Chapter 42: Prey and Poison

[Linden] “Ugh…..”

No matter what he did, the pain just wouldn’t subside. With both wrists broken, Linden couldn’t even get off of his stomach, so he just laid there, stiff as a board.

[Rafit] “Is the pain bad?”

Rafit asked, still struggling to find a way to get closer.

[Rafit] “We need to get you a doctor somehow……..”

[Linden] “Don’t speak such nonsense! The barbarians would never do that!”

Linden Kleinfelder roared out, venting his anger.

And he wasn’t directing his rage without purpose. While he was being beaten, his nephew just sat there, not even trying to help him, and that fact infuriated him.

[Linden] “You’re really….agh.”

Rafit was too weak.

After the death of Linden’s elder brother, the former head of the Kleinfelder family and Rafit’s biological father, Rafit was left all alone. Linden was given no choice but to raise his brother’s young son himself.

Back then, he thought the boy was handsome enough. All Rafit had to do was find a way to seduce the daughter of Arsak in order to obtain sovereignty of Nauk.

But now, not only was the crown about to fall into the wrong hands—it was falling into the hands of a beast. It was frustrating enough for Linden to punch the ground if he could.

[Rafit] “What’s going on with you?”

Rafit cut back.

[Linden] “I mean this doesn’t matter.”

[Rafit] “What do you mean, it doesn’t matter? Look at your hands, uncle.”

[Linden] “…….! You fool! Keep your voice down! What if somebody hears you!?”

[Rafit] “I’m sure he already knows who I am.”

[Linden] “You can’t be certain. Until he comes forward and reveals it, we’ll keep this secret.”

[Rafit] “What point is there in that?”

[Linden] “What was that?”

[Rafit] “I’m asking what the point is. Why bother with all of this?”

[Linden] “What do you mean……..”

[Rafit] “Aren’t the Kleinfelders finished already? Do you even have anything left to protect at this point?”

[Rafit] “You, you pathetic bastard!”

Linden couldn’t take his words anymore and tried to jump to his feet, but it was all just an attempt. He fell back to the floor while his broken wrists struggled to support to his body.

[Linden] “No…..That can’t be it. Don’t talk like that. Don’t give up so recklessly. Behave in a way befitting of the Kleinfelder name.”

[Rafit] “That name no longer has any power.”

[Linden] “Says who?”

Groaning out his words, Linden looked around and lowered his voice as much as he could.

Outside, he was certain the Tiwakan would have their ears turned towards this room, listening to every word he said. Why else would they be kind enough to keep him in the same room as his nephew?

[Linden] “The other families won’t stand for it. A representative meeting will be held soon enough. No one there will take the side of the Arsak family.”

[Rafit] “Not with the Tiwakan present. Those families worked with Kleinfelders because they were afraid. Now their fear of the Tiwakan will make them fall flat on their faces.”

[Linden] “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

[Rafit] “What could you possibly do from here?”

[Linden] “I’ll do anything!”

Linden gnashed his teeth.

[Linden] “Yes…….The problem is the Tiwakan. I still don’t know what trick that bitch pulled to tame a beast like that…………”

Suddenly, there was flash in Linden’s eyes and he widened them at the immediate thought.

[Linden] “I have to separate them.”

[Rafit] “What was that, uncle?”

He was whispering so quietly, Rafit didn’t catch anything he said.

[Linden] “I mean we have to split the two of them apart. We must turn that gentle dog back into the wild beast he is.”

[Rafit] “How are you going to do that? You’re stuck here.”

[Linden] “I can do it. I have to.”

He’d get out of here eventually.

There was no doubt in Linden’s mind of that fact.

The Treaty of Risebury was absolute. The six families that formed it were the pillars of Nauk’s nobility. If Rienne wished to remain the royalty of Nauk, she could not afford to displease any of them.

Because they were so graciously keeping the Arsak family’s secret.

The secret of their bloodied past.

[Linden] “As soon as the meeting is called, I’ll be released from this place. Until then, you must keep your mind strong. Do you understand me?”

[Rafit] “. . .”

Rafit didn’t answer. He didn’t seem entirely convinced.

[Linden] “Tch.”

Linden clicked his tongue.

Rienne could never fight back against the name of the Kleinfelders in the past. The only problem now was that some beast had come in unexpectedly, ruining the game.

So he needed to get rid of this animal. He already knew it would be impossible to force it out with his current power, which meant his only option was to find a way to get the beast to leave of its own volition. (1)

In order to do that……..

[Linden] “………We must poison its prey.”

It was clear at this point that in the eyes of that beast, Rienne Arsak must look like quite the sweet piece of prey.

