First Marriage

Diana had a blank expression on her face.

Guiscard dragged her to the blood-soaked Royal Palace of Fanberoux.

She still couldn’t accept reality.

The most difficult thing to comprehend was…

“The entire Fanberoux royal family has been captured, Your Majesty.”

The fact that everyone addressed Guiscard as “Your Majesty.”

No matter how numbed, she could still understand.

This man was Lodbrook’s heroic King—the hidden prince who slayed the dragon and returned to Lodbrook with the sword to claim the throne.

Until that moment, Diana had held onto futile hope.

Could Guiscard, whom she knew, perhaps show her mercy? Would he at least pity her? She found herself having such disgusting thoughts.

“Is this your betrothed?”

“Ah, sa-save me!”

Before Diana could say anything, a gleam flashed from Guiscard’s waist.

Slash!

Guiscard’s sword plunged into the chest of Ferdinand, who was kneeling.

Diana let out a small scream. She didn’t have any particular bond with her fiancé. In fact, she disliked that man.

However, wasn’t it a normal reaction for someone who saw their “betrothed” being killed in front of them?

“Kugh! Uggg! Aaaaa!”

With a strange scream, blood gushed out like a fountain. Blood drops spread widely on the cold white marble.

Why was she witnessing something like this? It was the death of someone she had once exchanged words with in the palace.

Her eyes blankly looked at Guiscard. The corners of his mouth twisted upwards.

“What, are you sad?”

“….”

“Look, Miss. It’s the prince you used to like so much.”

As if mocking the shy childhood years, he burst into laughter.

Fanberoux King, bound to the ground, shouted in anguish.

Guiscard smiled coolly.

“O King, is the kingdom being trampled under the hands of a maternal relative, causing you distress?”

“….”

“I have never forgotten how you trampled on me.”

“….”

“So, just as you all trampled on me, I will thoroughly trample on you too.”

He kicked the king’s abdomen. The king gritted his teeth, bending his waist like a shrimp.

Guiscard laughed bitterly.

It was the end. Diana witnessed the moment of the kingdom’s destruction firsthand. The kingdom’s demise was more futile and bleak than she had imagined.

She closed her eyes as she looked at Ferdinand, who was dying. Suddenly, tears streamed down her face.

“Your Majesty, we have brought them.”

Beyond the throne room, screams echoed. As Diana looked towards the entrance, a plea was heard.

“P-please spare me!”

“L-let me go!”

The voices were familiar. As Guiscard’s low laughter reached Diana’s ears, she followed the direction of the screams.

“Father, older brother!”

Then Diana realized why she had to be here.

It was for Guiscard to show her.

Her fallen position; her downfall.

He had truly opened the gates of hell for Diana Brien.

 

━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━

 

“Please.”

“….”

“Please, help me.”

Strangely, Diana was not dragged into prison. She was placed in a heavily guarded chamber of the palace, where she waited for the execution date of her father and older brother.

She wanted to save them. She had to save them.

Without hesitation, Diana kneeled before Guiscard when he came to her.

It did not matter whether he used to be a slave condemned to the gallows in the mansion or that he was someone of lower status than her.

Her family came first.

“Please spare them, Your Majesty.”

Diana lifted her head. Tears streamed down from her ocean-gray eyes.

In front of the—once slave boy—new ruler, she completely abandoned any boastful noble pride.

“The men of your household tried to abandon you and escape overseas. They left you here as a shield.”

Diana flinched.

“You’re asking for mercy, even for such people?”

“…Yes.”

If that was the way to uphold the family, Diana could understand. If they survived, they could plan for the future. And Diana had to see for the sake of her youngest sister, Alexia.

Guiscard’s deflated chuckle echoed. He, who had rarely laughed properly, seemed to laugh quite frequently now.

“How amusing. How can Milady kneel before one who was once a lowly slave?”

Guiscard reached out and lifted Diana’s chin. As he did, the tear-stained face wept again.

His features had deepened with the passage of time, but his eyes remained as beautiful as ever—the eyes that Diana had liked so much.

“What will you do for me if I spare them?”

“….”

“What can a young lady of a fallen family do?”

Diana bit her lip. Her eyes reflected unwavering determination.

Through the events in the throne room, she had already realized that Guiscard wouldn’t be kind to her. Furthermore, she understood that the reason for sparing her life was to erase and avenge the shame he had endured as a slave.

If that were the case, what could she give to this man?

Diana stood up. She dropped the shawl that was draped over her shoulders onto the floor. She was wearing a delicate chemise dress.

The moonlight shone through, revealing the velvety pale skin. Despite the dress, everything about her body seemed exposed—collarbones revealed through the fine neckline, two silken mounds, a graceful waist, and slender legs.

Guiscard stared at her with a stern expression on his face.

“I will give myself to you.”

“….”

“Please, please spare them.”

Diana’s face bore the mark of shame. Tonight, she would offer her purity to this man.

Wasn’t it only fitting for a noblewoman to do so? For the sake of the family, she must sacrifice her body.

Moreover, wasn’t it for her father and older brother? She understood how unreasonable this request was.

To plead for the survival of her own family, who were his enemies, required a significant price.

She would sell her pride.

“You’re no different from a common prostitute.”

“….”

“Your family’s lives are the same as paid sex?”

Guiscard looked at Diana with contempt.

“Of course, you are also their family, after all.”

“….”

She trembled with shame and humiliation. A bitter taste of blood spread on her lips. With tear-stained eyes, she looked at Guiscard.

“I think you misunderstood something, Miss.”

“….”

“Bodies like yours that have been thrown on the ground—they have no value.”

