Chapter 41. Proposal
Silviana was nervous. Carrot, who had miraculously escaped, had revealed everything. Should she be relieved or maintain a sense of urgency? Bash stood in front of her, staring at her. She had no way of knowing what he was thinking. As a military strategist and courtesan, she thought she was good at deciphering people’s expressions, but she had never been in front of orcs.
“…”
Her mind was blank. The words that used to come to her so naturally were nowhere to be found. Too much had happened and she didn’t know what to do. At the very least, she had to tell the Queen and her sisters that the ‘seed’ had been stolen from the Sacred Tree and that it was her fault. But before that, she needed a miracle to help her escape from the person in front of her. She could not allow herself to be beaten to death by an enraged orc.
“Ah, Sir Bash, I was so afraid…!” Silviana continued her lie. With the gesture of a captive princess, she jumped onto Bash’s chest. It was a much better performance than when she had been trampled by Carrot. She wondered if she could have performed this act before, if it had been a little different.
She knew it was useless. If this orc had been fooled by her performance, he would have assault her long ago, and the war between the beastmen and the orcs would have already begun.
“Silviana.” Bash knelt down and made eye contact with her. He held a flower in his hand. It was a white flower. The engagement flower, which was currently popular among the Beastmen and was given to their partners when they proposed. “Please marry me and give me a child as my wife.”
His words were too sincere. They were too direct. So much so that, had Bash not been an orc, even Silviana would have nodded out of mere reflex.
“Ah… uh…”
No, she should nod. That was what she had planned when she had called Bash to this place. She would nod, then let Bash assault her right here, then make a fuss about being raped. That was the plan. But she couldn’t do it.
Because there was another person right there: Nazar, the human prince.
“Hmm… I see. Hehe, in that case, I’ll be your witness.”
Nazar said with a laugh. If he were to be the witness, Silviana would not be able to carry out her plan. He was a human prince and a hero. He had an especially strong voice among humans. As long as he was here, no matter how much noise Silviana made, he could claim that it was a lie.
Or she could claim that Bash and Nazar had assaulted her together? If she did that, the worst that could happen would be a war between beastmen and humans. The elves, who were married to a Beastmen princess, would be on her side, but they would not want to actively fight the humans. Instead, the humans and orcs, enraged by the dishonor of their heroes, would crush the beastmen with their high morale. The Beastmen would perish. Or they would be left on the brink of extinction and decay. Perhaps they would be reduced to a vassal state of the Orcs. It had to be avoided.
“I-I… of course I…”
“I am sure Bash will not be offended, no matter what your answer is. But I won’t forgive you if you say something too stupid and far-fetched. As hero Leto’s comrade-in-arms, I will never allow you to mock the proud warrior who defeated him and even saved our lives.”
“…Mock him by doing such a thing? I could never do that.” Silviana gritted her teeth.
“Princess Silviana, you’ve always said you would never forgive the orc who disgraced Leto’s pride, but do you really think he would be capable of such an act?”
“…”
“You witnessed the exchange too, right? Do you still believe that?”
She knew. The truth was, she knew. Bash had told her the other day. He didn’t leave Hero Leto on the battlefield because he wanted to. Really, in his heart, he was proud to have fought and killed him. He was proud of his battle with Hero Leto as a story of heroism that needed to be told. He even regretted leaving his body in that place. And Silviana understood why. If Silviana was there as the military leader of the Seven Races Federation and was asked for instructions, she would order the same action Bash had been told to take without hesitation.
And not only that. Bash’s behavior after arriving in the land of the Beastmen was also admirable. She had closed her eyes and covered her ears when it came to the orcs, but when she thought about it calmly, Bash’s behavior was commendable. He dressed well, he read, he kept a low profile, and he went out of his way to entertain Silviana. If it were a human or an elf, she wouldn’t think he deserved so much credit, but Bash was an orc. Silviana would not expect this from an orc. In fact, no other orc would have behaved like Bash. Like Carrot said, he had studied. He must have thought that orcs wouldn’t be accepted if he didn’t make it that far. And indeed, the Beastmen Princesses, including herself, had not accepted him, even after he had gone to such lengths. In retrospect, it was a narrow-minded thing to do. But no one expected the Orcs to go that far. So they didn’t think that far ahead.
After he was kicked out of the party, the princess made fun of him every day. It must have been humiliating. And in the midst of such humiliation, hearing about Gediguz’s resurrection and being recruited by Carrot must have shaken his heart. Not only Nazar, but also Silviana thought that Bash would join the enemy after hearing how things were and what they planned to do. But Bash refused. It was as if he said he would change the situation in his own way.