If that was the case, then all that was necessary was to completely ruin Rienne.

As the ideas turned in his head, Linden’s eyes darted around so quickly, one could almost hear them.

***

[Rienne] “Welcome, Lord Arland.”

Convening all the delegates from the delegation was no easy task.

All the seemingly insignificant paperwork was usually done by Maslow, but he was presently sitting in the dungeons, and his absence played a surprisingly big role.

The work was a lot to deal with on her own, so Rienne thought it was only appropriate she find a replacement for him. It was truly sad that Maslow thought he was being sneaky about being on the side of the Kleinfelders.

Now, the royal family could finally work to remove the grip of the Kleinfelders, step by step.

[Arland] “Thank you for inviting me.”

House Arland was a family that was not represented by the delegation, and thus not a member of the council. Their power was weak, and they didn’t have many people to offer.

Normally it would be impossible for such a person to serve as a royal advisor, but Rienne was desperate. She didn’t want to be dogged by the name of Kleinfelders for even a minute longer.

[Rienne] “There’s been an unexpected vacancy for the role of royal advisor. I’m afraid I cannot divulge much information about it as of right now, but I’d like it if you could accept the position for the time being.”

[Arland] “It would be my honor, Princess.”

Rienne smiled.

It had been so long since she’d heard a noble refer to her by her title rather than as the ‘daughter of Arsak’. That alone made her both sad and grateful, but she was past the point of feeling bad about it.

[Rienne] “May God’s blessings shine upon you who willingly accepted the will of your sovereign. Now, as Nauk’s current monarch, I intend to call a meeting of the Great Council of Nauk. Please help me make the necessary preparations, sir.”

[Arland] “The Great Council……….Are you certain?”

Arland looked confused.

Those of smaller families within the poor kingdom had simple attitudes to complement their simple appearances. They were different from the other nobles Rienne was used to facing.

[Arland] “That’s………Last time it was convened was fourteen years ago, was it not? I don’t think they’ve ever been called in the years since.”

That was when the Treaty of Risebury was signed, fourteen whole years ago.

Calling another meeting would certainly cause just as much of a stir as it did back then.

[Rienne] “Yes. We have two important things to discuss. The first is the selection of the new High Priest and the second is a trial. The trial of Linden Kleinfelder, head of the aristocratic delegation.”

[Arland] “Excuse me?”

The words ‘trial of Linden Kleinfelder’ shocked Arland more than the words ‘Great Council’.

[Arland] “A trial…..of the head of the delegation?”

[Rienne] “The official charge is inflicting harm upon a member of the royal family. That alone should be enough to send word to the six families. We must work to set a date as soon as possible.”

[Arland] “Inflicting harm……..Oh, I see.”

Every word spoken by Rienne sent Arland into deeper shock. By the time she was done talking, he pulled his sleeve down and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

[Rienne] “I’d like for you to calculate the expenses we’ll need first. Please use the King’s Office. You have my express permission to enter.”

[Arland] “The honor is mine.”

After struggling to regain his composure, Arland bent his knees in respect before stepping out. Having entrusted this small task to another, Rienne had other arrangements she needed to deal with.

First was looking for a new High Priest.

[Rienne] “If I leave it to the Great Council, they’ll just find another servant of the Kleinfelders to fill the spot. I should nominate someone ahead of time.”

After Arland left, Rienne remained in the meeting hall for a long time. Sitting in the absurdly large throne, Rienne leaned her arm against the armrest, resting her chin on her hand.

[Rienne] “But I’m afraid I don’t know much about the priesthood…….so I’m not sure where to start.”

A slight crease formed between her eyebrows as Rienne sat, engaged in her thinking process.

[Rienne] “Should I go to the Temple now? I’m certain he must still be there. It’d be nice if I could maybe run into him…………”

[Black] “Why would that be nice?”

Hearing a sudden question, Rienne quickly looked up in surprise.

[Rienne] “……..Huh?”

At the unexpected sound, she almost hit her face on her hand.

For some reason, Black was here, approaching her from behind.

[Rienne] “Wha……..!”

She was so surprised, she couldn’t even speak properly. The only thing to make it out of her was a single syllable.

[Black] “I didn’t go to the Temple.”

Black took his hand and stroked Rienne’s cheek, his face looking all too relaxed. It was a though he expected this reaction from her.

[Rienne] “But……why?”

[Black] “I remembered some business I needed to take care of.”

[Rienne] “Business? Does it have something to do with me?”

[Black] “No. Underground.”

[Rienne] “Underground………..where the Kleinfelders are.”

A brief shadow cast over Rienne’s eyes.

[Rienne] “What…..what was your business there?”

