[ Mrs. Flambard ] “…What?”
Mrs. Flambard was so shocked, she released the lace she was tying and Rienne’s loose inner skirt fell to the floor.
[ Rienne ] “Exactly how long does it take for a baby to start showing?”
[ Mrs. Flambard ] “O, oh, w, well, that’s…”
As Mrs. Flambard struggled to find her words, guards had rushed over and knocked on Rienne’s door.
Knock, knock.
[ Guard ] “Message for the Princess. We’ve received word that the head of the Tiwakan has arrived and is at the front gates. We’re awaiting Lord Weroz’s orders before allowing him entry.”
Suddenly, the faces of Mrs. Flambard and Rienne changed once they noticed Rienne was still in her underwear. Making eye contact with her nanny, Rienne spoke slowly.
[ Rienne ] “…Open the gates. Tell him I’ll be with him shortly.”
With that, Mrs. Flambard quickly got to work tying Rienne’s dress.
Even though Mrs. Flambard had told Rienne not to look so beautiful, she unfortunately looked radiant when dressed in such bright clothing.
Her snow white skin blended strangely with how slender her neck was, giving her the image of a fragile flower that could break at any moment.
* * *
[ Rienne ] “. . .”
There were six coffins placed in the front yard. Silence filled the air, save for the sound of each of them unceremoniously hitting the ground as they were brought in.
Completely forgetting to welcome her guests, Rienne just stared blankly at the closed caskets.
Seeing them like this, they all looked the same. She couldn’t tell which one of them contained her dead lover.
[ Phermos ] “We’ve brought back the bodies without damage, just as you requested.”
So said the strange man with a funny looking contraption on his face—a man who identified himself as Phermos.
[ Phermos ] “This is a small gift to you, Princess of Nauk, who graciously accepted our offer.”
[ Rienne ] “…Thank you.”
The first gift she received from her fiancé was a corpse. How eerie.
As Rienne nodded her head to acknowledge the gift, Black took a step towards her. His eyes bored into her face, and it felt like it was stinging her flesh.
[ Rienne ] “Thank you for granting my request. And for the coffins.”
It was a miracle enough that the bodies of those slain during a surprise attack were returned intact, but the coffins were not a requirement.
The barbarians must have wanted to play nice because they’re engaged now.
Rienne was now in the position to be grateful for these sorts of things.
The head of Tiwakan took another step closer, and Rienne pushed down the desire to take a step back.
[ Black ] “The day is over.”
The way he said it made it sound like a day was a very long time, but in reality, it had only been a single day since her lover died.
[ Black ] “I want to talk about our marriage, now.”
[ Rienne ] “. . .”
The six coffins, one of which containing the body of her lover, were both a gift and a threat, as if to say…
Don’t get distracted by grief and forget about my proposal.
* * *
They had to move locations.
The office was too small, but the chapel was too large. In the end, they ended up using the reception room with the biggest table.
At one point, the most important families in all of Nauk would make frequent visits to the King every day, but such a tradition had long since died out.
They sat on opposite sides of the table, face to face in a weirdly shabby room.
Only Weroz and Maslow sat with Rienne, but luckily the other side didn’t have many people either, so the picture looked equal on the outside.
But it didn’t feel that way in the back of her mind.
Even if Lord Tiwakan had been there alone, Rienne would still have to contend with that awkward and endless feeling of contradiction.
[ Phermos ] “I know it isn’t a wise decision to make the engagement period too long.”
Phermos was the first to speak. Even in Nauk, it was known that he was practically the second in command of Tiwakan, serving as Black’s right hand man and aide.
[ Phermos ] “Though we’re in the south, it’s starting to get cold. Before that, the Tiwakan Mercenaries want to dismantle our camp and settle somewhere with a roof over our heads. And considering your position, Princess…”
Phermos stopped talking for a moment, a meaningful smile on his face.
[ Phermos ] “I’m sure you must also be in a hurry to marry so that you may baptize your newborn child.”
[ Maslow ] “Wait… Excuse me?”
Maslow leapt to his feet.
[ Maslow ] “Oh, Princess… Who… Whose child is it…?”
