Barbaric Proposal

Chapter 4 | Bedroom Plan

[Mrs Flambard ] “...What?”

Madam Flambard was so surprised, she took off the lace she tied and Rienne's loose inner skirt fell to the floor.

[ Rienne ] “How long does it take for a baby to start showing up?”

[ Mrs Flambard ] “O, oh, w, well, the.”.

As Mrs Flambard struggled to find her words, the guards rushed over and knocked on Rienne's door.

Tap, tap.

[Keeper ] “Message for Princess. We have received word that the head of Tiwakan has arrived and is at the front gate. We are waiting for Lord Weroz's order before allowing him to enter.”

Suddenly, Mrs Flambard and Rienne's faces changed as soon as they saw Rienne was still wearing ****** ********. Making eye contact with her nanny, Rienne spoke slowly.

[ Rienne ] “..Open the gate. Tell him I'll be with him soon.”

With that, Mrs Flambard quickly began to tie Rienne's dress.

Although Mrs Flambard had told Rienne not to look so beautiful, unfortunately she looked radiant while wearing such bright clothes.

Her snow-white skin mixed strangely with how slender her neck was, giving her the image of a fragile flower that could break at any moment.

 

* * *

 

[ Rienne ]”. .”

There were six coffins placed in the front yard. Silence filled the air, except for the sound of each of them unceremoniously hitting the ground as they were brought in.

Completely forgetting to greet her guests, Rienne simply stared blankly at the sealed coffin.

Seeing them like this, they all look the same. He could not distinguish which of them contained his dead lover.

[Phermos ] “We have brought back the bodies without damage, as you requested.”

So said the strange man with a funny looking tool on his face—a man who identified himself as Phermos.

[ Phermos ] “This is a small gift for you, Princess Nauk, who kindly accepted our offer.”

[ Rienne ] “..Thank you.”

The first gift he received from his fiancee was a corpse. How frightening.

As Rienne nodded her head to acknowledge the gift, Black took a step towards her. His eyes looked at his face, and it felt like it was stinging his flesh.

[ Rienne ] “Thank you for granting my request. And for coffin.”

It was quite a miracle that the bodies of those killed during the surprise attack were returned intact, but the coffin was not a requirement.

The barbarians definitely want to play nice because they are engaged now.

Rienne was now in a position to be grateful for these kinds of things.

Head Tiwakan took a step closer, and Rienne suppressed the urge to take a step back.

[Black ] “Day is over.”

The way she said it sounded like a day was a very long time, but in reality, it had only been one day since her lover died.

[Black ] “I want to talk about our wedding, now.”

[ Rienne ]”. .”

Six coffins, one of which contains the body of her lover, are gifts and threats, as if to say …

Don't be distracted by grief and forget my proposal.

 

* * *

They have to move locations.

The office is too small, but the chapel is too big. In the end, they ended up using the reception room with the largest table.

At one point, the most important families throughout the Nauk would visit the King frequently every day, but such traditions were long dead.

They sat on opposite sides of the table, face to face in a strange shabby room.

Only Weroz and Maslow sat down with Rienne, but fortunately the other party didn't have many people either, so the image looked the same on the outside.

But it didn't feel like that in his mind.

Even if Lord Tiwakan was alone there, Rienne would still have to face that awkward and endless feeling of contradiction.

[ Phermos ] “I know it was not a wise decision to make the engagement period too long.”

Fermos was the first to speak. Even on Nauk, it is known that he was the second person to lead Tiwakan, serving as Black's right-hand man and aide.

[Phermos ] “Although we are in the south, the weather is getting cold. Before that, the Tiwakan Charge Army wanted to dismantle our camp and settle down somewhere with a roof over our heads. And consider your position, Princess.”.

Phermos stopped talking for a moment, a meaningful smile on his face.

[ Phermos ] “I'm sure you should also rush to get married so you can baptize your newborn child.”

