Chapter : 3
Doyul was currently in a very awkward situation.
The first thing troubling him was how he should address the person before him.
Now that they had gone through the wedding ceremony, it would be proper, in principle, to call Yerin “my wife.”
But…
The title just won’t come naturally.
Which was only to be expected.
This had been a marriage forced upon them.
There was no way he could feel enough affection for a wife he had been compelled to take to call her wife so naturally.
And the second thing tormenting him was…
“…Sigh.”
Letting out a long breath, Doyul frowned as he looked at Yerin.
“Miss Yerin.”
“…”
“Miss Yerin!”
Only after calling her name several times did Yerin finally turn toward him with an outwardly composed expression.
“Did you call for me, Palace Lord?”
“…Are you really all right?”
“Of course I’m all right. I’m perfectly, absolutely fine. Are you seriously suspecting that I’m mentally impaired? Palace Lord, are your eyes attached to the soles of your feet? Hmm… Then do you have to lift your feet just to see in front of you? That must be terribly inconvenient.”
…She didn’t seem all right at all.
No, how can someone get this drunk from just one cup of alcohol?
A pounding headache crept into his temples, and Doyul unconsciously rubbed his forehead.
Meanwhile, Yerin continued speaking complete nonsense with an expression so serious that it almost sounded logical.
“You know, I’m the kind of person who never loses to alcohol. Back in my day, finishing an entire barrel in one sitting was the standard! You don’t even realize how amazing I am. You’re still just a tiny little kid who doesn’t know anything…”
Listening to the endless stream of nonsense she fired off, Doyul found himself momentarily stunned.
“Back in my day…”?
Wasn’t that the sort of thing only old people said?
And drinking an entire barrel in one sitting? What kind of ridiculous bragging was that?
Besides…
“What do you mean, ‘tiny little kid’?!”
A surge of indignation welled up inside him.
Narrowing his eyes, Doyul glared at Yerin.
“And yet you say that, Miss, even though you’re only twelve years old.”
I’m fifteen. Three whole years older than you!
At that moment—
Yerin suddenly lifted her head and smiled brightly.
“There, there. Is that so?”
“…”
“Well, that can happen. This big sister understands everything. At your age, even a difference of three years feels enormous. Mm-hmm. Even someone as great and amazing as me couldn’t stand up to people just a couple years older when I was your age.”
…She had completely dropped all formal speech.
Excuse me? “Your age”?
You’re only twelve. You’re three years younger than me!
No matter how old you get, you’ll never be the same age as me!
And even putting all that aside…
“…Please don’t treat me like a child.”
“Hm?”
Yerin tilted her head.
Clenching both fists, Doyul protested with a face red as a tomato.
“I-I may not look it, but I’m the Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace!”
“The… Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace?”
“I’m not asking you to show me all the proper respect due to a Palace Lord, but at the very least, please refrain from treating me like a little child!”
Truthfully, Doyul knew it himself.
Getting so serious with someone who was obviously drunk was rather childish.
But what could he do?
He could tolerate many things.
Being called a baby was not one of them.
Just then—
Yerin staggered to her feet.
“That’s right, you punk!”
She raised a hand and repeatedly smacked Doyul on the shoulder.
Smack! Smack!
“It’s because you’re the Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace that I’m acting like this!!”
“…Miss?”
“Hm? You know… the North Sea Ice Palace… I’ve devoted… devoted my whole life…”
Her voice gradually faded away as her head drooped.
It seemed sleepiness had finally caught up with her.
Doyul frowned.
“My whole life”…? Did she say something like that?
But hadn’t Yerin spent her entire life secluded within the Sichuan Tang Clan?
What connection could she possibly have with the North Sea Ice Palace?
After pondering for a moment, he shook his head.
She’s just rambling because she’s drunk. There’s no point taking it seriously.
More importantly, dealing with this drunken woman came first.
“…Very well. I understand, so please stop this and at least lie down.”
“My goodness.”
The half-asleep Yerin suddenly opened her eyes wide.
Then, with a completely serious expression, she shot back,
“Did you just tell me to shut up?”
…Shut… what?
Doyul’s eyes widened in shock.
As the one and only Young Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, he had grown up rather sheltered.
To be honest, this was practically the first time anyone had spoken to him so roughly.
“How could you say something like that? You brat! Don’t you know you’re supposed to cherish and love your wife? You’re so young, yet your manners are terrible!”
But Yerin wasn’t finished.
Staggering upright, she planted both hands on her hips and shouted at him confidently.
