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 2

I returned to my room and collapsed onto my bed. Seeing this, my lady-in-waiting, Mireille, furrowed her brows.

“Princess Noel, you look exhausted. Did something happen at the meeting?” “Yes, something happened. It seems I am to be married off to the Emperor of the Rayvel Empire.” “Pardon? Is the Rayvel Empire not an enemy nation?” “That is the general consensus, is it not?”

The discussion with the Priest and the Knight Commander had ended without any concrete solution. I did not intend to give up until the very end, but avoiding this marriage would likely be difficult. I gave her a weak, hollow smile.

Mireille’s voice trembled. “How on earth did things turn out this way?”

Wanting someone to listen, I confessed the details of the exchange in the conference room.

“What is the meaning of that? That is absurd! You are completely taking the fall for this!” Mireille’s anger exploded.

“You are right, Mireille. Honestly, I feel like running away.” “Then let us run. I will follow you to the ends of the earth.”

I was only joking, but Mireille was clearly serious.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but it is impossible. If I flee now, it will become an international incident, and my brother would hunt us to the edge of the world. I suppose getting married is better than a life like that.” “I see. Then at least I hope your future husband is a wonderful man. Come to think of it, Princess Noel, did you not have a first love? Perhaps the Emperor you are marrying is actually that person!” “Life is not that convenient. Besides, it was not a first love; he was just an older brother figure I admired.”

He was a man whose name and identity I never knew, the one who made me realize I, too, had someone precious to me. I admired him, but I certainly did not fall for him. I am not that easy.

“Are first love and admiration not basically the same thing?” “No, they are completely different! We only met once, seven or eight years ago. I hid my identity back then, and I do not expect to ever see him again. Besides, even if we did meet, I would be too ashamed of my current self to introduce myself.” “Are you ashamed?” Mireille tilted her head.

“I told that older brother that I would become a magnificent Saint and protect him as well. And yet, here I am, cast aside by my country as unnecessary and sold off to an enemy nation as my brother’s apology gift. Do you think I could ever show him this version of myself?” “If it were me, I would run away,” Mireille said bluntly.

She certainly does not mince words, but that is exactly what I like about her. More than anything, her saying that made me feel a little lighter.

“Well, looking at it as a marriage prospect, the Emperor of Rayvel is not bad. In fact, he is a prime catch. He is unmarried, twenty-three years old, four years older than me, and the ruler of a great empire that commands the Six Hexagon Lords.”

I have heard his land is thick with miasma, but as a Saint, that does not bother me. If anything, perhaps it is my instinct as a Saint, but I actually feel a desire to go there and perform purifications.

“Then perhaps unexpectedly happy days await you.” “That is impossible.” A dry laugh escaped my lips.

“Why is that?” “I told you already; I am an apology gift. Furthermore, of all things, my brother was the one who pushed for me to be the Emperor’s wife. It is an unwanted imposition. You can imagine how the other party feels, can you not?”

It was a mystery to me why the Emperor had not refused. For all I knew, he might be thinking he would make me suffer the same fate as the Saint my brother toyed with.

“At best, I will be used and discarded as a tool for my Saint powers. At worst, I will be made an example of in my brother’s stead.” “That is so tragic. Is there really no other way?” “It will be difficult, but I intend to consult with His Majesty Cassius.”

At the mention of my father, the King, Mireille’s fingertips twitched.

“Do you think he will listen? His Majesty has largely neglected you, Princess Noel.” “He probably will not listen if I ask as his daughter. But, though I say so myself, I am an excellent Saint. Perhaps His Majesty will think it a waste to lose someone like me.”

With that faint hope in my heart, I requested an audience with the King.

Permission for the audience was granted surprisingly quickly. Now, I stood facing my father, who sat upon the throne. His cold voice drifted down from atop the dais.

“I know why you have come. However, the decision will not be overturned.”

The reality was thrust upon me coldly, but because I had prepared myself, it did not shock me that much.

“What was my brother thinking when he did such a thing?” “Sigurd is afraid of you.” “What?”

It was a word I had not expected. While I struggled to respond, my father continued dispassionately.

“You have possessed the qualities of a Saint since birth. That is why I made you an illegitimate child and denied you the right of succession. But I suppose even that was not enough.”

What my brother feared was me stealing the position of the next King. Could it be? Is he trying to marry me off to an enemy nation for such a reason?

“I have no intention of becoming King.” “I know. Therefore, his inability to see through that shows he is still immature.”

He exhaled as if to say it was a troublesome matter. An indescribable emotion spread slowly within me. It would not form into words, so I pushed it aside for the moment.

“I understand my brother’s intentions. But why did the other party agree? I understand my brother took one Saint, and sending another in her place serves as an apology, but why turn it into a marriage?” “The acceptance was likely a compromise.” “A compromise?”

Toward what? Do they want a Saint that badly? No, it is because my brother’s blunder was so beyond the pale.

“They needed a way to settle the matter, did they not?” “Yes, as expected, you are brilliant.”

For me, that was the worst possible conclusion.

“If my brother were held accountable, it is a blunder on the level of demanding his person be handed over, correct? But the Crown Prince cannot be surrendered. However, if we refuse, it means war. Knowing that, both sides compromised.”

My father looked amused as he listened to my prediction.

“Sigurd committed a blunder. However, he takes the matter seriously. Therefore, he showed the greatest sincerity by marrying off you, who are both a Princess of this kingdom and a Saint.” “And that is the settlement?”

I had known it halfway through, but I could not help saying it.

“So, I am merely an apology gift for my brother’s mistake.” I whispered the words softly.

The Priest and the Knight Commander had not answered that murmur. However, my father readily admitted the truth.

“I will not deny it.” “Is my life to be ruined for such a reason?” “I sympathize with you.”

For the first time, my father spoke words that seemed to side with me. But he continued.

“The marriage is a decided matter; changing it is impossible. Besides, if I favor you too much, my wife will not be pleased. Above all, you are a Saint. You will surely manage well in the Rayvel Empire.”

It might have sounded like he believed in me, but it was not that. I finally understood the true nature of the emotion smoldering inside me. It was a mixture of anger and resignation.

Not once has my father looked at me as his daughter. He worries for his son, and while he sympathizes with me for being caught up in his son’s mess, it is strictly someone else’s problem to him. He does not worry for me as a father. In the end, my father and I were strangers from beginning to end. This meeting only served to make me realize that.

And so, alone and without allies, I was to be married off to Rayvel.