Chapter 03
The Hall of Glory, where the banquet was being held, was absolutely massive.
Chloe had only been on duty for three months, and today was her first time entering both the Duke of Verck’s estate and the inner royal palace. Everything was new and overwhelming.
The inside was so fancy that her eyes almost popped out of her head. Music echoed throughout the hall—probably from several orchestras—and decorative lights, the kind she had only heard about in stories, were sparkling everywhere.
‘Those shiny things on the chandelier… They’re magic lights, right?’
Just as Chloe guessed, despite the sun having already set, the hall was still glowing brightly thanks to countless magical decorations.
Everyone knew the Kingdom of Ivannes was rich, but this was still beyond impressive.
Chloe instinctively sniffed her own sleeve.
‘I washed really well earlier, didn’t I?’
Her boss, Brigadier General Verck, was a clean freak who absolutely hated body odor and stray hairs.
Worried he might complain, Chloe had scrubbed herself head to toe in the guards’ bath and washed her hair until it squeaked.
Even so, the elegant perfumes wafting from all directions made her feel small.
‘Maybe I should’ve asked Ezra to lend me some perfume…’
On top of that, this was her very first royal audience. She had no idea she’d end up meeting the king under such confusing circumstances.
****
“Duke Verck, you’ve arrived.”
Before she realized it, they had already reached the audience chamber.
Unlike the banquet hall, this room was quieter but held a much heavier atmosphere.
Not only were servants lined up, but several high-ranking nobles surrounded the king in an orderly fashion.
Even Chloe, who was a low-ranking noble, recognized most of their faces.
At the center of it all, the king smiled warmly and raised a hand in greeting.
Curtis, who had just entered the room, respectfully placed his hand over his chest and bowed.
“Curtis Shan Verck, greeting His Majesty.”
Chloe hurried to kneel on one knee.
Before coming here, Lieutenant Noel had given her a crash course on how to greet royalty.
The Duke didn’t have to bow, since he was the king’s younger brother, but Chloe? If she didn’t show the proper respect, she’d be in serious trouble.
The king waved his hand after their greetings.
“Come take a look at this.”
Curtis’ brow twitched ever so slightly.
In the middle of the audience room was a large table, and on top of it lay a portrait of a woman.
Even from a distance, it was clear she was beautiful.
‘A matchmaking partner!’
Chloe’s interest instantly spiked.
Yes, this was the very woman inside the portrait—the one her unlucky boss had apparently been blackmailed into meeting.
She was clearly a stunning lady.
The king smiled as he spoke.
“As you’ve probably heard, Duke Verck, this is your betrothed—Duchess Isabelle of Glintland.”
‘Wait… is the king… excited?’
Chloe glanced around, unsure.
Of course, a king would be happy about his brother getting married, but there was something odd about his tone.
It wasn’t joyful—it sounded more like someone mischievously trying to mess with another person.
That wasn’t surprising though. Everyone knew the king and his half-brother Curtis absolutely hated each other.
Chloe remembered what Lieutenant Noel had said earlier about a political trap tied to this arranged marriage. Now she could kind of see what he meant.
‘Do people usually announce engagements like this… in front of everyone?’
And the king had said “marriage partner”? Not “matchmaking candidate”?
As a junior noble, Chloe knew at least the basics of how noble marriages worked.
For nobles with titles, especially powerful ones like the Duke of Verck, marriages were complicated.
They involved endless paperwork, negotiations, and mutual benefit checks—often 30 documents or more exchanged between families.
And marrying someone from another country? That made things even more complex.
The king announcing it so suddenly? That was weird.
And Chloe, as his aide, should’ve known beforehand if this was a real deal. It would’ve been all over the newspapers too.
But she hadn’t heard anything—only Noel’s vague “maybe” earlier today.
So unless both sides had already reached an agreement, even the king couldn’t just throw around the term marriage partner like that.
Then Curtis finally spoke.
“Why is she my betrothed? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
His words matched Chloe’s suspicions.
But what shocked her more…
‘Did he just talk back to the king like that?!’
Curtis’ blunt response made the king’s expression twist in irritation.
“Royal marriage news always reaches the person involved last.”
“But my last name is Verck, not Ivannes. My marriage isn’t part of any royal plans.”
