TCCIO 46

Chapter 46. I Wanted Him

Even in the trampled gardens of Eorenti, the beautiful sunset light descended as usual. The Eorenti royal castle showed none of its usual lively appearance. The palace residents were still imprisoned, and imperial soldiers were occasionally seen patrolling around and inspecting the castle. The queen and Delia walked through the garden, cutting through the biting silence. Delia followed the queen, lost deep in thought. Father and the commander… What on earth are those two planning to talk about? Would Father really give permission for marriage with the empire’s supreme commander? Could such a marriage even be possible? All sorts of worries swirled through her mind. But those thoughts didn’t last long and were soon interrupted.

“How did you come back again? I sent you away because it’s dangerous to stay here,” the queen’s moist voice gently touched Delia’s heart. The queen had stopped walking and turned to look at Delia. Seeing her mother soaked in the red sunset, looking so sorrowful, hurt Delia deeply.

“Mother. It wasn’t a national marriage. It was exile. I couldn’t just go and live while abandoning everyone,” Delia said.

“You should have survived, at least you,” the queen replied.

“Mother, I am also a member of the Eorenti royal family. I couldn’t just run away and abandon the country and my parents,” Delia answered firmly.

The queen fell silent at her daughter’s resolute words. Delia grasped her mother’s silent hand.

“You told me to never forget my pride as a princess of Eorenti. How can a runaway princess live with pride? For me, it was only natural to come back.”

The queen looked down at their joined hands and slowly raised her head. Her gaze, fixed on Delia, shone strangely, as if faint tears shimmered in her eyes.

“Then why did you come back with the enemy’s supreme commander?”

The queen scanned Delia intently before struggling to speak.

“Have you… lost your pride as a princess?”

“Mother!”

Delia’s expression hardened in an instant. The queen took off her shawl and approached Delia, gently covering the wolf bite marks on her daughter’s shoulder with it.

“If something happened when you were captured, and if that is what’s holding you back now—”

Stopping there, the queen leaned close and whispered softly into Delia’s ear, while watching the imperial soldiers patrolling the castle and Dyke following behind.

“You have to get out of here quickly.”

Delia’s mind went completely blank for a moment, and she felt dizzy.

“Mother…”

She could already imagine that something far worse than she thought had happened in her mother’s mind.

“It’s not your fault. Even now, you should run away.”

“It’s not like that,” Delia replied.

“Del. I don’t think you understand what situation you’re in yet. For a woman, this kind of situation…”

The queen trailed off, unable to finish the words she couldn’t bear to say aloud. Delia tried to calm her pounding heart and exhaled deeply. The commander of the imperial army who occupied Eorenti, and the princess of the defeated, occupied country. She fully understood what her mother was worried about. To soothe her mother’s anxiety, Delia decided to take matters into her own hands.

“Mother, you don’t have to worry so much.”

“How can I not?”

The queen grabbed Delia’s shoulder and whispered.

“They probably haven’t found all the secret passages in the castle yet. Tell them you’ll sleep with me tonight…”

“Mother, I’m not going to run away.”

“Del.”

“I’m going to marry him.”

The queen screamed in shock at Delia’s sudden declaration.

“What did you say?”

The queen’s slender hand gripping her handkerchief trembled.

“So, that shameless commander forced you…”

Unable to continue, the queen finally broke down in tears. Delia stroked her mother’s hand with one and wiped away her tears with the other.

“No, Mother. He ‘knows’ how to be a gentleman to some extent, so he didn’t treat me roughly like that.”

“That ruthless imperial soldier locked you up…”

“They’re not as bad as you think. He ‘kind of’ took care of me so I wouldn’t get hurt.”

At Delia’s ongoing defense, the queen stopped crying and shouted,

“Del, whose side are you on now?”

Her mother always spoke with dignity and elegance, but the fear of war and concern for her daughter made her voice rise. Hearing her mother’s unusually sharp tone, Delia looked at the setting sun with an embarrassed expression.

“Because you worry too much, Mother.”

“Delia.”

“Mother, I have never forgotten or lost my pride as a princess. Not even at the moment I was captured.”

The pride of being a princess of Eorenti wasn’t something anyone could take away. It was the reason for her existence engraved deep within her heart. Even at the moment she gave her body to him, she never easily forgot that she was Eorenti’s princess. That’s why his existence, which couldn’t coexist with Eorenti, was painful. That’s why she feared him, who threatened her very reason for existence. But now the situation was different. For Eorenti, she had to have him. And…

“But marrying the commander isn’t because you want to, is it?”

“No. It’s not forced.”

She wanted him. The more she explained to her mother, the clearer her feelings became. I wanted him.

“I accepted it. I said I was okay with it.”

Delia repeatedly stroked her mother’s hand, trying to reassure her.

“After all, I was going to marry someone from an allied country. It just so happened that the allied country changed to the Empire.”

