The letter was completely crumpled from her hands.

It was the second letter they had sent.

Rienne stared down at her pale, cold hands. The blood had completely left them, and they didn’t feel like her own anymore.

The letter’s details were straight and to the point.

[I’ve been waiting for fifteen days now. Please, give me your answer]

It was the same as the first one.

[To the Princess of Castle Nauk. The leader of the Tiwakan Mercenaries sends a proposal of marriage. We look forward to hearing from you.]

And in the name of this proposal, the Tiwakan Mercenaries had been laying siege to her castle for the last fifteen days.

The voice that called to Rienne belonged to Maslow, an advisor to the aristocratic delegation. It was shaking and filled with worry.

Trying her best to steady her voice, Rienne opened up the crumbled letter with her hands.

The only remaining symbols of power in their once great kingdom was Rienne, Maslow, and Weroz—the captain of the guard. They were nothing compared to how splendid the Nauk Kingdom of old was.

Weroz spoke in a heavy voice. Though he was uptight and rigid long ago, he was over forty years old now.

Rienne knew of Weroz’s loyalty. She knew he was honest when he said he was ready.

And that was all the more reason she needed to accept the proposal.

She couldn’t let all the knights who thought like Weroz needlessly throw their lives away.

Weroz shook his head, but Rienne couldn’t bring herself to lie.

It had been fifteen days.

In only fifteen days, Castle Nauk had been completely isolated and not long ago, their supply routes had been cut off. The people were exhausted from fighting, and the few guards that remained had completely lost their spirits.

They had no chance from the very beginning. From the start, the mercenaries had an army ten times the size of the castle’s reserve troops.

Not to mention the Tiwakan Mercenaries, known for being the cruelest and most barbaric army on the entire continent, were suffering no real loss. For them, this was no different from hunting rabbits.

They could easily hold out for months if need be.

But not before everyone in the Kingdom of Nauk starved to death.

Taking a deep breath, Rienne spoke.

Maslow and Weroz shouted out together.

She’d heard enough rumors.

They said the leader of Tiwakan was the son of the God of War, birthed after his mother was raped. As a result, the God of Death cursed him, and the God of Earth continually rejected his body.

His cursed existence was one that could never perish on the battlefield.

Hearing Rienne’s straightforward and blunt remarks, Weroz stuttered out.

Maslow was an experienced advisor, so he used clearer language to stop Rienne from accepting the offer.

Hearing that, a shadow downcast over Rienne’s eyes. It was enough to make her shiver. Just what manner of beast was this man?

Maslow shouted out in a panicked tone.

Rienne wasn’t the sort of person to be pessimistic, but she didn’t want to hold onto what could turn out to be false hope.

After all, she was Princess Rienne of the Arsak family, ruler of Castle Nauk, and responsible for the lives of everyone who lived there.

Rienne mulled over the promise of Rafit Kleinfelder, a knight of the Arsak family with a thorny look on her face.

When they first heard word that the Tiwakan Mercenaries were marching on Nauk Castle, Rafit had left without a moment’s notice for the Kingdom of Sharka. His mother’s family was one of the largest in the entire nation.

If anyone could get their help, it was him.

Just ten days, he had said.

He told them to hold on just for that long. Rienne wanted to believe in him, but a flicker of hope in the palm of her hand was nothing in comparison to the crushing reality before her.

It was five days past the appointed time. That was all the evidence they needed.

Even Maslow and Weroz knew that it was pointless to hope for reinforcements.

Looking back at the only other two people left to the defend Castle Nauk with her, Rienne made her decision.

He didn’t have it in him to fight her on this. Closing his eyes, Weroz accepted her choice with a sigh, his face filled with remorse as the edges of his eyes wrinkled.

But Maslow wasn’t ready to give in.

As an advisor to the aristocracy, Maslow had long since maintained a good relationship with the Kleinfelders. He was one of the many who believed that Rafit Kleinfelder would one day marry Rienne and become Nauk’s ruler.

