A Barbaric Proposal

Chapter 20 | Trap (4)

.

* * *

.

[Black] “No.”

He answered so quickly, Phermos got confused for a second.

[Phermos] “Then why….?”

[Black] “He’s still in her heart.”

Taking into account everything that happened today, that was how it looked to Black.

Even if she didn’t call him herself, Rienne’s former lover still came to see her and she was clearly in a panic to try hide his presence from him.

She’d even made an extremely out of character attempt to seduce him just to get him to leave the room.

…Though it’d be a lie to say it didn’t work. He was so thrilled by the idea that he’d entirely lost his mind for a moment. Completely ignoring how suspicious it all was, his mind was filled only with thoughts of getting their clothes out of the way. (1)

But the moment he felt Rienne’s body tremble with fear, suddenly he came back to his senses and the fog in his head cleared.

He couldn’t blame this feeling on his fever anymore, and it wasn’t because she was in a hurry to get him to leave the room either.

He just wanted Rienne.

He wanted her outside of his desire to merely keep a hold on the things that were always his. (2)

[Black] “That woman….”

Suddenly Black started to talk. Seeing that, Phermos quickly shut his mouth and listened.

[Black] “I thought she was a part of Nauk.”

He always thought that gaining one naturally meant obtaining the other. That the Princess and Nauk were inseparable in that sense.

But today, it was dawning on him how untrue that was.

He was realizing he wanted Rienne regardless of her connection to Nauk. He wanted her back completely, as if she had never been taken from him in the first place.

[Phermos] “You mean to say that things are different from what you said to me before?”

After thinking for a long while, Black gave a heavy nod.

[Black] “Yeah.”

[Phermos] “May I ask how so?”

[Black] “I’m going to take back everything this time.”

‘Taking’ something in its entirety was completely different from simply ‘having’ it. What he wanted to do now was what he should’ve done from the start.

Leave no room for other men to intervene… and destroy all traces of the one that had.

And that meant he needed to take back what Rafit Kleinfelder had stolen from him—Rienne’s heart.

[Phermos] “I see.”

Phermos held back the urge to sigh.

Well… it isn’t as though he didn’t see this coming.

[Phermos] “If that’s how you honestly feel, my Lord… then I will do what I can.”

No matter how unwilling Princess Rienne was, Black’s will was absolute, and Phermos had no right to make any comments about the woman his Lord chose.

[Phermos] “We should take good care of the Princess so something like this won’t happen next time.”

With his head down and his brows furrowed, Black nodded. He would make sure there would never be a ‘next time’.

Because Rafit Kleinfelder would never meet Princess Rienne again.

.

* * *

.

After staying awake all night, Rienne eventually got out of bed at the first light of dawn. What happened yesterday disturbed her mind to the point of completely destroying any chance at a good night’s sleep.

Why was that man pretending not to know anything when he did? What was he thinking?

Is he toying with me?

If he wasn’t, then was he really just going to ignore it this time? All because she touched him?

Could something so simple….really be meaningful enough to do something like that?

Rienne was all too aware of how dangerous yesterday was. Not only did she have another man sneak into her bedroom, but on top of that, Rafit’s identity could’ve been exposed. It would’ve been revealed he’d been trying to hide himself this whole time.

But regardless, the fact of the matter was that Rienne had undeniably betrayed her fiancé.

She couldn’t believe he was willing to turn a blind eye to it. There was no way he was ignorant of the fact, so maybe he was just choosing to overlook it for her sake or to be kind?

…There’s no way.

There was no man in this world that would do something like that. And even if someone like that existed, it wouldn’t be Lord Tiwakan of all people.

Need she remind herself of how he proposed? When he surrounded her castle, he killed hundreds upon hundreds of her people in the process.

Rienne clenched her eyes shut and released a long held sigh.

[Rienne] “I don’t know… I should just get ready.”

Today was the funeral.

It was going to be held at the Temple, but Rienne still had to attend.

[Rienne] “I thought others would be awake by now… but I guess not.”

Rienne felt fortunate there were things she could do to busy her mind. She needed to prepare black clothing, gloves and a veil to cover her face, but she had woken up so early, everyone else was still asleep.

Not wanting to disturb anyone, Rienne decided to take it upon herself to get water to wash her face with.

