I squeezed the hangnail next to my fingernail.
Beads of sweat on my forehead slowly ran down my temples.
Barcas grabbed me by the shoulder and slowly turned around. I felt his long, firm fingers wrap around one cheek.
I couldn't bear to meet his eyes and looked at the tip of his chin. Barcas's face came down soon.
His surprisingly warm and soft lips touched the corners of my mouth and then fell away.
It was a kiss as light as a breeze. Minimal contact made according to formality.
The momentary touch, which is difficult to call a kiss, seemed to touch my heart.
"This marks the end of all ordinances."
After the priest's final declaration, formal applause rang out.
I looked up at him with trembling eyes. An expressionless face that I couldn't read was staring at me.
What on earth is he looking into like that?
Barcas, who had been searching at me with his relentless gaze, soon turned to face the audience. I finally let out the breath I had been holding.
He wrapped his arms around my waist as he walked through the guests.
Ghostly faces passed by as we continued to walk slowly.
Gareth with eerily eyes, the Emperor looking distraught, and Senevere with a satisfied smile...
Countless shadows drifted like a river, and soon a dark sky sprinkled with rain appeared in front of me.
"Bring me my coat."
Barcas stopped at the entrance of the chapel and spoke to the waiting knight.
The knight immediately held out the jacket he was wearing on his arm.
Placing it on my shoulder, Barkas bent down slightly and supported me lightly with one arm.
I hurriedly hugged him around his neck so as not to fall backwards. The smell of fragrant soap wafted through his soft hair.
He wrapped one hand around my back and began to walk slowly out into the rain.
I watched the soft, silvery raindrops blanket his face in white, then turned my attention to the garden where the shadows shrew.
".. Where are you going?"
"We have prepared a temporary shelter outside the Imperial Palace."
He walked slowly and replied.
"We're going to stay there until I leave for the East."
Talia looked confused.
Was this how weddings always ended?
Senevere must have prepared a grand wedding reception. Didn't the palace be bustling for days and days to decorate the banquet hall and prepare food?
Some guests will come to meet him. Is it okay to leave everything behind and leave without permission?
"We did what we could. There is no reason to remain a spectacle any longer."
A cold voice brought my consciousness to reality
He is right.
This marriage is nothing more than a vulgar rumor.
The crippled illegitimate Princess and the replaced, and the poor groom who went from being envied to being an object of sympathy overnight...
We knew what was going to be said about us without having to listen to them.
There was no reason for Barcas to endure such humiliation. No matter how the Emperor is, he will not be able to force such sacrifices on a man who will rule the East.
He passed through the muddy road and stopped in front of a carriage with the coat of arms of the Sheerkan family. The servant who was sitting on the coachman's seat ran to us and opened the door for him.
Barcas climbed into it and lowered me onto a thick seat.
For a moment, I looked at Barcas, who was soaking wet, with strange eyes.
Straddling me across from him, Barkas loosely tugged at my robe that tightened my neck, letting out a long breath of fatigue.
The water droplets in his hair flowed down his straight forehead and formed around his eyes. A gaze that felt dry even though it was wet stretched out straight towards me.
"How are your legs?"
I pursed my lips.
It bothered me that he cared about my legs more than necessary.
Gareth's voice, which had mocked me for taking a seat next to him on one leg, echoed in my ears.
I chewed the tender flesh in my mouth.
I know.
I don't know. But why do you keep reminding me?
"It's still fine, so don't pay attention to it."
As I snapped nervously, his eyes narrowed slightly.
I turned my head to the window to avoid the keen gaze. But wet fingers turned my head straight away.
"I asked if there was any pain."
After a moment of stiffening my shoulders at the sound of his hard voice, I struck his hand violently.
"If I say it's okay, will it make you feel better?"
"..."
"But what should I do? I haven't been sick for a single day since that day."
Staring at his face as if he were wearing a mask, a wasp spat out like a poisonous stinger.
"So don't scratch your stomach with one question after another, because it's annoying."
The warm, soft lips that touched me closed coldly.
I shut him up with mean words, and I was the one who was choked by his silence. I bit my parched lip nervously.
Still, it was better to be cold than sympathetic. The lukewarm kindness that poured out from my legs was more horrible than anything else.
To hide my nervousness, I snapped nervously.
"What are you doing without leaving? Are you going to buy me out of here?"
Barcas, who had been staring at me, immediately turned around and tapped the wall of the carriage.
After a while, I heard the reins swinging, and the carriage began to move forward slowly.
I looked out through the dimmed glass window at the water-soaked garden. The unfamiliar scenery, which had never been my home, slid quickly over the curtain.
As I stared at it from afar, my body suddenly floated up, and a soft sheet came to my back.
I looked up in surprise.
Lying me down on the spacious carriage seat, Barkas reached out behind the backrest and pulled out a cloak embroidered with the coat of arms of the Knights of Roem, draping it over my body.
"We have to go for a long time. In the meantime, keep your eyes glued."
I reached out to throw it away. However, Barcas was one step faster.
He grabbed my hand and pressed it down on the sheet. He looked down into my eyes, which had not yet lost their efficacy, and snarled in the harsh tone he had used occasionally as a teenager.
"Don't be stubborn, don't disturb people with your loose eyes."
I, who was flinching at the threatening tone, soon pulled his cloak up to the bridge of my nose. Barcas, who had been staring at the scene, let out a tired sigh and sat down in the seat opposite me again.
I felt like crying.
I buried my face in the hem of his body odor and closed my eyes.
***
At some point, I seemed to fall asleep.
Noticing that the shaking of the carriage had stopped, I wrapped my hand around my sticky forehead and rubbed my tight eyes.
When I barely opened my eyes, the scenery inside the empty carriage filled my retina. I, who had been blinking my eyelids in a daze, shook my head and stood up. I rolled my eyes in search of Barcas with a frightened expression, and heard a rough voice mixed with the sound of metal from outside.
"What do you think of Her Highness the 1st Princess?"
My shoulders stiffened, then I leaned close to the window. Through the glass window with water droplets, I could see the evening sky where the rain had stopped. Beneath the reddish sky stood a huge stone building with a crude shape and a dozen men.
It was not difficult to find Barcas in it. The man standing with his back to the sunset spat out dryly.
"What are you asking?"
"Are you really going to forsake her like this..."
"You're saying something strange."
A sharp sneer cut through the damp air.
"Wasn't her and my engagement done in the first place to keep the Empress in check?"
"..."
"Marriage isn't the only way to protect two people."
"What does that mean..."
There was confusion in the man's voice. But Barcas didn't seem to want to elaborate.
He interrupted the knight in annoyance.
"Was I in a position to be interrogated by you?"
"I'm sorry. I was presumptuous."
The man hurriedly shook his head.
Barcas, who looked down at him with cold eyes, immediately spat out dryly.
"Nothing will change. You keep an eye on the Empress's movements as you have always done. And if you think Your Highness the Crown Prince will do anything reckless, please report it to me immediately."
"I understand."
As if he had finished speaking, Barcas turned around.
I hurriedly lay my head on the sheet. But before I could pretend to sleep with my cloak turned upside down, the carriage door opened, and Barcas appeared.
I looked up at him with frozen eyes.
Comments
Post a Comment