Volume 9 part 2

Volume 9 part 2

The crimson light of the lamp flickered unsteadily over her face, sitting quietly in the darkness.

“It was said that the ministers always formed factions and fought. So when foreign invaders came, they couldn’t unite. In the end, the king abandoned the palace and fled. My father gathered my brother and some peasants and desperately tried to stop the invasion.”

“And then?”

“It was just… a long, miserable war. Refugees kept coming and going from all directions, and the little grain we had stored was taken by the government. All we ever heard were the cries of hungry children.”

Daon stopped abruptly. It seemed she had touched a painful memory.

Her pale face and trembling eyes showed signs of torment. But she continued her story with a cold, composed elegance, as if swallowing ice.

“When winter came and the invasions slowed, a secret royal order was issued.”

“What kind?”

“The country was in peril, so each province was to select one young girl of decent appearance to be sent up. The order said the country’s energy wouldn’t decline for the next three or four years, so they would pick girls accordingly.”

Ixor gripped the back of his chair. He could already guess what came next, but he asked to be sure.

“You were chosen?”

“Yes.”

Her reply was calm and crisp. With her uniquely elegant, emotionless voice, Daon continued.

“I cried. I didn’t want to go. I was scared. So my father defied the royal order.”

“…”

“My father… was a scholar who was like a warrior. People said he was like a bamboo rod—righteous and strict. I heard even the king often lost his temper with him.”

“What about your mother?”

“My mother? She was kind and wise. She scolded me often when I was young. I got whipped on my calves more than once.”

Daon smiled faintly, perhaps recalling the short happiness of childhood, and rested her weary head on her arm.

“After I was born, she gave up her official position and returned to the countryside. My brother and I learned the values of human life from our father. That even the rice that enters the king’s mouth is grown and harvested by the people, and that the people are the true foundation of the nation.”

Ixor’s expression hardened. No wonder the king disliked her father. Such radical thoughts were like blades down his spine—thoughts that shook the very foundation of the class system.

As the strong liquor sobered him up, he leaned forward.

“What about your brother?”

“He was eight years older than me, brilliant, everyone said he’d become someone great. But because our father was so hated, he couldn’t leave the countryside either.”

“What a loss.”

“I always thought he’d be older, but now I’m the one who’s older.”

The conversation paused. She bit her lip and hesitated, then finally shared the most painful and important part.

“Even though they held off the invaders for two whole seasons, my father was declared a traitor for defying the royal order. That morning, before he was taken away, he sat me and my brother down and said…”

“What?”

“‘The world runs by the hands of the few. And when those few are incompetent, the nation and the people suffer. Remember that and never forget.’”

Her voice grew thick with tears. Ixor had always known there was someone who gave Daon her political insight, someone who opened her eyes.

At first, he had assumed it was a foreign lover. In truth, it had been her upright and principled father.

“My father and brother were executed as an example.”

“…”

“I locked eyes with their corpses, surrounded by filthy dogs drawn to the smell of blood… and I thought, this is all my fault…”

Daon couldn’t continue and took a deep breath. Her psychological trauma and guilt from that time seemed to be pouring out now—too deep to express in words.

Ixor didn’t interrupt, letting her speak freely.

“As a traitor’s daughter, I hid in a remote shed with my mother. But even at the end, my mother walked out with dignity. She said she had to see her husband and son being executed with her own eyes. She left me with her final words, telling me to board the smuggler’s ship she had prepared.”

“What did she say?”

“‘My child, you must live well.’”

Her lips trembled as she opened her eyes wide. As if recreating her mother’s voice from that day, she spoke slowly.

“‘Live as long as your father’s life was worth. As long as the life of your brother, who left before ever blooming. As long as my life. Live on and on.’”

“…”

“‘My daughter, I love you dearly.’”

A single hot tear rolled down her face.

She had been the type who never cried, proud even in the face of agony, like a cold ice maiden who had forgotten how to weep.

Yet now, as she uttered the word ‘love’ in a hoarse voice, there was a profound sorrow in it.

Staring at the inn wall with bloodshot eyes, she whispered gracefully.

“I have a secret.”

Her tear-filled dark eyes sparkled delicately like thin glass. With a voice so soft it might disappear, she confessed,

“After everyone died, I was left alone on a smelly smuggler’s ship, and a fisherman handed me a rice ball. I hadn’t eaten properly in eight months. Even though my heart was shattered with grief, when I saw the food… I grabbed it and devoured it like mad. And my heart hurt so badly—like it would burst—I cried, ‘Mom, it hurts. Mom, it hurts,’ as I ate.”

