"Then… Duke Carlyle Haven."
The nobles and aristocrats in the hall were shocked by the woman's answer as she knelt on one knee before the emperor. A heavy silence descended upon the room.
Everyone was thinking, "Is there another Duke Carlyle Haven besides the one I know?"
"What, what did you say? Who?"
The emperor asked again, doubting his own ears.
He had promised her the "right to choose a marriage partner" as a reward for her victory, and told her to choose anyone from the nobility, but this answer was completely unexpected.
However, the woman, Asha Pervaz, did not change her answer.
"As Your Majesty said, I have chosen the highest-ranking man among the unmarried nobles."
It was not a wrong statement.
Prince Carlyle, who had recently been stripped of his title as Crown Prince and was no longer a member of the Imperial Family, had become the "Duke of Carlyle Haven" and was the "unmarried male" with the highest rank in the nobility.
Everyone's eyes naturally turned to Carlyle.
Carlyle, who had been sitting there with a bored expression, was now looking down at Asha with eyes fierce enough to burn a person alive.
"Now all the bullshit is coming up on me."
The moment he spat out those words coldly, everyone in the room was convinced.
'That woman is going to die here today.'
Despite the frozen air, Asha spoke without wavering.
"If you refuse, his family will have to pay compensation."
That seemed to be the real point.
Now the emperor's face turned pale.
Since the Family of Haven didn't actually exist yet, the family that would have to pay the compensation for Carlisle's refusal to marry was the Evaristo Imperial Family.
And the way Carlisle felt as he watched this scene changed instantly.
"Ha!"
He couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Hahahahahaha!"
The sight of Carlyle's laughter echoing through the silent hall was eerie.
Carlyle, who was bursting out laughing, the emperor, who glared at him with his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out, the empress and her son with surprised expressions, the nobles who were slowly regaining their composure after checking the reactions of the imperial family, and Asha Pervaz, who was the only one there who remained indifferent…
This was the climax of a farce that had failed to be a hit.
And this farce began when the trumpet of victory sounded in Pervaz, the land that the emperor had abandoned, when no one expected it.
***
"Is it… over?"
Asha mumbled dazedly.
Just a moment ago, it seemed like the wind was rough, or no, it was loud with the sound of swords clashing and the curses of the Lure Tribe. But now, somehow, everything felt eerily quiet.
"Haah… Haah…"
In her blocked ears, all she could hear was the rough sound of her own breathing. Although her black hair, tossed by the wind, slapped against her cheeks, it didn't hurt at all.
Her ash-gray eyes, gazing into the empty space, slowly rolled down to her blood-soaked hands and the still tightly clenched sword.
Under the thickening, coagulating red blood on the blade, the severed head of Rakhmusha, the chief of the Lure Tribe, lay.
"Asha…"
Decker, who had fought alongside her like her right arm, called out to Asha with a voice now exhausted by her side.
Asha's every sense slowly began to grasp reality.
Asha said to Decker as if whispering,
"It's over."
"Yeah… You are the one who finished it."
Decker chuckled.
Only then, suddenly, piercing through her ears, came the cheers of allies shouting 'Wow!', the screams of the Lure Tribe, and sounds resembling horses neighing.
"I… I finished it!"
The paused world seemed to start moving again.
Asha began to shout with her warriors.
The war with the Lure Tribe that had existed since her birth had finally come to an end.
The remnants of the barbarians quickly fled, and cheers for the heroic Asha, who ended the war, resounded from all around.
"Hooray! Hooray!"
"Long live, Lord!"
No one had expected Pervaz's victory in such a war. Winning in such a conflict was reason enough to shout hooray until their throats burst.
But the very protagonist of this cheer, Asha, lowered her head.
"It's too early to shout 'hooray.'"
The long war had ended, but the path to receiving rewards for the victory was a bit challenging.
Pervaz, located at the northernmost part of the Chard Empire, had only been under imperial control for just over 30 years.
Although it was referred to as a 'kingdom,' the region bordered the 'abandoned land,' constantly plagued by attacks from barbarians and creatures. Eventually, the King of Pervaz at the time dedicated his country to the Chard Empire.
"So, it's an imperial territory? Well, it's not exactly like that."
Asha, with a tired expression, murmured and pulled out a vault that only the Pervaz family could open.
