May Every Wound Be Fatal - Chapter 1.1
Reyna Dazbel looked around the small room with uneasy eyes.
The musty smell of mold and an inexplicable stench like a sewer were things she had rarely encountered in her life. Her clear green eyes, darker toward the edges, traced a slow arc before landing on her loyal lady-in-waiting and close friend, Karla.
With narrowed eyes, Reyna asked,
Are you joking with me?
Faced with Reyna’s gaze, filled with distrust and irritation, Karla slipped her arms through Reyna’s and pressed her lips close to her ear.
“This really is the place, my lady.”
Her voice was lowered as much as possible, afraid the filthy old woman waiting for them at the round table might overhear.
“You dare bring me to a place like this?”
“Of course, I never imagined it would be so cramped and filthy either….”
Reyna’s eyes narrowed further, yet Karla held firm.
“That old woman is the real thing.”
The real thing, indeed. Reyna faintly frowned as she glanced over the elderly woman.
Her snow-white hair was so tangled and dry it resembled a brittle broom. When had she last bathed? It was easy to assume the mysterious rotten smell came from her. Her wrinkled skin was so darkened it was impossible to guess her age.
“She is not a Dochioin, is she?”
Reyna tensed as she recalled her father’s teachings.
“A Dochioin is born without gratitude. All they can do is commit crimes.”
How had the late king, who had shown warmth and mercy to the persecuted foreigners, lost his life? He had been killed when the Dochioin servant he cherished drove a blade through his heart.
Like the other nobles, Reyna believed Dochioins were responsible for theft, fraud, kidnapping, assault and murder.
Karla leapt up in alarm.
“How can you say something so frightening? Her skin is a bit dark, but judging by her speech she cannot possibly be a Dochioin. Besides, this is Kaldrak, territory of House Dazbel.”
“Yes. Father would never have allowed them to remain….”
Reyna agreed, though her doubtful gaze did not fully disappear.
“Are you really going to leave after coming all the way here?”
“Well. I am still thinking.”
“But you said you were curious about your future husband.”
“But look, Karla. I came to meet an impressive fortune-teller, not a filthy old woman like that. And her clouded eyes suggest she might even be blind….”
“The noblest rose upon the red hill.”
A voice suddenly cut in. The young ladies in the doorway, who had been whispering among themselves, all jerked their shoulders and turned their heads. The old woman was grinning faintly as she stared into some unknown space.
“How could a noble young lady like you seek out someone like me.”
“……”
Reyna blinked several times and looked at Karla. At the same moment, Karla also stared back at Reyna with wide, startled eyes.
The fortress of House Dazbel was known by the epithet the Crimson Citadel. The red climbing roses symbolized the Dazbel family, and the noblest rose naturally referred to…
The duke’s only daughter, Reyna Dazbel.
Reyna widened her eyes and silently asked,
‘Did you tell her who I am?’
‘No.’
Karla shook her head repeatedly, still wearing a shocked expression. On her lips was a faint hint of excitement.
“…Goodness.”
Almost involuntarily, Reyna stepped toward the round table. Even then she found the place unpleasant and leaned her upper body back as much as possible when she sat down.
“You can see who I am with those eyes?”
“Ordinarily, a noble young lady like you is someone this old woman would never encounter in her lifetime.”
“Fine. So you truly are a fortune-teller who knows everything….”
Reyna finally lowered the hood covering her head. Her glossy red hair slipped down her back. With a face full of expectation, she asked,
“First, the most important question.”
The old woman tilted her head as if to urge her to continue. Reyna took a deep breath and set her expression with a hint of solemnity.
“Who is my husband?”
A few days earlier, her father Leonard had said,
“You are already fifteen. It is time for you to start thinking about your future husband.”
Reyna had been so curious about her future husband that she could not bear to stay quietly in her room. Late at night, she secretly slipped outside the inner castle with one lady-in-waiting and one knight.
“Is it the prince?”
She had never envisioned a future where she was not queen.
It was only natural. Since she was young, everyone had said the same thing. Reyna Dazbel was the noblest young lady in the kingdom, destined to marry Prince Kassian and one day become queen.
However, the old woman shook her head without a moment of hesitation.
“No.”
Taken aback, Reyna asked again.
“No?”
“Your husband is not a prince.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
