Chapter 254: 254 Marilyn’s Persuasion
"What?"
Marilyn’s answer left Reiger completely stunned.
However, Marilyn didn’t give Reiger time to be astonished.
"There’s absolutely no need to ask that question, especially for you," Marilyn said, looking straight at Reiger. "Didn’t you willingly give up the chance to become a noble?"
Marilyn’s intended message was something Reiger could understand.
"In your view, being a princess must be better than being an attendant, but to ordinary people, being a noble is surely better than being a commoner. Yet you willingly gave up the chance to become a noble. So why would you think that a princess choosing to become an attendant is a bad thing?"
Marilyn’s voice then took on a slightly sarcastic tone.
"Do you know what being a princess means?"
"A princess is confined to the palace, always accompanied by others wherever she goes, either staying in so-called safe places specified by others, or dressing up beautifully to parade around at other people’s convenience to represent the nobility and status of the royal family. To put it bluntly, she’s just an ornament used to decorate the kingdom."
"Even if they resent their roles and strive to escape being mere ornaments by practicing swordsmanship and studying magic, eventually making a name for themselves, that just adds a few flattering terms to their ornamental value."
"Then, when the time comes, the kingdom needs her to marry some high and mighty dignitary, perhaps skipping the courtship altogether, directly arranging a marriage to consolidate alliances," Marilyn said, her voice turning scornful.
"The so-called princesses really have no freedom at all. They live within frameworks laid out by others, living life according to other people’s terms. Compared to that, what does being an attendant amount to?"
"As an attendant, you only need to follow the commands of the contracting party."
"But as a princess, you have to obey numerous people’s commands, even a knight can tell you ’no, it’s too dangerous, you can’t go out’ right in front of you."
Having said this, Marilyn lowered her eyelids.
"You might not believe this, but actually, many princesses secretly look forward to being someone else’s attendant."
"For those who are accustomed to all kinds of struggles, rather than unrealistically hoping for a Prince Charming to rescue them from their cage, or for the man they marry to be a noble who will treat them well, they would rather hope to form a pact with a kind and gentle magician."
"At the very least, that way they wouldn’t have to marry someone they dislike."
Marilyn’s words expressed a deep distrust in the notion of "nobility."
In this regard, she was quite similar to Reiger.
You can’t expect every person in power to be like Ubuyashiki Kagaya, who treats even the lowest of his subordinates as if they were his own children, who is gentle and kind.
Born into nobility, one inevitably faces all sorts of deceit and the various temptations of the external environment.
In such an environment, you can’t say there aren’t any good people, but those who are purely gentle and kind are probably rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Rather than hoping a noble is good, it is better to pin your hopes on a magician who, through his own efforts, has achieved remarkable accomplishments so commanding that the kingdom must pay him respect.
This way, even serving tea and water is probably much better than living bound by chains.
This was what Marilyn wanted to express.
"Of course, it’s not that there haven’t been princesses in history who ended up with the wrong person and became tragic victims," Marilyn’s voice turned cold again.
"But compared to such cases, there are overwhelmingly more princesses who became depressed after marrying nobility and never found happiness in their lives."
At this, Reiger fell silent.
It was then that Marilyn brought the conversation back to the original subject.
"Personally, I really do hope that girl can find a master worthy of her loyalty," Marilyn said.
The "girl" Marilyn referred to was of course Liz.
"Given her background, her treatment and environment in the royal palace are much worse than that of a typical princess. The King almost forgot about her until she became a full-fledged Swordsman and even deliberately prevented her from interacting with other royal children."
"Whether this decision was made out of kindness, not wanting to see her ostracized and bullied by his other children, or for some other reasons, probably no one knows."
"However, if she continues to stay in the royal palace, eventually, she will also face misfortune."
This was actually what Marilyn had kept Reiger here to say.
"I understand your point, you don’t want restrictions, especially those from the royal family," Marilyn paused, then continued, "but you really don’t need to resist so much, this matter can be changed."
Reiger looked at Marilyn, surprised, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"The meaning is, you’re not the one in a hurry, but rather the royal family, the King," Marilyn said expressionlessly. "He is the one who most wants you to enter into this pact."
