A Barbaric Proposal Chapter 2

※A Bloody Proposal (2)※

His cheek was red on one side from fresh, undried blood.

[Black] "An urgent matter required my immediate attention, hence the delay. Please be seated."

The man extended his hand, indicating the seat.

...Focus! I must stay calm.

Despite the battle, Tiwakan had appeared at the promised location. Whatever had transpired, it seemed it was no significant obstacle for Tiwakan.

[Liene] "I welcome the Tiwakan Commander. I am curious, what urgent matter caused me, your prospective bride, to wait?"

She tightly clasped her hands together and produced a voice of surprising calm, even surprising herself.

[Black] "There was a surprise attack."

...As I thought. Reinforcements have arrived.

She bit her lip hard. She feared she might laugh out loud.

[Liene] "If there was a surprise attack, might Lord Tiwakan not have the luxury of being here? Your agreement with Nauk can be postponed. We shall reschedule once your affairs are settled."

If reinforcements had arrived, the story would have been different. Nauk could now fight instead of surrendering. With the same thought, Weroz’s eyes also lit up with excitement.

The man who had appeared before her, seeking acceptance of his proposal with blood on his face, wiped his cheek with a careless gesture.

[Black] "It is of no consequence."

Blood stained the thumb that wiped his cheek.

...The smell of blood.

Liene unconsciously winced and took half a step back. It could be the blood of a Nauk soldier.

The man followed the retreating Liene with his gaze.

[Black] "Do you intend to revoke your agreement now?"

She gritted her teeth to suppress a tremble.

[Liene] "That is not my intention...."

His eyes were like those of a wild animal, even upon second glance. Merely being stared at felt like a wet tongue wrapping around her entire body.

He stared at her as if pinning her in place, then spoke to the mercenary outside the military tent.

[Black] "Bring it in."

[Tiwakan] "Yes, my Lord."

A prompt reply was heard, as if the Tiwakan mercenaries had been waiting just outside.

Swish!

His subordinate entered, drawing back the tent flap. In his hand was a longsword, adorned with a jewel on the pommel—the kind commonly carried by knights from noble families.

[Liene] "This...."

Her complexion turned ashen. So did Weroz.

This was the sword carried by the Arsak Knights Commander. The very sword her lover had worn on his hip the day he left, after asking her to wait for ten days.

...Is he... dead?

Blood was smeared on the sword. Blood of the same color as that on the man's cheek.

[Black] "There was a surprise attack, but it was quickly resolved, so everything has been settled."

A dry and low voice, devoid of any discernible emotion, drifted slowly through the tent.

[Black] "So, what is your answer to my proposal?"

The situation implied only one thing: there was no other choice.

There would be no reinforcements. The lover who promised to bring aid was dead, killed by the barbarian before her.

[Liene] "...First, I ask for something."

Liene, facing the Tiwakan Commander across the table, opened her lips.

She buried all thoughts of her lover then and there. There was no time for mourning; the priority now was to leave this place safely.

The situation had changed in an instant. Her position was no longer merely one of accepting or rejecting a proposal.

The surprise attack, which she had hoped signaled the arrival of reinforcements, was merely a trap that had failed her.

The Tiwakan side might regard this as a trap. The enraged barbarian might slit her throat right there to vent his sense of betrayal.

[Liene] "I ask that you observe proper etiquette, first, Lord Tiwakan."

Her voice was unsteady. Her throat felt sore after speaking just one sentence.

His pupils moved slowly.

[Black] "Etiquette?"

[Liene] "In Nauk, it is improper to have a sword present during a discussion of a marriage proposal."

[Black] "...."

The pupils, which had stopped their languid movement, slowly swept across her cheek. Merely by sitting still and shifting his gaze, the man simultaneously inflicted both humiliation and fear upon her.

It was likely because his eyes were like those of a wild animal. An overwhelmingly powerful being staring at weak, utterly defenseless prey.

[Black] "In that case."

Thud!

The Tiwakan Commander lightly pushed the sword placed on the table, sending it clattering to the floor with utter disregard.

