I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 4

When Lenette opened her eyes again, darkness had already descended all around.

“Ugh…”

Was it the aftereffect of the paralyzing poison? A headache surged before she could fully take in her surroundings.

Straightening her posture and gradually regaining her vision, Lenette lifted her gaze. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, her surroundings came into view.

“How long do I have to keep playing matchmaker for that monster? I’m scared of the bad luck it might bring.”

The monster’s bride.

Yes, they had definitely called her that.

But what about this bizarre situation?

Lenette slowly raised her arm. The jewelry hanging from it jingled like musical instruments as it moved.

“…Gold.”

This wasn’t just the bracelet. From the minor decorations on her clothes to the ornaments beside the bed where she sat, everything was either gold, silver, or precious gems like jade or sapphire.

Lenette pressed a few of the pieces of jewelry with her fingernails. Faint indentations appeared on the surfaces.

“Pure gold.”

The human imagination is truly rich, and often in a negative direction.

Thus, Lenette had envisioned the worst-case scenario from the term “monster’s bride.”

For example, being thrown into a wolf’s den. But what does this situation, adorned in pure gold, mean?

“So, I really did come to the Underwater Temple.”

What did they mean by “monster”?

“Ha… Nothing is ever simple.”

Lenette’s mind raced, trying to make sense of the strange and opulent setting she found herself in.

The overwhelming changes in her situation brought on a headache. Lenette, momentarily moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue, continued her thoughts and sighed deeply.

As she raised her hand to her temples, the jewelry on her wrist jingled again. Lenette paused, looking down at the scraps of fabric that barely qualified as clothing.

The garment she wore revealed her arms, shoulders, and abdomen, covering only her chest and precariously draping over her hips.

‘This is indeed the attire of the Tazetra Empire.’

At that moment,

Rustle.

A sound came from the balcony, which was covered only by curtains, with no windows.

“……”

Lenette’s eyes darted around, searching for a weapon. Fortunately, there was a long rod next to the bed. In fact, it was clearly a spear.

While the presence of a spear in this room seemed out of place, she decided to grab it and cautiously stand up.

However, the jewelry attached to her body was far from silent.

Jingle, jingle.

Lenette bit her lip and paused. There was no sound from the balcony, but a palpable tension filled the air.

“……”

A moment of indecision gripped her.

Should she stay still and pretend no one was there, turn around and try to escape, or charge forward?

‘Either way, my presence has been detected.’

Moreover, she had no confidence in quickly opening the firmly closed door behind her. In such a situation, a preemptive strike was the best option.

Lenette let out a loud, commanding shout as she thrust the spear forward, parting the curtains.

“Stay still!”

During the time when the Ecaron Kingdom was conquering the surrounding kingdoms, Lenette, despite her young age, stood at the front lines, treating and aiding soldiers. Even after the conquests were complete, she continued to lead the way in smaller regional conflicts, always helping the soldiers.

Perhaps because of this, wielding a cold weapon felt natural to her. Her battle cry was particularly convincing.

However, the balcony remained eerily quiet, despite her intimidating shout.

Still holding the spear forward, Lenette blinked. She had definitely heard someone. The low growl, similar to the sound of a beast, was also distinctly—

“……!”

Suddenly realizing her mistake, Lenette quickly turned and assumed a defensive stance.

Grrr!

But the massive shadow that descended upon her was even faster.

“Ugh…!”

Lenette lost her grip on the spear and instinctively raised her hands to protect her face as she fell backward. At the same time, she felt a damp breath and a rumbling growl.

Grrr….

Through the gap in her arms, she saw the silhouette of a beast.

‘A black panther?’

Yes, the creature that had pounced on her was a black panther, at least two or three times the size of a human.

At that moment, the words she had overheard during her journey to this place flashed through her mind.

‘Still, with a face like that, she’ll live a life of luxury.’

‘Luxury? More like a short, brutal life.’

‘At least she’ll be well-fed until that beast eats her. That’s a kind of luxury, isn’t it?’

‘No way…’

The realization hit her like a cold wave.

The idea of being eaten by a beast, which she had thought was just a metaphor for being mistreated by a cruel and inhuman person, wasn’t a metaphor at all.

