I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 52

“Kazen. You don’t know until you try.”

“It’s something we don’t even need to try.”

“How dangerous could it possibly be? Even if it is, you can just hide outside, Kazen, and save me if it looks like something is about to happen.”

“…….”

With her speaking like this, there was no stopping Lenette. Eventually, Kazen wiped his face and leaned forward again.

“We shouldn’t have come here.”

“But we’re already here.”

“That’s why I’m saying we should leave.”

“And my opinion is that we should try to do something before we go.”

“…….”

He remained lost in thought for much longer than Lenette had expected.

Finally, seeing that he wouldn’t budge, Lenette played her trump card.

“You said you were sorry. Then listen to me. If you do, I’ll consider your ‘sins’ cleared.”

“Now you’re just being nonsensical.”

“Are you getting angry with me right now?”

“……No. I’m not angry; it’s just—sigh… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just worried—”

“Then if you’re worried, you can just lie in wait outside the door.”

“What if I’m even a little bit late?”

“Kuz would rush in first.”

“And if Kuz is late too?”

“We have the warriors, too. With that many people hiding, what is there to worry about?”

“…Even so, danger is danger.”

Kuz, who had been quietly listening to the two of them argue by their side, let out a long yawn, rested his chin on his paw, and closed his eyes again.

Myaa.

Despite the serious atmosphere, Kous was infinitely relaxed. From Kuz’s perspective, the two were engaged in a meaningless—and therefore adorable—lovers’ quarrel.

Normally, Kazen would be an impenetrable shield, but since Lene had suffered twice recently, he eventually backed down.

“If things get even slightly dangerous, you have to shout immediately.”

“I understand.”

“If it comes to it, use this silver dagger—”

“I got it. I’ll stab him in a non-lethal spot and run away.”

“Don’t go easy on him just because he’s my brother—”

“I’m the last person who would go easy on someone just because you begged me to spare your brother.”

“…….”

If she happened to change her mind now, he planned to quickly say, “I knew it,” and whisk her away to the capital. However, Lene remained steadfast.

Kazen wiped his eyes and let out a sigh.

He knew she was brave, but…

He hadn’t realized she would be brave enough to gamble with her own safety like this.

‘…Then again, I suppose that’s why she made it this far.’

Because she was recklessly brave, she had offered Kazen a deal unlike the other brides and had managed to seize the marriage itself. And because she was so unhesitating in her actions, she had caught an assassin while completely naked.

Yes. It was because she was this kind of woman that he had opened his heart. That was why he wanted her by his side.

Even knowing that, he still found this situation utterly disagreeable.

‘I should teach her some basic self-defense when we get back.’

And he’d have to look for a reliable female warrior as well. Based on the personality Lenette had shown so far, a female warrior was a necessity, not an option. He needed someone who could follow her into places where male guards like Nazan or Hosanta couldn’t go—like a restroom, for instance.

“I’m going to step outside for a bit.”

As if intending to put her plan into action immediately, Lene moved to leave the room alone while Kazen was still lost in thought. Her drive was so relentless that it was hard to believe she had just undergone a major ordeal.

“It’s late today. How about you sleep on it and start moving on your own tomorrow?”

“Hmm… now that I think about it, you and the others must be startled and overwhelmed. All right.”

This time, she actually accepted Kazen’s suggestion. Of course, even then, she wasn’t doing it out of concern for herself, but out of consideration for him and the warriors.

Kazen let out a hollow laugh and pulled her toward him.

“Sit down.”

“Why?”

“Let me see your foot.”

“The doctor already looked at it.”

“Well, I haven’t seen it yet.”

She crinkled her nose slightly but took her seat. Kazen knelt on one knee before her, carefully lifting and examining her bandaged foot.

Lene, having obediently surrendered her foot to him, looked down and asked, “You aren’t hurt anywhere, are you, Kazen?”

“I’m fine.”

He sounded like he was giving a half-hearted answer, but he was simply focused entirely on the state of her foot. That was why he only offered short replies to her questions.

“Is Kuz okay too?”

“Yes.”

“How about Nazan or Hosanta?”

“They’re all fine.”

You’re the only one who got hurt, so stop worrying about those idiots and worry about yourself. Those words surged up in him, but he managed to swallow them back.

“By the way, Kazen, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Then… did Rahim not approach any of your previous women?”