A few nobles standing near the portrait quickly stepped back, squinting.
They clearly wanted to get out of the line of fire before the tension exploded.
Chloe desperately wanted to back away with them, but she couldn’t.
She was Curtis’ aide.
If she retreated now, she’d get chewed out for months with lines like:
“Does an aide abandon her post in such a moment?”
So Chloe stayed put behind Curtis, bracing herself.
If she didn’t keep a perfectly neutral expression right now, it would be the end for her.
‘I’m a rock. I hear nothing, I feel nothing.’
Meanwhile, the conversation between the king and Curtis continued.
And if you stripped away the polite speech, their talk basically went like this:
- “Check out this marriage proposal. Awesome, right? Look at this portrait—she’s stunning.”
- “Then you marry her.”
- “I’m already married. Anyway, she’s coming to the banquet today. Meet her, marry her.”
- “Seriously? Just like that? You can’t be serious.”
- “I’m the king. If I say it, do it. Don’t act like you didn’t know.”
- “I really didn’t know.”
- “You don’t even have a girlfriend. Just do it.”
- “You don’t know anything. And you can’t just spring this on me. Being king isn’t a free pass.”
- “Yes it is.”
Even though the words were formal and elegant, the actual content was basically a childish fight.
For Chloe, attending her first royal audience, this was equal parts shocking and ridiculous.
‘Is this normal? Is the future of Ivannes okay?’
But while she was worrying about the kingdom’s future, she didn’t realize her own future was about to collapse right in front of her.
Still, the argument continued.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I have something to say,” Curtis said, narrowing his eyes.
“Speak, then.”
The king sounded annoyed.
Curtis replied seriously,
“I’ve already promised to someone else.”
“Do you expect me to believe that?”
The king scoffed.
“Did you forget the crown prince recently got engaged? Every noble lady of marriage age in Ivannes was reviewed by the palace. If Duke Verck were in a relationship, I would’ve known first.”
“I met her in secret.”
“Duke Verck.”
The king waved some documents in the air.
Chloe squinted. They looked oddly familiar.
Wait… those were…
“These are your official guard duty records. You’ve been diligently serving the kingdom, haven’t you?”
Oh no. Chloe nearly laughed out loud.
The king glared at Curtis.
“You’ve been finishing duty at midnight and returning at dawn, every single day?”
In short:
‘I know your schedule. Don’t lie to me.’
And… yeah. That was true.
Chloe nodded inwardly.
She had been dragged along for every one of those early mornings and late nights.
The schedule was brutal.
Her name was probably written all over those reports too.
And she wasn’t the only one who wished her boss would just fall in love already—anything to cut back the overtime.
In fact, many guards secretly prayed for it.
Chloe used to pray harder than anyone… until she was abandoned by the gods and became a full-blown atheist.
Then the king added,
“Earlier, before the official audience, I met with the Duke of Glintland. When I gently brought up the marriage proposal, he seemed quite pleased.”
That was… a little surprising.
Chloe’s eyes widened.
She didn’t know the full details, but Glintland was a much weaker nation than Ivannes.
They couldn’t offer a massive dowry or political benefit.
So why would they visit here for marriage?
Unless the king wanted so badly to get rid of Curtis that he reached out first.
If so… Well, Chloe couldn’t blame him.
Especially since it was Glintland they were trying to ship him off to.
‘Still, no matter how much you hate him… You’d really send away your kingdom’s war hero like this?’
Almost as if replying to her thoughts, the king continued,
“Ivannes is currently in a ceasefire with three other kingdoms. It’s been so long since we’ve had peace. So I thought this would be the perfect time for Duke Verck’s wedding.”
Even as someone from the useless navy, Chloe could tell this was complete nonsense.
After all, who do they think won that peace in the first place?
Obviously the man standing next to her—Duke Curtis Shan Verck.
She zoned out again.
‘Ivannes’ future… yeah, not looking so good.’
Chloe glanced sideways at her boss.
He looked expressionless on the surface—but after working under him for three months, Chloe could tell.
‘He’s furious.’
But instead of exploding, Curtis wore a calm, confident expression—like he was holding a secret weapon.
And with that, he calmly opened his mouth to speak again…
