Chapter: 07
“The Prince of Buendovska has chosen you. As the princess of the Kingdom of Francia, make sure you do not lose your dignity. For the peace between the two countries.”
The following evening, a short message sent by the king through a servant reached me. The moment I read it, I let out a loud exclamation.
“Ah, finally!”
The opportunity has come, Attilenta. I finally have a stepping stone for my future.
When I smiled broadly, the servant who had delivered the letter stared at me as if I were a madwoman, but I could not stop smiling.
The farewell banquet for me and Henrik, the Prince of Buendovska, was prepared very quickly.
Since the kingdom happened to be holding a banquet for foreign guests already, it seemed there was not much additional work to be done.
That was perfect for me. I did not want to waste any more time in this place.
“Princess Attilenta is entering.”
And so, after a very long time, I entered the royal banquet hall.
Silver lights illuminated the banquet hall, solemn and grand music filled the air, decorations imported from foreign countries adorned the room, and an excellent feast had been prepared.
My first impression was this:
It was a banquet that treated the foreign prince appropriately without going overboard.
The banquet hall contained only the delegation from Buendovska, the knights serving the prince, and a few people who knew me personally.
“Father. I cannot believe today is the last day. Please accept this greeting from your daughter.”
“My daughter, Attilenta. You look very beautiful.”
I said farewell to the king first.
It had been a very long time since I had faced him.
Father and daughter were nothing more than pretty titles between us.
Even when Antony had divorced me, he had pretended not to know anything.
Now that there was a foreign prince who wanted to marry me, he seemed to care about maintaining appearances.
“Princess. You must stay healthy even after you go there.”
“I will pray every day that you, Father, may also remain in peace.”
I spoke the lies I had repeated to myself countless times before coming to this banquet.
I wore an elaborate fake smile as well, all while imagining plunging a sword into that shameless face.
“I shall do the same. The Goddess Freya will bless you, Attilenta.”
Having perfectly observed the etiquette of the kingdom, I withdrew after receiving the king’s hypocritical blessing.
The next person to approach me was, of all people, Selena.
I clenched both hands beneath the wide sleeves of my dress, where no one could see them.
“Attilenta. I can’t believe you’re going to such a distant, wonderful place. I’m sad that we’ll be separated, but congratulations. Truly.”
When I replied that I was grateful, Selena moved closer and continued speaking in her usual sweet tone.
“Attilenta. It seems your disgrace never reached his ears. Duke Antony worked hard to make sure of that. Isn’t it truly fortunate?”
Ha!
I swallowed the hollow laugh that almost escaped me at her ridiculous words.
Do you think only Antony worked hard?
You did too, didn’t you, Selena?
The reason you’re sad that we’re parting is because you lost the chance to make use of me.
Isn’t that right?
“Selena. I’m sad to part with you too, but I’m glad I seem to have met a good person.”
I imitated Selena’s gentle smile.
When I said the words “good person,” I deliberately put more emphasis into my voice.
Henrik was taking me as his wife, so he must have offered the king of this country an appropriate compensation.
From his perspective, this was directly connected to the honor of his homeland, so there was no way he would have handled it carelessly.
For the sake of that gift alone, neither the king nor the duke, nor Selena who was closely connected to them, could have allowed my value to be damaged.
It seemed they had hidden rumors about me being a barren woman or an illegitimate child.
In other words, the king and nobles of Francia, myself included, had deceived the Prince of Buendovska into this marriage.
A marriage built on fraud.
I quietly repeated those words inside my mouth.
“I also think he’s a good person, Attilenta. Oh, the king was so pleased. I suppose the Kingdom of Buendovska must be quite wealthy.”
That was when Henrik approached us, apparently having finished his conversation with the king, and stood beside me.
“My lady is here. Who are you speaking with?”
He looked down at me with jewel-like violet eyes.
Even the brief glance he gave Selena and his manner toward her were flawlessly refined.
“Your Highness. Allow me to introduce myself once again. I am Selena of House Kennan. Congratulations on your marriage.”
Henrik gave a slight nod toward Selena, who bowed as gracefully as a deer.
I could feel them.
Even if they pretended otherwise, I could sense all the gazes directed toward us.