[ Maslow ] “Wait... Excuse me?”.

Maslow jumped to his feet.

[ Maslow ] “Oh, Princess... Who... Whose child...?”.

As Maslow said his words, two different voices spoke from both sides of the table.

[ Rienne ] “This is my son.”

[Black ] “It's mine.”

Their words are the same, but their meaning is very different.

Rienne looked straight at Black with embarrassment, the thought in her head wondering what she was talking about.

Black returned his appearance without shame on his face.

[Black ] “Your son will recognize me as his real father after we get married.”

Since the two of them decided to leave a strangeness as it was, it was a clear and easy conclusion to come by.

[ Maslow ] “Oh, so that's what you mean.”

[Black ] “It doesn't matter to me if the boy remains an Arsak.”

Maslow stared right at Rienne with widened eyes.

Despite the differences between him and someone more adept, Maslow is still an experienced politician and has long served as Rienne's adviser.

She knew for sure that Rienne had never allowed her lover to sleep with her, so naturally she soon knew that her claim was a lie made to reject the proposal.

But even so, she scolded Rienne for being reckless with her expression.

…I know.

Rienne agreed, but there was no point crying over spilled milk.

It's too late to say that she's been lying; which means she has to lie about miscarriage when the time is right, or she has no choice but to have a baby.

But it means…

Rienne hid her face and bit her lips.

That meant…

That meant he had to sleep with the barbarian as soon as possible.

I can't do that.

That would be too obvious. He'll realize it.

After receiving her proposal, she had no problem sleeping with him if necessary. No matter how much she hated it, it was an unavoidable circumstance after marriage. But beyond that, there are other problems.

Rienne instinctively closed her eyes.

He will see me inexperienced. He'll think it's impossible for me .

Then what will happen?

Lord Tiwakan's reputation was filled with rumors of his brutality. His imagination went wild with horrible thoughts that made him sick of even thinking about it.

Lord Tiwakan's adjutant was an astute and precise worker. He has set the stage.

[Phermos ] “It will be difficult for you to hide your oddity starting in a month or two, so our best option is to hold the wedding about fifteen days into the future.”

[ Maslow ] “Fifteen days? That's too fast!”

Maslow stood up for the second time that day and shouted.

[ Maslow ] “It is not even possible to finish the wedding robe in fifteen days!”

[ Black ] “...Sit.”

A low but clear voice immediately stopped Maslow's shout.

[ Maslow ]”. .”

With a frustrated expression, Maslow looked at Black, who told him to sit down. Stumbling, Maslow fell back into his chair as he faced blue eyes that were so pale that they made his pupils clearer.

In the end, the face of the old royal advisor turned pale.

[Black ] “I'll prepare his robe. If the Princess feels that there is part of the planning of the wedding that is burdensome, then you do not need to do anything. I don't want you to find a reason to postpone our marriage.”.

Black had stopped talking, leaving the air dead for the others to speak, but no one dared to raise their voices.

Chief Tiwakan had the power to force everyone to listen to his orders. Even as he was silent, everyone waited with bated breath for his next words.

Then, Black looked at Rienne and spoke slowly.

[Black ] “I want you to be honest, Princess.”

Now it's Rienne's turn to be pale.

 

* * *

 

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no justification for it unless he simply did not want to.

Just looking at him had already made his spine goosebumps.

Can she really marry such a man and sleep with him?

Can he trick her into believing that the child belongs to someone else? Can he act well enough to make her think he's experienced? Like she couldn't feel the pain the first time?

…No, it's impossible.

There was no way he could sustain such a lie.

[ Weroz ] “Princess.”.

Weroz, who was silent the entire time, called out to Rienne calmly.

Only then did Rienne realize that she was clenching her fists under the table with her eyes closed.

He has to give her an answer.

[ Rienne ] “I need time to prepare myself.”

[Black ] “How much time do you need?”

Even a year will not be enough.

