I Became a Barbarian's Bride - Chapter 13
Clatter, clatter.
The old carriage shook violently as it traveled down the dirt road. The bumps were even worse on the hidden forest path they were using.
Amidst the jostling, Nisha furrowed her brow, lost in thought as she held the reins.
“…tun.”
Nisha murmured softly.
“Huh? What is ‘tun’?” Mary blinked, having heard Nisha’s murmur.
Nisha shook her head slowly at Mary’s innocent, curious question.
“It’s nothing… Just something the traveler said earlier that oddly… bothers me.”
Hearing the calm voice, Mary tilted her head. “‘tun’?” She repeated the word softly, tilting her head the other way.
“It sounds like something from a barbarian language. They often use strong-sounding syllables like ‘kan,’ ‘ga,’ ‘he,’ or ‘tun,’ don’t they?”
“Barbarian…?”
Nisha paused at Mary’s amused muttering.
“See you soon, tun.”
Nisha recalled the man with the particularly strange aura and slowly mulled over his words in her mind.
“tun…”
Nisha’s eyes widened.
“Katun…”
“Huh?”
“The people of Xieman call their king ‘Kagan’.”
As if talking to herself, Nisha muttered softly and then suddenly grabbed Mary’s hand.
“Mary.”
“Yes? What is it, Princess?”
“…Let’s go back.”
“What? All of a sudden? We’ve come all this way… And if we go back now, it will soon be daylight.”
Mary frowned as she spoke.
By morning, people at the palace would quickly notice her absence, and they wouldn’t get far.
Nisha shook her head.
“…The King of Xieman despises lies and betrayal.”
“…Princess? Why do you keep talking about Xieman?”
“I read about it once. In Xieman, they call their king ‘Kagan,’ meaning messenger of the sky, and his queen… ‘Katun.’”
She recalled learning a bit of the so-called barbarian language from a merchant who occasionally visited the palace.
‘Ka’ is a term that elevates the other person, implying they are a high, almost divine being. It is a title used by subordinates for their superiors. But that man called her ‘Tun,’ not ‘Katun.’
‘Could it be that man…’
Nisha quickly turned the carriage around, switching places with Mary.
‘…But they say the Kashan clan, who are the core founders of Xieman, all have red eyes…’
However, none of the people in the tavern had red eyes.
The silver-haired man had golden eyes, and the rest had black eyes.
‘…I hope it’s just my paranoia.’
Nisha’s eyes clouded slightly.
She urged the horses forward, holding the reins tightly.
The jolting carriage moved quickly back along the path they had come.
‘Mesh, Rad…’
The carriage retraced its steps swiftly.
