Chapter 102: The Queen’s Request

Queen Sophia glanced at Catherine, feeling reluctant, but still spoke as planned: “I know that for a strong man like you, Catherine is surely not the only woman!”
Before Donald could speak, the queen rushed to say, “Don’t rush to deny it. This is a world where the strong reign supreme. Not to mention you’re already a bronze-level strongman with the potential to become a silver-level one, even if you’re just a mage apprentice, as long as you have hereditary titles and lands, many women would willingly become your wives, even if they have to share you with others. I think Catherine must think the same way. So, no matter what the outcome is, this fact cannot be denied!”
“Besides, you’re the only one left in the Merlin family. If you want to strengthen the family and expand its influence in the kingdom, you must learn from the great noble families by having more descendants to ensure the lineage continues.”
Donald pondered the queen’s words. This world wasn’t like his past life, where there was such a thing as family planning. Celt already had a small population, and both the royal family and local nobles encouraged commoners to have more children. Thinking about the happy scenario of having several children around him, Donald realized he must have more children in the future. Of course, if nothing went wrong, Catherine would be their mother.
The queen continued, “I heard you have a good relationship with the Ansel family. You must know that a family like the Ansel, which has existed for thousands of years, can continue its lineage not only because of its strength but also because of excellent heirs. In the world of nobles, just like among the beasts in the forests and grasslands, there are conflicts between races and within races. Only the strongest and smartest can become leaders and lead their tribes to survival!”
At this point, Donald confidently interjected, “Your Majesty, I have enough confidence and strength to ensure the continuation of my family and the stability of my lands. Please rest assured!” But the queen asked, “I’m not underestimating your strength, but you’re still so confident. Mages live longer than ordinary people. Can you guarantee you won’t fall in love with another woman your whole life?”
This question left Donald speechless. Indeed! Who could know what the future would hold?
With his elven physique from his heroic class, he could live for many years. Even if he could keep his wife young and extend her lifespan, could he truly love only Catherine?

So Donald thought for a moment and realized it was a question with no definite answer. He then said firmly, “I can’t possibly know what the future holds, but as long as Catherine remains devoted to me, my feelings for her will not change! And I will marry her, give her status and position, and build a happy family together!”
Hearing such sincere words, Catherine’s pale face, which had turned slightly pale due to the queen’s question, returned to normal. Thinking about the future Donald described, her face lit up with joy and a sweet expression.
The queen stopped pressing her further and nodded, saying, “I won’t interfere in your relationship with Catherine, but you must give me one promise!”
“Your Majesty, please speak!”
“You have vast territories, enough to accommodate two earldoms in the future, and you’ll continue to expand further. Although according to the kingdom’s laws, both nobles and commoners can only have one wife, there’s an exception in noble laws: if a noble owns multiple territories within or outside the kingdom, he can marry one wife under each lordship’s name. So I hope that even if you fall in love with another woman in the future, Catherine can at least be one of your wives as a lordess, and I will do my best to help you until the king leaves!”
“I would do this even if Your Majesty didn’t ask!”
After saying that, Donald looked at his woman and saw that she was also gazing at him affectionately. Unable to resist, he pulled Catherine into his arms.
Even if there were no other women now and he were to fall in love with someone else, as long as Catherine remained faithful, he wouldn’t abandon her. After all, she was the first woman he had truly fallen in love with, whether in his past life or this one.
In his past life, Donald had had a few relationships, but in that materialistic society, they never went deep for various reasons. So strictly speaking, Catherine was the first woman to enter his heart.
Seeing the deep affection between the two, Queen Sophia felt much more at ease. This young lord was a man of loyalty and honor—at least Catherine wouldn’t end up like those noble princes’ mistresses, abandoned after being used.
Thinking of this, Sophia let out a soft sigh.
Realizing how affectionate she and Donald were in front of the queen, Catherine’s face turned red, and she awkwardly stepped away from Donald’s embrace.

