Reborn As Noble

Kimar, cornered by Garius’s words, turned sharply toward the princess. His smirk returned, though the tension in his jaw betrayed the grind of teeth behind it.

”Now, Your Royal Highness,” he said, voice smooth but heavy with insistence, ”what is your answer? You have heard the law. You know your duty. This union is not a question of want, but of necessity. The kingdom itself rests upon it.”

Kliatana rose slowly, her gaze lowered to the polished table, shoulders trembling faintly. Her lips parted, hesitant, but her voice carried through the silence.

”...I... I refuse.”

A sharp stir rippled across the hall.

Kimar blinked once, his smile widening, as if he had misheard.

”Hmm? Forgive me, Your Royal Highness, but perhaps I did not catch your words clearly. Surely you would not dismiss your duty so lightly?”

Kliatana drew a deep breath, trembling.

”Duke Kimar, I do not deny the weight of law, nor the burden of blood. But I will not wed you.”

Gasps erupted. Nobles leaned forward, voices rising in furious whispers.

Kimar’s smirk deepened as he turned to the council.

”Am I mistaken? Did I mishear Her Highness? Surely you all heard as I did? Surely you all understand what this refusal means.”

He looked back to her, his tone smooth.

”Your Highness, you must know the law affords you no refuge. Refuse this union, and you strip yourself of crown and castle alike. Once spoken, these words cannot be gathered again. You would cast yourself down, reduced to a mere lady, stripped of the throne and the realm’s embrace.”

Kliatana’s fingers clenched tightly at her sides. Her lips trembled, but her voice held.

”...If duty demands chains, then I refuse that duty.”

The chamber erupted.

”Treasonous!”

”She cannot refuse!”

Kimar’s hand lifted, silencing them with practiced grace. His eyes narrowed, smirk gleaming in the light.

”My~ so bold, Your Royal Highness. You would abandon the crown so lightly? Know this. Once you speak it, there is no path back. You would step down from more than marriage. You would step down from the very throne itself.”

Duke Kimar’s smirk widened as he leaned back in his chair, his voice smooth through the chamber.

”Once you are stripped of your title, you are no longer a princess but a mere lady. None of the privileges of your birth will remain. No seat in this hall, no voice in council, no crown upon your brow. Are you certain of this choice, hmm?”

Kliatana bit her lip, hands trembling, but she lifted her chin enough to answer.

”...Yes.”

Gasps rippled across the hall. Nobles whispered furiously, some leaning forward as if to stop her, others smirking as though victory had already been sealed.

Kimar’s smirk deepened.

”How tragic... yet how expected. By refusing, Your Highness, you release the crown itself. So let it be recorded here and now. From this day forth, you are Princess no longer, but a mere lady. By the judgment of this council, her title is forfeit, her crown dissolved.”

The Keeper of Royal Law lowered his head, his quill scratching against parchment, sealing the words into the record.

Kimar’s smirk lingered as he turned his gaze briefly toward Garius, then shifted his eyes toward those seated at Kliatana’s side. His voice, calm and courteous, carried the weight of a verdict.

”She is no longer a princess,” he declared smoothly.

”And as such, those who clung to her as their sovereign shall cling no longer. General Gilmon... Royal Advisor Jarmen... your oaths were bound to the crown she bore. With her title dissolved, so too are your stations. By the judgment of this council, and under my authority as king-elect, your offices are hereby stripped.”

Gasps erupted again. Gilmon stiffened, hands curling into fists against his knees, though his head remained bowed. The royal advisor closed his eyes, shoulders sinking, as the weight of dismissal settled upon him.

Kimar’s smirk only deepened, as though savoring the taste of his own decree.

”Take heart, gentlemen. Your loyalty was admirable, though misguided. But a crown cannot be upheld by shadows once the flame has been extinguished.”

The nobles murmured in agreement, some nodding, others smirking openly.

Garius’s smirk returned as he rose from his seat. His chair scraped softly against the marble, a sound louder than the nobles’ murmurs. He adjusted his coat with unhurried grace, his voice smooth and resonant.

”I, Count Garius De Armand, shall take my leave of this council. The former princess will depart with me, under the protection of Armand. Consider this my courtesy to inform you, truthfully, I’m quite bored of this gathering already.”

A ripple of outrage surged through the hall, but none dared interrupt as he turned from the table.

Javier pushed himself to his feet at once, stretching lazily as if waking from a nap. Liana moved quickly to his side, quiet as a shadow. Further back, Marcellus, Cedric, Aelius, Heres, and Athine also rose, unhurried and unbothered, their movements casual yet deliberate, as though following a habit long established: when Father leaves, the family follows.

Garius strode toward the doors, his steps measured, his presence alone quieting the noise of the chamber. At the threshold, he paused, glancing back over his shoulder. His smirk lingered, cold and sharp.

”Well?” His gaze locked on Kliatana, his voice firm but calm. ”What are you waiting for, child? Bring those two with you, now.”

The princess flinched, eyes widening. Behind her, General Gilmon and the royal advisor looked up, stunned. The chamber froze, every noble caught between outrage and disbelief as Garius’s words echoed in the stone.

Garius exhaled softly, running a hand along the edge of his coat as though brushing away the dust of the chamber itself. His gaze slid toward Erinnette, his voice even, but edged with quiet disdain.

”Erinnette. Go fetch Kliatana. Lift her if you must. If we leave her here, who knows what these old, bloated men will attempt.”

She inclined her head, lips curling into a faint smile. ”As you command, my lord.”

With that, Erinnette vanished in a blur, the air whispering where she had been. In the next instant, she appeared behind Kliatana’s chair, one hand resting lightly on the young woman’s shoulder.

”Now, now, Lady Kliatana,” she said sweetly, though her eyes glinted like drawn steel.

”Lord Garius speaks only truth. Let’s go, shall we?”

Her gaze snapped sideways, sharp and cold as a blade, fixing on the royal advisor and General Gilmon.

”And you two,” she said, her smile gone, voice cutting through the chamber. ”What are you waiting for? Gather your families and meet us at the gates. Now.”

The advisor stiffened, bowing his head quickly, while Gilmon clenched a fist against his chest in salute. Both moved without protest, their chairs scraping back as they hurried toward the side passage.

Around the table, nobles erupted into outraged whispers, but none dared rise.

”Ah~ as you can see,” Garius said lightly, hands clasped behind his back as he walked slowly toward the great doors, ”I came prepared. So don’t waste time sending men after them... or after us.”

He paused mid-step, his smirk tilting as his gaze moved to Duke Kimar.

A sudden weight pressed on the chamber, three times normal gravity. Nobles gasped, some gripping the arms of their chairs, others straining against the invisible weight that pinned them in place. And yet Garius stood as if nothing had changed, smiling faintly, calm as if he were giving a toast.

”Since the crown has been decided,” he said smoothly, voice unhurried and steady.

”Govern the kingdom well. Whoever rules this kingdom, Armand will endure. I will pay the tribute needed, nothing more, nothing less. Whether the throne serves its people or fills its own pockets, it won’t change the harvest of my fields... or the strength of my walls.”

He lifted his chin a touch, eyes narrowing, his smirk turning colder.

”Still... I’d rather see a crown worn with dignity, not greed.”

The weight in the air pressed deeper for a moment, long enough to wove sweat on brows, long enough to make the council table creak, then it faded as suddenly as it came.

Garius turned again, moving toward the doors as if the chamber were already behind him.

( End Of Chapter )