Anya clasped his trembling hands together like someone with a palsy. The priest was urging him on with a terrifying expression. Anya parted his dry lips and barely managed to push out a sound through his throat. His answer was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, but the priest didn’t mind.
“I declare that the unbreakable eternal vow between these two has been fulfilled under the watchful eye of the First Goddess.”
With the terrifying announcement that the marriage had been completed, the knights standing at the edges stepped forward in unison. Their metal armor made splashing sounds as it struck the ground.
Soon, they simultaneously reached for the scabbards at their waists and drew their swords into the air in perfect coordination. The afternoon sunlight shattered against the well-honed blades.
Though there were familiar faces among them, the knights’ somewhat emotionless appearances made it easy to forget that this was supposed to be a wedding filled with joy and celebration.
Anya pulled the corners of his mouth up as high as possible and straightened his posture.
* * *
“Did you see that court eunuch’s expression?”
After the wedding, a banquet was held. It was a feast attended by not only the high-ranking knights of the Dark Lions but also the apprentices. Servants constantly delivered food and alcohol to the oak tables. Chicken legs roasted crisp in the oven, whole young pig roasted over charcoal, mashed potatoes, salad seasoned with tart balsamic vinegar, warm meat stew, and wine that had been aged for years.
“They’re clearly looking down on the North. Our cook’s skills are far superior to those at the imperial palace baaanqueeet!”
Sisou shouted while tearing apart a roasted chicken leg with his hands. Karen didn’t approve of this young knight who compared everything to food, but he completely agreed with his statement. As soon as the wedding ended, the court eunuch had disappeared to his room claiming fatigue, almost as if escaping. Before closing his door, he had only left a brief instruction to call him during the first night of consummation.
“Is the Imperial Prince ill? He looks like he’s about to cry.”
“He’s no longer an Imperial Prince, but the mistress of Tildyen now.”
At the front-most table in the banquet hall sat the newly-wedded couple side by side. Evernight was sipping wine while conversing with the elderly knights seated beside him. His partner sat on the opposite side like a sack of barley that had been dumped there. Judging from his sickly blue face, he looked to anyone like someone who had been sold off. It certainly wasn’t a cheerful wedding scene.
“How many years do you think he’ll last?”
Karen tapped the shoulder of the mage who was picking at his meat with a knife. Stop being so picky about your food.
“I just hope he makes it to at least one year.”
One year would be long enough that the Emperor couldn’t easily take back what he’d given. If that young prince were to die before that, the Emperor might not only revoke the title he had granted but could also invade Tildyen for insulting the imperial family. That was the worst-case scenario. After all, the Emperor acted according to his mood each day.
“Has anyone ever been with a man before?”
Sisou was now stuffing both mashed potatoes and salad into his mouth simultaneously. Sauce was thickly smeared around both corners of his mouth. The young boy knight’s eyes were filled with inexplicable excitement.
“Of course not.”
Riario continued with disgust.
“Men supposedly don’t feel much different… Well, men who can get pregnant are said to be different…”
“Lord Riario! Can you tell us more?”
Riario smiled while deftly avoiding the greasy hand reaching toward him. Karen pressed a cloth against Sisou’s lips, pretending to wipe them but applying force. With the sound of Sisou’s groaning “Ughh” as background, Riario cast his gaze across the table to the front.
Evernight was sitting there in somewhat splendid attire, unlike his usual simple clothes or armor. Though the clothing suited Evernight’s cold appearance quite well, the knights somehow felt awkward. It didn’t match at all with the cruel and reckless temperament of the man who mercilessly cut down the dead from beyond the Wall.
“Ignoring him like that isn’t really the best approach…”
Evernight never looked at Anya seated to his left. It didn’t seem deliberate; he appeared completely uninterested from the beginning.
Riario too had put Anya’s welfare last after returning from their journey. They were exhausted from the long war and had been summoned to the imperial palace without proper rest. Once summoned, the Emperor had tossed them the half-wit prince—whom he probably didn’t even know existed and had neglected his entire life—as if doing them a favor.
