Portrait of Queen Berta

I accidentally got pregnant with His Majesty's child

Chapter 18: The Husband of Berta

They disembarked from the ship and got in the carriage that the official Trent prepared for them.
Not long after, they arrived at the first town in the south side of the country.

From the moment they arrived in the town, Berta honestly had a bad feeling about it.

She remembered that the head of the Trent family, the town's chief, was somehow at odds with the northern aristocracy, due to his proximity to the Great River, many disputes took place in the last years.
And the feelings of the head of the family is directly related to the feelings of the citizens.

The master of the castle went to meet the inspection party outside that walls that surround the town.
But when Bertha got out of the carriage that she and Louis were riding in, the chief tried to walk past Harold's carriage to meet directly them.

Berta handed over Louis to the maid at her side and hurriedly approached Harold's carriage and stood as close as she could.
So, the people away from them will think that he is bowing to Harold.

"Welcome to our city. We have been waiting for you, Lady Berta"

"Thanks for your all help, Uncle Trent. This is my husband."

Trent didn't care at all about offending the King, he instead was going to pass through his side and openly show his displease with Harold, however since Berta was presenting him, he smiled at Harold in an extremely cheerful manner.

"I am honored to meet His Majesty the King. I'm the head of the House of Trent, Ciro. Please make yourself at home during your stay. We have prepared a reception for you."

"Are you Berta's uncle?"

Harold asks Ciro directly.

"Yes, sir. Though not her uncle by blood, my sister is the third wife of the Lord Kasha - the third mother of Lady Berta - and she has called me uncle since was very young"

(I was sure that the people coming from the royal capital would have troubles understanding the values of our culture, but Harold seems to do so, or at least he's nodding)

... But the next morning, the problems started.

Before moving to the next city, it was agreed that they would leave the servants and maids in the town, and take a short tour to visit the mountain's villages.

Harold would go accompanied only by a small number of attendants and some soldiers.
The other soldiers would be provided by Ciro Trent and the chiefs of the villages, since many local chiefs and her uncle would be there, Berta decided to accompany Harold to avoid troubles.

In hindsight, it was a bad idea.

The inspection with a few people was by horse, but Berta had been away from riding since she'd married.
The roads were rough in the mountains, and Berta's horse suddenly trip on.
The horse was nervous and accelerated.

"Don't! Hey, someone, stop him, pull the reins!"

In her haste, her Petranian servants were out of sight, and Berta called for help from the people riding alongside her.

Unfortunately, just then, the one closest to Berta was the King's chamberlain, Henri.
He didn't even give Berta a second glance as she called for help, and hurried his own horse to move away.

"Dear Berta, please let me help!"

Eventually, Berta's horse came to a halt thanks to a Petranian rider who was running alongside on the opposite side of the road.

She was about to breathe a sigh of relief for not falling from her horse, when saw what was taking place a short distance away of her.
She started to feel dizzy.

The petranian soldiers stopped Henri's horse, pulled him down and now he's restrained, with one of the soldiers pressing his head in the ground, sword in hand.

"You! How dare you put Lady Berta's life in danger! Even if you say any excuse, you'll have to pay with your life"

"He failed to act as a bodyguard of Her Highness Berta. Omission of duty, it can well be considered treason."

"Isn't this man a member of His Majesty's entourage? What does someone like him in that place? Or is this the natural attitude of all the royal aristocrats?"

Berta hurriedly dismounted from her horse, Harold was to do the same, but she made a gesture with her hand, stopping him.

(If the king comes down, it's going to be harder to control this situation.)

Berta took a deep breath and approached the vigilantes.

"Don't do it!"

Berta, who was forced to defend Henri, who was clearly at fault, even trembling touched the sword already in the neck of the chamberlain, seeing it the soldier immediately took the blade away from her hands.

"But, Lady Berta this--"

"I'm sorry, I forgot. This man has trouble hearing with his right ear."

"Princess Kasha, how can they assign you such useless rotten bodyguards. Shall I arrest him and send him to the city for interrogation?"

"Don't. It would be embarrassing for everyone to know that I almost fell from my horse. I don't want to make a big deal out of it, so let us take care of it from here on."