“…”

“That’s when I knew. Looking at the rice grains stuck to my hand. That I would have to live the rest of my life paying for this sin.”

So that’s what the nightmares were. He’d vaguely assumed they were just because of the trauma. But this, the guilt and sorrow buried deep in her soul, was far worse.

He picked up a napkin from the table. Shaking it in the air a few times, he offered it.

“Blow your nose. Go on, do it.”

Daon turned to him with a dazed look. Ixor closed the distance between them with a gentle smile in his eyes. Then, he confessed quietly,

“I have a secret too. I’m madly in love with you.”

“Ha.”

Daon laughed hollowly. Her nose red and tears still streaming, but her laugh was genuine.

He gently wiped her wet cheek and gripped her small, cold hand tightly. At that moment, his resolve not to let her go even if he died became even firmer.

She was the only woman he wanted to make happy.

“I’ll win,” Ixor said confidently.

He had a clear reason and purpose to win.

“Come with me. Don’t you want to change the world?”

“…”

“If the world is run by the few, then let’s become those few. Let’s be the right kind of few and build a better world.”

“I can’t.”

“You can. Because it’s you.”

Ixor said with firm conviction.

“You’ve been through every hardship from the bottom. You represent the pain of the ordinary. You know both injustice and hope. Who else but you?”

“But…”

“I promise. We’ll build a world where the good aren’t made to suffer.”

“…”

“Don’t run. Fight with me.”

Daon burst into tears. She cried like a child, her entire body collapsing as though she had no strength left.

Something inside her had broken open. The heavy, rusted lock she had sealed her heart with had finally come undone, and the sorrow she had held back for so long poured out like a flood.

Ixor quietly opened his palm and caught her falling tears. She sobbed uncontrollably, her shoulders trembling as if she might melt away right there.

Gently, he brushed her ear with his wet thumb. Then, protectively, like a shield, he wrapped both arms around Daon’s back, holding her firmly.

Gradually, her breathing steadied, and the sobs slowly subsided.

“I have one more secret.”

She whispered calmly in a hoarse voice, sounding as though she hadn’t just wept so violently. Ixor slid his hand down to her neck, cradling her small head.

Daon slowly lifted her face, and their eyes met squarely in the air. Her teary gaze was deep and clear.

She smiled tenderly with reddened eyes. The soft smile on her red lips looked both sorrowful and somehow liberating.

“I’m… pregnant.”

***

“What’s good to eat during pregnancy?”

Ixor asked with a cheerful grin, resting his chin on his hand.

Zephar, looking drowsily at him, replied, “I don’t know.”

“Hmm, is that so? I suppose fatty foods would be good? No, that might be hard to digest. Something light, maybe? I should plan a healthy diet.”

“Um… my lord. We were in the middle of discussing military movements.”

“Yes, the shortest route. I heard pregnant women crave fruit a lot, but it’s winter, so that’s a problem. I’ll talk to Garun about it. If I say it’s for the engagement banquet, no one will suspect it.”

“My lord?”

“Haha! She said she likes apples. I have a feeling we’ll have a daughter. I’ll raise her to be bold like me, look like her mother but with my spirit.”

“With our limited troops, going through the mountains will be risky. Enemy ambushes, mountain bandits… the world’s not safe these days.”

Ixor drew a line across the map with a pen. Zephar, who had been blankly staring at the map, nodded in agreement.

He added a brief comment and circled it neatly. Ixor changed the arm he was resting on with a chuckle.

“Do you know how long you can have s*x during pregnancy?”

Cough! 

Zephar dropped his pen and quickly wiped the ink off the map. Clearing his throat in embarrassment, he responded,

“I don’t know.”

“Really? I’ll have to find out.”

“My lord? We’re supposed to be discussing troop movement…”

Ixor took the pen from Zephar and hastily marked the map.

“These are the points we must block if we’re in for a prolonged battle. Here, here, and here. From here to this line must be secured at the very start.”

Watching the pen move across the map, Zephar again nodded in agreement. Ixor leaned back in his chair with a satisfied sigh.

“What should we name our baby? How about As? Or maybe Fer, Riel, Iz, or Domini?”

“My lord, how are you feeling after the fall from your horse?”

“The fall? Oh, that… Fine. It’ll be a lovely angel. What if we call them Angel? Nickname: Annie.”

“Are you a monster? Usually, falling off a cliff…”

“A monster? You want to name the child ‘Monster’? Do you have a problem with me?”

Sigh.

Zephar, having given up on everything, let out a long sigh and forcefully folded the map. Ixor quickly stopped him, reopened just one corner of the map, and added another note: Prepare fire arrows.

