Chapter 24

Chapter 24

She was at a loss for words at that reckless confidence.

“And personally, I really like Aquilea. It’s big, spacious, and has everything. Thanks to Tarhan. Perhaps, that man’s hand really has a spirit in it. He was admired even in Perugia. Where the hell did he learn those things…”

Enya’s lips moved like a fool who knew nothing in the world.

As she couldn’t think of anything as she was too shocked, she had no choice but to receive all the sharpness hidden in Avisak’s smile.

Of course, what she said was right. Tarhan had many skills that she couldn’t figure out where he got them from.

From very simple things such as building a house or hunting, to making a contraption that tells the time, how to drill a well in a newly built site, how to make a cart like an ox cart, and even how to weave a rope.

Avisak continued in a confident voice.

“After the upcoming war with Argon, I will create a future in which I will not regret marrying Aquilea. Aquilea will prosper with Perugia. The women who came with me will remain a legend here. I will marry Tarhan and save the Great Plains from this crisis and make this land the most prosperous… Tarhan is a man with enough ability for that.”

Enya pressed down on her trembling arm and looked at Avisak. She had never seen a woman with such bold aspirations.

“I, I…”

Unfortunately, like a dumb mute, no words came out. It seemed that if she could, she would have stepped back in front of Avisak.

Enya thought Avisak was a very sweet and kind woman… She was almost relieved. However, she never thought Avisak would be the kind of woman who would say cruel words casually with a smile on her face.

Most of all, it shocked her that she couldn’t understand what Avisak was saying.

“What do you mean…? A war with Argon—”

Argon was the name of the desert region bordering the great plains of Perugia and Aquilea. A place where a strong clan lived wandering around Garganta, the garrison of a super-large monster called Hole Viper.

Avisak read the horror on Enya’s face and let out a laugh.

“Haha! Enya. Don’t worry too much about it. Do you think I would kick Enya out right here? Unlike my father, I’m not that cold-blooded. And we, Perugia, have a custom of trying to avoid blood as much as possible in everything we do… As Enya knows, in Perugia, where I come from, there’s a system of marriage and concubines. I’m going to turn a blind eye to Tarhan having Enya as his concubine. Ahead of the joining between Perugia and Aquilea, the first thing my father suggested to Tarhan was to marry me and come to Perugia as a son-in-law. If there’s a woman or child to whom he is attached, he can always bring them with him. That’s about as much generosity as we thought we could give. Whether we are male or female, strong people can have concubines. Tarhan, of course, refused before hearing the whole story…”

“Wa, wait. Please hold on…”

Enya blinked her eyes, unable to keep up with her unexplained words.

“…Joining between Perugia and Aquilea?”

She was confused after hearing Avisak’s words. Her mind was full of confusion. Apparently, it was because of the lack of women in Aquilea that the women were brought in from Perugia. At least, Tarhan explained it to her that way.

Enya stammered, putting together the information she knew and putting it out of her mouth.

“From the Perugia’s side… The other day, Aquilea saved them from a food shortage, so in return, they decided to send young women who wish to move to Aquilea… that’s what I knew.”

Hearing her words, Avisak blinked her large dark brown eyes. She shut her mouth first and stared at Enya.

“Is Enya not yet aware that sixteen tribes from the Great Plains, including Aquilea and Perugia, have decided to unite in the forthcoming war against the Argon Desert?”

Enya tried not to put on a shocked expression, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t know what the hell Avisak was talking about.

As her pupils trembled, Avisak also looked at her with a slightly bewildered face.

Just then, a commotion was heard outside.

She could vaguely hear the women of Perugia who had come with Avisak shouting something in their own language. The clamor of the women was blocked by the sound of thick footsteps, and soon the entrance, which had been tightly closed with a stretched-out cloth like a tent, was lifted up in an instant.

Enya almost screamed when she saw Tarhan standing at the entrance with a stern face. Eventually, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Enya facing Avisak in the small hut. In an instant, he strode across with his long legs and stood in front of Enya.

Then, with a menacing big stance, stood in front of her as if to protect her and shouted at the dazed Avisak.

“Are you really crazy…? Why did you come here?!”

