Barbaric Proposal

Chapter 14 | Not Even a Moment

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….I feel nervous.

Rienne was riding Black's horse with her, but she felt ashamed. He was well aware of how he was sitting behind her, feeling her touch and heat on his back.

The mercenaries escorting them back to the castle were fewer in number compared to the ones he had seen at the Kleinfelder Estate. In total, there were only three who followed them, but they were trailing far behind, Rienne and Black might as well be alone.

[ Rienne ] “How's your shoulder….? Does it hurt?”

Rienne asked as she swallowed her discomfort and gathered her courage.

[ Rienne ] “If it's hard to be in control, I can take it.”

As they travel, Black holds the reins with one hand while keeping Rienne's body safely on horseback with the other.

[Black ] “Nothing. That doesn't bother me.”

[ Rienne ] “I understand.”

[Black ] “But there's something else.”

[ Rienne ] “Something else..?”.

[Black ] “Why is there blood on your lips?”

[ Rienne ] “Hah?”

Immediately, Rienne raised her hand and touched her lips. Sure enough, there was a hint of red left on his fingertips.

This must have been since I bit Rafit…

[Black ] “Did someone bite you?”

[ Rienne ] “No..I..”.

Rienne wanted to say that she was not bitten by anyone. It's actually quite the opposite, but to explain himself, he has to talk about Rafit. Knowing that, he closed his mouth.

[Black ] “Then why blood?”

[ Rienne ] “Only..”.

But he couldn't think of a good reason.

[ Rienne ] “It's okay, I'm not hurt..”.

[Black ] “So you said, Princess.”

[ Rienne ] “Yeah.. I happened to... got blood on my face...”.

[Black ] “On your lips, from all places.”

[ Rienne ]”. .”

There is no reasonable situation that would cause a person to have blood on their lips. Just as Rienne was trying to explain herself, Black suddenly stopped talking. Catching this, Rienne turned to look at him.

Mouth twitching.

Black relinquished control, turning Rienne's body facing her with one hand.

[Black ] “Can I confirm it myself?”

[ Rienne ] “What....you mean?”

[Black ] “I want to make sure you really don't get hurt.”

She don't. Thas right.

[ Rienne ] “I'm fine, honest.”

[Black ] “I don't believe you.”

He said his last words so quickly and slowly that Rienne did not even have a chance to reply before Black grabbed the side of his face with both hands. His mind was so busy trying to catch up that he was not even surprised as he moistened his lips with his tongue.

[ Rienne ] “What do you do..?”

[Black ] “Open your mouth.”

[ Rienne ]”. .”

And just like that, he stuck his mouth into his mouth and began his search.

 

He didn't really kiss her.

Black just meticulously examined the inside of his mouth, looking every inch of him to see if he was injured or not.

It wasn't a kiss, but it just made all this weird. Rienne could not say a word, even when one's tongue was intensely browsing through it. By the time her lips were free, Rienne was panting, her hands weakly grasping her sleeves.

[Black ] “No injuries.”

…That's what I said.

[ Black ] “Good.”

Is that really?

Rienne was already worried this feeling would never go away—that she would never be able to forget this sensation. Even now, it felt like his tongue was still inside him.

His body trembled and he felt dizzy, and even seeing Black drenching his lips made him recall what had just happened, that dizzy feeling only got worse with that thought.

[Black ] “Why are you there alone?”

Completely unaffected, Black urged the horse to start moving again. Sensing the jerking movement, Rienne instinctively grabbed onto it to maintain her balance, her body still facing towards him.

….This is too weird.

Rienne always thought she would rather fall off the horse than hold it like this, and yet, even thinking of such a feeling felt strange to her.

How does he always do this to me?

She must hate him for everything he has done. She should have been afraid of him, but…

[Black ] “Is this a difficult question to answer?”

[ Rienne ] “. Mr. Weroz accompanied me but at some point he disappeared. Ah Mr. Weroz!”

It was a late realization hitting Rienne.

In all that commotion, he had completely forgotten about Weroz.

[ Rienne ] “Master Weroz may be locked up.”

[Black ] “At the house?”

[Rienne ] “He's not the kind of person who just disappears without saying a word, yet I can't find him when I need him. That must mean...”.

A sense of urgency struck Rienne.

