Part 1
- The Beautiful Bride
A large crowd had gathered in Tara Square to celebrate the Crown Prince’s marriage.
People standing under the blazing sun in the square were straining to catch a glimpse of the Crown Prince’s bride, who was said to have come from the far North.
However, seeing the bride’s face as he stood on the second-floor balcony of the temple was no easy task. Even shading their eyes with their hands and squinting, even standing on tiptoes with all their might, his face remained elusive.
The bride was covered in a veil as white and opaque as the clothes he wore. It was a look that seemed out of place in Helio in many ways. It also contrasted sharply with the splendid appearance of Crown Prince Assad Mekerius standing right beside him.
“Perhaps it’s because he’s from the North. Maybe he’s uncomfortable showing his skin?” someone whispered to their companions, pointing at the wedding dress and long veil that seemed designed to completely conceal the bride.
Could he be too ugly to show his face? Could the bride be not 4 but 24 years older than His Highness the Crown Prince? Everyone looking up added their own comments amid the excited commotion.
But the chatter soon came to an end, thanks to Assad, who, looking down at those gathered in the square below, gave a gentle wave. His brilliant smile matched his beautiful appearance.
People’s curiosity about the bride’s face would soon be satisfied as well. It was imperial wedding custom for the couple to kiss in front of the imperial citizens holding yellow flowers called Daeyen, which meant blessing.
Now, the Crown Prince had to kiss his bride. People assumed that with that kiss, the stifling veil would be lifted.
As those gathered in the square expected, on the temple balcony they were also discussing the oath of the kiss.
The heir of the sun who had received the oracle and met their bride or groom had to give two kisses to their partner, sealing an eternal oath. One before the priest, who was the representative of the god, and one before the precious imperial citizens.
“The god Tara will be watching over you both,” Priest Tiye smiled, unable to hide his happiness at having received a real oracle from the god after exactly 205 years since the last true companion oracle.
Assad was smiling as well. Only his eyes looked fiercer than usual. Assad turned slightly toward his bride, who stood frozen with hands clasped together.
Assad’s golden eyes scanned the face of the man hidden in the shadow created by the veil.
The dark purple eyes that appeared almost black in the shade, the faint burn scar below his right cheek, the pitch-black hair rare to find in Helio… all of it seemed gloomy to Assad’s eyes.
Trying not to lose his smile, Assad lifted his bride’s veil. No, he removed it completely.
The man, suddenly exposing his face to the harsh sunlight, looked at Assad in surprise.
“That’s right. You should lift your head and look at me.”
Assad released the veil he had been holding. Just then, a strong wind came and stole away the white cloth that had been concealing the bride, causing cheers to spread from below.
“I can’t tell if I’m attending my wedding or a funeral,” said Assad, grasping his bride’s chin. His hand was firm like that of a warrior who had lived holding a sword for a long time, in contrast to his somewhat youthful face.
“I’ve brought a man who was just taking care of horses in a stable to stand beside me here, trusting only the word of the god. And yet, you wear such a gloomy face.”
“…”
“You’ve become the one and only partner of the Imperial Crown Prince. Isn’t this the peak of your life? You should smile.”
Assad stared at his bride, at the blank face of a man whose thoughts he couldn’t begin to fathom. But when there was no response, he clicked his tongue briefly as if giving up.
“Even I, who feels more wronged than you, am holding back from planting my face in the sand and screaming, and instead smiling like an idiot. Out of gratitude to those people who came holding flowers to congratulate us. So when I kiss you, you smile too.”
“…”
“Big enough for everyone down there to see.”
Assad whispered to the man whose expression remained dark.
The priest, who had been overhearing Assad’s harsh words, sighed inwardly. Sometimes the Crown Prince spoke as if he had grown up among servants or merchants in the marketplace. At times, his tone seemed too aggressive.
The priest had expected that the Crown Prince wouldn’t be pleased with his partner. But he hadn’t expected him to feel this much aversion.
