Chapter : 5
However, Jack still couldn’t reveal the secret behind his fluency in the Northern language, so he couldn’t bring himself to tell the young lady what had happened.
“…That’s what happened.”
“What do you mean, ‘that’s what happened’? What exactly did you do?”
“Ah, stop asking! I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You said it was a long story! I sent you to work, and somehow the guy who couldn’t even speak Northern properly ended up doing what? How could you go and seduce my husband’s lover?!”
“I don’t know! You’re an idiot, Miss!”
Watching Jack flop face-first onto the tea table without a shred of manners, Aspara decided it would be better to let him calm down before asking anything else.
At the same time, she felt a little relieved.
“That attendant named Ugly…”
Though it was only a word she chose in her own mind, she carefully considered it before settling on one.
“He must be… rather promiscuous.”
Aspara felt somewhat reassured about the identity of the strongest candidate for her husband’s secret lover.
Even if that man named Ugly really did have some kind of relationship with the lord, she convinced herself that it couldn’t possibly be anything serious.
“Well, never mind. We can worry about that later. More importantly, Jack, about the trading issue we saw at the warehouse earlier…”
“Miss, seriously? You’re acting like nothing happened? Your most trusted subordinate just got stolen away by some barbarian whose name I don’t even know!”
“You were the one who told me not to talk to you… Besides, who else are you complaining to? And yes, you are my most trusted subordinate… because you’re my only one.”
“Ah, whatever! Everything’s ruined.”
The maid quietly poured another cup of tea into Jack’s empty teacup.
Sharp girl. You’re my most trusted subordinate now.
The previous night…
Gus stared at the framed portrait resting on his desk, feeling his heart sink.
It was the small portrait that had accompanied the marriage proposal from the Southern Kingdom.
Her healthy skin, faintly kissed by golden light, and her softly cascading bright hair were unlike anything seen in the North.
When he had first looked into the painted woman’s eyes, he had thought they belonged to someone lifeless.
But the princess he met in person possessed eyes that burned with overwhelming intensity.
Bright yellow with anger…
And resentment.
Even after learning that the marriage was nothing more than Aspara’s exile and punishment, forced upon her against her will, his determination to marry her had never wavered.
This is merely a political marriage for the sake of our nations. Even I have no power to change it.
That was what the King of the Barbarians kept telling himself.
“But… can I truly claim I had no selfish desires?”
He couldn’t answer with certainty.
He couldn’t deny that, beneath the king, there was still a man with desires of his own.
Gus looked toward the bouquet of red flowers that had already begun to wilt before fulfilling their purpose.
He had bought them with his own money, telling himself they were merely an investment to ease his precious bride’s nerves—not an attempt to win her affection.
“Anyone could see those flowers were filled with personal feelings.”
With a sigh, Gus threw aside the bouquet, already withering in the cold, and picked up a fresh change of nightclothes.
His gaze drifted to the bed awkwardly occupying the room.
It had originally been his private office, but after seeing Aspara trembling in fear, he had hastily moved in a single bed so she could have a bedroom of her own.
Just then…
He heard someone approaching the door.
“Who is it? I told everyone not to disturb me tonight.”
“Aspara Bel—”
“…!”
Although he had never actually spoken with her before, he immediately recognized the owner of the voice.
And he would never forget the name she spoke.
Half-dressed while changing clothes, the dark-haired lord panicked.
As he stumbled backward, his foot caught on the unfamiliar bed frame jutting into the room, and he crashed to the floor.
What worried him more than his bruised knee was the loud racket his bride must have heard.
His shirt had been kicked underneath the bed, but there was no time to retrieve it.
Not wanting to keep her waiting any longer, Gus grabbed his cloak and threw it over his bare torso.
“W-What brings you here? Is… is the room cold? I’ll wake the attendants at once…”
“—— ——.”
Unable to understand Aspara’s Southern language, Gus fell even deeper into panic.
“Sh-Should I wake your attendants immediately? If you’ve come to ask to be sent home again… that is…”
Then his eyes drifted downward toward Aspara’s clothing.
His heart sank all over again.
His new bride had come wearing only an incredibly thin robe that looked as though the cold wind alone might freeze her solid.
In other words…
She appeared to be wearing nothing but her underwear.
In truth, by Southern standards it was simply sleepwear.
But to a Northerner, it was no different from the most intimate undergarments a maiden would hide beneath all her clothing—something shown only to the one she cherished most.
