Chapter 432: The Past: Love For An Eternity Part 1
Ar"en did not continue joking just in case he scared her away. "You have been asleep for over a week. You were badly injured during the war."
Hearing this, Kana began to relax. But her cheeks turned even redder as she realized she was in a man"s bed. She looked left then right before pulling the covers up over her head, trying to hide her embarra.s.sment. "Haha! My beloved is very shy."
"Who"s your beloved!?" Kana yelled out as she pulled the blanket down. But when her eyes made contact with his, she quickly covered her head again.
"All in due time. For now, you will be staying here in the castle. The human domain will not let you go that easily. So until then, I will protect you. I already had the servants set up a bedroom for you. You can have full reign over the castle. If you wish to go out, you must bring me with you. I do not want you to think that I am trying to lock you up this is all for your safety."
"Why?" A small voice came from beneath the covers. Kana did not understand why this man was doing so much for her when she did not deserve any of it. She was a cursed being, someone who brought death to those around her.
Ar"en sighed and sat on the bed, and pulled the blanket down. This caused Kana to panic as she looked for a way out, but instead, she found herself pulled into Ar"en"s embrace, and her nose was once again filled with the scent of mint. Her body stiffened, unsure of what to do. She could only stay like that as she heard Ar"en"s voice enter her ears."I do not want to hear you questioning my motives anymore. I said it on the battlefield. I am deeply in love with you, and only you can be my wife. I will not rush you. I will give you all the time you need to learn that you are not a cursed being but a kind, loving girl who works hard for other people"s sake. I will have a maid come in and take you to your room so you can bathe and get changed, okay?"
Kana did not know what to say or do, so she shyly nodded her head. Her heart was already about to burst, with how fast it was beating. She also knew that going outside right now would be signing her own death certificate. She did not want to die just yet. She still had many things she needed to do, and most importantly, she wanted revenge on those who wiped out her clan.
"Then I will call the maid in." Ar"en said as he kissed the top of Kana"s head. He then got up and walked out of the room to give instructions to the maid.
"Greetings, Your Highness. My name is Trez." Trez introduced herself as she bowed her head as she walked in.
"Your Highness?" Kana blushed as she shook her head. "I am no highness... Just call me Kana."
"This I can not do, Your Highness. His highness has said that we have to call Your Highness this." Trez said with a smile.
Kana pursed her lips. She wondered what that man was thinking. "But we are not together..."
"Does Your Highness hate His Highness?" Trez asked as she lifted her head. She couldn"t help but smile that she was able to bring up one of the questions his highness had asked her to ask.
"I…. I do not hate him…" Kana"s cheeks turned bright red. She couldn"t deny her own feelings, but she was afraid he would get hurt if he was next to her.
Trez smiled brightly as she walked over to help Kana out of bed. "Then it is only a matter of time before Your Highness is His Highness"s queen. So it is not wrong for me to call you Your Highness."
Kana opened her mouth and wanted to tell her it wouldn"t happen, but instead, she closed her mouth and pursed her lips, choosing to remain silent. Trez giggled and grabbed Kana "s hand: "Then Your Highness if you follow me to your room. I will prepare a bath for you to relax in."
Rural Kingdom Tilia"s bedroom…
"Why did it turn out like this..." Tilia had tears rolling down her cheeks. She never wanted there to be slavery ever again, but now she had gone and decreed it herself.
"Sometimes, these things are needed. Death will not scare everyone, but if you make an example out of those who would be of the same mind as these people, you will be doing more good than harm. As the ones behind your a.s.sissination plot are to be executed in a week"s time this is showing that you will never tolerate such actions." Keniil replied. "Your Majesty, take it from another ruler. Our ideals on what we wish for and the actions we have to make will sometimes conflict with each other. Although it may make us seem hypocritical, that is just how things are done. You are only doing what you think is right. You are keeping the young safe while making sure those under the age of twenty are not mistreated. As for the adults, they will learn what it means to truly be a slave."
"But still, many of the people in their families were innocent. But I am afraid of them growing up with hatred and starting a rebellion later on, which would end up costing many more innocent lives. I could only think of this solution. They do not deserve death, nor do they belong sitting in a dungeon. I could only think of this way so they can work and still live a somewhat normal life." Tilia explained. She wiped the tears from her eyes. She hated all of this. But she did not know how else to handle it.
"Then why don"t we not do it like this? Only those who were fully involved will be sentenced as slaves while the others are forced into servitude but only in slave contract only, bound to Your Majesty, yourself. They will not receive a brand and can still live normal lives, but will not be able to go against the crown." Keniil suggested.