Rienne’s expression turned cold. Though Lord Kleinfelder was technically her ‘lover’, her relationship with him had never once been loving. The Kleinfelders kept an iron grip on the nation’s wealth and power, something that didn’t go unnoticed as the little kingdom started to crumble. With that power in his hands, Rafit urged Rienne to marry him after his father’s death. One way or another, Rienne fought off the official engagement in order to stave off the Kleinfelder’s attempts to gain joint control over Nauk. Perhaps, he could’ve been a genuine sweetheart towards her. But the Kleinfelders were too greedy. They would consume all of Nauk, which was already barren, leaving nothing but the bones behind.

Weroz and Maslow looked up at her with their faces distorted. Speaking with a steady and direct voice, Rienne gave her answer to the two people who fought against her decision for different reasons.

An hour after her answer, they received a response. A place for Rienne and her proposer to meet had been decided. Rienne was to be escorted by Weroz and a few other guards. Looking at it from here… As the sound of the horses grew in her ear, Castle Nauk grew smaller in the distance.

Rienne turned her head to the side, staring at the castle she was leaving behind her.

*

*

*

The location of the meeting was exactly at the halfway point between Castle Nauk and the Tiwakan’s military encampment.

The Tiwakan had already set up a tent in advance. Rienne entered first, accompanied only by Weroz. Though the point of all of this was a proposal, the atmosphere was more akin to a battlefield. Troops were on either side of them with only the tent between them, and the tension in the air was palpable.

Once inside, there was nothing but a table and two chairs facing one another. Weroz stared angrily at their enemy’s empty seat.

So she said in jest, but there was a hint of sincerity to her words. Being given some extra time wasn’t too bad. Rienne was worried her anxiety would be obvious with how much she was shaking and how frightened she was when she first walked in. She was being coerced into accepting this proposal, but she didn’t want to look intimidated.

Rienne bit her lip, sitting in what she assumed was her seat.

In just a moment, the leader of the Tiwakan would enter. An illegitimate son, abandoned by the God of War. Don’t be nervous. Rienne clasped her hands in her lap. Don’t let them look down on you. This wasn’t a proposal. This was a negotiation. Whatever they wanted from her, she wouldn’t give it up so easily.

Suddenly, Weroz called out to Rienne, lowering his voice.

Weroz’s face turned red. Slapping his knee, he couldn’t contain the apparent joy on his face.

Rienne lifted herself up with tears in her eyes.

Weroz took charge in leading the way.

But just as Rienne started to take a step, the sound of the tent’s curtain being pushed open sounded out; as if the world was mocking her.

Flap, flap. A surge of strong, bright light poured into the inside of the tent. Rienne let go of Weroz’s hand and frowned. She blinked, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light and eventually, she began to see a black silhouette settling in her vision. …There’s something huge here. The shadow looming over her was all she needed to realize how massive the person standing in front of her was. Imposing, dark, stiff, and incredibly fierce.

His dry tone and languid voice passed through the air, like the wind shaking dry grass.

The head of Tiwakan had arrived, just as she had tried to escape this barbaric proposal.

It was so bright, she felt her eyes start to water. Rienne opened her eyes wide and stared at the man now approaching her.

Just looking at him made her feel like she was suffocating.

His intimidating stature overwhelmed her, and every time he took another step closer, she felt her body go numb.

The man’s hair was indescribably black, but in contrast, his intense blue eyes were clear like water. It felt more like an animal was staring her down, rather than a person.

Rienne had never met anyone with such an intense appearance before. When she made eye contact with him, it sent shivers down her spine. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to look away.

In fact, though they called him a savage that was more beast than man, he was beautiful. The combination of deep hair and transparent lake-like eyes was breathtaking.

Nonsense… Rienne closed her eyes and opened them again.

But even so, the shock she felt at seeing such a stunning person didn’t disappear so easily.

Pull yourself together. Decent looking or not, a barbarian is still a barbarian.

One side of the man’s cheek was red. It was from the blood of a wound that had not yet healed.

The man reached out his hand and pointed to one of the empty chairs.