[ Rienne ] “It's not just a matter of preparing clothes. I'm sure you've been informed of the situation on Nauk. We don't have the financial ability to fund a wedding in fifteen days.”

He didn't lie about that. Money is Nauk's biggest problem, and that's why his girlfriend's funeral is considered a luxury.

[Black ] “Money is the problem?”

[ Rienne ] “... Although I am ashamed to admit it, yes.”

[Black ] “And no other reason?”

Rienne bit her lips and replied.

[ Rienne ] “Ya, true.”

Black turned towards his aide. Understanding the implied command, Phermos opened the lid of the box he was carrying and took out something. A piece of paper.

Thinking she was about to hand the paper over to Black, Rienne was a little surprised to see him instead pushing the box towards her.

[Black ] “Consider this as an engagement gift. This is much better than some stone coffins.”

The box, which was not small at all, was filled to the brim with gold.

 

Maslow was so shocked that he did not even dare to grab the box. He just looked at Rienne.

[ Maslow ] “Princess ..”

Rienne is the same.

As Maslow and Rienne stared at the gold in front of them, Phermos spread out the paper in his hand and twisted it so they could see the contents.

[ Phermos ] “We need Princess approval here. After your wedding, Tiwakan Mercenaries will take on a new name—The Guardian Knights of Arsak.”

They still had ten times more troops than in Nauk.

[ Rienne ] “Excuse me?”

Rienne's first thought was surprise. He could not believe this unexpected luck, but at the same time, such a thing was too good to be true.

Things like that always come at a price.

[ Rienne ] “You want us to face the Tiwakan Charge Army as part of the Arsak knight family? It was something that could not be solved just by using gold as a gift.”

Fermos did not seem to be too surprised. In fact, he seemed like he was expecting this response.

[Phermos ] “In return for using Tiwakan Mercenaries as your Guardian Knights, Lord Tiwakan will be granted the ability to take the throne of Nauk with you after you ascend as part of your marriage.”

[ Rienne ] “What..?”.

Instinctively, Rienne looked back at Black without even realizing it. Even though he had avoided her gaze the entire time, the moment she met him, their appearance remained.

It felt like someone had cursed him, preventing him from staying away.

[ Rienne ] “You.. wish I believed it?”.

Mercenaries were fighters who had specifically fought in place of others, so naturally they needed some money to hire. With the Tiwakan Mercenaries on their side, Nauk would easily become the strongest of all the five southern kingdoms, but that was too much.

Regardless of the reason, using the Tiwakan Charge Army as a guard made no sense.

[Black ] “I have no reason to lie to my fiancee.”

That was Black's answer.

[ Rienne ] “But still, there is no need for such a powerful force on Nauk. There's nothing precious enough here that's worth protecting that far. ”

[Black ] “However, you have a commander of Knights of Arsak.”

[ Rienne ] “...Hah?”

Rienne's lips opened in surprise, catching Black's attention. As he stared, there was a strange sense of greed in his gaze.

[Black ] “Someone will want Nauk in the future, whether it be Nauk itself or you, Putri.”

[ Rienne ]”. .”

While Rienne was speechless for that moment, Phermos broke the silence before he could calm down.

[Phermos ] “Then we have a deal. In fifteen days, we will make an announcement no later than tomorrow sunset. We'll hand the arrangement over to Captain Nauk's bodyguard. Oh, and I also want to check out the residence of the Knights.”

The barbarians are succinct.

They had set a trap so fast and perfect that he could not escape from it.

[Phermos ] “We don't have much time, so we have to move as fast as possible. It will take at least two days for our people to dismantle the camp and start their journey, and we will have to postpone their knight ceremony until after the wedding.”

Phermos grinned as he recalled the arrangements they had made. That was when the two letters they sent finally materialized.

 

* * *

T/N: This is a fun chapter to do. Rienne's panic makes me laugh, ha.