“...I don’t hate it.”
There was no conflict. It was a decision that had already been made. Even if she was not worthy of loving the last Prince of the Gainers royal family, Liene was determined to have him. She would lie for the rest of her life. If that was the only way to have him.
“Don’t put it off. I don’t like that.”
"Two."
“It’s okay if you don’t count it.”
“I told you to think carefully.”
“Yes. So you don’t have to count.”
"...count..."
It was the moment when Black's lips moved. Liene lifted her heel and covered his mouth with her hand. It was a hand wrapped in a thick bandage.
“Don't count.”
“...”
The blue eyes looking down at Liene reflected fragments of all kinds of emotions like water that had stopped flowing.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted or didn’t want. Most of what I wanted was what any lord of Nauk would want. Like an end to the drought.”
Right now, her heart was aching. She wanted this man in front of her.
“I know now. What Liene Arsak, not the Lord of Nauk, wants.”
“...What is that?”
Black gently removed Liene's hand that was covering his mouth and asked.
“You. And this marriage.”
Black faced Liene, grabbed her bandaged hand. She could feel a sharp pain in her torn palm.
“The thing that always provokes me, Princess...”
Liene swallowed the words that hurt in her mouth. There must be a reason why he makes her hurt.
“Because it’s uncertain. While other people’s lies are clear, sometimes I don’t know I’ve been deceived... I get angry when I think that the words that drove me crazy were lies. If you were going to lie, why didn’t you do it better? You’ll just keep being deceived.”
“I’m not lying.”
“That doesn’t matter anymore.”
Black twisted his lips.
“Have you forgotten? It’s only once. Whether or not you lied when you said you didn’t mind marrying me, the princess will be my wife. No matter what you do, that won’t change.”
“Me too... I want that too.”
Black didn't seem to believe that. He let go of her hand and said,
“As I said, your hand will hurt. While it hurts, think about why you got hurt. Once your hand heals, you will never get hurt again.”
“Lord Tiwakan...”
“Then take a rest. I’ll go cool my head and come back.”
Kung!
Black quickly opened the door and left the bedroom as if he wasn't going to get caught a second time. Liene didn't dare to catch him a second time either.
“...That guy is right.”
Liene finally pressed the palm of her hand, where the pain was spreading. Now she realized that she was hurt, now it hurt.
“If you’re going to do it, you have to do it better.”
That lie that she doesn't know anything about his past.
“You can do it.”
Liene muttered, her eyes tightly shut. A thin stream of blood seeped out through the bandage wrapped around her palm.
“...That guy is right.”
Liene finally pressed the palm of her hand, where the pain was spreading. Now she realized that she was hurt, now it hurt.
“If you’re going to do it, you have to do it better.”
That lie that she doesn't know anything about his past.
“You can do it.”
Liene muttered, her eyes tightly shut. A thin stream of blood seeped out through the bandage wrapped around her palm.
***
“This is clearly your mistake.”
Boom!
Fermos gulped as he looked at the chair that was being crushed before his eyes. When he offered it to him to sit down, Black kicked the chair away as if to tell him to stop talking nonsense. It seemed that even if he was feeling dirty, it wasn't just dirty. The chair was completely shattered.
“I am sorry, my lord. I have nothing to say even if I had ten mouths.”
If that kick had been aimed at his knee instead of the chair, he would have had to use a cane for the rest of his life. It was chilling to think about.
“That’s... I didn’t know she’d be walking around the castle while having to hide her identity. Oh, of course, I know it’s just an excuse.”
If that kick had been aimed at his knee instead of the chair, he would have had to use a cane for the rest of his life. It was chilling to think about.
“That’s... I didn’t know she’d be walking around the castle while having to hide her identity. Oh, of course, I know it’s just an excuse.”
It wasn’t an excuse, but it was true. Mrs. Henton, who had been brought in by the Kleinfelters, had escaped slavery, but she had not regained her status. The name Henton was still taboo. At least until the six families were gone. Mrs. Henton knew that better than anyone. But she wasn’t crazy, and she didn’t know how to suddenly wander around the castle. The room at the top of the north tower, which was used as the Tiwakan’s quarters, could be called the safest place in Nauk, but Mrs. Henton kicked that safety away. She put her back in the room. This time, she had a guy attached to watch her.
“...Did that woman tell the Princess my name?”
Fermos immediately shook his head.
“That’s not it. I asked her several times, but her answer was the same. She wasn’t lying either. It’s just that...”
"But?"
“I think the cousin might have said something. The Princess denies having met the cousin.”
“...That must be why.”
Black ran his fingers through his hair nervously.
“We’re drifting apart again.”
