Predatory Marriage

Chapter 131. Plains Outside The Capital

Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan

Leah watched the sun rising through the window, peeking through to slowly push away the darkness. As soon as it had fully cleared the horizon, she ran to her bedroom door.

“……”

But she hesitated then; it was strangely difficult to grab the doorknob. Only after she heard a knock from the other side could she open it.

“…Princess?”

Countess Melissa had come to attend her in the early hours of the morning, and was surprised as Leah hugged her.

“Lady!”

With her arms around Countess Melissa, Leah looked at the ladies-in-waiting behind her. Their eyes were clear and filled with confusion as they looked at Leah, and she closed her eyes and buried her face in the Countess’s shoulder.

Everything had returned to normal.

“…I’m sorry I surprised you.”

Leah took a step back, smiling slightly, and the ladies-in-waiting looked regretful. They thought she was acting this way because she would be leaving them, and their eyes filled with tears. Reassuring them, Leah went to get dressed for the last time at the Princess Palace.

The goals she had dedicated her life to had collapsed. She had been sold to old Byun Gyeonbaek to achieve ends that were not hers, for benefits she had not wanted. It was a tragic end for a princess who had devoted herself to her country and the royal family, only to be betrayed by both.

But she would have her revenge. A revenge that would leave a stain on the honor of the royal family Cerdina had conquered, and that would finally set Leah free.

Cerdina had probably not been able to cast a spell on Byun Gyeongbaek. It was likely she wanted to use Leah to steal confidential information from him. But Leah wouldn’t let Cerdina have her way. Byun Gyeonbaek would be enraged when his new wife–who was certainly impure–committed suicide.

After she had prepared to leave, she had tea in the lobby of the palace, waiting for the final processes to be completed. Finally, Count Valtein arrived.

“May the light shine upon Estia.” Count Valtein greeted her courteously, looking as somber as someone going to a funeral home. “Princess, this is your marriage certificate.”

Leah spread the paper on a table with trembling hands, but took a quill and signed it without hesitating.

[Leah De Estia]

The words she wrote on the paper were as clear as her determination. Behind her, her ladies-in-waiting began to cry. But Leah was indifferent. She remembered the gifts she had left them, and hoped they would be some comfort to the ladies and nobles who would grieve at the news of her death.

“Stop. I’m already long overdue,” she said, shaking off their clinging hands. Just as she was about to climb into her carriage, she heard a loud call.

“Leah!”

Leah looked back to see silver hair and smiled. The thought of not having to see Blain anymore made her give a genuine smile. Blain looked as if he had been about to call again and smiled as he saw her looking. But his smile faded when he saw the haughtiness in her face.

“The day I ascend the throne, the first thing I will do is bring you back.”

Even his last words to her were threatening. Leah didn’t answer as she climbed into her carriage. Sitting straight upright, the carriage door closed behind her and the wheels began to turn. She watched the palace behind her receding. It was finally over. But she was not calm. Her mind was chaotic.

She missed him.

Leah sat back in her chair and tried to clear her mind of the complicated thoughts. Instead, she tried to imagine only the eternal rest that waited for her. But it wasn’t easy. The carriage heading towards Byun Gyeongbaek territory entered the plains outside the capital, and Leah struggled to get rid of the man that occupied her mind.

They advanced through the fields of eulalies, with royal knights surrounding the carriage.

In the distance, there was the sound of a battle horn.