Chapter 13 | A Dangerous Reunion (4)

* * *

Rienne couldn’t believe what was happening.

[Rienne] “Rafit!”

She could hardly contain her shock, her whole body trembling as Rafit began reciting the same nonsense as his uncle.

[Rafit] “I will be forever grateful towards God for granting me such a beautiful princess as a wife. I can only hope I will prove adequate as her husband.”

[Rienne] “No, our relationship has already ended! That won’t change no matter what you do, so please, stop this!”

[Rafit] “You’re wrong.”

When Rafit said that, she could clearly see his bloodshot eyes.

[Rafit] “It will change. You’ll be my wife.”

[Rienne] “. . .”

[Rafit] “If this is the only way I can have you, then so be it.”

It was like he had gone blind, his mind focused on one thing and one thing alone. This wasn’t the Rafit that Rienne knew. Leaving Rienne completely speechless, Rafit turned to his uncle.

[Rafit] “When’s the ceremony?”

[Linden] “There’s nothing in particular we need to prepare. As long as the High Priest is here, it can happen whenever.”

[Rafit] “Then let’s do it now, right here.”

[Linden] “Very good idea.”

Hearing that, Rienne shouted out.

[Rienne] “What are you talking about, I’ll never—“

Suddenly, Rafit covered her mouth with his hand.

[Rafit] “I’ll be making the vows on behalf of the Princess.”

[Rienne] “Mmph!”

Rienne grabbed Rafit’s arm, struggling against his grip.

[Rafit] “Stay calm. Just bear with it for a while.”

The High Priest approached Rienne as Rafit held onto her. Rienne could feel her breath immediately leave her the moment he pulled out the laurel branch from his long sleeves.

[Rienne] “…..!”

But the more she struggled, the harder Rafit held onto her. Stuck in his embrace, the laurel branch inched closer to her and Rienne closed her eyes, quickly biting down as hard as she could on Rafit’s palm.

[Rafit] “Tch….”

Rafit made an odd face, but still his grip didn’t loosen, even as his hand started bleeding.

….Please, let go.

At that moment, a painful and frustrating realization dawned on Rienne, weighing heavily on her shoulders.

She couldn’t do anything on her own.

Please.

Even if she were to put all the strength she had into fighting back, it would only ever cause a pointlessly small wound. One where only a little blood would flow out.

Already, her mouth was filled with the irony taste of blood.

As Rienne bit back the nausea, the High Priest lifted the laurel branch high into the air before lowering down on the top of Rienne’s head.

It made her feel like she was nothing but a piece of meat, left to be skewered by a pike.

[Milrod] “Hear us, LaJore Benushi Attika, the one true god, the waves of the sea and the roots of the earth. Today, a pair of loved ones born of your soil wish to bind themselves to a covenant in your name before the sacred altar—“ (1)

Just as the High Priest began the marriage rites, there was a sudden booming noise.

Boom!

That very same booming noise shook the tightly closed door, a noise so noticeable it forced everyone to stop what they were doing.

* * *

[Linden] “Keep going!”

After silence took them, Linden came to his senses, urging the High Priest to the finish the rite. The High Priest had been so startled, he dropped the laurel branch and leaned down to try and pick it up.

But Rienne was just moments faster. She reached around with her foot and pulled the laurel closer to her, but not before Rafit noticed.

[Rafit] “Give it to me.”

Rafit finally released the hold he had over Rienne’s mouth as he tried to take the branch from her.

Boom!

Another sound came, even louder than the one before. It was so loud it immediately told them this was no small deal.

[Linden] “What the hell is that? You, go see what it is!”

Linden yelled at the rookie soldier standing next to him, but there was no point. Without even looking outside, it was obvious whatever was making that sound was right outside the main entrance.

Boom! Boom!

And this time, they didn’t stop—that booming sound ringing out again and again until finally, its source was revealed.

Boom! Thwack!

A piece of the heavy wooden door fell away, with nothing but the sharp edge of a battle axe sticking through the newly made crack.

[Linden] “W…what….”

Crack!

With rigid movements, the axe was pulled out, leaving a wide gap in its wake—large enough for a person’s words to be carried through easily.

[Black] “Open the door.”

Rienne’s eyes instinctively widened.

There was only one person she knew that had such a low, deep voice.

It’s him…but how?