“There’s one more thing. By Catherine’s generation, the Zeta family had few descendants. Aside from Catherine’s cousin Augustus, she had only one daughter. Her parents passed away years ago, and now news from the mainland says her uncle has also died. With the situation in Sirenia once again in chaos, my father plans to send Augustus to Celt to take care of me, as a way to ensure the Zeta family continues to have descendants and avoids dying innocently in the turmoil!”
Donald had long heard that Sirenia’s situation had been unstable in recent years. The reason was that the current grand duke had no sons, only a daughter. If the grand duke grew old and the princess had no interest in becoming the new grand duke, they would have to find a son-in-law to inherit the throne and continue the Cadocchi lineage.
As a result, not only were various factions within Sirenia eager for power, but some young and talented outsiders were also keen to seize the opportunity.
It was a whole duchy! If one could catch the eye of the princess, they would immediately gain immense power over a duchy.
Moreover, the Cadocchi family had noble bloodlines—they were among the oldest noble families in the Kingdom of Gadré, descended from an ancient lineage of the Banedi Empire. Even after Gadré separated from them, they were able to establish their own duchy.
By marrying the princess, one could not only become the new grand duke but also inherit the powerful knightly traditions of the Cadocchi family. This meant gaining both power and status, along with a beautiful partner—truly a win-win situation!
However, Donald hadn’t expected the situation there to be so severe. Even the grand duke of Sirenia was pessimistic about his country’s future and wanted to send his trusted descendants to his sister abroad.
But no matter how chaotic Sirenia became, it couldn’t reach Celt, which was far in the north, so Donald didn’t pay much attention.
After hearing the queen’s words, he remembered that their queen of Celt was actually the sister of the Sirenian grand duke, another heir to the Sirenian duchy.
But since she had married into Celt and become its queen, it was unlikely she would return to inherit the duchy. Yet, according to the family lineage, her son, Prince Dray, had the fourth-in-line right to inherit, and his paternal bloodline was equally noble, giving him full qualifications to compete for the position of grand duke of Sirenia.
It was just unclear what the queen intended to do.

“My status is noble, but I don’t have much influence in Celt, and the distance is too great—no matter how much I want to intervene, it’s beyond my reach. However, the situation in Celt is quite tense right now, and it all relies on Your Majesty alone. If He Majesty falls, as queen, I will inevitably be dragged down as well. That’s why I plan to entrust both of them to you.”

Donald was somewhat surprised. Why did the queen see things so pessimistically about his situation? At least Dorei had Ansel and the military’s support, so he should have a better chance. It shouldn’t be hard for her, as queen regent, to protect one or two of her subordinates. But Donald, who didn’t know much about the details, didn’t ask. He was quite disgusted by these struggles for power and basically didn’t want to get involved.

The queen continued, “Augusta is honest and shrewd at the same time. Your territory needs people right now. Catherine’s family has been loyal to my Cardoch family for three generations. Now I can order Augusta to become your vassal and handle your business affairs! You needn’t give any rewards in advance. Wait until he has earned enough merits and his loyalty has been tested before making any decisions!”

Hearing this, Donald became somewhat interested. If that was indeed the case, and his territory was short-staffed, it would be better to use Catherine’s cousin rather than someone else, as long as he didn’t have too many ambitions.

“You don’t need to agree right away. Augusta’s ship will probably take another half month to arrive, and it will also take a few days to get from Leighton Port to the capital. By then, you’ll have enough time to assess his character!”

“You’re very thoughtful. I’ll follow your orders!”

Seeing that Donald didn’t object, Queen Sophia breathed a sigh of relief. Though she was a queen, there wasn’t much she could do, especially during this tense period when the two princes were competing for power.

After discussing matters of state, the queen glanced at Catherine and joked, “It’s getting late. I think you two have a lot to talk about tonight. I’m just in the way here!”

“Your Majesty!”

Catherine immediately blushed with shame.

Donald, unashamedly, said, “In that case, we’ll take our leave. I’ve reserved a room at an inn. Catherine won’t be able to accompany Your Majesty tonight!”

With that, he bid farewell to the queen and led the shy Catherine away from the palace.

Watching the couple walk away hand in hand, Queen Sophia’s eyes held a mix of relief, envy, and disappointment. She sighed to herself, “Catherine, this is all I can do for you. Your future now depends on your own efforts!” Then, with a soft sigh, she turned and left.

A night later, as dawn broke, after spending some time affectionately with Catherine, Donald had to leave Kosovo and be separated from his woman for now. Fortunately, Catherine wasn’t the kind of foolish woman who ignored the bigger picture. Moreover, the queen had already arranged things so that she would be free in a few days and able to leave the palace for the territory of Dalaran, so there was no need to rush.

Upon returning to the lord’s mansion in Twilight Town, he learned from William that Uther had taken people away from the town toward the orc lair. Donald gave William a few instructions before teleporting himself outside that valley.