Chapter 611: The King’s Marriage 2

Chapter 611 – The King’s Designated Marriage 2
“What did you …… you say?”

Catherine stood up from the couch and looked at Rodney XVIII with an incredulous expression, her beautiful blue eyes projecting shock.

Her reaction was not unexpected by Rodney XVIII.

The king forced himself to hold back the embarrassment within himself and said:

“As I said just now, the royal family needs you to go and marry the Greiman family.”

His tone was firm and strong, full of unquestioning, although there was some emptiness in his heart, but it was well hidden.

Upon receiving Rodney XVIII’s confirmed reply, wild waves flooded Catherine’s heart.

“Why? Why in this way?”

Endless anger welled up from her soul, even some humiliation.

How could her older brother, who was the king, make her marry a man she had only met once?

With her intelligence, she could tell with a little thought that this was definitely someone around the king encouraging him to do so.

“Gerd!” She called King Aldo by his former name in a raw tone.

“Who put you up to this? Mackie? Or …… my uncle?”

“I’m the one who made the decision!”

Rodney XVIII’s eyes widened and he met Catherine’s gaze without avoidance.

He took on the attitude of a monarch to a subject rather than a brother to a sister.

But his eyes conveyed one thing to Catherine – “Many people want you to leave, and they can only be at ease if you do.”

Catherine tried to contain her anger, but her tone became icy, “Your decision makes me feel like a piece of cargo!”

Rodney XVIII nodded, “We are all goods to the kingdom, aren’t we? Just waiting for the right price.”

Catherine asked, “If you want to reassure your supporters, then why not exile me? It would be fine to send me to the Nerodan Valley to defend against the orcs, even as a common knight! And why bother sending me away in such a way as a marriage.”

“Catherine!” The king surveyed her from head to toe, “Your condition is so excellent. If I were not your brother, I think I would have pursued you fiercely.”

“So good you would be of more value to play in the Northwest Bay than in the Vale of Nerodan, which has enough knights, but Alda lacks a mistress, one who is elegant, noble, and has royal blood in her veins.”

“From what I understand, Paul Greiman has not been formally married to anyone of the opposite sex, and as you know, a man’s first wife often occupies an important place in his household, even equal to his husband in a sense. Seriously, if Graiman had already had a wife, then I would never have arranged for you to go over there and be aggravated.”

“Ha ha!” Catherine laughed somewhat sarcastically, “My dear brother king, so I have to thank you?”

Rodney XVIII said seriously, “Catherine, you are a princess. Yes, in many fairy tales, a princess often means a romantic love story. But that is a fairy tale after all. You grew up helping your uncle with his political affairs, and you have also led soldiers and fought in wars, so I think that growing up to this age you have already discarded those unrealistic fantasies.”

“You can go and ask your friends who are already married or engaged, ask them if their husbands-in-law are the Prince Charming they used to fantasize about, ask them if their husbands-in-law are the objects of their former admiration, and then ask them if their marriages are laced with family interests?”

Rodney XVIII stared into Catherine’s eyes and said, slowly but forcefully, “You, I think, should, have that realization!”

Catherine sat down somewhat disheveled.

There was no need to even ask; she had known all that the king had said for a long time.

For noblewomen, their marriages were often arranged by their families, and even if she was the only one left in the family, the higher feudal lord of the family could interfere powerfully in her marriage.

Did women exist in poetry and fiction who dared to break away from their families and boldly pursue their own love?

Yes, but they are extremely rare, and it is precisely because of this rarity that literary works based on them have become so popular. There was only one way out of this arrangement, to become a nun in a convent and take a vow of chastity to serve God for the rest of her life.

Catherine’s faith was certainly devout, but she didn’t want to spend her life in a convent being bored.

“Was it Paul Greiman who made the request to you?”

The princess pronounced the name with some hatred.

“No, it was not!” The king shook his head, “But at the first moment he looked at you, I could sense that you …… were the type he envisioned, so he should cherish and treat you well.”

Rodney XVIII’s heart slightly lowered, Catherine was initially angry at herself for arranging her marriage for this matter, now she started to shift to the marriage object, although her attitude was negative, but it showed that she had already compromised half of it.

“Then why him?”

“I’m sure your uncle must have told you about the importance of the Northwest Bay during his lifetime.”

Catherine instantly remembered what her father had said before he died, “There seems to be some change quietly taking place in that part of the kingdom to the northwest.”

She lapsed into silence, quietly pondering.

She herself had sworn to dedicate her life to this country, but why had fate set her up in such a way.

After a long time, she asked in a small but somewhat cold voice, “Then in what capacity should I be prioritized when I arrive in Northwest Bay?”

Rodney XVIII looked up, “What do you mean?”

“Is it Rodney’s princess? Or the Lady of Gladman? Am I loyal to the crown, or to my husband?”

Her older brother raised an eyebrow, “Kathryn, that is a difficult question to answer, so why not combine the two identities firmly?”

“Perhaps at some point the two identities will be pitted against each other, who knows what fate will do? For example ……”

Catherine’s voice remained cold, “I was suddenly told today by my own older brother that I was about to have a husband.”

Rodney XVIII did not immediately answer his sister’s words, and after a while he said:

“As a rule, a woman should be loyal to her husband first, but you are not an ordinary woman, so you ……”

He did not continue, and seemed to be in some difficulty.

After a moment of silence, the king walked briskly to the window and took a few hard breaths of fresh air before continuing:

“Catherine, I know that you grew up as a woman who upholds justice and knows right from wrong, and has a set of your own standards for judging things.”

“And unprecedented changes are about to take place, some things, which are right now, may be called wrong in the future, while other things, which are wrong now, may be called right in the future.”

“For the future of the kingdom, I can only try, but dare not judge.”

“I can only say that if, unfortunately, these two identities really clash …… then follow the choice of your own heart, according to your talent, I think you will choose the right side.”

Catherine was a bit surprised, she didn’t expect the king to say this.

Rodney XVIII’s words seemed to contain some very vague hints that Catherine wanted to catch but couldn’t.

Change!

Her own father, her own elder brother, all mentioned the word in unison, and all in connection with the Northwest Gulf.

Perhaps one should visit that land?
(End of chapter)