"But--"

"You aren't sparing his life but my face, please let him go. Oh, and you guys can go ahead to the village and wait for me there."

(They aren't fools, but I managed to get rid of the problem anyway, with or without them believing me.)

Berta approached Henri, who didn't moved by his shocked state after being nearly executed.
She couldn't bring herself to help him stand up.

When he noticed that Berta was standing at his side, Henri looked up, half stunned but still cursing the Petranians.

"Ah, those guys-- Don't think they're going to get away with this!"

"Shut up!! Henri Otto! Do you have any idea what you just did?"

Berta can see that even if both chamberlains are indistinguishable from each other, this one is the stupid one, who doesn't see that acting like a spoiled child can cost him his life or even the lives of his whole family.

A foolish child who doesn't use his brain or judge his surrounding, he only imitates the people of the aristocracy, cursing Berta and thinking that while he lives in the Palace he can do whatever he wants to.

Berta, who refrains from provoking the ministers and nobles of the castle and keeps silence about the verbal abuse against her in the royal court, finds it troublesome to blame this child alone for everything.

"It doesn't matter how you behave in the palace, people will think you are incompetent but won't say anything. But do you understand where you are? It's Petra, a place built with a different political structure and culture!"

(Oh really, it was a bad idea to bring Henri along)

Berta was in no position to advise Harold about whom to choose for the travel, that is why she didn't mention her point of view about Henri's behavior.

"Think about why you're coming on this tour and act accordingly! Don't you see His Majesty making an effort to set things up with the Petra people? If you can't see that, then you must resign and go home! ... Before you provoke any more bloodthirsty southerners."

Harold recalled last night's banquet, where he was treated as Berta's husband rather than the ruler of the state, much less an ally of them.
His efforts to endure Trent's rough 'hospitality', which was indeed unbearable, have been blown away by his own attendant.

*

From his horse, Harold saw clearly how Berta started to have troubles handling her horse, how she asked for help and how Henri ignored her.

On the other hand, Berta protected his chamberlain from the Petranians, who were loyal to her, and it was clear that she did so to protect Harold.
Even when right now he can see that she's having troubles standing because one of her feet hurt.

(It has been a while since I saw her so angry)

Clearly, this time, it was the chamberlain's fault.
Berta's reputation won't get damaged if she lets them execute Henri, the only one who will face consequences is him, Harold.

At the same time, Harold didn't expect that his own chamberlain would behave in this way towards the queen.
The twin chamberlains were obedient and loyal to Harold, but the true was they never misbehaved in front of him, that is all.

(But this was indeed.)

"Refrain, Henri."

Harold silenced the mouth of his chamberlain, who was about to say something back to Berta.
He can see that Berta is furious and not only her.

"Queen Kash-- Berta is right. Henri, I'm relieving you of your duties. You will return to the other side of the river and remain there under house arrest until we return from the inspection."

"Your Majesty, why do I have to be the fool here?"

The chamberlain was still trying to say something on his defense, but was no longer in sight, Harold's soldiers retained him and took him away.

Harold touched Berta's shoulder and made her turn toward him.

"Knowing this man's rudeness, why do you endure it without saying anything? If I had known it, I would have dealt with it sooner, so you won't have to go through this kind of dangerous situations."

Berta looked at him with a severe cold gaze that made Harold felt a chill in his spine, she went away decided to get on her horse again.
Her cold look was of pure anger, even more terrifying that the one she directed to Henri.

"I don't have the right to interfere in His Majesty's affairs. If I were to ask you to dismiss an attendant because I didn't like his behavior, would His Majesty even listen to my reasons?"

(I've never received such request from Berta, but even if I had, it's easy to imagine that the story would be twisted by the people around me, and there is no way for me to notice it and try to confirm the truth.)

Berta hit a sore spot, but considering the importance of the tour, he can't just push it aside by an argument.
Harold, who became distressed, had no choice but to ask Berta for a favor while looking away from the guilt of not having treated her justly at all.

"... At least, trust me and tell me what you really see, at least during this tour."

Berta didn't change her expression, but she nodded.

"I understand. I have Louis now, if His Majesty becomes enemy of the southerns, it will be bad for the three of us. My advice is offered out of loyalty, so trust me too, please."

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