I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 57

“If you go to the Kasabi Merchant Guild in the capital and show them this, telling them that I sent you, they will assist you, Lady Lenette.”

Lenette quietly accepted the wooden plaque.

‘Assistance…’

“Is this for Kazen?”

At that, Tamira shook her head.

“No. This is for you alone, Lady Lenette.”

As Lenette stared at her in silence, an explanation was added.

“Because it was you, Lady Lenette, who helped Lady Sabia.”

“I wasn’t exactly trying to help her. In a way, it was for my own sake as well.”

When she tried to decline the plaque, Tamira pressed it firmly into Lenette’s hand.

“Regardless of the reason, it is true that you helped her.”

Lenette looked down silently at the wooden plaque gripped in her hand.

“Everything won’t change just because of a few words from me.”

Though Sabia had taken immediate action, the force of habit is persistent and formidable. It was highly likely that both Rahim and Sabia would return to their old ways before long.

As if sensing Lenette’s inner thoughts, Tamira murmured, her wrinkled eyes downcast.

“Until now, even though I wanted to step in and help, I couldn’t. Offering her body to another man… how could I help with such a thing?”

“……”

“I tried to stop her, but Lady Sabia would not listen to me.”

That was how strong Sabia’s love for Rahim had been.

“But you, Lady Lenette, provided a new direction that allows me to help Lady Sabia.”

“I see… So the decision to share a room after just one day was thanks to your advice, Tamira.”

Tamira gave a small smile as if to confirm it.

“I am truly grateful that you provided a direction where I can act as an assistant and Lady Sabia can protect herself. You have accomplished what Lord Kazen and I could not.”

It wasn’t a matter of being humble about; Tamira was right. So, Lenette gave a quiet nod in agreement.

“I believe everything from here on out is my responsibility.”

It felt like she was telling Lenette not to feel guilty even if Sabia were to get caught up in Rahim’s madness once again.

Just then, Kazen was seen walking toward them from a distance.

Lenette quickly tucked the wooden plaque into the pouch at her waist to hide it. Seeing this, Tamira narrowed her eyes slightly and then smiled.

“Then, I shall take my leave.”

“All right. If we have the chance next time, let’s talk longer.”

As Tamira offered a brief bow and disappeared, Kazen approached and asked.

“Who was that?”

“Sabia’s nanny.”

“Her nanny?”

“Yes. She said thank you for helping Sabia change.”

“Is that so?”

Kazen didn’t pay much more attention to it and stood by her side.

“It looks like the preparations are finished, so let’s head out now.”

“Understood.”

—

After being seen off by Rahim and Sabia, Kazen and Lenette headed straight for the capital.

They stopped at two villages along the way to restock on food and water. As a result, eleven days after leaving Rahim’s palace, they finally entered the capital.

“What do you think?”

As Lenette stared blankly at the magnificent scenery unfolding before her eyes, Kazen approached.

“I can see now why it’s called the Underwater Temple.”

There was a massive oasis that could easily hold ten buildings, and in the very center sat a palace bathed in the light of the setting sun.

“The palace looks as if it’s floating on water.”

It appeared the oasis was not a natural occurrence but an artificial creation. However, its scale was so vast and magnificent that it looked like a giant glass bead sparkling atop the dry desert.

‘It must be the sunlight reflecting off the surface of the artificial pond.’

The fantastic scenery shifted with every passing second.

“It’s surprisingly cumbersome,” Kazen commented quietly.

At his low-key assessment, Lenette glanced around and lowered her voice.

“Is it really okay to say things like that so casually?”

“As long as you don’t say it right to someone’s face while they’re holding a sword, there’s no real issue.”

“Is that so?”

In Ecaron, that would have been a grave offense. Even the slightest hint of an insult toward the royalty would result in being dragged away immediately.

‘I suppose the atmosphere here is more liberal than in Ecaron.’

“So, what are your thoughts after seeing the Underwater Temple in person?”

“Hmm….”

She pondered for a moment before offering her honest impression.

“It is a stunning and rare sight, but… honestly, whether it’s the construction or the maintenance, my first thought is that it must be a massive waste of human and material resources.”

Kazen paused for a beat, then burst out laughing.

“You’re the first person I’ve met who looked at the Underwater Temple and said that.”

“What do other people usually say?”

“Normally, they say they want to live in a place like this.”

As they exchanged words, permission to enter the Underwater Temple was granted. Kazen reached his hand out to Lenette.

“Let’s go. We have to pay our respects first.”

“Understood.”

