âI saw him smileâŚâ
Tia mumbled to herself.
She felt uneasy, remembering how Vincente’s smile disappeared after he learned about her status. She thought maybe it was just because he had to part with a woman he liked, but now she realized it was more than that. He had no reason to part with her, and yet, that smile never returned.
Suddenly, Tia remembered her mother’s face when she read her proposal.
She had wanted to see her mother smile.
But the people around her rarely smiled.
“No, people like my mother or Vincente, they canât just smile like ordinary folks.”
She realized how childish she was for being disappointed every time her expectations were crushed by the cold atmosphere.
More importantly, Vincente wasnât as important to her as her mother.
ââŚStarting tomorrow, I can get to work. Iâm relieved.”
Tia took a deep breath, feeling the cold air of Karayan.
The leaves in the fragrant garden rustled in the breeze.
The sound of the aggressive “beast birds” that had been calling all day was gone.
The hot spring area, now quiet, was only left with the large men.
Vincente finally broke the silence after a long pause.
âGet out.â
He tossed the towel that was tied around his waist to the ground.
âYes, sir!”
âRest well, my lord!â
The situation ended there.
If it had been any other time, the knights would have grumbled about being ignored, but this time they quickly ran off.
Vincente, smelling strongly of the Almiscâs pheromones, was left alone with the princess, but none of the knights dared to question what he was doing there.
Still, the person who wanted to run away the most in this situation was Vincente himself.
“Why did the princess come hereâŚ?”
His brow furrowed. He swam out to the middle, where the lotus float was, and submerged himself until the water reached his chin.
âWhy? What is going on?â
His head pounded. The poison that had been temporarily subdued when he was out of the water was starting to act up again, making his vision blur.
What was the emperor thinking, sending his precious daughter here to Karayan?
Theyâd said that the emperor kept his children close and never sent them away. Was he wrong?
The whole marriage order didnât make sense to him.
Exactly 20 years ago, the “Kingdom of Kalalirri” was annexed by the empire without even a proper title being given to them. So why now, suddenly offering the youngest daughter to the fallen Kalalirri?
âWhat is going onâŚâ
Vincente groaned, rubbing his throbbing temples.
Why was he being forced to marry the princess?
Was the emperor mad?
Maybe⌠did the emperor realize something?
âHmmâŚâ
Vincente thought about the rumors that had leaked about ships hidden on the island and the fishermen who were too focused on their defensive training.
But no, that wasnât it.
The emperor had never pressured him about military strength.
He had ignored the fact that Karayan had a small population and didnât even need to grow its army.
âAnyway, I havenât done anything rebellious enough to be accused of treason.â
Strengthening the military for defense had been legitimate, and no one knew about it, especially not the emperor.
Even if Karayanâs people were training their bodies and becoming elite soldiers, there was no obligation for him to report that.
But still, if the emperor had spotted movements from Karayan’s residents dreaming of independence and decided they were a threat, sending the princess made no sense.
He wouldnât have sent her if it were about military intervention.
âOrtensiaâŚâ
He muttered the princessâs name.
Saying it out loud felt strange, like something he never thought would happen.
And yet, when he thought about her dark, curly hair and her deep blue eyes, his face flushed, just like a teenage boy.
âDamnâŚâ
And even lower, his body reacted, his desire rising.
Vincente, embarrassed, splashed water on his face to cool off.
What an idiot. He didnât even know she was the emperorâs daughter. He had been acting like a fool, even asking her if she could dance Pavanne.
He felt ashamed of his behavior.
He remembered how he had been trying to get to know her, like some lovesick fool, and it made him disgusted with himself.
âSheâs going to be my wife?â
He thought about the woman who could barely keep her eyes off him, a woman who had confidently checked him out while everyone else was too embarrassed to even look.
This was all because of the Almisc poison, he thought.
His judgment was clouded.
No matter how beautiful she was, he never seriously fell for her.
A month ago, the emperorâs letter had arrived.
The princess, Ortensia Renata de Ascalberk, was known for her beauty and charm, much like her late father, and was beloved by the empire.
People said that if the emperor arranged her marriage, even a small kingdom like Hattia would thrive.
She wasnât just some object to be given away to a noble in a far corner.
For Vincente, this was all too surreal.
It didnât seem like punishment, but not exactly a reward either.
âWhy?â
Any goodwill without reason was suspicious, especially when it came from someone who had swallowed a small kingdom and left it in ruins without any care.
Vincente had sent a polite but firm refusal to the emperor, saying he was already in talks with another woman.
But the emperor didnât buy the excuse.
The princess’s arrival was the emperor’s response.
He was being forced into this marriage whether he liked it or not.
Twenty years ago, the emperor had given Vincenteâs family an ultimatum.
The small island kingdom of Kalalirri, which had always relied on the empire for defense, was offered two choices: break its alliance or let the empire take it over.
Kalalirri had a great mining wealth but wasnât ready to defend itself against threats from the western continent.
The desperate king had offered to give up their precious resources in exchange for keeping the alliance, but the emperor had refused.
In the end, the king had voluntarily given up the crown, and Kalalirri became part of the empire.
The emperor hadnât even given them the courtesy of a dukeâs title, instead offering the ninth fleet command, which was readily accepted.
And that was how young Vincente Kalalirri became Vincente Cali, the lordâs heir.
The only son of the king, born miraculously at 50, had gone from being a beacon of hope for the people to a symbol of misfortune in just a year