He frowned and stared at the note with great focus, then suddenly brightened.

“Wait—do you have to stop having s*x the moment she gets pregnant?”

“My lord, you’re acting like a dog that buried a bone last year and is now frantically digging it up. You’re excited and happy, but to others, you just seem foolish.”

“I’m not sure I like that analogy… You were going to say, ‘It’s quite accurate,’ weren’t you?”

“Now you’re even stealing my lines?”

“Right, right. Accurate. Okay, then—work’s done. I’m going to the village.”

“The village?”

“There’s that old woman who treated me and her. She’s amazing. I’ll ask her how long s*x is safe during pregnancy.”

Like a student escaping from a tedious teacher, Ixor bolted out and then turned back suddenly to give an order.

“Make sure to prepare a nutritious, tasty diet.”

“Yes, yes.”

Zephar carelessly tapped the documents on the table, organizing them.

Ixor returned suddenly and gave another order.

“Ah! Don’t let her lift anything heavy while I’m gone.”

“Yees, yes.”

“And her feet shouldn’t get cold, so prepare several pairs of wool slippers. Let her pick the color she likes. She’s the type who won’t say what she wants, so bring her a variety of fruits.”

“Zephar!”

“Yes!”

At the sharp call, Zephar stood at attention. Ixor tilted his head seriously.

“Do you think she had a conception dream?”

Zephar looked at him with half-lidded eyes and bowed.

“Have a safe trip.”

***

Arriving at the old woman’s hut, Ixor leapt off his horse and got straight to the point.

“Be my wife’s handmaid.”

The old woman smacked her lips, then gestured for him to sit.

Ixor plopped onto a small chair near the hearth. Anxiously awaiting her answer, she deliberately spoke slowly.

“No.”

“If I ask nicely?”

“I’m comfortable here.”

So forthright. No wonder she was close to Daon. For a noble—no, a lord—to be refused so bluntly, Ixor didn’t insist.

“Then come to the castle often to check on her. Not before the engagement ceremony, but after that.”

Only after speaking did he realize he had called Daon his wife out loud. But the old woman simply smiled through her wrinkled mouth and said nothing.

Ixor leaned forward, elbows on knees, and asked what he came for.

“When a woman is pregnant, how long is s*x still okay? I’ve checked, and her belly hasn’t shown yet.”

“There’s no real problem.”

“How long?”

“Just be cautious for the first three months. Be gentle… A satisfying relationship is good for the mother, and a happy mother means a happy baby. Just don’t press down too much or go too deep.”

“Won’t the baby get hurt?”

“As long as you don’t attack her like a beast, she’ll be fine. Too much tightness can make labor harder. Just avoid the very end of the pregnancy and keep things light.”

“How many times a week?”

“A week? Not per day?”

The old woman looked at him with sleepy eyes. Somehow, her expression reminded him of Zephar—so many things to say, but no words coming out. She gave a firm answer.

“Twice a week, from now on.”

Ixor pondered, then asked again.

“Three times on Monday, three on Thursday. That still counts as twice a week, right?”

“My lord! Once a week. Gently. That’s the limit.”

“Wait! That’s fewer than before!”

“That’s just your imagination.”

She cut him off firmly, then added more advice.

“Don’t keep her locked up indoors. Let her live as usual, just avoid overexertion.”

“It’s our first child.”

“Even so, most people don’t lose their minds like you.”

Ixor expressed his thanks with a sulky face and stood up. The old woman chuckled softly and added one last piece of advice.

“Women feel very anxious when they’re pregnant. You need to care for both her body and mind.”

“I will.”

“And absolutely do not act like a beast.”

“What do you take me for?”

“Even pigs bred in pens don’t behave like you.”

She turned her back and began sorting through herbs.

***

After carefully gathering all the medicinal herbs reputed to be good for the body and returning to the castle, Ixor found that all the items he had ordered had arrived without a hitch.

He had the goods taken to the kitchen and then knocked on Daon’s door.

“A gift.”

He held out the herbs, bundled like a bouquet, and Daon burst into a bright smile. She sniffed the herbs and joked that they smelled nice.

After sharing a long, sweet kiss, he crouched down and greeted the baby.

“Hello, Annie. Daddy’s home.”

“Annie?”

“Our little one’s name.”

“But we don’t even know the gender yet.”

“You don’t like the name? Then we’ll change it. What was your brother’s name again?”

She gently ran her fingers through his hair and replied, “Dahui.”

“Then Dahui it is.”

Having decided the name on the spot, he suddenly raised his head.

“Almost forgot. Miss, do you have some time?”

“Time?”