“This won’t do! I have to punish that mouth for saying such bad things!”
“P-Punish it?”
“That’s right! Naughty mouth gets punished!”
Yerin faithfully carried out her declaration.
She began waving her tiny hand toward Doyul’s lips.
“…W-Wait a moment, Miss!!”
Startled, Doyul hurriedly tried to stop her.
She was completely plastered.
What if she loses her balance and falls?
Unable to ignore the worry, he reached out and gently grasped her shoulders.
At the same time, his eyes widened slightly.
…What?
Because of the many layers of wedding robes, he hadn’t realized it before.
The body hidden beneath them was astonishingly thin.
No.
Calling her merely thin was putting it too mildly.
She’s practically nothing but skin and bones.
As though she hadn’t even been able to eat a proper bowl of porridge.
Just as Doyul struggled to hide his surprise—
Yerin lost her balance and collapsed onto the floor.
“Miss! Are you all right?!”
Panicking, Doyul hurried over to examine her.
Apparently unaware that she had even fallen, Yerin simply looked up at him blankly.
Then—
“…Sniff.”
Large tears spilled from her eyes like pearls rolling down her cheeks.
Doyul’s mouth fell open.
W-Why is she crying all of a sudden?!
Had she hurt herself when she fell?
But the wedding robes were so thick that she shouldn’t have been injured badly.
Alarmed, Doyul quickly asked,
“D-Did you hurt yourself somewhere? Should I call a physician?”
“…Heavy.”
Her voice trembled pitifully between sobs.
“My head’s heavy.”
“…”
Doyul looked over her appearance once more.
The elaborate ceremonial wig, decorated with countless jewels and ornaments—beautiful, but incredibly heavy.
And beneath it…
Her delicate neck struggled to support the weight.
…If someone asked me to wear that thing, I probably wouldn’t even be able to keep my head upright.
Yet Yerin had worn both that enormous wig and the heavy wedding robes without so much as blinking.
Then she whimpered again.
“It hurts.”
“It hurts? Where?”
“My head.”
With tear-filled eyes, Yerin looked up at Doyul.
“I got hit with a comb. It hurts.”
“…You were hit?”
Doyul’s expression instantly froze.
“Who would dare strike Miss Yerin?”
“They were combing my hair… I moved… so the maid…”
Judging by the circumstances, the maid had probably struck her with the comb hard enough to leave a bump.
Now the heavy ceremonial wig was pressing down on it, making it ache.
Yerin bit her lip so hard it nearly bled.
Sniff… It’s so unfair.
People say that when your body becomes younger, your heart becomes younger too.
Maybe that’s actually true.
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks once again.
After quietly dwelling on her sorrow for a while, Yerin suddenly spoke.
“…Don’t hate me too much.”
“…Miss Yerin.”
“I… I didn’t want to marry you either.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she swayed again.
The alcohol was finally overwhelming her.
“Miss!”
Startled, Doyul quickly spread both arms to support her.
At the same moment, unable to steady herself, Yerin collapsed straight into his embrace.
W-What should I do?
Doyul froze stiff.
Before he realized it, he had ended up holding her.
But then—
“…Even so… I’m sorry you were forced into this marriage…”
Suppressing the sobs threatening to burst out, Yerin whispered softly.
Faced with that sorrow-filled voice…
He simply couldn’t ignore it.
“…”
After hesitating for a moment, Doyul slowly raised a hand and gently patted her back.
Her back was so small.
So painfully fragile.
He knew perfectly well there was no reason to pity the daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
And yet…
…His heart still ached for her.
Suppressing his complicated emotions, Doyul looked down at the little girl now curled up asleep on the bed.
She seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
Only the soft sound of her breathing escaped her lips.
Dried tear stains marked her pale face.
For some reason…
He couldn’t stop looking at her.
“…Tang Yerin.”
Doyul quietly called her name.
The marriage between the Sichuan Tang Clan, one of the leaders of the orthodox martial world, and the North Sea Ice Palace, ruler of the outer martial world.
Yet not a single member of the Tang Clan had attended the ceremony.
Not even the bride’s own father, the Tang Clan Patriarch.
There hadn’t even been anyone present to officially witness the marriage.
Only a maid had been sent in their place.
That fact alone said enough.
Well, my situation is one thing… but they say Tang Yerin is an illegitimate daughter who has always been neglected by the Tang Clan.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
It seemed the rumors that Tang Yerin was treated like an unwanted outsider within the Tang Clan were true after all.
Just then—
Yerin shifted in her sleep and let out a tiny, sleepy murmur.