Black grumbled angrily and sat down on Fermos's desk, crossing his arms. The papers and documents that had been spread out on the desk crumpled under his butt. He swore that it was the first time he had ever seen Black so annoyed.
"Hmm..."
A god of war who gets irritated by womanizing. That's a bit...
“Will this cause any disruption to the wedding schedule?”
“No. That won’t happen.”
“Have you already reached an agreement with the Princess?”
“Shr said marriage was something both parties wanted... I can’t believe it, though.”
“Oh, like that.”
So that's why you feel so dirty. I see...
“It must be true.”
Fermos said, fiddling with his glasses. Black turned his head toward him.
“What do you know?”
“The Princess said that the reason she wanted to save the cousin was for my lord. She also said that even if nothing else, her heart is sincere towards my lord.”
“If she knew my name, it would be different. Even if she wanted to be sincere, she wouldn’t be able to.”
“Is that because... your families are entangled in a grudge?”
Fermos asked after a moment of mentally rolling the dice. It was clear that Black had no intention of telling his past. But it was hard not to notice as things went on. If someone like Mrs. Henton kept popping up, the story would somehow find its way into his ears. Fermos's mind was too good at letting such clues fall into pieces.
“I did kill and kill.”
“Oh, then...”
Fermos seemed to know Black's name. Gainers. According to the royal records, there was that name before the Arsak family. The records from 20 years ago that disappeared must have contained the secret of why the royal family's name changed from Gainers to Arsak. And since the records disappeared, it was clear that it wasn't a very pretty story. If it was a story like that, it would have been proudly remembered. Princess Liene seemed to have found out the ugly part. Through the words of the cousin Klima. If his mother knew about the past, it meant that the cousin also knew the same thing.
When he kidnapped Liene, Klima opened his mouth, and so Liene must have decided to save him. So Fermos actually didn't understand the two of them a little. It seemed true that Princess Liene had become sincere to his lord. If the Princess was bound by her past grudge, she would have killed Klima to silence him, but on the contrary, she would not have tried to save him.
“But doesn’t it matter to you, my lord?”
“I said I killed and killed, I didn’t say I held a grudge.”
“You’re saying it’s not a grudge?”
“I already told her. I just wanted to take it because it was mine. If I had a grudge, I wouldn’t have taken it. It would be the opposite.”
To smash it or wash it with blood. Neither of these were difficult tasks for the Tiwakan chieftain. He could not sympathize, but he understood. It was not resentment that moved Black.
“Then, can’t it be the same for the Princess? Whether it’s resentment or something else, it can be sincere. Isn’t that how relationships between men and women work?”
“Yeah... No.”
“Why do you say no?”
“A person like that wouldn’t grab a wedding dress and rip it. She wouldn’t even notice that her own hand was hurt.”
“Hmm. That may be so... No. I made a slip of the tongue, my lord.”
Fermos, who was about to nod after considering the possibility, quickly shut his mouth and took a step back. Black's already fierce expression was distorted even more fiercely, which he could clearly see through his monocle. At times like this, he had to hold back his words. If he wasn't careful, he might really be crying and sharpening his cane tomorrow.
“Then... what are you going to do? The wedding is coming up soon...”
“Let’s do that.”
“Does the Princess agree?”
“With her mouth.”
Black added bitterly.
“Like I said, I don’t believe it.”
"...But I don’t know. Isn’t the human mind inherently complicated? As time passes, the Princess may come to think that the grudges of the dead are nothing special.”
“...I guess I’ll have to wait. More.”
That was the problem. Black was slowly losing patience. As his mind grew, it became harder to control his body. Even now, when he closed his eyes, Liene's scent lingered in his nostrils. Sometimes, it was surprising that his hands and feet were moving normally, and when he saw Liene, all he could think of was wanting to hug her.
“First, catch the elder brother. I need to know what he talked about and how much he talked about.”
“Understood, my lord.”
“Bring him as nicely as possible. He won’t be in trouble if he knows his mother is here.”
"Yes."
“And prepare Manau for the Great Council.”
Manau was an old beggar in front of the temple. Fermos, who did not know the old man's true identity, clicked his glasses.
“But who is Manau?”
Black glanced at Fermos as if to ask if he had not known that until now.
“I was a high priest. Twenty years ago.”
“Oh, I see. High Priest... Yes? High Priest? Wasn’t the High Priest of Nauk a lifelong position?”
So, the point was that all the former high priests had to die.
“So that’s how he lived. He pretended to stutter and hide his voice.”
“Oh, that... My lord. I must tell you this.”
Fermos suddenly raised his voice.
“It’s hard to pretend not to know something obvious. Then, can I do things on the premise that I know that you, my lord, are a member of the Gainers royal family, yes?”
“I didn’t think she wouldn’t notice. Surprisingly, she didn’t know Manau’s true identity.”
