Chapter 261: I Do

The Seventeenth Princess of Kenas was stunningly beautiful.

Even though the King of Kenas had over a dozen beautiful wives to help dilute his unfortunate appearance, not every prince or princess ended up inheriting the better parts of the royal gene pool.

But the Seventeenth Princess was one of the lucky ones. She looked almost identical to her birth mother.

Thanks to that, she effortlessly snatched the title of the most beautiful royal from her second eldest sister.

As a princess, beauty was her greatest asset—aside from power and status, of course.

So unlike her sisters who had long been married off for political alliances, she had waited patiently for the perfect opportunity.

In her view, she was not only beautiful and clever, but also poised to inherit a fortune that would be astronomical by common standards. Naturally, her future husband could never be just another ordinary man.

To her, anyone who wasn’t a king or grand duke was beneath consideration.

But she never expected that the marriage she had dreamed of for so long would end up as a political compromise.

Though her betrothed was a descendant of the Grand Duchess of the Kema Duchy, he was still a commoner with little chance of inheriting the Kema Duchy.

She couldn’t understand it—sure, her brother Aruba had failed to advance to Second Rank Wizard, but it wasn’t like all hope was lost.

Why would they so quickly bow their heads to Kema Duchy?

Disappointed and bitter, the Seventeenth Princess embarked on her journey of marriage with lavish extravagance.

To make herself feel better, she even went so far as to “steal” the court musician recently favored by the First Queen (not her biological mother), dragging him along on the journey.

What she hadn’t expected… was to fall head over heels.

From that moment on, the flirtatious and indulgent princess could no longer look at anyone else. All she wanted to do was gaze at Victor, day after day.

“Victor, your name is so lovely.” At that moment, the Seventeenth Princess rested her graceful chin in her hand, staring dreamily at the man before her.

“Just an ordinary name,” Victor replied disinterestedly, glancing down to idly pluck a few strings on his harp, producing disjointed, tuneless notes.

Even those scattered tones were enough to bring a smile of infatuation to the princess’s lips, “The journey’s been tiring, I know, but don’t worry—we’re almost at Borderfall City. Once we arrive, you’ll stay in my room. If anyone dares show you the slightest disrespect, I’ll raze Borderfall City to the ground!”

“Is that so? We’re nearly there?” Victor murmured with a trace of melancholy. Strands of silver hair fell across his cheek, making him look as fragile as a snow-white rabbit.

“Are you upset?” The Seventeenth Princess was mesmerized. Forgetting the boundaries she had promised to respect, she stepped forward on impulse.

She reached out, wanting to brush those silver strands aside, or better yet, twirl them gently between her fingers.

But just a few centimeters from touching him, Victor suddenly turned and shot her a cold, disgusted glare. “Don’t touch me.”

The princess jumped in surprise and took a step back.

Still, she wasn’t angry. She simply assumed Victor was in a bad mood.

“But why is Victor upset? Ah, right—arriving at Borderfall City means the wedding is getting closer. He must be heartbroken.”

Suddenly, the Seventeenth Princess no longer thought reaching Borderfall City was a good thing.

She frowned, then yanked open the curtain of the carriage window and called to the maid walking alongside, “Tell the knight commander—we’re not going to Borderfall City.”

The maid froze on the spot at the princess’s declaration.

But she didn’t dare make her repeat it. She ran off at once to deliver the message to the knight commander.

The knight commander, still strong despite being over fifty, was stunned when he heard. He hurried over to try to talk her out of it.

But the willful princess paid no heed to the welcoming committee awaiting them in Borderfall City. She insisted on stopping at another town instead.

The knight commander knew better than to argue directly with her, so he summoned a local attendant and quietly asked, “Are there any towns nearby?”

The attendant thought for a moment, then replied respectfully, “There are two sizable ones nearby. The closest is Goat Ridge Town, and the other is Grind Sail Town, which is a bit farther.”

“Which one is closer to Borderfall City?”

“That would be Grind Sail Town. With fast horses, it’s just half a day from Borderfall.”

“How’s the atmosphere there?”

