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Melione ​Carlton ​Spioren—that ​was ​the ​Duke’s ​name. Silon, the ​territory ​of ​the ​Spioren ​Dukedom, was located at ​the ​southernmost tip of ​the empire, a ​city ​of ​eternal ​summer.

The ​Kingdom ​of Norden in ​the ​north, ​where bitter cold ​persisted, was not prosperous ​due to ​its high ​altitudes and ​barren land, ​which ​left ​little room for ​farming. In ​contrast, Silon possessed vast ​plains and a harbor, ​earning it the title ​of the ​’Pearl ​of Paltreon.’

Perhaps that was why Emperor ​Erhan of Paltreon always ​viewed ​the ​Spioren ​Dukedom ​as a thorn ​in his ​side.

A ​Dukedom possessing a ​city ​more prosperous than the capital. ​From the ​perspective ​of the Paltryon ​Imperial ​Family, ​which ​had ​absorbed and ​dominated ​surrounding kingdoms ​for centuries, Silon was a territory that ​felt like theirs, ​yet wasn’t quite ​theirs.

That said, he could ​not mistreat ​the Spioren Dukedom ​without ​reason, as they ​had rendered distinguished ​service in ​every ​war and ​served ​as an ​excellent ​supply route.

The ​Spioren ​Dukedom ​was one of ​the ​founding contributors ​of ​the ​Paltryon ​Empire and was the most prestigious noble family. Because of this, the Imperial Family had subtly remained wary of the Dukedom, fearing they might attempt to establish a sovereign state or launch a war of independence.

However, there was no justification to crush the Spioren Dukedom—which had never shown a single sign of rebellion—simply because they were an eyesore.

While the Spioren family did not share a bloodline with the Imperial Family, they were a lineage so ancient that they held the first right of succession to the throne should the Imperial bloodline be severed.

Thus, the question that sparked the most curiosity among readers during the serialization of the novel Leches was: ‘Why did the Emperor of Paltreon push for a marriage between the Princess of Norden and the Duke of Spioren?’

A marriage between a princess of a vassal kingdom and the Crown Prince [unauthorized copy]of the empire would stolen contenthave been a reasonable choice. It was common to force royal marriages with vassal states after a war of conquest.

If the blood of Norden and Paltryon were mixed in this way, it would make it easier to fully absorb and annex Norden later. Conversely, a union between the Spioren family and the Princess of Norden was more threatening to the Imperial Family.

Yet, strangely, the Emperor of Paltryon adamantly opposed the marriage between the Crown Prince and the Princess of Norden. Not only that, but he went as far as to marry her off into the Spioren Dukedom, the very family he viewed as a thorn in his side.

This was despite the fact that a marriage between Norden and the Spioren Dukedom was not a particularly advantageous choice for the Emperor.

‘The truth behind that is only revealed after Melione dies…’

Euro was looking at a notebook containing all the information he remembered when he suddenly shouted for the carriage to stop. Looking at the dense text had made his motion sickness unbearable.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Euro hurriedly opened the door and jumped out, leaning against a roadside tree and retching repeatedly.

Since he hadn’t eaten anything and this wasn’t the first or second time this had happened, nothing actually came up. Watching this, the coachman’s face contorted in irritation as he shouted sharply.

“Good heavens, we’re almost there! What am I supposed to do if you keep asking to stop the carriage every five minutes?”

“…”

“Give it a rest! We’re right in front of the Dukedom, for goodness’ sake.”

The coachman was furious because Euro had made such a unauthorized copyfuss about stopping every [unauthorized copy]time [visit our site]they seemed to gain some momentum.

Staggering, Euro stared blankly at the worn-out carriage. It certainly hadn’t been this shabby when he first departed from the Royal Palace.

Of course, it wasn’t a grand procession of multiple carriages, as there was no dowry or even common gifts, but even the few knights and servants who had followed him had all turned back as soon as they reached the border.

Since the only specialties of Norden, where it is winter all year round, were leather and wool—which were useless in the southern city of Silon—the King had given Euro absolutely nothing.

Consequently, despite it being a marriage between a kingdom and an imperial Dukedom, there were no guards, nor were there any attendants willing to follow him. All that remained was Euro, the party to the marriage.

Because the King had even taken back the royal carriage, Euro had no choice but to find hired carriages for each leg of his journey. To the coachman, for whom time was money, it didn’t matter if Euro’s stomach was turning; the only thing that mattered was getting there and back as quickly as possible.

“I’m sorry. I’ll get back in shortly.”

Euro rinsed his mouth lightly with water and climbed back into the carriage. Because his condition had been so poor due to motion sickness, he had delayed his journey by two weeks beyond the original one-month estimate, and his travel funds had long since run dry.

‘I’m actually going to die on the way.’

He simply could not get used to these carriages. He had cursed the royal carriages for their poor ride, but there was no way a rented, outdated carriage would be any better.

