A Tale of One Lady and Two Men - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

As soon as the banquet ended, Nadia returned to the room alone. She was so tired that she could even collapse here and sleep on the floor soundly.

On the way here, Edwin had turned around and said he was busy. And this was fortunate—if she had to sleep with him again tonight, she was sure that she’d be sick the next day. Apart from that, she was glad because she wouldn’t have to endure such dirty acts while she was in turmoil.

Maids had come in to help her bathe, but she sent them out and took off her clothes after that. Evidence of what happened earlier in the day, which made her nervous for so long, had dried up promiscuously between her thighs.

Sitting in the bathtub, she scrubbed every inch of her body clean. As if that would wash away the ominous feeling that… this marriage would not be peaceful.

· 

The next day’s banquet was attended by the Emperor, who presented a precious and extravagant sword and tiara to the Marquis and Marchioness. He danced with the Empress, then danced with Nadia, and promptly returned to the palace.

Nadia suddenly became curious. The Emperor and Edwin were cousins on their fathers’ side. Did that mean that the Emperor also had a perverted taste? But it was a question that she couldn’t dare utter.

Just like at the wedding, Edwin was indifferent to her the entire time, and thanks to this, the final banquet ended without any problems.

She had to leave Querun in two days. She didn’t have much to do before she left, but the servants seemed to be very busy. Edwin didn’t come for those two days, and he just said that the carriage ride would be uncomfortable and that she should rest well.

Nadia had some time alone to think because of this. No one knew that her thoughts were full of worries.

Most of them were concerns about her husband and the future of their marriage. She didn’t expect that she’d form a close connection to her husband that would eventually lead to love. It would just be nice if they were indifferent but polite towards each other, but as if to mock her low expectations, her husband was a rude man who did however as he pleased.

He was rude to everyone. Other nobles would only need to meet him a few times a year, and in just a short encounter with him, there would already be a bad impression of him.

Nadia would have to live with him.

If she had to hear insulting things like what he told her at the banquet—and if she had to hear it every day—she wouldn’t be able to hold out.

Rather, Nadia wanted him to have an affair. She was sure that he was such a great man who would easily find a woman who’s interested in him. Then, he would have less to do with Nadia that way.

She would be more comfortable alone.

If there was anything she was relieved about, it was Asheel. When he disappeared after saying something she couldn’t understand, he never appeared in front of her again. She wouldn’t need to worry that he’d show up suddenly and pull her into the abyss.

On the day she left Querun, Nadia wore a dark purple satin dress and a hat with a long veil.

She was a little afraid to leave her the Duke’s estate, her family’s home, but it was a feeling of apprehension for an unknown place rather than regret. She had no attachments to this house.

In front of the gates, the Marquis’ many carriages, horse-mounted knights, and luggage carts waited. A maid came to call her, and Nadia went down the stairs unhurriedly.

All the servants were out, and Edwin and the Ducal couple were greeting each other. Nadia approached Edwin.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Today was when his younger sister was leaving for good, but Nigel couldn’t be seen anywhere. Nadia was sure that he was rolling around in the sheets somewhere with some woman he didn’t know, then he’d come back home. Throwing away all her disinterested thoughts about her brother, she curtsied towards her parents.

She just needed to leave like this. Everything that had tied her up and tormented her for eighteen years was over. Even though her shackles were just being replaced as she moved elsewhere, she was still relieved. She decided to look at the bright side with this bean-sized hope.

Edwin led Nadia towards the largest and most spectacular carriage. She was about to go in, but he grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.

“I have someone to introduce to you.”

There was a sound of disciplined footsteps behind her. Edwin looked behind her, and so she followed suit.

His fiery red hair was the first thing she saw.

“He’s the Vice Commander of the Red Thorn Knights. He’ll be in charge of escorting us on this journey. You won’t interact with each other, but it’s better to say hello. He should know his master’s wife as well.”

As though she was hearing him from a far distance, she couldn’t hear Edwin’s voice clearly.

“I think it’ll be a smooth journey, but if anything happens on the way, just look for him. He’s the best among the escort knights here, and it’s easy to find him because of his red hair.”

“Red Thorn… Knights?”

“Yes. You didn’t know?”

No, Nadia answered blankly. Was this what he meant by ‘You’ll find out soon’?

It felt like Nadia was being drilled with a nail over her head.

The Red Thorn Knights. They were one of the top five knight orders in the Empire. And the Marquis had two of them under his command.

