Chapter 3

Gasps traveled through the rank and file of Ilugoans. They seemed shocked by Aristine’s comment. Durante’s expression was particularly priceless. Everyone stared at her as though they had just witnessed someone swallow an explosive.

“Ahem,” Durante coughed, trying to clear the air. “That’s not what I meant. Monsters suddenly appeared, Your Imperial Highness.”

So my future husband left in a rush? Aristine understood now. So it wasn’t just any hunt but a monster hunt.

That was an acceptable excuse for being absent during his future wife’s arrival.

But...

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

Despite Aristine’s sharp question, Durante didn’t panic, answering calmly, “I simply gave you the answer when you asked me where he was, Your Imperial Highness.”

Aristine paused. He was right—he hadn’t lied.

She stared at Durante for a moment before the edges of her mouth curled.

“Lies aren’t the only way to trick people.”

She knew she could be friendlier to people who were already up in arms against her during their first meeting. She could leave a good first impression with less nitpicking and more smiles.

But Aristine refused to compromise. She wasn’t the same person she’d been in the empire. Now that she was out of that tiresome place, Aristine had her sights set on being free in Ilugo.

I’m done hiding.

Durante would probably think he could continue to misinform her if she let this slide. Even minor transgressions had to be corrected from the beginning.

These people are wary of me and already hate me.

In other words, since they had no expectations of her, she could act however she wanted instead of trying to meet their standards.

“Telling half-truths can trick people into having false assumptions just the same.”

For the first time during their brief encounter, Durante seemed flustered. Aristine met him eye to eye, then smiled.

This robbed the warrior of his breath. Even though the princess was covered in dirt, dust, and sweat, she was strangely charismatic.

Her purple eyes looked like the night sky.

“I won’t stand for any tricks from now on, Lord Durante,” she said.

* * *

Durante asked whether the princess wanted to change and bathe before entering the palace, but the Silvanians immediately protested.

“Wash? Are you calling Our Imperial Highness dirty?!”

“What are you trying to achieve by making our princess wear Ilugoan clothing before her entry?”

She found their attention ridiculous, considering they’d refused to give her the time of day throughout the entire journey. A few more conversations were held, but the silver-tongued Silvanians wouldn’t permit a single change to her appearance. Since he couldn’t be the source of trouble when his master was absent, Durante was forced to concede.

This stirred up yet another conversation among the warriors.

“Will you really let this slide?”

“What else can we do?”

“What’s the point of listening to the Silvanians?”

“You want to create tensions between the countries when the arranged marriage has only just been determined? Will you clean up the mess that ensues?”

“I feel like there’s going to be tension regardless, seeing how they treat her.”

He was right. Their king would feel offended the moment he saw the princess and her entourage.

His Majesty wanted a complete end to the war. While the marriage wouldn’t be called off, there were bound to be complaints—which their master, the prince, would have to address. It was also obvious that the Silvanians were angling for trouble.

“We can’t be the ones to start it.”

The warriors went silent. Durante hoped no one would be at Tarcan’s palace.

Although I highly doubt my prayers will be answered...

Still, he found relief in the fact that the king was unlikely to visit the palace himself.

“I didn’t expect the princess to be that type of person,” a warrior said. He wasn’t commenting on her disheveled state. Everyone nodded.

“She’s no joke. And completely different from what I imagined.”

“Our lord, ahem, is a shy... Pfft!”

Laughter spread throughout the group. When they first heard the description, they were shocked speechless. But the more they thought about it, the more hilarious it became. The princess was probably the only one who would ever say that about their lord.

“I kind of like her.”

“Me too.”

“Yeah, she’s better than I thought. Even though my initial shock was for a completely different reason.”

Durante lent one ear to the warriors’ conversation while glancing at the princess’s carriage. The vehicle was beautiful and outlandish, betraying no hint of the bedraggled princess within.

I wonder what happened to her?

The question came naturally to Durante.

He couldn’t forget her eyes. They’d shone like the stars of the night sky, standing in stark contrast to her dirty face. They were the kind of clear eyes that seemed to reflect everything but had unreadable depths.

Durante shook away his thoughts. His lord was more important to him.

“Don’t think too highly of her just yet. Silvanians are malicious and always have hidden intentions. She could very well be an assassin sent to murder our master.”

So You’re a Pervert

Why do I get the feeling they’ve been anticipating the princess more than our lord has been?

The princess is getting married to our master, not you guys.

The warriors frowned at the crowd gathered in front of Tarcan’s palace. They couldn’t even complain because the uninvited audience was made up of their master’s siblings. While the future groom himself couldn’t stay to greet the bride because of the monsters, the other royalty seemed to have plenty of time on their hands.

At least His Majesty isn’t here.

Fortunately, he wouldn’t see how filthy Her Imperial Highness was. But that didn’t mean the situation she’d face would end on a positive note. It was obvious why his master’s siblings had gathered.

They’re here to snoop and bring down the princess’s reputation.

They were the kind of people who could find fault with anyone. The princess would most definitely provide a litany of material to fuel their gossip.

Durante couldn’t help but sigh when he saw the royal family members frown at the overly ornate carriage. The royals had likely assumed the princess within would be as lavishly dressed.

He wished the carriage wouldn’t open or for it to be broken—perhaps even for lightning to strike. Despite his wishes, the door smoothly swung open.

