Free Web Novel“Do you know why I want to marry you?”
Varkas quietly gazed at her. Staring straight into that expressionless face, she spoke as though forcing each word down with all her might.
“Because I want to watch you become miserable. That's why I'm marrying you.”
“......”
“I want you to suffer. Very, very much.”
His eyes sank into a profound depth.
Holding her breath, she waited for his answer. She wanted that indifferent face to collapse. She wanted him to grow angry, recoil in disgust, and cast her aside.
Say that this won't do after all.
Tell me that a woman like me could never become your wife.
Even if her heart would be shattered beyond recognition, perhaps at least the rest of their lives could be saved.
But as always, he betrayed her expectations.
As though he had merely heard something insignificant, Varkas let out a short sigh. Removing her hand from his clothes, he straightened his body.
“The wedding will be held as soon as possible.”
Then he walked to the window and opened it.
The breeze that brushed past him poured over her face.
Quietly, Talia etched into her eyes his figure bathed in the glow of sunset. His deep voice sounded distant.
“That would be better, both for me and for you.”
What did he mean by that?
Did he mean that troublesome matters were best dealt with quickly?
Staring at his eyes as though seeking an answer, Talia eventually felt an overwhelming fatigue and lowered her eyelids.
It didn't matter.
She would no longer struggle to pry into his true feelings.
If he had accepted her out of duty, then she had chosen to remain by his side in order to return the wounds she had received.
Therefore, she would not do something so foolish as to expect anything from him.
She repeated once more the vow she had made thousands of times.
That tonight would be the last.
That she would put a period to this cursed love.
But she knew.
The love she killed today would come searching for her again tomorrow...
* * *
The entire Imperial Palace was in an uproar over the upcoming wedding of the Second Imperial Princess.
Under the Empress's direct supervision, the maids of the main palace began decorating the wedding venue lavishly, while servants endlessly ran between the food stores and the kitchens, preparing wine and dishes for the guests.
Yet despite all the bustle, a strange heaviness hung over the palace.
Leaving the supply depot, Edrick noticed a group of apprentices gathered in one corner of the training grounds, whispering amongst themselves. His brows furrowed.
An extremely unpleasant conversation had reached his ears.
“In the end, mother and daughter both had their men stolen across two generations.”
Edrick carefully observed the boy who snickered frivolously. He was the son of Viscount Kenden, a troublemaker who had formed his own faction among the apprentice knights.
Placing his training weapon onto the rack, the boy continued.
“They say the Second Imperial Princess is the very image of Her Majesty the Empress. With that face, it's no wonder Lord Siorcan fell for her.”
“Do you think the Commander is like you?”
A burly boy shook his head.
“That marriage never would have happened if it weren't for His Majesty's orders. It's Her Highness the First Imperial Princess I feel sorry for.”
“You naïve fool.”
The boy clicked his tongue.
“Do you think House Siorcan would switch fiancées just because of one order from His Majesty? He accepted it because he wanted to! Besides, Lord Siorcan used to be the Second Imperial Princess's guard knight, didn't he? Maybe they'd been involved for ages. According to people who went on that pilgrimage, there was something strange between them...”
“You don't know what you're talking about. Do you know how much the Second Imperial Princess tormented the Commander back when he was her guard? So what if she's beautiful? He saw that temper up close. As if they'd ever fall for each other.”
The apprentice arranging arrows for target practice let out a loud snort.
“Besides, the Second Imperial Princess became crippled because of this accident. Leaving aside someone like Her Highness the First Imperial Princess, who in their right mind would willingly marry a woman like that? She definitely used some vile trick behind the scenes—”
“So training is done with mouths these days.”
Unable to endure it any longer, Edrick suddenly stepped in. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
The apprentice knights jumped and straightened themselves.
He swept a cold gaze over the boys.
“Are you aware that what you were discussing just now could be considered a crime of insulting the Imperial Family?”
The color instantly drained from their faces.
Carefully committing each face to memory, Edrick added sternly,
“The Roem Knights were established to protect the Imperial Family. If you intend to become part of them, at the very least you should understand that speaking carelessly about the Imperial Family in public places is unacceptable.”
