I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 51
“I felt sorry for a guy like him. So I looked after him a few times, and he started acting affectionate. Since it was actually quite cute back when we were kids, I took care of him quite a bit.”
Because of that, they say Rahim came to trust and follow Kazen even more than his own mother.
“I suppose a twisted sense of loyalty and affection grew inside him.”
“It went as far as loyalty?”
At that, Kazen suddenly hiked up half of his shirt.
“See the scar leading toward my back?”
“Yes.”
“Who do you think did that?”
“Don’t tell me… your half-brothers did that?”
“Yeah.”
“…….”
As Kazen lowered the clothes he had raised, the scar was hidden once more. Even so, the image of it seemed to linger in Lenette’s eyes, as her expression remained grim.
“Still, I wasn’t at death’s door. Since I was the son of a slave with nothing to lose anyway, I fought back like a demon. But Rahim had been ordered by his maternal grandfather not to resist.”
He fixed his gaze somewhere in the air, as if reminiscing about the past.
“Rahim couldn’t fight back even once; he just stood there and took the beatings. There were quite a few times he almost died. I saved a guy like that over and over again.”
“If that’s the case, I suppose it makes sense.”
A savior from one’s childhood tends to leave a particularly deep impression on the heart, after all.
“Then why did he try to kidnap me?”
Whether the explanation that followed was quite complex or embarrassing, Kazen paused for a moment.
Uncharacteristically, he bit his lip and hesitated to speak. Lenette didn’t rush him; she simply waited in silence.
He let out a series of deep sighs, closed his eyes tightly, and then opened them before speaking.
“Sabia Kasabi. She is the only daughter of the massive merchant group, the Kasabi Guild.”
“Rahim’s wife?”
“Not… his wife yet.”
In that moment, goosebumps broke out all over Lenette’s arms.
No way…
“For now… she is Rahim’s fiancée.”
“His fiancée? But the last name…”
“Like us, they haven’t held the formal wedding ceremony yet.”
The moment that conversation came to mind, an absurd assumption flashed through her head.
Is he trying to make Sabia into Kazen’s wife?
Lenette forced out her voice, which felt stuck in her throat, and asked.
“Kazen… I’m asking just in case, but… Rahim trying to kidnap me… it wasn’t because he was trying to make Sabia your bride instead, was it?”
Kazen wiped his face with his palm and avoided her gaze.
Seeing that, Lenette was certain.
That wild guess was correct.
“Ha…”
Swapping the brides? And by taking his own ‘fiancée’ to do it?
This is absolutely insane…
What was even more baffling was that the woman named Sabia had gone along with the plan so willingly.
“What kind of crazy situation is this?”
He tilted his head back and let out a long breath.
Soon, a shocking sentence flowed from his face, which was still directed toward the ceiling.
“According to Imperial custom, a man and woman who have spent the night together… have no choice but to marry.”
Kazen covered his face with both hands, as if ashamed of his brother.
“Then the reason he tried to kidnap me… was to put Sabia in your bed?”
“…….”
“Not to sell me back to a slave trader?”
The moment the word ‘slave trader’ was mentioned, he jerked his head up from where he had been hiding his face.
“He isn’t the type of guy to use such malicious methods.”
What is he talking about?
Was he actually being serious right now?
“And putting his own fiancée into another man’s bedroom without his wife’s permission—is that a non-malicious method?”
“…….”
“Kazen. Your brother is insane. He’s strange. Don’t try to defend a brother like that.”
“……I know. That’s why I’m sorry.”
He confessed with a face full of guilt.
“I didn’t originally set the route to the capital through here. I felt like… if we crossed paths again, something like this might happen.”
But assassins had appeared midway, and the schedule was delayed.
Consequently, he had no choice but to take a shortcut, and right on that path sat Rahim’s stronghold.
“This has happened before, hasn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
“Did you have a bride back then?”
“…No, it was after the eighth bride had died.”
That meant Kazen’s side had been empty at the time.
“Since I have a bride this time and even told him we’ve shared a bed, I thought Rahim wouldn’t do anything strange.”
Lenette let out a hollow laugh and swept her hair back.
This is unbelievable…
Even for a lunatic, there are limits.
But Rahim… was not a human who could be described simply by the word ‘lunatic.’
That bastard was just a straight-up madman.
“It would have been better if you had told me this sooner.”