“My goodness...!”

“Wh-what...?”

The princess appeared in stark contrast to the carriage. The onlookers paused at the terrific sight, but their shock quickly wore off.

Mocking laughter broke out from all corners of the crowd, followed by jabs.

“She looks like the perfect bride for a man of such lowly blood.”

“At least I can tell they’re the same sort.”

“I didn’t expect a princess from Silvanus to look like a beggar under the bridge of the Pinew River.”

They laughed louder with each insult, making sure she could hear them. Many eyes judged Aristine from head to toe, like sharp spears and arrows that pierced her. The new bride had left her home and traveled far into a foreign land only to be welcomed with hostility.

Even her supposed guardians stayed back and laughed with the crowd. In fact, the malicious glee in their eyes was more potent than anyone else’s. They joined in, so everyone besides Durante and Tarcan’s other warriors was insulting Aristine.

“Who would welcome a princess like that?”

“She put up such a fight thinking things would be different in Ilugo.”

“Now she’ll realize her place and be obedient.”

Suddenly, Aristine heard the sound of fabric whipping around her and felt something soft and smooth covering her.

Huh?

Before she could look to see what had happened, she was lifted into the air. Her feet left the ground as someone’s strong arms supported her back and thighs.

“Princess,” growled the voice of a predator from above her head.

Chills ran down her spine.

Aristine realized what had happened a second later. Someone had covered her in silk and lifted her into their arms.

Huh...?

But why did she feel like she was interpreting things wrongly, even though that was the most likely scenario?

Flustered, Aristine wriggled around, but the man who held her wouldn’t budge. Instead, he lifted her higher so Aristine could lean on his warm and wide chest. She fit snugly into his torso and curled up in his arms.

“Hey! What are you doing?!” a knight from Silvanus began to shout. Aristine knew better than to think he was scolding the man for touching Aristine without permission.

“Do you have any idea what kind of silk that is?” the knight continued. “You couldn’t even buy that with chests of pure gold! That was prepared as a special gift for the king... of Ilugo...”

His voice grew smaller. The knight’s mouth slowly shut and his body began to quake like a boat flung into the open sea.

Aristine grew curious once she saw the knight’s confidence leave him by the second.

I don’t think this man did anything...

She lifted her head, and her eyes met the man’s.

Oh, his eyes are like the sunlight.

They were bright gold and shone like the sun, so that was her first thought.

“So what?” The man’s mouth moved, but his eyes were still fixed on Aristine. His voice wasn’t loud, though it had a threatening edge, like a beast’s low growl.

“If it’s that special,” he said, “it’s only right for my bride to have it.”

Bride?

Aristine finally realized something.

When she turned her gaze, she saw Durante and the other warriors bowing. It was quite a sight to see seasoned warriors showing respect toward their master.

Behind them were the knights from Silvanus. They faltered, unable to approach or say anything despite their fury. Aristine had never seen them flounder to such an extent, much less to an Ilugoan, the people whom they mocked and looked down upon.

They must have been overpowered by the man’s aura.

So this man...

Their eyes met again, this time with certainty. Unlike before, she now knew his identity.

...is my future husband.

* * *

After the ridicule he had seen his betrothed subjected to, Tarcan gave each of his siblings a pointed gaze. The royals flinched and averted their eyes. After determining they weren’t worth wasting their breath, Tarcan turned and walked straight into his palace.

The servants greeted their master.

“Don’t delude yourself,” Tarcan spat out as he gently placed Aristine on a couch.

“In what way?” she asked, making the servants flinch. They’d never seen someone talk to their master with such ease. The others present were intimidated, but the princess remained unfazed.

“I didn’t help you because I like you,” Tarcan told her.

Well, obviously.

She hadn’t even assumed he had in the first place. She knew what she looked like without looking in a mirror. Aristine raised her arm and sniffed. She smelled more like sweat than perfume.

I think I’d be more concerned if you liked me in this state...

What kind of man would fall in love at first sight with a grimy piece of trash? That was beyond the realms of perversion.

Oh, is he telling me not to mistake him for a pervert?

It occurred to her she had often heard that a strong denial was the equivalent of an undeniable truth.

That means...

“You’re a pervert?” she said.

“What?”

Tarcan was rendered speechless by the woman’s words. Was she accusing him of being a pervert for no discernable reason? Despite her unfounded accusation, her face was still blank.

No, that doesn’t matter.

“Wash her,” Tarcan ordered with a click of a tongue. He had to do something about the grime she was caked in.

“We have yet to marry,” the woman said.

He stopped to think about what she meant, then understood. That was generally what women wanted from him.

Tarcan smirked.

“I wouldn’t have you even after you take a bath. Who would want a filthy woman like you?”

Then he stopped again, knowing he had made a mistake. Those weren’t the sort of words he should have said to a sheltered girl. Moreover, he meant filthy quite literally, but she could take it in a different way.

Tarcan glanced at Aristine but quickly decided not to be concerned.

Whatever.

Her thoughts didn’t matter to him. He was only marrying her under the king’s orders. She meant nothing to him.

“Have me...?”

But when the woman repeated his words, he couldn’t help but flinch. He had uttered them first, but it felt different coming out of his future wife’s mouth.

“You...” The woman stopped, looked him up and down, then threw the next words out with finality:

“You’re a pervert.”

That was her final conclusion.