[Black] “I needed to pay him back for this.”

[Rienne] “Sorry?”

The surprised expression didn’t leave Rienne’s face as Black took up her right wrist and lifted it up.

[Black] “I thought I should at least do that much. As your fiancé.”

[Rienne] “So…….You bruised his wrist?”

[Black] “I tried but he was a lot weaker than I thought he would be. I ended up breaking his wrist instead.”

[Rienne] “Oh………”

And as Rienne’s lips fluttered in shock, eventually a small smirk passed over her.

[Rienne] “He’s probably never had something like that happen to him before. I can only imagine how he must’ve reacted.”

[Black] “You aren’t mad?”

[Rienne] “Something like that is unavoidable if his bones are weak.”

Black took Rienne’s wrist and put his lips against the bruise. At that, she felt a feeling of excitement spread through her from the point of contact.

This was serious now. Her bruises didn’t even hurt her anymore, but instead they were reminding her of something else.

[Black] “One more thing. I made a mistake, actually.”

[Rienne] “You made a mistake, Lord Tiwakan? That sounds unlikely.”

[Black] “It really was a mistake. I didn’t realize I’d broken his left hand instead of his right until after I did it.”

[Rienne] “…….So you…..?”

[Black] “So I broke his right wrist, too.”

[Rienne] “Ah, oh………..”

Rienne’s expression turned strange. It wasn’t quite a smile, but she wasn’t frowning either.

[Rienne] “Then, both his hands are………”

[Black] “Unfortunately.”

[Rienne] “Because you made a mistake.”

[Black] “Yes, it was definitely a mistake.”

[Rienne] “You don’t usually make mistakes, do you?”

[Black] “I do when I have to.”

[Rienne] “What are you………”

Rienne bit down on her lip as hard as she could.

It was all she could do to stop the surge of laughter that was about to burst from her.

He was not the kind of person to make such a careless mistake like that.

He obviously did on purpose.

But he shouldn’t have done that. There was a big meeting coming up and if Linden Kleinfelder were to tell everyone that he had both his hands broken by him, it would only end up causing chaos.

And yet………..

[Black] “I should’ve done it sooner.”

Black muttered, running his lips against her wrist.

[Rienne] “What makes you say that………..?”

[Black] “If I’d known it would make you this happy, Princess, I would’ve done it much sooner.”

[Rienne] “Something like that…….Haha.”

And just like that, any part of her that was resisting her laughter broke and a soft laugh freely escaped her. As he waited for her laughter to fade, Black gently planted kisses along Rienne’s palm.

[Rienne] “You can’t……do something like that.”

She was laughing so hard, her stomach started to hurt and tears welled up in her eyes.

Reaching up to her, Black wiped her tears away with his other hand.

[Black] “I’ll be more careful next time.”

So he said, but he was prepared to make another ‘mistake’ at any time. When the situation called for it, sometimes you have no choice but to slip up a bit.

[Rienne] “There’s the trial coming up. He’ll likely tell the other delegates that the royal family was responsible for hurting him.”

[Black] “Is that a problem?”

[Rienne] “Most likely.”

[Black] “……..Then I guess I shouldn’t have done that.”

Black spoke while breathing out a low sigh.

[Rienne] “Not necessarily. But we’ll need to treat his wounds. It’s a matter of showing our courtesy to the nobles.”

Seeing Black’s reaction, Rienne felt herself falter. Quickly, Rienne reached out, holding onto the end of Black’s collar with her free hand.

[Rienne] “But still. Thank you.”

[Black] “Even if I just made things harder for you?”

[Rienne] “It’s the first time anyone has ever done something like that for me.”

She didn’t mean for it to sound this way, but by the time she finished speaking, her voice was shaking, and Rienne couldn’t help but release a breathless sigh.

It had been so long since she’d felt something like this.

That feeling of having someone with her who got angry for her or did things to protect her.

Ever since Rienne inherited the crown, there was nowhere for her to hide. There was nothing for her to lean on, no place to relax her heart, and no one to hear her frustrations.

There were only ever more burdens to carry.

Black was the first person.

No matter how heavy the burden or how difficult the struggle was, without even a moment’s hesitation, Black was ready to accept anything and everything.

……..No, he isn’t just ‘ready’ to accept everything. He just accepts it, just like that.

Rienne moved her hand from his collar, reaching up and running her fingertips across the exposed skin of his neck.

Oh…….what do I do, now?

I just want to kiss you.

* * *

T/N: (1) During this whole section, Linden uses incredibly derogatory language (esp. with the repetition of the word meaning ‘beast/animal’ etc), to the point of it sounding like he’s not referring to a person, hence the word ‘it’.