Up until five years ago, only her father could open this vault. Since then, her eldest brother, third eldest brother, and since the end of last year, only Asha could open it.
Her second eldest brother, who fought alongside their father, couldn't even see the vault.
Decker, watching Asha insert keys into the keyholes in the vault, asked anxiously.
"Can you really receive compensation from the imperial family? As you say, Pervaz is outside imperial jurisdiction. It's an imperial territory, but the emperor doesn't pay attention to it."
Trying to find and insert seven keys with hands that didn't move well due to the cold, Asha answered with a furrowed brow.
"The emperor promised. If Pervaz completely expels the Lure Tribe, he will definitely provide compensation."
"I heard that from the former Count as well… But isn't that promise too old? It's been quite a few years, hasn't it?"
**TL/N: FL's father position in the empire was a Count while in Pervaz was a Lord/King.
"28 years. The expedition order is in this vault, along with the document granting Pervaz territory. It's written there, so…"
Asha was inwardly frustrated.
Even though they won in the war against the Lure Tribe, there were no fruits of victory. The war occurred only in the territory, and with the demise of the Lure Tribe, there was no one left to demand war reparations.
Well, if the Lure Tribe had been prosperous enough to pay war reparations in the first place, they wouldn't have had a reason to attack Pervaz.
Anyway, if they didn't receive compensation from the imperial family, the people of Pervaz would have to bear all the war damages, suffer from severe hunger and injuries, and die helplessly.
Clang!
The old iron vault's locking mechanism opened with a hefty sound.
"Anything, whatever it is. If there's even a single thread to hang onto, I'll hang onto it until the end and claim it."
Asha quickly skimmed through a few documents inside the vault, emanating a nauseating smell, and soon found the faded "Expedition Order." She began to read.
"Exclude unnecessary details… Ah, starting from here… Amir Pervaz is bestowed with the noble mission of exterminating the Lure Tribe… Talking nonsense. Haah, the blessings of the war god Aguires… The trumpets of victory… Uh… Ah! Here!"
Asha, with annoyance, finally found the sentence they were looking for in the long and unnecessary decorative phrases.
"If you achieve victory, I, Felix Dornen Lishas Alon Bondel Evaristo, pledge to provide a fitting reward for your efforts and sacrifices in the name of your victory!"
Decker also approached to verify the sentence. However, he remained skeptical.
"Really… Will the imperial family keep a promise written in a 30-year-old expedition order?"
Decker Donovan, known as the one of the finest warriors of Pervaz, was a massive and courageous man, but there was a reason he could only express such weakness.
The expedition order itself was originally a document crafted to kill Asha's father, Amir, in the first place.
Even 30 years ago, everyone knew that Pervaz had nothing. They knew the Lure Tribe was formidable. If they truly wished for victory in this war, instead of promising rewards after winning, they should have provided abundant supplies to ensure victory."
At Decker's words, Asha sighed.
Twenty-eight years ago, Amir, a knight from a rural estate who went to suppress the turmoil with the young crown prince in the southern part of the empire, made a greater contribution and gained more popularity than the crown prince.
If Amir had been more quick-witted and perceptive, he would have reported that the crown prince had cut off the last enemy's head. But being from the countryside, Amir wasn't well-versed in such matters.
The disgraced crown prince, utilizing the emperor's favor, bestowed upon Amir the title of Count and sent him to the virtually banished Pervaz as a 'reward', along with an order to subjugate the constantly appearing Lure Tribe.
"If not this, then what? Do you have any better ideas?"
Asha neatly folded the expedition order, placing it back into the envelope as she asked. Of course, she didn't expect Decker to have an answer.
"If we can't cling to something even here and get something… we're all going to die."
Pervaz was originally desolate, and now there was almost nothing left.
Food? They were reduced to digging up roots and catching insects to roast for sustenance. The scarce flour they had was barely enough to feed the children.
Clothing? No one in Pervaz, including Asha, the newly appointed Lord, had proper attire. And considering the harsh and prolonged winter, there was a severe shortage of winter clothing. Facing winter in such conditions, the number of people who might freeze to death is unpredictable.
With many injured from the war, there were no herbs or bandages to be found. Even basic necessities like firewood and coal for boiling water were absent.
So, they had to cling to even a single line promise from a document that was 30 years old.
"Well, do we have the funds to go all the way to the imperial capital?" Decker asked.
Asha fell silent at the practical question.