Hearing this, Reiger’s mind stirred.
"Do you mean I have room to negotiate?"
Indeed, this situation wasn’t beyond negotiation. If the current conditions were unacceptable, they could certainly work towards a mutually beneficial arrangement until it was acceptable.
"You are the youngest Sword Saint in history, only 17 years old, with no predecessors and likely no successors. No one can imagine what heights you will be able to reach," Marilyn said. "And since you’re also a Tactical Level Magician, the royal family definitely wouldn’t want to offend you, lest they drive you to oppose them."
"They just want to make sure you won’t harm them or the country."
"If that’s the case, as long as the goal can be achieved, they will certainly be willing to compromise and retreat, allowing you to propose any terms they can accept."
Having said that, Marilyn concluded with a sentence.
"If you truly believe it’s feasible, then I hope you will seriously consider this matter."
"After all, having an outstanding Attendant wouldn’t be a bad thing for you," she added.
"Right?"
With that, Marilyn bowed to Reiger.
"That’s all I wanted to say; the rest is up to you to decide."
Leaving these words behind, Marilyn continued to push the tea cart past Reiger and left the place.
Reiger watched the maid’s retreating figure and fell into contemplation.
"Consider it... huh?"
Murmuring to himself, Reiger too left the place with his thoughts.
......
Inside a room at the Fransel residence.
This was the room where Reiger had recovered from his injuries, lying there for an entire month.
Although the room, along with the mansion, had once been completely burnt by the High-level Victory Sword, it had been restored by the court magicians to look exactly the same as before, making it hard to believe that it was not the original room anymore.
Having returned here, Reiger closed the door and sat down.
He was thinking.
Thinking about whether he really should take Liz on as his Attendant.
Previously, he felt he didn’t need an Attendant.
The purpose of an Attendant is to protect Magicians, allowing them to cast spells in the heat of battle without interruption from the enemy.
But Reiger felt that he did not need such an Attendant.
Being a Swordsman and also skilled in simultaneous chanting, Reiger could calmly cast spells even in fierce battles, so why worry about being interrupted or needing protection?
He wasn’t a high-profile figure, not needing to wander around with attendants, and found being alone more relaxing.
Therefore, Reiger had never considered taking on an Attendant before.
Now, due to Marilyn’s persuasion, Reiger began to seriously ponder it.
Eventually, Reiger realized that there was indeed a situation when he might need an Attendant to protect him.
"Dimensional Travel."
Yes, Dimensional Travel.
Every time he performed Dimensional Travel, only Reiger’s consciousness would enter the dimensional passage, traveling to another world, while his physical body always remained in this world.
Although it was only for a short day, during this day, Reiger’s body left in this world was undoubtedly defenseless, vulnerable to any potential threats.
Even though Reiger could cast protective Magic before performing the Dimensional Travel, the protective effects of Magic were ultimately limited.
Just like the last time, the Thin Veil Breath he cast, though touted to block all attacks, was limited in duration and effectiveness. If someone attacked Reiger, could this protective Magic really keep him safe for an entire day without fail?
Definitely not.
Thus, while Reiger performed Dimensional Travel, his body staying in the continent of Akasha was still at possible risk.
Even if the likelihood was low, it’s always better to err on the side of caution.
What if it actually happened?
It’s not as if no one had ever sneaked into Reiger’s room, attempting to assassinate him.
Not to mention, Reiger had now become a focal figure, his fame spreading across the continent, perhaps making him a target for others plotting harm.
For example, states hostile to the Kingdom of Ginas might think to assassinate a promising 17-year-old Sword Saint to prevent him from later facing their armies or appearing at their borders.
For them, if they figured out that Reiger spent an entire day secluded in his room every so often, drafting an assassination plan based on this information would indeed be very likely.
At such times, having a trustworthy Attendant who could protect him constantly seemed very important.
"Should I give it a try?"
Reiger hesitated.
Thinking of that pitiful, delicate face, Reiger finally relaxed the brows that had been furrowed all along.
"Then let’s give it a try."