‘Really, it meant being fed to a beast?’

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

“Stay still!”

At the sharp voice from below, Kazen, who had been tending to his wound, stopped abruptly. The report he had received earlier that day came to mind.

“Kal has sent another offering.”

Another bride had been sent from the underwater temple. How tiresome.

“So that’s why.”

As soon as he returned to his room, his black panther, Kus, darted out onto the balcony.

Kazen’s hand, which had paused, began to move again.

The fate of the new bride, whose face he hadn’t even seen, was predictable. She would either be assassinated, go mad, or die trying to escape. One of those three outcomes was certain.

Kazen dispassionately drew this conclusion and withdrew his attention from the new bride downstairs. A wound on his own body was more important than a bride who would soon be dead.

“Hmm.”

Kazen grimaced at the pain, then exhaled deeply. The assassin this time had been quite skilled, which was why he had uncharacteristically allowed a wound to his abdomen.

“Stopping the bleeding should be enough.”

He pulled a blanket from the bed and pressed it against his wound. The injury wasn’t severe, so the bleeding would stop soon. With that thought, he closed his eyes.

A sudden wave of fatigue washed over him.

How many days in a year could he sleep without worrying about his back being vulnerable?

“This is tiresome.”

He had long since given up the position of Kal’s successor, so why was that woman still fixated on him?

While waiting for the bleeding to stop, his mind wandered through a series of frustrated thoughts, and suddenly, everything seemed overwhelmingly tedious.

His mother trying to erase his existence, his indifferent father, and the brides his father sent.

“Maybe I should just wipe it all away.”

Given the already dysfunctional family history, what difference would one more act of cruelty make?

Kazen pressed the blanket against his wound, his eyes vacant as he gazed into the air, sneering.

“Of course, that won’t end this miserable situation.”

As he sneered and muttered to himself, a clear voice reached his ears.

“Nice to meet you.”

Kazen’s eyes snapped open. The voice, which seemed to be addressing him, came from beyond the window.

“My name is… Lene.”

‘Lene?’

Was this the name of the bride sent by his father? He hadn’t wanted to know, but now he had heard her introduction.

“If you’re planning to eat me, that’s not a good choice.”

Kazen tilted his head curiously. Did she really think Kus would eat her?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, an absurd statement followed.

“I’m not very nutritious, you know.”

Despite her attempt to sound calm, the lifelong survivor in Kazen could tell she was trembling.

“Do you have a reason for eating people?”

As if in response to her question, Kus’s low growl echoed through the room.

To others, it might have sounded like a threatening warning, but Kazen knew there was a hint of interest in Kus’s growl.

‘She’s not too bad to look at, I suppose.’

For a creature that was essentially a black panther, Kus was oddly particular about human appearances. Sometimes, Kazen wondered if there was a person inside that black fur.

“If that’s not the case, why don’t we talk for a bit?”

Kazen’s curiosity was piqued. This woman, despite her fear, was trying to engage him in conversation.

The woman slowly and very carefully asked her question. As Kus continued to approach her in a relatively docile manner, the woman’s voice gradually gained strength.

“So… chickens or pigs, or something like that, are tastier than humans, right? What I mean is, wouldn’t it be better to keep me around and use me for something useful rather than eating me, your bride?”

Kazen, who had initially frowned at the absurdity of her words, burst into laughter.

Is she really thinking of Kus as her husband? The absurdity of it made him laugh even harder. No matter how much he was called a “beast” or a “monster,” this was taking it too far. Did she really mistake him for an animal?

‘Interesting.’

Even a five-year-old child knew that he kept a black panther. She must be doing this on purpose, pretending to talk to Kus while actually trying to communicate with him.

Whether her intention was to mock him or to draw his attention, she was certainly different from the previous brides.

“Anyway, what do you think? Do you want to talk to me, my husband?”

Now she was outright calling Kus her husband.

Kazen swallowed his hollow laughter and listened to the woman’s voice as she spoke softly to Kus.

“To do that, we need to communicate… Do you have any plans to turn into a human?”

Kazen covered his eyes. Was she suggesting he should get his act together and live like a human?

“First, you need to become human to communicate with me, don’t you?”

Despite his attempt to suppress it, a silent laugh bubbled up inside him.