An Unexpected Proposal

March 9, 2020.

"Do you have any other requests?"

"None."

Alicia’s response was firm, without hesitation.

"That’s it?"

Cabelenus tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest. Alicia glanced at him cautiously before slowly nodding.

"Pretending to be virtuous is foolish. Or perhaps the Princess of Neuschwein actually sees herself as some kind of saint? After all, you were the one who turned your own father in."

"I’m not pretending to be virtuous. I’m just stating what’s practical."

"What if I told you I could grant you much more?"

A man born and raised as a conqueror did not speak of mercy lightly. Because of that, his words were never lies. Cabelenus understood the weight of his promises and had always paid the price for them. Whatever Alicia asked for, he was willing to grant it—within reason. But she remained silent, her lips unmoving.

Eventually, Cabelenus grew tired of waiting.

"Normally, when someone is offered mercy, they ask for more."

"You only said you might show mercy. You never gave me a guarantee. I don’t want to hold onto false hope."

A shallow breath escaped from Alicia’s cracked lips, chapped and covered with dried blood. Cabelenus unconsciously clenched his fist at the sight.

"Why did you betray your father?"

Cabelenus uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. His body was closer now, his presence heavier.

"Because he had to die for this to end."

"You never considered resisting until the end?"

"If it was a war we had no chance of winning, I thought it would be better to end it quickly so that at least one fewer person would have to die."

Alicia’s expression twisted—just for a moment.

"And?"

Cabelenus’s voice dropped, pressing her for more.

It was the same as before. Those eyes. The eyes that had caught his attention. Not the eyes of a daughter turning in her father, but something raw, something full of emotion.

"...Because I wanted him dead."

Alicia took a deep breath, then spoke again.

"He was a man who deserved to die."

"He deserved to die?"

Cabelenus repeated her words, waiting for her to elaborate.

But she said nothing. Lowering her head, she fell into silence.

The weight of that silence was enough to make some of the knights shift uncomfortably. One of them stepped forward instinctively, but Cabelenus raised a hand to stop him.

His gaze did not waver.

Her disheveled hair, her simple, ragged clothes, the worn calluses on her hands that spoke of hardship—she was nothing compared to the women of his empire, yet Cabelenus found himself studying her longer than he had anyone else.

Slowly, he raised his hand.

She was the first survivor of Neuschwein’s fall.

***

Warm water.

It had been so long since she had felt it.

Alicia sat motionless, her eyes hazy as she stared at the steam rising in the bath. Slowly, she wiggled her toes, then moved her fingers one by one, watching the veins beneath her pale skin.

She could hear her own heartbeat—slow, steady, alive.

All of her family, who had struggled desperately to survive, were dead. And yet she, who had least deserved to live, remained.

What a disgusting, loathsome life.

Her head dropped limply.

On the surface of the water, red hair floated gently alongside rose petals.

"What is he planning to do with such a pitiful body?"

A breath of dry laughter left Alicia’s lips as the image of Cabelenus came to mind—sitting arrogantly upon the throne, ruling with a mere flick of his hand.

People were already whispering about her fate. The fallen princess of Neuschwein, now nothing more than a concubine warming the bed of a murderer.

"Maybe I should just bite my tongue and end it now."

Her life meant nothing. It never had.

Dying now would be easier.

But…

Alicia’s vision blurred.

If this was how it was going to end, she shouldn’t have made that promise.

That one promise bound her so completely that she couldn't even take her own life.

"If only I could fall asleep and never wake up again."

Alicia curled in on herself, her breath thin and fragile. Thoughts and emotions swirled in her mind, but she forced herself to push them away.

There were never many choices for a princess of a fallen kingdom.

"You may move now."

The maid smiled as she stepped back, her work done.

Alicia stared at her reflection in the mirror with lifeless eyes. The large pearls of her earrings swayed gently as she moved. A delicate necklace emphasized the slenderness of her neck, and her clothes—soft as silk—clung to her figure in a way that was meant to be alluring.

Compared to the pitiful sight she had been before, she certainly looked better now.

"You look truly beautiful."

Lies.

Alicia ignored the maid’s empty flattery, barely listening as the woman prattled on.

She knew her own worth.

No matter how much she was dressed up, she couldn’t erase the traces of hardship from her body. Her hair, no matter how much oil was used, remained dry and brittle. Her hands were still rough and calloused.

Knock, knock.

A quiet knock echoed in the silence, followed by the sound of the door opening.

Alicia turned to see several armed soldiers enter.

"Is she ready?"

A gruff-looking man, his beard as coarse as a boar’s bristles, scrutinized her.

Their gazes were not those of men looking at a person.

They were evaluating livestock.

But what difference did it make?

Alicia’s lips curled faintly.

There was no reason to be offended.

The intent of these clothes was painfully obvious. It was almost laughable.

The room was eerily quiet.

Alicia glanced back at the firmly shut door.

The moment she had stepped inside, the door had closed behind her—locked.

There was no escape.

She hesitated, waiting to see if anyone else was inside.

So this was the room.

Her stomach clenched.

***

It was the grandest chamber in the palace. A place overflowing with such extravagant luxury that it almost made her nauseous. It had once belonged to the rulers of Neuschwein, but now, like everything else, it had been claimed by a foreign conqueror.