“Grind Sail is closer to Borderfall, but it’s under the protection of a Wizard Tower. The town is effectively governed by two First Rank Wandering Wizard.”

The knight commander tensed at the mention of a Wizard Tower, but relaxed again at the clarification. Just two First Rank apprentices?

“That’s fine. We’ve brought along a Third Rank apprentice ourselves—nothing to worry about. We’ll head for Grind Sail Town, and send two riders ahead to Borderfall City with a message.”

If the Kema Duchy sends troops to fetch the bride, it won’t be my fault for not delivering her…

Thus, at the whim of one capricious princess, the entire marriage escort team veered slightly off course and made their way toward a remote border town barely anyone had heard of.

Evening was approaching, but thankfully, they were already close to Grind Sail Town.

By the time the rooftops of the town came into view, the sun had sunk to the horizon, leaving only a smear of red.

“Ah!”

Just as the princess was trying her best to win Victor’s favor, a maid outside the carriage cried out in alarm.

The mood she had been trying to cultivate was abruptly ruined. The princess gritted her teeth. “What is it?”

“Princess, outside the town—there are graves. Lots of them. And some of them…”

“What?” The Seventeenth Princess leaned toward the window and looked outside. She saw several mounds of earth—graves—some of which had been dug up, leaving bloody remains in the open.

She frowned slightly at the grisly scene. Then she glanced at Victor and quickly pressed a hand to her forehead, “Oh my, how frightening. Who would do something so awful—digging up graves like that?”

Victor hadn’t cared about the commotion until he heard about the dug-up graves. Suddenly he gripped his harp and sprang to the carriage door, startling everyone.

“Heh. Interesting,” he muttered, though his face was anything but amused.

“Victor, don’t be afraid. Let’s leave. We can go to another town—”

“Silence.” Victor raised his right hand sharply.

Before the carriage had even fully stopped, he leapt down with practiced grace and strode toward the field where the graves lay in neat rows.

He studied the open graves carefully. He even sniffed the air without the slightest hesitation.

And then, for the first time in days, he smiled.

Victor mouthed two silent words.

When he returned to the princess’s carriage, he was all smiles, his step light.

For the first time since they had met, the Seventeenth Princess saw Victor smile like this. She was utterly entranced.

“Princess, in country towns like this, it’s normal to have burial sites outside the walls. The sun is setting—we should get into town.”

He stepped gracefully back into the carriage, ignoring the confused and wary glances of the others, and closed the door firmly behind him.

“You’re not angry?” the thoroughly trained princess asked nervously.

“Of course not. In fact… I’m thrilled.”

He was. Even the tone of his voice curled upward at the end.

For once, he sat within a meter of the princess. A ray of sunset light fell across his face, warming his fair skin with a golden hue.

The Seventeenth Princess was once again bewitched.

“Victor, you’re so beautiful. If I had met you sooner, I wouldn’t have touched anyone else.”

In the past, Victor would have ignored such flattery. But today, he smiled at her and turned his gaze out the window toward the hills.

The sun was nearly gone, only a faint red glow lingering at the edge of the sky.

But because of that contrast against the darkening blue, it looked even redder—like fresh blood.

“Have you ever heard the phrase ‘the setting sun is like blood’? Isn’t it beautiful?” Victor said softly.

“Not as beautiful as you.” The Seventeenth Princess had no interest in the scenery.

Victor was finally being kind to her. She wasn’t about to waste the opportunity—tonight, she would have him completely.

“I don’t like ‘the setting sun is like blood.’ I prefer ‘the setting sun drips blood.’” Victor’s smile deepened. He suddenly turned to her and said, “Your Highness… shall we take our relationship to the next level tonight?”

The Seventeenth Princess was stunned. Victor… was thinking the exact same thing as she was!

“Really?!”

“Do you want to?” he asked.

“I do. I do!” the princess answered without a shred of hesitation.

Victor’s voice lowered into a silky whisper, “The kind of next level where you’re consumed whole… digested… fully devoured.”

The Seventeenth Princess suddenly felt parched, licking her lips subconsciously.

“I do.”

(End of Chapter)

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