Chapter 11 – 011 – The Countess Who Draws Lots # 1

011 – The Countess Who Draws Lots # 1

The dinner and festival seemed to last all night.

The day Psyche recovered after suffering from an illness for two years.

Count Dovan lit the lights and had the musicians sing as if he wanted to announce this fact to the end of the world.

“Monk Hyde! “Make me some more soap!”

“Did you really heal the young lady? It’s amazing!”

I was treated very well by the servants and maids.

It is truly touching how much they hoped for Lady Psyche’s recovery.

But.

Her actual partner, Psyche, kept a distance from me and only glared at me from time to time. She said Psyche was staring at me. She thought she was used to it for five years, but she wasn’t.
Her heart is pounding

“Monk Hyde. I have a story to tell about healing my daughter. “There’s something the three of us would like to discuss from now on. Is that okay?”

Count Dovan, who was being congratulated by people, approached me.

When I nodded, he took the lead and started walking somewhere, and I was able to keep up with Psyche and enter what could be called the study of this mansion.

Well, would it be better to say it’s the Count’s office?

Although it was a dark night, there were a lot of papers and parchment under the brightly lit desk, and armor was seen hanging on the wall along with various weapons.

I expected a luxurious and flashy office, but I was a little surprised that it looked like a field control room.

“Sit down.”

Count Dovan has naturally treated me poorly since sometime.

It’s only natural.

I am an orphan.

Count Doban was a great nobleman whose prestige was so high that he promised to marry the royal family.

Even if there were rumors that the glory was not as good as before, to the count, someone like me would be no more than an ant passing by his feet.

If I hadn’t healed Psyche, would I have even dared to live and talk about it?

Count Dovan said as he sat down on the chair provided for the head table.

“I’ll tell you straight. Hyde, I am so grateful to you for helping my daughter get better. But I can’t give you the return you wanted.”

It wasn’t a very surprising story.

The story that the beggar who cured the princess marries her and lives happily ever after is a romance that only exists in fairy tales.

I asked.

“Isn’t the Agarpe family a family that values ​​trust enough to be given the title of ‘Covenant’? Does this mean you won’t keep your promise to listen to anything?”

“I will not make excuses. The story you asked for is unreasonable. “I can only grant you the compensation I told you about, as long as it is a good that I can achieve.”

It’s a story that can’t be accomplished because my father, the Count, wants to marry his daughter to me. Although I had vaguely expected it, the blurry picture seemed to become clear in an instant.

“Is it because of your engagement to the royal family? Count Dovan, you forced Lady Psyche to fake an illness in order to keep your promise to the royal family. “Am I wrong?”

“Hmm, force it─.”

Count Dovan’s expression changed greatly again.

How did you know? It’s the same expression.

I gained momentum and added a few words.

“If Lady Psyche, who is in full bloom like a flower, marries another man, she will be breaking her long-ago promise. Count Dovan, you are sacrificing your daughter to keep your old promise.”

“You are as clever as a snake. Okay. Psyche had been betrothed to the future prince for a long time. “Our Agarpe family was supposed to be the guardian and companion of the royal family.”

The light of the candle reflected in Doban’s brown eyes in a strange way. It was as if a burning war was burning in his eyes.

“But we betrayed them when they needed us most. I took care of some of them myself. “The screams from back then were really eating away at me like a ghost.”

According to my memory, this place called ‘kingdom’ had a big fight 20 years ago between the royal family and the religious sect over control of the land.

The result is a victory for the church.

Due to the betrayal of great nobles, including Count Agarpe, the royal capital Royal Road fell and the Ungere royal family was exterminated.

The reason I was able to invade the royal capital, Royal Road, while I was carrying the stigma of the name “Rust” Was because it was a city without an owner.

Thanks to that, I was able to obtain the “Holy Grail” And get another chance.

If it had been the royal castle where the king was seated, he would never have been able to take it.

In that respect, it was a great fortune for me that Count Dovan harassed the king and the royal family. Their betrayal is what made me who I am today!

It truly felt like I was inside a grand providence.

It’s clear that our meeting was planned by God!

“Count, if the royal family no longer exists, wouldn’t there be no promises to keep? “You who betrayed the royal family, why are you bound by old promises?”

“…”

Doban closed his strong-looking jaw and remained silent.

At that time, Psyche, who had been listening to the story for a long time, opened her lips.

“Father, there is nothing wrong. Because everything is my will. It was my will to postpone my illness and to refuse all engagements. If it weren’t for you… It will always be like that.”

This was a bit unexpected.

I thought Count Dovan was trying to maintain his integrity by claiming something like ‘his final loyalty to the royal family he betrayed.’

This trickery was not at Count Doban’s instigation, but Psyche’s will.

Rather good.

You mean you only have to convince one person, Psyche?

“Miss Psyche, think carefully. Marrying me wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But it’s late now, so we’ll talk tomorrow. It’s prayer time.”

# ​ ​​​ # # ​ #

Giik, chin-.

The man closed the door and disappeared into the distance.

Only after his pretense of popularity disappeared did Count Dovan ask.

“Pique, what happened? You were the one who was acting sick no matter what. You ignored me even on your younger brother’s birthday…”

“That man! “You tried to die in front of me!”

When Psyche thought about that incident, her anger rose again to the top of her head. Looking at that, Doban felt a very strange feeling.

In fact, Doban did not like the idea of ​​Psyche acting out her illness.

As a father, he did not want his daughter to be buried in long-term commitments.
He hoped to get married, become a partner, and live happily ever after.

