Chapter 22: 22. The poor princess
Princess Angeline is not the King’s biological daughter, but she is the daughter of the late King of Eleflare, whose kingdom was destroyed by the Demon race.
Now Eleflare is beginning to rise again, but the current King is Angeline’s uncle. They have the support of King Nagreize, and the kingdoms are cooperating to fight the Demon race.
Angeline and her mother symbolize the peace and cooperation between these kingdoms. Naturally, Angeline and her mother’s positions are crucial. This is because the Kingdom of Nagreize requires the magical technology developed by the Kingdom of Eleflare.
However, aside from the King, no one else there considers Angeline important. They’ve abandoned Angeline, as if she were an outsider with no connection to the kingdom, merely staying there as a guest.
Even the maids dislike Angeline and refuse to serve her. There’s only one maid named Irinia—and Angeline only recently discovered that Irinia was actually sent by Princess Anabelle to monitor her movements.
Irinia admitted it herself; she was bored because Angeline never did anything she could report on, so she wasn’t getting paid. Because of that, even Irinia left her.
But that’s okay; Angeline was used to doing everything on her own, including hosting the visiting Duchess Arslan.
There were only the cookies brought by the King and some warm rose tea, but that was all Angeline had.
Her slender hands were carefully pouring tea into a beautiful cup.
Nathalia, sitting across from Angeline, was observing the fifteen-year-old girl closely. She smiled broadly, because Angeline was indeed the best prospective fiancée for Kaileon.
First, Angeline held no position of power in the kingdom. Second, she seemed foolish and easily manipulated. And most importantly, Angeline lacked physical appeal.
The girl was like a skeleton wrapped in pale skin. She even struggled just to lift her own cup.
It was pitiful—a perfect match for the equally pitiful Kaileon.
Actually, Nathalia hadn’t even considered matching Princess Angeline with Kaileon. That was until Princess Annabelle sent a letter asking Duchess Arslan to do something about Angeline, because Princess Annabelle didn’t like Angeline being in the kingdom and acting like the King’s biological daughter.
Well, it wasn’t just Princess Annabelle; almost everyone disliked Angeline.
Besides, Nathalia also needed someone to keep Kaileon occupied, so he wouldn’t have time to prepare himself to succeed his father. Then, once Angeline became close with Kaileon, Nathalia could control Kaileon through Angeline.
Truly a brilliant plan.
Nathalia cleared her throat briefly before lifting her own cup and sipping a little tea gracefully.
"So, I’m here because I want you to be my son Kaileon’s fiancée. What do you say, Princess? My son is very handsome and intelligent; he has a bright future. The King himself has already agreed, because the King knows that my son, Kaileon, is a fine young man. But I came here to offer this to you directly, because it would be impolite for me to decide something without asking the person concerned," said Nathalia.
Angeline herself had never heard the name Kaileon as the son of Duke Arslan. What Angeline often heard about was the Duke’s daughter, Jessica, or her younger brother, Justine.
Kaileon... what is he like?
But this offer was quite appealing. Because Angeline also wanted to see the outside world. Considering that the Duchess’s first son was Justine, Kaileon was most likely the son of a concubine.
For Angeline, that was exactly what she wanted. She didn’t want the hassle of dealing with those annoying noble affairs.
Therefore, without a second thought, Angeline agreed to the engagement.
Although that night, Angeline’s mother, Victoria, came to her and asked her to reconsider, Angeline’s mind was made up.
"Mom, you know I don’t want to be a noble or anything like that anymore, right? Kaileon is a good choice for me, Mom... please. Besides, if it turns out we’re not compatible, I can call off this engagement anytime." That’s what Angeline said before she got ready to leave for Duke Arslan’s territory.
Nathalia continued to be kind to her, even though she knew that Nathalia’s attitude was all fake. There was a moment of doubt within Angeline, but she mustered her courage. She paid no mind to the taunts from Princess Anabelle, who suddenly approached Angeline just as she was about to board the horse-drawn carriage.
"Hey, you idiot. Don’t you know that Kaileon is crazy? He’s as ugly as a zombie, he can’t speak like a normal person, and he’s also filthy and stinky. But well... Kaileon is the only one who’s good enough for you."
Even Lizella, Angeline’s younger sister, laughed and mocked her.
Lizella was different from Angeline, even though they shared the same mother. This was mainly because Lizella was of royal blood. Lizella always sided with Anabelle, which made Angeline very sad because she loved her younger sister.
Suddenly, Lizella approached Angeline and slipped something into the leather bag Angeline was carrying.
"Go away. I hope you never come back here again," said Lizella.
Angeline just gave a small smile, trying to hold back her sadness.
***
"Are you all right, young master?" asked Peoni.
Kaileon turned to his maid, then gave a faint smile and nodded slowly. Well, actually, he wasn’t okay. He was so moved seeing the little children—people who were starving—smiling widely when they finally got to eat delicious food.
They thought it was noble food given by the Duke through his son, Kaileon.
Justine and Luca couldn’t go because they actually had a class scheduled with a teacher who didn’t like Kaileon.
That teacher had even insulted Kaileon before, saying:
"Don’t drag your little brother into doing silly things, you uneducated brat. Young Master Justine will end up as foolish as you if he keeps hanging around you," said the man who was Justine’s teacher.
Well, that man was Baron Crech, who had supported the Duchess from the start.
At that moment, Kaileon couldn’t do anything as his younger brother looked like he was about to cry, but he held back just so Kaileon wouldn’t get scolded.
Kai’s daydream was interrupted when the children came to him and thanked him. They said they loved all the food Kaileon had shared and hoped they could eat like that again someday.
Kaileon didn’t promise them anything, but he promised himself that he would cook for those children again if he could get a lot of meat.
"How do I get a lot of meat, Keith?" Kai asked suddenly as they were on their way to the supermarket.
"Of course, just like what you do, young master. People hunt, slaughter, separate the meat from the bones, and sometimes, the poor can only afford the bones. You know, right? There’s usually some meat still clinging to them."
The more Kai learned about what the poor people did, the more uneasy he felt.
"Oh, right, young master, there’s a sort of adventurers’ guild here. They usually have their own butchers who slaughter the hunters’ game if the hunters can’t do it themselves. Adventurers or hunters usually get special cards from the guild so they can hunt in the forest and then sell their game to the guild at a good price. The guild is a special organization that works in partnership with the kingdom, so nobles or wealthy people—even a Duke or Duchess—can’t interfere with them. But nobles usually, if they want a specific type of meat, will ask the guild to find it for them. It’s like that. Adventurers or hunters are usually divided into different levels. The higher the level, the larger the game they can hunt. But there are actually no rules about what must be hunted; the hunters must think for themselves and take responsibility for their own risks. You can ask the hunters to get meat for you, or you can hunt it yourself. Since you are the Duke’s son, you don’t need to register with the guild just to hunt in the forest. I’ll accompany you."
After listening carefully to Keith’s explanation, Kai came up with an idea.
"Alright, I’ll go hunting, but I want Duke Arslan to come with me too. Afterward, we’ll give the meat to the villagers. What do you think?" Kai said.
Keith smiled broadly and replied, "I knew you’d say that, young master. I’ll prepare everything."
Secretly, Keith felt excited, because finally Duke Arslan and the nobles who looked down on Kaileon would be able to see Kaileon’s abilities—which Keith hadn’t even begun to hone yet.
"I’ll bring my own weapon, Keith, so there’s no need to prepare a sword or anything like that; I don’t need it."
