I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 61

 

 

“I’m not very familiar with the Tazetra language. Does the word ‘slave’ mean ‘a gift sent by the Great Khal’?”

 

Lenette asked back, her eyes devoid of even a single speck of malice.

 

For a moment, silence descended upon the banquet hall. Those who had been causing a stir by feigning intoxication, the musicians trying to drown out the noise with their instruments… even Jaran, who had just thought she landed the finishing blow against Lenette, all froze.

 

How could they not know?

 

Was this foreign slave bride truly unable to speak Tazetra? Did she really not know the word ‘slave’?

 

Everyone in the room knew better. Furthermore, they were intelligent enough to realize that Lenette’s words were a counterattack. Yet no one dared point it out—no one wanted to get entangled in the self-destructive trap Jaran had set for herself.

 

Amidst that tense atmosphere, Lenette spoke again.

 

“If that’s the case, then you are right. For the Khal sent me with the intention that I should become Lord Kazen’s wife and support him.”

 

On the surface, the sentence appeared to exalt Kazen, but its ultimate meaning was clear: regardless of being a slave or anything else, she was a bride personally selected and sent by the Khal. And to look down on her or treat her poorly was, by extension, an insult to the Khal.

 

Lenette maintained an expression of genuine curiosity as she stared straight at Jaran. As expected, Jaran’s face had turned pale, and she remained unable to offer a single word in response.

 

“Ah. Is that not it? Is it a different meaning and I’ve misunderstood?”

 

“…….”

 

In an atmosphere that felt as though a cold wind had just swept through, Lenette was the only one who remained composed.

 

Kazen, who had been observing the situation the entire time, rose from his seat and approached.

 

“Lene. The word ‘slave’ does not carry that meaning.”

 

“Then what does it mean?”

 

Lenette turned around with an innocent expression and looked up at Kazen. He leaned in and whispered into her ear.

 

“Just make an ‘ah’ sound.”

 

Following his lead, Lenette widened her eyes and let out a soft, “Ah…” She then knit her brows as if troubled, glancing once toward Jaran and Damer.

 

Kazen spoke again.

 

“It seems there was a slight misunderstanding, so let’s leave it at this. We shouldn’t disturb the palace over a simple misunderstanding between siblings.”

 

The corner of Damer’s mouth twitched. He surely knew that his only option now was to back down.

 

“……Fine. We’re tired from the long journey, so we shall take our leave.”

 

Kazen took Lenette’s hand and headed for the banquet hall doors. The music remained dead, and the empty glasses stayed unfilled. Those left in the hall could only stare blankly at the pair’s exit, unable to utter a word to stop them.

 

Kazen remained silent throughout the walk, only opening his mouth once they reached the third floor where their room was located.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Lenette arched her eyebrows; she hadn’t expected a word of gratitude to be the first thing she heard. Seeing her reaction, Kazen lightly tapped the space between her brows.

 

“What’s with that look? Did you think I was so heartless that I couldn’t even say thank you?”

 

Only then did Lenette’s expression soften.

 

“I didn’t do it to get a thank you.”

 

“Then why?”

 

She had no answer to give.

 

I did it because seeing you take those hits—so unlike yourself—weighed on my mind, and I just moved before I could think.

 

How was she supposed to say that?

 

When she didn’t answer for a long time, Kazen shifted the subject. It seemed he hadn’t intended to cross-examine her from the start.

 

“Aren’t you hungry?”

 

They had gone to the banquet, but in the end, they had only been served water and hadn’t touched a single bite of food. Despite that, she didn’t have much of an appetite.

 

“I’m so tired that I don’t really feel like eating anything.”

 

Kazen glanced down at Lenette’s wrist as he listened. Muttering a small, “You’re getting thinner by the day,” he finally released the hand he had been holding the entire time.

 

“Eat something simple, at least.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“You’re surprisingly obedient about things like this.”

 

“Anyone hearing you would think I’m someone who only ever does as she pleases.”

 

Kazen gave a short laugh and barked a quick command to Nazan. Upon being ordered to bring food that wouldn’t be too heavy for a late-night meal, Nazan vanished immediately.

 

“Let’s go inside.”

 

“Okay.”

 

—

 

It happened one day when Kazen had just entered puberty.

 

That was the day the number of assassination attempts by his own mother reached exactly triple digits.

 

“Because of you…! Because of you, I’m in this state!! If only you hadn’t been born…!! I would have been happy!!”

 

“Escort her to Karan Palace at once!”

 

“Let go!! I have to kill that little demon!! If I don’t, I’m the one who dies!!”

 

“Hurry!!”