[Rienne] “Once the funeral is done…”

Rafit Kleinfelder would officially be a dead man and the labyrinth of problems Rienne needed to navigate would settle down at least a little bit.

Dressed in just her mourning dress over her under clothes, Rienne headed towards the cellar with a water pot.

.

* * *

.

They had a well, but it needed to be used sparingly. After suffering from a drought for so many years, Nauk learned to cherish every drop of water they had.

Once a day, the water they needed for use in the castle would be drawn from the well and kept in a basin in the cellar. If anyone needed any extra water, they required Rienne’s permission, and Rienne would personally verify the use.

Swish.

It was quiet in the cellar at dawn.

Although it was pitch black, Rienne had been down there to get her own water before, so she navigated her way towards the basin with ease.

[???] “Princess.”

[Rienne] “…..!”

But someone waiting in the shadows was unexpected. Rienne was so surprised she nearly dropped the pot she was carrying for the water.

[???] “Ah, I got it!”

The person quickly came in and held up the unstable pot with the palms of their hands.

[Rienne] “Wha—Hyde?”

[Hyde] “Yes, Princess. Apologies for startling you.”

[Rienne] “What are you doing here?”

[Hyde] “Oh, that’s… Ah, but I can’t be caught.”

Hyde was one of the squires Weroz once looked after, but regrettably he didn’t have the qualities of a strong knight. According to Weroz, Hyde was sent home not long after arriving at the castle because of that.

Hyde’s eyes darted around in the dark as he lowered his voice as much as he could.

[Hyde] “I have a message from Lord Weroz for you, Princess. But he told me to keep this a secret from anyone else, so I’ve been hiding here waiting.”

[Rienne] “How did you know I would be coming down here?”

[Hyde] “Huh? Oh, I didn’t. I was going to ask for you once your maid came down here. I thought someone close to you would be getting you water for your morning face wash any minute.”

He thought he’d need to wait a long time before being able to deliver his message. This was a stroke of luck.

[Rienne] “And what of Lord Weroz? Is he alright? Do you know where he is?”

At Rienne’s question, Hyde shook his head.

[Hyde] “I’m not sure.”

[Rienne] “What? Then where did you meet Lord Weroz when you received this message?”

[Hyde] “He just suddenly arrived at the mill where I work. I was surprised to see him too…”

Because Weroz had reportedly disappeared from the Kleinfelder Estate, Rienne thought he might’ve been hurt. Now she was hearing he was apparently running off on his own.

It was all too confusing.

[Hyde] “But he told me to deliver this message any way I could.”

Again, Hyde looked around the room, beckoning Rienne closer has he did.

[Hyde] “Lend me your ear, Princess.”

A man of any decency wouldn’t do that to a Princess, but Rienne listened. If this was a message from Weroz, then she needed to hear it no matter what.

As Rienne drew closer, Hyde whispered as quietly as possible.

[Hyde] “He said, ‘Don’t trust that man.’”

[Rienne] “What?”

[Hyde] “Lord Weroz said that man’s reason for being in Nauk is because he seeks revenge.”

[Rienne] “…..!”

Rienne’s vibrant green eyes widened, looking almost grey in the darkness. Hyde didn’t notice, continuing on with the rest of the message.

[Hyde] “He said to be careful and to put off the wedding until he can return. Lord Weroz believes he can uncover that man’s secrets and bring them back.”

[Rienne] “So, Lord Weroz is….”

[Hyde] “Yes. He’s already left Nauk.”

And soon her eyes began to shake violently.

.

* * *

.

—‘His family was killed by someone in Nauk.’

—‘He’s here for his revenge.’

The stories matched.

[Rienne] “How…?”

Unconsciously, Rienne began to bite her nail.

How could Weroz know something like that? He went missing at the Kleinfelder Estate, so Rienne was kicking herself for not asking around better when she was there.

Revenge?

At first Rienne said she didn’t believe such a flimsy story. She thought it was just some nonsense Rafit spat at her in a last ditch attempt to prove that man’s evil.

But…. maybe not.

For a long time, Black’s behavior was something Rienne didn’t understand, but putting it in the context of revenge made things a bit clearer.

Couldn’t he just take my head and be done with it? Or does he wish to see me suffer a more cruel and painful end?

Did he refrain from breaking open the gates and killing her immediately because he wanted to bleed Nauk dry from the roots?