…Calm down. Just breathe. There seemed to have been a battle, but even so, the Tiwakan leader arrived at the promised location. Whatever happened was apparently not worth any real concern for him.

…As she thought. The reinforcements had arrived.

Rienne bit her lip to keep herself from smiling instinctively.

Things were completely different if the reinforcements were here. Nauk was being given a chance to fight, not roll over and surrender. As if having the same thought, Weroz’s eyes turned bright. The man, the very same who arrived with blood on his face with the intent to propose, just wiped his cheek; entirely unbothered by the situation.

After he rubbed his cheek, there was blood on his hand. …The smell of blood. Rienne’s eyes narrowed unconsciously and she took a step back. That blood could belong to someone from Nauk. The man walked towards Rienne, his gaze piercing her.

Rienne grit her teeth to keep herself from trembling.

Even now, his eyes were like that of a beast. Just looking at them made her tongue curl up inside her.

The man looked at Rienne as if he were in the midst of capturing her before looking behind him and calling out to someone outside.

Someone was quick to answer, as if Tiwakan’s Mercenaries were outside waiting for his orders.

Swish. Once the curtain was pulled back, a male monk entered. There was a sword in his hands. It was a long sword with various gems and jewelry pieces embedded in the hilt. Normally, it was the kind of sword typically used by knights from aristocratic families.

Rienne’s face turned pale like the dawn light. Seeing what she did, Weroz gasped. This was a sword used by the knights of the Arsak family. It was the same sword worn at the waist of her lover who had left, promising to return in ten days. …He’s dead. There was blood on the sword. The same color as the blood on the man’s cheek.

His voice was low and dry. It carried no emotion as it passed through Rienne’s ears.

This could only mean one thing. She no longer had a choice. There would be no reinforcements. Her lover, the one who was supposed to bring them to her, was dead. Killed by the barbarian standing in front of her.

Rienne faced the head of Tiwakan with the table between them, slowly opening her mouth to speak. In that moment, she had no choice but to push aside thoughts of her dead lover. She had no time to mourn him. Her main priority was getting out of this situation alive. The circumstances had changed in a moment’s notice. It was no longer a matter of simply accepting the proposal. Just as Rienne said she would accept, the reinforcements had arrived. Like she had planned it ahead of time. The Tiwakan might assume she had set a trap. It was possible the barbarians would slit her throat right then and there to make her pay for this betrayal.

Her voice was uneven. After uttering barely a sentence, she felt like he was moments from ripping her throat out.

The man’s eyes moved slowly.

His eyes stopped moving as they passed over Rienne’s face. Having to just sit still while avoiding his gaze made her feel both insulted and frightened.

It was likely due to his bestial eyes. He was an incredibly strong person, looking her up and down as if she were weak and vulnerable prey.

Clang! The head of Tiwakan gently pushed the sword off the table and onto the floor. That was the very sword he used to cut the neck of someone, but he shoved it away as if it had nothing to do with him.

Rienne gripped her hand tightly under the table. She could feel her nails digging into her palm.

How much does he know?

Though his eyes were clear, they revealed nothing of his thoughts. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all.

She took in a few short breaths. So he knew as well. That it was the Arsak family’s retinue commander that led the raid against him, which meant Rienne was struggling to find a way to reject his proposal.

When he said it, it sounded like a declaration of war even though he spoke casually.

It was as if he was telling her that there was no way out. That she had to give him an answer.

Rienne’s finger nails were now piercing her flesh, and the sting of pain helped bring her back to her senses.

This was no ordinary union. He wasn’t trying to marry her. He was trying to take everything from her. Tiwakan’s leader had already taken her lover, and now he would take Nauk and devour it. She had to get away. Rienne only had one card left to play. A hand she would deal in the name of a lie.

Rienne bit her lip with a single hope in her heart.

Please, let him be deceived by this lie.

His eyes were more akin to a beast than a human as they glistened in the light.

And so Rienne revealed the final card she had. There was no doubt in her mind that he would have no choice but to pull himself from this game after hearing it.

