I Became a Barbarian's Bride - Chapter 82
Then, he took off his robe, the one he often wore during official events, folded it, and placed it on the ground before seating her on it again.
Though thin, it was folded several times, so he thought it would at least prevent her from getting dirty.
The series of actions took less than thirty seconds, and Nisha blinked in surprise.
Cheers, almost like playful jeers, erupted from the crowd at the almost embarrassingly sweet gesture.
“Ah, this is too sweet, I’m melting! Does anyone else need a lover?!”
Someone shouted, startling Nisha.
No matter how she thought about it, it seemed improper to speak that way to a king.
But Kagan simply chuckled lightly and shrugged his shoulders.
“If you’re jealous, just say so. It’s unbecoming to act otherwise,”
The childish remark made Nisha pout slightly as she placed her hands on the ground.
He was a man she couldn’t quite understand.
Even as she thought this, she closed her eyes and slowly began to use her ability.
Fwoosh-!
A brilliant white light burst forth.
Gasps of awe were heard all around as the white light gradually seeped into the ground.
The sensation of something being drawn out of her much more intensely than usual made Nisha instinctively open her eyes wide.
It felt as though all the life force she had carefully stored up was being drained away.
She wanted to pull her hand away, but it felt as if it was stuck to the ground, refusing to budge.
Her body was enveloped in the white light, and her violet eyes gradually shifted to a golden hue.
Kagan, watching beside her, was momentarily captivated by the awe-inspiring scene, his gaze fixed on the spectacle.
Clatter, something shattered.
Tick-tock─.
As her vision blurred into white, the sound of a ticking clock reached Nisha’s ears, causing her eyes to widen.
Tick-tock, tick-tock─.
The time that had once stopped began to move again.
Nisha didn’t fully understand, but she instinctively knew one thing:
The thing she had been waiting for had finally arrived.
“…Your Highness?”
The voices of the world felt distant.
Even as someone approached and grasped her shoulder, Nisha didn’t lift her hands from the ground.
She wished everything, everything would be taken away at that moment. That impulse surged within her.
And she couldn’t pull her hands away, even if she wanted to.
Rumble, rumble—.
Something within the earth trembled.
Something within her also seemed to shatter and begin to flow out.
“Nisha!”
As her vision blurred, her hands finally released their grip on the ground.
“That’s the bride the oracle spoke of, the one destined to be the great sacrifice.”
…
“When do you plan to hold the sacrificial ceremony, Kagan?”
“After she finishes the task she’s been given and bears my child.”
As his voice reached her, an all-too-familiar voice echoed in her mind, from some time long past. And with that, she realized anew.
Her life had never once been truly affirmed by anyone.
“Sacrifice…”
She let out a small, bitter laugh.
The last thing she saw as her vision blurred was a mountain billowing smoke, and atop it, a vague, shadowy figure that resembled a child’s chaotic scribble.
***
They say that life only holds value when affirmed by someone.
So, what meaning does a life hold if it’s never been affirmed by anyone?
Perhaps, the thought crossed her mind, a life that disappears as nothing more than nourishment for someone else might not be so bad.
It wasn’t that she felt particularly sad or depressed.
A life that has never been affirmed can’t really feel sadness or anything at all.
Because when you’ve always been in that state, it doesn’t even seem strange anymore.
Nisha tried to open her eyes slowly, but when she realized that even that was difficult, she swallowed hard and shook her head.
The sensation of exhaustion and depletion throughout her body was replaced by a deep thirst.
As she fumbled with her fingers, trying to alleviate the dryness in her mouth, someone gently brought a glass of water to her lips.
Without even opening her eyes, she leaned against the unknown person’s chest, swallowing the water while feeling herself carefully laid back down.
“Princess, do you want more water?”
At the sound of the voice, Nisha blinked a few times before slowly nodding her head.
Soon after, the glass was once again pressed to her lips.
After drinking three full glasses, Nisha finally felt the parched desert that was her throat become slightly moist.
“How long did I sleep?”
“Today makes it four days. Tomorrow would have been the fifth.”
