CH 2: An Treaty of Marriage

'I’ve always wanted to leave the palace, but I didn’t expect to leave this way, ' Erna thought bitterly. She had always thought that she would be sold to be a local aristocrat’s wife at best. But she had never imagined that she would take the position of the Grand Duke. A position for which she could be killed anytime in a foreign land. She couldn’t accept the situation she was forced in until the day she finally arrived in Hessenguard.

“You can get off now,” said the coachman as he opened the door of the carriage.

Through the open door, Erna could see the Great Hessenguard Castle, which she had only seen in pictures. It was a place befitting the status of the residence of the Grand Duke of Hessenguard. It stood tall as if telling its spectators the glorious history of a neutral nation that stood firm without getting swallowed by its neighboring kingdoms. The Hessenguard Castle did not look much like a place of residence, but more like a fortress ready for combat.

Everything was strange. The peculiar style of the castle, the people of Hessenguard surrounding her, the grass under her feet, the trees next to her, and the wind passing through her hair. Everything was quite novel to her.

Erna looked up at the castle, which still retained the history of the old Hessenguard. There was only one thought in her head: can I survive here?

The next day, Erna rose from her seat, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. When she turned her head, she saw a group of women who were busily wandering around her. When they saw Erna getting up, they ordered the maids standing next to her.

“Quickly get the Princess ready. We don’t have much time left until the wedding, so hurry up.”

Listening to their cold emotionless voices, Erna quietly followed the maids.

After leaving Haband, they stayed at a Lord’s mansion on the first night. To avoid another assassination attempt, a large room was partitioned and all the maids and knights stayed with Erna. As the night deepened and time went by, the maids started talking about her without knowing that Erna had not fallen asleep.

A maid murmured, “To be honest, I’m a little embarrassed. Unlike other princesses, she neither has a confident demeanor nor a beautiful appearance… Princess Erna is not suitable to represent Haband.”

“It can’t be helped. Two of the royal family members, who were sent here first, were killed, so who would want to go? They had no other choice but to go with this princess.”

“But I think they could have chosen someone better.”

“It’s kind of like that. We can’t do anything about it. What I’m worried about now is whether the wedding dress would fit her or not. She’s so fat… Even if it does, it wouldn’t look good. Oh, what a shame!”

A ripple of low laughter filled the room; everyone agreed with the maid’s opinion. Erna, who was pretending to be asleep, turned her body around. The maids instantly hushed and stole glances from one another, fearing that the princess would wake up. However, Erna remained still, so they carried on with their malicious whispers.

That night, Erna learned what the maids of the palace thought of her: dowdy, disgraceful, the king’s abandonment urchin and a wretch who even death didn’t want. All those words were put before her name to explain what she was.

When Erna returned after bathing, her dress was prepared in her room. It was the traditional wedding gown of the Duchess of Hessenguard. It was a very beautiful dress. The pure white dress had beautiful layers of delicate lace, and at the end of the lace, there were fine glossy pearls attached to it, swaying mesmerizingly.

“Princess, come this way.” The ladies-in-waiting held Erna up and together with the maids dressed her in her wedding clothes. A few moments later, a woman sighed and murmured, “It looks too small.”

Another woman chuckled and shook her head. Erna could see what she wanted to say, even though she didn’t say it out loud. It wasn’t that the clothes were small, it was Erna who was too big. Ashamed and embarrassed, Erna couldn’t raise her head.

After a while, the maids announced that the preparations were over and told Erna to look in the mirror. Erna, who carefully lifted her head, had no choice but to bow down again. It’s terrible, she condemned herself. Her reflection in the mirror could be likened to a clown.

She looked like a chunk of ham wrapped in beautiful clothes and jewelries. If she at least had a good complexion, she might have looked a little cute. However, since it was her first long carriage trip across the border, Erna could not even drink a drop of water properly. As a result, dark circles appeared under her eyes and her skin became textured. To make matters worse, her skin was marred with swollen red spots. Erna wanted to burst into tears.

