“Say that again.”
Evernight received the visitor with a somewhat arrogant posture. He looked like a fine nobleman, but his characteristically icy blue eye color made viewers shudder. The court eunuch secretly rubbed his goosebump-covered arms.
‘That Evernight fellow, they say he survived beyond the Wall for four whole years. Can you even call someone like that human, my friend?’
The ominous voice of a friend who had poured him a drink when he heard he was going to Tildyen flashed through his mind.
For thousands of years, Beyond the Wall had been ruled by beings that were not alive—entities different from humans—called monsters.
Humans couldn’t survive there even for a day. It was like an immutable law of nature. After a distant ancient hero drove them Beyond the Wall, no one set foot on that land unless they wished to die. Even humans who wanted to end their own lives wouldn’t go there. After all, it’s human nature to want to die with dignity, even in suicide.
The Dark Lions who guarded the Wall. Their name wasn’t some honorable knightly order title. They were simply called that. Everyone had called them that since ancient times. Lions who bring darkness, or lions who drive away darkness. Those who always live alongside the darkness of the dead.
That’s why they, Tildyen, had always been separate from the Delphium Empire, which yearned for light. If not for Emperor Luksus’s capricious proposal, Tildyen would have continued guarding the borderlands along with the darkness, as it always had.
‘What on earth is His Imperial Majesty thinking? Once he receives the ducal title, will this group be officially promoted to a knightly order?’
Since Tildyen had long been an empty land without a ruling lord, the Dark Lions had acted as a knighthood. It was by no means an honorable position. The Dark Lions had ambiguous origins, and the term “lion” had probably originally been a long-established proper noun referring to those who carried out the Emperor’s orders at the Wall, but the word also meant “dead person.” It differed by just one character from the “dead ones” Beyond the Wall.
In particular, this man bearing the title of Commander had eyes bizarrely similar in color to those of the dead.
“Ahem.”
The court eunuch who had brought the Emperor’s decree cleared his throat in embarrassment at how tense he had become.
“Lord Evernight, you will be given one month from now.”
Though he tried to lower his voice, it lacked authority. In contrast, Evernight exuded a deep sense of annoyance.
“What do you mean, court lord?”
Evernight, who had not yet formally received his ducal title, was of commoner status. Nevertheless, the man who had spent a long time Beyond the Wall emanated a unique coldness and raw violence that made it impossible to treat him carelessly. In any case, a month later, he would become the empire’s first northern duke.
“The wedding and the wedding night, sir.”
“Why is the imperial palace so obsessively old-fashioned about the wedding night? What if that fellow refuses? I don’t have the bad taste to force anyone.”
Evernight tapped his foot and smiled crookedly. Despite his unrefined attitude, a hint of mockery was evident in his tone. The court eunuch’s face hardened.
“The prince has no right of refusal. How you handle it is entirely up to you, my lord.”
The court eunuch had to confirm the wedding night between the two and ensure the marriage took place. It would be troublesome if Evernight was being difficult. The Emperor was capricious and had a cruel streak. If he failed to arrange the marriage because he was pushed around by a commoner knight who hadn’t even received his ducal title yet, his own competence would be questioned.
“So I can hit the prince?”
“He is no longer a prince but Lord Evernight’s consort now. All authority over how to treat him has passed to you, my lord. His Majesty said so himself.”
That was the law of the empire. Unfair and inhumane, but laws always existed for the convenience of those in power.
“Anya, come in.”
The court eunuch’s head stiffly turned toward the door. Evernight, one of the few sword masters in the empire, had long noticed Anya lingering outside the door.
“H-hello.”
The reception room door opened, and Anya appeared. The boy’s face was pale, and his clasped hands trembled slightly. The eunuch exhaled softly.
‘What do I care. He’s just a half-wit prince anyway.’
The boy standing before Evernight looked like a sacrifice offered to the lord of death. The two were so terribly mismatched that they could hardly be called a couple.
‘How could His Majesty think of binding these two together? And how am I supposed to confirm the wedding night? Tsk, I’ll have to witness something disgusting.’
The court eunuch imagined the scene of Evernight and the half-wit prince consummating their relationship and lamented his situation. The prince’s wedding night would obviously turn into a bloodbath. Northerners were barbaric, and their moral concepts were promiscuous.
