“Stop.”
Evernight raised his hand with a calm face. Anya immediately closed his mouth and stared at him with a stiff posture. The man’s expression didn’t look good. Had he noticed the lie? It wasn’t entirely a lie, though… Anya waited for his judgment with desperate anticipation, like a criminal awaiting sentencing.
“Get out.”
Evernight issued an order of expulsion in one breath. He sighed softly and muttered something. Damn lump of flesh. Evernight had no intention of carefully looking after such a boy. He was easily ten years younger than himself. A wedding… perhaps it would be better to just get it over with quickly.
Unaware of Evernight’s concerns, Anya Claicer shuffled out of the reception room like a rain-soaked puppy. ‘Damn lump of flesh.’ Anya rolled the words around in his mouth. The very sound was sharp. Speaking that way to a member of the imperial family would be tantamount to high treason, but Evernight was now the person who would become his husband.
However he treated him, it was now his sanctuary and right that no one else could infringe upon. Ignoring or insulting him like this was fine. He could endure it. He only hoped and prayed that the man wouldn’t hit or kill him.
* * *
Even without doing anything, time in Tildyen flowed well enough. Gradually, he grew accustomed even to the dark mornings. Though the rising sun had not yet fully illuminated the outer walls of Tildyen Rock, maids barged into his bedroom early.
“This is the attire you will wear for the wedding.”
The Northerners never directly caused harm. They just occasionally mentioned his name with ridiculous laughter from the dark corners of the hallways.
“The wedding will be held in the main hall.”
They brought meals at the scheduled times and kept his bedroom warm, but they rarely spoke to him beyond delivering necessary information. It got worse as time passed, to the point where Anya now didn’t leave his bed at all. No one blamed or scolded him for it. It was thorough indifference.
“Cough, cough!”
Anya couldn’t eat even half of the meal the servant had brought. By this point, he wondered if he was going mad. The Anya from the imperial palace, who had survived on hard bread and tree bark, shouted at the current Anya.
Anya, your stomach is full! How pathetic!
Anya shook his head and forcibly stuffed food into his mouth. The food he pushed in soon caused bloating. Anya struck his chest. The sun rose late here. Anya looked down at the courtyard of the castle, where a bluish light was just now rising, with an expressionless face.
In the distance, a man was standing on the outer wall. He occasionally stood alone on the castle wall. It was unknown what he was looking at. Anya spent nights lying awake with a vague anxiety that someday his husband would consider him pathetic and turn frightening.
“We will dress you in wedding attire after you wash.”
‘Today is… the wedding day…’
He had no idea. Since that day, Gregos had not reported anything significant to him, and the servants who came and went from his bedroom also never spoke to him personally.
And since there was no way Evernight would come looking for Anya even if he died and came back to life, Anya was essentially an isolated island in this Tildyen Rock.
“Your Highness?”
Anya stared blankly at the white garment the maid had brought. White, symbolizing purity. He recalled the attire he had once glimpsed from afar at the imperial palace. The princess who wore that dress had to leave the imperial palace without fail. Some across the distant strait, some to the peninsula at the western end.
‘I’m really getting married. I have to live in the North for the rest of my life.’
Only now did the reality that had hit him like a rushing tide sink in.
‘What will become of my life from now on?’
Such a thought suddenly occurred to him, but the boy knew how to submit. As always, the half-wit prince would live bowing without even realizing he was groveling. In the lowest posture possible.
Anya rose from his seat and immersed his body in the bathtub the maids had brought. The water was still hot, having been diligently heated in the kitchen. It was painful enough to scald his skin, but Anya didn’t show it. The maids quickly dissolved fragrant oil in the bathtub and dampened soft linen cloths. One maid approached and somewhat roughly removed the tunic he was wearing. Anya bit his lip hard to prevent making a sound.
An older maid combed his hair, which had become tangled from lack of care, while the others stood on either side, scrubbing and cleaning his back and the tops of his feet with the cloths. His dry skin gradually became moist as if absorbing the water.
