Barcas turned around without saying a word.
As I left the room as if being dragged away by him, I looked around with anxious eyes. The worries that someone would take issue with the messy succession ceremony came to me belatedly.
However, most of the vassals had a lonely face, as if they had been relieved.
"This will correct the discipline of the East."
Before we knew it, a man who followed us spoke to us. It was a familiar face. Apparently, he was the person I met on the day of Barcas's duel.
The man, dressed in luxurious robes, bowed his head lightly towards me and then turned his gaze back to Barcas.
"Are you planning to tour the territory right from today?"
"Unless there is a particular problem."
Barcas, who replied in a blunt tone, looked down at me and asked.
"Can I leave right away?"
"...Where are you going?"
"It is one of the main procedures of the succession ceremony. It is a ceremonial event to tour the eastern regions, announce the face of the new ruler to the people of the territory, and examine the actual situation of the region."
The man suddenly interjected and explained. I looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
"Do I have to go to that too?"
"Normally, it is common for the Grand Duchess to accompany..."
He blurted out the end of his words and glanced at Barcas. Barcas, who was quietly walking down the hallway, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
I felt a touch on my cheek and shrank my neck. Barcas raised my head and said in a calm tone.
"Your Highness must go too."
My eyes widened. It was the first time since I injured my leg that he forced me to do something like this
"Didn't you tell me not to hide you?"
He added stiffly with a cold look.
"I intend to do as you say. From now on, there will be no one on this land who does not know that you are Grand Duchess Sheerkhan."
I opened my mouth with a sad face. I thought it would end with just showing my face to his vassals, but I never dreamed that I would get my face stamped by the former lady.
I gulped dryly.
"I, I can't leave right now. I have to pack my luggage, and my nanny and my healer..."
"I gave a warning to Your Highness's attendants in advance. By now, they've already made all their travel preparations."
He cut off my words as if blocking my way out.
I rolled my eyes. But before I could find a new excuse, Barcas, bent over, hugged me in one arm. I swallowed my scream and wrapped my arms around the nape of his neck.
Regardless of my hesitation, Barcas strode down the stairs and gave instructions to his vassals as he crossed the grand hall.
"Put the Spear Knights on standby heading to the Norden Plain."
Then I passed through the arched door where light poured in. My adrenal eyes narrowed. As I got used to the sun's rays, I saw the entourage filling the courtyard.
My eyes seemed to see a strange creature, and I stiffened my body.
One day, I remembered the appearance of the monster I had seen in the Imperial palace. The excited eyes of those who were watching the monster trapped in the cage also flashed in my head.
As the feeling of nausea intensified, I buried my face in his shoulder.
"Everyone, tell them not to look at me."
"..I don't know if they will listen to my orders."
Barcas replied in a dry tone. I glared at him absurdly.
"You're the Grand Duke now. Anyone who disobeys your orders will be put to death, or they will be pierced with a spear as before."
Suddenly, a faint sarcasm flashed across the corner of his mouth.
"Do you want me to annihilate all the Easterners?"
I frowned. Is this man joking with me just now?
I looked into the expressionless face that I couldn't understand inside, as if dissecting it, and Barcas added in a blunt tone.
"If I execute everyone who looks at you, the Khan people will soon dry up."
"Don't be stupid. I just mean threaten."
"Eastern people don't make false threats. If you put it out of your mouth, you have to protect it."
I was in a faint confusion. I couldn't believe that I was having such a stupid conversation with Barcas. I didn't burn the sleeping candle, but a corner of my head was dazed.
I pursed my stiff lips and muttered annoyingly.
"I just shout for a long time to be patient."
"I'm glad you understood."
Barcas, who twisted the corners of his mouth sarcastically, turned his head to look straight ahead. I shrank my shoulders. A soft bass brushed against my ears.
"Keep your head up."
Barcas, holding his head upwards, whispered in a low voice.
"Even if you hide yourself, I can't hide you?"
The wind that blew at the right time swept through our bodies. I lifted my head as if attracted by something.
The cool air, filled with the smell of dry blades of grass, swelled the hem of our clothes. The unpleasant sensation that crawled over my body gradually subsided. I blinked my eyelids slowly.
The thin silk hem gently wrapped around the skin. After looking up at the bright sky for a moment, I lowered my gaze back to the clearing.
People were still looking at us without blinking. However, I was able to spot something else in their gaze.
For example, it was a feeling that could be called awe. A strange thrill ran down my spine. They were staring at us as if they were looking at Senevere. Realizing this, I turned my attention to Barcas again.
Maybe it's because this man is by my side. I couldn't believe that no one noticed that I was broken.
"I meet Your Excellency, the Grand Duke."
As Barcas crossed the large courtyard to the gates, one of the knights in a neat row stepped forward and bowed. It was a mounted warrior named Tyron.
Barcas, who stopped in front of the large traveling carriage, retorted sadly.
"I'm just an agent yet."
"Isn't all real power already in place?"
The man crossed his arms in front of his chest and let out a mischievous smile.
"Everyone is enthusiastic about the arrival of a new, young, and powerful leader. Don't pour cold water on them for no reason."
Barcas quietly passed him and opened the carriage door, as if it was not worth reprimanding.
I squinted as I looked around the comfortably furnished space. I could see why he hadn't even pulled out his nose for a week. To win the loyalty of his vassals and pressure the Grand Duke to hold the succession ceremony, he would have lacked even two bodies to complete the preparations for the trip perfectly.
He climbed onto the carriage and put me down on the wide sheet. Then, as he was about to pull the doorknob of the carriage, a mounted warrior waiting outside grabbed the door.
"I have one thing I would like to suggest. Please allow Lucas to accompany us on this journey."
"Didn't you hear that I banned him from going out?"
The man let out a small sigh.
"I know. However, Lucas Dorian is the younger brother of Your Excellency, the Grand Duke. Isn't it the body that should be your aide in the next few years? Wouldn't it be better to let a ten-year-old sit at his desk like he would teach, but let him learn by bumping into his body?"
A faint wrinkle appeared on Barcas eyebrows. He stared at the man's messy face with a thoughtful expression, and then let out a sigh.
"Yes. Put him as my servant."
The man stepped back with a satisfied face. Immediately, Barcas closed the door and sat down across from me.
I glanced at him with an awkward expression. Barcas always rode a torque whenever he had to move. After a long time, when he showed no signs of getting out of the carriage, I spoke cautiously.
"Aren't you riding a horse?"
Barcas, who was untying the loose jewelry wrapped around his wrist, cast a cold look.
"Do you want me to get off the carriage?"
"Who is like that? I just asked because I was curious."
Seeing that he seemed to be sharper than usual, I lowered my eyes and grunted slightly.
I couldn't go out as hard as usual because I had done something. I leaned against the wall of the carriage and pretended to look out the window.
He leaned back against the back of the seat and scratched his disheveled hair.
"As Your Highness may have guessed, there is much gossip about our marriage. Even if it's to quell the controversy, we need to look like a normal couple for the time being."
Comments
Post a Comment