A Barbaric Proposal Chapter 84

※Wedding Night (1)※

One thing was clear, even if the rest was a blur of shadows.

The Princess Consort of Sharka loathed the very idea of the Tiwakan Commander taking a wife.

Laffit surged to his feet, his chair scraping harshly against the floor.

[Laffit] "When? Now?"

His uncle stared at him, clicking his tongue in disbelief.

[Uncle] "Whoa, take a breath. She said the sooner the better, but look at you. You can’t go before the Princess Consort looking like a gutter rat, can you?"

[Laffit] "...Damn it."

His face contorted as he closed the distance, his fingers digging into his uncle’s arm like talons.

[Laffit] "Let’s go."

[Uncle] "Looking like that? Did you not hear a word I said?"

[Laffit] "I heard you. That’s why we’re going to your house first."

[Uncle] "Why?"

[Laffit] "Because you must have at least one suit of clothes that isn't rags."

[Uncle] "What? Now wait just a minute. I’ve been giving you coin for weeks, and now you want the shirt off my back—"

[Laffit] "Less talk. More walking."

Thud!

Laffit shoved the pudgy royal toward the door, his patience thinner than the plaster on the walls.

---

Candlelight flickered, casting long, dancing shadows across the room.

[Blini] "You’ve arrived at a perfect hour."

It was well past midnight when Laffit finally stepped into the Princess Consort’s private chambers.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible for a nameless foreigner to infiltrate the Prince’s palace at such an hour, let alone the bedchamber of the Princess Consort herself.

Yet here he was. It was a testament to how desperately Blini needed this meeting.

[Laffit] "Why have you summoned me, Your Highness?"

Thanks to his uncle’s wardrobe, Laffit had regained a semblance of his former noble bearing. His overgrown hair cast a veil over his features, masking the exhaustion and the scars of his recent downfall.

Blini, the Princess Consort of Sharka, let out a low, predatory purr of a laugh.

[Blini] "I thought you might need some comfort."

[Laffit] "And are you offering to give it?"

[Blini] "No."

[Laffit] "...?"

She reached out, her hand pale and elegant in the dim light.

[Blini] "You are the one who will comfort me."

[Laffit] "..."

Laffit bit his lip, moving forward in a tense silence to take her hand.

He hesitated, unsure of what she truly required of him.

Was this a seduction, or a sentence?

[Laffit] "May I ask why the Princess Consort requires such... comfort?"

In response, her nails suddenly dug into the back of his hand.

Laffit winced as the sharp points pierced his skin.

She watched the pain flash across his eyes with a cold, detached amusement.

[Blini] "How dull you are. Then again, I suppose that’s why you failed to stop that wedding, even with the information I handed you on a silver platter."

His gaze sharpened instantly, the air in the room turning frigid.

[Laffit] "That information was useless. A lie from the start, wasn't it?"

[Blini] "I beg your pardon?"

[Laffit] "It did nothing to stop them. If he came for revenge, he wouldn't be acting like some lovesick fool! He wouldn't be looking at her like she’s his entire world!"

[Blini] "...A lovesick fool?"

Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

[Blini] "Him? Seriously?"

[Laffit] "He is."

Unable to contain his rage, Laffit wrenched his hand away. Four distinct, bloody crescents marked the skin between his thumb and forefinger.

[Laffit] "You shouldn't have given me secrets. You should have given me an army. If I had troops—"

[Blini] "If you had troops, you wouldn't be standing here breathing my air. You’d have been beheaded weeks ago."

[Laffit] "Are you saying the armies of Sharka can’t handle a single group of mercenaries?"

[Blini] "Exactly that. Sharka? No. No kingdom on this continent can face him alone."

Her voice was as flat and hard as a tombstone.

[Blini] "You’re nothing but a spoiled little lordling who knows nothing of the world. You’ve spent your life coddled in that dusty backwater kingdom."

Laffit ground his teeth, momentarily forgetting she was royalty.

[Laffit] "Do not test me. I am—"

[Blini] "Oh, hush. Your ignorance is your only redeeming quality. It’s what gives you the courage to even try. Every man I know is far too cunning for his own good. Not one of them would dare stand against him with such reckless abandon."

