Previously
King Roderick warns Duke Duncan against further disrespecting the future Queen before departing with a promise to proceed with the wedding in four days. During the ceremony, Kang Lee-jae learns of the King's cursed history with previous brides and struggles to maintain her composure while interacting with the perceptive King.
Memories of the First Night (Part 3)
After the ceremony and banquet concluded, the King rested in the guest chamber behind the hall, nursing his second glass of liquor.
As he refilled his glass, the commander of the First Legion asked, “What do you think?”
They were speaking of Hailey Duncan, who had now become Queen.
The King looked at the commander in surprise.
The King shook his head and toyed with his glass, clearly lost in thought.
The King’s supporters suspected the Duncan family following the mysterious deaths of the women who had been candidates for the King’s hand.
Finding himself in a difficult political position, the Duke desperately wished to become the King’s father-in-law.
The lack of an heir was a political vulnerability for the King, and had two of the candidates not died so abruptly, he never would have forged such a strong tie with the House of Duncan.
Had Hailey Duncan entered this palace alive, suspicion toward the Duncan family would only have deepened.
Yet had she died, one could not rule out the possibility that the culprit was someone else entirely.
They kept watch over Hailey.
Yet though she had fallen into the water, Hailey Duncan survived.
That meant she had genuinely harbored no desire to become Queen, even if another party hadn’t been involved.
The King’s supporters were now beginning to consider how to use Hailey as a pawn.
When the King finished his glass, the head butler carefully poured an amber liquor and asked, “Your Majesty, do you not think you should be on your way now?”
The King smirked and said, “Why? Do you think I would leave my bride alone on our wedding night?”
If necessary, he was entirely capable of doing just that.
A king held that kind of standing.
Yet what truly troubled them was not the bridegroom’s conduct, but his state of mind.
Roderick Firth Blairk.
Lately, the King’s illness and insomnia had only worsened.
Rumors spread that he was mad, and even his closest aides could no longer deny or conceal them.
The night had grown late, and as the King continued to nurse strong liquor, the unease of those present only deepened.
The commander of the First Legion spoke once more: “Even if you cannot win her over, please do not be harsh with her. You stand to gain nothing by making an enemy of her.”
The commander was an old friend of the King and a fellow disciple under the same martial master, standing as one of his greatest pillars of support. Even he held no fond feelings toward the Duncan family.
He spoke merely in the hope of sparing the King some anxiety on his wedding day.
It certainly was not a joyous night for either of them, but it was their wedding night all the same.
Yet Roderick raised a brow and remarked, “…Pitiable? I don’t know if that’s the right word, but it certainly isn’t something I expected from you.”
The King had already heard those reports and rumors.
Still, he narrowed his eyes as if turning something over in his mind.
Swirling his glass across the table, he smiled wryly.
Roderick clicked his tongue, pushed the glass aside, and rose from his seat.
The commander of the First Legion bowed respectfully.
The King’s back was straight as he strode from the room, his thoughts seemingly settled.
He did not appear to be in a foul mood.
In fact, he seemed better than usual.
Perhaps this marriage was not the worst outcome for him, given that Hailey Duncan was a beauty.
Still, people could not help but wonder whether the tragic fates of those women and the whispers of his madness were tarnishing the royal family’s name.
At long last, the remaining retainers breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Yet in one of the dim hallways, a dark aura began to gather behind the King.
The turbulence was stirring within him once more.
Kang Lee-jae let out a quiet sigh.
Somehow, she had ended up married.
She had worn the crown, just as the King had commanded.
Yet even after the wedding ceremony and banquet ended, the maids remained busy preparing her.
For there remained another crucial rite, no less momentous than the wedding itself.
The newlyweds’ first night.
As they adorned her, the head maid kept a watchful eye on Lee-jae.
Hailey Duncan was a twenty-one-year-old woman who had only recently debuted in high society.
Even so, her name was fairly well known.
This was because the Duncan family, descended from migrants from a distant land, were renowned for producing exceptionally handsome men and beautiful women.
She was also famous for her innocent, pure-hearted disposition.
Those who wished to belittle her went so far as to dub her the “pretty fool.”
Today, however, Hailey appeared so subdued that she seemed almost sorrowful.
‘It seems the rumors about her throwing herself into the river and catching a fever were true,’ the others thought to themselves.
Lee-jae felt guilty addressing an older woman so improperly.
Yet it was apparently expected, for the head maid awaited her response with utter deference.
Once the head maid bowed and withdrew, Lee-jae let out a deep breath and stepped before the mirror.
In truth, she was somewhat bewildered.
However, it was for a reason entirely different from what the head maid imagined.
Her attire spoke volumes about what was to follow.
She examined her gown, so sheer that the contours of her body were laid bare, and sighed once more at her reflection.
At twenty-five years of age, Lee-jae had no experience in such matters.
She had never even had a serious relationship with a man.
Having moved from village to village through remote countrysides with the grandmother who raised her, there had never been an opportunity to experience anything of the sort.
Even had she lived in a bustling city, she likely would have remained the same.
What had befallen her was what people called a “noble passing.”
Even so, she felt no aversion toward such intimacy; if anything, she harbored a faint curiosity.
Yet that curiosity stemmed from reasons entirely detached from carnal desire—she believed that the spirit of a maiden carried profound grief into the netherworld.
Lee-jae had often wondered to herself:
What sin had they committed to warrant such misery beyond the grave?
She had thought she would not mind experiencing it once or twice before dying, if only to secure a better afterlife.
Still, Lee-jae sighed once again.
Her life had been riddled with hardships from the start.
Yet ever since arriving here, matters seemed to have grown far more tangled.
Everything was tumbling out of control.
For a fleeting moment, a surge of resentment welled up against her fate, but she tried to collect herself as she gazed at the unfamiliar face in the mirror.
That effort swiftly crumbled.
Lee-jae’s mouth fell open in shock as she turned toward the door.
The King leaned crookedly against the doorframe, appearing entirely unwell despite how composed he had looked during the ceremony.
He entered the room dragging a monstrous host of malevolent spirits in his wake.
There were vastly more of them than when he had visited the Duncan estate.
‘How on earth did this happen again…?’
What had he done to invite such a swarm of evil spirits to cling to him?
Had he just returned from a battlefield?
Or had he walked through a graveyard alone in the dead of night?
Reeling from shock, Lee-jae tried to fix her eyes on the King’s face as she had done before, forcing herself to think positive thoughts.
Right, he had been born with fine features. His nose and jawline were striking.
His broad frame gave the impression of tremendous strength.
He was the king of this nation, so he was bound to have boundless wealth.
Perhaps the Duke arranging this marriage wasn’t entirely a curse…
"…"
One was better off without a father like that.
The King’s pale blue eyes glared sharply at Lee-jae as he staggered toward the bed, pressing a hand to his forehead as though gripped by a splitting headache.
Standing flustered before the mirror, Lee-jae quickly snapped her head around toward the open doorway. Through the threshold, the maids’ faces were taut with worry.
Lee-jae hesitated for an instant.
Would it be safer to leave the door open in case something happened, or should it be closed for privacy?
Before she could decide, a pale-faced maid quietly pulled the door shut.
‘Isn’t that a bit cruel?’
The King was carrying a sword.
Even to an unsuspecting observer, he was clearly not in his right mind.
Anxiety clutching at her chest, Lee-jae stared at the closed door for a long time.
When she turned back toward the bed, the King looked even more unhinged than he had moments before.
With hesitant steps, she made her way toward the bed and sat beside him, keeping a distance of three spans.