I Tamed the Monstrous Prince - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
‘I… am to be the Princess?’ My voice trailed off, lost in a fog of uncertainty. It was all so sudden, marrying someone I’d never even met, a prince rumored to be cursed.
As if anticipating my refusal, Celestina quickly added, ‘Yes, you will be the most noble woman in the Empire.’
I shouldn’t have listened to her serpentine words. This was a poisoned chalice, and I was no longer a seven-year-old girl with fantasies of becoming a princess. I had learned the hard way that nothing in this world comes for free.
‘…If that is the case…’
And yet, I had to drink from this poisoned chalice. Because I had no other choice.
‘I accept.’ I nodded, a sliver of hope battling the encroaching darkness of fear. ‘I will marry the First Prince.’
If that were to be my fate, then I would die with a noble title. A brief taste of elevated status, a fleeting moment of power. For such a paltry thing.
As if afraid I’d change my mind, Celestina hurriedly produced documents and thrust them at me. I signed, then pricked my thumb with a dagger, sealing the oath with my blood.
‘It is done. Aren’t you thrilled to be the Princess?’ Celestina’s expression at that moment, the sigh of relief she exhaled, was forever etched in my memory. But I had to forget.
To endure this, I needed to bury this memory, cover it with something else.
‘I am to be the Princess…’ Yes, this was my choice. Even if it was a poisoned chalice. Even knowing it was a trap, I had to taste the power, the sweet fruit of authority. Even if it meant consuming my own flesh and inviting death.
* * *
Even on my wedding day, I hadn’t seen my groom’s face. Cesar, known for his frail health, didn’t even appear at the ceremony. Only his representative, masked, attended in his place. The archbishop’s blessing, the wedding vows—all exchanged with his stand-in. For a royal wedding, it was eerily desolate.
Not that I was in any position to object. I could only remain silent. I almost asked if the wedding night would also be handled by proxy, but apparently not, judging by how I was ushered into the bridal chamber after being prepared.
That’s why I now sat alone on the edge of the rose petal-strewn bed. Candlelight flickered across the lavishly decorated room, casting an unsettling glow.
Then, a metallic clang echoed from beyond the heavy ebony door, followed by the door swinging open. ‘He’s here.’ Steeling myself, I slowly turned my head, only to nearly leap out of my skin in surprise.
Cesar wasn’t alone. A servant and four knights accompanied him—or rather, accompanied the scretcher he was carried on. More accurately, he was being transported, completely at the mercy of others.
His body was bound tightly with iron chains, clinking with each sway of the scretcher.
“Uh…” A stunned sound escaped my lips, but the knights and servant remained impassive. “Is…is this…?” I questioned them urgently. The servant replied flatly, “His Highness, Prince Cesar.”
“Yes.” I knew it was Cesar. The hair, darker than the midnight sky, the marble-pale skin, the captivatingly beautiful features—all matched the portrait I’d received before the wedding. But that wasn’t what I was asking. Why, how, could the prince of the realm be brought in unconscious and chained?
The knights swiftly transferred Cesar to the bed and unfastened the chains. With the last lock undone, they retreated with hurried backward steps, as if their task was complete.
“Excuse me!” I called out, afraid they would simply leave.
The servant turned back. “He will awaken soon.” With that, they departed without hesitation. The heavy chamber door closed, followed by the distinct sounds of locks and bolts being secured from the other side. “What is going on…?”
The daytime ceremony could hardly be called a wedding. I hadn’t entered this marriage with any illusions. I expected the wedding night to be unconventional, but nothing like this.
I turned back to the First Prince, Cesar. ‘Surely, he’s not dead?’ Thankfully, his chest rose and fell with steady breaths. He seemed to be asleep. The knights had said he’d awaken soon, implying he was drugged.
“Ha…” A hollow laugh escaped me in the suffocating silence. I was utterly lost. My premarital education hadn’t covered this scenario. My mind was a whirl.
‘What should I do?’
Then, it happened.