As his large back came in front of her, she could not believe tears welled up in her eyes. Enya bit the inside of her mouth hard enough to bleed. She never wanted to shed tears in front of Avisak.

Tarhan’s open hostility was so intimidating that even Avisak’s confident face turned pale in an instant. Still, she soon calmed her shaking eyes and answered with a sudden change of voice.

“Because I kept asking you, but you seemed unwilling to listen to my request. If I don’t do this, at least, I don’t think I would ever see a strand of her hair, so I came here myself.”

Avisak smiled at Tarhan’s menacing glare, even though he was bigger than the average man.

“Certainly, you didn’t mean to keep hiding this woman from me, did you? Since you’ve already agreed to join my tribe, I thought we couldn’t find a bond stronger than our marriage.”

She added, as if really surprised, glancing at the small woman hidden behind Tarhan’s large body.

“…However, I would have thought that someone with a strong drive like you would have spoken up yet. That was rude of me.”

Tarhan’s back, which completely covered Enya’s eyes, went up and down steeply. He took a deep breath and spoke in a voice that suppressed his anger.

“Doesn’t everyone know that it’s rude to come to someone else’s house and threaten people? As far as I know, there’s no Perugian etiquette that allows visiting someone else’s house and threatening their wife.”

Hearing those words, Avisak’s eyebrows went up at once.

“Wife…? Whose wife is here? I knew Aquilea as a tribe without a legal marriage system.”

Even though Enya couldn’t see it, she could tell from Avisak’s nervous expression that Tarhan’s eyes lit up for a moment. The next moment, he took a step towards Avisak and opened his mouth threateningly with a voice coming from deep in his throat.

“I think it was your side who strongly demanded that we continue the Perugian wedding customs while going around insisting on being strictly monogamous and stressing the sanctity for one woman to bear only one man’s children?”

She could feel Tarhan pushing his last decency to the limit and speaking to Avisak, chewing out letter after letter.

“For someone who said that if we don’t bring the wedding culture into Aquilea, you can’t even give out women, let alone join the tribes, it seems like you don’t have enough respect for my wife.”

Upon hearing that, Avisak’s brown eyes gazed up at him plainly.

“That was the condition that my father put in place from the beginning to get Tarhan. It must have been quite a shock that you so abruptly turned down the request to take me as your bride.”

Avisak added, brushing back her flowing red hair.

“Of course, I will admit that I was offended. I’m not used to being rejected.”

Enya could never complain about that. If Avisak had been an Aquilean woman, more suitors would have built a house for her than Ruhan.

With a cheeky grin, she went on.

“Still, as I said, I came here to conclude that no one could be called your wife by Aquilea’s standards. I came here and saw and heard something. I heard that a woman cannot demand any rights from a man just by living together?”

As her eyes turned strangely to Enya, Tarhan gnashed his teeth and growled. He pulled Enya, who was standing behind him, hiding, with one arm. In an instant, she couldn’t help but feel her body pulled into his arms.

“Then, there will be no problem. I’m sorry, but I think that conclusion should be withdrawn from today. This woman has given birth to my child once. If the marriage you speak of is established through children, then this person has been my wife for a long time.”

Avisak’s eyes widened slightly at his sudden assertion.

At the same time, Enya, who heard that, lowered her head. She didn’t have the confidence to show her distorted expression to her. Tarhan, who watched Avisak’s expression contort, opened his mouth in the most polite voice.

However, there were no manners in his shapely eyes.

“It was also with this person in mind that I agreed to accept the marriage system in the first place. So, please get out of my house. Avisak, no matter how much you have represented Perugia, I will not tolerate further disrespect.”

Abishik’s eyes shook. Before long, she muttered, who was staring at the two of them.

“…That’s how it is.”

Her gaze strangely turned to Enya.

In the end, Avisak spoke with a sweet smile, which made Enya feel surprised the first time she saw her.

“However, as long as I stay in Aquilea because of the war with Argon, please know that my feelings for Tarhan will not change.”

Avisak, who had come closer to them before she knew it, added with a grin.

“If you change your mind, come back anytime.”

Her voice was patronizing, like being benevolent. Tarhan muttered as he pulled the arm that held Enya closer.

“That won’t happen.”

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