"What is that you don't understand, fool?!" Selene shouted at Frost.
Before Frost could respond, the Empress glared at her guard, shutting her up.
"Now, as I was saying to explain why I have chosen you as my husband..."
"Now I'm curious, I need to try at least and understand the actions of this woman, knowing how she ends up in the novel." Frost thought in anticipation
"You were simply the most suitable option for this 'marriage' arrangement, for the sake of my convenience."
In response to her cold, surprising words, Frost could only react with a black face, sweatdroping.
"Eh?"
"Additionally, I need to make sure you understand that you are merely my 'husband', a tool for me to use, holding no actual power outside of prestige and privileges I will allow."
"I wasn't hoping for some sort of love at first sight cliché, but this is just... anticlimactic and weird. I guess I will need to do some digging on my own." Frost thought in response, still blank-faced.
"Now then, I expect you to understand and keep in mind your place in the Empire, but to help you adjust to your new position, I have delegated tutors who will progressively teach you things from history to manners."
"What about things like magic?" Forst asked excitedly
"No, that is far too dangerous," Arianne responded flatly, making him disappointed
"My lady, if he truly expresses interest in learning magic, we can always let him learn... and test him of course," Selene told the Empress, while eying Frost suspiciously
"This is the first time this woman is supportive of me... I think" Frost thought while looking at Selene
"I will think about it. Now then, sir Frost, for the next few days, Elisa and Sonia shall act as your guards, so don't cause them too much trouble. You will spend the next week learning, and afterward, I will assign you personal guards."
"Then... will I be able to go down to the city?"
"Why would you even want that?" she asked while tilting her head slightly to the side. "In any case, we can discuss such a thing we can discuss at a later date."
"Oh man, she is kinda cute?!" Frost thought flustered slightly
"Now go, the two of you know where to lead him, so go there and wait for the tutor to arrive."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Elisa and Sonia said in unison.
With that, they stood up and hurriedly started walking out. Frost, before joining them, took a last look the the Empress, now seemingly uninterested in him, and Selene, the guard, who looked at him with a scowl that somehow had a little bit of pity. Afterwards, with a quick nod and a wave, he left the throne room alongside the two women. When out, he looked at his companions, letting out a sigh.
"Ah, finally safe..." Sonia said
"Her Majesty is so scary..." Elisa added
"Is she though? She might be intimidating, but I thought she was kind of cute." Frost asked them
Both women look at him in confusion before sighing even louder.
"You must be really fearless to call her Majesty cute..." Sonia said while putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Or there is something wrong with you, sure her Majesty is beautiful, but also so scary, so only a... less than sane person would look her Majesty in the eyes and say, 'she is cute'." Elisa added, earning her a smack from Sonia.
"You can't be saying things like that to Sir Frost, he still holds power over you!" Sonia exclaimed
"Sorry..." Elisa sadly apologised
Quickly making up, they all started walking towards their next destination, a designated study room.
"So... for the time being, you're going to be my guards?"
"Yeah... we don't have many missions, so we were available," Sonia responded
"But only for a few days, before her Majesty chooses suitable personal guards from knight cadets," Elisa added with a smile
"So you have other duties, outside of being Spears, right?" Frosed asked curiously
"Yes, of course, being Spears simply means we are 'special resources', best and strongest warriors meant to protect the empire in the direst of times. Outside of that, we have our duties in our respective groups." Sonia explained
"Then, which groups do you actually belong to?" Frost asked
"It's kind of complicated to just say, but this is a topic that will come up during your tutoring sessions," Elisa answered, leaning with a cheerful smile.
While they continued talking, they reached a corner corridor that stretched into another part of the castle, but they stopped by a neat, dark wooden door with ornate decorations. Sonia knocked on the door, but not getting an answer, she simply opened them. Inside was a medium-sized room, a double-story library with a study desk in the middle. Behind it was a cushioned seat on the windowsill of a large window overlooking the front gates and small garden. The shelves all around were filled with various colored books, some colors faded, some covers cracked. Alongside them were various scrolls, parchments, and jars filled with an assortment of things.
"It seems your tutor has yet to arrive, so we can wait here, Sir Frost," Sonia said as she confidently entered the room and made her way to a side table with a teakettle next to a small furnace.
"Oh, are there any cookies? Can you check big sis Sonia?" Elisa cheerfully asked, entering the room next.