“We fought, shedding each other’s blood until yesterday. How can they suddenly be allies?”

“To survive. Even if it’s the enemy of yesterday, if it fits our interests, we can join hands.”

At Delia’s calm explanation, the queen’s sobbing slowly subsided. But her moist eyes still trembled with anxiety.

“Maybe they can even help us more than the allies who have abandoned us.”

“But, Delia.”

“Mother, as a princess of Eorenti, I have the duty to make this marriage happen for the nation’s benefit.”

Delia’s firm voice continued her explanation.

“Right now, marrying the commander is necessary for Eorenti.”

“But I’m still worried, that commander looks rough.”

“He is very different from how he appears, Mother.”

To ease her mother’s worry, Delia felt it was necessary to help her understand Aaron better. She spoke truthfully with a determined expression.

“When I was captured, the commander treated me especially well.”

‘He even shot a gun at me like I was prey.’

“He nursed me when I was sick.”

‘He locked me up to use me, but let me receive treatment.’

“He said I could do whatever I wanted.”

‘Trying whatever you want just breaks your hope.’

“If persuaded well, he would do whatever I asked.”

‘Though sometimes it required convincing him with poisoned herbs at the risk of my life.’

Delia laid out the truth wrapped in a pretty package in front of her mother.

“He needs a little more training… no, patience, but he’s not a bad person.”

Despite Delia’s desperate persuasion, her mother’s anxiety did not easily subside. The sharp, intense gaze of the commander she saw in the grand hall was still unforgettable.

“Delia. Eorenti has been defeated by the Empire. You no longer have to cling to the duties of the royal family.”

The queen, holding back tears, lowered her voice as much as possible.

“Don’t worry too much; we’ll handle things here ourselves.”

The queen’s gaze glanced back toward Dyke. She had been told by the commander that he was one of the subordinates assigned to protect the queen and the princess. The queen positioned herself to shield Delia from Dyke’s eyes.

“Even now, try to find a way to move them somewhere else to avoid trouble…”

“Ahem.”

The queen, whispering, suddenly stiffened at the sound of a loud cough. Even without looking, she knew exactly who stood behind her. A fear so intense it felt like her heart stopped washed over her—but she couldn’t back down. There was someone she had to protect. Trembling all over, the queen blocked Delia with her body and turned around. Standing there was the Imperial Commander, dressed neatly in the empire’s uniform.

“I greet the Queen of Iorenti.”

Aaron met the queen’s eyes, calmly removing his military cap and bowing. Having just won the negotiation with the king, he narrowed his eyes slowly scanning the next negotiator. Moist, glistening eyes, hands trembling as she tightly gripped a handkerchief. Though the queen hid her daughter behind her back, she couldn’t conceal the mingled fear and anger. A fragile being who felt no power to resist. Threatening her with force would only make her hide deeper. Having set the tone for the negotiation, Aaron smiled brightly and looked at the queen.

“I am Aaron Bergen, Commander-in-Chief of the Stileitz Empire.”

Despite the commander’s polite introduction, the queen did not lower her guard. Instead, she gripped Delia’s hand more tightly, shielding her from the commander’s gaze. Thinking of the marks on her daughter’s neck, the suppressed fury welled up again.

“I don’t think we are in a position to exchange greetings like this.”

In a trembling voice, the queen spoke coldly as she led Delia away.

“Delia, let’s return now.”

Though the queen’s footsteps were hurried, Aaron did not lose his smile. Like a hunter driving prey into a corner, he calmly stepped in front of her.

“Yesterday, I was rude in my haste to meet the princess.”

Aaron folded his eyes, which held a silver moon-like gleam, and smiled gently while speaking with utmost politeness.

“Though late, I would be honored if you would allow me to pay respects to the Queen of Iorenti now.”

The queen, trying to avoid the commander, stopped moving. A queen could not respond to the commander before her only with emotion. Moreover, this was the commander of the victorious empire. As the queen of a defeated nation, she found it difficult to refuse his courteous request.

“Very well.”

Suppressing her humiliation, the queen extended her hand to the enemy commander who spoke of respect. Aaron bowed and lightly kissed the back of her hand.

“Now I understand who the Iorenti princess inherited her beauty from.”

“That should be enough courtesy for now.”

The queen quickly withdrew her hand and scrutinized Aaron. The symbol of the Stileitz imperial family was said to be a silver wolf. True to his reputation, his silver hair shimmered even in the red sunset. The smooth line from his sharp eyes down to his nose was almost alluring. His uniform emphasized his tall height and broad shoulders, which could have been intimidating, but his elegant manners gave a refined dignity. Yet, despite all his beauty, the sharp intensity in his ash-gray eyes could not be hidden. A relentless obsession, a fierce fixation on his goal, glinted chillingly in his silver gaze. An untamable wild wolf. A fierce beast that must never be left alone with Delia. The queen gripped Delia’s hand tightly once more.

“Please clear the way so we may return.”