“….”

Diana’s face turned pale.

Indeed, Guiscard Lodbrook knew how to bring her down to the ground.

He never agreed to the deal.

He simply watched her fall.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

The next day.

Her older brother and father faced execution. Their bodies were beyond recognition after days of torture.

They were family. They laughed together and shared meals. To some, they might have been demons, but to her, they were angels.

Despite the sadness they sometimes caused her, they were the ones who comforted her and wished for her happiness more than anyone else.

‘And now, they are gone.’

Who should she resent? She suppressed her anger. No matter how ignorant she was about the ways of the world as a naive noble lady, she knew she couldn’t blame Guiscard either.

Understanding this, she simply stifled her sorrow, waiting for her demise.

However, Guiscard had no intention of letting that happen.

 

━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━

 

Diana was in a daze.

She was in a pure white dress.

She regained her composure and stomped the bouquet with a spiteful expression on her face.

‘Marriage?’

‘Marriage?’

‘You, madman.’

‘You, crazy bastard!’

Guiscard did not offer her a peaceful death.

Diana, being dragged to the Lodbrook Kingdom, tried to escape upon hearing the news of her marriage to him but failed.

In the end, she witnessed the beheading of the knight who had been monitoring her, and she suffered even more dismal treatment.

She resisted in every way possible as soon as she arrived, but her defiance was in vain.

Eventually, on the day of the wedding, she was forcibly dressed in a wedding gown and adorned while bound.

“Get out, get lost…!”

She screamed as if to pierce through the air.

Of course, she always knew that she couldn’t marry the man she desired for the sake of her family. But she didn’t expect to marry in such a cruel way.

She had nothing left to protect—only her pride, which was trashed over and over again.

The maids frowned and exchanged glances with each other.

The door banged open.

“Elegance and dignity seem to be nowhere in sight.”

“….”

“Leave.”

At his command, the maids left. Diana, standing still, looked at the man who entered.

Guiscard. With indifferent eyes, he watched Diana’s tear-stained eyes.

“Why, why are you doing this?!”

“….”

“I would rather you make me a slave!”

“….”

“You crazy, damned, freaking bastard!!!”

Diana screamed through her gritted teeth.

In contrast, the man’s expression remained unchanged, unfazed by her fury. He just looked at her as if he were observing her and said,

“Can’t you behave today?”

“If you were in my shoes, could you behave?! How, how can you expect me to be calm right now!”

Marriage to the enemy who killed her family—death seemed a more fitting way to repay the grudge. How could anyone expect her to spend a lifetime with the one who destroyed her life? This was an utterly vile curse.

“The king’s marriage will surely have the presence of His Holiness, right?”

“….”

“I will inform His Holiness. I will tell him what you are doing right now!”

Bathed in sunlight, Diana was a breathtakingly beautiful bride. However, her star-like gray eyes were burning with hatred.

Her hatred of her husband-to-be.

As the purple eyes stared coldly at her, a hand rose to block her mouth. It hurt like her jaw would break.

Guiscard whispered as he looked into Diana’s eyes.

“Do as you wish.”

“….”

“Because you will be marrying the slave you so much despise.”

As he said so, he pulled something out of his pocket.

Realizing what it was, Diana shook her head in despair.

“Why, didn’t you prefer to be made a slave? Wasn’t that Milady’s wish?”

Guiscard spoke with a sneer.

As the realization dawned on her, her strength drained from her body. Diana looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

‘Ah, this person’s revenge hasn’t even started yet.’

‘I understand now.’

‘I am this person’s target for revenge.’

‘I will become a target of contempt and disgrace, just like this person.’

As always, she did not refuse Guiscard’s revenge. She just accepted it as it came, trembling uncontrollably.

Thus, the wedding ceremony began—a beautiful wedding with white flowers scattered.

People, including nobles, gathered for the Hero King’s wedding.

Those who attended the open wedding hall watched the beautiful bride and the handsome king.

And when they saw the bride, they burst into laughter.

The beautiful bride’s neck was adorned with the collar of a slave.

This cunning king even used his wedding to boast about his achievements.

As he revealed the spoils from Fanberoux, people began to gaze scornfully at the bride with contemptuous expressions.

 

━━━ ∙ʚ(✧)ɞ∙ ━━━

 

In the adorned bridal chamber, Diana gazed at the sky with a vacant expression.

She became the subject of mockery and ridicule by everyone.

‘Did Guiscard also feel such emotions?’

The misfortunes suffered by Guiscard always tormented her. She wanted to stop it, but she had no authority to intervene.

His revenge was justified. Unfortunately, she had no choice but to accept this revenge. It was her responsibility as part of the perpetrator group.

This was what set Diana apart from others; although she could be entirely selfish and narrow-minded, she couldn’t paint herself that way until the end.

She could separate her emotions from the facts and make rational judgments.

This ability might have been developed due to the heavy responsibility thrust upon her at the age of twelve after her mother’s death.

She knew from the beginning that she had to distinguish between emotions and reality.

So, she had to accept this tarnished honor and disgrace.

Fortunately, Guiscard seemed to loathe her body. Hence, there would be no need for intercourse.

Diana sobbed and leaned against the wall. She would likely face a lot of suffering in the future. The road ahead would be hell.

And then, the door creaked open.

‘No way.’ Diana shook her head as if in disbelief.

Clear footsteps approached.

In the flickering candlelight, Guiscard’s figure came into view.

It was a different sight of him, always seeing him in armor or thick garments, as she had seen before.

He was now clad in simple clothing, revealing a body as massive as a rock.

 

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