The intention was blatant and obvious. Even so, they were in no position to voice complaints to the Emperor.
‘Lord Evernight, you are a talent too valuable to lose. It’s a shame your abilities are held back by your humble birth—how could the Empire’s sun just stand by and watch? That wouldn’t be right.’
From atop his imperial throne, Emperor Luksus acted like a benevolent ruler, but he looked terribly bored and weary. Despite being middle-aged, he remained young and beautiful.
‘When I announced I would bestow a title upon you, there was strong opposition from the nobles. However, if you were to form a connection with the imperial family, things would be different.’
At the shocking proposal to become the Emperor’s son-in-law, all the knights kneeling looked at each other’s faces. What nonsense is this? Which imperial princess was still unmarried? They quickly racked their brains, but having been beyond the Wall where even carrier pigeons couldn’t reach for four years, they had no idea what had happened in the capital during that time.
‘I have an imperial prince capable of pregnancy. Marry him. Then there will be no objections to awarding you the title of Duke.’
The Emperor then added words that were humiliating and cruel just to hear.
‘How you treat him is of no concern to me. Force him if necessary, even beat him. Surely you can do that much for the development of the North.’
The words spoken supposedly for the North’s benefit were nothing short of an insult to the North.
“At least he’s a man who’s normal, which is fortunate for the Commander.”
Riario quickly erased the memory of the incident from weeks ago. It was disgusting just to recall.
“The bedchamber isn’t the issue. Honestly, even if the marriage partner were a woman, Northerners have an instinctive aversion to imperial family members or nobles. For the Commander… it would probably be worse.”
Tildyen had served as a defensive line protecting the empire for a long time but was always ignored or neglected. Most of the Dark Lions protecting Tildyen were commoners, and once they turned 15, they were semi-forcibly assigned to military service by the Emperor’s decree. Nobles or imperial family members were occasionally dispatched as commanders as if doing them a favor, but those people could hardly understand the local way of life. Well over a hundred Northerners had died serving the foolish whims of such commanders.
“If you don’t die, you live. That’s how we all survive here.”
Lorea raised his glass. Everyone followed suit.
“He will become like that too.”
They hoped Anya Evernight would endure well. But it wasn’t out of concern for the new mistress they would serve—it was solely for the North and the people living there.
* * *
The knights’ assumption that the couple’s first night would go smoothly was shattered within hours.
“Damn brat.”
The problem wasn’t Evernight but rather Anya.
“Are you trying to play games with me right now?”
A soft light emanated from the lantern hanging on the wall. It wasn’t dark, nor was it bright, allowing them to look at each other more comfortably than ever before. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was sharp and cold.
“W-why are you t-telling me to t-take off my c-clothes…”
Anya blinked his eyes slowly with anxiety. The elder knight Ecle was quite the drinker. Since Ecle had taken care of the knights’ affairs while Evernight was away from the castle, Evernight had emptied many glasses of wine while conversing with him. Feeling hot, Evernight had removed his outer garment and thrown it aside carelessly.
“Behave yourself, Anya.”
Evernight spoke calmly, exercising maximum patience. As he took one large step forward, Anya unconsciously clutched his collar. Something about the atmosphere felt strange.
“There’s a little rat outside the door watching us right now.”
The court eunuch, who had been sitting on a chair brought by a servant outside, yawning with his mouth wide open, suddenly straightened his posture.
“What…?”
Having no way of knowing this, Anya couldn’t understand what Evernight was saying.
“Don’t worry about it and come sit over here.”
His husband’s words could not be refused. Anya’s steps moved slowly. Evernight felt deeply frustrated at the snail-like pace. A long sigh escaped his lips.
“Look, I don’t want to do this either. But there’s a limit to how accommodating I can be.”
Having drunk alcohol, Evernight was more direct in expressing his emotions than usual. Anya carefully perched on the edge of the bed. Except for their journey to Tildyen, this was the first time he had been left alone with Evernight.
Seeing Evernight again after several days, he remained indifferent toward Anya. Occasionally, his actions betrayed obvious signs of dislike.
