TGS - Chapter 88
Chapter 88: Borrowing a Name
For Horst, this decision was all benefit and no drawback.
Horst had striven for years, from the moment he ascended the throne to the present day, yet he had failed to make his own collateral branch of the family recognized as the legitimate line by the majority of the noble houses.
The ambitions of his youth had slowly eroded, but his long-cherished wish had not been extinguished. On the contrary, it had intensified, driving him to ever more unscrupulous means.
Ultimately, Horst set his sights on the princess.
He had dispatched assassins after the princess on the distant border several times. Driven by suspicion and a guilty conscience, he was desperate to hear news of the former king's daughter's death; otherwise, he could never be truly at ease.
However, that was then. The current situation had temporarily extinguished Horst's murderous intent.
Even if his family branch could not become the direct line, wasn't there still Alyuin? The last of the direct line was a young woman who had just come of age... and what did that imply? A princess who could bear an heir was far more valuable alive than dead.
—How shameless, how utterly vile.
He had murdered Alyuin's parents and pinned the crime on the dead, and now he schemed to exploit the princess's value. At a time like this, why did he suddenly not care about his mask of righteousness and deep affection?
Oh, but Horst had ample justification.
Taking care of his cousin's daughter—for the people of this era, such an excuse was practically unassailable.
Lotus understood the convoluted logic, and precisely for that reason, a rage as fierce and howling as a winter blizzard gathered in her eyes.
She had seen it before.
That gaze, as if one were appraising a rare and expensive object. Though not as well-disguised as Horst's, the sentiment was fundamentally the same.
Lotus took a slow, deep breath, unable to stop herself from wondering—did Horst belong to the majority of people who would suffer a backlash for attacking a god?
If she could somehow provoke him into attacking her, would this hypocritical king end up like the guards who had once swarmed her, his blood drained dry or his vessels bursting?
The thought was fleeting. Lotus looked at the princess and pressed her lips together.
It might work, but Alyuin probably wouldn't want Horst to die so easily.
Alyuin said nothing at first. Holding a wine cup in one hand, the other resting casually on the edge of the table, she listened to Horst's nonsense with a cold smile.
Sensing Lotus's gaze, the princess's expression remained unchanged, her eyes not even flickering. But the hand resting on the edge of the table was discreetly lowered.
Under the cover of the low table, her palm came to rest on the back of Lotus's hand. It wasn't a perfect fit, slightly offset, and the light pressure felt like a reassurance, yet it could also have been an unintentional gesture.
Just then, Horst finally concluded his long-winded speech. His expression and voice were so gentle and magnanimous as to be beyond reproach, as if he were truly just a good uncle concerned for his brother's daughter.
"Alyuin, what do you think?"
Alyuin lifted her chin, gesturing for everyone present to look at Romuer's face.
"Uncle, I believe my cousin has something to say."
Romuer's expression was one of disapproval, mixed with a poorly concealed helplessness. It was clear he desperately wanted to interrupt his father but had never found the chance.
Horst said with authority, "Romuer, what is it you wish to say?"
The Crown Prince said in a low voice, "This is improper. Alyuin is my cousin, and besides, isn't this too sudden?"
"This behavior of yours... disappoints me," Horst said, his tone lowering.
Romuer: "...Father?"
"I swore an oath before my brother's royal tomb that I would take good care of his daughter. Having no choice but to send Alyuin to the first temple of the Goddess of the Yilu River has already filled me with sufficient regret. There is little else I can offer as compensation besides this promise. Romuer, are you unwilling to bear this responsibility?"
His tone was severe, almost a reprimand.
The Crown Prince, likely having rarely been spoken to so harshly, opened his mouth but was at a loss for words.
He was utterly useless in a confrontation.
Alyuin had anticipated this; she never expected his wishes to have any effect. She had only shifted Horst's attention to him to draw out a particular statement.
And Horst did not disappoint, speaking the very words she'd been waiting for.
"Romuer is more than willing to take care of you, Alyuin. There's no need to feel conflicted—"
The princess said nonchalantly, "If I recall correctly, the blood of a sinner still flows through my veins. Is that of no concern?"
Sinner. She stressed the word slightly, and no one noticed the chill that flashed in her eyes.
Horst paused for a fraction of a second.
He was weighing the options: was it better for Alyuin to continue bearing the title of a sinner's daughter, or was there more to be gained by acknowledging her blood as pure and untainted?
Then he smiled magnanimously. "You grew up in the first temple of the River Goddess, which purified the sins left by the sinner Selina. Otherwise, why would the Goddess Lotus have sent her messenger to deliver the Snowtu flower into your hands?"
The officials present exchanged glances; clearly, they had all heard this rumor before.
Who knew if the songs sung by the bards were true? But since His Majesty Horst had mentioned it, it must be so.
And so, they all chimed in:
"Indeed, how could someone favored by the River Goddess have an impure bloodline?"
"The sinner is dead. Your Highness need not doubt yourself."
Alyuin said, "So, Uncle, you wish to compensate me."
Horst nodded, as if he could already see his descendants sitting securely on the throne, their line continuing for a thousand years just like the direct bloodline before them.
"But such compensation would not only be my ruin, it would also be detrimental to Solancia."
Horst frowned at once. "What are you saying?"
The princess smiled faintly, then suddenly bent her knuckles and tapped them against Lotus's wrist bone.
Then she withdrew her hand and rose to her feet.
Gazes, both overt and subtle, fell upon her, but Alyuin paid them no mind.