Henrik was the sort of person who naturally attracted attention.
It was obvious he must have been the same even at the banquet held without me.
His cold appearance, soldierly physique, smooth pronunciation, and deep voice all made him appear “charming.”
There was no need to overthink it.
Since he had happened to come over, the correct answer was for me to make use of him as well.
I smiled sweetly and spoke gently to my husband.
“Your Highness. How was your conversation with Father? Hehe. I was just greeting an old friend of mine.
Selena was very happy and praised you as such a wonderful person. She thought exactly the same as I did.”
As I deliberately acted as though I wanted everyone to see us, Henrik responded to Selena appropriately without complaint.
“My lady’s friend, you say? It is a pleasure to meet you. Thanks to coming here, I too have formed a good connection, so it is certainly something to celebrate. I hope you enjoy yourself as well, Lady Kennan.”
It was a display disguised as a blessing.
Whatever his true purpose was, he was emphasizing that he was taking a respectable wife from this place.
It was also the proper attitude for a foreign prince who claimed to be here for the sake of peace.
“It makes me so happy that Your Highness seems to have recognized Attilenta’s true worth. I sincerely hope that peace and happiness will fill the lives of Your Highness and my dear friend.”
“Selena. Thank you sincerely for congratulating us.”
I responded warmly, as though we were close friends.
But inside, I thought:
My nominal father, the duke, Selena, and even the other nobles who had participated in this hollow farewell banquet…
They seem to think they have deceived the Prince of Buendovska.
That was certainly a mistaken assumption.
There was no way Henrik could have been unaware of my disgrace.
For a man as ambitious and warlike as him, was it really possible that he lacked information?
Henrik truly had not the slightest interest in his wife’s family or country.
His purpose was clear.
Just like mine.
That was why he maintained such impeccable manners even here.
He wanted us to appear as though we had no problems whatsoever between us.
The fact that he made even this point so certain was extremely satisfactory to me.
I was also secretly relieved because I felt he would maintain the same courtesy in front of others even after we went to Buendovska.
Honestly, I did not care what this relationship was called.
A fake wife.
A fraudulent marriage.
Whatever name people gave it, it did not matter to me.
Henrik simply wanted to conquer this continent.
I had no interest in my husband either.
I only wanted this country, the Kingdom of Francia—a place I did not even want to call my homeland—to be destroyed.
I wanted it to be shattered into pieces, just as my dreams, hopes, and faith had once been shattered.
There could not have been a more mutually beneficial arrangement than this.
I smiled deeply, intoxicated by the satisfaction.
The banquet continued for a while before finally coming to an end.
Soon afterward, I followed Henrik and climbed into the carriage.
Henrik, the knights from the north, and the carriage itself all moved quickly and efficiently.
I did not even look out the window.
How long the journey took did not matter to me.
I only thought about what I would do from this point onward.
As we left the Kingdom of Francia and traveled farther toward the northeast, I began to notice a peculiar smell.
It was a damp, moist scent I had never experienced before.
I could even taste salt in the air.
Perhaps Henrik smelled it too, because he spoke in a languid voice.
“We seem to be almost there.”
I had heard that the northern kingdom bordered the sea.
A salty, refreshing scent stung my nose.
So this was what the sea smelled like.
Even inside the carriage, where I was alone with Henrik, I felt an atmosphere filled with a deep blue sensation.
Although he knew he had arrived in his homeland, his face showed little emotion.
The scent of the sea was new to me as well, but I was not swept away by the excitement of the journey.
Instead, I looked at the man sitting across from me, my husband in name only.
His black hair, sharp nose, and defined jaw made him look undeniably cold.
“The journey was long. Was it difficult?”
The words sounded kind at first glance, but there was not the slightest trace of concern in Henrik’s eyes or voice.
I took this as yet another test from Henrik and answered calmly.
“Not at all, Your Highness.”
Henrik looked at me with that same leisurely attitude of his.
I imagined myself standing proudly beside him.
In order to achieve my goal, I first needed status.
Only then could I establish a position of my own in the Kingdom of Buendovska that no one would dare disregard, and only then would I be able to accomplish something.
For that, there were two things that mattered above all else.