[Black] "I had no intention of being impolite. It is not my sword, nor did I intend to wield it. This was merely a precaution."

She gripped her hands even tighter beneath the table. Her fingernails dug into her palm.

[Liene] "What do you mean by precaution?"

[Black] "Because the Princess might change her mind and reject this proposal at the last moment."

[Liene] "......"

How much does he truly know?

Strangely, those unusually clear eyes revealed nothing of what was in his heart. It was impossible to read his gaze.

[Black] "The man who owned that sword was likely the reason why the Princess might refuse this proposal."

[Liene] "That...."

Her breath hitched briefly.

Sure enough, he knew. He knew that the one who carried out the surprise attack was the Arsak Knights Commander, and that she now had to fight desperately to reject his proposal.

[Black] "That man will not return."

He spoke it in a casual voice, as if it were a solemn proclamation.

There was no longer any way to escape. Therefore, she had to answer.

[Black] “So, what’s your answer about this proposal?”

[Liene] "...."

The fingernails stabbing her palm finally tore the skin. The sharp pain brought her back to her senses.

I cannot accept this kind of marriage.

This man does not want to marry me.... He wants to devour everything.

He had already devoured her lover. He would devour Nauk in the same manner.

I must escape.

Now she had only one remaining card to play: a lie.

[Liene] "Before that, there is something you must know."

[Black] "What is it?"

She bit her tongue, as if praying. May this falsehood fool him.

[Liene] "The owner of that sword was the Arsak Knights Commander—and my lover. Since you proposed to me, you must have known that already."

[Black] "I did."

[Liene] "I had already taken him to my bed."

[Black] "...."

The eyes, more akin to a wild beast than a human, gleamed from the reflection of the light.

[Liene] "And, I am now carrying his child."

She played her last card. She was confident that this was a card that would force the opposing party to say, "Let us call off the proposal."

[Liene] "Do you still wish to propose to me?"

[Weroz] "Your Highness...."

Weroz, standing behind her, muttered with a pale face. Tension pierced his entire body like needles.

There was no clearer refusal than carrying another man's child. Any proper gentleman would certainly withdraw the proposal and depart. However, her opponent was a barbarian.

Weroz thought that the barbarian might immediately go into a frenzy out of humiliation. If that happened, Weroz would have to fight the barbarian bare-handed to protect Liene.

Yet, the barbarian neither flipped the table nor raged with a sword.

[Black] "...A child."

He merely tilted his head, as if surprised, and a smirk curved his lips.

[Liene] "What you seek to gain through this proposal is undoubtedly the joint ruling rights of Nauk. Therefore, you must know this: The sovereignty of Nauk is passed down to the Arsak bloodline. Even if you marry me, the next King will be my child—a child who does not possess Tiwakan blood."

She added without pause. That was all she could surmise regarding his motive. The reason why mercenaries sweeping the battlefield suddenly descended upon a small, nearly defunct kingdom in the south and demanded marriage.

Perhaps his goal was to settle down as royalty.

There were not many paths for mercenaries who had finished a war. They could gather spoils and return to their respective homes, or continue to wander, making plunder their profession.

Or, they could devour a weak kingdom. They could become new kings as conquerors, or share power by marrying into the existing royal family.

However, there was a problem. To fully integrate into the royal family, they must secure the bloodline. As she said, it would be meaningless if a child who was not of Tiwakan descent became the next King. He would merely live as the Princess' husband and die as such.

The Tiwakan Commander furrowed his brow. The small crease was the only sign of discomfort he had shown so far, after a prolonged period of impassiveness.

[Black] "...The price to pay is quite significant."

He muttered slowly.

She held her breath until the man finished his muttering. His eyes, fierce like a dissatisfied animal, turned toward her.

[Black] "If I recognize the right to the throne of that child, will you marry me?"

[Liene] "...What?"

Liene, who had been certain she would be rejected, was astonished and blinked her eyes.

Weroz felt the same. He had been so tense he was nearly exploding, wondering how to confront the Tiwakan Commander, called the son of the God of War. He momentarily gaped with a foolish expression.

[Black] "Then bear the child."

[Liene] "...."

