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Chapter 01
## [Prologue. The Hero’s Retirement, The Spinster’s Debut]
The long war of the Alendassia Empire had come to an end.
Following the procession of Crown Prince Kalix and his knights, who strode forward proudly having seized the advantage, a massive crowd gathered.
They were there not so much to see the Crown Prince, but to see the hero.
The title of “hero” was typically bestowed upon outstanding officers or knights who had performed remarkable feats on major battlefields, and in this war, only one person had earned that title.
“Golden Lion Hero! Please look this way just once!”
“Golden Lion Hero! I love you!”
The nickname “Golden Lion Hero” came from the way they swept through battlefields, beheading enemy soldiers with their thick golden hair flowing like a lion’s mane.
There was a reason the people cheered while giving such a somewhat childish nickname. The Golden Lion Hero was not of noble birth, nor even a commoner—they were of the lowest caste.
Having been recognized as a hero and having achieved military merit, they would be granted land as reward. The very existence of the Golden Lion Hero was a miracle and a hope for the common people.
But as the hero approaching from afar drew nearer, the crowded masses looked upon the empire’s hero with bewildered and incredulous expressions.
Soon, some cried out with faces of joy, others with faces of shock. Some even fainted.
“Hero, you’re amazing! So magnificent!”
“…That’s impossible, a woman?”
“How could a woman be on the battlefield…!”
That’s right. Incredibly, the one who had surpassed countless commanders and received the title of “hero” from the Crown Prince was none other than a woman.
—
***
“Golden Lion Hero? What Golden Lion Hero. Coming into the imperial palace with hair matted like a mop? Have you no manners?”
Inside the high imperial palace overlooking the capital’s square, Emperor Liam gazed down at the procession of the Crown Prince and the hero with displeased eyes and muttered.
“Well, Your Majesty did command them to return immediately after the war ended, so everyone came straight down from the north.”
Liam glared sharply at the tactless minister who spoke up from the side. The minister immediately fell silent.
Liam had a headache. Not only had the younger brother he’d sent off to die returned alive, but he’d come back with a tremendous burden.
Having won the war, it was obvious that Kalix’s popularity would rise from now on. The fact that he had evaluated people by ability alone regardless of social status and bestowed the title of hero upon someone of the lowest birth might also be seen by the people as a sign of a wise ruler.
“What on earth is that bastard Kalix thinking, bringing that woman here… Surely he’s not planning to marry her?”
“Surely not~”
“That seems unlikely, Your Highness does have eyes…”
“Right? Isn’t that right? Then why on earth did he bring her? In the first place, can a woman even survive on a battlefield?”
“We wouldn’t know, since we’re not women…”
“If Kalix bestowed the title of hero on her, she must be no ordinary person. We need to be cautious, but…”
At that moment, Sir Herold, the Emperor’s advisor, stepped forward with a thick book tucked at his waist. He was the one who always suggested solutions with his pessimistic expression, so the Emperor nodded, signaling him to speak quickly, hoping to rely on his crafty mind once again.
“Your Majesty, whether that woman is a golden lion or a silver lion, there is nothing to worry about. We could simply handle it based on Article 145, Clause 3 of the Empire’s ancient laws.”
The book Sir Herold opened was the legal code. This very old code was primarily used by emperors when they needed to invoke laws to their advantage. A legal code that preserved only what was favorable and revised what was unfavorable, with no fairness or equity whatsoever.
—
**【A woman cannot be granted a title of nobility, nor can she own property. However, in the case of her husband’s death, she may inherit his estate.】**
—
“Your Majesty, according to this law, a woman cannot receive a title alone, so she cannot become the lord of a territory. What title or territory could possibly be granted to a woman who is nothing but a commoner with neither husband nor guardian? This law is our basis.”
Seeing him speak with such a vile expression, the Emperor and other ministers showed hesitation, thinking, “Well, using that ancient law to be difficult is a bit… but still…”
“That would be fine, but this law seems a bit… isn’t it too much? It’s obvious we’re just deliberately refusing to give it. What would become of my dignity? Besides, it’s not like giving some unused wasteland and a castle to some woman like that would be a big deal…”
At that moment, the sound of trumpets announcing the Crown Prince’s arrival at the palace was heard, along with a soldier’s voice.
“Crown Prince Kalix, Your Highness, entering the palace—!”
