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 6

“Princess Noel, where are you going?”

The moment I opened the door, a female guard knight stationed outside questioned me. I had momentarily forgotten that I was no longer in my own country. As a future Empress, it was only natural to have an escort.

“Well, I would like to walk through the courtyard for a moment. Is that allowed?”

“No, there is no issue if it is the courtyard. This is already your castle as well,” she replied.

I was surprised by her easy permission. I had assumed she was a monitor, much like Frieda.

“Is it truly all, right?”

“Yes. If you stay out too long, I will come to fetch you.”

“I see. Thank you.”

With the guard’s permission, I made my way to the courtyard. While the concentration of miasma inside the castle was relatively mild, it felt thick once I stepped outside. Looking up at the sky, I could clearly see it was stagnant with corruption.

“She told me not to overstep my bounds, but…”

Because the Demon King was sealed in this land, the miasma was heavy, and the other Saintesses could not keep up with the purification of the Imperial Capital. This was likely because the reincarnation of the Great Saintess had not yet appeared. Given these circumstances, I believed that purifying the Capital would not cause any trouble.

“Besides, there is one more thing that concerns me.”

Emperor Albert is afflicted by a curse. It is a powerful curse that carries a strong scent of miasma, unlike anything I have ever encountered. That was the reason for the chill that ran through my body when I stumbled and touched him earlier.

From that sensation, I knew he must be in considerable pain. I wondered why it had been left untreated. Perhaps they tried to break it and failed. While some curses in this world are unbreakable, the feeling I got when I touched him suggested that I might be able to lift it. I had no concrete evidence, but it was an intuition.

I want to investigate his curse when the time is right, but first, I must act. I placed one hand over my heart and spread the other out slowly, pouring a prayer for purification into my holy power.

Purification Snow began to fall from the sky that had been shrouded in miasma. The sky was dark, so the snow could not be seen clearly, but as it absorbed the corruption, it turned a sinister black. That is the origin of my name, the Black Snow. The black flakes fell to the ground and vanished along with the miasma, like melting snow.

When I create such a scene, I suppose it is unavoidable that I am loathed. However, it was late at night, and most of the citizens were asleep. The majority of people would not even notice that it was snowing. Even if they did, they would likely dismiss it as a mere out-of-season flurry. Nonetheless, the longer I let it snow, the higher the risk of being caught. For now, I decided to stop once the air was clear enough for me to move comfortably.

The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed. It was my first morning in a foreign land, yet I felt a mysterious sense of security, as if I had returned home. After finishing my morning preparations, I ate breakfast in high spirits. As I was making final checks for the public debut, a bitter-faced Frieda arrived.

“Princess Noel, may I ask you something?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Did you sneak out of your room last night?”

I knew she would notice. I wanted to feign ignorance, but that was impossible. The act of leaving would be revealed the moment the guard knight was questioned. However, I had no intention of telling her about the purification.

“I simply took a short walk in the courtyard,” I said.

“By yourself? There should have been a guard knight outside your door.”

Frieda turned her gaze toward the female knight guarding the door. The knight replied firmly, “She said she wanted to go to the courtyard, so I gave her permission.”

Frieda’s expression immediately soured. I understood then. Although she gave me permission easily, she was also meant to be my monitor. The female knight had failed to grasp that intention and had made a judgment based on her traditional duties as a guard. If this continued, she might be punished. I found that thought quite unpleasant.

“Frieda, she told me that there was no danger in the courtyard and that I could do as I pleased because this is already my castle. Was she mistaken in saying that?”

Frieda struggled to answer. If she denied it, she would be denying the very premise upon which I was accepted as a bride. If she affirmed it, she would be granting me permission to walk around freely. Both options were inconvenient for her. Therefore, I offered a compromise.

“I understand. You want to tell me that a woman who is to become Empress should not wander about alone. I am sorry. From now on, I will make sure to take an escort with me.”

With this, the female knight would not be blamed, and Frieda could keep a watchful eye on me under the guise of protection. This seemed like a reasonable middle ground.

“I understand. However, you are a Princess of Ashtar. It is possible that there are those with hostility toward the Empire, so please be sure about the escort.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I wondered if she was threatening me or if she was genuinely worried. As I continued my preparations and left the room for the wedding ceremony, the female guard knight bowed to me.

“I thank you,” she whispered.

It was a small thing, but I was happy that someone was truly looking at me and acknowledging my actions.

The wedding ceremony began with a public debut from the balcony. On the way there, I ran into one of the Six Archlords.

“You must be Ludwig,” I said.

He had spiky blonde hair and a well-trained, muscular physique. He was the head of the Greifner territory and possessed a wild appearance. I had learned this from Frieda.

“The Saintess of Black Snow. Why is the sister of that man becoming His Majesty’s bride?” he muttered with genuine disgust.

I was certainly disliked. It was true that my brother had done terrible things, but I was also a victim in this situation.

“I am sorry, but that proposal was made by the Crown Prince of Ashtar and accepted by the Emperor of Rayvel,” I told him.

I was essentially telling him to take his complaints to the Emperor. Ludwig clicked his tongue.