‘But my daughter is trying to bear the price for my sins on her own. Hyde, that brat’s story is correct. Our mansion is ruled by a ghost named Old Promise.’

In that respect, it was fortunate that the suspicious monk Hyde broke Psyche’s stubbornness. Now Psyche will be able to live a normal life.

Also, it was the first time that a young man had the courage to say out loud in front of a great nobleman, “Give me my daughter,” Without being discouraged.

In that sense, the count had a very complex curiosity about the man named Hyde.

“Monk Hyde gave an amazing performance. It was very effective. He must have been very good at acting.”

“No, father, what makes me even more angry is… The point is that it wasn’t acting. He really tried to die in front of me. At least in my opinion…”

Psyche vividly recalled the events of the afternoon. If Psyche hadn’t caught him, he would have definitely died.

A body that trembled in his own grasp.
The sound of breathing stopping as it scrapes through the lungs.

Psyche, who felt terrible about it all, shook her head and decided to change the topic.

“Father, Archibald’s healer will be coming to Agarpe soon, so what? Now you can’t just pretend that you’re sick again. Moreover, the therapist dispatched this time is Oscar.”

“Yes, that miracle Oscar. The man who proposed to you two years ago. When he finds out that you are okay, he will use Archibald’s name again to propose to you. “I won’t be able to refuse.”

Archbishop Archibald was the symbol of the religious order.

It was clear that Doban and his family, who as great nobles took the side of the royal family, would find it difficult to reject Archbishop Archibald’s words.

Because Doban was a traitor and Archibald was a victor.

‘Arch Bolt, he’s probably planning to use his peacemaking as an excuse to marry his son to my daughter. This is clearly a ceremony to confirm the church’s loyalty to our Agarpe family.’

Until now, Psyche had been rejecting all marriage talks under the pretext of not being able to marry anyone, but that would no longer be possible.

‘The archbishop’s second son, Oscar, will arrive in two days at the latest. If we don’t somehow deal with this situation by then, our Agarpe family…’

Doban’s worries became as deep as the wrinkles on his forehead.

He was someone who had seen what happened to the nobles who were loyal to the church.

The authority and power of the family would be weakened by the religious order, and eventually the Agarpe family, with its 300-year history, might fall apart.

‘If the Agarpe family is destroyed because of me, I will not have the courage to see my ancestors. How dare I give my precious daughter in marriage to the son of Archibald, who is my enemy.’

Doban felt skeptical about her helplessness in not even being able to protect her daughter’s fate.
20 years ago, I thought he was prepared for everything when he took on the stigma and betrayed the royal family to protect his family.
At that time, her wise daughter Psyche opened her lips after much deliberation.

“In order to avoid marrying into the Archibald family, I guess I have no choice but to marry someone first. “Father, can you write an official document for the wedding?”

“What? Are you getting married?”

Doban was very surprised to hear that his daughter was getting married.

The daughter who thought she would act like a bad person her whole life is getting married to someone.
I was both happy and puzzled by that fact.

“Are you saying you want to marry Hyde, the wooden monk? Then, this father who promised her marriage will be able to find her trust.”

“No, she won’t marry him, but she’ll give him a chance. I will pose a question, and those who answer this question will be selected as groom candidates. We have to move quickly before Oscar Archibald comes!”

# ​ ​​​ # # ​ #

Morning.

When I woke up on a very soft bed, the mansion was noisy.

I went out into the hallway to see what was going on, and there was a large piece of parchment stuck in the hallway, with this written on it.

「We are recruiting candidates for the husband of Psyche Agarpe.

Anyone can meet the qualification requirements as long as they can solve the problems below on their own.”

“First. What is the shape of this earth created by God?”

“Second. Describe the reason and principle of rain.”

“Third. How many angels can climb on the tip of a fountain pen?”

“Aha, you came out like this?”

Who’s thinking?

Is it Count Dovan?

No, the Count Dovan I met at first glance was the type of commander who gave orders from the field, not a member of the staff. Then, of course, it is Psyche herself.

It was a fun event.

Naturally, people were overflowing with excitement and curiosity.

“Is it really possible that anyone who answers the question correctly can become a candidate for a husband? Me too?”

“But the problem is too difficult. How do I put this together?”

“I heard that it was a matter that was revealed to God by Lady Psyche when she was sick.”

“Indeed, these are strange problems.”

People were amazed.

Is this such a difficult problem?

When I was thinking that, someone tapped me on the shoulder.

When she turned her head, she saw Loras, a knight in silver armor, frowning at me.

“You’re lucky, huh? Because I happened to cure the young lady’s illness, I passed the preliminaries for free. Well, even if you are lucky enough to pass the preliminaries, you will still fail in the finals.”

Did you pass the preliminaries?

Ah, it looks like the Agarpe family was kind to me for curing Psyche’s illness, and I became a candidate for a husband without having to solve that problem.

Psyche This is how you compensated for my request to marry her daughter.
It was indeed wise and fun.

Then Loras spoke.

“Monk Hyde, you were lucky this time, but you, a lowly orphan, are no match for Lady Psyche. It would be better to give up now before things get worse.”

“Well, I don’t think so. Good. I give up on passing the preliminaries. Instead, if I get the problem right and rise to the top, I will break your right arm, Loras. Did you understand?”

“What if I fail?”

“You either break my arm too.”

“Good. There is no softness. Because I will never look at you. Everyone heard our bet, right?”

Loras’ blue eyes sparkled brightly as he shouted to the surroundings.

I immediately took the roll of paper, wrote down the answer, and placed it in the recycling bin.