Chapter 41. Proposal
Silviana was nervous. Carrot, who had miraculously escaped, had revealed everything. Should she be relieved or maintain a sense of urgency? Bash stood in front of her, staring at her. She had no way of knowing what he was thinking. As a military strategist and courtesan, she thought she was good at deciphering people’s expressions, but she had never been in front of orcs.
“…”
Her mind was blank. The words that used to come to her so naturally were nowhere to be found. Too much had happened and she didn’t know what to do. At the very least, she had to tell the Queen and her sisters that the ‘seed’ had been stolen from the Sacred Tree and that it was her fault. But before that, she needed a miracle to help her escape from the person in front of her. She could not allow herself to be beaten to death by an enraged orc.
“Ah, Sir Bash, I was so afraid…!” Silviana continued her lie. With the gesture of a captive princess, she jumped onto Bash’s chest. It was a much better performance than when she had been trampled by Carrot. She wondered if she could have performed this act before, if it had been a little different.
She knew it was useless. If this orc had been fooled by her performance, he would have assault her long ago, and the war between the beastmen and the orcs would have already begun.
“Silviana.” Bash knelt down and made eye contact with her. He held a flower in his hand. It was a white flower. The engagement flower, which was currently popular among the Beastmen and was given to their partners when they proposed. “Please marry me and give me a child as my wife.”
His words were too sincere. They were too direct. So much so that, had Bash not been an orc, even Silviana would have nodded out of mere reflex.
“Ah… uh…”
No, she should nod. That was what she had planned when she had called Bash to this place. She would nod, then let Bash assault her right here, then make a fuss about being raped. That was the plan. But she couldn’t do it.
Because there was another person right there: Nazar, the human prince.
“Hmm… I see. Hehe, in that case, I’ll be your witness.”
Nazar said with a laugh. If he were to be the witness, Silviana would not be able to carry out her plan. He was a human prince and a hero. He had an especially strong voice among humans. As long as he was here, no matter how much noise Silviana made, he could claim that it was a lie.
Or she could claim that Bash and Nazar had assaulted her together? If she did that, the worst that could happen would be a war between beastmen and humans. The elves, who were married to a Beastmen princess, would be on her side, but they would not want to actively fight the humans. Instead, the humans and orcs, enraged by the dishonor of their heroes, would crush the beastmen with their high morale. The Beastmen would perish. Or they would be left on the brink of extinction and decay. Perhaps they would be reduced to a vassal state of the Orcs. It had to be avoided.
“I-I… of course I…”
“I am sure Bash will not be offended, no matter what your answer is. But I won’t forgive you if you say something too stupid and far-fetched. As hero Leto’s comrade-in-arms, I will never allow you to mock the proud warrior who defeated him and even saved our lives.”
“…Mock him by doing such a thing? I could never do that.” Silviana gritted her teeth.
“Princess Silviana, you’ve always said you would never forgive the orc who disgraced Leto’s pride, but do you really think he would be capable of such an act?”
“…”
“You witnessed the exchange too, right? Do you still believe that?”
She knew. The truth was, she knew. Bash had told her the other day. He didn’t leave Hero Leto on the battlefield because he wanted to. Really, in his heart, he was proud to have fought and killed him. He was proud of his battle with Hero Leto as a story of heroism that needed to be told. He even regretted leaving his body in that place. And Silviana understood why. If Silviana was there as the military leader of the Seven Races Federation and was asked for instructions, she would order the same action Bash had been told to take without hesitation.
And not only that. Bash’s behavior after arriving in the land of the Beastmen was also admirable. She had closed her eyes and covered her ears when it came to the orcs, but when she thought about it calmly, Bash’s behavior was commendable. He dressed well, he read, he kept a low profile, and he went out of his way to entertain Silviana. If it were a human or an elf, she wouldn’t think he deserved so much credit, but Bash was an orc. Silviana would not expect this from an orc. In fact, no other orc would have behaved like Bash. Like Carrot said, he had studied. He must have thought that orcs wouldn’t be accepted if he didn’t make it that far. And indeed, the Beastmen Princesses, including herself, had not accepted him, even after he had gone to such lengths. In retrospect, it was a narrow-minded thing to do. But no one expected the Orcs to go that far. So they didn’t think that far ahead.
After he was kicked out of the party, the princess made fun of him every day. It must have been humiliating. And in the midst of such humiliation, hearing about Gediguz’s resurrection and being recruited by Carrot must have shaken his heart. Not only Nazar, but also Silviana thought that Bash would join the enemy after hearing how things were and what they planned to do. But Bash refused. It was as if he said he would change the situation in his own way.