"I will not marry anyone. To do so would be a blasphemy against my faith."
"Absurd!" Horst's hands, resting on the arms of his throne, clenched into fists, his anger suppressed. "Who among those present is not a devout believer in the gods? Does that mean none of us can marry another, lest we blaspheme our faith?"
"Don't be so hasty, Uncle," Alyuin said, a ghost of a smile on her lips.
"How can I not be hasty when you speak such nonsense? If my royal brother knew—"
"If my father the king knew, he would only be proud of me."
Horst abruptly fell silent, watching her with a calculating gaze.
Alyuin paid him no mind. She raised her right arm, the smooth, elegant lines of her honey-colored limb tensing in a silent display of the power she possessed.
"I once swore an oath to the Goddess Lotus to remain pure for her sake. It is she who has granted me this invincible strength."
"I am a warrior of Lotus."
Alyuin spoke the name softly.
"I fight for her."
Drawing out the final syllable, Alyuin turned her head with solemn swiftness. Her gaze swept across the banquet hall, carrying a convincing, commanding power, like an orator gauging the reaction of her audience.
This was all for show—the gaze that truly intended to convey a message met Lotus's in mid-air, touching for an instant before breaking away.
Lotus's fingertips curled slightly.
In the instant their gazes met, she thought of nothing. Then, a baffling confusion surfaced.
...When had she ever heard such an oath?
As for granting strength, that had even less to do with the River Goddess.
Lotus was a primary god of the water element. Managing waterways was no problem, but an operation like granting someone immense power was truly beyond her purview.
The chaotic thoughts lasted but a moment before Lotus quickly came to her senses.
So this was what she meant by borrowing her name.
The hall fell silent. No one was stealing glances anymore; all eyes were now fixed upon her, unconcealed and filled with a myriad of emotions.
Someone nearly opened their mouth to object, but the words died on their lips, held back by hesitation.
On second thought, it actually seemed to make a great deal of sense.
When they had previously heard of the princess's abilities on the border, they had harbored their doubts. It was simply too incredible. Forget a young woman—even able-bodied men, even the veteran generals who had guarded the border for years, shouldn't be so formidable in battle.
Belief in the gods was deeply rooted in every aspect of Solancian civilization. Even those Solancians who were not particularly devout still acknowledged the existence of deities.
Therefore.
No wonder the princess was so powerful—she had received the power of the Goddess of the Yilu River!
Many nobles and officials were unwilling to believe that a woman, by her own strength alone, could be more skilled in combat than they were. Divine favor thus became the perfect explanation, as if it restored some sense of balance to their minds.
Once they accepted this explanation...
...the condition of "remaining pure for the goddess" was subconsciously accepted along with it.
Horst was silent for a full ten seconds before he managed to say, "You should know what a grave crime it is to fabricate stories in the name of a god."
"Of course. I am quite familiar with the law," Alyuin said cheerfully. "Lotus has permitted me to reveal our pact to the world."
—Though Lotus herself had learned of it no earlier than anyone else in the banquet hall.
"Utter nonsense! You are my royal brother's only daughter, the last of the direct bloodline. How could you so casually make such a promise to a goddess?"
"When I went to the temple of Lotus all those years ago, no one told me I couldn't."
The princess was perfectly composed.
"You..."
Horst unconsciously ground his teeth. His gaze met that of an old man from the Stubborn Faction, whose beard was trembling with rage. The man shot Horst a glare devoid of any reverence, clearly recalling old grudges from when the princess, far away on the border, had challenged him.
This bunch of damned old fools!
Horst took a deep breath. "Alyuin, you are too willful. The continuation of the direct royal bloodline is far more important than fighting and killing on the battlefield."
He was all but telling her to forget her oath. If the goddess took back her power, so be it; continuing the bloodline was the proper course of action.
But such things could not be said openly, for that would be disrespectful to the River Goddess.
Alyuin raised an eyebrow.
"In that case, when the Sanur declare war, which of you is willing to go to the border and lead our troops into battle?"
She casually pointed to several officials who had been fawning over Horst. "You? You? Or you?"
No one answered. The men she indicated fell silent.
Alyuin then turned her gaze to the high throne, a smile playing on her lips as she asked with impeccable etiquette, "Or perhaps, Uncle—Your Majesty—you intend to lead the campaign yourself?"
Horst could not answer. Any response would be improper.
In the end, the proposal made at the banquet came to nothing.
After the banquet, the guests departed. Horst rose abruptly and strode through an empty corridor.
He suppressed his fury, his pace rapid. The advisor behind him had to jog to keep up.
Horst had never imagined he would be given such a reason.
To be precise, he had considered the possibility of the princess refusing, but he had never expected that Alyuin actually would refuse.
Alyuin possessed a certain ambition; anyone could see that. If that was the case, shouldn't marrying Romuer have been exactly what she wanted?
Crown Princess, Queen, Queen Mother.
Although he would never stand by and watch Alyuin climb so high, it was a path to the pinnacle of power. She should not have refused...
The most likely possibility had been overlooked. Subconsciously, Horst was unwilling to consider that alternative, and so he could not understand.
"I must do something."
Horst calmed himself, muttering under his breath.
For now, he did not want to tear away all pretense and make a move. He still needed to probe further.
Suddenly, a pair of extremely pale blue eyes surfaced in his memory.
They belonged to the lady-in-waiting at Alyuin's side, the one who might have once been loyal to Selina.
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