She crossed the freezing hallway wearing something as delicate as butterfly wings just to see me…
In reality, Gus had never seen a butterfly before.
He simply imagined it was something similar to a furry moth.
“——. ——.”
“M-My lady… would you allow me to warm your feet? I… I’m only worried you’ll get frostbite…”
Aspara sat down on the bed and patted the empty space beside her.
Cold sweat rolled down Gus’s back.
Her body trembled slightly after walking through the freezing corridor in such thin clothing.
“Ah… She’s trembling with fear, yet she still believes she has to charm me. Just how desperate must she have been to make such a humiliating decision? Ah… I am the sinner here. I’m the traitor. I should have been carrying my sword. Then I could have gouged out these eyes at once and offered them to her…”
Then…
Aspara, having quietly watched him hesitate for so long, finally reached up and began removing the last piece of clothing she still wore.
“P-P-Please don’t do this, my lady! You don’t have to! I… I swear I will protect you!”
Unable to bear the storm of love, excitement, and guilt tearing his heart apart, Gus fled the room in utter panic—
Still wearing nothing but a cloak over his bare chest.
Bang!
The bedroom door slammed shut behind him.
As he wandered the corridors in a daze, the lord accidentally woke one of his attendants.
“My lord? Is something wrong?”
“My apologies. I woke you from your sleep.”
“Not at all. I was only dozing. It’s such an important day that I couldn’t sleep very well.”
The attendant, Ugly, had always been a light sleeper.
Originally a sailor, he had spent countless nights standing watch aboard ships, and during the war he had always been the dependable comrade who volunteered for night guard duty.
“My lord, if you’re going for a walk, please allow me to accompany you. Wild boars have been wandering nearby at night lately.”
“It’s fine. Go back and get some rest.”
“I wanted to go for a walk myself, but it’s a bit frightening alone, sir. And…”
Ugly hesitated before continuing.
“I’ll fetch my walking clothes… and bring yours as well.”
“…Thank you.”
After putting on the coat Ugly brought him, the two slowly strolled through the castle’s rear courtyard.
“My lord… tonight is your wedding night. Is it really alright for you to be out here?”
“A wedding night only belongs to those who are truly husband and wife.”
“Then if you’re not husband and wife yet, what are you waiting for? The official ceremony? You’re so stubborn. At this rate it’ll take quite a while, considering the current situation…”
The easygoing attendant chuckled.
“…Am I truly her husband?”
Caught off guard, Ugly looked up at his lord.
“Isn’t marriage supposed to be a sacred bond formed through mutual affection? Yet I took the hand of a woman dragged here like livestock, fully aware of her circumstances. Can I really call myself her husband?”
“My lord…”
Beneath the moonlight, his master’s face looked as though it had been slashed open by a blade.
“I can’t forget the moment we first met. The expression on that tiny woman, unable even to step out of her carriage… filled with resentment and fury.”
He paused to catch his breath.
“Of everyone here, I understand best what this marriage truly means.”
Another silence followed.
“And yet… the thought that she hates me makes me sad.”
Ugly found himself unable to say a single word.
The two wandered throughout the night.
As the first light of dawn began to spread across the sky, they saddled the first horse to wake in the stable and rode off on an early morning hunt.
Gus focused solely on drawing his bowstring, desperately trying to forget the lonely heart of the wife he had left behind.
Watching Gus and Ugly return together on horseback gave Aspara an idea.
Didn’t they say that in the North, two people often rode the same horse?
“Hahaha! Jack! Look at this! Isn’t this wonderful?”
“Miss, you scold me every day for lacking manners, but after only two days you’ve completely forgotten your own dignity.”
“Out of the way!”
“How am I supposed to do that? We’re riding the same horse!”
In the South, where open plains were scarce, horseback riding was little more than a pastime for noblemen.
As a result, Aspara had never learned to ride.
She had always dreamed of it because she loved the idea of outdoor adventures, but noble ladies were expected to travel only by carriage.
The North was different.
Its horses were larger, and so was its culture.
Now Aspara sat behind Jack atop a chestnut horse, feeling the earth sway beneath her.
“Haha… ha… This is so much fun… They’ve been enjoying something this wonderful all by themselves. Father and my brother have just given me one more reason to resent them.”
“I’ll slow down now, Miss. Hold on properly with your legs! If you fall off, it’ll be my head that rolls.”
