A Barbaric Proposal Chapter 119

※The Owner of the Ring (1)※

The maids wept through the night, their tears ceaseless. They would likely still be crying if Blini hadn't snapped at them to be quiet.

After being caught at the waterway before she could board the boat, Blini had been dragged back to the Prince’s Palace.

The Captain of the Guard had surrendered quickly, but the enraged King had shown no mercy. He had been beheaded before the King’s eyes the previous night.

The Secretary, too, had met the same fate, though how the King discovered his involvement remained a mystery.

The sound of Queen Dileras’s laughter had been loud enough to reach even the Prince’s Palace.

[Maid] "Y-Your Highness... you must eat something... hic!"

One maid finally managed to speak through her sobs.

Blini had been confined to her room since the incident and hadn't touched a drop of water, yet she felt no hunger.

[Blini] "Pull yourself together. There is no meal."

[Maid] "Pardon, Your Highness? No meal?"

[Blini] "Do you really think they would serve me on time after I was caught running away? My mind is loud enough as it is. Keep your mouth shut."

[Maid] "W-what does that mean? Then what will happen to u-us...?"

The maid asked, her lips trembling and her face pale with terror.

[Blini] "I wouldn't know."

Blini tightened her jaw.

While she was being dragged back, she had overheard the guards talking about the Captain's execution. They said Black had forced his way through the main palace gates, mentioned an assassination, and demanded she be handed over.

She had wondered when he would finally face her, but hearing that he had killed thirteen Royal Guards didn't give her a good feeling. They also said he threatened to lead an army across the border if the Princess of Nauk died.

...Is he serious? No way.

Blini rubbed the ring on her thumb.

Was he truly so devoted to the Princess of Nauk that he would risk war?

[Blini] "Impossible."

Blini understood his desire to reclaim Nauk. She didn't know why he had delayed for so long when he could have taken it sooner, but eventually, he had gone there because he wanted it.

She also understood the marriage. She would have done the same; it was the easiest and cheapest method.

She knew he held no lingering feelings for their past relationship. He wasn't the type of man to give his heart to a woman. He was a ruthless conqueror who felt no affection for the things he subdued. That was how he was born.

Therefore, he should have treated the Princess of Nauk the same way—obtain her, then discard her without regret.

But was he different now?

Was the Princess of Nauk special?

[Blini] "...Why?"

He brought her thumb to her mouth and bit down hard on the ring. The gold band was already covered in numerous marks from her teeth.

The maids watched her expression in fear, but Blini didn't even see them.

[Blini] "Why?"

It was at that moment, as she gritted her teeth until her jaw ached—

Bang! Bang!

Someone pounded violently on the door.

[Guard] "His Majesty the King has arrived! Open the door!"

...The moment has come.

The final moment to bargain for her life.

---

[King] "How could you! How! How could you do this to me!"

The scent of blood clung to the King—the blood of the Captain and the Secretary. It was impossible to tell how many others he had killed.

[Blini] "......"

She didn't offer a word of response. She simply leaned back on the couch, resting her chin on her hand.

[King] "Answer me!"

He grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.

[Blini] "...You’ve killed so many people, yet your rage is still not satisfied?"

[King] "I told you to answer me! Answer!"

The maids were frozen, their faces pale as they struggled to breathe. They remained prostrated on the floor, their foreheads pressed against the ground.

[Blini] "What answer do you seek, Your Majesty?"

[King] "What answer? You know perfectly well!"

[Blini] "No, I don't."

She lightly brushed her fingers over the back of the King’s hand, which was gripping her chin brutally.

[Blini] "I have no idea what you are talking about. What exactly am I supposed to have done?"

[King] "......W-what? You ask what you’ve done? You ask because you don't know?"

[Blini] "How can I know if you don't tell me? What is it you’re asking?"

He ground his teeth and spat out his words.

[King] "The child you claim to carry. And Vasheyd’s death."

[Blini] "Is Vasheyd’s death a problem only now? You were happy when it happened, weren't you?"

[King] "What? When did I ever—!"

[Blini] "You didn't shed a single tear. You ended the funeral quickly. Since then, there has been no mourning, no memorial. Are you going to pretend to grieve his death now?"

[King] "......Are you admitting, then, that you had a hand in Vasheyd’s death?"

[Blini] "There are simply people who say such things. People who hope to gain something from Your Majesty by telling those lies. Who told you that?"

Since the King had begun to engage in conversation, Blini knew she still had a chance to win.

[Blini] "Was it not the Queen? It sounds like something Her Majesty would do. She loathes me. She wants someone to take the blame for her son's death."

[Blini] "......"

He couldn't deny that Dileras had presented Kleinfelter to him.

[Blini] "You can't indulge all her tantrums. If she makes a mess of your house just because she’s clinging to a dead child, it can no longer be called a mere tantrum. Don't you agree?"

[King] "Then why... why did you run away?"

[Blini] "Because the Secretary told me to. I thought Queen Dileras had sent an army. The main palace was quite noisy, after all."

[King] "......"

The King narrowed his eyes. His silence was a good sign. The grip on her chin gradually loosened.

[Blini] "I’m glad you came, Your Majesty."

She began to stroke his loosened wrist. The King watched her suggestive movements with a hardened gaze.

[Blini] "I am tired. I wish to rest now."

[King] "......The child."

But he did not let go of his suspicion so easily.

[King] "Is the child you carry actually of the royal bloodline?"

[Blini] "Your Majesty."

Her soft expression turned cold.