"Heh, I guess you got pretty comfortable already..." Frost told them while entering the room with a smirk
That made both women flinch in place, and then look dejected at Frost
"Yeah... we are supposed to be your guards..." Elisa sadly said while crunching on a cookie
"You're such a normal guy, it's comfortable to talk to you... So we loosened up too much," Sonia added, looking out the window.
"Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I already know I have an insignificant position here, so I don't want to act or be treated like some sort of self-important snob."
"Frankly, I'm glad they are comfortable I'm my presence. This could help obtain the information I need if necessary."
Hearing his affirmative word, the two women looked at each other with a smile before sighing. Frost then sat behind the desk, looking at the room, whose color scheme of green and brown felt a bit out of place in the castle.
"But I'm still confused why exactly I have been chosen as the husband of the Empress," Frost wondered out loud, making Sonia and Elisa grow solemn expressions.
"Well..." Elisa stared nervously before a sigh from Sonia interrupted her.
"I guess you should know the full truth... You see..." Sonia hesitated before continuing. "As you probably realize, her Majesty being a female ruler of an Empire this large and powerful I unusual, but she secured her position internationally. The biggest issue is, of course, her successor. While Her Majesty has no plans to step down, she must plan for a form of succession. The topic of an election came up, but the more probable solution is inheritance. And with the topic of an heir comes more problems. Since she is powerful and the Empire is a significant player in the world, other nations are unable to contest Her Majesty's aim to take over by way of succession." Sonia passed before continuing, while Frost grew a worried and understanding expression.
"Because of that, the Empress has long been pressured by other powers to make marital alliances by marrying relatives of other royal families. The pressure mostly boils down to constant letters, vague threats of canceling contracts, imposing tariffs and sanctions, and even in extreme cases even direct threats of war. In the face of all those threats to the safety and prosperity of her people, her Majesty decided to render other nations unable to interfere by getting a husband. As you might have realized, you're not the first one she chose, you are one of many. She got them as a shield from international marriage proposals and to give herself more time to sort out the succession... Although the reason her Majesty had to get many husbands one other the other is simply the fact that most of them were assassinated by killers hired by the other nations..." Sonia finished her explanation.
"But out of all of her Majesty's husbands, you are my favorite," she added cheerfully.
"I see... now I know..."
"This was never explained in the novel, but now I kinda understand... she went crazy over the protagonist as he was very strong and was a suitable candidate for a husband..." Frost thought
"I guess I should keep pretending I don't know," Frost said while awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.
"It's not like that... Rather, her Majesty didn't tell you not to antagonize you..." Sonia responded while Elisa nodded along quietly.
"Especially since she doesn't know whether you end up like the others, arrogant and overconfident, or a pervert..." Elisa quietly added, not looking up at Frost.
Before Frost could react, the door opened, making both women flinch and stand up. The tutor, a rather simple-looking man, thin in a green robe, with long hair and glasses, entered the room.
"My name is Roland, and I will be your general studies and economics tutor. I apologise for my tardiness, but we can start right away."
Roland pushed up his glasses and dropped a heavy stack of papers on the study desk, earning an awkward chuckle from Frost. As Frost sat on a chair behind the desk, Roland stood before him, rummaging through the papers he brought.
"First of all, you need to get acquainted with your surroundings." Roland started. "Sir Frost, you probably already got familiarized with the rough geographical placement of our Empire, but I shall expand on that."
He gathered some papers on the side and pulled out a notebook from his pocket, and started writing in it.
"As per protocol, I will be keeping a record of each of our sessions," Roland said, not looking up from his notebook. "Today is the 8th day of the 2nd cycle of spring, the celestial calendar year 1031..." he said out loud, shocking Frost.
Frost leaped from his chair, hitting the desk suddenly, making everybody else flinch and look at him confused.
"Sorry, could you repeat today's date?" Frost asked anxiously
"Well, yes...the 8th day of the 2nd cycle of spring, the celestial calendar year 1031. I don't understand why you seem so shocked by this... do you perhaps forget our calendar system, or maybe I need to explain it to you as well..." Roland answered, correcting his glasses in a concerned tone.
Frost shocked slowly lowered himself into the chair, lost in thought and not listening to what others in the room were saying.
"The celestial calendar year... 1031?! That's about 2 years before the plot of the novel started! I can't believe it... I traveled to the world of the novel before the events of it started... That means I can prevent the Empress from going crazy... and maybe even prevent some other tragedies..." Frost thought.