Why? That was her first thought. If rebuilding Tarnovale was impossible, he might choose to marry an imperial princess and claim the Elvorenian throne instead, but she had never imagined she would be the one he’d choose. Belina blinked in silence, then asked carefully.

“Do you happen to know that I’m already married?”

“Of course I do. It’s a shame her husband hasn’t shown his face even with the estate in this state.”

“…And that my bloodline isn’t pure?”

“You don’t seem to know yet that you’re the only imperial blood still breathing.”

The answers came readily, but Belina couldn’t bring herself to speak. She found it difficult to read the man’s intentions. Could it be that the other imperial princesses had chosen death over marrying this man? They hadn’t seemed like the type to do so….

“What, you don’t like the idea of marriage?”

The man tilted his head to one side, apparently displeased by her delayed response.

“If marriage doesn’t suit you, a bedroom slave works just as well. Take your pick.”

He said it like he was doing her a favor, but in the end, she had only one real choice. She gazed quietly at the bouquet held out to her, then lifted her head with the look of someone who had made up her mind.

“Could you remove your helmet and tell me your name?”

At her careful request, the man slowly raised his hand. Belina listened to the maidservant sobbing behind her as she watched him lift the helmet away.

A firm jawline with a neatly trimmed beard, well-shaped lips pressed into a straight line, a sharp yet prominent nose, and the deep-set eyes characteristic of Tarnovale men, elongated blue eyes, came into view.

He was handsome enough that the silver hair plastered unattractively to his forehead and head after long hours under the helmet barely registered. He gave his sweat-dampened hair a light shake and flashed Belina a grin.

“Kailos Ordelean. You already know that, I’m sure.”

Of course Belina knew the name.

The last prince of the fallen kingdom of Tarnovale.

He had been too young to execute and had spent his years as a hostage in the Elvorenian imperial palace. Once he came of age, they had conscripted him into a monster-hunting unit, and he had simply fled.

Still, he had lived in the palace, so perhaps they had met before. Belina stared blankly at the corners of his mouth, curved upward in a smile. Not that trying to recall it now would do any good.

Belina cradled the heavy bouquet in her arms and gave a small curtsy, lifting the hem of her skirt. Through the thick fragrance of the flowers, she thought she caught the faint metallic smell of blood. She slipped the ring off her left hand and held it out to him. It was the wedding ring she had always worn.

“You can size the new ring to match this one.”

The ring that had left a long impression on her finger came to rest quietly on his gauntlet. Kailos studied the slender ring for a long moment, then turned his head.

“…Escort her with respect.”

“Yes, sir!”

The assembled soldiers answered in a loud, unified voice and parted to clear a path all at once. Belina gave the maidservant a glance and slowly moved forward.

* * *

The two who boarded the carriage bound for the imperial palace were Belina and Lottie. Head butler Edwin said he would remain at the count’s estate until Lucian returned. When that would be, or whether he would return at all, was anyone’s guess.

Upon arriving at the imperial palace, the two were placed in the detached palace where Belina had lived before her marriage. The wedding was set to take place as soon as the gifts were ready. She had expected the ceremony to be skipped or rushed given how little time there was, but she was told it would be a proper wedding, with ceremonial dress, an officiant, vows, and a reception. Not a happy wedding where two lovers dreamed of a rosy future together, of course.

“Why would Your Highness marry such a barbaric man….”

Lottie, who had been holding back her indignation ever since they arrived at the detached palace, finally let it all out the day Belina tried on the Chellurea imperial family’s wedding dress.

Their wedding was not the fruit of love. It was simply one step in acknowledging that the prince of a fallen kingdom had become Elvoren’s new ruler. After the ceremony, Belina would have to place the emperor’s crown on his head with her own hands. The process was to take place before the eyes of Kailos’s subordinates as well as the surviving Elvorenian nobility.

“A bedroom slave. How could he say something like that…. He’s no better than a barbarian.”

