What Your Majesty Desires - Chapter 4.1

It was a perfectly reasonable despair. Just looking at a few of the horrific war histories, women were always the first sacrifices in defeated nations.

“Are they going to throw us to the Gler knights as nighttime companions?”

“I absolutely can’t do that. I heard the Gler men treat women harshly. Oh, what do I do?”

One young lady’s cautious guess made another sob and shake her head.

“We’re not in a position to choose anything. If they tell us to be maids, we’ll be maids, and if they tell us to please someone’s night, we’ll become slaves. But what I’m most afraid of right now is…”

“There’s something even scarier?”

“Maybe we’ll be called up to Prince Hernis’s bedroom one by one each night.”

“Y-yes?”

Oh my.

The mention of Hernis’s name spread the weeping even further.

“They say if you go into that prince’s bedroom to serve him at night, you just die. He plays with you as much as he wants and then suddenly cuts your throat and kills you. And even after that.”

Even after that.

Marilyn momentarily stopped breathing after hearing the rumors about Hernis, who supposedly satisfied his twisted desires even with the decapitated corpses of women all night long.

“I’m so scared. I shouldn’t have come here today. Sniff.”

“You can’t cry. If you make noise, the soldiers will come. Please be quiet. Shhh.”

“I don’t want to die. What do I do? Sob.”

When one young lady burst into tears, the others hurriedly patted her back.

“Please. Please don’t cry.”

“If you make noise, the soldiers will come and chop off your heads right away. Didn’t you hear the duke screaming as he died a sudden death over there earlier?”

The more they heard, the more terrible the stories became.

The young ladies, anxiously looking outside the bars, fearing the soldiers would come, showed no hint of laughter.

‘He didn’t seem like that kind of person.’

The reputation of Hernis that Marilyn had heard during her bride training was full of praise, but the young ladies were saying something completely different.

Is he different in bed?

They say it’s a place where women are treated harshly.

Could it be that the words “crazy killer” were referring to Hernis?

Marilyn frantically retraced the conversation she had with him today with a confused look.

[Are you an important person?]

[Yes?]

[Are you so important that I have to come to kill you?]

A calm voice.

Apathetic eyes.

[Are you going like that?]

But he was the one who had been most considerate of her difficult situation.

The gap between the Hernis the young ladies were talking about and the one she had actually met was so large that Marilyn couldn’t easily make a judgment.

The one in the rumors and the one she saw.

Which one should she believe?

“Has anyone seen that prince’s face?”

Once again, the cage was filled with stories about Hernis.

“He must look like a monster.”

“He’s been in so many wars since he was young that his face is full of scars.”

“Oh my, the rumors must be true. I kept standing by the window earlier to try to see his face, but he had his iron helmet pulled down to his chin.”

“How hideous must he be to cover himself up like that?”

Of course, they were all wrong guesses.

The face of the man Marilyn had actually seen was clean without a single scar.

So much so that she thought he had never known war in his life and had only quietly sat in the imperial palace learning poetry and literature.

‘What is his true self?’

Hernis’s deep, red eyes that had stared intently at her came to mind.

His apathetic gaze, which she had thought resembled the color of roses at the time, now seemed to be a complete blood red.

I don’t know.

No, even if I did know, it wouldn’t matter.

Whether the rumors about him that the young ladies were saying were true or not, whether he had been particularly polite to her today or not, whether he had good character or not, it had nothing to do with Marilyn, or rather, with the Dextin Empire.

He was just the invader from the neighboring empire who would hang her tomorrow.

And Hernis wouldn’t care whether Marilyn was about to be abdicated or not.

After all, she was just someone to fill the quota of executed royals.

‘I guess I wished for too big a dream.’

Is this her fate, to live her whole life locked in a solid castle and meet a miserable end?

Marilyn just wished she could live freely for a few days without being watched by anyone before she died, but fate seemed to not allow even a single day.

Seeing how things have gone so wrong.

‘Right. In my life…’

What freedom.

Accepting it, Marilyn closed her eyes.

Her body relaxed as if she would fall asleep soon.

There was still time before night, but her body was already weary.

Marilyn’s head gradually drooped down into a cozy warmth.

At the same time, Hernis sat at the highest point of the Dextin Castle audience hall.

Although he looked somewhat tired, unlike the situation outside, his formal attire was clean without a single drop of blood splattered on it.

“Would you like to go in and rest for a while if you are tired?”

He didn’t even want to bother answering.

“Things have become very complicated.”

Hernis nonchalantly brushed the dust off his epaulet with a blank expression.

He was supposed to wear this outfit for the engagement ceremony.

The irritability he had been suppressing all along surged up in an instant.

It was obvious to anyone that getting married was the easiest way to undo the prophecy, but because of that foolish princess who died on her own, Hernis was stuck in this backward Dextin, doing treasure hunts that he had no interest in.

Anyway, stupidity wasn’t even good enough for dog food.

“Jerome, what about the second princess?”

“The second princess, you mean?”

“The princess who was adopted.”

“Ah? Yes.”

What is it?

Jerome’s reaction wasn’t very enthusiastic.

“Jerome, I want to handle things as simply as possible.”

“I understand, Your Highness.”

You understand?

Then why are you doing things like this?

“If they were planning to proceed with the abdication tomorrow or the day after, they would have drafted it. All you have to do is check whether there is an official document with the royal seal on it.”

“Yes, I have told the soldiers to search thoroughly.”

“You told them?”

Is that all?

Hernis turned his head and looked at Jerome.

“Since it’s not an official document yet, it seems difficult to find where it was placed. I will send more soldiers to search not only Rodri’s study but also inside and outside the castle where his close aides frequented.”

Jerome soon turned and looked at the knight standing behind him at Hernis’s displeased expression.

One person was running out in a hurry, but it was unknown when they would bring news.

Frustrated, Hernis looked at Jerome again.

“Bring me a pen and ink. I need to send a letter to Gler before it’s too late.”

“Your Highness can write it after the trial tomorrow. I have already sent a letter about the current situation.”

“You already sent it?”

Without his instructions?

He asked again, unable to believe it, but Jerome nodded without any particular awareness.

“Jerome.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“This is a sensitive matter.”

Just the fact that the state marriage was not proceeding as planned could cause all sorts of speculation to spread.