[Blini] "Do not say such things. Even if it is you, that is a line you should not cross."

[King] "Answer me. Is it the royal bloodline?"

She didn't know the answer herself.

[Blini] "Are you worried it isn't?"

What she did know was that regardless of whose seed it was, the child she gave birth to would live the life of royalty.

[Blini] "Stop this now. Unless what you want to see is my neck on a gallows. You know it—if you follow the Queen’s lead, that is where we will end up. Do you wish for me to disappear?"

[King] "......"

His eyes wavered like a swinging pendulum. He didn't want her to disappear. He wanted that young, fresh body to stay within his reach every day. He wanted the royal heir that body would produce. But having what he wanted required a price. Because Tiwakan Commander also wanted Blini.

[King] "One more thing."

[Blini] "Is there more?"

[King] "Why did you target the Princess of Nauk?"

[Blini] "......"

[King] "Tiwakan Commander claims it was because of the 'proof' he brought, but if not that, there must be another reason."

She forced her facial muscles to stay still, preventing them from contorting.

[Blini] "And what if... I wasn't the one who did it?"

[King] "Is that true? Even though the assassin presented a possession of yours?"

[Blini] "Someone must have stolen it to frame me. Why on earth would I have a reason to kill the Princess of Nauk?"

Those words were her mistake. She should have crafted a more sophisticated lie.

[King] "......Then why did you send fifty of Vasheyd’s soldiers?"

[Blini] "......"

At those words, she realized her blunder. The King was the very person who had turned a blind eye to the deaths of the fifty men she had sent to Nauk.

[King] "If you didn't have a reason to interfere with Nauk..."

[Blini] "That was..."

[King] "Then what was the reason?"

Because of the deaths of the 50 Vasheyd soldiers—well, exactly 49—the King couldn't deny the claim that she had sent an assassin. He believed there must be another reason.

Not the one claimed by Tiwakan Commander—that she was trying to silence someone about the child's true father. One wouldn't send an army and an assassin without a reason. Blini had a reason to want the Princess of Nauk gone.

[King] "Is it a reason for which I should risk war with Tiwakan?"

[Blini] "......"

She remained silent, but she was desperate. She searched for an answer. But nothing came to mind. The single reason she wanted Liene dead was too vivid in her mind.

[Blini] "I didn't send the assassin."

[King] "Did you not send the army?"

[Blini] "......"

She was at a loss for words. The King had never seen her like this before.

[King] "Is it a reason you cannot tell me?"

[Blini] "......"

She tried to pretend otherwise, but she couldn't hide the slight tremor in her eyebrows.

[King] "Then what Tiwakan Commander said must be true."

[Blini] "No. That’s not it—"

[King] "Or else."

A habit surfaced when she was in trouble. Her hand, which had reflexively moved to bite her ring, bumped into the King’s hand.

[King] "......This ring. I’ve always thought it didn't suit your hand."

The King looked at the ring. It was a ring she rarely took off, a band too loose and heavy for the beautiful Princess Consort.

[King] "Does the ring belong to someone else?"

[Blini] "Why ask that now of all times?"

[King] "Because you offer no answers."

[Blini] "......"

Again, she was silent.

[King] "Give me the ring."

The King grabbed her hand and tried to pull the ring from her thumb.

[Blini] "Don't."

She balled her hand into a fist.

This, too, was very strange. For Blini to be attached to an object like a ring was entirely foreign to him. No matter what jewels he gave her, her reaction had always been the same.

[King] "Give it here."

[Blini] "Why are you acting like a child? What do you intend to do with it?"

[King] "I shall find out who the owner is. Who knows? Perhaps Tiwakan Commander knows. Did you not say you had a connection in Alito?"

Her complexion changed.

[Blini] "No. Don't be so pathetic. Why does it matter who the owner is?"

She was giving away the reason with her changed expression and unstable gaze.

[King] "Give it to me. Or else I cannot protect you."

[Blini] "And if you won't protect me? What then? Will you quietly hand me over as Tiwakan Commander demands?"

[King] "That is what will happen. So give me the ring."

[Blini] "No. I’d rather you do that. Take me to that man."

[King] "What? Is that ring so precious to you?"

He didn't know, with everything falling apart, that single ring was her only collateral.

[King] "Since that is the case, I must find out."

He forced her clenched fingers open, trying to pull the ring off. Unable to match his strength, she suddenly slapped the King across the face.

Slap!

At first, a heavy silence filled the room. No one could believe what had just happened; they all stood with their mouths agape. The King was no exception.

[King] "......How dare you!"

Just as he was about to explode in rage, she quickly embraced him and whispered in his ear.

[Blini] "Forget the ring. It’s nothing. Do something else instead. Anything you want, Your Majesty."

[King] "This... is nothing?"

She had never acted so desperately.

The King flung her away.

[King] "You act like this toward me over 'nothing'? Do not expect me to believe that."

He looked at the staggering Blini and spoke with a voice as cold as a blizzard.

[King] "Guards, enter."

He was addressing the Royal Guard. The door clicked open, and the guards entered.

[Guard] "Yes, Your Majesty."

[King] "Take the ring from her."

[Guard] "As you command."

The guards, still on edge after the death of their Captain the night before, were filled with a mysterious, venomous energy.

Step, step!

She watched the guards approaching her, then she put her finger into her mouth.

Everyone saw her throat bob as she swallowed.

[King] "What are you doing! Stop her from swallowing it!"

The King shouted, but it was already too late. Blini had swallowed the ring.

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