“I have no intention of opposing His Majesty’s decision. Just make sure you stay quiet and do not drag Emperor Albert down. In the first place—”

He seemed ready to continue, but Frieda interrupted. “It is almost time.”

I nodded and bowed. “Excuse me. I cannot keep Emperor Albert waiting.”

I turned my back on Ludwig and began walking down the hallway with Frieda.

“Thank you, Frieda.”

“I do not know what you mean,” she replied, not even glancing at me.

“You helped me just now, did you not?”

“It was for my own sake. I told you that if you make a mistake during the wedding ceremony, it becomes my responsibility.”

“That is true. Then I will do my best not to cause you any trouble.”

“Please do so. Though I suppose there is no need for worry, as you seem to be very skilled at political maneuvering.”

“Maneuvering?” I tilted my head, having no memory of doing anything so grand.

“You do not need to play innocent. It is no wonder you were probing me last night. To be honest, it was not a pleasant experience, but I thought it was effective.”

“I really do not know what you are talking about.”

I truly had no idea. Perhaps thinking I was feigning ignorance, Frieda let out a small sigh and said, “It is nothing.”

It was definitely not nothing. However, without receiving an explanation, I headed toward the Emperor. We arrived at a large room in the Imperial Palace.

“Emperor Albert, Princess Noel is ready,” Frieda called out.

Shortly after, the handsome man approached. No, he is my husband. Dressed in formal attire for the wedding ceremony, Emperor Albert looked more dashing than ever. When he saw me in my gown, a faint smile escaped him.

“It suits you well.”

Even though I knew it was a social pleasantry, the impact was overwhelming. I suppressed the urge to squirm and replied with a composed face, “It suits you as well, Your Majesty.”

But in the next moment, the Emperor’s expression became dead serious. He stepped toward me and whispered into my ear.

“Princess Noel, you purified the miasma in the Capital, did you not?”

I had intended to deflect the question, but the sheer power of having a handsome man whisper in my ear was too much. I confessed immediately. “I am sorry.”

It was the blunder of a lifetime.

“It was you, after all.”

“I am sorry. I was concerned because the miasma was so thick.”

“The people of this land all worship the Great Saintess from the bottom of their hearts. Of course, I am no exception. My life was saved by her predecessor when I was a child. If she were to be revived, I would give her everything.”

I could not bring myself to ask what that had to do with anything. Instead, I said, “You truly love and respect that Saintess.”

“That is correct. Therefore, I will not allow her name to be tarnished.”

His deep blue eyes stared straight at me. Depending on my answer, it felt as though he was saying he would not forgive me.

“Of course, I have no intention of doing such a thing, but…”

I wondered why he was bringing this up now. As I tilted my head, he let out a large sigh.

“Indeed, you only performed the purification and did not claim her name. As a Saintess, I question the use of methods that deceive the people, but the citizens were anxious about a princess from an enemy country marrying in. In terms of putting them at ease, it was not a bad move.”

“Excuse me, are you misunderstanding something?”

I knew something was wrong, but I did not know what it was.

Soon, he stepped out onto the balcony. A large crowd had gathered in the plaza below, and a massive cheer erupted immediately. However, with a simple raise of his hand, the crowd fell silent. That sequence alone showed how much Emperor Albert was loved by his people.

“People of Rayvel! As of today, Noel, the Princess of Ashtar, has become my Empress. As you know, she possesses the power of a Saintess. Welcome her with the respect she deserves!”

According to the plan, I was to stand beside him after this line. But that line was slightly different from what I had been told beforehand. The original script did not include the word “Saintess.”

I stepped forward with a heavy heart, wondering why he changed it. What if they shouted insults? What if the reaction was cold? No, I must not be afraid. I had decided to make a place for myself in this Empire.

With that resolve, I stood beside the Emperor. In that instant, a literal explosion of cheers erupted from the plaza.

Wait, what? Are these cheers for me? The sound was so intense that the balcony itself seemed to vibrate.

“What is this?” I asked Emperor Albert while waving to the people with a smile as planned.

“What are you saying? This is the script you wrote, is it not?” Emperor Albert responded.

“I did not write any such script.”

“You say that now? You let the Black Snow fall in the middle of the night, predicting this outcome. The people would notice the power of purification immediately, as well as the fact that it had snowed.”

“Do the people know that I am the Black Snow?”

“Do not play coy. You know the legend of the Great Saintess who protects this land, do you not?”

“Yes, I know that, but…”

So what? As I tilted my head, he revealed a shocking fact.

“Then you should understand. When snow purifies miasma, anyone would associate it with the great Saintess of White Snow.”

“What?”

“The snow that fell at night must have been black. However, no one noticed that in the dark. There were almost no witnesses in the middle of the night. Thus, only the fact that the snow purified the miasma remained.”

The snow purified the miasma. It was not the work of the Empire’s Saintesses. Therefore, people would guess it was the work of the bride who had just arrived. I followed that much logic. But what did he say? The Saintess of White Snow? Is that the title of the Empire’s Great Saintess? If so, as someone who purifies with white snow, I am…

“Honestly. To make them misidentify black snow as the white snow of purification, you are quite the tactician.”

I wanted to scream that it was a misunderstanding, but the words would not come out.