Chapter 2
02. A Savage Proposal (2)
One side of the man's cheek was red, smeared with blood that hadn't quite dried.
"I was delayed by urgent business. Please, sit."
The man extended his hand, indicating the seat. Focus. Stay calm. There had been a battle, but Lord Tiwakan had appeared at the appointed place. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to be a major problem for Lord Tiwakan.
"I greet the leader of Tiwakan. I'm curious as to what urgent business would cause you to keep the person you've proposed to waiting."
Liene clenched her hands tightly, producing a voice that was calm to an almost unbelievable degree.
"There was an ambush."
…I knew it. Reinforcements had arrived. Liene bit her lip hard, lest she laugh without realizing it.
"If there was an ambush, shouldn't Lord Tiwakan be occupied elsewhere? You can postpone the agreement with Nauk. We can reschedule once you've taken care of things on your end."
If reinforcements had arrived, the situation had changed. Nauk could now fight instead of surrendering. Weroz's eyes sparkled with the same thought. The man, who had appeared with blood on his face to ask for permission for the proposal, wiped his cheek as if absentmindedly.
"It's fine."
Blood smeared on the thumb that had rubbed his cheek. …The smell of blood. Liene unconsciously frowned and took half a step back. It was blood that might be from Nauk. The man followed Liene's retreating figure with his eyes.
"Are you going to retract your permission now?"
Liene gritted her teeth to keep from trembling.
"It's not that…"
His eyes were like those of a beast, even upon a second look. He was only looking, but it felt as if a viscous tongue was wrapping around her entire body. The man stared at Liene as if binding her tightly, then spoke towards the outside of the tent.
"Bring it."
"Yes, my lord."
The reply came immediately, as if Tiwakan's mercenaries were already waiting outside. Swish! The tent flap was pulled back, and the man's subordinate entered. In his hand was a sword. A longsword with jewel embellishments on the pommel, commonly used by knights from noble families.
"This is…"
Liene's complexion turned as pale as dawn. The same was true for Weroz. This was the sword carried by the captain of the royal guard of the Arsak Family. The very sword her lover had worn at his waist on the day he left, promising to return in ten days. …Is he dead…? The sword was stained with blood. Blood of the same color as that on the man's cheek.
"There was an ambush, but it was nothing major, so everything has been taken care of."
A dry, low voice, devoid of emotion, flowed slowly through the tent.
"So, what is your answer to the proposal?"
* * * The meaning of this situation was singular. There was no choice. Because there would be no reinforcements now. Because the lover who was supposed to bring reinforcements was dead. By the hand of that barbarian before her.
"…First."
Liene, facing the leader of Tiwakan across a table, opened her lips. She pushed aside thoughts of her lover at that point. There was no time to mourn him. Getting out of this situation safely was the priority now. The situation had changed in an instant. Her current predicament was not simply whether or not to accept the proposal. At the point when she had said she would accept the proposal, reinforcements had arrived as if planned in advance. The Tiwakan side might see this as a trap. The ill-tempered barbarians might slit her throat in this very place to soothe their sense of betrayal.
"…Please observe the proper etiquette first. Lord Tiwakan."
Her voice was uneven. After uttering just one sentence, her throat felt like it was tearing. The man's pupils moved slowly.
"Etiquette?"
"In Nauk, there is no etiquette of brandishing a sword at a place where a proposal is being discussed."
"…"
The pupils, which had been moving loosely, scanned Liene's cheek. Just sitting still and moving his gaze was enough to make her feel both insulted and terrified. It must be because of his beast-like eyes. Because an overwhelmingly strong being was looking at her as if she were an impossibly weak prey.
"If that's the case."
Thud! The leader of Tiwakan lightly pushed the sword he had placed on the table, causing it to fall to the floor. It was as if he had the justification to cut off her head at any time, yet he acted as if it were nothing.
"I had no intention of being rude. It's not my sword, and I had no intention of wielding it. This is just in case."
Liene gripped the hand under the table even tighter. Her nails dug into her palm.
"What do you mean, 'in case'?"
"In case the princess has changed her mind and might reject the proposal."
"…"
How much did he know? Strangely, those overly clear eyes revealed nothing of what was inside. She couldn't read him.
"Since the one who possessed that sword was the reason why the princess might reject the proposal."
"That…"
Her breath caught for a moment. He knew after all. That the one who had launched the ambush was the captain of the royal guard of the Arsak Family, and that meant that Liene was struggling to reject this proposal by any means possible.
"That man will not return."
The leader of Tiwakan spoke in an indifferent tone, as if making a declaration of war. There was no longer any way to escape. So she had to answer.
"So, the proposal?"
"…"
The fingernails that were piercing her palm finally tore the skin. The stinging pain helped Liene regain her senses. She couldn't have this marriage. This man wasn't trying to marry her. …He was trying to devour everything. The leader of Tiwakan had already devoured her lover. He would devour Nauk in the same way. She had to run. Now, Liene had only one card left to play. A card called a lie.
"Before that, there's something Lord Tiwakan should know."
"What is it?"
Liene bit her tongue, praying in her heart. Please, let him be deceived by this lie.
"The owner of that sword was the captain of the royal guard of the Arsak Family, and he was also my lover. Since you've proposed, you must already know that."
"I know."
"I have already granted my lover intimacy."
"…"
Eyes closer to those of a beast than a human gleamed in the light.
"And, I am currently carrying his child."
She revealed her last card. She had no doubt that it was a card that would force the other party to fold.
"Will you still propose?"
