Chapter 61
Chapter 61 – Cornelia Arcadia
Silvia took Ares to an area inside the Royal Palace called Crown Chambers, known as the area where the Royal Clan resides in .
[Come in . ]
When Silvia opened the door, a young woman talking to a boy could be seen from outside .
[Ah! Elder sister!]
The boy promptly pounced at Silvia and hugged her with a smile .
[Zerias, I told you to not jump at elder sister like that . ]
After she reprimanded the boy and put him down, the young woman turned to Silvia .
[Sister, it surprised me that you visited so suddenly . Are you not in the middle of a banquet?]
[Yes, sorry . That kind of event doesn’t suit me at all . I like this peaceful place better anyways . ]
Silvia smiled as she said so which prompted the young woman to smile along .
[As always, elder sister . Just like that . And who is that person standing behind you?] .
[Oh, didn’t you say that you want to talk with him for once? He’s the Schwarzer’s little lord . ]
Having said so, Silvia turned to Ares .
[I haven’t introduced you yet . These are my younger sister Cornelia and my younger brother Zerias . These two are the people I wanted you to meet . ]
Silvia smiled to Ares afterward .
Ares was a little taken aback by the unexpected introduction . He quickly responded as soon as he realized that he’s been gawking for a moment there .
[… Pardon me . This is the first time for me to meet Her Highness Cornelia and His Highness Zerias… . I am Ares, Archduke Schwarzer’s first son . Please call me as Ares . ]
Replied Ares as he bowed .
[Ares-sama, please raise your head . We are pleased to meet you as well . . ]
Cornelia also bowed in kind, then called out Silvia . .
[Elder sister, how come you did not inform us first? It’s rude for our guest here . ]
Silvia laughed as she apologized to both Ares and the slightly annoyed Cornelia .
[Well, sorry . I didn’t get to inform you in advance . I just thought that today is my best chance . And there, you two haven’t had dinner yet, have you? I ordered the servants to bring some dishes here, so how about we entertain ourselves with some pleasantries while waiting?]
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Cornelia Arcadia was 18 years old, a year younger than Ares .
Earlier, he had involuntarily gawked at her . Yes, Ares was an acquaintance with beautiful girls like Sharon, Theta, Maria, the Rozenburg sisters, and Nina . In addition to that, Ares had also met several other beautiful daughters of the aristocrats, so he should’ve been quite used to it . But he wasn’t prepared for anything like Cornelia .
Glossy black hair and clean white skin . Twinkling eyes and well shaped nose . Her body was slim, but with a firm, sizable bust . Above all, what probably attracted Ares the most was the spark of strong will in her eyes .
(No wonder that the people in the slums calls her a Goddess . . )
The boy standing next to her was Prince Zerias Arcadia, Cornelia’s younger brother . He has a bright blonde hair and a girlish pretty face . Also a lean (more like thin) body that is somewhat shorter than boys of his age .
Rumour said that his condition is a bit unwell… . Which was fairly obvious here .
Ares then had dinner with the three siblings Silvia, Cornelia, and Zerias . It was not extravagant nor lavish, but an enjoyable dinner nonetheless .
Cornelia and Zerias seemed to enjoy listening to Ares’ stories, while Silvia contently watched them with a smile on her face .
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[Why does Your Highness Cornelia choose not to attend the banquet? Being this beautiful, you’ll surely become the prettiest flower in that place . ]
Ares’ casual question actually caused Cornelia to blush slightly .
[Ah… . about that . There is this situation . ]
Silvia was the one who continued the answer .
[Cornelia is too beautiful . Even I admit it . That’s why… she’ll attract too much attention if she ever comes to the banquet . The other women there…for instance, my other sisters, fell to bribery in that very banquet . I’ve reported this to His Royal Father, yet he didn’t do anything to stop them]
After drinking her wine, Silvia resumed .
[You may not know this, but despite her status as the fourth princess, her mother was a lowly-birth and thus could not provide Cornelia with backing nor influence… which makes her a prime target for those wolves . No one will ignore her . ]
Having said so, Silvia gently stroke Zerias head .
[Same goes for Zerias . He’s still too young, but there are some who doesn’t care much about this . It’s just that their acts are harder to notice . ]
Afterward, Silvia turned to Ares and stare at him with a serious look on her face . .
[This is the first in a long time since I last saw Cornelia and Zerias looked so pleasant enjoying their meal . Surely it’s because of you . So I have a request to make…]
Silvia took a deep breath before continuing .
[Can the Schwarzer become the backing for these two siblings of mine?]
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The aristocrats supports a certain member of the Royal Clan, ‘backing’ them so to speak .
Since ancient times, if a Royal clan had no backing from the aristocrats, they will be easily deposed then end up banished or even killed .
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Most of the time, the clan of the spouse will be the backing of the royal clan .
Most princes and princesses, including Silvia, had the backing of at least a Duke . But this wasn’t the case with Cornelia and Zerias .
[Elder sister . ]
Surprisingly, it was Cornelia who cut into Silvia’s speech .
[We are yet to be familiar with Ares-sama as we only met today . How come you are being so rude to make such a request?]
Her face then turned serious .
[I have no intention to put such a burden on others, much less someone we only met today . It’ll be a huge burden for Ares-sama to protect me against elder brother . If elder brother doesn’t want us to meddle with him, then Zerias and I can simply leave the Capital . ]
There was this distinct dignified air around Cornelia . Silvia was left speechless . While Zerias simply looked on .
The silence did not last very long .
[Very well . ]
As he turned to Cornelia, Ares continued .
[If you have the resolve to go for it, then I won’t hesitate to give up my life for it . Let it be known that the Schwarzer will be backing Her Highness Cornelia from now on . ]
On that note, Ares smiled .
[Your Highness Cornelia . This may sound rude of me, but I’ve done a little investigation regarding Your Highness before . And it makes me want to meet you one day… Well, this isn’t exactly how I planned it though]
He resumed while keeping eye contact with Cornelia .
[I know Your Highness has been helping with developing the West District using her own private properties…]
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[!? But how?]
[I have many acquaintances in the Western District and all of them had only good praise in regard to Your Highness . ]
Ares then turned toward Silvia .
[No one in the Capital had ever given up their own private property for the sake of the commoners, Her Highness Cornelia here is the only exception . ]
He returned to Cornelia .
[That is why I’ve been wanting to meet Your Highness . I have given it a thought today while we were talking . Your Highness Cornelia is worthy to dedicate my sword to . However… there are still a lot of things I do not know yet . Therefore… I want to know more about Your Highness . I would be glad if such an opportunity appears in the future . ]
Cornelia replied despite her reddened cheeks .
[…I understand . I will accept this feeling of yours . However, it’s not solely your sword that I want from you . ]
She then laughed .
[If possible, instead of dedicating your sword to me, can we walk side by side? Not as a master and servant, but as an equal]
Both Ares and Cornelia smiled gently at each other .
Hearing the exchange, Silvia inwardly thought .
Among her siblings, Cornelia is probably the one who inherited the kingly nature the most .
She herself had gone through a lot of battlefields . The pressure Cornelia gave off, even if only for rare instances, was no joke even for her .
Even so… despite the given situation, Ares still wholeheartedly opened up and received Cornelia .
[It appeared that my eyes didn’t see wrong… interesting . ]
Silvia laughed in satisfaction .