Holding his hand was nothing new, but given the setting, it felt like a natural gesture.

After passing through the plaza and entering the central palace, they were immediately led to a reception hall.

‘So they use the central hall as a reception room here, too.’

Kazen stopped walking. Lenette, who had entered the hall with her head bowed, followed his lead and came to a halt.

Kazen took a step forward and knelt down. Lenette followed suit, sinking to both knees beside him.

“I greet the Khal, the representative of the great sun god, Tazet, and the leader of all people.”

He bowed his upper body slightly as he offered the greeting, and Lenette mimicked him exactly.

“Yes. You have worked hard to travel such a long distance.”

“Not at all.”

“Raise your heads.”

“Yes.”

As she straightened her posture along with Kazen, a large man sitting alone on a dais came into view.

‘So that person is the Khal.’

A handsome middle-aged man, more so than she had expected, he bore a striking resemblance to Kazen for some reason.

‘I suppose even if they are from a collateral branch, blood is blood…’

Lenette found herself scanning the Khal’s features instinctively until her eyes met his.

Startled, she quickly lowered her gaze. At that moment, a small chuckle drifted down from the dais.

“It seems you are pleased with the gift this father sent you this time.”

‘Gift?’

Is he talking about me?

‘Calling a person a gift and such…’

How absurd.

‘This is exactly why countries with slavery—’

Lenette, reacting first to the word that bothered her most, suddenly froze mid-thought.

‘Wait a minute. What did he say right before that?’

Father?

Who is whose…?

Before long, the color drained from her face.

‘Surely he doesn’t mean that the Khal is… Kazen’s biological father?’

As if answering her question, the Khal spoke again.

“I sent so many brides, and you ignored them all. Seeing how stubborn you are—insisting on only holding a wedding once you feel like it—you truly must be my son.”

As the Khal finished his long sentence, Lenette’s breath hitched.

‘Son?’

Her pupils dilated in shock.

“It is not like that. It is simply that a woman I am compatible with has finally appeared.”

Kazen took Lenette’s hand.

It was an act.

However, regardless of the acting, she didn’t have the mental clarity to realize it and play along right now.

‘What on earth… what kind of nonsense is this?’

Suddenly, Rahim’s voice echoed in her ears.

‘Even so, the Khal has been consistently sending brides to my brother, so I can’t exactly intervene.’

Right, back then. She had been a bit puzzled.

Even if they were from a collateral branch, the fact that the Khal had personally sent a bride nine times was strange.

‘I thought it was a bit unusual, but…’

She had let it slide.

Because the cultures were different. She simply assumed there was something she didn’t understand.

‘But that wasn’t it…? Kazen isn’t just a distant relative… he was the Khal’s child?’

Is that why he personally sent slave brides to Kazen every time?

‘What in the…’

She couldn’t fully wrap her head around the situation.

No. She understood it perfectly, but she wanted to deny it.

‘Kazen is the Khal’s eldest son!’

A severe warning siren began blaring in her head.

She had to run. She had to sabotage this wedding immediately.

‘If Kazen isn’t just from a collateral branch…’

Forget the wedding—could she even escape from him?

‘It’s practically impossible.’

Goosebumps erupted across her skin.

Instinctively, visions of herself being caught while trying to flee flashed through her mind.

‘Damn it…!’

How could things have become so twisted?

She had gone around acting so clever, yet she had been careless regarding the most crucial detail. This was entirely her own blunder, the result of a faulty judgment.

Just then, Kazen squeezed the hand he was holding and gave it a slight downward tug.

“Lene.”

It was a signal to bow her head again and show proper etiquette.

“…….”

The sensation traveling up through her hand felt strangely alien.

Until the moment she realized Kazen was Khal’s eldest son, holding his hand hadn’t felt this foreign… why now?

It was awkward. It was uncomfortable.

But… she must never let that change show.

Lenette forced herself to seize her drifting consciousness.

‘……Get it together.’

She couldn’t afford to show her panic here.

‘I must not let on that I only just found out… that Kazen is the Khal’s child.’

Lenette’s eyes regained their focus and moved toward the man who had called her name.

Then, he spoke.

“You should offer your greeting.”

Nodding, she lowered her upper body for the time being.

Her heart was far from calm, but she struggled to maintain her composure.

‘Kazen is not a distant relative.’

Though born from the womb of a slave, he was nonetheless Khal’s eldest son.

Lenette was about to become the wife of such a man, and the people here would be watchers, observing her every single move.

‘Wisely… I have to handle this wisely.’

With that silent vow, Lenette bowed even deeper toward the Khal.