Episode 1: Chapter 3

SOLVAHNE can't help but be in tears. She was already inside the carriage and she could feel her heart clenching in grief.

This was the first time she cried so much.

She didn't even cry when she found out she was going to marry someone she had never met.

What upsets her is the fact that she has no one but herself. There was no father to guide her, no brother to reassure her, and no sisters to put her at ease.

The royal family she once adored had already forgotten about her. The people she cares about the most had already left.

Despite her intention to destabilize her royal family, she still feels guilty. She, on the other hand, has no plans to return. She'd already made up her mind. She has prioritized the kingdom and her royal family her entire life. Now is the time for her to prioritize herself.

A moment after, she had already calmed herself down.

As she had told herself earlier, there was nothing she could do about crying. Now she needs to plan her actions.

When she arrives at the Capitol, the first thing she should do is go shopping for supplies. Following that, she must travel to a neighboring country in order to find a place to stay for a short period of time.

And if her plan falls through...

She will resort to Plan B, which is to escape as far as she can.

She blew air and prepared to grab her belongings when the carriage abruptly came to a halt.

Her brow furrowed in befuddlement. She looked out the carriage window and saw a glint of fire coming their way. She was about to leave, curious as to what it was when the coachman abruptly spoke.

"Please, my lady, do not get out of the carriage..."

What he said left her even more puzzled. "What's going on, sir? The carriage suddenly stops and-" she hadn't even finished speaking when the coachman suddenly cut her off.

"A barbaric tribe is coming on our way, my lady. I will settle things down by talking to them, so if you may, please stay quiet for a moment," the coachman pleaded.

She doesn't have a choice but to follow. She also lowered the window curtain and quietly rearranged her belongings.

People were approaching, and she could hear their footsteps. She had no idea what was going on outside of her confinement. Although she could hear their voices, she couldn't understand what they were saying, especially since the door to her vehicle was closed.

"We're just going to pass through if you will let us ..." she heard the coachman say in the native language of the tribe.

"This is no longer part of the empire; it is solely owned by the Shakan Tribe," she swallowed up, taken aback by the coldness of the voice she heard.

The Shakan Tribe? She'd heard of the tribe and even read about them in books.

She is also familiar with their native tongue.

Shakh language, she learned it five years ago, when she was just seventeen.

Originally, the tribe was a part of the Helios Empire, but a war occurred that caused the Shakan Tribe to oppose the empire. They are now leading their own lives on the border.

But if there was one thing Solvahne wanted to know, it was when they traditionally kidnapped brides for their king. However, there was some interesting hearsay about the tribe.

Princess Solvahne, on the other hand, does not understand the situation anymore.

She was surprised when someone opened the door of the carriage. It was a huge man dressed in a long black tunic and a red toga. He was so massive that Princess Solvahne almost appeared to be a teen.

"There's a lady here, Aikan."

The huge man continued to stare at her until another man entered the picture. They had a savage expression on their faces when they looked at her.

Until the coachman said, "Not the lady, please!" as the other man was about to grab her wrist.

However, the man simply held her still.

"You have broken the code, son of the Helios. It is only right to pay for breaking a code that was agreed upon by our tribe and your empire," the man said while looking at her.

"We will do everything you want, just don't touch the lady."

"But we want the lady in return, or maybe, you could pay with your lives!"

Her eyes widened as she understood what she had just heard. That's why she couldn't stop herself from speaking. "That is an unacceptable agreement!"

The man gave her a look. "Ah, you knew our native language," she sighed aggressively, the man was surprised by her sudden intervention.

"We didn't realize this was Shakan tribe territory," she explained to the man. Specifies the place where they are located.

The man frowned at what she said, but she persisted. "And paying for a broken code with our lives was such a heinous bargain."

He came up to her and touched her chin. It was tight and painful to grasp.

"How about paying it by coming with us? Our king is in need of a new bride-"

A bride? She is a bride in the midst of running away from her groom, the emperor. And when she was about to escape, a group of Shakan Tribe is going to kidnap her to be a bride again for their king this time.

This situation is making her laugh. Such ridiculous scenes are happening to her over and over again.

She immediately shook her head at the man. "No! I would never!"

And so the hearsay was true, that they are kidnapping brides for their king. In that case, she might be in danger right now.

But it's too late to realize that.

Because it wasn't until now that she realized she was almost surrounded by big people with the man. And they seemed to be enraged by what she said because the fire in their eyes was constantly blazing.

She was almost dizzy when they yanked her to tie her up and lift her like a sack of rice in an instant.

"Let me go! You imbecilic human!" she said without any pretentious.

She could hear the coachman calling her. But they immediately moved away from him.

She struggled with the man but he was too strong for her to leave. So she did what she had to, she bit the man's back with too much pressure until she could taste the blood in her mouth.

The man immediately released her and almost threw her to the ground. She felt the pain in her waist as he released her.

"You lowly wench!"

A sting of pain rushed into her cheeks when the man slapped her hard. She simply stared at him, saying, "I will never be your king's bride! Let me go!"

"This lady has guts, Aikan, the king—" but the man came to a halt.

"No, I'm going to fucking kill that lowly wench right now."

The man named Aikan took the sword he was carrying. She expected his companions to intervene and stop what the man was doing, but they just stared at them. As if they were just waiting for her to be beheaded.

"Oh well, we could still find a bride suitable for our king somewhere."

Her heart beats faster, sensing danger from the man who draws his sword to kill her.

Princess Solvahne forced herself to stand, but all she did was sink to the ground. The man approached her and grabbed her hair. Because of the tweak, she felt pain in her head. She was about to fight when a man placed his sword around her neck.

Solvahne can feel the sharpness of the sword. She is well aware that one small mistake could result in her throat being severed immediately. She isn't afraid to die, but she has vowed to herself that now is not the time for her to join the god of death.

"It's not too late, lass, to tell me your last words," the man named Aikan said quietly.

Hmm. Maybe now is the time for her to die, huh? She mumbled it in her head.

"Fuck off," she said, smirking. "... my final words to you, sir."

It was unthinkable for a princess to say those words, but she wasn't a princess any longer, was she?

The man tightened his grip on her hair even more. It made her look up, and she could feel the sharp sword he was holding tightening around her neck even more. She closed her eyes and let death consume her entire being. But she waited a few seconds before the edge of the man's sword vanished.

She opened her eyes immediately and was taken aback by what she saw. The man who had just planned to kill her was already dead on the ground.

Her lips parted in surprise, and as she looked around, she noticed a man in a black robe holding a worn-out sword, sucking every drop of blood from the barbaric tribe.