Erna remembered the beautiful sisters she had seen in the Castle of Haband. These robes would have looked great if it was them wearing it instead of her. They also wouldn’t have overlooked the subtle impolite treatment of the maids.

When the preparations were finished, Erna was again left alone in the corner. In fact, there were many maids as well as knights in the room, so it could not be said that she was completely left unattended. However, Erna felt like she had become an object with the name ‘Haband’s Royalty’.

Erna blinked, holding back her tears even though she felt depressed. I came here to be the Grand Duke of Hessenguard, she thought. It was the last pride left for Erna. It was also the only use she had left of herself.

“I told you that the wedding ceremony must be over for you to be recognized as the Grand Duke of Hessengard.”

Even if she became the Grand Duke, she won’t be able to rule immediately. After all, she was a mere scarecrow sent from the Kingdom of Haband and Marquess Canavan, who came with her, would be the one who would actually represent the Kingdom of Haband and exert influence on Hessenguard on its behalf. Erna would be one of the two Grand Dukes of Hessenguard. Together with her, a candidate from one of the royal families in the Aether Kingdom would rule over Hessenguard. He was the enemy but at the same time would also be her husband. 

Erna was curious about her partner. Even though she knew she would see him in a few hours, she wanted to know something about him before their meeting.

Erna, seated in the corner, hesitated before asking a passing maid.

“What’s wrong?” asked the maid. The girl, whom Erna had called, had a slight look of annoyance on her face. Erna said in a small voice, feeling her shoulders drop again, “My marriage partner… Who is coming from the Aether Kingdom?”

The maid gasped, “Oh my goodness, you still don’t know?” Her reprehensible voice pierced through Erna’s heart. Erna was about to say that no one had ever told her but she decided to just keep quiet. “It’s a prince named Kalion. He’s the first son born to the second wife of the King of Aether. He is the same age as the princess. And I…” The girl paused; a sneer evident on her face. At the same moment, another maid next to her winked at her, as if commending her for a job well done. 

“I heard he’s quite tall and attractive looking?” she continued.

The maids next to her paused, not paying attention to Erna. They only wanted to hear more about the groom. They felt sorry for the man named Kalion, who was to be wed to this pathetic girl before them — even though he was the prince of the enemy country. Such a powerful royal family could have chosen someone to marry, reflecting their will to some extent, no matter how politically forced they were to marry. Then at least he wouldn’t have ended up with someone as bad as Erna.

Seeing Erna bow her head in shame, the maid sneered and went out. Another maid, who followed the maid Erna had asked, glanced at her.

“Why would you say that?” she asked. 

“Why? It’s not wrong. Didn’t they say that the prince was fine in the past?” 

Hearing the girl’s blatant answer, the maid sighed. “That was a few years ago. You saw him yesterday, so you know it.”

Last night, the two maids went down to see the prince in the pretext of doing their duties when he arrived at the Grand Duke’s Castle. Even if this was all a part of the peace treaty, the enemy would remain an enemy. The women looked at the carriage and the envoy of Aether Kingdom entering the gates of the Castle from afar. 

“They’ve arrived safely,” muttered one maid. The other whispered in reply, “Yes, we were all nervous on the way here… but fortunately we didn’t face any dire events this time.”

The maids too had been tense the whole time they traveled to Hessenguard. Two royal family members had already been killed on their way here. The maids and envoy, who accompanied them, were punished for failing to protect the royal family. The royal family members who had come before Erna were even granted by the Queen more soldiers for their protection. But Princess Erna, who did not have the favour of the Queen, was sent with only the royal army.

They all thought they were going to die along with the princess, but strangely, no assassination attempt occured this time. Furthermore, the carriage carrying the royal family members from both the kingdoms had arrived safely in Hessenguard.

The maids raised their heels to catch a glimpse at the man getting off the carriage. Shortly afterwards, the two maids rushed to tell the other maids about the prince of Aether they had seen. For the entire night, the women only talked about Kalion, who would soon marry the princess of Haband.

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