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Chapter 10: Pleased to be a hostage, sir.

Herbs to reduce inflammation, flowers for stomach aches, and headaches. Afterwards, she collected sleeping mushrooms and wrapped them in a handkerchief.

Arnold apparently had sent a messenger to the frontier Earl in charge of this territory to take care of their captive bandits.

It took a while before he arranged everything with Oliver. Then he came to the lake shore where Rishe was working.

“Is your hobby of picking flowers a practical one, not ornamental?”

Watching Rishe lay out her harvested plants and flowers, Arnold asked jovially.

Rishe was a bit wary as he sat down beside her. But he wasn’t doing any unnecessary moves, so she resumed her work.

From the herbs whose stems are useful, unnecessary leaves were plucked out one after the other. The leaves have no medicinal properties, but when added to soup, the flavor extracted makes it tasty. Sleeping mushrooms are much trickier to handle with spores that must be dried totally in the sun.

(I wonder if they’d be disgusted if I tie the mushrooms up on the roof of the carriage and let them dry. The picture is too embarrassing especially on the carriage the Crown Prince is riding in. But it doesn’t hurt asking, right….?)

As she pondered and worked seriously on her herbs, she noticed Arnold’s gaze.

His eyes were no doubt fixed at Rishe’s hands. He sat cross-legged, with his elbow resting on his lap and cheek on his cheek. He seemed absent-minded, at the same time intent.

(He looks like a kid watching a procession of ants….?)

What’s so fun about it? As she was wondering, her eyes locked with Arnold’s.

“I’m sorry. Did I bother you?”

“No. Are you worried about something?”

“It’s nothing personal. It’s just that I think I have yet to dig up your bottom.”

Arnold laughed it off.

“I can’t wait to see what other means you have to entertain me.”

(Do I look like a rare beast or something?….)

It was totally rude. Rishe may have been reborn seven times, but she’s still a normal human being.

“The antidote I concocted a while ago wasn’t meant to entertain His Highness.”

“I know.”

Arnold erased his provocative grin and left a sigh.

“…. The knight you chose to blackmail with your sham threat was formerly from the favela.”

“I didn’t threaten anyone. What are you talking about?”

“While the Garkhain empire recognizes meritocracy, many are often touted because of their origins. Nevertheless, he never succumbed to external pressure, worked hard and became a knight.”

Pausing from picking up seeds from a flower, Rishe faced Arnold.

“The knight who had the most severe paralysis had only been assigned to the Order for a short period of time and had been training day and night in hopes of succeeding in this mission. The old knight who bowed his head in gratitude to you, and was wounded with you while trying to cover for a newcomer, is a very caring man.”

“Seems like you know your knights very well.”

“I appointed him. He is my vassal.”

Arnold hung his words there, straightened his posture and bowed his head deeply towards Rishe.

“I thank you for saving their lives.”

“…….”

My ears are playing tricks on me again, can somebody tell what’s going on?

Is this the mask of Arnold Hein, the evil and treacherous Emperor Rishe has known all her lives? Or perhaps, is this his real face?

When he was pointing his sword at the throat of that bandit, there was nothing in his eyes but boredom pestering a toy.

“I haven’t anything special that warrants His Majesty’s bow. I just used whatever knowledge I had.”

“Hah. With so many ladies out there, I don’t think there’s even one who happens to have the necessary pharmacy knowledge.”

“More than that! Earlier, when I cut my arm, you tried to grab my wrist, didn’t you? You were going to break your promise not to touch me at that time, weren’t you?

“That would be force majeure.”

They talked for a while, and then she sighed softly.

“Speaking of which, why are the knights so wary of me?

“Wary?….Oh. All the knights who stayed in the Royal Palace as guards heard that your engagement had been called off. It must have stirred up unwanted notions of what kind of an evil woman you were to have been abandoned.”

“So that’s it.”

True enough. People like them wouldn’t take it for granted if a rumored wicked woman like her suddenly claimed to have concocted a drug for the injured.

“Right, I must remind you of one thing. Once we arrive in Garkhain, there may be those who will work against you with disrespect. I’ll do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen, but if it does, tell me right away.”

“Are there other circumstances I should be warned about?”

“The choice for the Crown Princess was left to me, but my choice should be a royalty of another country. I’m sure your duke family is also of a royal lineage.”

As Arnold has said, looking at it in a broader sense, she’s still a member of the royalty.

“Why did my father order me to marry a princess from another country, not a noble lady in my country — ?”

“You’re a hostage.”

Garkhain is a military state that has greatly expanded its territory during the war.

Although they have now signed peace treaties with neighboring countries, the relationship in between them is on a tightrope. There is no country that would refuse offering a princess to Garkhain.

If a princess is brought from another country into the royal family, Garkhain will gain an advantage over that country. To put it in the extreme, it’s one way of conveying the threat, “If you confront me with your teeth, your daughter’s safety is not guaranteed.”

“I’ve sent a message to my father that my Crown Princess is the daughter of a Royal Duke and was the fiancee of the Crown Prince. I took fancy of her and looted her from the Crown Prince. As one of the important figures in the country, the Crown Prince resisted to the end.”

“Looted….”

Indeed, Dietrich had been forever complaining and making noises. He had no right to intervene over Rishe’s marriage, though.

“You were acknowledged by my father, but only because he deemed you worthy of being a hostage. In the country, there will be those who will despise you.”

“Point taken, Your Highness.”

“But I’ll shut them up. As the Crown Princess, you should be proud…”

“Hostage, that’s wonderful!”

Arnold frowned when Rishe suddenly leaned towards him.

“….What?”

“If I were to be treated as an “actual hostage,” I won’t have to embark on the official duties of the Crown Princess, right?! I would be made to live in the corner of the castle, only come out when needed, and have no say in any official business or diplomatic relations!”

“Oh, ahhh….”

“I can do it..! I would do my best to be a perfect hostage…!”

Biting down on her euphoria, Rishe shuddered.

In fact, she was quite worried about that point.

Being a crown princess is definitely no picnic. Having been trained for this position, Rishe knows that the Crown Princess would be forced to work on a schedule that would allow her get very little to no sleep.

But if she is held as a hostage, she won’t be forced to perform important tasks.

“A weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Thank you for keeping your promise, Your Highness.”

“….Er…”

“Ah, of course, don’t worry. I’m well aware that we’ll be busy until the wedding is over.”

With a sigh of relief, Rishe went back to working on her herbs.