They had to return to the castle as soon as possible and send the castle guards back to retrieve it. If something happens to Weroz, Rienne will never forgive herself.

Weroz was one of the few people Rienne could trust without question.

[ Rienne ] “Please, we have to be fast. We should send the castle guards back to help him.”

[Black ] “That's not necessary.”

Black pulled the reins, slowing down their steps as he gestured behind him. Seeing the signal, the people who were following far behind rushed over.

[ Mercenaries ] “Ya, Tuanku.”

[Black ] “One of you, go back and tell Phermos to watch over the castle guard Captain Nauk.”

[ Mercenary ] “Ya, Sir.”

Quickly, the order was carried out. Without a doubt, one of the three mercenaries who followed them quickly turned his horse around and charged back to the Kleinfelder Estate.

He moved at a much faster speed than if they returned to the castle first and sent guards instead.

[ Rienne ] “….Thank you.”

Rienne's voice was soft.

Finally, Rienne began to understand. The reason why he felt so safe and comfortable around this man was sometimes not because he was big or his body was sturdy. That was everything.

He listens to my problems even though he knows I'm hiding something from him. He checked to see if I was hurt and did something to help me.

And.he's trying to ease my worries.

Reminding herself of it, it made her feel as if they were a true couple, bound with real affection.

[Black ] “I just did what I should.”

Rienne felt her body tremble every time she made contact with him as she spoke.

I don't hate this. I don't hate this at all.

And it's not the only one.

Their horses walked towards the castle at a very slow pace. It felt like time had completely slowed down and Rienne thought, even for a moment, that she didn't like it.

 

* * *

 

Maslow placed a piece of paper in front of Rienne, dense with various numbers. After checking it out, Rienne verified her number was correct and nodded as she put it down.

[ Rienne ] “That sounds reasonable. We should thank Tiwakan.”

[ Maslow ] “I don't think so. If not for them, from the beginning there is no need for a funeral.”

Maslow stroked his chin in a disapproving manner, as if he was watching a brat.

[Rienne ] “Not that I was siding, but Nauk was the one who tried to attack from the start. I don't want to debate this any further, so let's move on. Let's discuss the issue of wedding gifts. ” (1)

[ Maslow ] “You plan to give him a gift?”

Maslow's eyes widened.

[Maslow ] “Didn't the man say he'd take care of everything? I don't even consider a gift because of that. ”

[ Rienne ] “She said she would pay for her wedding and dress, but the gift is a different story.”

[ Maslow ] “As I've said before, you don't have to force yourself to be polite to him.”

[ Rienne ] “I don't. But he gave me something, so it's fair.”

Rienne gets a large chest containing gold coins as an engagement gift, so she can't just forget the wedding gift and confess to forgetting. Back then, she didn't even consider this an actual marriage. He still thought he was just trying to take something from her.

…I'm a person to talk to.

Who's taking things from who now?

It was a ludicrous thought and Rienne could only smile mockingly at the irony of the situation.

With how things were going, it always seemed to cross his mind that he was the one who forced this marriage to happen.

[Rienne ] “It's a shame to admit it, but I'm the one who received the gold as a gift. It's not that we don't have the funds, so please prepare a gift that is in accordance with Nauk's wedding customs. It should be sent to Tiwakan before the wedding. ”

[ Maslow ] “It was, um cough, cough.”

As Rienne mentioned money, Maslow awkwardly coughed.

[ Rienne ] “Master Maslow?”

That means something's wrong.

[ Maslow ] “Only... in terms of money.. we don't have much more, Princess.”.

[ Rienne ] “Excuse me?”

You must be kidding me.

[ Rienne ] “What are you talking about? How long has it been like that?”

[Maslow ] “Nah, after the loan card was made three years ago, all the income generated by the royal family, excluding taxes, now belongs to the loan lender—Lord Linden Kleinfelder.”

[ Rienne ] “What?”

Rienne jumped from her seat.

[ Rienne ] “That's the loan details?”

[ Maslow ] “Ya, Princess.”

Maslow said this while biting his tongue.

[Maslow ] “You remember three years ago during a drought…. There is no rain until the end of summer. Due to lack of water, the disease begins to spread in the plant, so that's when you decide, Princess..”.

Maslow's words came to a halt as he closed his mouth. The pale, distorted look on her face was what Rienne needed to remember.