Laffit couldn't tell if it was an insult or a compliment.

[Laffit] "What do you want from me?"

[Blini] "Show me your spine. Tell me, do you have the courage to steal a woman from the God of War’s own bed?"

His eyes widened.

[Laffit] "Does this mean... You intend to help me?"

[Blini] "We will help each other. You get your woman, and I... I get to ruin him."

[Laffit] "Fine. I’m in."

Laffit didn't need to think twice.

It wasn't even about love or desire for Liene anymore. He refused to live as a hollow, penniless exile in Sharka.

He needed to take back what Tiwakan had stolen.

His house. His honor. His wealth. And his pride, which had been trampled into the mud.

[Laffit] "What must I do?"

As if she had been waiting for the question, Blini pointed to a heavy door adjacent to her bed.

[Blini] "Beyond that door lies my husband’s chambers."

Laffit already knew the palace layout.

[Blini] "He’ll be sleeping like the dead. He summoned three harlots tonight."

[Laffit] "..."

His jaw tightened.

He knew the Sharka royalty was decadent, but the idea that a Prince would bring three prostitutes into his chambers barely a year after his wedding was beyond his imagination.

Prince Vasheyd already had two official mistresses. That was insult enough to a wife, but this was a blatant slap in the face.

[Blini] "Don't use a blade. We can't leave a mess. A pillow will do."

Suffocation was clean. There would be no blood, no wounds. No royal physician would bother searching a corpse’s lungs for stray feathers if the Prince died in the middle of a debaucherous night.

[Laffit] "And... once it’s done?"

[Blini] "The heirs will tear each other apart for the throne. And while they are busy slaughtering one another, I will announce my pregnancy. When the child is born, I will become Regent. This kingdom will be mine to do with as I please. War, peace... everything."

[Laffit] "Are you certain you're carrying his child?"

[Blini] "No."

A silent, wicked smile played on Blini’s lips.

[Blini] "But it happens to be an excellent night for me to conceive."

She pressed a long, pale finger against the center of Laffit’s chest, right over his heart.

[Blini] "Return to me safely from that room, and I will grant you the honor of fathering my child."

[Laffit] "..."

Laffit bit his lip until he tasted copper.

To get back what he lost, he had to murder the Prince of Sharka.

If he failed, he’d be executed as a foreign assassin, his body torn limb from limb.

[Laffit] "One question."

The stakes were too high not to be sure. He needed to know if she was as committed to this madness as he was.

[Laffit] "Why do you want to ruin him so badly?"

[Blini] "Because I wanted him."

[Laffit] "..."

[Blini] "He was too vibrant, too wild to ever possess. Since I can’t have him whole, I’ve decided I’d rather see him broken."

Her eyes, which usually hid her thoughts behind a wall of glass, now burned like black opals.

She wasn't lying.

This woman was insane, but her desire was pure.

Laffit gave a single, sharp nod.

In the next moment, he grabbed her chin and kissed her with a violence that suggested he wanted to devour her whole.

[Laffit] "Keep yourself warm. I’ll be back shortly."

Blini let out a purr, her tongue flickering out to touch the faint mark of his teeth.

Creak.

Laffit opened the door framed in black—the boundary to his own personal hell—and stepped into the dark.

---

The voices of over a thousand people rose in a discordant, thunderous chorus.

None of them was in tune. Yet, Liene couldn't bear to miss a single note.

The citizens of Nauk had gathered beneath her bedroom terrace to serenade her—a wedding gift that felt more precious than gold.

[Liene] "Oh... what am I going to do with them?"

As soon as one song ended, another began.

Liene listened with a heart that felt both heavy and light, caught between tears and laughter.

Every time she smiled and waved, the cheering grew louder. Because of the crowd, she hadn't even had a chance to change out of her heavy wedding gown.

[Liene] "I don't think they’ll stop until the sun comes up."

The moon was already high in the sky.

Black stepped up behind her. She had assumed he’d gone to change, but he was still dressed in his formal wedding attire.