As Maslow stuttered out his words, two different voices spoke up from either side of the table.
[ Rienne ] “It’s my child.”
[ Black ] “It’s mine.”
Their words were the same, but the meaning was completely different.
Rienne looked straight at Black in embarrassment, thoughts in her head wondering what on earth he was talking about.
Black returned her look with no sense of embarrassment on his face.
[ Black ] “Your child will recognize me as being its biological father once we’re married.”
Since they both decided to leave the pregnancy as is, it was an obvious and easy conclusion to come to.
[ Maslow ] “Oh, so that’s what you meant.”
[ Black ] “It doesn’t matter to me if the child remains an Arsak.”
Maslow looked right at Rienne with widened eyes.
Although there were differences between himself and someone more proficient, Maslow was still an experienced politician and had long since served as Rienne’s advisor.
He knew for a fact that Rienne had never allowed her lover to sleep with her, so of course he immediately knew her claim of being pregnant was a lie made to refuse the proposal.
But even so, he scolded Rienne for being reckless as best he could with his expression.
…I know.
Rienne agreed, but there was no point crying over spilled milk.
It was too late to say she had lied; which meant she needed to lie about having a miscarriage when the time was right, or she would have no choice but to have a baby.
But that meant…
Rienne hid her face and bit down on her lip.
That meant…
That meant she needed to sleep with the barbarian as soon as possible.
I can’t do that.
It would be too obvious. He’d notice.
Having accepted his proposal, she had no problem sleeping with him if need be. No matter how much she hated it, it was an unavoidable circumstance after marriage. But beyond that, there was another problem.
Rienne instinctively closed her eyes.
He’ll notice I’m inexperienced. He’ll think there’s no way I could possibly be pregnant.
Then what would happen?
Lord Tiwakan’s reputation was rife with rumors of his brutality. Her imagination ran wild with awful thoughts that made her sick even thinking about it.
[ Phermos ] “If you allow me, I can help. The birthright of your child will be guaranteed in the name of Lord Tiwakan. If you’d like, we can even notarize it in the marriage pledge.”
Lord Tiwakan’s aide was a shrewd and precise worker. He was already setting the stage.
[ Phermos ] “It would difficult for you to hide your pregnancy starting in a month or two, so our best option would be to hold the wedding sometime in the next fifteen days.”
[ Maslow ] “Fifteen days? That’s too fast!”
Maslow stood up for the second time that day and shouted out.
[ Maslow ] “It wouldn’t even be possible to complete the marriage robes in fifteen days!”
[ Black ] “…Sit down.”
A low but clear voice immediately stopped Maslow’s shouting.
[ Maslow ] “. . .”
With a frustrated look, Maslow looked at Black, who had ordered him to sit down. Stumbling, Maslow fell back down into his seat as he faced those blue eyes that were so pale that it made his pupils more defined.
In the end, the face of the old royal advisor turned pale.
[ Black ] “I’ll prepare the robes. If the Princess finds any part of the wedding planning burdensome, then you needn’t do anything. I don’t want you to find any reason to postpone our marriage…”
Black had stopped talking, leaving dead air for another to speak, but no one dared raise their voice.
The head of the Tiwakan had the power to force everyone to listen to his commands. Even as he was silent, everyone waited with bated breath for his next words.
Then, Black looked at Rienne and spoke slowly.
[ Black ] “I want you to be honest, Princess.”
Now it was Rienne’s turn to fall pale.
* * *
No matter how much she thought about it, there was no justification for it except that she just didn’t want to.
Just looking at him sent chills down her spine.
Could she really marry such a man and sleep with him?
Could she trick him into believing the child was someone else’s? Could she act well enough to make him think she was experienced? Like she couldn’t feel the pain of her first time?
…No, there’s no way.
There was no way she could maintain such a lie.
[ Weroz ] “Princess…”
Weroz, who had been silent the entire time, called out to Rienne quietly.
It was only then that Rienne realized she was clenching her fists under the table with her eyes closed.
She had to give him an answer.
[ Rienne ] “I need time to prepare myself.”