The prince was just a novice who had barely come of age. Moreover, his build was much smaller than others his age and unremarkable. The boy had grown gaunt and pale in the meantime. He looked ragged, as if he hadn’t had a decent meal.
In truth, the eunuch had rarely encountered this separate palace half-wit. There were no eunuchs or servants in the imperial palace who would visit Anya Claicer’s separate palace of their own accord. Nevertheless, judging by that deathly complexion, he could bet his salary that the boy was barely enduring life here.
‘Are they abusing him because they gave him a male consort? Well, what does it matter to me?’
The eunuch paid his respects to the prince and then stepped back. Having said all he needed to say, he wanted to quickly leave this uncomfortably odd place and rest. The eunuch had been complaining the entire journey about how arduous the road to the North had been. The North lacked even common high-end taverns or inns. He had no choice but to stay in this gloomy Tildyen castle for a month.
“As you know, my lord…”
“…”
“If you do not consummate the marriage, the wedding will be invalid, and therefore… the conferral of the title will also be invalid.”
A crooked smile flowed from Evernight’s lips. Every time the man smiled like that, it felt like an eerie chill ran down one’s spine. Evernight muttered a small curse. The eunuch endlessly dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. In the worsening atmosphere, Anya just kept his head bowed. His small head was already filled with confusion.
The shocking words he had overheard outside the door just now kept repeating in his mind.
‘Will I be able to handle the wedding night well… If Lord E-Evernight hits me, it would hurt terribly.’
The man’s hands were fair and pretty, but they were enormously large, and his palms were covered with calluses earned from wielding a longsword.
“When is the wedding…?”
“Anya.”
Evernight gestured toward Anya with his chin. Suddenly called by name, Anya began to fidget nervously, rolling his eyes around.
“W-well… preparations, preparations…”
His nervousness made him stutter more. Naturally, his face also turned bright red. Dismay. A momentary emotion flashed across the eunuch’s face. Anya could catch such negative emotions faster than anyone else. It was one of his few unique strengths. No, could this even be called a strength?
“The Emperor throws a damn lump of flesh at me and expects a lot.”
It was a somewhat irreverent choice of words. Despite uttering words that insulted the imperial family so casually, Evernight’s expression didn’t change at all. This wasn’t Maneregia, but Tildyen, ruled by this predator-like man. Moreover, the Wall was nearby. He was the kind of man who could casually throw a corpse Beyond the Wall without a second thought.
The eunuch chose to quickly leave the place with an awkward smile. He had delivered the message, so that should be enough.
Thump, as the door closed, a heavy silence settled in the depressingly dreary reception room. The faint sound of dry wood crackling as it burned in the fireplace echoed dimly. The shadows cast by the flames fell across Evernight’s strong facial lines.
“Do you have something to tell me?”
Anya stood there like a sack of barley dumped beside him. His neatly folded and clasped fingers fidgeted constantly with anxiety.
“N-no.”
An answer as stiff with discipline as a servant’s flowed out. Actually, shouldn’t he let this man know that he wasn’t properly preparing for the wedding? But if he said that, the man might tie him to a tree and humiliate him terribly, just like his brothers did. That would be unbearable. The blood quickly drained from Anya’s face.
“Then what is it?”
Evernight asked, leaning deep into his chair. He exuded the faint irritation characteristic of someone saddled with an annoying task.
“Do whatever preparations you want; there’s more than enough money.”
“Yes. Th-thank you.”
“How far have you gotten now?”
At the man’s sudden question, Anya hiccupped and began to hiccup. It felt like a heavy boulder had suddenly rolled over and crushed him. If he told the truth and the man hit him… Anya’s fingers began to move noticeably frantically.
“I-I’ve done… a lot.”
Anya listed excuses that sounded incredibly awkward, unable to meet Evernight’s eyes properly.
“I w-wanted to prepare fl-flowers, but they say it can’t be done. And for cl-clothes… Gregos-nim said he’ll t-take care of it… As for mu-musicians, I’m not sure, but I’ll try to find some. Do you know any mu-musicians, my lord?”
All the sentences he listed were terrible. But the boy desperately moved his stiff tongue to survive. Most of it described scenes from his sisters’ weddings that he had witnessed at the imperial palace during his childhood.
