The Camellia Tattoo - Chapter 4
In truth, she had no choice. If they refused to hand over the princess, the empire’s course of action was simple.
The Emperor of Asgarden needed only to command the army guarding Shadroch’s borders. Retrieve the arrogant king’s head neatly separated from his body.
The options for Amber were only two: to be treated as an honored guest by her own will, or to be dragged away like a slave, leaving her fallen homeland behind.
Amber chose the former.
‘Clearly, before the return… I felt the overwhelming misery as if the world were collapsing.’
Before she received the forced marriage order, Amber was experiencing the most brilliant moment of her life.
Daily life creating various societies with peers, enjoying horse racing with fellow riders, occasionally touring art museums, attending music performances—Amber loved music enough to compose it herself and had a certain depth in fine arts.
She may not have been skilled in painting, but her eye for recognizing good works was keen. Thanks to discovering a few painters and turning them into stars overnight, aspiring artists had been lining up for her sponsorship.
Standing by the side of the unmarried brother, she had become the undisputed flower of high society, dominating the social scene.
That was what Amber had, and it was also the position she had to lose with marriage.
So, if asked whether she could have been in her right mind at that time… she wasn’t.
Her intense hatred and disgust for the realm she had to live in made her indifferent to her husband.
“….”
Amber looked at her husband lying beside her, using his muscular arm to cover his eyes. Whether it was because of the annoying rustling noise, he glanced at her with a sinking gaze.
His eyes were as red embers, not completely extinguished among a pile of ash.
Amber feared his gaze, or at least she thought so.
He had eyes like a fierce beast ready to pounce on and devour someone, and she found it terrifying and unpleasant. She had avoided meeting his gaze.
Perhaps the man from Niflheim had a raw sharpness unlike those she had always seen and grown up with. It might have felt awkward.
“…Don’t you avoid eye contact?”
After staring at each other as if exploring, the husband was the first to speak.
“I thought you never looked at me throughout the wedding because you were upset you became the wife of a lowly man.”
“I thought you’d leave, saying you fulfilled your duty. But you stayed… I was curious. That’s all.”
“Seriously. Even if I’m an uncultivated man, I know you shouldn’t leave your wife alone on the first night, let alone a precious princess.”
The husband twisted his lips and let out a dry laugh. It was a laughter as dry as withered tree roots.
In retrospect, he, too, had reason to feel unfairly treated in this marriage, yet he silently endured his resentment without even showing a hint of it.
‘Maybe Igmeyer wanted a love marriage.’
At the time, it was something she hadn’t considered, but now, looking at a face much younger than her memories, she couldn’t help but think of it.
‘What were you thinking? During the five years of our marriage. You probably didn’t originally want me?’
Lying there weakly, Amber tried to recall that day from a long time ago.
Due to severe depression, there were scattered gaps in her memory, making it impossible to recall some scenes, but she could recall a few scenes from the first night.
After the first timr, Amber turned away and sobbed.
To her, her husband was a ruthless marauder, and this massive rock castle was a place worse than hell.
She didn’t know the mythology of this country, but it felt as if she had become Persephone. He was Hades, the king of hell.
‘It must have been awkward to keep hearing me cry.’
Suddenly, she tried to see things from Igmeyer’s perspective.
That was something she had never done in her past life.
“Or, if my presence is uncomfortable, I can leave.”
“No. No, it’s okay. You can stay… here.”
How he interpreted the ensuing silence, Igmeyer seemed to try to get up. In response, Amber, startled, grabbed him.
Then Igmeyer smiled wryly and lay back down.
“It was a joke.”
“…Your personality is bad.”
“I hear that a lot.”
Although she still didn’t fully understand what was what, there was some speculation as she regained her composure and thought it over.
In her childhood, her mother told her a fairy tale. A blessing bestowed only on the princesses of Shadroch.
At that time, she just thought it was an interesting story. It seemed a bit peculiar that the lead was the mother’s mother’s mother, but if this truth was orally transmitted, it all made sense.
‘I’ve gone back in time.’
And this blessing came with a condition.
She would correct the regretful actions.
Only then could she inherit the blessing to her daughter.
‘Surely there’s a reason I returned at this moment.’