[ Black ] “How much time do you need?”
Even a year wouldn’t be enough.
[ Rienne ] “It’s not just a matter of preparing clothing. I’m sure you’ve been made aware of the situation in Nauk. We don’t have the financial capabilities to fund a wedding in fifteen days.”
She wasn’t lying about that. Money was Nauk’s biggest problem, and it was the reason why even her lover’s funeral was considered a luxury.
[ Black ] “Money’s the problem?”
[ Rienne ] “…As ashamed as I am to admit it, yes.”
[ Black ] “And there’s no other reason?”
Rienne bit her lip and answered.
[ Rienne ] “Yes, that’s right.”
Black turned towards his aide. Understanding the implicit order, Phermos opened the lid of box he brought and pulled out something. A sheet of paper.
Thinking he was going to hand the paper to Black, Rienne was a little surprised to see him instead shove the box towards him.
[ Black ] “Think of this as an engagement gift. It’s much better than few stone coffins.”
The box, which was by no means small, was filled to the brim with gold.
Maslow was so shocked that he dare not even reach for the box. He only looked at Rienne.
[ Maslow ] “Princess…”
Rienne was the same.
As Maslow and Rienne stared down at the gold in front of them, Phermos spread out the paper in his hand and turned it around so they could see the contents.
[ Phermos ] “We require the Princess’ consent here. After your marriage, the Tiwakan Mercenaries will take on a new name—The Guardian Knights of Arsak.”
They still had ten times as many troops as there were in Nauk.
[ Rienne ] “Excuse me?”
Rienne’s first thought was to be appalled. She couldn’t believe this stroke of unexpected luck, but at the same time, such a thing was too good to be true.
Things like that always came at a price.
[ Rienne ] “You wish for us to take on the Tiwakan Mercenaries as part of the Arsak family knights? That’s something that cannot be settled simply by using gold as a gift.”
Phermos didn’t seem too surprised. In fact, he looked like he was expecting this response.
[ Phermos ] “In exchange for using the Tiwakan Mercenaries as your Guardian Knights, Lord Tiwakan will be granted the ability to take the throne of Nauk alongside you once you ascend as part of your marriage.”
[ Rienne ] “What…?”
Instinctively, Rienne looked back at Black without even realizing it. Though she had been avoiding his gaze the entire time, the moment she met it, their looks lingered.
It was like someone had cursed her, preventing her from moving away.
[ Rienne ] “You… expect me to believe that?”
Mercenaries were fighters that specifically fought wars in others’ stead, so naturally they required an absorbent amount of money to hire. With the Tiwakan Mercenaries on their side, Nauk would easily become the strongest of all the five southern kingdoms, but it was too much.
Regardless of the reason, using the Tiwakan Mercenaries as guards made no sense.
[ Black ] “I have no reason to lie to my fiancée.”
That was Black’s answer.
[ Rienne ] “But still, there’s no need for such a powerful force in Nauk. There’s nothing valuable enough here worth protecting to that extent.”
[ Black ] “And yet, you had the commander of the Knights of Arsak.”
[ Rienne ] “…Huh?”
Rienne’s lips parted in surprised, catching Black’s notice. As he stared, there was a strange sense of greed in his gaze.
[ Black ] “Someone will desire Nauk in the future, whether that be Nauk itself or you, Princess.”
[ Rienne ] “. . .”
While Rienne was rendered speechless for the time, Phermos broke the silence before she could gather herself.
[ Phermos ] “Then we have an agreement. Within fifteen days, we’ll make an announcement no later than sunset tomorrow. We’ll leave organizing that to the Captain of Nauk’s guards. Oh, and I’d also like to inspect the Knight’s quarters.”
The barbarians were concise.
They had set a trap so quickly and perfectly that she couldn’t escape from it.
[ Phermos ] “We don’t have much time, so we should move as fast as we can. It will take at least two days for our men to dismantle the camp and begin their march, and we’ll need to delay their knighting ceremonies until after the wedding.”
Phermos grinned as he remembered the arrangement they had made. It was then that those two letters that they sent were finally being realized.
How do you feel?