[Mrs. Flambard] “What was that, Princess?”

When Rienne mumbled to herself, Mrs. Flambard caught her whisper as she meticulously combed her hair and tied it with black ribbons for the funeral.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Ah, oh no, Princess! What are you doing to your nails!?”

Noticing her too late, Mrs. Flambard quickly lectured Rienne.

[Mrs. Flambard] “No, don’t say anything. Why are you doing this to yourself? How could you ruin your lovely nails like this? Please, wait here.”

The woman put down the comb, quickly searching through a nearby box for a pair of nail trimmers.

[Rienne] “Ah…”

Suddenly, Rienne felt embarrassed looking at the state of her hand.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Give me your hand.”

[Rienne] “….I’m sorry.”

Rienne gently reached out her hand, the woman sighing as she carefully fixed up her nails.

[Mrs. Flambard] “You’ve done quite the number on them, Princess.”

[Rienne] “It’s fine, just do what you can. My nails hardly matter.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “Nails may just be nails but…. your hands are still the hands of our kingdom’s one and only Princess.”

[Rienne] “. . .”

Mrs. Flambard looked as though she was about to burst into tears. Although Rienne herself felt like she was about to start crying just a second ago, she quickly swallowed the feeling.

Mrs. Flambard was a sympathetic crier so if Rienne teared up, there would be no end to the emotions.

[Rienne] “What point is there in having nice hands in Nauk? So don’t cry and do the best you can—ow!”

Just as she said that, Rienne moved her hand and scratched herself with the edge of the blade. The trimmers were old but sharp and easily cut the flesh under her nail without mercy.

Mrs. Flambard gasped.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Oh, Princess!”

She was too shocked to see blood gushing from the end of Rienne’s finger so she couldn’t stop stammering. Mrs. Flambard threw the trimmers to the side, grasping Rienne’s hands with her own.

[Mrs. Flambard] “What should I do? Oh, this is all my fault….”

[Rienne] “No, the fault is mine. You didn’t do this, ma’am.”

[Mrs. Flambard “But it’s bleeding so much and I’m sure it must be so painful….”

Rienne was trying so hard not to make her nanny cry and yet somehow it still happened. Forcing a smile, Rienne did her best to shake off the pain.

[Rienne] “That’s not true. It’s not painful at all so you can let go of me now.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “What do you mean? You’re bleeding so much.”

[Rienne] “The funeral will be starting soon. I can’t be late.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “But with this….”

She was reluctant to let go. The woman sat there, holding Rienne’s hand for a long time.

[Mrs. Flambard] “We should at least stop the bleeding. I’ll go get some medicine so keep pressure on the wound, Princess.”

Hesitantly, she got up from her seat and left.

[Rienne] “….It is rather deep.”

The wound was undeniably big. It was a little scary… seeing so much blood seep out from her with no sign of stopping.

—‘He’s going to get revenge on Nauk.’

The endless thoughts mixed with the blood loss made her dizzy.

[Rienne] “…It hurts…..”

Rienne tightly clasped her hands. Seeing the wound with her own eyes made it hurt more and her mind was becoming more confused the more she tried to face Black’s real reason for proposing.

[Rienne] “It really….hurts….”

And now that her nanny was gone, Rienne finally cried.

She tried telling herself that there was no evidence behind Weroz’s claims—that they were just words…baseless and unfounded words.

But even so, the pain still didn’t go away. The confused hurt she felt lingered just like the pain under her fingernail.

[Rienne] “What if….”

What if he’s really trying to get revenge?

Then what would she do? She wasn’t sure, but there was one thing she was certain about.

I can’t let my guard down.

No matter how kind or gentle he acted towards her, she must never allow herself to be blinded.

Only

* * *

T/N: (1) He uses the phrase lit. meaning “bury (one’s) head in (their) neck”, which is to willfully ignore things. Kind of like “burying your head in the sand”.

(2) Korean is a pro-drop language, meaning that a lot of context in terms of subjects and pronouns are inherently missing from the text, which makes translation tricky (*sob*). For the vast majority of the story, Black has been incredibly vague in that sense in regards to what he wants. This marks the first time he’s ever been explicit. Congrats, dude.

Translator Comment: Black before: ‘I don’t need her heart’. Also Black: ‘Guess I’m joining the circus’