Alicia hesitated before sitting on the bed.

The mattress sank beneath her, impossibly soft.

It was nothing like the straw-stuffed bedding she had been used to.

She sat, then stood, then sat again, unable to get used to the feeling.@@novelbin@@

Finally, overwhelmed by the unfamiliarity, she slid to the floor.

Resting her back against the bedframe, she gazed out the window, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

The sky was painted in deep, bloody hues, and the cold breeze from the open window carried with it the phantom scent of iron.

Why her?

The princesses of Neuschwein had been known across nations for their beauty.

If Cabelenus needed a woman, he should have spared one of her older sisters.

Of all of them, only Elena had been called the kingdom’s greatest beauty.

Yet Elena was executed at the guillotine, and Alicia had been taken to his bedchamber.

"Then again, how could I possibly understand the mind of a murderer?"

Alicia closed her eyes.

The solid, cold frame of the bed pressed against her back.

But that, at least, was something familiar to her.

***

"Your Highness, about the woman…"

"The woman?"

Cabelenus, leaning against his desk, was in the middle of signing documents.

After the large-scale purge, most had become obedient.

He could not kill everyone, after all.

Now was the time to start considering negotiations.

"The Princess of Neuschwein."

The moment Gajev spoke, Cabelenus’s pen stilled.

"What about her?"

"She has been prepared."

Gajev hesitated under the golden eyes staring back at him before letting out a slightly awkward chuckle.

Even after serving Cabelenus for a long time, dealing with him was never easy.

The man had the eyes of a predator always ready to pounce on its prey.

No one in the Blanche Empire was ignorant of his name.

The Wolf of Schwarhan, the Lord of the North, the Mad Butcher of War.

It didn’t matter how many titles they gave him—what mattered was that his name alone was enough to shake entire nations.

Cabelenus was the ruler of Schwarhan, a land of endless cold, but he was also of the Blanche bloodline.

The second son of the former emperor.

The only brother of the current emperor.

No matter his reputation, noble blood never changed.

"Where is she now?"

"She was sent to Your Highness’s chambers."

"My chambers?"

Cabelenus’s voice dropped ever so slightly.

It was subtle—so subtle that even Gajev, ever observant, failed to notice the shift.

"Are you not going to take her?"

Gajev spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Cabelenus had sent every single one of Neuschwein’s royal women to the guillotine without a change in expression.

For him to show interest in such a pitiful woman made no sense.

But this was Cabelenus.

A man born to rule.

A conqueror who had the right to take whatever he desired.

"I had no such intention."

"My apologies, Your Highness."

Gajev quickly lowered his head at the firm response.

"It was foolish of me to presume. I will arrange for her removal at once."

Cabelenus did not like repeating himself.

Rather than dwelling on wasted efforts, it would be best to dispose of the woman immediately.

Gajev turned to summon a servant.

"Wait."

The word came after a long silence.

Gajev stopped.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

Cabelenus tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable.

"Bring her here."

"Here, my lord?"

"No."

Cabelenus touched his chin thoughtfully, then rose from his seat.

"I will go to her myself."

The Lord of the North, personally visiting a mere captive?

Gajev instinctively narrowed his eyes, watching his master carefully.

But Cabelenus’s face remained impossible to read.

***

Why is she sleeping like that instead of using the bed?

Cabelenus frowned slightly as he looked down at Alicia, curled up on the floor beside the bed.

She was asleep, breathing softly.

The only thing covering her was a thin nightgown that left little to the imagination.

Anyone could see what she had been prepared for.

"This woman never fails to defy expectations."

Surely, she understood what this attire meant.

And yet, she slept soundly in the chamber of the man who had destroyed her country.

Ever since their first encounter, she had been different.

"Alicia Neuschwein."

That was her name, wasn’t it?

Cabelenus recalled hearing it from Gajev.

At that moment, Alicia stirred.

Her eyelashes trembled before she slowly blinked awake.

Still dazed from sleep, her gray eyes were dull—an unimpressive, rusted color, like tarnished metal.

But her voice…

Even half-asleep, her voice had a certain clarity, a resonance like a ringing bell.

And that was why Cabelenus simply stood there, silently watching.

"..."

"..."

Alicia, still too drowsy to fully comprehend her surroundings, blinked a few more times before—

She suddenly froze.

Her breath hitched.

The golden eyes before her were unmistakable.

Eyes like twin suns bore into her, sharp and unwavering.

Alicia inhaled sharply.

Instinctively, she tried to move away, only for her back to hit the solid wooden frame of the bed.

She bit down on her lip, barely stopping herself from gasping.

"W-when did you get here— No, I mean, I…"

She struggled for words, lips parting and closing helplessly.

Her back ached from the impact, but the pain barely registered.

She was too consumed by the sheer overwhelming presence of the man before her.

"You were sleeping well."

Cabelenus tilted his head, watching her reaction with mild amusement.

Alicia clenched her jaw.

She had no idea how to respond.

She averted her gaze, nervously biting her lip, before she suddenly realized something.

He was staring.

No, he was watching her lips.

The moment she understood that, her cheeks flushed deep red.