[Black] "In return, I will own you, Princess."

The proposal was accepted in a completely incomprehensible situation.

---

[Black] "I shall escort you."

The Tiwakan Commander, who had been a suitor, was now a fiancé. Therefore, Weroz could neither tell him to immediately withdraw nor dare to lay a finger on the Princess of Nauk. Weroz could only grind his teeth and take a step back.

[Liene] "I am still unused to your touch. I must decline your offer this time."

Liene retreated, following Weroz.

The man's footsteps followed her toward the tethered horses, sending shivers down her spine.

[Black] "You will grow accustomed. You will have to."

[Liene] "I...."

[Black] "Take my hand."

He extended his hand. She was forced to look at it because refusing was difficult.

The man's hand seemed contradictory. It was the hand of a human who might kill people as easily as eating, a hand belonging to someone who still had blood smeared on his cheek, yet it was impossibly straight and neat.

There were calluses on the part that held a sword, but his long fingers were straight, like those of nobility.

If there had been a spot of blood beneath his fingernails, she might have used it as an excuse to refuse. But the neatly trimmed nails were flawlessly clean.

[Liene] "...Very well."

She painstakingly placed the tips of her fingers in his palm.

He did not pull her hand and grip it, but left it open, while his other hand wrapped around her waist.

[Liene] "...Hmph."

As she involuntarily inhaled sharply, the man very lightly lifted her with one arm and settled her on the saddle. Everything happened so quickly that she felt a part of her mind had gone blank.

She had not even thought to hold the reins when the man pressed his fingertip into the palm of her hand.

[Liene] "Ah."

[Black] "You have a wound."

She came to her senses because a sharp pain flared up. It was the spot where her fingernails had dug in and torn the skin. The wound was all too clearly visible.

She instinctively tried to hide her hand. Before she could, he seized her fingertips and held them captive.

[Black] "You endured well."

[Liene] "Yes...?"

[Black] "Continue to endure in that manner. One day, you will grow accustomed to me."

He slowly finished his words, then lowered his head and touched his lips to her wounded palm.

[Liene] "...."

She could only stare at the man with her mouth open; this was something she had never anticipated.

The late-afternoon sun shone on him as if enveloping his body. His light-colored eyes, fully exposed to the sunlight, gleamed toward her.

[Black] "You may go."

He released her hand and instead put the reins into it.

Clip-clop-clop......

The horse walked toward Nauk Castle.

She gritted her teeth, feeling certain that the man was still standing there, watching her.

---

[Fermos] "What precisely is on your mind?"

After the Princess of Nauk disappeared, Black's right-hand man, named Fermos, immediately spoke the question he had been holding back.

[Fermos] "A child, I mean... a child! Was it not your intention to seize Nauk? You chose a proposal because too much bloodshed is cumbersome and pointless. Am I mistaken?"

Fermos, the advisor, was an intelligent man. The strange object—a round lens with a metal frame resting on the bridge of his nose—was not merely a decoration.

He had read an abundance of books and possessed extensive knowledge. And he was capable of thinking things other men would not dare to contemplate.

Even he thought that when their leader suddenly descended south to propose to the princess of a nearly ruined kingdom, his Lord must desire the right to rule. Fermos believed that after campaigning on battlefields for so long, his Lord might wish to rest.

Therefore, Fermos obeyed without argument.

Besieging a castle with a small army was like a holiday for them. The opponent was bound to surrender, and they were busy practicing silly eating etiquette, joking about whether they would become nobles if their Lord became king.

But an illegitimate child?

Accepting another person's child, who did not possess Tiwakan blood and was clearly destined to be a source of division in the future? That was truly bizarre.

[Black] "You are not mistaken. I desire Nauk."

[Fermos] "Then it is not too late now. Do not concede the right to rule. There is no way for their side to refuse anything you demand. It’s clear what the outcome would be if they refused."

Black turned his gaze away from the spot where Liene's back had vanished. Fermos somehow felt that his eyes looked slightly different than usual.

The answer flowed slowly, like the drying Evert River in Nauk.

[Black] "What I desire includes that woman."

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