Unable to come up with a sharp solution, the Emperor hurried back to the imperial throne. His footsteps were utterly light, devoid of any imperial gravitas. After sitting down, straightening his attire, and nodding, the massive marble doors opened.
The Crown Prince, his hero, and the knights who entered knelt and bowed their heads in proper salute before the Emperor.
“Kalix de Alendassia, I return bearing news of victory to Your Majesty.”
Emperor Liam looked at the Golden Lion Hero standing proudly before him. Then he alternately looked at his younger brother, Crown Prince Kalix, standing beside her.
‘Damn it all.’
Why did you come back alive? Your life sure is tenacious. He’d come back in a hurry, and his neat appearance was also displeasing.
With a rather wretched expression, he almost unconsciously wiped his face before quickly lowering his hand and putting on a solemn expression. Then he sprang from his seat, went to Kalix with a look of great delight, and embraced him.
“I knew you would return sounding the victory, my younger brother! You’ve come back as a proper man, a hero of the empire! This older brother believed in you. That’s why I entrusted this empire’s greatest war to you!”
The Emperor, forcing a smile while patting Crown Prince Kalix’s shoulder, then looked at the troublesome Golden Lion Hero standing proudly beside him. His mouth corners involuntarily drooped, his philtrum shortened, and his front teeth were exposed. The expression closely resembled that of a rodent on guard.
“You must be…”
“Odellia, Commander of the 1st Knights Division under Crown Prince Kalix! I pay my respects to His Majesty, the Sun Emperor of the Empire!”
“W-well, what a booming voice. Haha.”
“Thank you!”
“R-right. So, which house do you belong to?”
“None, Your Majesty!”
“None? No house?”
“Yes!”
Her name was Odellia. She had no family name. Because her father had none either. “Odellia, daughter of the butcher” would be about the closest thing to a surname she had.
“Then, do you have any brothers?”
“I am the only one!”
“Are your parents still alive?”
“They have both passed away!”
“Oh dear, they didn’t get to see their daughter celebrated as a hero. What a pity.”
The one saying it was a pity didn’t look pitiful at all. Odellia thought this inwardly as she bowed her head.
She could tell the Emperor didn’t care for her just by looking at the deep furrow between his brows.
‘They say he’s the Crown Prince’s half-brother, but they couldn’t be more different.’
They looked so different and had such different temperaments, yet the one who fell short in every way had ended up as Emperor. It was truly lamentable for the people of Alendassia as well.
“Are you married?”
“I am unmarried!”
“Then… how old are you this year?”
Here it came.
She’d been wondering when this question would come up.
“I am twenty-seven this year!”
Gasps of astonishment came from all directions. Good heavens, a woman not married by the age of twenty-seven? Good heavens, she’s six years older than His Highness the Crown Prince!
That’s right. In this very moment, Odellia was no longer the Golden Lion Hero who had received the title directly from the Crown Prince, but had been reduced to nothing but a spinster.
Odellia subtly rolled her eyes and met Crown Prince Kalix’s gaze. Kalix gave a slight shrug.
In fact, on the way here, the Crown Prince had said: Try not to mention your age if possible. Those people will probably make a bigger fuss about an unmarried woman running around than about you having saved the country.
‘His Highness was right.’
Thinking this inwardly, Odellia rolled her eyes again and glanced up at the Emperor, then started in surprise.
The Emperor was smiling broadly, as if extremely pleased about something. Odellia instinctively sensed danger.
“I shall grant you a reward fitting for a hero! I hereby bestow upon you the Talamand territory!”
A sense of unease told her it wouldn’t end here, and that unease became reality.
Liam had no ability as an emperor. He himself knew well that his mind was not particularly sharp. The reason he could become Emperor was purely thanks to his mother, the former Empress. Oh, and of course, thanks to his father’s indifference as well.
Liam had felt inferior to the younger Kalix at every moment, but even he had one thing he prided himself on—his vile cunning.
“However, based on Article 145, Clause 3 of the Empire’s ancient laws, you must successfully debut as a debutante this year, choose a husband, and get married!”
At that moment, Odellia felt as though all the blood in her body had been drained out. Ah, so this is completely meant to mess with me.
The nobles who had come to see the Crown Prince and the hero wore expressions of having caught something good. From this moment on, not only in the capital but throughout the empire, rumors would surely spread:
—
**The Hero’s Retirement, the Spinster’s Debut into Society!**
