Age of arrogance novel (machine translated with some grammatical edits)

Chapter 1

"Then ......I choose the Duke Carlisle Haven"

The imperial family and the nobles looked shocked at the answer of the woman who knelt on one knee in front of the emperor. There was silence in the grand hall where they all gathered.

Everyone doubted their ears and wondered if there was another Duke with the same name other than the one they know of.

"What? Who do you speak of?", The emperor asked again in disbelief.

As a reward of the victory, he said he would give her 'the choice of a marriage partner' and asked her to choose any nobleman but this answer was completely unexpected in the least. But the woman, Asha Pervaz did not change her answer.

"As His Majesty the Emperor said, I chose the highest ranking nobleman in the marriageable age."

She wasn't wrong. Prince Carlisle who  recently had been stripped of his title as the crown prince was no longer a member of the imperial family, became the Duke of Haven, a man of marriageable age with the highest rank among the nobles.

The people present all turned their eyes towards the man of the moment. Carlisle who had been sitting sullenly with a bored expression was now looking down at Asha with eyes so fierce that could burn a person to ash.

"Now all kinds of trivial things are pushed on to me ... I see", he thought.

The moment Carlisle let out a cold sigh, everyone in the room was convinced that this day would be the last day of the 'barbarian princess' life. However, even in the stifled atmosphere, Asha spoke without wavering. "If you refuse, the family of the bridegroom will have to pay the alimony to the bride". The monetary compensation in the form of alimony was what she was pushing for.

The emperor's face turned pale as his ploy to get out of giving the reward was turned on its head.

Having been dethroned only four days before and the Duke of Haven title existing now only in name, the family that had to pay the alimony for Carlisle's refusal to marry was the Evaristo imperial family.

As Carlisle watched on, his mood immediately changed.

"Pffft!!! hahahahaha......."

Carlisle burst out laughing. He felt good to see what was happening.

The sight of only Carlisle's laughter echoing in the quiet hall was unbelievable.

When Carlisle burst out laughing the emperor glared at him with his eyes so wide, one may think they may pop out of the sockets. The empress and her children had expressions of surprise etched on their faces. The nobles slowly regained their composure keeping a close eye on the imperial family. Asha Parvez was the only one who had a stoic expression on her face unfazed with what had transpired.

The atmosphere felt like it was the climax of a tragic comedy movie that failed at the box office. The tragedy part was that the trumpet of victory unexpectedly sounded in Pervaz, a territory that was abandoned and forgotten by the emperor.

~~~

" Is it over?", Asha muttered in a daze.

It seemed like the wind was harsh until now. No, actually it has been noisy with the sounds of swords clashing and the swearing of the Luer people, but now it felt quiet everywhere. Silence.

"Ha....ha....ha....."

The only thing audible in her exhausted ears were her own heavy breathing. The wind blew her black hair, smacking her cheeks in the process but she felt none of it.

Her gray eyes which were staring into space, slowly lowered to her hands which were soaked with blood and at the sword she was still holding tightly.

Beneath the blade, the blood was drying, was the head of Rakmusha, the chief of the Luer tribe.