Vice Commander of this knight order. Nadia now realized how ridiculous her speculation was that he was a mercenary.

Her face was as pale as a corpse’s. Her hands trembled helplessly.

She tried to hold her hands together to hide it, but Asheel’s gaze stayed on them for a moment before he turned away.

“I am Asheel Khurshid, Your Excellency the Marchioness.”

Nadia reached out her hand without looking at him, feeling herself grow cold with tension. He kissed her lightly over the back of her hand. Asheel Khurshid. This was the first time she heard his full name.

“I am Nadia… Elantz. I’ll be in your care, Sir Khurshid.”

It was fortunate that she was wearing a veil, lest she would have been caught in a heartbeat. Nadia climbed the carriage in a hurry. Susan, the maid who was to follow her to the Marquisate, went in as well, then Edwin personally closed the carriage door. He mounted a horse and went to the front of the procession.

Nadia, who could feel Asheel staring at her the entire time until the door closed, turned her head and fixed her hat so that her face could be hidden from his piercing gaze.

Here, she confirmed that her future would not be peaceful. Even if anything wouldn’t happen, she would never be able to shake off the feeling of thorns pricking at her every time she moved.

Nadia was terrified. She didn’t know what Asheel was thinking. She couldn’t guess what he would do.

Once she left the capital, she thought that her problem regarding him would be over with, but that wasn’t the case at all. As she thought that she would have to live with him under the same household for decades, for the rest of her life… She already wanted to bite off her tongue.

She didn’t even know what it was that Asheel wanted. She wasn’t sure what she would do.

What would happen now?

Nadia took off her hat as she looked over at Susan, who glimpsed out the window. The maid was pretending to be calm, but she couldn’t hide her curiosity. Sitting on her comfortable seat, Nadia stared blankly outside.

Asheel’s appearance stood out at once. Amongst the other knights around the carriage, his silver armor with a coat as red as his hair on top of it entered her vision. She didn’t know that her eyes would go to him immediately as though there was a magnetic pull.

His curly red hair fluttered in the wind and revealed his bright green eyes. As Nadia stared at him as though she was possessed, she realized that he was also looking back at her.

Stunned, Nadia closed the curtains. Then, she laughed at herself. What was she doing? She already told herself that she’d gotten rid of her lingering feelings. She needed to be more aware.

* * * 

Just as Edwin said, the trip wasn’t easy. The interior of the carriage was large and soft, so there was a couch and a thick carpet that she could sink into when she sat down, and there was even a small bed in one corner. But after three days, her hips and her back began to ache to the point of numbness.

The road became more uneven the further they travelled. And for the periods of rest they had in between, first it was a city where they stopped by to relax and stretch. The next was a village, then a smaller village, then next a private house. The procession stopped almost always late into the night, then they’d set off right away early in the morning.

It was a smooth journey without them encountering any bandits, but still, both of Nadia’s body and mind were worn out.

She spent most of the day lying in bed and forcing herself to sleep. As if he guessed what she was thinking, for each of her meals, Edwin had some tea sent to her, the kind that would help her fall asleep. Her husband was a difficult man to like, but she accepted his consideration with gratitude.

The journey took an average of ten days, and it did not end until the full moon. Fortunately, the roads became better the closer they got to the Marquisate. Thanks to the well-paved roads, the carriage shook less and the trip became more bearable.

Nadia stared at the Elantz estate, which she could see from a distance out the carriage window. Rather than looking glamorous or splendid, as it stood tall in the cool river breeze, the huge castle looked like a strong fortress that could face any wind and any wave. It was the place where she would spend the rest of her life.

As they passed through a town with dense and tall buildings, they reached the outer wall, and the sound of a horn announcing the territory’s lord rang long and loud.

When she saw that the trip was finally on its last stretch, she felt relieved. She didn’t want to go through a journey like this again. The knights riding on horseback looked as though they didn’t feel any discomfort.

With Susan’s help, Nadia changed her clothes and dressed lightly. She couldn’t appear as the new Madam of the estate with a shabby appearance.

While passing through a boulevard leading to the estate, cheers could be heard from the citizens who burst out and welcomed the procession. Not being able to overcome her curiosity, Nadia opened the curtain—but she found Asheel on a horse nearby. As though she had been burned, she closed it again.

Without realizing it, her excitement cooled down, and instead, an unknown anxiety rose within her.