I Once Thought I Had No Place, Being Married Off to An Enemy Nation as A Token of Apology but That Was Only for One Night - Chapter 1

One day, I was summoned by my older brother, Crown Prince Sigurd. Feeling a sense of foreboding, I hurried to the conference room, only to be met by the sight of my smirking brother and his surrounding retainers.

Beside them stood the High Priest and the Knight Commander, their expressions grim and bitter. The stark contrast made my heart race with anxiety. Then, without warning, my brother uttered a sentence so unbelievable that I could hardly process it.

“I beg your pardon, could you repeat that?”

I involuntarily bit my lip, praying I had misheard him. However, my brother simply clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“You incompetent fool, you are unable to understand a simple sentence. I said you are to marry the Emperor of the Rayvel Empire!”

That was impossible! Rayvel was an enemy nation.

Located to the south of our Kingdom of Ashtar, the Rayvel Empire sat upon a cursed continent. Roughly a hundred years ago, Ashtar had set its sights on their magic stones and launched a unilateral invasion, only to be utterly crushed without being able to put up a fight.

Of course, since we are separated by the sea, we are currently maintaining a period of uneasy calm. However, we are by no means friendly nations. And I was to marry into Rayvel?

“Are you speaking seriously?” “How many times must I repeat myself!” “I have devoted myself to this country as a Saint. Why, then, are you treating me with such cruelty?” “Hah! Devoted yourself to the country? You have done nothing but ride the coattails of the other Saints’ achievements. Besides, the Kingdom of Ashtar has no need for a Saint who bears the ominous name of Black Snow!”

The phrase “no need” pierced my heart like a blade of ice.

I am the King’s illegitimate child. My mother passed away early, my stepmother despises me, and my father, the King, ignores my existence. While a minimum standard of living is guaranteed, that is the extent of it. I had no place to belong.

However, there was a young man who once encouraged me. Inspired by his words, I honed my skills as a Saint to carve out a place for myself. Because of the unique nature of my purification powers, I was often viewed as eerie, but there was no doubt that I contributed to the kingdom. Yet, even after all my efforts, I am still not wanted.

In the next moment, the High Priest, who had been maintaining a grim silence, slammed his hand against the table as if he could no longer contain himself.

“Your Highness! With all due respect, her power is not ominous. On the contrary, her purification is peerlessly superior, and she possesses the holy power required to lead the other Saints!”

The Knight Commander stood up immediately after.

“The High Priest is correct! Princess Noel has always stood on the dangerous front lines and achieved feats that no one else could. The name Black Snow is a testament to that! Do you have any idea how great a loss it would be to marry her off to another country?”

My heart swelled at their words. But my brother did not just ignore them; he scowled in irritation.

“Silence! This is a decided matter. No amount of complaining will change anything now. There is about a month until the wedding. Until then, make the necessary adjustments so that no losses occur.” “One month? It is impossible to make such adjustments in such a short time!” “I told you it is already decided! I am being generous by giving you that much time! Besides, if I do not get her to agree quickly, I—no, regardless, I have delivered the message. You handle the rest!”

After barking his orders, my brother turned and left the room with his retainers in tow. What was that?

My brother had always been tyrannical, but he had never been this incoherent or irrational before. Why was he so agitated? Regardless, I have more pressing matters to think about right now.

I composed myself and turned back toward the High Priest and the Commander. The dignified man was the Commander, and the gentle-faced man reaching the twilight of his years was the High Priest. I could feel the deep sense of apology emanating from both of them.

“What exactly happened?” “I am deeply sorry that things have come to this,” the High Priest said, shaking his head.

“No, once my brother is like that, no one can stop him. More importantly, could you tell me why he started saying such things?” “That would be,” the High Priest began, then glanced at the Commander.

After a brief pause, the Commander turned to address me.

“Were you aware that our country was in talks to move toward a peace treaty with the Rayvel Empire?” “Yes, I overheard that my brother was boasting about making it his own personal achievement. Is that deal progressing smoothly, then?”

If my marriage was an extension of that, I hoped my treatment in my new home might be slightly better. However, the Commander’s shoulders slumped as he sighed. “If only that were the case.”

“You mean it is not?” “It was going well at first. As part of the exchange for the peace treaty, there was a proposal to dispatch Saints from both countries to share techniques.” “That is quite a bold move.”

There are hundreds of Saints on this continent alone. They are not one-of-a-kind beings. Nonetheless, because they can purify miasma, they are cherished in every nation. Sending them to another country is an act that can only be done if there is absolute trust.

“However, Crown Prince Sigurd messed up spectacularly. The trust that had been built up until then collapsed in an instant.”

The Commander explained the situation. My brother had committed two major blunders.

First, he entered into a romantic involvement with the Saint who had been dispatched to us. Furthermore, he reportedly told the Empire’s precious Saint that it was just a fling when he broke things off. As a result, the traumatized woman lost her holy powers.

Second, there was a problem with the Saint sent to the Rayvel Empire on my brother’s orders. Despite being a Saint, she reportedly performed hardly any purification and instead spent her time making advances toward the Emperor and high-ranking officials of Rayvel.

My eyes wandered in disbelief. Legend says the Rayvel Empire is the land where the Demon King was sealed, and the miasma there is far thicker than in other countries. Consequently, they prize their Saints more than anyone else. To treat them that way was an overt provocation.

“Wait, my brother was working toward peace, was he not? It is not as if he was trying to provoke them into attacking so he would have an excuse to invade again, right?” “No, it is not that.” “Then why on earth would he do something so stupid?”

The words slipped out, but no one could offer an answer.

“For now, please understand that this is the background. Recently, a discussion took place between Crown Prince Sigurd and the Emperor of Rayvel regarding how to take responsibility for these actions.” “Wait, I have a very bad feeling about this.”

I shook my head, not wanting to hear more, but the Commander did not stop.

“Crown Prince Sigurd said this: ‘As an apology for taking your country’s Saint, I shall present you with one of our own.'” “He treated a Saint like an object in front of the Emperor of Rayvel?”

How is my brother still alive?

“Indeed, the Emperor was quite furious. Then, the Crown Prince said, ‘If her treatment is not to your liking, how about making her your wife? As a bridge for our peace treaty.'” “I wonder if his brain has been infested by miasma?”

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like he was intentionally taunting them. The other party should have been flying into a rage. Wait, hold on.

“The Emperor of Rayvel refused, did he not?” “No, well, for some reason, he accepted.” “I do not understand any of this.”

Even hearing the explanation, I was no less confused. If anything, I was more bewildered than before. However, there was one thing I could deduce.

“In other words, I am the apology gift for my brother’s failure.”

To that murmur, once again, no one could offer a reply.