[Rienne ] “I decided to borrow money from Kleinfelder using that stupid loan card….Yes...I remember now.”

From the little he could remember from then on, he felt nothing but despair back then. Every day, more and more people die from hunger. Rienne knew that the loan was suspicious, but in order to save her people, she had no choice but to agree.

It was embarrassing and he knew he would have to pay the price for such a choice in the future, but he could not stand by and watch his people die.

[ Rienne ] “So no more money?”

[Maslow ] “According to the law, I checked what we had yesterday and sent it to Kleinfelder Estate. After that we received a notice stating the interest cut from the principal amount.”

[ Rienne ] “And you didn't even think to tell me?”

[ Maslow ] “I think you already know.”

[ Rienne ]”. .”

Left completely speechless, Rienne glared at Maslow.

He didn't tell me intentionally.

If she had, Rienne would have used the money to pay for the necessary expenses first, so she sent it to Kleinfelder as soon as the money came in.

…And no doubt he himself was hurt.

Although he was no match for Kleinfelder, Maslow was as greedy as someone.

Maslow, High Priest—everyone sided with the Kleinfelder family so that they could rise upward to prosperity, rather than siding with the poor and destitute royal family. (2)

[Maslow ] “If you want, we can always borrow money from Lord Kleinfelder to get a reward. Lord Kleinfelder may not be so eager to welcome your marriage, but he is a generous man. I'm sure he'll be willing to give you what you need.”

[ Rienne ] “….Enough.”

Rienne's voice sounded tired.

A generous man?

The only reason why Kleinfelder could act the way they did despite their status was because of the huge debt the royal family owed. That's why they act so impudently.

But what Linden tried to do that day was proof that she would never, under any circumstances, give away the money that allowed this marriage to happen.

[ Rienne ] “I won't owe you again.”

I will not allow myself to be dragged away by them forever because of money debts.

Rienne still could not believe everything that was happening today. The Kleinfelder family might look down on the royal family, but to think that they were capable of trying something like that.

They called the High Priest to their home and tried to force him to marry Rafit.

It was an act that showed Rienne that they did not respect her as a human, let alone as Princess Nauk.

If Black had not shown up when he appeared, he would have already been trapped inside that house. She will be forced to marry and forced to survive the first night.

[ Maslow ] “If I may, Princess, I don't think it will be that easy to decide.”

Without paying attention to his thoughts, Maslow added another comment.

[Maslow ] “Nauk has been surviving on Kleinfelder's money for years now. If the flow was suddenly cut off, people would starve to death.”

[ Rienne ]”. .”

[Maslow ] “Rather than reducing the principal amount of debt, we may need to borrow more just to pay back the interest. The load is slightly reduced thanks to the money supplied by Tiwakan, but even so..”.

Once again, the indisputable reality left Rienne speechless.

All those horrible feelings from three years ago came back to haunt him. Frustrated, deadly fatigue—even thinking about it made her feel nauseous.

With a pale face, Rienne turned to Maslow.

[ Rienne ] “Alright, all right. We'll forget the gift.”

[ Maslow ] “Alright. You must rest, Princess. You look sick.”

His worries did not sound the slightest bit sincere, but he left the King's office after expressing his weak worries.

[ Rienne ] “……..I'm so sick and tired of everything.”

Rienne gently dropped the ink bottle on the table, but the lid was closed so it did not leak.

To be honest, Rienne wanted to be angry.

He was furious, he wanted to throw things away and make a mess, but even that was a luxury he could not afford. If he threw the ink bottle and broke, he would have to think about the money he needed to buy more.

[ Rienne ] “How can't be ashamed of me.”

You gave me so much money, yet I can't even give you a gift in return.

Rienne's situation was so sad and ridiculous that she could only immerse her face in her hands.A self-pitying laugh came out from between her fingers.

[ Rienne ] “….No, at a time like this, I have to think about what I can do.”

Rienne lifted herself from her seat.

Even if I can't give you a decent gift, there's something I can give you.

 

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T/N: (1) The term Rienne uses is “ ⁇ ” which is a gift traditionally exchanged between brides before the wedding.

(2) The literal translation is “go to where soybeans fall” which basically means go where you will receive the most benefits/go where the good stuff is.

Also, a little comment from me: I feel really bad for Rienne in this chapter! He had dealt with BS Kleinfelder alone for so long.