Normally, he would have been embarrassed and sent them away, but today was an important day. Even as a half-wit, he knew that much.
When the bath was over, they raised Anya and dried every part of his body. It was his first time exposing his private parts to someone else, and his toes kept curling inward. His tangled hair now shone like a fertile wheat field rippling in the wind.
The experienced older maid opened the lid of a small bottle. It was a heavy and slightly bitter scent like that of trees deep in a forest, but with a sweeter smell. The maid dabbed the fragrance behind both of Anya’s ears, on his wrists, and on his lips.
“I, I…!”
Anya’s body flinched. They put on see-through undergarments before dressing him in the pure white wedding attire. The wheat-colored long hair was partially braided on the sides, tied at the back, and all tossed over his shoulder. On top, they fixed a small crown decoration and hung a necklace densely adorned with blue jewels around his neck.
“Do you like it?”
His reflection in the mirror the servant brought was unfamiliar. Anya suddenly felt chills throughout his body. He wanted to run away, but it was already too late for that.
* * *
Evernight was waiting for him in the cool hall. He scanned Anya with cold eyes before quickly turning his head expressionlessly. The wedding didn’t change the bleak main hall. Only a red carpet was spread over the gloomy gray stone, and candle flames rose like heat haze from the massive chandelier. As Anya slowly descended the stairs connecting to the main hall, the gazes of the men below focused on the boy.
‘I can’t fall.’
Anya awkwardly caught his breath as he whipped his stiff body. He looked like a tense youngster to anyone watching. It was a combination that didn’t match the luxurious wedding attire made entirely of silk.
‘Fitting for barbarians’ taste.’
From the corner of the hall, the court eunuch harbored such useless thoughts, continuing to complain that the Northerners’ wedding was barbaric too. The wedding, without even the common musicians, was flowing with a terribly gloomy silence. Despite it being midday, the interior was dark.
“We will now begin the wedding ceremony of the great northern hero, Lord Evernight, and His Highness Prince Claicer of the undying empire.”
The officiant’s calm voice cut through the silence. Evernight raised his eyes.
His blue eyes were cool but full of dignity, and his body in wedding attire, like the longsword he carried, was slender and pleasing to the eye. Today, Evernight was too beautiful to match the title of Dark Lions. What elevated his beauty to its peak was his cloak, made of black sable fur that looked as black and very soft as his hair.
Anya stood next to him. Despite being the same gender, there was a considerable height difference between them. If one were to strictly attribute the cause, age difference could be cited, but it seemed highly unlikely that Anya would be able to catch up to the height of the man beside him even in his late twenties.
The ceremony was moderately short yet long. Evernight didn’t seem to be listening to it. He was looking straight ahead with a face that was half bored and half unreadable in thought. The court eunuch was openly yawning in one corner.
“Do you vow?”
The priest dispatched from the temple called out solemnly. Anya knew exactly what he needed to do here and what was best. Yet somehow, his voice wouldn’t readily come out. The boy was afraid. His pale blue lips were trembling finely. He wanted to run away from this place right now.
Let’s just cross the strait to the free city. What free city was beyond the strait again?
Anya fumbled through his memories, not coming to his senses, until Evernight leaned over and brought his lips to his ear.
“Anya, do you know what the Emperor said when he sold you to me?”
The corner of his mouth turned up slightly. A flash of anger was reflected in the voice whispering in his ear.
“He said to use you freely without any guilt. He said that if needed, all the knights here could have their way with you.”
Anya turned his head and looked up at the man. It was not the face of someone telling a lie. Anya felt like he might burst into tears, but he already knew painfully well through his brothers that crying wouldn’t solve anything. His nose stung from holding back tears. Evernight smiled as he looked down at Anya.
“But don’t worry. Fortunately, there are no madmen here. So smile, Anya Claicer.”
‘If you run away, the pursuers will surely kill you. Even if it’s the end of the world. You must know well that your father’s nickname is the Mad Emperor.’ Evernight looked like a lover whispering intimate words. His gaze briefly went downward before naturally drifting away.