“I’m sorry.”
Lenette looked away, sweeping the corner of her mouth with the tip of her tongue.
“Then what was with him hitting on me like that earlier?”
As Lenette muttered as if she’d lost her mind, Kazen lowered the hand he was using to wipe his face and straightened his posture.
“…Hitting on you?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Your brother.”
“Rahim… made a move on you?”
“You didn’t know?”
“…I didn’t have the room to pay attention to that side because of Sabia.”
“Your brother kept trying to initiate intimate contact with me. Getting close, or constantly letting his fingertips brush against me.”
Kazen, who had been hanging his head and pressing down on his eyes, jerked his head up.
“What…?”
Lenette debated how much she should share, but she decided to just tell him everything that had happened.
“Actually, that’s why I jumped up earlier. Suddenly, your brother whispered ‘Lenette’ in my ear. When I pulled back in surprise, Rahim wrapped his arm around my waist.”
A chilling energy momentarily flashed through Kazen’s eyes. He stared at Lenette’s banquet dress, which left her waist completely exposed.
“He wrapped his arm around your waist?”
“Yes.”
The moment she answered, a curse far more violent than anything before burst from Kazen’s mouth.
He had used it on Lenette, too.
Contrary to Kazen’s initial assumption, perhaps Rahim had intended to lure Lenette in, brand her as an indecorous woman, and remove her from his brother’s side altogether.
“It’s my mistake.”
Lenette knew exactly how Kazen must be feeling right now.
Kazen probably didn’t realize his brother could be this much of a worst-case scenario.
Kazen knelt before Lenette.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sigh… It’s fine. It’s not your fault, Kazen.”
“No, it is my fault. I… spoiled that guy too much. And I was far too complacent in predicting the situation that would unfold here.”
“…….”
Even in his apology, she could feel his affection for Rahim.
Half-brothers or not, I guess brothers are still brothers.
Suddenly, thoughts of her father and older brother back in her home country came to mind.
I’d probably feel the same way…
That is, if her family ever did something as bizarrely insane as Rahim.
Because of that, Lenette stopped saying, “It’s okay.”
No matter how many times she said it was fine, the guilt in Kazen’s heart would only grow instead of disappearing.
“Sit down for now.”
Lenette rose from her chair, took his hand, and pulled him up.
“Apologize later. For now, let’s talk about what we’re going to do moving forward.”
“…….”
At her words, he sat back down in the chair with a sigh.
“I’m sor—”
“I’ve heard enough ‘I’m sorry’s for today. Save the rest for tomorrow.”
“…….”
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“……We leave as soon as the sun comes up.”
Hearing his answer, Lenette pondered for a moment before shaking her head.
“No. Don’t leave right away; stay here for three more days as planned.”
Kazen looked at her with questioning eyes. Meeting his gaze, Lenette asked, “Your brother and his partner are coming to the capital to attend the wedding anyway, aren’t they?”
“…That’s right.”
“And even aside from that, you’ll be running into him in the future.”
“…That’s also true.”
If so, simply avoiding him was not the solution.
Above all, he could cause trouble at the wedding. No—he will definitely keep causing trouble from now on.
This wasn’t an assumption; it was a certainty.
What did Rahim’s eyes look like when he was being dragged out of the room? He had been scolded, but his spirit hadn’t been broken.
That kind of madness… never breaks easily.
That was why, in Ecaron, they dealt with such lunatics in one of two ways.
Kill them,
Or redirect that madness in a different direction.
I don’t know if it will work… but I have to try.
Having organized her thoughts, Lenette looked up.
Kazen, who had become as docile as a lamb while waiting for her next words, looked at her face.
“Kazen.”
Calling his name softly, Lenette leaned toward him and whispered, “If I get kidnapped within the next three days, just leave it be.”
“……What?”
He withdrew, his face contorting into a deep frown.
“I’m going to try talking to him.”
“He’s not the type of guy you can reason with.”
It seemed he had already tried talking enough a year ago when Rahim put Sabia in his bedroom. That must be why he hadn’t contacted his brother since then—because words didn’t work.
“Of course, it might not work. But it might, so I want to try first.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“It might not be dangerous.”
“Lene.”
He let out a sigh, trying to dissuade her. Lenette spoke to him in a firm voice.
“Kazen. You don’t know until you try.”