“If I tell them I’m a prince from Norden looking like this, they’ll actually believe me.”

Euro scoffed at his own bedraggled appearance. Of course, he had the imperial edict sent by Read on Read BL Novelsthe Emperor and the marriage proposal sent to Norden by Duke Melione, who had accepted it. However, if he presented [Read on Read BL Novels]those documents looking like a beggar, it wouldn’t be strange for them to be suspected as forgeries.

There was another funny point. The Emperor might have overlooked it, thinking it was obvious, but even the marriage proposal sent by Melione did not clearly specify the partner.

Thanks to luckily exploiting this blind spot, he had managed to temporarily postpone Clope’s death, but Melione might look at Euro and say, ‘Am I crazy? Marry a man? Get lost!’

“Well, that probably won’t happen.”

Euro nodded to himself, muttering. He hadn’t volunteered for the marriage simply because the gender and partner hadn’t been specified.

Duke Melione Carlton Spioren was someone for whom the identity of the spouse truly didn’t matter. This was because he was terminally ill due to the madness that had plagued his family’s bloodline for generations.

Who would it matter who married into the family—whether a bride or a groom—when the man was destined to die anyway? Melione was so frail that he couldn’t even produce an heir to carry on the family name. And he was only twenty-nine years old.

This was also part of the reason why the Emperor had pushed for the marriage between Clope and Melione.

On the surface, the reason the Emperor married Clope off to Melione was so that he could naturally absorb Silon into the Imperial territories after the Duke died, and by making her a widow, ensure she could never become the Crown Princess.

However, the Emperor’s true intention was hidden. In a plot that ran through the novel Leches, the Emperor didn’t just want to make Clope a widow; he intended to kill her entirely.

Strangely, there had been a recurring phenomenon across generations where anyone who married into the Spioren family ended up dead.

The cause was always a mysterious illness. Clope [unauthorized copy]would have been [Read on Read BL Novels]a dead woman even if she had just waited, stolen contentbut the Emperor would not wait that long.

It would be a disaster if she were to have an heir with Melione. Thus, the Emperor planned to assassinate Clope.

At the same time, he framed the Dukes of the Spioren family as madmen who had killed their wives for generations, completely destroying the Dukedom’s reputation.

Furthermore, the Emperor thoroughly utilized his own son, Crown Prince Gail. One might say he wanted to fix his son’s mindset, as Gail was excessively friendly toward the Kingdom of Norden because of Clope Leches.

The Emperor plotted to make Gail’s rage fall upon the innocent Norden by making him believe Clope had been murdered by Melione.

Since the King of Norden lacked power, he had no choice but to obey the Emperor’s command to force the political marriage. Gail knew this, but because he was already consumed by rage, he could only be played in the palm of the Emperor’s hand.

No matter how much of a vassal state it was, destroying Norden—which had merely been used—based solely on Gail’s personal desire for revenge was not a simple matter. There was no plausible justification.

But there was someone who provided that justification. That was Euro Leches.

Driven by the belief that his sister had been murdered by Melione, Euro Leches hired mercenaries on his own and headed for the Spioren Dukedom.

Gail, who had wanted to eliminate Euro for his obsession with Clope, viewed this as an invasion of Paltryon by Norden and used it as a reason for conquest.

Unfortunately, the truth of all this was only revealed at the end of the work. Until then, no one knew that Melione had been falsely accused.

Melione, who had no will to even attempt an explanation, lived stolen contentas a [visit our site]thorough villain without any [Read on Read BL Novels]regrets before passing away from madness. Gail, upon learning the truth, killed his father, the Emperor, and became a tyrant.

In the end, the novel Leches concluded with a tragic ending where not a single person found happiness.

Inside the rattling carriage, Euro unbuttoned his shirt up to the collar. He was dressed as lightly as possible, but as he drew closer to Silon, the sweltering heat became unbearable.

To reduce his luggage, he had already thrown away the thin jacket he had been wearing. Even if Melione rejected him, he had no intention of returning to Norden.

For now, he would prevent the tragedy by ensuring the events never even started, but he had to consider the possibility of failure.

After all, he was of the Norden royal bloodline; if he failed to marry Melione, Clope would end up coming to the Dukedom.

If she were to die again, Gail’s revenge would either target him or he would be used as a pawn to justify the destruction of Norden.

The best course of action was for him to cure Melione’s madness and for Clope to marry the Crown Prince. Once peace arrived, he planned to leave the Dukedom and live freely.

“Why is my life a survival game even after being reborn?”

Euro pressed his temples and gazed out the window. There, he saw architecture and people in thin clothing that were starkly different from those in Norden.

Euro was momentarily entranced by the sight, which seemed vibrant and prosperous.

“I just hope I don’t die.”

Not by Melione’s hand, nor by Gail’s… As he muttered this, the carriage suddenly jolted violently, and his body lurched forward.