How the Villainous Consort Avoids His Death Ending - Chapter 37.2
Although my appearance was shabby, he seemed to guess from my tone and demeanor that I was of high status. He hurriedly bowed and replied.
“They say a curse was placed on the sacred ‘Blessing of God.’ The Lirisia flower, Your Highness.”
“…What?”
A curse on Lirisia, just like that. I blinked in confusion as he continued.
“Well, the author sold the bulbs to the temple a few years ago. Lirisia is still rare, but back then, ships rarely even reached this remote area. So, how well do you think the temple paid for them? But…”
He clicked his tongue and shook his head. Impatient Sir Gehardt urged him.
“But? What happened?”
“Well, it seems that everyone who touched the flowers cried, and the scent was not sweet and fragrant but sharp and pungent. What else could this be if not a sign of the devil? On top of that, none of the bulbs bloomed properly, so the Lirisia was completely ruined.”
I narrowed my eyes silently.
‘So he sold Charlotte as if it were Lirisia.’
I could roughly guess the situation. The author had brazenly passed off Charlotte as Lirisia to the temple and pocketed a huge fortune. The worshippers in the northern continent, believing it to be a curse on the “Blessing of God,” were utterly deceived.
The man continued his explanation. The author committed the deed and disappeared, but the main temple pursued him for years. Eventually, they caught him and brought him here.
Such determination.
I had no words and half-opened my mouth. Then, a heavy sound came from behind.
I turned and saw Sir Gehardt sitting down abruptly.
His face was drained of color. His eyes were hollow and trembling.
“…Consort… That… that is the crop I was tricked into buying, isn’t it?”
I hesitated for a moment but then nodded.
“…It seems so.”
Sir Gehardt dropped his head and stared at the ground in silence for a long while.
If he had indeed purchased Charlotte, he would have been the one standing on the pyre. Surely, the fleet commander Tristan and I, the Consort, would have been involved as well.
Sir Gehardt covered his eyes and quietly shook his shoulders. For a long time, he could not speak a word. It was the first time I had seen boisterous, hot-tempered Sir Gehardt crumble like this.
“Enough. What kind of spectacle is this before Your Highness and the Consort?”
Sir Mildred patted his broad shoulders, calming him, and Sir Gehardt finally got to his feet.
That night, we dined at a quiet restaurant near the port. The mood was somber, completely out of place for a celebration.
Sir Gehardt barely touched his meal, head lowered. I quietly poured him a drink of the northern continent’s most famous grain wine.
“It all turned out well without incident, so be grateful. All’s well that ends well. Do not dwell on it.”
Sir Gehardt still could not meet my gaze.
Eventually, he covered his face with both hands and began to sob. His thick shoulders heaved repeatedly.
“Consort… I am sorry. I am sorry and truly grateful…”
Sir Mildred and Sir Johannes, sitting nearby, lowered their glasses and bowed their heads.
I smiled gently at them.
“Everyone is new to this. There will only be good things ahead.”
It was true that Sir Gehardt and the other knights had clashed with me in the past.
However, it could not be considered entirely their fault. Considering the actions of the real Ruellin in Hezekia over the past few years, their sincere apologies were actually surprising.
“But, Consort…”
“This is embarrassing enough. Let’s stop, shall we? The wine will lose its flavor otherwise.”
Moreover, after experiencing the Lirisia scam incident, my relationship with Sir Gehardt had improved considerably. It was best to leave it at that.
Admittedly, I felt a little shy myself.
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