That man was right through the door. She couldn’t see him, but he was so close.

[Rienne] “Lord Tiwakan!”

Rafit quickly covered Rienne’s mouth as she called out to him, but it was too late.

[Black] “Are you alright?”

[Rienne] “Mmph….”

Rienne couldn’t answer.

But at least it wasn’t as frustrating as it was before. The Kleinfelders and the High Priest were clearly at a loss, perhaps even embarrassed by all of this.

[Phermos] “They don’t seem very eager to open the door, my Lord. Perhaps we should just invite ourselves in.”

Just as she heard the upbeat voice of Phermos, there was another heavy swing of an axe.

Whack! Whack!

The once ornate and sturdy wooden door now looked as though it would split in half, but the biggest problem was what came after that.

Once the door was gone, the only thing that could stop the oncoming Tiwakan was their own bodies.

[Linden] “Dammit!”

Linden audibly cursed.

[Linden] “I have to open the door.”

But Rafit immediately protested.

[Rafit] “Uncle!”

[Linden] “We have no choice. Would you have us treat them like the enemy right now?”

The wedding rite was already completely out of their hands, as if it had been washed away by a river.

Going through with a marriage against the Princess’ will was easy when all the witnesses were on their side, but things were different when the Tiwakan were breaking down their door with an axe.

[Linden] “Get out of here, Rafit. We can’t let them see your face.”

[Rafit] “You can’t be serious! I—“

[Linden] “We don’t have time to argue. All of you; take Rafit out of here.”

As Linden’s soldiers forcibly dragged Rafit away, Linden quickly turned towards Rienne.

[Linden] “You may be a cheap woman but I know you’re not stupid, so I expect you already understand what you need to do. Whether or not Nauk becomes a battlefield depends entirely on what you say.”

It was an obvious threat, but Linden was beaming with confidence. He already knew Rienne came to the Kleinfelder Estate with only Weroz because she wanted to avoid the prying eyes of the Tiwakan.

[Linden] “So speak carefully.”

Linden then snapped his finger, signaling towards the soldier at his side. The soldier nodded, lifting the wooden bolt as he avoided the axe.

[Phermos] “Oh, I guess they don’t want to fight.”

Phermos spoke with a smile in his voice the second he heard the bolt being removed.

[Linden] “You may put the axe down. No need to try and break in anymore.”

Boom!

Suddenly, a fierce kick came through the front door of the Kleinfelder Estate.

Crash, Boom!

Then, the fragments of the terribly destroyed door were pushed to the side, giving way for Black’s entrance.

* * *

…Why?

For some reason, Rienne could feel tears forming at the edges of her eyes.

Was it because she was happy to see this person?

…But she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t. The moment she saw his face, this ridiculous feeling of relief washed over her like a wave.

[Linden] “What brings you to my home?”

Linden had the audacity to ask such a question.

[Linden] “There are better ways to request entry rather than recklessly barging in like a barbarian. You truly are more like a dog than a man.”

His insults weren’t subtle in the slightest.

[Black] “Lord Kleinfelder.”

Before Rienne could reprimand Linden for his rudeness, Black opened his mouth first.

[Black] “I could say the same about you.”

[Linden] “….What was that?”

Having those words thrown at him immediately made Linden’s face turn pale.

[Black] “Not even a rat hiding away in his den can keep everything a secret.”

[Linden] “What…What I do in my home…has nothing to do with you savages. You have no right to interfere—“

[Black] “Your home, your den; it’s all the same.”

Thud.

Black took a step closer.

At that, Linden’s face turned even paler. Black was such an imposing person, he was able to intimidate Linden by just walking.

[Black] “Either way, you shouldn’t have tried to lock my fiancée inside.”

[Linden] “What…What are you…?”

And then Black took another step.

Linden tried to take a step back, but ended up in a strange position with only his upper body leaning back. He looked as though he would completely crumble if someone so much as tapped his ankle.

[Black] “Are you hurt?”

But then Black suddenly turned towards Rienne.

[Rienne] “No…I only came to complete the obituary. I’m alright.”

[Black] “I’ll have to see for myself.”

Thud.

Black took one final step closer to Linden.

[Linden] “Hup!”

Thump.

Completely losing his balance, Linden fell to the floor the moment he tried to step backwards.

[Soldier] “Oh!”

[Soldier] “Sir!”

