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The captain's face, already quite displeased, now turned into a loud rebuke, his voice filled with righteousness and morality. Mengdie, however, couldn't understand a word of it.
Yet, she clearly understood that she had angered him. Her expression tensed, and she looked around anxiously, seeking an explanation from the audience with her eyes.
"En lapona! En lapona!" a couple of braver souls in the crowd whispered. Hearing this phrase three times, Mengdie suddenly realized her mistake! She remembered that "lapona" used alone has a negative meaning! Could it be that her well-intentioned reply to the knight had been interpreted as a rejection, thus infuriating him?!
The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Mengdie regretted not having mastered the language better. The situation, which she had hoped to calm, was now escalating. Aiya and Niya's suspicion remained unresolved. What to do now?!
"In the name of His Majesty! You lowly people must express the highest apology for the insult to my great spirit!!!" the captain declared, holding the hilt of his sword across his chest, his eyes gazing skyward - actually, he was looking at a castle on a distant hill. Then, he lowered his gaze to Mengdie, waiting with gritted teeth.
Mengdie, seeing the captain's expression, pondered. Since the beginning of the conversation, she noticed that he always started his sentences with "In the name of His Majesty." Although she didn't understand the meaning, his humble and sincere manner suggested it must be a respectful phrase. Understanding words like "great" and "highest" in his official speech, she thought that the sentence must not be a bad one. Clearing her throat, Mengdie also adopted the captain's posture, hands crossed in front of her chest. However, without a sword, her posture looked more like a prayer. She repeated the captain's words exactly as he had said them -
"In the name of His Majesty. You lowly people, must express the highest apology for the insult to my great spirit."
The captain was stunned. The anger in his belly seemed to vanish suddenly. He looked at the solemn girl, hands joined in silent prayer, and began to wonder. After all this time, had this young girl turned the tables, demanding an apology from him? And daring to invoke His Majesty's name?
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Suspicious, the captain scrutinized Mengdie, puzzled. Mengdie didn't know what he was planning, but after her last sentence, his anger seemed to dissipate. Clearly, those words must have been a compliment. Everyone likes to hear good words! See? A few flattering words and his anger disappeared!
Encouraged by this success, Mengdie joyfully repeated her "prayer" stance, reciting the sentence again.
Hearing the girl demand an apology for the second time, the captain truly felt something was amiss. He scrutinized her, and suddenly, a thought struck him!
Could she be a princess from a neighboring country, here to attend the prince's bride ball? He had heard that the third princess of the Luweier Empire was incredibly beautiful, a beauty unmatched. Who else but the girl before him could embody such beauty? And as a princess of the Luweier Empire, invoking "In the name of His Majesty" was certainly accurate. He wondered why she was in civilian clothes, but the elegant and noble aura she exuded was unmistakable.
With this thought, the captain quickly laid down his sword and knelt before Mengdie in a flurry. The soldiers behind him, not understanding why their captain suddenly knelt, followed suit. A chorus of clanking armor ensued as a dozen soldiers knelt before Mengdie's "pomegranate skirt."
The onlookers, Aiya, and Niya, peeking from behind the door, were all bewildered. Mengdie felt even more like she was in a fog. Thinking carefully, she decided to remember the sentence that had instantly subdued such a furious man. What kind of spell was it that worked so miraculously!
"I am deeply ashamed for not recognizing Your Highness, the respected third princess of Luweier, at once. Please forgive my disgraceful and rude behavior towards you, who is soon to be the bride of the Lansi de Mul family of our country."
With these words, the crowd's view of Mengdie changed immediately, and rumors spread wildly.
"What? So Mengdie Miss is a princess from a neighboring country?!"
"The great nation, the Luweier Empire's princess!"
"I always guessed Mengdie Miss's background was extraordinary! At least of a princess's stature or higher!"
The surrounding chatter made Mengdie somewhat dizzy. A princess from a neighboring country? How did the conversation veer so far off course? What exactly did this man say?
She understood the opening "I'm sorry" and partially guessed the meaning of the final "Please forgive...". But the bulk of his speech was incomprehensible to her. Well, since his first sentence was an apology to her, it must also be something positive. There was also a request for forgiveness, right? Since it was a positive speech, repeating it back to him couldn't be too bad. She skipped the "I'm sorry" and started from the second sentence.
Thereupon, Mengdie began to recite the captain's words from memory. She was smart and had a strong grasp of the language, managing to reach a "normal" level of conversation in just over a month. So memorizing this speech wasn't difficult for her. She recited it effortlessly.
But after she finished, something seemed amiss. The captain raised his head, his face twisted in confusion. His subordinates were pale and bloodless, while the surrounding onlookers seemed to be holding back laughter, trying not to burst out.
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