He felt a bit wronged when he said that he was going to find out everything anyway.
“Why didn’t you just tell her that, okay? You’re not deliberately making things harder for her.”
Black's response was a beat slower.
“...I didn’t intend for anyone to know. It was unexpected to encounter names like Manau and Henton.”
That was the truth. He had not lied to Liene about anything except hiding his real name.
“I know my name will bring bloodshed. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want Princess Liene to see that. It’s the same now... No, it’s even worse now.”
Black interrupted and let out a slow sigh.
“I wanted her to be mine as much as possible.”
It had been twenty years, and he wasn't foolish enough to believe that it would be possible. There was no place for the name Gainers in Nauk, and he would never be Prince Fernand again. He didn't want to live as royalty again. The reason he wanted Nauk was something like the homing instinct that he had not yet completely weaned off as a child.
“But doesn’t it matter to you, my lord?”
“I said I killed and killed, I didn’t say I held a grudge.”
“You’re saying it’s not a grudge?”
“I already told her. I just wanted to take it because it was mine. If I had a grudge, I wouldn’t have taken it. It would be the opposite.”
To smash it or wash it with blood. Neither of these were difficult tasks for the Tiwakan chieftain. He could not sympathize, but he understood. It was not resentment that moved Black.
“Then, can’t it be the same for the Princess? Whether it’s resentment or something else, it can be sincere. Isn’t that how relationships between men and women work?”
“Yeah... No.”
“Why do you say no?”
“A person like that wouldn’t grab a wedding dress and rip it. She wouldn’t even notice that her own hand was hurt.”
“Hmm. That may be so... No. I made a slip of the tongue, my lord.”
Fermos, who was about to nod after considering the possibility, quickly shut his mouth and took a step back. Black's already fierce expression was distorted even more fiercely, which he could clearly see through his monocle. At times like this, he had to hold back his words. If he wasn't careful, he might really be crying and sharpening his cane tomorrow.
“Then... what are you going to do? The wedding is coming up soon...”
“Let’s do that.”
“Does the Princess agree?”
“With her mouth.”
Black added bitterly.
“Like I said, I don’t believe it.”
"...But I don’t know. Isn’t the human mind inherently complicated? As time passes, the Princess may come to think that the grudges of the dead are nothing special.”
“...I guess I’ll have to wait. More.”
That was the problem. Black was slowly losing patience. As his mind grew, it became harder to control his body. Even now, when he closed his eyes, Liene's scent lingered in his nostrils. Sometimes, it was surprising that his hands and feet were moving normally, and when he saw Liene, all he could think of was wanting to hug her.
“First, catch the elder brother. I need to know what he talked about and how much he talked about.”
“Understood, my lord.”
“Bring him as nicely as possible. He won’t be in trouble if he knows his mother is here.”
"Yes."
“And prepare Manau for the Great Council.”
Manau was an old beggar in front of the temple. Fermos, who did not know the old man's true identity, clicked his glasses.
“But who is Manau?”
Black glanced at Fermos as if to ask if he had not known that until now.
“I was a high priest. Twenty years ago.”
“Oh, I see. High Priest... Yes? High Priest? Wasn’t the High Priest of Nauk a lifelong position?”
So, the point was that all the former high priests had to die.
“So that’s how he lived. He pretended to stutter and hide his voice.”
“Oh, that... My lord. I must tell you this.”
Fermos suddenly raised his voice.
“It’s hard to pretend not to know something obvious. Then, can I do things on the premise that I know that you, my lord, are a member of the Gainers royal family, yes?”
“I didn’t think she wouldn’t notice. Surprisingly, she didn’t know Manau’s true identity.”
He felt a bit wronged when he said that he was going to find out everything anyway.
“Why didn’t you just tell her that, okay? You’re not deliberately making things harder for her.”
Black's response was a beat slower.
“...I didn’t intend for anyone to know. It was unexpected to encounter names like Manau and Henton.”
That was the truth. He had not lied to Liene about anything except hiding his real name.
“I know my name will bring bloodshed. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want Princess Liene to see that. It’s the same now... No, it’s even worse now.”
Black interrupted and let out a slow sigh.
“I wanted her to be mine as much as possible.”
It had been twenty years, and he wasn't foolish enough to believe that it would be possible. There was no place for the name Gainers in Nauk, and he would never be Prince Fernand again. He didn't want to live as royalty again. The reason he wanted Nauk was something like the homing instinct that he had not yet completely weaned off as a child.
Every human wants to have at least one home to return to. For him, there was nothing he could call home but Nauk. But there was something that was still completely his. To his young eyes, his fiancée, who had seemed infinitely mysterious and pretty, as if she were about to spread her wings and fly into the forest, was not the same person.
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