His soldiers immediately tried to approach him in order to help him up, but they stopped dead in their tracks.

Black was standing far too close.

He was looking down at the fallen Linden as if he were contemplating whether or not it was worth crushing an ant he had stumbled upon.

[Black] “Never forget.”

Never resist and never keep your doors shut to me.

After issuing an unforgettable warning, Black once again turned to face Rienne.

[Black] “I came to get you.”

[Rienne] “….Okay.”

That was the only reason Black needed to visit the Kleinfelder Estate.

[Black] “Should we return?”

[Rienne] “Yes.”

Standing on her own, Rienne stood just in front of Black and without saying anything, he took Rienne’s hand in his own.

[Rienne] “Let’s go back.”

She wanted to leave as quickly as possible, before things had a chance to sour.

What the Kleinfelders had attempted was absolutely terrifying to think about, but all Rienne could do was quietly cover it up.

There was a war constantly looming over their heads and Rafit’s actions were the catalyst that could potentially bring it crashing down on them.

No matter what, the Tiwakan could never find out what Rafit had done—whether that be the assassination attempt or how he had tried to force Rienne to marry him because he couldn’t let her go.

If that happened, Nauk would be torn in half by the bloodshed.

Rienne couldn’t let that happen.

[Rienne] “My business here is concluded. There’s no need to linger.”

But, as per usual, the Tiwakan were more informed than Rienne thought.

[Phermos] “Already?”

Phermos smirked from behind his odd glasses.

[Phermos] “What’s the rush? Why don’t we take a look around the Kleinfelder Estate? It’s one of grander locations in Nauk—why not have a cup of tea while we’re here? Our Lord will soon be ruling Nauk alongside you, so Lord Kleinfelder must be courteous to him. If not, doesn’t that mean there’s something wrong with him?”

Linden immediately got angry at the insult, but the moment he tried to open his mouth to argue, Phermos cut him off.

[Phermos] “And look, how wonderful, the High Priest is already here. Why don’t we discuss the process for the royal wedding while we’re at it? What do you think, my Lord?”

The High Priest would not have vacated the temple for no reason, but after recognizing him, Phermos could not help but wonder what he was doing at the Kleinfelder Estate of all places.

[Rienne] “Can’t we do that later?”

Saying that, Rienne held Black’s hand tighter. Though he was looking at Phermos before, he immediately looked back at Rienne.

Rienne tilted her head up towards him, doing her best to make her face look as pitiful as possible.

[Rienne] “I’d like to go back now. I’m tired.”

Before he finds out things he shouldn’t.

Rienne leaned her body into Black’s chest with a desperate look on her face. She felt his hard chest stiffen, making it even sturdier.

[Rienne] “Let’s go back. Together.”

Before he decides to tear Nauk apart.

If it was to prevent that, Rienne was willing to do more than just hug him if necessary.

[Black] “. . .”

She could feel Black’s soft breathing tickling her forehead.

It was unbelievable to think about, but as she leaned on him, Rienne felt incredibly secure. Safe, even. No matter how much of her weight she pressed against him, his chest was like a wall. In his arms, she felt comfortable and protected.

[Black] “It’s strange.”

[Rienne] “What is…?”

Black looked down at Rienne, his voice as low as a whisper.

[Black] “I know you’re hiding something from me, but I don’t feel like arguing with you.”

[Rienne] “. . .”

…Of course he’d know.

The situation was way too suspicious and Rienne’s weak explanation of being there to simply express her condolences did little to make that feeling go away. Which is why Rienne thought it was strange, too.

It was strange how reassured she felt in the presence of a man who didn’t trust her.

[Black] “If you want to return, then let’s go.”

Black wrapped his arm around Rienne’s waist, but it felt more like he was trying to support her rather than embrace her.

But what Rienne didn’t notice was that Black had turned his head away to speak with Phermos.

[Black] “You stay here and deal with the situation. Finish business concerning the High Priest.”

Phermos nodded his head, as if he was expecting this.

[Phermos] “Of course, my Lord. I won’t disappoint you.”

After that, his retinue was quickly divided, split between those who were to escort Black back to the castle, and those who would remain with Phermos on the Kleinfelder’s street, finding their own place.

* * *

T/N: (1) I’m not sure the best way to localize the name of the god (라 호레 베누시 아티카) so I went with a transliteration.