* * *
"Princess…"
Weroz, standing behind Liene, moved his lips with a pale face. Tension stabbed through his entire body like an awl. There was no clearer rejection than carrying another man's child. Any decent man would withdraw his proposal and leave. But the other party was a barbarian. Weroz thought that the barbarian might go mad with insult right now. If that happened, he would have to protect Liene, even if it meant facing the barbarian with his bare hands. But the barbarian didn't overturn the table, nor did he wield his sword and rage.
"…A child."
He simply tilted his head as if surprised, and stretched his lips in a strange way.
"What Lord Tiwakan seeks through this proposal is the joint rule of Nauk. So you must know. The rule of Nauk is passed down through the bloodline of Arsak. Even if you marry me, the next King will be my child. A child not mixed with the blood of Tiwakan."
Liene added without a gap. That was all she could guess about Tiwakan. The reason why a mercenary band that had swept through battlefields suddenly came down to a small southern castle with nothing to gain and demanded marriage. It might be that he wanted to settle down as a King. There were not many paths for a mercenary band that had finished a war. They could take their spoils and return home, or they could continue to roam, making pillaging their profession. Or they could devour a weak kingdom. As conquerors, they could become the new King themselves, or they could marry into the existing royal family and share the rule. But there was a problem. In order to be fully incorporated into the royal family, they had to continue the bloodline. As Liene said, if a child who did not inherit his blood became the next King, it would be meaningless. He would simply live as the princess's husband and die as such. The leader of Tiwakan frowned. That small crease was the only expression of displeasure he had shown, having been expressionless the entire time.
"…The price is higher than I thought."
The soliloquy flowed slowly. Liene held her breath until he finished his soliloquy. Eyes that had become fierce like a dissatisfied beast turned towards Liene.
"If I acknowledge that child's right to rule, you will marry me?"
"…Yes?"
Liene, who had naturally expected a rejection, blinked in confusion. The same was true for Weroz. Weroz, who had been raising his tension to the point of bursting, wondering how to deal with the leader of Tiwakan, said to be the son of the god of war, gaped blankly for a moment.
"Then give birth to it."
"…"
"In return, I will have the princess."
The proposal was accepted. In a situation that was impossible to understand. * * *
"I will escort you."
The leader of Tiwakan had now become a fiancé from a proposer. Therefore, Weroz could not tell him to back off immediately, nor could he dare to lay a finger on the princess of Nauk. He could only grit his teeth and step back.
"I am not yet accustomed to your touch. I will decline this time."
Liene retreated, following Weroz. She felt goosebumps at every footstep of the man who followed them to where the horses were parked.
"You will get used to it. You will have to."
“I……”
“Hold on.”
Tiwakan's leader extended his hand. It was difficult to refuse, so Liene reluctantly looked at the man's hand, which was contradictory. The hand that had killed people as easily as eating a meal, the hand that still had blood on one cheek, was, unbelievably, neat. There were calluses where he held his sword, but his long fingers were straight like a nobleman's. If there had been even a trace of blood under his fingernails, she might have been able to refuse with an excuse. But his neatly trimmed fingernails were impeccably clean.
“……Okay.”
Liene barely placed her fingertips on the man's palm. Tiwakan's leader didn't pull her hand to hold it, but left it there, wrapping his other arm around Liene's waist.
“……Ah.”
Before she knew it, she gasped, and he lifted Liene very lightly with one arm and placed her on the saddle. It happened so quickly that she felt like a part of her mind had disappeared. She didn't even think to grab the reins when the man tapped the back of Liene's hand with his fingertips.
“Ah.”
“You have a wound.”
Liene came to her senses at the stinging pain. It was the part where her fingernails had dug in and torn the skin. It was too clear how the wound had happened. Liene unconsciously tried to hide her hand. Before she could, the man held her fingertips to stop her.
“You endured it well.”
“Yes……?”
“Continue to endure like that in the future. Someday, I will get used to it.”
After speaking slowly, the man lowered his head and touched his lips to her torn palm.
“……”
Liene had never expected this, so she just stared at the man with her mouth open. The late afternoon sun shone on him as if to scan him. His light eyes, completely exposed to the sunlight, gleamed towards her.
“Go.”
The man let go of Liene's hand and gave her the reins instead. Clatter, clatter… The horse walked towards Nauk Castle. Liene gritted her teeth, feeling like the man was standing there watching her. * * *
“What on earth are you thinking?”
As soon as the princess of Nauk disappeared, the subordinate spoke as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“An infant… No, an infant! Weren't you trying to take Nauk? Since you were going to take it anyway, you chose the method of proposing marriage because spilling too much blood is a cumbersome and meaningless act. Am I wrong?”
The advisor named Fermos was a clever man. The funny object with round glass lenses in a metal frame was not placed on his nose as a mere decoration. He had read a great many books and possessed a great deal of knowledge. And he came up with ideas that other humans couldn't dare to. Even he thought that their leader suddenly coming down to the southern end and proposing to the princess of a dying kingdom meant that he wanted the right to rule. He must be wanting to rest a little after wandering around the battlefield so much. So he was following without saying a word. Surrounding a castle with so few troops was like a vacation for them. The opponent was going to surrender anyway, and they were jokingly practicing silly table manners, wondering if they would become nobles when their lord became King. But a bastard child. Accepting someone else's child who was not of their blood, and who would obviously become the seed of future discord. What on earth was that strange behavior?
“You're not wrong. I want Nauk.”
“Then it's not too late now. Don't give up the right to rule. No matter what the lord demands, they have no way to refuse. The consequences of refusing are obvious, aren't they?”
Black turned his eyes away from where Liene's back had disappeared. Fermos somehow felt that his eyes looked a little different than usual. The answer flowed as slowly as the drying Evette River of Nauk.
“What I want includes that woman.”