 

His mother, who had lost her mind, finally came to him while he was sleeping and tried to strangle him.

 

He had already given up on receiving a mother’s love. Yet, the sorrow remained as sharp as ever.

 

While his other half-siblings were being raised like precious treasures under their mothers’ protection, why was he the only one who had to live in constant anxiety, never knowing when he might die at his mother’s hands?

 

“I don’t want to live like this.”

 

In the end, the path Kazen chose was “flight” for the sake of survival. Using a tour outside the palace as an excuse, he gave his guards the slip and left the capital hidden in the cargo hold of a merchant wagon.

 

For an escape carried out alone by a boy who had just entered puberty, it went surprisingly smoothly. Looking back, he sometimes wondered if the Khal had turned a blind eye to it.

 

Regardless, after traveling for a long time hidden in the merchant wagon, he was eventually discovered. Fortunately, he hadn’t fled without a plan; he had money.

 

“I will give you five gold coins. Take me to the south.”

 

“Considering the distance you’ve already traveled in hiding, make it ten.”

 

Even five gold coins was an absurd price, but ten? That was enough money for a commoner family to live comfortably for two years without working.

 

However, Kazen, who had lived only within the palace walls at the time, did not know this. Thus, he handed over more than half of his money as the merchant demanded.

 

And so, Kazen headed south toward the sea.

 

The merchant group initially dropped Kazen off at a village as promised. Then, they hired mercenaries behind his back and ambushed him.

 

Thwack!

 

“This brat, looks like this is all the money he has.”

 

“Really? Fine. Let’s just take that and go.”

 

Thinking Kazen was merely the illegitimate child of some local noble, they stripped him of everything he owned and beat him half to death. Then, they unceremoniously dumped him near the shore.

 

Kazen, who had left the palace so gallantly, was left alone to wait for death.

 

“Cough… cough…”

 

Even breathing was agonizing. The four grown men had beaten the young boy so mercilessly that the metallic scent of blood rose with every cough.

 

However, the beach was beautiful enough to make him forget such pain entirely. Emerald waters surged over white sands—whiter than salt—before disappearing again. As the seawater approached him in white foam, almost touching him, the small seashells scattered irregularly across the beach vanished and then reappeared.

 

“It’s pretty….”

 

Unlike his own wretched life, it was so clear and clean.

 

“Next time… it wouldn’t be bad to be born in a sea like this.”

 

He had inherited the blood of the most noble man in the empire, yet he was born from the womb of the lowliest woman. Thus, Kazen’s life was a series of contradictions.

 

Everyone bowed their heads to him, yet they pointed fingers. Everyone feared him, yet they mocked him. His foolish mother was desperate to kill him, and his indifferent father turned away, claiming that any child who allowed themselves to be culled was no child of his.

 

Unlike that sea, which was beautiful inside and out, Kazen’s life was only glossy on the surface while the inside was rotted and festering.

 

That was why he thought: if a life like his were to end at this breathtakingly beautiful sea, wouldn’t that be a rather luxurious conclusion?

 

“Next time… in a sea like this….”

 

I just want to be born to ordinary parents.

 

He closed his eyes, murmuring those words.

 

“Wake up!”

 

Suddenly, water splashed over his face.

Startled, he opened his eyes to see a fisherman with deep wrinkles around his eyes. Because of the intense sunlight reflecting off the white sand, the man’s face was not clearly visible.

 

“Oh dear… how did a young man get beaten like this….”

 

“Who could have beaten a person to a pulp like this…. Honey, let’s move him to the house first.”

 

As he listened quietly to the voices, his vision gradually returned. Within that paradise-like landscape stood a man and a woman.

 

“Cough…!”

 

“Honey, water, give him some water first!”

 

“Here it is…!”

 

A cool sensation spread across his parched lips.

 

Gulp, gulp. He desperately sucked in every drop of moisture provided.

 

“Ha… ha….”

 

“Are you feeling better? Are you conscious?”

 

Only then was he able to fully open his eyes. Kazen forced his lips, which were too bruised to move, to part as he asked a question.

 

“Save… me.”

 

Ironically, despite having said he had no greed for life and that dying there wouldn’t be bad, those were the first words he uttered.

 

“Please… please save me.”

 

Upon hearing that desperate plea, the middle-aged couple let out a deep sigh and lifted him up.

 

“Of course we must save you.”

 

He wondered if these strangers he had just met were trustworthy, but the feeling of being held in their broad embrace was so warm that he decided to simply believe.

 

“Our house is nearby. Let’s go there and get you treated.”

 

And so, Kazen became the adopted son of the Patana couple.