I trudged dazedly to Mahir’s castle. I didn’t even remember how I’d gotten there.
The guard, who recognized me from my frequent, unannounced visits, only greeted me lightly, but when I stumbled, he approached me with surprise.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah…”
“Kyle-nim?”
“Ah, I’m alright…”
As I lifted my arm weakly and waved him away, he stared at me with uneasy eyes. I made my way through the hallway and up the stairs. After a long walk, I stood in front of Mahir’s bedchamber and was about to reach for the doorknob when the door suddenly swung open.
“Kyle.”
“……”
I saw Mahir through the open door. As I looked into his kind eyes, full of concern, I started to feel a little distressed.
“What’s wrong?”
When he saw me on the verge of tears, his expression became serious. But it was only for a moment, as Mahir gently took my hand, which was clutching the doorknob so tightly that I couldn’t let go, and tried to reassure me.
“What happened?”
“I’m getting married.”
“What?”
Mahir’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden words. As he stood speechless for a moment, taken aback, I spoke with a tearful expression.
“It’s my birthday in a week, so it’ll happen then.”
“Your birthday’s in a week?”
Mahir asked, tilting his head, knowing when my birthday was, but that wasn’t the point right now. Khalifa rarely went back on his word. Besides, he hadn’t even shown any signs of displeasure at that moment, so unless there was some natural disaster, the wedding would take place in a week.
Should I have said something to make him think twice? No, that would have gotten me stabbed with the sword Khalifa was holding.
Mahir, who looked at me in bewilderment as my shoulders drooped, grabbed my hand and tugged lightly. Entering his room, I stumbled to the couch and collapsed on top of it.
“With whom?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? You don’t even know who you’re getting married to?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Listening to his voice, which had a hint of panic in it, made me feel even worse. As Mahir sat beside me wordlessly and patted my back, I could only make noises of distress.
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“……”
Zjtlg, j olilji jcv cjaegjiis ubbv-tfjgafv qfgrbc, rffwfv ab atlcx rb, yea ws atbeutar kfgf vloofgfca. Ktfgf kjr cb kjs Btjiloj, ktb vfofggfv jii wjaafgr bo atf fwqlgf ab Zjtlg, atf mgbkc qglcmf, mbeiv wjxf ubbv vfmlrlbcr, frqfmljiis ktfc tf kjr vgbkclcu tlwrfio lc vgeur jii vjs.
Maybe it would’ve been better if the person was just strange. What if it was a five-year-old child or an old man turning sixty the day after tomorrow? Khalifa wouldn’t just toss to me someone he got bored of playing with, would he? That seemed like something he would do.
“I don’t want to marry someone I don’t even know.”
And marriage meant choosing a partner to spend the rest of one’s life with. I couldn’t make such a major decision, perhaps the most important decision of my life, this way.
As I was feeling gloomy, Mahir just looked at me sadly. I suddenly realized that maybe Khalifa hadn’t made the impulsive decision for me to get married in a fit of mental illness.
Imperial marriages weren’t just about a couple meeting and promising to spend the rest of their lives together. Mahir, for example, had a marriage partner chosen for purely political purposes before he was even born.
Thinking about that, maybe I, too…
No, but still, wasn’t it a little strange to marry someone you didn’t even know in a week, like you were just trying to get it all over with?
“Ugh.”
I sighed. It was something I had to do at some point anyway. Even if I didn’t want to do it, there was no point in whining if it couldn’t be changed.
“Ah, I really don’t want to, I really don’t.”
Still, I continued to whine, rolling around on the couch, because the more Mahir felt sorry for me, the more my mistakes were diluted.
“The decision is a little rash.”
“Ugh…”
Muttering to myself, I buried my face in the couch and pretended to sulk.
“I told you, I’ll ask His Majesty for details and look into the situation.”
As expected, Mahir was the only one I could trust in this cold, dreary castle. As I clasped our hands together and gazed at him with teary eyes full of emotion, he continued.
“Stay calm and don’t get into trouble for a while.”
I nodded quickly at his words.
“Yes, I’ll stay calm.”
“And don’t sneak out of the castle like you did yesterday.”
I knew it. It was a good decision to pretend to be upset.
I clamped my mouth shut and nodded. Mahir’s big hand touched the top of my head. As expected, the kind Mahir wouldn’t get angry with the poor, pitiful bridegroom who would be forced into marriage a week later…
“You’ll let me know when you’re leaving, right? What will happen if you sneak out alone without telling me?”
“……”
“Not answering?”
The hand on the top of my head started to feel a little heavier. I opened my mouth because I felt like I would be crushed if I didn’t respond.
“…You’ll never let me leave the castle again…”
Hearing my quiet mumbling, Mahir was silent. If his eyes were a weapon, I would’ve been pierced to death long ago.
“Kyle.”
At the sound of him calling me, I slowly raised my downcast eyes. His face was still stern and frightening, but his voice was a little softer than it had been a moment ago.
“I’m not criticizing you for going out, but it’s not the same outside as inside the castle. The environment, the people, the danger, I’ve always told you.”
“I know, but I’m careful…”
I went out because I wanted to have some free time to myself and explore the outside world, not because I wanted to be protected. And if I went out with the escort Mahir gave me, everything I saw, heard, and went through would reach him.
I didn’t know about everyone else, but there were at least one or two things I would never want anyone to know.
“I heard a week ago that another woman in your harem died.”
The words made me feel guilty again, and I quickly avoided Mahir’s gaze.
“Two months ago, three people unexpectedly died after contracting some mysterious disease. Now, I’m told someone was burned to death because they went against your wishes.”
“……”
He hadn’t heard about it through rumors, but seemed to have investigated things himself. Mahir was a good person, but that was the problem.
I mean, what kind of brother knew everything that went on in his younger brother’s harem? Or did he notice that something was strange?
I anxiously avoided his gaze. Mahir looked at me for a long moment before muttering to himself.
“What on earth are you doing…”
“……”
I knew it was better to keep quiet if I was raising suspicions, but his sigh was so full of worry that I couldn’t help but say something.
“I didn’t do anything bad.”
As I hesitantly spoke, Mahir’s eyes widened.
“Burning people to death isn’t a bad thing?”
“That’s… no, you’re right… “
“If I find out about it, that means that other people can find out too, okay?”
“……”
I thought I knew what Mahir was trying to tell me. I’d done it as quietly as I could, so how did he know?
“If you get people to misunderstand you like that, no one will trust your words in the future. Kyle, do you understand what I’m saying?”
“……”
“And you were wrong to sneak out, so you’ll be punished.”
At the word punishment, I tried to look as pitiful as possible and slumped my shoulders.
“What punishment? I’m already upset at having to get married in a week, and suddenly my head hurts…”
“Sixteen pages of reflection.”
“What? I’ll be seventeen soon. If you keep telling me to write pages of reflection…”
“If you run away without finishing them this time, you’ll get your butt beaten.”
“I’d rather you punch me in the face with your fists…”
I said in frustration, but Mahir just looked down at me with a stern, impassive face.
Wait, what? He’s Burning people??? 😱
My guess is the person who got burned poisoned those three people and Kyle got rid of them.
Or maybe our mc is just a psychopath, who knows?