Weroz was standing behind Rienne, his pale lips slightly parted. He could feel the tension piercing his entire body.

Having another man’s child was a clear cut rejection. A man of any level of decency would take the loss and bow out.

But Rienne’s opponent was a barbarian. Weroz couldn’t dismiss the possibility that the barbarian could go berserk from the insult. If that happened, Weroz was prepared to shield Rienne with his body if necessary. But the beast-like man didn’t flip the table or attack anyone with a knife like he anticipated.

Hearing the unexpected news, the man tilted his head to the side, curiosity tugging at his lips.

Rienne spoke without taking a breath. That was her best assumption when it came to Tiwakan’s motives. The reason why Tiwakan mercenaries, who swept through battlefields with ease, would so suddenly come to a small southern castle that has nothing to offer them, and demand marriage. He might wish to settle down as a king. With no more wars to fight, there weren’t many options for mercenaries. They would either return home with their spoils, or wander the country looking for work by looting. Or they could absorb a small kingdom. As a conqueror, he could become a king himself or marry an existing royal family member to gain sovereignty. But there was a problem. In order to fully become part of the royal family, he needed to continue his bloodline. As Rienne said, it all became pointless if a child that wasn’t his own became the next great king. He would live and die as nothing more than the husband of a princess.

The head of Tiwakan frowned. The creases on his face were the only sign of displeasure on his otherwise expressionless face.

He spoke to himself quietly. Rienne could only hold his breath while he mulled over her words. Suddenly, his fierce eyes like a predator turned towards her.

Expecting a rejection, Rienne’s eyes blinked in total bewilderment.

Weroz was no different. Just a moment ago, he was busying himself with ideas on how to deal with the son of the God of War, the head of Tiwakan, should things go south, but now his mouth was agape with shock.

The proposal was accepted. It was a situation she couldn’t understand at all.

*

*

*

The head of Tiwakan was now engaged to the Princess thanks to the marriage proposal, so it wasn’t like Weroz could tell him to back off or not to lay a finger on the Nauk’s princess.

Rienne grit her teeth and took a step back.

Rienne stood back with Weroz. The sound of the man walking towards where her horse was posted gave her goosebumps.

The head of Tiwakan reached out to her.

Seeing his hand, she couldn’t help but feel as though their appearance was a complete contradiction.

It was a hand that didn’t hesitate to kill others like an animal tearing apart its meal. It was the hand of a person who still had blood on his face, but was also deceptively straight. There were clear callouses on his palm from the wear and tear of wielding a sword, but his long outstretched fingers were as refined as a nobleman’s. Perhaps if there were blood on his hand, she could have used cleanliness as an excuse and refused him, but they were impeccably clean.

Mustering her courage, Rienne placed her fingertips in the palm of his hand. But Tiwakan’s chief didn’t pull her hand in and hold it, instead moving to place his other hand around Rienne’s waist.

Rienne instinctively gasped as he effortlessly lifted her into the air with one arm and placed her into the saddle of her horse. It all happened so quickly, Rienne felt like her head was still in the clouds. Before Rienne could even think about grabbing the reins, the man took her hand and tapped her palm with his fingers.

The stinging pain pulled Rienne out of her daze.

It was from when she was digging into her own palm and accidentally tore her flesh. It was clear she had done it to herself just by looking at it. Without even thinking, Rienne tried to hide her hand, but the man maintained his grip on her.

After speaking softly, the man bowed his head and put his lips against Rienne’s torn palm.

It was such an unexpected thing that Rienne could only stare down at the man with her lips slightly parted as the late afternoon sun glanced off of him.

His light colored eyes glistened in the sunlight.

*

*

*

As soon as Nauk’s princess was completely out of sight, Phermos quickly spoke up, as if he had been waiting for his chance to express his displeasure.

As an aide, Phermos was a deeply intelligent man. Those strange glass lenses placed in metal frames didn’t sit on his nose for nothing. He read more than enough and, as a result, possessed plenty of knowledge. He had ideas and thoughts no other human dared to dream of.

