Chapter 559 War
"Huh?"
That was the only reaction that any of us could have when the fourth prince said this.
Our eyes opened wide in shock as we looked at him, trying to figure out if he was being serious or not.
But the serious look on the fourth prince's face made it very clear that there wasn't a single trace of a lie in his words.
It seemed that we really were at war.
After a long silence, I slowly asked, "Who are we at war with?"
Instead of answering my question, the fourth prince asked me a question back, "I'm sure that my big sister has already told you the circumstances of her arrangement, right?"
I raised a brow as I looked at the fourth prince, trying to figure out what his intentions were in mentioning this.
But he just looked at me as if he was waiting for me to answer.
So I gave a slow nod as I said, "Yes, she's already told me about this."
The fourth prince also gave a nod before saying with a sigh, "Then it's easier to tell you what the situation is."
He once again revealed a serious look as he said, "Those countries that made their proposals all wanted to build a relationship with our country because of your trade with the Dwarven Kingdom. They mistakenly thought that we were the ones that had established the trade, so they wanted a piece of the cake."
I gave a nod since this was something that the princess had already told me.
The fourth prince continued after seeing this nod from me, "We thought that we would be able to deflect their proposals by having big sister marry you, but now it seems like they're not willing to back down. Once we informed them of this, they immediately said that they would be declaring war and then three days later, we received an official declaration of war."
A bitter smile irresistibly crept onto my face when I heard this.
They were declaring war over a single woman?
What was this, the Trojan War?
But of course, I also knew that it wasn't just because the proposals were rejected that they were declaring war.
The main thing was the threat the trade with the Dwarven Kingdom posed.
Simply put, the human countries that were in this area were as powerful as each other.
If they were to give our country time to build up power through this trade with the Dwarven Kingdom, then it would only be a matter of time before we reigned over the other countries.
So they couldn't let this happen.
Now that diplomacy had failed, the only option left for them was to use force.
After all, it wasn't as if they could just wait for their deaths, right?
As I realized this, I couldn't help feeling a bit uncomfortable.
The cause of this war was technically me and now that war had broken out, would the fourth prince come here for no reason?
There had to be a specific reason why the fourth prince was here, right?
If I had to guess, it should most likely be to use me as a scapegoat once again.
I was the one that had caused this mess, so it would only make sense that they would offer me up as tribute to appease the other kingdoms.
But instead of saying anything, I just silently waited to see what the fourth prince would say.
To my surprise, the fourth prince suddenly said with a playful smile, "What's with that look on your face? It's almost like you're afraid that someone is here to execute you."
With a surprised look, I asked, "Isn't that the case?"
The fourth prince raised a brow before slowly revealing a look of understanding.
His expression became serious again as he said, "Do you think so little of us?"
I was even more surprised when I heard this.
The fourth prince gave a sigh when he saw the look on my face and said, "Well, I don't blame you since there were those nobles that did suggest offering you to the other kingdoms as a scapegoat."
A bitter smile appeared on my face again when I heard this.
I was expecting it already, but hearing the fourth prince actually say it was a completely different experience.
But the fourth prince revealed a serious look and said, "Do you think that they would just stop at that? Do you really think that they would give up just because we handed you over?"
I slowly shook my head.
Since they had already gone this far, there was no need for them to stop.
With several kingdoms grouping together to siege our kingdom, it was very likely that they would win this war. When the time came, the resources and land that they would get would more than make up for this.
The fourth prince gave a nod and said with another serious look, "So of course we're not going to do something as dumb as weakening ourselves before the war begins. Not to mention, if we show weakness and just hand over our nobles because of a simple threat, where would our face go?"
I couldn't help being surprised again as I looked at the fourth prince.
I had seen his actions in the game, but I had never seen him act this way before, so it really was surprising.
The fourth prince was someone who was supposed to be villainous and sly, using all kinds of methods to achieve his goals. But this fourth prince was completely different from the fourth prince that I had encountered in the game.
Though comparing the two…I would say that I preferred this fourth prince more.
Still, I didn't let my guard down just in case this was some kind of play from the fourth prince.
After waiting for him to calm down, I asked, "Then is there anything that I can do to help?"
I knew that the fourth prince wouldn't come to my place for no reason.
The fact that he came here right before the war started meant that he most likely wanted something from me.
The fourth prince gave a nod with an appreciative look and said, "Actually, there is something that I wanted to discuss with you."
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