“W-We apologize, Sir Rubon.”
The boys bowed with rigid faces.
After silently staring down at them for some time, Edrick slowly turned and headed toward the knights' quarters.
At that moment, a heavy arm dropped onto his shoulder.
Turning around, Edrick's eyes widened when he saw his senior knight, Sir Theoric Hart.
The man grinned.
“You've become quite strict.”
“At this hour, what brings you to the training grounds?”
Edrick looked up at the clock tower in puzzlement.
It wasn't even noon yet. The senior knights should all be busiest with their duties at the main palace.
Seeing his questioning look, Sir Hart chuckled and ruffled his hair with his large hand.
“I ran all the way here to tell you some good news. Your confinement has finally been lifted. Starting tomorrow, you'll return to serving under my direct command.”
Edrick froze and looked up at him.
It was certainly welcome news, yet complicated emotions flooded him.
Hesitantly, he asked,
“Then... who will be assigned to guard Her Highness the Second Imperial Princess?”
His superior's eyes narrowed slightly.
Removing his arm from Edrick's shoulders, he let out a heavy sigh.
“The Roem Knights have been completely excluded from guarding the Second Imperial Princess. Her Majesty the Empress raised the issue that perhaps we had deliberately neglected Her Highness's protection. She even made it clear that the Second Imperial Prince's protection would no longer be entrusted to the Roem Knights either.”
Edrick's expression hardened.
It was practically no different from trampling the Roem Knights' honor into the dirt.
Since the founding of the Empire, the Roem Knights had stood beside and protected members of the Imperial Family.
Their very identity had been denied.
Edrick lowered his head weakly.
“I'm sorry. Because I failed in my duty, the Order has suffered such humiliation...”
“This isn't your fault. No one could have predicted what happened. So stop blaming yourself.”
Theoric patted his shoulder comfortingly.
But when Edrick's expression still failed to improve, Theoric rubbed the back of his neck as though pondering something, then suddenly led him away from the training grounds.
Wearing a bewildered expression, Edrick followed.
After walking in silence for some time, they finally arrived at a deserted clearing, and Theoric spoke.
“I know you're the responsible type. But this truly wasn't your fault, so stop tormenting yourself over it.”
Edrick knitted his brows.
“I was Her Highness's guard knight. If we're assigning blame, shouldn't the primary responsibility for the failure fall on me? So ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) how can I—!”
“The attack that day happened because of the Empress's scheme.”
Edrick completely froze and stared blankly at his superior.
Looking down at the ground with a dark expression, Theoric continued calmly.
“Didn't you find it strange? A pack of wyverns attacking an army at that time of year... Normally, large monsters like wyverns only attack when their territory is invaded. Our camp was far from their habitat.”
“I thought it was strange too, but... even so, we can't simply conclude that Her Majesty was behind it—”
“There were reports that members of the Second Imperial Princess's entourage displayed suspicious behavior before the attack.”
His voice hardened.
“Moreover, traces of high-level magic were discovered near the site. Most likely, someone deliberately stirred up the wyverns' territory.”
Edrick stood there with his mouth slightly open.
As the implications of those words became clear, cold sweat ran down his back.
“But the Second Imperial Princess herself was part of that pilgrimage. How could anyone do such a thing when their own daughter might be harmed...?”
“That made it much easier to avoid suspicion.”
Speechless, Edrick stared at him with a bloodless face.
In a grim tone, Theoric continued,
“The Empress is frighteningly thorough. We've been conducting a secret investigation since immediately after the incident, but apart from a few circumstantial clues, not a single decisive piece of evidence remains. And the greatest victim in this affair is the Empress's own daughter. In these circumstances, who would dare raise questions?”
Slowly lowering his gaze, Edrick remembered the princess buried beneath a pile of rocks, tears streaming down her face.
He remembered her writhing in agony while he administered emergency treatment.
That woman...
Had been reduced to such a state by her own mother.
His stomach churned.