So when the head of Tiwakan suddenly decided to descend on the southern castle in order to propose to and marry a princess of ruined kingdom, Phermos assumed their leader wanted to rule. He’d been wandering the battlefield for far too long by now. Maybe he just wanted a break. With that in mind, Phermos followed him without question.

After all, for the Tiwakan Mercenaries, surrounding and isolating a castle with a few troops was nothing short of a break. Their opponent in this fight was just going to surrender anyway. The mercenaries would often practice their table manners and crack jokes like, ‘If our master becomes King, does that make us nobles?’ But an illegitimate child? He would accept a child that doesn’t have a drop of his blood? A child that would only serve to cause trouble in the future? Where was the logic in that choice?

As the man turned away to watch where Nauk’s princess had disappeared to, Phermos couldn’t help but feel as though his eyes looked different from usual. Any answer he may have drawn from him flowed away like the river Ebet in Nauk. A river that was completely dried up.

At first, Phermos thought he heard wrong.

Phermos adjusted his glasses.

Tiwakan’s chief opted to remain quiet rather than answer. He was normally the stoic type. He had no name, nor any origins. No one knew anything about him before he joined the Tiwakan Mercenaries. Even Phermos only had a vague idea. Though he had no name, the word they used to refer to him in its place was ‘Black’. There was no better word to describe him.

Phermos was blathering on, but he believed Black to be aware of all of this. He could not for the life of him understand what was going on in that man’s head. It would be understandable if all he desired was Nauk itself. To be frank, Phermos didn’t entirely know what use such a barren and poor land could be, but if Black wanted it, that was all the reason Phermos needed. To the mercenaries, Black wasn’t just some illegitimate child born from the God of War. He was a God himself. On that ten yearlong battlefield, Black had saved them all in a fight against the God of Death. That was all they needed to know that Black himself was a God. But now, suddenly Black desired the Princess of Nauk, not Nauk itself. It was something Phermos couldn’t wrap his brain around. It wasn’t possible for Black to fall in love with the first woman he met today. While it was true the Princess of Nauk was a rare beauty indeed, a single well sculpted face shouldn’t be enough to shake Black of all people. There had to be some other reason.

When Black finally spoke again, Phermos’ face beamed. He knew he shouldn’t ask his lord, but the curiosity was driving him crazy.

Phermos moved his eyes around, looking at him with a perplexing face. His Lord’s words were surprisingly innocent, and it made him feel strange.

Black raised his eyebrow. That sufficed as an answer. Black was not in love with Nauk’s princess. He wasn’t particularly generous towards her, nor did he long for her affection. So what was the reason?

The declaration was so embarrassing, Phermos almost dropped his glasses.

From just that, Phermos could tell Nauk had something to do with Black’s completely shrouded past. A past that was kept a dark secret from the rest of them.

Then it truly wasn’t Phermos’ place to argue.

If their God willed it, then it had to be done.

*

*

*

The light of dawn was aggressively bright. Rienne stood by the window, rubbing her eyes. She couldn’t sleep a wink all night.

As she leaned her forehead against the window all through the morning, she felt a chill coursing through her body until it reached the tips of her toes. She was mourning—a soft sigh escaping her as a goodbye to her lover. The tears pooled like fog in her deep emerald eyes, but they never dared to fall. I shouldn’t cry. It takes too much energy. Rienne told herself this, as if to provide herself with some small level of comfort. Farewell. I pray you can meet someone who will love you properly in the land of the dead. Even now, she was such a coward. She didn’t even have the courage to treat him as a lover should. It was just a compromise, having a Knight of the Arsak Family by her side. Rienne didn’t have the power needed to protect the Kingdom of Nauk on her own, but her lover’s family did. In essence, their relationship was a forced one, calculated by her lover’s family who wanted to control Nauk, but he always told Rienne that his love for her was true. He said he would wait until the day she could trust him completely. She didn’t realize that affection would eventually lead to his death. Her lover’s death left her cold, like losing the light of dawn. Rienne realized in that moment that there was one less person around with the power to protect her. What a coldhearted and selfish person she was. Her lover was dead, and yet all she could think about was the effect his death would have on Nauk.

