Chapter 157 - 152: About Marriage and a Good Wife

Belem noticed Emma and Richard standing next to Eric and decisively changed the subject.

"Remember me? Son of Roger de Montgomery, the Earl of Shrewsbury. You’re the strange young lady obsessed with knightly novels. Why so wretched? Did the Saxons you fantasize about finally leap from your knightly novels and give you a thrashing?"

Belem flicked his ’beautiful hair’.

His long hair on the left side had been lopped off during the battle at the Trent River, so now only the right half remained.

It looked quite asymmetrical, but for some unknown reason, Belem stubbornly refused to cut off the other side.

As a result, he now looked rather ridiculous.

"The infamous Belem? Did a dog bite you on your way out? Is that how your hair got gnawed off like that?" Emma asked after a moment’s thought.

"Can you please not use that nickname? It’s blatant slander from the common rabble. I was only taking back what was mine and giving them appropriate punishment. Pinning this infamy on me is both immoral and cruel.

Everything I did was reasonable and lawful. To that rabble, the best Lord is one who doesn’t enforce the law, so they can unscrupulously chip away at property that isn’t theirs."

"I hope you can still say that when you meet God." Emma was in no mood to argue with him. She had been exhausted lately and just wanted to see her father as soon as possible.

"Of course I will. Honestly, talking to women is so exhausting."

Belem flicked his beautiful hair again, then knelt and put his hands on Richard’s shoulders.

"Now here’s the pride of us Normans, Little Richard of the Osborne Family. He’s much more likable. Remember me, Little Richard?"

"Of course I remember, the big brother from the Montgomery Family. Big Brother Belem, when are you taking me to the bathhouse to play with the big sisters again?"

"Uh... That never happened, that never happened." Feeling Emma’s murderous glare, as well as the other knights staring at him like he was scum, Belem quickly begged for mercy. "He’s slandering me! He’s slandering me..."

"Scum." ×9.

Belem: ┭┮﹏┭┮.....

"Theo, Theo... Snap the fuck out of it, you idiot."

Seeing that Theo was still in a daze, Eric slapped him twice.

"What happened? Why does my face hurt so much?" Theo asked, clutching his face.

"Arrange a room for the young lady and the heir of the Earl of Hereford’s Family. Prepare formal attire for them, and satisfy their requests as much as possible. They are to have an audience with His Majesty Robert tonight," Eric said to Theo.

"Understood." Theo nodded.

"Belem, you come with me." Eric patted the depressed Belem on the shoulder, signaling for him to follow him into the city.

"Eric, you..."

Emma called out to Eric.

The moment she did, she regretted it. ’Why did I call out to him?’

"What is it?" Eric turned his head back.

"N-Nothing. Anyway... thank you."

Emma, for once, stuttered.

"It’s nothing. Just have your father settle the bill when the time comes."

Emma: ??? ಠ_ಠ

Then, Eric pulled Belem along and ran into the city, quickly disappearing from sight.

....

「Inside London City.」

"How have things been developing lately, Belem? On my way here, I heard rumors that the old king’s army has been crushed."

"That’s right. You left too early that day at the Trent River. You didn’t see what happened afterward. Prince Edgar arrived with reinforcements, and with their help, we crushed the old king in one fell swoop.

Robert even unhorsed the old king. It’s just..."

"It’s just that he let him get away," Eric immediately replied.

"Eh? How did you know?" Belem looked surprised.

"You don’t need to guess to know Robert would do something like that." Eric waved his hand dismissively.

"Robert is great in every way, except he’s not decisive enough. He values his family very much. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If a man doesn’t even value his own kin, yet goes on and on about the so-called bond between a Feudal Lord and his Vassal, that would be far too hypocritical.

That’s also why we chose Robert, even though we sometimes wish he were a bit tougher, a bit colder. But you can’t be too greedy in life, right?" Belem shrugged.

"Er... maybe," Eric said with an awkward laugh.

’Damn it, how can words like that come out of your mouth?’

’Who was it that personally shot his own father in the thigh from the walls of London City, and then boasted about it?’

"But, they’re out of options now. The old king was seriously injured, and his wounds seem to have worsened. His main force was crushed, so there’s no way to turn the tide. Just a few days ago, my father sent a letter regarding peace talks."

"It seems everything is developing in the right direction."

Although Eric had already gleaned this from rumors, hearing the confirmation from Belem’s own mouth still made him sigh in relief.

"It’s just..."

"Just what?"

’Can’t you just finish your sentence, you idiot?’

Eric was getting annoyed.

"It’s just that after that letter arrived... Robert seems to have started repenting for his sins. To be honest, you’ve come back at the perfect time. I don’t think there’s anyone more suitable for this than you.

A Cultivator is a professional in this area, aren’t they?"

"I can only do my best, but I don’t think Robert is incapable of seeing the situation clearly."

Eric and Belem stopped. They had now reached the Tower of London.

"Anyway, you should go see him first. Although the war in England has come to an end for now, the shameless King of France is currently attacking Normandy. More than half of the Upper Normandy Region has already fallen. If this drags on any longer, Rouen might not be safe either.

Once all of Upper Normandy falls, winning it back won’t be an easy task."

"By the way, how is the Earl of Hereford?"

"Oh, him? He’s alright. William Rufus somehow managed to escape, leaving everyone, including the Count, behind in the Tower of London. They say even the guards couldn’t figure out how he got away.

The arrowhead was in pretty deep, though. Although Rufus gave him some basic treatment, the Count will need a period of rest to recuperate. What, worried about your future father-in-law? Speaking of which, the young lady of the Osborne Family is indeed quite a looker, but her brain isn’t all there.

I knew her when we were kids. She was always daydreaming about all sorts of nonsense. When she was little, she loved reading knightly novels so much that she was always imagining Saracens had broken into the castle. She’d hide in a chest and refuse to come out, no matter what.

Good heavens, everyone in the castle was trying to coax the young lady out, and no one cared that some poor fellow was locked in another chest. It was deadly! I was just taking a nap! Who did I offend to deserve that?

It was many years ago, but... I advise you to be cautious. For a proper nobleman, a pretty face is never the primary factor in judging a good wife." Belem patted Eric sympathetically.

"It’s not like that. The Count is a good man. I admire his character and feel sorry for the harm my plan caused him that day. That’s all," Eric said, waving his hand.

"Alright, I’m just offering some advice. For the nobility, marriage is an excellent bargaining chip. You can gain many things through it: wealth, status, honor, alliances.

With your accomplishments this time, you’ll be granted a great deal of land. Add to that the prestige of the Outville family, and your wife should at least be a female heir, or a princess or something.

The eldest daughter of the Osborne Family can give you a few villages as a dowry at most. What does that count for? Me, you, Arno, Robert—the four of us are men who are going to rule England and Normandy. A dowry like that is for chasing away beggars."