— Happily Ever After —
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Translated by: Bahk Hae Lee & Park Jong An
Edited by: Nigel
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"Nowadays, Ethan is also going to the Duke's residence with Selena." (Beth)
"Ethan?"
Kwiz didn't anticipate this unexpected news about his third son.
"Ethan is going to the Duke's residence? Why?"
"The third son of Marquis Philip often visits the ducal residence and apparently, his age is very similar to Ethan's. He seems very excited about making friends with his peers."
"Hmm, the children have already reached the age where they are looking for friends more than their parents."
Although it was said that children only listened when they were young, Kwiz wasn't yet ready to let Selena out of his protection.[1] As her husband mumbled while looking discouraged, Beth said something even more shocking to him.
"The reason Selena keeps going to the ducal residence isn't just because she enjoys playing with the Duke's young daughter."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Selena."
Beth couldn't stop herself from smiling as she spoke.
"She fell for Sir. Taran."
Kwiz didn't understand the Queen's meaning for a moment then his eyes gradually grew bigger and his gaze quivered with shock.
"…Sir. Taran? You mean, Count Taran, son of Duke Taran?"
When the Queen nodded, Kwiz slammed his hand on the table and jumped to his feet.
"What is this—?! Do you know how old Count Taran is right now?"
"When Selena is seventeen, Sir. Taran will be 27. Their age difference isn't unsuitable."
"…"
Kwiz sat back down. The difference between eight and eighteen felt like a huge gap but once you added 9 years to it, it changed into a commonly acceptable difference.
"…but still, what does an eight-year-old know?"
"Just like Your Majesty says, what does Selena know? It's probably just curiosity and yearning in the same manner when she sees a pretty doll and indulges in it. However, Your Majesty. Girls grow up quickly. In five years' time, that yearning will change to love."
He hadn't even released her from his protection yet. Kwiz had never thought about marrying off his daughter. She couldn't live by his side forever. He knew that but when he realized that his daughter's marriage might not be that far away, he felt like he had lost all the energy in his body.
"My Queen, you seem to be very pleased with Sir. Taran."
"Oh, very much so. Sir. Taran's succession seems to be set in stone and whether it is his personality, appearance or ability, there is nothing to complain about. Hasn't Your Majesty also praised Sir. Taran frequently?"
"Well that…"
Even if you say he was named the youngest Count thanks to his father's support, becoming the Academy's youngest Shyta wasn't something that could be achieved with backing alone.
'Taran Gong is such a lucky devil, eh.'
In most cases, if the father was outstanding, the children's capability was usually below their father's. However, Taran Gong's son seemed to have inherited his father's capability but none of his father's personality defects, so he was more perfect.
'And he's only a year older than the Crown Prince.'
Compared to Count Taran, the Crown Prince was very young and immature.
"Do you want Selena to be seated as the Duchess?" (Kwiz)
"I cannot say I do not want that. Seeing Taran Gong's unchanging affection for the Duchess has made my heart lean towards them. Wouldn't Sir. Taran love his wife like that as well, seeing as he grew up watching his parents in that manner? It is every mother's wish for her daughter to be loved by her husband and live happily."(Beth)
"…"
"Were you merely jesting when you asked Taran Gong about becoming in-laws?"
"When the Duchess was pregnant, I was honestly willing to pair Selena up with them if the Duchess had a boy."
"Why didn't you consider pairing our son with them if they had a girl?"
"My Queen. Can you imagine how much dowry one would have to give to bring in Taran Gong's daughter? This king can't handle that."
Beth gave her husband a sidelong scowl as he changed realistically concerning their son's issue.
"I made a slight mention of it to the Duchess in passing but I ended up withdrawing. She told me the Duke was disinclined to a union between cousins."
"Cousins?"
Kwiz considered the meaning of that word for a while. Strictly speaking, since the Duchess was his half-sister, their children were cousins. However, Kwiz had never thought of putting it in that category. It wasn't because Kwiz was stupid or daft, but because in the royal family, the concept of having relatives between descendants was rare, unless they were blood siblings.
In Xenon, there was a law forbidding the marriage of blood relations within the second cousin. However, for the royal family, that law was practically nullified. Whether it was for political reasons or for carnal reasons, a king had more than ten concubines and many more children than that. Kwiz having only a few concubines and no children from those concubines was quite a rare case.
The women who entered the back palace for political reasons were daughters of noble families. If they were all slapped with the title of 'relatives', their descendants would not be able to find a marriage partner in the future when they grow up.
Especially in the case of the late King, whose licentiousness was to an excessive degree, quite a number of noble families were relatives.
There would be a limited scope of political marriage partners for their level. Thus, intermarriage between royal descendants such as cousins was something that happened openly.
Moreover, Count Taran was not even the Duchess' biological son. Of course, since he was entered into the family register, their mother-son relationship was acknowledged as no different from biological according to the law, but in a place where intermarriage occurred between blood-related cousins, what was so uncomfortable about a marriage between people who were only acknowledged as cousins by law? Kwiz figured this was just another way to spin the rejection.
"I don't believe Your Majesty isn't thinking about it at all. Consider an engagement between Selena and Sir. Taran."
Kwiz fell into deep thought.
Becoming in-laws with the Duke of Taran. It wasn't a bad idea. If that happened, the royal family would be in-laws with the two Duke Houses that held the highest power in the nations. When it came to building a strong relationship, there was no means more stable than blood.