Kazen arched an eyebrow as he lifted his gaze. She sounded quite calm—not exactly innocent, but remarkably composed given the nature of her question.

“What do you mean by that?”

Lenette blinked at the sight of his slightly furrowed brow.

“I asked what you meant.”

“Well, you have a lot of experience with women, Kazen. So—”

Kazen cut her off and stood up.

“Who told you such a thing?”

Lenette looked up at him with an even more bewildered expression.

“You did.”

“When did I ever say that?”

“Well, you didn’t explicitly say, ‘I have a lot of experience with women,’ but… you said things to me. Like asking if it was my first time being with a man, or saying things like, ‘Women usually liked it when I did this’… You said things like that.”

“…….”

Along with her pointed remark, several scenes from the past flashed before his eyes.

“Don’t tell me… is this your first time with a man?”

It must have been right after they shared a bed for the first time. Seeing Lenette so flustered at the sight of him in the same bed had been amusing and a bit unexpected, so he had asked her that.

To that, Lene had replied:

“Isn’t it only natural to be flustered when touching a strange man, especially skin-to-skin?”

How had he responded to that question?

“Not really. If anything, they seemed to like it.”

‘…Oh no.’

Those hadn’t been questions born from extensive experience with women. He had literally just been curious if it was her first time with a man. Even the remark about liking skin-to-skin contact hadn’t come from his own experience; it was just something he’d heard the village women gossiping about.

But explaining all of that… felt pathetic.

“…I didn’t mean to imply that I have experience with women.”

When he gave that brief summary, Lene began to grill him for details.

“Then what?”

“I meant that’s what I’d heard.”

“You heard that women like touching a man’s bare skin?”

She seemed to remember that specific remark just as clearly as he did.

A bit surprised by that, he looked down at her, only for Lene to avert her gaze and mutter,

“Well… it was a situation I’d never experienced before, and I’d never heard such a thing, so I guess it just left a strong impression on my mind.”

Right. That made sense. He remembered that day quite vividly himself, after all.

“In any case, I’ve never held a woman.”

“Even though so many brides have passed through your life before?”

“I haven’t even seen the faces of most of those women.”

“I see….”

Lene nodded slowly. He got the strange feeling that a faint smile was spreading across her face.

However, he didn’t go out of his way to point it out. For some reason, the corners of his own mouth were threatening to relax as well. He felt that if he asked, “Why are you smiling?” this bold woman would simply shoot back, “Then why are you smiling?”

“Your foot seems fine.”

“Yes. The soles are just a bit scraped. It’ll heal in a few days.”

Kazen stood up and prepared for sleep.

“A lot has happened today, so let’s turn in early.”

It was only today that they had reached the Candy Palace after traveling by camel for so long. On top of that, there had been a kidnapping attempt; honestly, it was enough to leave anyone exhausted.

“All right.”

Having said that, Lenette stood up.

“Where are you going?”

She stopped in her tracks, blinking.

“Didn’t you say, ‘Let’s sleep’?”

“I did.”

Kazen cast his gaze toward the bed, which was easily large enough for three people. Following his gaze, Lenette asked quietly,

“Don’t tell me… you want us to sleep in the same bed?”

“We did that the whole time at the abandoned palace.”

“Technically speaking, those were different beds. We just pushed two beds slightly apart to make them look like one at a glance.”

Because Lenette had kept trying to sleep in a chair, Kazen had eventually added another bed to the bridal chamber. Since he had to keep her close to protect her, he had placed the two beds together so it wouldn’t be too burdensome for her.

However, there was only one bed here. That was the point Lenette was making.

“Are you planning to sleep in the chair?”

“Yes.”

“Forget it.”

Kazen suddenly grabbed her wrist. He then pulled her along and laid her down on the bed.

“What about you, Kazen?”

“I’m sleeping here, too.”

“…….”

She pressed her lips together and looked up at him. Just as she tried to get back up from the bed, Kazen woke Kuz and laid him down next to her.

“Is this good enough?”

Lene, Kuz, and Kazen. The three of them were now lying side by side. Since the bed was so spacious, there was still plenty of room left over.

After a moment of hesitation, the pale face nodded up and down.

“All right.”

Kazen immediately blew out the candle and lay down beside Lene—or rather, beside Kuz.

But for some reason, sleep wouldn’t come.