THE land of Pythia was once a glorious, glittering military nation renowned for its wealth and high status.
It wasn’t as though the country had developed state-of-the-art weaponry, nor were their soldiers and tacticians particularly capable. However, the soldiers did have one thing going for them: their life force.
By sheer vitality alone, they had razed countless other countries to the ground. No matter how furious the battle became, or how many fatal wounds they suffered, they would return to battle the next day as though nothing had happened. There were even people who claimed to have seen soldiers who were pierced through the heart or pummeled with stones the mere day before.
The soldiers were invincible; no matter how many times they were defeated, they came back to life with just as much vigor. Eventually, their enemies—who were far better fighters, by all means—became exhausted, and were forced to admit defeat.
After a succession of victories in battles, Pythia’s influence grew, and they claimed to be the strongest nation in the world. However, that period of glory only lasted twenty years. All of a sudden, the Pythia forces grew weak.
At that point, an enemy nation burned their forests and fertile land to the ground, and desolation overtook the country.
The people of Pythia racked their brains over how to solve the environmental crisis to no avail—until five years ago, when a certain woman came to them.
That woman was a saint named Marialite.
✦ ✦ ✦
“PRINCE Rufus,” a servant addressed him. “A letter from Lord Rayford has arrived.”
“Oh? That was a swifter reply than I expected.”
Rufus, the current crown prince of Pythia, closed his book. He expected it was a reply to the letter he sent to Liza, Lord Rayford’s daughter, a mere few days ago—although he hadn’t expected it so soon.
He’d written his thanks to Liza for attending the ball and expressed his desire to make her his new fiancée. Judging by the quick reply, she was just as eager to begin this new chapter.
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, and he ordered the servant to show the letter to him at once.
“O-Of course,” the servant stuttered. However, his expression seemed to cloud over while he continued to clutch the letter.
Knowing that he’d checked the contents of the letter beforehand, Rufus couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.
She can’t have turned me down…can she?
For a moment, doubt crossed his mind. But, how could that be? It wasn’t as though a third party had suggested their union; he’d chosen her himself and told her as much personally. Why in the world would she ever refuse?
“I demand that you show it to me!” Rufus bellowed at the hesitant servant before snatching the letter from his hands by force. His hands were trembling with nerves, and he struggled to unfold the paper.
The servant hung his head down, staring at the marble flooring as though to avoid facing reality.
“Is this…Liza’s handwriting?” Rufus asked himself, his voice trembling.
It wasn’t written in Lord Rayford’s hand, but rather a letter Liza had composed herself. As he scanned his gaze over each short, succinct sentence, his eyes grew wider and wider.
The trembling traveled further down his body, right through to his knees. If he didn’t steady himself, he would’ve crumpled to the floor right then and there.
Rufus’ expectations of a positive reply had been shattered in the worst possible way.
✦ ✦ ✦
“WHAT in the realm is the meaning of this, Rufus? Explain yourself immediately,” the king demanded. There was an angry mixture of disappointment, sorrow, and bafflement written all over his face. Rufus himself bore a similar expression.
There was no point to his father’s questioning. Rufus didn’t possess any of the right information to give him a proper explanation—and yet, he couldn’t just remain silent.
Rufus’ train of thought grounded to a halt. However, he forced his brain into action, and just barely managed to squeeze some words from his throat.
“I…I never expected such an outcome, either. Not once did I think Liza would do something like this…”
“That is not the only thing I am referring to,” he boomed, a sharp glint in his eye. That gaze remained undiminished in his age.
Rufus could do nothing but quiver, pinned to the spot like a small animal. Not even one of his most loyal attendants would dare to defend him in this situation. Some of them simply watched over their father-son exchange nervously, while others pursed their lips in anticipation of how their quarrel would come to a head.
Liza was going to publicly announce that she declined the crown prince’s offer of marriage. Along with the words, “There isn’t a single fiber of my being that would ever consider becoming queen of such a terrible country.”
“She clearly regards becoming the crown princess with disgust. On top of that, she intends to make this fact public. There must be a reason why, but…” the king glowered. “Rufus, do you have any idea what it might be?”
His tone of voice was very much that of a father scolding his son. Evidently, he was conducting the conversation on the premise that Rufus was the one at fault.
When the daughter of a great, well-loved aristocrat was the one behind such dramatics, it wasn’t something the kingdom could afford to overlook. Rufus knew that.
Not to mention, he was extremely annoyed and angry at how Liza was handling the situation.
Lord Rayford was known for being a man of integrity and honesty. And Rufus, the crown prince, had been turned down by his very own daughter. It was easy to imagine how the people would turn against him.
He’d never realized quite how devious that woman was. Rufus gritted his teeth in frustration, and the king shook his head with a deep sigh, massaging his brow with his fingers.
“…Don’t you think the whole debacle with your engagement to Saint Marialite made her distrust you?”
“What? Why would it?” Rufus countered, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead. “Liza has nothing to do with Marialite.”
“You fool,” the king glowered. “What woman would want to marry a man who abandoned his previous fiancée due to her age? Not to mention, the matter was not even agreed upon after an audience with myself. You expelled her from the palace without so much as decent compensation for her time.”
“B-But, she was twenty-seven years old, Father,” he huffed. “Besides, she seemed to understand. There’s nothing to be angry about.”
“Liza saw that even a woman who completely devoted herself to Pythia was treated with awful disrespect. I suppose she deemed your conduct unforgivable,” the king barked with a dry laugh. However, Rufus didn’t hear it.
His mind had gone completely blank, and he could not form a single thought.
✦ ✦ ✦
AFTER that, Rufus began marriage talks with several other influential noble women, but in the end, every single one of them refused his proposal.
At first, Rufus was convinced that it was all Liza’s fault, but one day, a woman of the same social standing as the Rayfords told him this: “Are you really so unaware of what people think of you?”
She sighed as though she were bored, covering her lips with an elegantly designed folding fan. Rufus glared at her.
“What do you mean by that?!”
Things weren’t supposed to go this way, he thought.
When he let Marialite go, he thought he would become a free man, surrounded by beautiful women vying for his attention. Then, he would enjoy taking his time choosing the one he liked best. However, that vision was no more than mere fantasy, and reality loudly asserted itself in its place.
Seeing the irritation etched into Rufus’ features, his servants quickly rushed over to console him. If he lost his temper and hurt a young lady of high standing, his reputation would only suffer more than it already had.
“Think back to how you arranged the ball, then broke off your engagement to Lady Marialite. We soon found out that both of these events happened around the same time,” she smiled.
“S-So what…?”
“Apparently, some of your subordinates are not quite so tight-lipped as you might like. With a little money, many are quick to talk.”
“That can’t be. I mean, Liza—”
“You’re an arrogant, selfish prince who abandoned the beautiful woman who saved our country just because you felt like it. Do you really think there are crowds of women jumping at the chance to attend your ball after you did such a thing? Those who attended were only there to save face,” she said with a sneer.
Rufus was speechless.
“You’d best not look down on women the way you do.”
An image of Liza speaking elegantly beneath the moonlight crossed his mind. The polite smile on her face was that of the Devil herself.