Rienne placed a hand on the window sill. She was lying when she said there was a child. She hardly ever let her lover even kiss her, let alone sleep with her. Every time he did, he would look at her with a burning intensity. That intensity and thirst reminded her all too much of the Kleinfelder’s desire to take her position. If she really was pregnant with her lover’s child, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to tolerate it herself.

There had to be a way to trick him. Rienne would either have to fake a miscarriage, or actually have a child. Even entertaining the last idea sent shivers down her spine. She had too much on her plate just protecting the castle. Can I really fool him? So she thought about that contradictory man. He was a terrifying, ferocious man who could scare others just by looking at them, and yet… he was also the person who had left a soft kiss on her palm after seeing she was injured.

Rienne slipped out her hand and opened it up to look at her palm. There was a red scar in the shape of her fingernails. The wound reminded her of the man’s lips, making her hand tremble.

She was beginning to realize she would never understand how different these two sides of him were.

After giving a small sigh, Rienne turned her gaze away. A new day was finally starting. Another long, painful day of trying to bring together a kingdom that was falling apart at the seams, bit by bit every day.

***

As per usual, Maslow visited the King’s office early in the morning. After King Seon’s passing, the office was now Rienne’s working space, but not much had changed from before. The Kingdom’s earnings were falling more and more each year. Nauk was once the richest Kingdom in the entire southern region. Now, thanks to the drought that lasted twenty years, it quickly fell to being the poorest. However, they somehow managed to secure tax revenue due to the heavy rainfall this year. If it hadn’t been for the attack from Tiwakan, Rienne could have had three meals a day.

Rienne mulled over the documents Maslow handed over to her.

Even though it was a light-hearted joke, Maslow looked upset.

Maslow’s lips twitched in disapproval.

Maslow was still staunchly opposed to Rienne’s decision to accept the Tiwakan proposal. A civil war might have even broken out had that man not presented her lover’s sword to her as proof of his death.

Maslow stroked his chin with his head drooped down. The chairman of the noble council was her dead lover’s uncle, and that very seat of power was one of the positions that were guaranteed to the Kleinfelders for generations. This delegate was given the sacred responsibility of assisting the royal family, but the chairman of Nauk had only been performing a single duty for the last several years. Keeping potential rebellions in check. The chairman undoubtedly believed his nephew would become King of Nauk some day after serving dutifully as the commander of the Arsak family’s retinue knights. It was obvious he would be losing his mind, hearing that Rienne had gotten engaged to another so soon after his nephew’s passing. This was part of the reasons why Rienne could never accept her lover’s feelings for her to be true, no matter how sincere he was. If Rienne had married him and allowed him to rule Nauk alongside her, she knew the chairman wouldn’t waste any time using Nauk for all it was worth—eating away at it starting from the bottom.

Maslow’s face turned red, but that meant nothing.

Rienne gave a tired and bitter smile.

With no more words left to say, Maslow backed off. Rienne didn’t respond as he turned around, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him with a heavy sound.

Rienne let out a low sigh. What a terrible lover I am…

If nothing else, she should wear mourning clothes to greet the body of the lover she never once loved.

***

But she couldn’t wear a black dress.

Even the thought of meeting with those cold, beast-like eyes again made her chest feel tight.

Mrs. Flambard was Rienne’s nanny, and was now serving as her personal lady-in-waiting. She sighed deeply.

As she picked out a few pieces of clothing with colorful fabrics, Mrs. Flambard’s eyes were filled with a mixture of pity and anger.

Rienne quickly moved to stop Mrs. Flambard’s crying, who sobbed as if she was the one who experienced the tragedy.

Mrs. Flambard didn’t respond, but she nodded her head instead. She worked as she usually did when she changed Rienne’s clothes, but every so often, her hands would tremble.

As Mrs. Flambard tightened the laces of Rienne’s undershirt, several thoughts crossed her mind.