“I need to formally propose to your family. I figured a meal would be best, so I brought all the ingredients.”

“You’re really a peculiar man.”

Daon softly whispered as she brushed his eyebrow with her fingertip.

Ixor slipped his hands behind her knees and lifted her up.

“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment. Shall we go?”

He ran to the kitchen in one stride and showed her the goods, leaving Daon speechless for a while.

Chrrrk.

She let the white rice slide through her hands. It had been prepared as a surprise gift, something he had ordered long ago, and the look in her eyes as she saw it was full of aching nostalgia, as if she were seeing a long-lost treasure.

She quietly washed the rice, set it to cook, then began making a clear soup. After that, she wiped fruit clean with a fresh cloth. The savory scent of boiling chicken rose toward the pale winter evening sky in soft puffs.

She didn’t say a single word while cooking. She just kept wiping plates that were already clean, polishing spoons, and calmly selecting only the most beautiful fruits.

When the rice finished cooking, fluffy and white, she sprinkled in some salt, mixed it, and shaped it into rice balls with her hands.

After tasting a bit, she tilted her head, uncertain. It had been so long since she’d eaten it, the flavor must’ve seemed unfamiliar.

She slowly chewed, savoring the taste, then smiled gently and fed a rice ball to Ixor.

“It’s delicious.”

He grinned and shared his thoughts, prompting her to laugh with sparkling eyes.

He knew she was overwhelmed by sorrow and longing that welled up in her chest, leaving her unable to speak. So, he didn’t interfere.

Still, he helped carry the food to the room.

Even after neatly arranging the dishes on a clean table, Daon seemed unsatisfied and kept fussing with their placement.

Finally, three steaming plates of rice balls settled on the table. No meal was complete without alcohol, so Ixor brought out a fine, well-aged bottle and poured drinks into each glass.

The two of them sat side by side on a long bench slightly away from the table, watching the food cool.

Darkness fell outside, and they lit a candle. The shiny red apples glowed like glass ornaments in the candlelight.

“I’ll live well.”

Daon suddenly said in a calm voice. She gave a faint smile and repeated herself.

“Mom, I’ll live well. I’m sorry for preparing the meal so late.”

“A word for your father, too.”

Knowing too much crying would be bad for her, Ixor gently interjected. Daon chuckled and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“Dad ended up with such a strange son-in-law.”

“What about your brother?”

“I’m sorry, oppa.”

Tears brimmed in her eyes, her face weary, fatigued—and incredibly peaceful.

Ixor brought the sachet from the display cabinet and slipped the ring onto her finger. The transparent red diamond sparkled beautifully.

Looking into her eyes, he solemnly declared,

“In this place where no logic in the world can touch us, I, Gwin Ixor Malkuth, vow eternal love to Daon. May God be our witness.”

Daon repeated in the same tone,

“In this destiny where no hardship can separate us, I, Daon, vow eternal love to Gwin Ixor Malkuth. May God be our witness.”

“Now, the bride may kiss the groom.”

He jutted out his chin playfully, and Daon wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Kissing her was an electrifying thrill that stirred his soul. That sensation resonated from their lips, through his heart and limbs, until it engulfed his entire body.

As they continued to kiss, Ixor murmured,

“Mm… Should we eat first? I heard it’s fine to go light once a week. Wait, wait, wait. Just keep kissing.”

He rubbed his nose against hers and asked again,

“So, we eat first, or… maybe after?”

***

Meanwhile, Zelgirk paced anxiously.

Should he return to the estate for a bit?

Of course he should.

Ixor had been sending hunting parties near his estate regularly. And just days ago, a heavy snowfall hit, and the dawn was bitterly cold.

The girls locked in the basement might’ve frozen to death. But he couldn’t predict what Ixor would do if he left now. He’d have to hold out at Orlank Castle until the engagement ceremony.

Unable to act either way, he grew increasingly frustrated. Just then, the cheerful voice outside grated on his nerves.

He yanked the curtain aside and peeked out to see Daon strolling in the backyard with Zephar.

That wench had filled out. Her pale skin now had a healthy glow. She must be enjoying life.

He gripped the black window frame tightly with both hands.

Ixor had been sheltering and protecting her so much lately, it was hard to even catch sight of her.

Suddenly, Daon smiled brightly and tilted her head. The winter sunlight shone warmly across her face. Seeing that content, peaceful expression triggered an uncontrollable surge of rage.

Giving herself to another man… Abandoning, deceiving, and betraying her master to serve someone else?!

“You think I’ll let you smile like that?”

I will get her back.

Zelgirk bared his upper teeth in a vicious snarl. The unresolved anger inside him boiled like molten lava.