft!"

Hearing the princess's joke, the middle-aged lady couldn't help but burst into laughter. Then, she rarely paid attention to her manners and directly stretched out her hand to pinch the princess' waist. Then she stared at her still red eyes and complained:

"How dare you say that! The Duke of Lionheart is not even twenty this year, and you are already twenty..."

"oops!"

Seeing that some of the kingdom's top secrets that could not be disclosed were about to be blurted out from the middle-aged lady's mouth, the princess who had always seemed quite calm finally panicked, rushed over to cover her mouth, and then threatened with gritted teeth:

"We agreed not to talk about this! If you dare to mention this again, I will take you with me and marry you across the sea! When we cross the sea, I will tie you to a fishing rod and fish for sharks!"

"Well... let's not talk about it! Is it okay if I don't mention it? You... you move your chest away a little... I can't breathe because of the pressure..."

……

The two people in the carriage seemed to have reached some kind of consensus. They avoided talking about future marriage and instead relaxed and played around.

The carriage with a lion carving on it at the back finally started moving again after stopping for more than twenty minutes. It quickly crossed the road vacated by the small merchants and drove to Ryan Manor at the end of Redwood Avenue, carrying a reluctant duke.

After the overly luxurious Lionheart coach left, the two people in the carriage calculated the time for the succession ceremony and found that they would soon miss the opening ceremony, so they drove from the cargo lane to the exclusive carriageway for nobles.

As the coachman continued to speed up, the sightseeing two-wheeled carriage sped all the way, with the wheels almost falling apart. It only just drove into the gate of Ryan Manor before the sun rose completely.

"It's okay, it's okay! We've just started here!"

She stepped down from the carriage on a footstool, handed the invitation with a fake identity to a maid, and then, looking at the door of the main building of the manor which had not yet been closed, the princess, who was anxious to see the excitement, quickly lifted up her skirt and ran despite the middle-aged lady's repeated dissuasion.

"I'll go first! You should run faster too!"

"You! Wait a minute!"

Looking at the princess in front of her running without any manners, lifting her skirt and running "magnificently" even with the shawl covering her, the middle-aged noblewoman couldn't help but stamp her feet in frustration, wishing she could pull her back and give her a dozen more etiquette lessons.

But seeing Princess Veronica running further and further away, the middle-aged lady was worried that her identity would be recognized. She could only sigh inwardly at her miserable fate, then she followed suit, holding up her skirt and running behind, reminding him breathlessly as she ran:
"V...Vinnie! Manners! Pay attention to your manners... huh?"

Seeing the princess suddenly stop at the door and stand there blankly, the middle-aged lady was startled. She thought that Her Highness Veronica's identity was exposed, so she hurried over to cover it up. However...

"Snapped!"

An extremely loud slap was heard in the lobby of the main building.

The middle-aged noblewoman who rushed to the princess' side was extremely horrified to find that a certain new duke, who should have been accepting the guests' congratulations, actually picked up His Highness Joshua with one hand, spat fiercely on his swollen face, and then sneered:
"I can't let me be the Duke? Fine! You'd better keep your word!"

(End of this chapter)