Of course, Tiye, as the representative of the god Tara, did not doubt the bride chosen by the god. Still, he was worried. Worried for the bride who might have to bear the Crown Prince’s ill temper with his whole body.
“And don’t bow your head in front of those beneath you.”
“…Yes.”
The man who had maintained silence finally managed a short answer. Anxiety clouded his dark eyes.
Soon, their gazes met completely. A smile spread again across Assad’s face as he looked down at his bride. It was a refreshing smile that made one forget the intense heat that even the magic circulating around the temple couldn’t dispel.
Assad kissed his bride’s forehead and both cheeks in turn. Then he casually pressed his lips against the tense man’s lips.
At the moment of the kiss, the bright yellow flowers held in people’s hands were thrown toward the sky, containing warm blessings. A thunderous cheer accompanied them.
- Amun
The west wing, which was the Crown Prince’s consort’s space within the separate palace where the Crown Prince couple resided, was engulfed in an awkward silence today as well. To be precise, Assad Mekerius and his companion were making all the scenery around them silent.
Guards and servants, driven farther away than usual with instructions not to eavesdrop, kept their mouths shut even where Assad’s ears couldn’t reach. Even birds that had been making noise as if the palace were their own home fled after stealing glances at the Crown Prince and his bride together.
Only the fountain placed in the garden at the center of the separate palace was busy chattering away.
Assad tilted his head slightly and looked at his bride. Cayden. He examined the face of this man with such an uninteresting name. It was a very plain and obvious observation, enough to make Cayden, who had briefly met his eyes, quickly lower his gaze to the cup below.
His bride was consistently the same whether seen in bright places or dark places, from outside or inside.
His black hair was as dark as a starless night, and his white face was not pearly and fair but pale like a patient who hadn’t received proper treatment in time.
Still… his dark purple eyes, apart from looking somewhat melancholic, had their own charm. Unfortunately, their true light couldn’t shine properly because their owner was so intimidated.
Lowering his gaze a bit, he noticed the light pink scar below the right cheek. It was a burn mark that seemed to extend inside the collar. It appeared to be quite an old wound, though it seemed to have received some treatment in recent years.
Well, there was no issue with scars.
Having skin that was flawless like porcelain without even a small scratch would be the truly shameful thing. This was a natural thought from Assad’s perspective as a person from Helio, a country of aggressive warriors.
Assad knew well that his bride’s face from the far northern Elba was not ugly. If he had to say, he would be considered quite handsome. No matter how uninterested one might be in others’ faces, his aesthetic sense wasn’t so terrible that he couldn’t distinguish between beauty and ugliness.
Though somewhat thin, the man had a good build befitting someone who had lived doing hard labor all his life. He was also not short, so he must have been quite popular among alpha women.
The problem was… that this man’s clean face had the mysterious ability to make those who saw it feel gloomy. Having a disease that prevented him from smiling was an added issue.
‘That face isn’t the only problem.’
Assad, now sitting with one knee raised, lowered his gaze once more.
Cayden. The clothes that man was wearing were also a problem. Assad couldn’t remember the last time he had seen someone wearing clothes with a collar inside the palace, not in a civilian house beyond the inner walls or on the desert beyond the outer walls.
The long tunic that covered not only the neck but also the arms and legs down to the ankles wasn’t unsuitable for the man. The blue sash tied firmly around his waist wasn’t bad either.
But this was Helio, wasn’t it? In a country where everyone, regardless of their form, comfortably exposed their bodies, looking at a man dressed like that made Assad feel as stifled as when looking at his face.
He had asked the servants at the dressing room why they had dressed him in such clothes.
“Your Highness. We have merely obeyed the Crown Prince Consort’s orders.”
Because the Crown Prince’s consort wanted it. It was a definitive answer that left no room for further comment.
Three days after becoming an official couple with a man whose existence he hadn’t even known about, Assad still hadn’t adjusted to his bride.
Assad, wearing a sullen face, took his eyes off Cayden. He recalled the day of the oracle when he had been struck by lightning. Come to think of it, his luck seemed to have been terrible from the morning of that day.