But the maidservant’s indignation did not come from pride or dignity as a subject of the empire. She seemed furious and heartbroken purely over the fact that her princess had been insulted. Belina glanced at the firmly shut door and stroked the girl’s head.

“You need to watch what you say, Lottie. There are many ears in the imperial palace.”

“Even so. To dare say that to Your Highness….”

“He only said something extreme to push me toward choosing marriage. If he truly intended to treat me that way, he would have dragged me to the bedroom the moment we arrived at the palace. Wouldn’t he?”

She said it to put the young maidservant at ease. But truthfully, Belina wasn’t certain herself. It was, in the end, a marriage born of coercion. The treatment wasn’t bad now, but what would happen after the wedding was another matter entirely. Perhaps she would come to think she should have died back then after all.

“…Do you think the Count will come to rescue you?”

Lottie muttered, her spirits thoroughly crushed. Lucian Markovhar. At the mention of someone she had no desire to think about, Belina’s expression hardened. She paused for a moment, then pulled the corners of her mouth up with practiced ease.

“Well, if he were coming, he wouldn’t have left the estate empty in the first place.”

“I’m, I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

Lottie glanced at her anxiously, realizing too late that she had misspoken. It couldn’t be helped. They might have played the part of a happy couple in society, but they couldn’t fool the eyes of the servants. And on top of that, she had shown them something unpleasant not long ago.

“He values his life too, doesn’t he. It’s the wiser choice not to come.”

With that answer, Belina turned to look out the window. The room she occupied had been arranged much the same as before she left the palace, but the view outside was not. Flowers trampled under military boots, branches snapped without mercy, torn banners, cracked and broken stone statues, vivid bloodstains on the window frames, the faint smell of smoke and blood that drifted in every time the window opened….

If her marriage could bring all this devastation to an end, she supposed that was something to be grateful for. Even if she truly was treated like a bedroom slave, it would be no different from the life she had lived with Lucian. She simply steadied herself with that thought.

“Just think of it as a change of partner. Don’t worry too much….”

Belina’s words never reached their end. She sensed a presence at the firmly shut door. The two of them fell silent at the same moment, without a word between them. Before long the door opened, and the very person who had brought them here made his appearance.

“Hello, Belina.”

“…Welcome, Prince.”

Belina rose slowly and offered a greeting. Since the coronation had not yet taken place, he was still officially the Prince of Tarnovale. Kailos raised one eyebrow at the title, apparently displeased, but said nothing to correct her.

“I kept meaning to come sooner, but things have been so busy it’s only now that I could. Are you getting on all right?”

“Thanks to your consideration.”

“The garden is still a mess, but… if staying cooped up in your room gets to you, go out for a walk. I gave orders to clear away the bodies, so you won’t have to see anything unpleasant.”

Kailos’s manner of speaking was fairly casual for the low, heavy timbre of his voice. Apparently the rebel army had spent a long time disguised as a mercenary company, and that seemed to have left its mark. Not that the substance of what he said was any lighter.

“Thank you.”

“Other than that, is there anything else that’s uncomfortable? Better to say so now. I slipped away from work to come here, so I don’t know when I’ll be able to come again.”

Did this man enjoy making jokes to someone who couldn’t laugh freely? Belina forced herself to look away from the bloodstain on the window frame and lifted the corners of her mouth in an awkward smile.

“Nothing comes to mind right now. The servants have been taking good care of us.”

“Is that so? Good to hear. If anyone treats you poorly, let me know. The ones outside the door will escort you to me anytime you say you want to see me, so feel free to come find me.”

“…I will.”

More perceptive than he looked, perhaps. Or perhaps he was signaling that he would not treat her poorly. Belina lifted her head to offer her thanks. And then she saw the man looking back at her with a disgruntled expression.

“…Really, how long are you going to keep pretending not to know.”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. Anyway, you’re saying there’s nothing you need?”

Kailos turned to leave, as though that had been the only reason he came. She had the sense, for some reason, that he was in a bad mood, but she couldn’t tell why.