[Black] "I share your concern. I suspect they’re prepared to stand there until they’re soaked in morning dew."

His arms slid naturally around her waist. Liene leaned back, resting her head against his shoulder.

The braided hairstyle, held together by dozens of jeweled pins, felt incredibly heavy.

In truth, her entire body felt weighed down.

Looking back at the morning’s ceremony, she barely remembered how she’d made it through the grueling protocols.

They had wed in the Royal Chapel. The service had been endless, combined with an investiture ceremony to grant titles and estates to every single mercenary in Tiwakan.

Then came the carriage ride to the temple, the signing of the oaths, and the sealing of the scrolls at the altar. They had endured a blessing from the Cardinal that felt like it spanned lifetimes.

On the way back, they had stopped the carriage at the Aini Bridge to cross it on foot.

A line of people had waited on the other side, each offering a personal blessing. It wasn't until she had shaken every hand that the procession finally ended.

Then came the banquet—the largest Nauk had ever seen.

Never before had the road from the gates to the hall been so lavishly decorated.

Never before had the poor from the furthest corners of the land been invited to feast on mountains of food and wine.

The chapel had never looked more beautiful.

The entire kingdom had come to celebrate. Even the mice in the stables were likely drunk on spilled wine tonight.

But the moment that stood out most was in the open-top carriage, when Black had reached out and pulled back the veil covering her face.

She had mentioned that she wanted to see the cheering people, but the lace was obscuring her view.

—[Black] "Then take it off."

He had reached out and unpinned it as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

—[Liene] "Wait! The veil is only supposed to come off when I undress. It symbolizes the bride’s purity and the completion of the union."

He had just chuckled, looking at her fully revealed face.

—[Black] "To me, this face is already perfect. What more completion do we need?"

She couldn't remember what she’d said in response. She likely hadn't said anything at all.

—[Black] "Just be as you are."

Her vision had cleared, and the world had come into focus. But the best part had been seeing him—clear and sharp in his wedding finery.

—[Liene] "You always manage to surprise me."

She had whispered it into his ear, and Black had replied while tangling his fingers with hers.

—[Black] "Not half as much as you surprise me, Princess."

All those moments had led them here.

[Black] "We should have them stop before they lose their voices entirely."

He began to carefully slide the jeweled pins from her hair. With each pin removed, the tension in her scalp eased, replaced by a soothing relief.

[Liene] "I don't know how to stop them. Everyone looks so happy."

[Black] "They want to make you happy. So let’s show them there are other things to enjoy besides listening to their songs."

[Liene] "How?"

[Black] "Like this."

Having removed the last of the pins, letting her hair fall in a dark curtain around her shoulders, Black pulled her flush against him.

He supported her back with one hand and leaned down, his lips meeting hers in a deep, intoxicating kiss.

Like magic, the sound of the singing outside faded into the distance.

[Liene] "Oh, if we do this..."

The kiss lasted long enough to make her head spin. When he finally let her go, her cheeks were flushed a deep, brilliant crimson.

...How embarrassing.

The entire city probably just realized exactly how smitten I am with this man.

[Black] "Now, turn around and wave one last time. They’ll be happy to let you go then."

[Liene] "..."

Liene turned around awkwardly, but as soon as she saw the sea of faces below the terrace, she broke into a radiant smile.

Just as Black predicted, the people stopped singing, their faces alight with joy as they waved back.

[Liene] "How did you know?"

[Black] "Know what?"

[Liene] "That this would work."

Black turned her back around, a slow, predatory smirk spreading across his face—the kind that made a shiver run down her spine.

[Black] "It might be your first time, but they’ve all been married before."

[Liene] "What? What does that have to do with anything?"

[Black] "It means they understand that I’ve been waiting for tonight like a madman."

Click.

Black closed the terrace door behind them.

Snap.

The ties on the heavy velvet curtains came loose, sealing the room in total privacy.

[Black] "From this moment on, you only have eyes for me."

[Liene] "..."

Liene swallowed hard, her heart hammering against her ribs.

His pale eyes, which had been so soft moments ago, were now as dark and fathomless as the midnight sky.

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